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Many Church Leaders Remain Silent While Palestinian Arabs Suffer At The Hands of MuslimsNews Abroad
Given that the authors of this document include Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem Munib Younan, Archbishop of Sebastia Atallah Hanna from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, we should not be surprised with this distorted description of the plight of Christian Arabs in Gaza, Judea and Samaria.
Justus Reid Weiner, an international human rights lawyer, warns that the present Christian Arab leadership is not telling the truth about the real conditions in these areas, and who is really responsible for perpetuating the anguish of Arab Christians. The "patriarchs and archbishops of Christian Arab denominations," he says, "who are currently deceiving the international community, are self-interested people. They collaborate with the Muslim perpetrators of intimidation and violence. Against all evidence they claim that the Christians Arabs are living comfortable and prosperous lives. In fact the present situation is growing worse by the day.""2
Though these false accusations are not new, there is a danger they could change the way some of Israel's Christian supporters view the Arab/Israeli conflict.3 That is why we need to examine what is really transpiring in these areas.
Samir Qumsiyeh, owner of the private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station in Beit-Shahur, warned that, "15 years from now there will be no Christians left in Bethlehem. Then you will need a torch to find a Christian here."4 Population increases in the West Bank have been generally flat. In 1967 there were 40,000 Christians in the area; in 2006 there were approximately 45,800.5
The cause for the concern is the Islamic success at the municipal elections, 6 and the Muslim campaign of "intimidation" to force Christians to leave their homes and relinquish their land. After the Palestinian Authority (PA) took control of Bethlehem in 1994, they altered the municipal boundaries of the city and the predominately Christian suburbs of Beit Jallah and Beit Sahour to incorporate the 30,000 Muslims residing in the nearby refugee camps of Dehaisheh, El-Ayda and El-Azeh, and thousands of residents living near the Ta'amarah Bedouin tribe. These boundary modifications created sweeping changes in the demographic balance of Bethlehem.7
At the same time, Muslims were persuaded to move from nearby Hebron to Bethlehem where large-scale Muslim housing was being planned. In 1990, Christians comprised 60 percent of the population of Bethlehem.
By 2001 they were 20 percent of the population, resulting in a significant effect on local elections. As a result, PA chairman Yasser Arafat appointed a Muslim as Governor for the Bethlehem District, and the bureaucratic, security and political apparatus was purged of Christians.8
Muslims boycotted Christian businesses in Bethlehem's Nativity Square forcing many of them out of business. Approximately ten percent remained by paying extortion money to Muslim terrorists. When a Christian owner of a café in Manger Square refused to be extorted, he was charged with collaborating with the Israelis, then later shot in the eye, and eventually had to escape from the country after having lived in Bethlehem for 30 years. Refusal to pay was often fatal. Furthermore, at the PA-controlled Voice of Palestine, Christian names are not permitted to be mentioned in the obituaries read on air. 9
Those who sell land to Jews are subject to the death penalty according to the Palestinian Land Law, a clear violation of two international rulings. Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948), states that everyone has the right to own property. Part III, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil And Political Rights states, "In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentences of death may be imposed for only the most serious of crimes. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court."10
In this environment of "officially sanctioned intimidation," Christians have considerable trouble buying land or selling their own property to other Christians. There is even the perception that selling to any non-Muslim is prohibited. The PA does not recognize Christian property rights as sacrosanct, including holy sites on the West Bank. As early as 1997, the PA Ministry of Information claimed that the Palestinian people "have assumed their natural right to of controlling parts of the Palestinian land, the most important of which under Palestinian national sovereignty is in the Palestinian city of the birthplace of Jesus Christ---Bethlehem."11
Palestinian protection means little when Christian cemeteries and symbols are desecrated, property wrecked, monasteries robbed of gold and precious objects, and parishioners hindered from attending services. An atmosphere of intimidation and trepidation is created, especially since the perpetrators can buy their way out from serving time.12
Of all the abuses Christians are forced to endure, the treatment of their women is the most egregious. They are subjected to verbal sexual harassment and rape "perhaps the most blatant denial of basic human rights of religious identity." Compounding the problem is that in the Middle East, a female who has been violated is regarded as having been sullied and "unfit for marriage." Rather than bring shame to the victim, the rape is not openly acknowledged. Furthermore the victim must prove she has been raped. If not, a court can convict her of having had extra-marital relations.13
Raping a Christian woman often has fewer consequences than raping a Muslim one. The rapist knows that under a Muslim- controlled PA there is a greater chance of not being prosecuted. If the victim is Muslim, the perpetrator has to contend with members of her extended family, 14 who are obligated to obtain compensation or revenge. Each member is responsible for the welfare of individuals in the group. When one member is attacked, the group unites to protect themselves. They do not expect government agencies, officials, police, courts or any other institutions or persons to intervene on their behalf. 15
Raping of Christian women is also used to reduce the Christian population by ensuring that Christian men will not marry these women and have children. Another method to lower the Christian populace is to force Christian women to marry Muslim men in violation of Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, "Marriage shall be entered in only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses."16
Those willing to speak out openly about this bullying are subjected to death threats. Samir Qumsiyeh documented 160 attacks against Christians, including physical harassment, home robberies, and illegal seizure of land during the past several years. In response to Qumsiyeh's own public statements, his home was fire-bombed.17
The 3,000 Christians living in Gaza among 1.2 million Muslims are also anxious and quite concerned about their future. Archimandrite Artemios, the Greek Orthodox priest who heads the St. Porphyrius church in Gaza, observed that Christians never felt so "endangered" as they do now. He did not know whether they were even still considered "part" of the Gaza community. 18
A rash of attacks has raised the level of their apprehension. On February 15, 2008, a library managed by the Young Men's Christian Association was firebombed, resulting in the destruction of 10,000 books. The previous Fall a Christian book store owner was kidnapped and murdered. His shop was bombed twice. A Catholic church and a school were vandalized in August 2007. These incidents lead Artemios to conclude, "the edifice of tolerance is crashing down over our heads."19 Before dawn on May 16, 2008 a bomb exploded outside the Zahwa Rosary School, a Christian school in Gaza city, operated by nuns primarily for Muslim students.20
Writing in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Hussein Shubakshi, a Saudi columnist complains about Christian emigration from the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and Syria which "has reached astonishing proportions." In Gaza and the West Bank, there is "a plan to eradicate the entire deeply-rooted Christian presence from its territories." There are 70,000 Palestinian Christian émigrés living in Chile, particularly in Santiago, the capital. Arabs from other areas emigrate to Europe, Australia, the U.S. and Canada.
That they are "openly and collectively" leaving by the thousands from Arab countries out of "fear, worry" and "society's failures," should be of grave concern, Shubakshi asserts. Failure to address the spread of extremism will be at a high price to all concerned. 21
What is particularly discouraging is that many church leaders throughout the world are aware of the myriad human rights abuses perpetrated by the PA against the Christian Arabs according to Justus Reid Weiner.22
Yet despite the beatings, theft of land, kidnappings, torture, firebombing of churches, forced marriages, rape, extortion, and sexual harassment, these church leaders "remain silent." Others, "rather than identify the true Palestinian perpetrators of crimes against their people, take the politically correct path" by accusing Israel of being responsible for the strife and misery in the area. They do not even concede or criticize Muslim aggression. Church leaders often blame Israel for the decline of the Arab Christian population in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and for the suffering they experience under Hamas and Fatah rule.23
The Western Christian leaders involved in this anti-Israel activity are from the American Episcopalian and Presbyterian movements.24 Those taking comfort in evangelical backing for the Jewish state should think again. Jim Fletcher, publisher of the pro-Israel Balfour Books and an evangelical Christian, observes that there is an increasing erosion of evangelical support for Israel that is being influenced in part by the constant attacks against Israel in the Western media.25 Until there is a concerted effort to counter the lies and distortions within the Christian community, this erosion will continue.
1. "Palestinian Christians urge boycott,"Al-Ahram (17-23 December 2009).
2. Manfred Gerstenfeld, "Palestinian Crimes against Christian Arabs and Their Manipulation against Israel: Interview with Justus Reid Weiner," Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs No. 72. (September 1, 2008).
3. "Remember the Palestinian Christians," Charisma Magazine (December 22, 2008) and Rev. Alex Awad, Dean of Students at Bethlehem Bible College, www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=58373227616.; Jim Fletcher, "Cold Winds Blowing." onenewsnow.com
4. Khaled Abu Toameh, "Bethlehem Christians fear neighbors."Jerusalem Post (January 25, 2007), Online; Holy lands' Only Christian TV Station to Shut Down." Christian Post (October 30, 2007), Online; for the situation in other areas of Palestinian controlled areas, please see David Raab, "The Beleaguered Christians of the Palestinian-Controlled Areas." Jerusalem Letter/Viewpoints. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Number 490, (January 1-15, 2003).
5. Daniel Williams, "'Endangered'" Gaza Christians Mull Flight Amid Deaths, Firebombs." Bloomberg.com (February 25, 2008); Etgar Berkovits, "Expert: 'Christian groups in PA to disappear." The Jerusalem Post (December 4, 2007); Daphne Tsimhoni, "Israel and the Territories-Disappearing Christians of the Middle East." Middle East Quarterly (Winter 2001); "Christians Are Leaving the Middle East," voanews (January 17, 2006); David Pryce-Jones, "Christians in the Holy Land," Nation Review Online (March 20, 2008).
6. Julie Stahl, "Bethlehem Christians Worry About Islamic Takeover in Jesus' Birthplace," CNSNews.com. (May 19, 2005).
7. Khaled Abu Toameh, "Church official, wife beaten and robbed in Gaza," Jerusalem Post (July 23, 2009); "PCHR (Palestinian Centre for Human Rights LTD) Strongly Condemns Desecration of Cemeteries of the Orthodox and Latin Churches in Jafna Village North of Ramallah," IMRA (May 24, 2009); "Persecution of Palestinian Christians: Cruelty and silence in Gaza," IMRA (December 11, 2008); "Palestinian Columnist: Muslims Are Harming Christian Culture," MEMRI Special Dispatch no, 2112 (November 12, 2008); Justus Reid Weiner, "Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society" Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (2005):10.
8. Weiner, op.cit. 10-11.
9. Ibid. 11-12.
10. Ibid.13.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.13-14.
13. Ibid.14-15.
14. Ibid.13.
15. Philip Carl Salzman, Culture and Conflict in the Middle East. (Amherst, New York: Humanity Books, 2008), 66-67.
16. Weiner, "Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society" 15-16.
17. Abu Toameh, op cit; Uriya Shavit and Jalal Bana, "The secret exodus –Palestinian Emigration." Haaretz (Magazine section) (October 5, 2001).
18. Williams, op.cit.
19. Ibid.
20. Gaza: Bomb explodes at Christian school." Jerusalem Post (May 16, 2008); "Middle East: The Other Christmas Rush Is Christians Fleeing Arabia." Newsweek (January 5, 2008).
21. "Saudi Columnist laments Expulsion of Christians from Arab Countries." MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1850 (February 21, 2008).
22. Gerstenfeld, "Palestinian Crimes against Christian Arabs and Their Manipulation against Israel: Interview with Justus Reid Weiner," op.cit.; For persecution of Christians in other Muslim countries, please see Paul Marshall and Lela Gilbert, Their Blood Cries Out (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1997); Nina Shea, In the Lion's Den: A Shocking Account of Persecuted and Martyrdom of Christians Today and How We Should Respond (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman, 2007).
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Jim Fletcher email to author December 8, 2009. For examples of how some evangelicals view Israel, please see Brian McLaren a Christian "activist" and author, is part of the so-called Emergency Community, liberal Christians who count activism for the Palestinians as one of their callings. www.brianclaren.net. His blogs often discuss "justice for the Palestinians; Christianity Today, the flagship magazine of American evangelicals. The CT staff contains many anti-Israel Christians. http://blog.chrisitanitytoday.com.ctliveblog/archive; Janet Parshall, www.christianpost.com/article/20070331/prominent-evangelical-leader-opposes-blind-support-forIsrael/index.html; General Council of the Assemblies of God, www.ag.org/top/beliefs/sptlissues Israel.cfm; Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA) works in the United States and Canada to support the vision of Jerusalem-based Sabeel, a Christian liberation-theology organization. FOSNA cultivates the support of American churches through cosponsored regional educational conferences, alternative pilgrimage, witness trips, and international gatherings in the Holy Land (www.fosna.org); 2007 letter to President George Bush, from prominent evangelicals who support a two-state solution: www.christianpost.com/20070731/u-s-evangelicals-shatter-chrisitan-zionist-misconception/index.html
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Elliott Aron Green - 1/31/2010
Alex, you referred to the UDHR of 1948. What most people don't realize is that the Organization of the Islamic Conference drew up a competing declaration, The Cairo Decl of HR [circa 1991]. This Cairo Decl is quite slick and smooth but on careful reading it is obvious that it denies the equality of all humans. It sets up categories of the most beloved by God and those who deserve supremacy over others. It denies several of the rights affirmed in the Universal Decl, etc.
So we might describe what the Muslims in Bethlehem are doing as mere application of the Cairo Decl. The sooner people are made aware of the Cairo Decl and its meaning, as well as the fact that the OIC is behind it, the better off we'll be. As you probably know, the OIC was behind the Goldstone Report and used its great influence on the UN "human rights council" [an Orwellian misnomer!!] to initiate the "fact finding mission" that grew into the fraudulent Goldstone report.
art eckstein - 1/27/2010
"To Moses We [Allah] gave nine clear signs. Ask the Israelites how he [Moses] first appeared amongst them. Pharoah said to him: 'Moses, I can see that you are bewitched.' 'You know full well,' he [Moses] replied, 'that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has revealed these visible signs. Pharoah, you are doomed.'"
"Pharoah sought to scare them [the Israelites] out of the land [of Israel]: but We [Allah] drowned him [Pharoah] together with all who were with him. Then We [Allah] said to the Israelites: 'Dwell in this land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the hereafter [End of Days] comes to be fulfilled, We [Allah] shall assemble you [the Israelites] all together [in the Land of Israel]."
"We [Allah] have revealed the Qur'an with the truth, and with the truth it has come down. We have sent you [Muhammed] forth only to proclaim good news and to give warning."
[Qur'an, "Night Journey," chapter 17:100-104]
God wanted to give Avraham a double blessing, through Ishmael and through Isaac, and ordered that Ishmael's descendents should live in the desert of Arabia and Isaac's in Canaan.
The Qur'an recognizes the Land of Israel as the heritage of the Jews and it explains that, before the Last Judgment, Jews will return to dwell there. This prophecy has already been fulfilled.
Is there any fundamental reason which prohibits Muslims from recognizing Israel as a friendly State?
I realize that a negative answer to the above question is taken for granted by popular opinion. My approach, however, is not based on popular opinion or the current political situation, but on a theological analysis of authentic Islamic sources.
Elliott Aron Green - 1/27/2010
`Umar could read over the verse in the Quran about a Jewish return to the Jews' land. Now, if we rely on the Quran, ya `Umar, we cannot call the Jews in Israel "colonialists." They were only fulfilling the Quran's prophecy. Maybe the Arabs could help peace efforts by taking the more liberal, more constructive verses in the Quran seriously.
- - - - - - - - -
See Quran 17:104; Dawood translation, Penguin ed., p 236
This verse echoes a verse in the Book of Zechariah
A. M. Eckstein - 1/25/2010
Prove those accusations! Cite chapter and verse.
Otherwise, we all know it's just vituperative empty blather from Omar.
As for my own statement, I can and will cite exact chapter and verse regarding Omar regarding Israeli old people, women, and children as legitimate targets, as "civilians" in scare quotes:
On May 28, 2008 (posting #123154), Omar indicated that "all the colonialist community", including "civilians" (a term which Omar put in scare quotes) were, in his opinion, legitimate targets of Palestinian "resistance"
omar ibrahim baker - 1/25/2010
Shorn of facts as is evident from his totally unsupported allegation above, that he hopes will come to pass through a conscious meaningless generalization, he ( Professor Eckstein) resorted once more to day dreaming, fabrication , extrapolation and often to outright lying.
omar ibrahim baker - 1/25/2010
" According to Omarian logic, even if the event occurred pre-facto, before there was a restored State of Israel, Israel is still guilty prefactually. "
(Re: Blame Canada ! (#139907)
by Elliott Aron Green on January 24, 2010 at 11:21 AM )
Elliott; you having done an Eckstein, that seems to be quite contagious malady in some circles, I am afraid you also fall within the same category of those who "Shorn of facts as is evident from his totally unsupported allegation above, that he hopes will come to pass through a conscious meaningless generalization, he resorted once more to day dreaming, fabrication, extrapolation and often to outright lying. "
art eckstein - 1/25/2010
More blather from Omar--vituperation spewed forth in the hope of substituting for factual refutation.
Where, exactly, have I been inaccurate as to your position, Omar?
Do I have to remind you that you were the person who put scare quotes around the phrase "civilians" when discussing the intentional murder of Israeli women, children and infants?
omar ibrahim baker - 1/25/2010
"My point was the ridiculousness of Omar's instinctive positions on atrocities such as this. "
In a new flight of imagination and wishful thinking the Professor, Eckstein no less, had the above sentence in his latest effusion.
( Blame Canada ! addendum (#139905)by art eckstein on January 24, 2010 at 8:16 AM. )
Shorn of facts as is evident from his totally unsupported allegation above, that he hopes will come to pass through a conscious meaningless generalization, he resorted once more to day dreaming, fabrication , extrapolation and often to outright lying.
Elliott Aron Green - 1/24/2010
Art and Peter, of course I don't think that the events in Nag Hammadi were in any way amusing. What I thought was amusing, absurd, ridiculous if you will, was that `Umar and the church leaders that he refers to want to blame it all on Israel, as if events like these were not taking place 100 years ago and 150 years ago, etc, when there was no state of Israel [although Jews were a majority in the Jerusalem population at least by 1853].
Does `Umar not know about the Armenian genocide, the Bulgarian massacres of the late 19th century, and so on?? How about the persecution of the Arabic-speaking Christians living in the Land of Israel in the 1820s, in retaliation for the Greek revolt [albeit they were mostly Greek Orthodox]? According to a monk in Jerusalem who recorded the events of his time, great sums of money, gold, other valuables, were extorted from the local Christian community in that period. This extorted loot included church utensils, such as gold candlesticks, etc.
According to Omarian logic, even if the event occurred pre-facto, before there was a restored State of Israel, Israel is still guilty prefactually.
art eckstein - 1/24/2010
Elliott, by "very amusing" I don't mean that the Nag Hamadi massacre is amusing--not in the least. My point was the ridiculousness of Omar's instinctive positions on atrocities such as this. The serious point is that he can never acknowledge Muslim wrong-doing, or if he does, he brushes it aside as unimportant, or sees the murder of 30 old people at a Seder (or babies on busses) as an understandable reaction to Israeli oppression, indeed, as noble resistance to it.
art eckstein - 1/24/2010
Elliot, very amusing but I think that you are probably quite close to Omar's official position on the Nag Hamadi massacre.
When in June 2007 Hamas gunmen began murdering the *children* of Fatah officials in Gaza, children on their way home from school, Omar insisted it was Mossad. Etc, etc, etc.
Elliott Aron Green - 1/24/2010
Peter, we can't forget those six Copts gunned down a few weeks ago on the eve of the Coptic Christmas [Jan 6], along with a Muslim guard who was in the way. It happened in Nag Hammadi in Egypt better known for a trove of ancient documents found there early in the 20th century.
In your search for the true perpetrators of the Nag Hammadi massacre, consider all possibilities. There is an Israeli satellite up above called Amos. Maybe this earth satellite made an unreported trip to Mars and brought back a few little green men as hired assassins to be parachuted into the Nag Hammadi region of Egypt. We cannot rule out any possibility.
Peter Kovachev - 1/23/2010
Yes, Omar, I know of George the terrorist, and Hanan Ashrawi the windbag, and about a handful of deluded or bought semi-commie Arab Christians who actually thought that "Palestinianism" is more than a cynical marketing ploy. Aliances with Islamists and voluntary dhimmitude have always been hopeless strategies, one of those historical banalities that replay themselves over and over again. It's a little too late now to shed tears for your valued "Palestinian Chrisians," though, isn't it?
Anyway, what would be your point?
omar ibrahim baker - 1/23/2010
" with fewer Christians to rape and rob, what is a self-respecting Muslim youth there supposed to live on and sport with? "
Well Kovachev if that is how you see things then what is the point to say anything to you except:
Have you ever heard of George Habash?
David I Lieberman - 1/22/2010
Actually, Omar, the real question here isn't who cares more about the *welfare of Palestinian Christians.* What's clear is that the various church leaders Grobman and Weiner name are motivated, as you are, to lay all the blame for all the ills of the region exclusively on Israel, irrespective of the behavior of anyone else, especially of Palestinian Muslims.
Peter Kovachev - 1/22/2010
"It is a very well known fact in the occupied teritories that the consulates of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand , inter alia, are willing to profer, almost on demand, emigration visas to Christian Palestinians.
Their departure is a source of deep sorrow and a grave loss to Palestine."
Good point, Omar. Those nasty countries are stealing away the "Palestinian" Muslim's cherished Christians by offering them, for some inexplicable reason, refugee status..."on demand," as you say. Imagine that, such affront and travesty, when we all know who the Arab Christians belong to and that only Muslim Arabs can suffer. It is truly distressing, I agree; with fewer Christians to rape and rob, what is a self-respecting Muslim youth there supposed to live on and sport with?
But despair not, Omar; Hamas, Tanzim, et alia, pay rather well (with Western donations) for joining up with them, and the religiously-sanctioned promise of 72 under-aged virgins in Paradise is a hard offer to beat. Then, too, there are always those bad Muslims we don't talk about, the ones who are not up to scratch in their proper respect for Islam (music at weddings...o the horror!), and they've been making fairly good targets too.
Peter Kovachev - 1/22/2010
As our mortally insulted Omar and even the recent mewlings by the Vatican are ably demonstrating, Muslims are never at fault for persecutions of non-Muslims. Never, ever, and don't anyone here forget it.
Not to worry, the "it's Israel, stupid!" standard and hallowed explanation still stands, and while we must still respect it, (lest we get into trouble) I do have a remarkable discovery which can help explain just how a tiny to non-existent number of non-representative Muslims have been wreaking such massive havoc on non-Christian minorities throughout the world...while being led by Israel, a country smaller in land and population than many a Third World urban slum.
Just to recap. Israel is, of course, responsible for the racially-based ethnic cleansing and genocide of Black Darfurians by the pure-blooded Sudanese Arabs. No argument there. Israel, we must remember, is also responsible for maliciously shrinking Pakistan's Hindu population from 20% at Pakistans founding, to the current 3%. That wasn't easy, I imagine. But then, Israel is unique; all thanks to the Zionist colonialist expropriation of the ancient native Palestinian institutes of higher learning and high-tech industries.
But wait, there is more. Lebanon's take-over by Hezbollah and the shrinkage of the once-majority Christian population there is another incredible Zionist feat. And for a fun spectacle of fireworks and demolition, Israel managed to somehow engineer by proxy the destruction of the 6th century Buddha statues of Bamiyan. Very droll, that, did you see how...well, enough on that.
Look at how Israel is distracting us with Maxim pics of IDF girls for the low-brows, and with rescue missions such as the one in Haiti for the middle-brows, while simultaneously orchestrating the recent destruction of churches in Nigeria, Pakistan and Malaysia, not to mention the killings of Buddhists in Thailand, and so on. The latter is easy to explain; Jews and Buddhists have been at war for centuries. Even in moderate Turkey ... a deserving EU membership candidate... Christians are now openly harassed and Christian church and communal properties are being confiscated. Makes sense, though, since soon enough there won't be Christians left in Turkey either.
Of course, just to bamboozle all of us, Israel has to occasionally manipulate symbolic attacks against Jews as well. The usual blowing up of Israeli kids, and even the torture and slaughter of a pregnant representative of World Zionism in Mumbai are not easy to pull and some overly-sensitive Jews cringe at such things. Better to go back to the basics of Muslim historiagraphical revisionism. In Iraq, for example, the centuries-old Jewish Tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel is having its Hebrew inscriptions rubbed out by venerable scholars of the Iraqi antiquities department; a novel interpretation of historical preservation, one that even the UN seems to approve of, since it has yet to make a peep (maybe because Big Media hasn't told them yet). But the Iraqis shouldn't bother with the rubbing-out and renaming act really, as plans are afoot to build, you guessed it, a mosque, over the tomb.
What is astonishing, if not outright miraculous, is that all of these massive and ambitious projects to remove unclean non-Muslim elements from holy Muslim lands are somehow being executed (good word, that) by a miniscule number of "radicalized" Muslims who do not at all and never, ever, represent the Religion of Peace.
So, we have a "missing energy" conundrum. And here I have a revolutionary rival theory which I hope to flesh-out and submit soon. I will argue that given the magnitude of the assault against non-Muslims in Muslim-dominated lands, Israel is much too small to be given sole credit. Also, only about a dozen or so non-representative Muslims throughout the world are available for the arduous, time-consuming and messy work of all that bombing, demolishing, killing, looting and raping of infidels. Obviously someone much bigger is aiding Perfidious Zion. It can't be Big Satan anymore, as it is too busy with its Hope and Change revolution. Little Satan is, of course, too little for the job. That leaves only Canada, with its rapidly reviving population of aggressive, islamophobic beavers and racist white arctic foxes. But 'nuf said on this; y'all will have to wait for my peer-reviewed journal article coming soon.
omar ibrahim baker - 1/21/2010
I am sure you would have liked those archbishops NOT to have spoken!
The truth is bound to emerge and from reliable, honest sources.
Childish accusations of the bishops being "intimidated" are really too infantile to respond to .
Can you NOT keep your silence when men of worth, dignity and sincerity , as these bishops are , speak.
I construe you four stand as a sign of desperation.
I thought you would be above that and leave it to Eckstein .
Patently I was mistaken in this respect.
I like your " Umar, what about the article by Sandro Magister "
Is that your new bible: objective , infallible and saying nothing but the truth.
Are you aware that the august NY Times, a couple of years ago, admitted that MOST of what was written by one its senior writers was false , that it apologised and tried to correct his writings.
What does that tell you ??
Truly I thought you would be above that and leave it to Eckstein .
Elliott Aron Green - 1/21/2010
Art, we spoke too soon. `Umar is here and with a vengeance.
`Umar, what about the article by Sandro Magister that I link to in a comment above?? He is a Christian. He quotes other Christians with experience in the country. As far as the church leaders that you mention are concerned, it ought to be borne in mind that they are subject to intimidation.
Now that reminds me that a rabbi that I know was traveling in his car from Jerusalem to Efrat, his home. This was before the tunnel was completed that enables drivers to avoid Bethlehem when going south from Jerusalem in early 1996. At a hitchhikers stop on his way at the outskirts of Jerusalem he picked up a woman who looked like somebody he knew in Efrat. Why did you do this to us? she asked. It turned out that she was a Christian woman from Bethlehem. She wanted to know why Israel had betrayed her people, the Christians of Bethlehem, by allowing Arafat to take control of them. I can assure everyone that I did not approve of ceding that area to arafat dominion.
Now, Dr Grobman's article states that the number of Christians in Bethlehem and the adjacent towns/villages of Beyt Sahur and Beyt Jala has gone down sharply since Bethlehem and surroundings came under arafat rule, arafat dominion [that is, became part of the "palestinian authority"] in December 1995. `Umar, do you dispute the fact of population change/demographic change in the Bethlehem/Beyt Jala/Beyt Sahur/ area since December 1995 as Grobman describes??
If you don't dispute what Dr Grobman asserts about the demographic changes in that area since 12-1995, then how do you explain those changes??
Elliott Aron Green - 1/21/2010
I notice but I don't know why.
art eckstein - 1/20/2010
In short, you have no evidence that the specific and very serious allegations of Muslim oppresion of Christians in the PA and Gaza are false. So you've substituted empty bluster and insults instead.
Please note that one of the leading accusers is a major Christian cleric, the Archimandrite Artemios, head of the St. Porphyrius Church in Gaza.
Another major accuse is the Saudi columnist Hussein Subakshi, writing n al-Sark al-Awsat (London).
These accusations aren't coming from Jews, Omar.
omar ibrahim baker - 1/20/2010
Allegations are easy to make and some might have some truth in them BUT that Justus Reid Weiner, YOU, Green and Grobman do care and worry about the fate and fortunes of Palestinian Christians MORE than three Christian ! archbishops is hard to swallow by the most gullible!
Next you will be speaking for them, casting the bishops aside.
Your presumptuousness is hard to believe and harder to emulate!
However it is evident that having had so many of your fabrications go unchallenged had encouraged you to the point of truly insulting the American public for whom this BS is meant!
The Pope had something similar to say lately or is that you also worry and care about the fate and fortune of Palestinians Christians MORE than he does.
I would NOT be surprised if you presume to!
art eckstein - 1/20/2010
Omar, there are specific factual allegations made in this article. Prove them wrong. Insults and slander won't do it.
omar ibrahim baker - 1/20/2010
The saddest fact of the question of Palestinian Christians is that, pro rata, more of them departed, emigrated from their homeland, after Israeli occupation, both 1948 and 1967, than Moslems did.
Palestinian Christians have been throughout modern history an extremely valuable basic component of Palestinian society politically, culturally and economically; throughout they proved to be, still are particularly in the Palestinian diaspora, at the forefront of all three domains.
Their standing was never perceived as that of a numerical confessional minority but as a thoroughly integral part of Palestinian society that happens to profess the Christian religion.
The relatively higher proportion of Christians that emigrated post 1948 and 1967 occupation can sustantially be attributed to two reasons;
-The minor: a greater proportion of Christians had the wherewithall to start a new life particularly in the West: knowledge of foreign languages, acquired at Christian missionary schools and professional skills
-The major: greater Western readiness to accept them as emigrants by the issue of immigration visas and western missionary zeal in furthering, often iniating, their desire to emigrate.
It is a very well known fact in the occupied teritories that the consulates of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand , inter alia, are willing to profer, almost on demand, emigration visas to Christian Palestinians.
Their departure is a source of deep sorrow and a grave loss to Palestine.
That many Israeli and Jewish
"scholars" will try to make an issue out of that is only to be expected since nothing effectively belied, still belies, the myth and fallacy of Palestinian intolerance as Palestinian Moslem/Christians relations do.
Professor Grobman article is his contribution to this fallacy.
Never the less we have here a unique opportunity to watch a Zionist
"scholar" at work doing his bit.
Please NOTE that professor Grobman here requests of US readers to take the word of a certain "Justus Reid Weiner, an international human rights lawyer "
against the word of
"Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem Munib Younan, Archbishop of Sebastia Atallah Hanna from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, "
This Justus Reid Weiner, according to Grobman , Elliott and Eckstein is supposed to care about the fate and fortune of Palestinian Christians MORE than three major Christian archbishops do.
The American public is requested to believe that.
That is truly insulting but typical of the way Zionist "scholars" deal with the American public!
art eckstein - 1/20/2010
I notice that Omar is staying away from this topic, Elliott
Elliott Aron Green - 1/18/2010
Here's another article on your topic. It is by Sandro Magister who writes for L'Espresso and La Repubblica. This version is in English.
Elliott Aron Green - 1/18/2010
These Christian church leaders, not only in the Palestinian Authority zones and obviously susceptible to intimidation but in North America and Europe, seem to prefer hating the Jews to protecting and defending their own fellow Christians, whether in the PA zones or in Iraq or Egypt or Lebanon.
What's most important is whom they hate, the Jews/Israelis, not whom they love or would be expected to love, the native Middle Eastern Christians. It's funny though, because in the 19th century the Western missionaries to the Middle East made much of their Oriental brethren and how they were oppressed by the Ottoman Empire. Now, in the late 20th and early 21st century, the Western churches seem more interested in using the Eastern Christians to make propaganda against Israel rather than protecting them against Muslim oppressors, such as Hamas or the PA.
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The Regnum Christi Movement offers its members some guidelines of a gospel-based spirituality as an ideal of Christian life. The spiritual path that Regnum Christi members walk mainly consists in knowing, loving, imitating, and proclaiming Christ. This is the path and these are the goals.
Below, we offer some resources that can help nurture the spiritual life of Movement members and of any Christian.
Daily Prayer 2013-03-07
Listen to podcast version here.
Luke 11:14-23
Jesus was driving out a demon that was
mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute
person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of
them said, "By the power of Beelzebub, the prince of
demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him,
asked him for a sign from heaven. But he
knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided
against itself will be laid waste and house will
fall against house. And if Satan is divided against
himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that
it is by Beelzebub that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebub, by
whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they
will be your judges. But if it is by
the finger of God that I drive out demons, then
the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When
a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his
possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks
and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on
which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is
not with me is against me, and whoever does not
gather with me scatters."
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus,
as I prepare for Easter during this Lenten season,
I turn to you once again in prayer. I wish
to see you with the eyes of faith. I
wish to welcome the salvation you came to give me
and to accept it with a humble heart. Now,
during this time of prayer, I want to give
everything over to you so that your love and truth
may direct my life.
Petition: Lord, help me to
accept with simple faith the reality of who you
1. All for God's Glory: When Christ works this
simple miracle, the crowds are amazed. They are amazed at
what Christ has done, but surely they were also
amazed at what the mute person said. We do not
know what was said, but it is likely that
they were words that glorified God in thanksgiving for
his miracle. Christ bestows freedom by loosening the tongue of
the mute person so that he can glorify God
his creator. When Jesus frees the mute person from
Satan – who does not want God to be glorified
and who wants to keep mankind in the chains
of sin, it is so that God will be glorified.
In my life, do I seek to glorify God
for the wonders of his creation and all the good
things he has done for me?
2. Truth or Lies:
Jesus' enemies could not deny the miracle he had
just worked, but instead of accepting his power to
drive out evil spirits, they came up with an accusation
that it was Beelzebub who caused the miracle. Their
envy gets the best of their common sense. Envy
always tries to find a way around the truth. It
asks for a sign or proposes a false accusation.
Jesus counters envy's contorted reasoning with simple straightforward logic:
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house." It cannot be by
the Beelzebub's power that he drives out demons because
that would mean Beelzebub is driving out his own
demons. Simple logic shows that this is not so. Does
my own faith help me to differentiate between lies
that I hear and the truth?
3. Jesus Challenges Satan's Reign:
The strong man that Jesus speaks of is the
devil. He has kept mankind under his control since
Adam and Eve's fall. He has had nothing to worry
about up to now because he has been the
strong man able to defend from all comers his prize
of corrupted human nature. But Jesus is stronger, and
he has come to attack the devil and win
back from him what he has taken. He takes away
his armor of evil, hate, anger, lust and egoism.
He redeems mankind from the clutches of the evil
one. Can I truly say that I set my faith
in God and that he truly brings about good
despite the natural calamities or bad intentions and actions of
others, including the devil himself?
Conversation with Christ:
Lord, help me to accept your miracles in
my life so that my life will give you
glory in my actions, words and thoughts. Do not
let me be blind to the force of your love
in the world. I know you are stronger than
Satan. I want to be in your camp. I want
to be rescued from the clutches of sin by
the omnipotence of your love.
Resolution: When I
am faced with a temptation, I will call to mind
that Jesus is stronger than Satan and he can
give me the strength to reject the temptation.
The daily meditation is a service of Regnum Christi that offers people a Gospel reflection through e-mail. You can view the weekly meditation on this link or listen the podcast version here.
If you would like to subscribe or send a gift subscription, please fill out this form.

subset: commoncrawl


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TRAVELLER: Rebels of Efate
TRAVELLER: Rebels of Efate - Forum
Estimated Members Requested: 6
While this game will have some travel, the majority of this game will happen Planetside. Also, characters will be freetraders hired for this job so if you create a military character then please note that you will have been discharged for a number of years prior to the start of the game.
Game Description:
Efate/Regina (Spinward Marches 1705)
Rule 1 to come first.
That being said, I also ask that players post once a day Mon-Fri with weekends being optional or at least read what is going on if they are not actively in a scene.
The players will all be a very hodgepodge group from any walk of life under the command of Captain Killian aboard the Freetrader Artemis. How you came to be here is up to you and the dice gods as Traveller character creation often takes on a mind of it's own.
Applicants can go here for character creation.


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Posted 5 years ago
(49 items)
These two Disney-themed clock radios from the early 60's seem to be almost everywhere you look. I've seen dozens of examples of them online and other places.
The one with Peter Pan & Snow White, et al. is the General Electric Model C2419A. It works perfectly and is in great condition. Many of this model that I have seen offered have faded or torn & peeling graphics so this was a real find.
The Micky Mouse radio is a different story. It's the General Electric Model C2418A which makes both of them virtually identical as far as physical construction and components go, but Mickey is much the worse for wear. The top of the case is heavily damaged, so much so that I have to display it on a high shelf. It also does not work. Mickey himself could use a bit of touch-up with some new paint. I think they are both charming and enjoy having them in my collection.


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Whole Foods' Stock Isn't Appetizing
The natural and organic grocery chain Whole Foods Market (WFM) is a fine company. It is not immune to getting overpriced, however, and that's exactly what it was prior to Wednesday evening's quarterly report. At its recent high of $65.59, Whole Foods traded for 44.9x trailing earnings.
That P/E multiple was above what Whole Foods had commanded in the fall of 2012, right before a 20% pullback from $50.90 to $40.69. Whole Foods did get as high as 55x EPS back in 2006. Buyers back then lived to regret their purchase. The stock dropped from near $40 to a split-adjusted $3.50 during the worst of the 2008-09 Great Recession....268 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
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What is new with immigration reform relative to your dairy business? Get the scoop during these two upcoming webinars, presented by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin:
"Immigration Reform Updates: Where We're At, Where We're Headed" will be on Mon., Jan. 28 (register by Jan. 21), noon-1:00 p.m. (CST).
During the webinar, immigration attorney Erich Straub will discuss the prospects for immigration reform in 2013, particularly an employment visa for dairy workers. There are strong signs that the long awaited "tipping point" in the immigration debate may have occurred in the November 2012 presidential election. Within hours of the polls closing, members of both political parties were attributing President Obama's victory to overwhelming support from Latino voters. Along with the President, Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders are signaling that immigration reform is one of the top priorities of the next legislative session. Learn where your dairy could stand as reform moves forward, and ask your questions during the Q&A.
"I-9 Inspections - Are You Ready?" will be on Mon., Feb. 25 (register by Feb. 18), noon-1:00 p.m. (CST).
The good news: Gone are the days of massive government immigration raids on employers. The bad news: I-9 inspections of employers are continuing to grow and are taking the place of "raids." Inspections can result in fines, criminal liability, and, perhaps most importantly, the loss of a significant portion of your workforce almost overnight. The problem is more acute for dairy than for any other business, because dairy animals need daily care, and putting up a "closed" sign is not a solution to a sudden labor disruption.
Attorneys Erich Straub and Priya Bhatia will break down the process of I-9 inspections in this webinar. Producers will learn how they can prepare for an I-9 inspection before it happens. The webinar will also give specific tips on how to handle an ICE agent's visit to your farm. Finally, the attorneys will tell you how to improve your I-9 process so you can best protect your business.
PDPW members register for $100 per session. Non-PDPW members can register at $125 per session. Each registration covers one computer, so multiple people can gather around a computer to participate.
For more information or to register, go to www.pdpw.org or call 800-947-7379.


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Kauto Star has now been reduced to a ceremonial role in the William Hill King George VI Chase, but his first appearance at Kempton in retirement coincided with the most gripping finish since the era before the five-timer winner as his old Lambourn-based foe Long Run claimed a dramatic second victory.
The pair ended on a one-all draw in their meetings in this race and it looked as if Sam Waley-Cohen's mount would have to settle for second again, as last year, until the determined amateur conjured one last effort to stick Long Run's neck past Captain Chris at the line.
Whether a professional would do better than Waley-Cohen on Long Run will always remain a matter of conjecture, and the 15-8 favourite did not jump well in the main, but horse and rider plumbed the very depths of their reserves through muddy and foul conditions in Sunbury.
Waley-Cohen and Long Run have already provided a first Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2011 for his owner, the jockey's father Robert, and for trainer Nicky Henderson, who saddled a 76-1 four-timer on the card including the Grade One Christmas Hurdle.
The seven-year-old's reputation, however, looked to be fading with a third-placed finish in the last Gold Cup and a fairly transparent defeat to Silviniaco Conti on his comeback at Haydock, but that all looked forgotten as Waley-Cohen cruised towards the fifth from home.
He clouted that one, allowing the weakening front-runner Champion Court a chance to slip through the back door, and Captain Chris and Richard Johnson to sneak even closer and mount their own challenge in the home straight.
Last year's third was in front before the last fence and Captain Chris was better at it than Long Run, but sheer resolution saw the former champion regain his lead on the run-in.
"He was so brave," said Waley-Cohen.
"This is his fifth year of competing at this level and he means an enormous amount to us. That was racing at it's best for me. I can't put it into words. It's an honour and a privilege."
Considering the Gold Cup, for which sponsors Betfred cut Long Run to 6-1 behind his Lambourn stablemate Bobs Worth at 9-2 favourite, Waley-Cohen said: "It's going to be a different type of race at Cheltenham - I hope it's not as testing or as wet and the earlier races here have made a difference to the ground.
"It's hard to know if you're going to get home, but the horse is just a star."
Henderson's haul puts him right back on Paul Nicholls' tail in the hunt for the trainers' championship.
He said: "It was a brave call to go on when he did and it was the right call to make.
"It was a battle out there today and not the best ground for any of them. You would have to say last year was a disappointment but he's been running good races all the time.
"We had it in our minds that Bobs Worth would run in the Cheltenham race (Argento Chase), and this guy would have the time to go to Newbury (Denman Chase).
"We'll have to discuss things, it doesn't have to be like that.
"It has been a great day, and with Sam and that horse to come back like that, it was brilliant.
"Not just to win the race, but to come back and prove quite a lot of points."


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In honor of this week's presidential election, I thought I'd take a look at what playlists [still] President Obama and Mitt Romney have been using during their respective campaigns and discuss some of the implications thereof.
I read someplace that Romney was using a Silversun Pickups song, but then they asked him to cut it out. This is as close to a coin-toss as we'll get, so we'll start with Obama.
Oh, and I am totally a liberal, so I was gonna start with him anyway. Also, don't take this too seriously, I beg you.
Selections From Obama's 2012 Campaign Playlist
Electric Light Orchestra: "Mr. Blue Sky"
I fully, full-on believe that ELO is one of the most underrated rock 'n' roll bands in the history of music, and I'm glad Obama recognizes this as well. To me, this says that he's a dude who appreciates a good melody and the most American of musical styles—rock and fucking roll. In my head, I picture me 'n' Obama at a barbecue together, and we both freak out when this jam comes on…we're best friends forever after that, and I proudly lift the beer bong for him.
Al Green: "Let's Stay Together"
Who doesn't love this song? Jerks, that's who! I'm afraid I have no official word on whether or not Romney loves this song or not, but since I assume he's a racist, he probably doesn't. I've seen plenty of photos of Obama lovin' on his wife, and, when we couple this song choice with said photos, one can hardly help but wonder how the couple might utilize one of the most famous doin' it jams of all time.
Noah and the Whale: "Tonight's the Kind of Night"
Apparently the hipster vote is important to Obama, and why shouldn't it be? After all, these are the people who were carrying on like he was some sort of Jesus 2.0 leading up to the last election. Maybe he likes these guys and maybe he doesn't, but the point is this: There are probably people who'll vote for him because they're fans as well.
Darius Rucker: "Learn to Live"
C'mon, Obama! Hootie sucked then and he sucks now! To me, this says he either lost a bet or is aiming for the vote of folks with white guilt who never came any closer to having a black friend than buying whatever the hell that Hootie album was called. No, I don't know what the title was and no, I'm not looking it up.
Selections From Romney's 2012 Campaign Playlist
The Killers: "Somebody Told Me"
Just when I thought I couldn't hate this band any more than I do, this happens. I wonder if Brandon Flowers and those other fashion-assholes in his band are laughing all the way to the bank over this one. Can you imagine the old-lady types showing up to some Romney something-or-other, hearing this song and then picking up an album? I can...and it's sickening.
The Beach Boys: "Good Vibrations"
After that crap with Silversun Pickups, what better band to use music from than one with members who are either dead, crazy or too old to do much of anything beyond TiVo-ing that episode of Full House to show their disinterested grandchildren? I love the Beach Boys, and it's been everything I can do to scrub the dirt from my skin knowing that I have something in common with that Romney clown.
Kid Rock: "Born Free"
Know what's not surprising? This. I'm feeling a little better about that Beach Boys thing after learning that Romney likes this bullshit. I haven't even heard this song, and I don't have to, because I can guarantee it's the worst thing ever.
Willie Nelson: "Over the Rainbow"
Does Willie Nelson know this is happening? As one of the finest songwriters of this or any era, this one hurts. Maybe he was too high to say no, or maybe he's too busy braiding his hair. Regardless, this is an affront to Nelson, Judy Garland and that poor dead dog that played Toto.


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Across from conference rooms. Upstairs from Outpatient Surgery.
At this location It's my life studio Beginning on September 10, 2013
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Our school board is apparently in a tailspin. I am a member of five boards at present each one receives a monthly budget report showing cash position, short-term and long-term debt. That is standard for any entity entrusted with public funds.
How can it be that our school board "suddenly" discovers a $5 million debt service payment on construction bonds? Either staff is not providing the information or the board has been ignoring it.
But that is not even the worst of it. They state the tax rate will quadruple. Let's look a little deeper. In tax year 2008/2009 the rate was .008. When the bonds were issued in 2010 the rate jumped to .023. Today, due to lack of proper financial planning, the taxpayers who authorized the bonds will pay at the rate of .084. That is more than 10 times the tax rate prior to the bonds being issued.
If the school board ever again expects to enjoy the support of taxpayers like me-who lobbied for these bonds but now am dismayed by the sloppy handling of the contracts and finances-it needs to take prompt corrective action.
I read the district is seeking a "second opinion from a third-party expert". That won't be cheap, but here is some free straightforward advice as to how to solve this problem.
To the school board: "You cannot fail to have your own house in order and expect the taxpayers to quietly pay and pay to cover your own shortfalls. Live within your means as we little people must."
Here's a solution that does not overburden the taxpayers and may restore some faith in the board. Cancel the Clark & Sullivan contract of $3.7 million. That also liberates some $700,000 in contingency and inspection funds tied to that contract. Add in $250,000 in annual energy savings from solar installations. Now you have $4.65 out of the projected shortfall of $5.0 million, and you do not have to slam your taxpayers with your badly managed debt.
Please handle your debts properly, then issue more bonds for your future construction Phase 2 when ready. But before you do so, please quit playing around with C&S. The voters have made it clear, at the polls and in your meetings, that they want local contractors and quality stick-built construction on this job.
How about you give us the work and costs as promised?
Hal Wagenet is a Willits resident, former county supervisor, school district supporter and dismayed taxpayer.


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Beware Too Much M&A Frenzy
Don't get suckered in!
That's how I feel about the now takeover-rumor-a-day fodder that we see in what is one foot away of a frothy market. I say one foot away because the valuations are still low enough that there's room for more deals than we have already have. It's just that the mill is too ginned up for my taste....491 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
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Columbus The state will provide increased funding for poorer school districts statewide, through a new formula that takes into account property values and income levels.
Additionally, there will be more state money provided for programs for the disabled, gifted students and those learning the English language.
Funding will be offered for pre-school for youngsters living in poverty. Certain students will have greater access to vouchers to attend private schools. And all districts will receive at least as much in state formula funding as they have in the current fiscal year.
Those were among the details unveiled by Gov. John Kasich and administration officials Jan. 31 as part of a much-anticipated reform package.
We want to make sure that every boy and girl, no matter what district they come from, are going to be in a position to have the resources they need to be able to compete with boys and girls in any other district across the state, the governor told an audience of school superintendents and officials at a suburban Columbus hotel. That is exactly how we designed this program.
He added later, If you are poor, youre going to get more. If you are richer, youre going to get less. ... If you have disabled students, youre going to get help. If you have gifted students, youre going to get help.
The proposal will be part of Kasichs biennium budget bill.
Kasich said the plan is fully funded, with about $7.4 billion and $7.7 billion in state general revenue and lottery monies each year of the biennium. Thats up from $6.9 billion in the current fiscal year.
Specific district-by-district funding information will be released this week.
In general, under the new formula, the state will distribute funding to schools based on what a 20-mill levy would generate in a district with property valuations of $250,000 per students. In the lowest wealth districts, that valuation is about $50,000, while two dozen districts have valuations of more than $250,000.
The state also will provide additional targeted assistance to schools based on the income levels of their residents, meaning poorer districts would receive more state assistance than wealthier ones.
I know many of you were worried that there were going to be significant cuts, Kasich said. Theres mostly increases. No ones going to lose under this proposal.
Among other provisions, the governors plan calls for increased financial support for disabled students, with assurances that the money is being used for students in classrooms and not to cover administrative or unrelated costs.
It would create a Straight A fund, $300 million in one-time grants for districts to improve their operations and reduce costs.
The state would provide increased funding for children in impoverished areas to enroll in pre-school programs and expanded vouchers for students in those areas and those attending schools having issues ensuring third-graders are meeting state reading guarantees.
Administration officials told superintendents that the state would provide full per-student funding for schools that opt to offer full-day kindergarten and half-funding for those with half-day programs.
Kasich opted to leave funding guarantees in place, ensuring no district would receive less in the next two years than in the current one. But he warned that the guarantees are not sustainable over time.
Many school groups praised the plan Jan. 31, including the Ohio eSchool Families and Friends Coalition and the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.
But Democrats said Kasichs plan does little to restore nearly $2 billion in cuts schools experienced in the last budget cycle.
I am hopeful there will be room to work together on Gov. Kasichs plan, but this proposal does very little to address the devastating cuts in Gov. Kasichs last budget, House Minority Leader Armond Budish said in a released statement. As a result, class sizes have ballooned in many schools, teachers have been cut, many programs that help students succeed have been eliminated and taxpayers have been asked to bare more of the responsibility for educating our children.
Michele Prater, spokeswoman for the Ohio Education Association, one of the states largest teachers unions, said the group could not comment on the plan until exact budget language and specific district appropriations were released.
Until we see that, we cant comment on the specifics of the proposal, she said. However, its clear that the upcoming budget proposal does not restore funding cuts from the previous cycle, which were detrimental to Ohio students at the local level.
Marc Kovac is the Dix Capital Bureau Chief. Email him at firstname.lastname@example.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.
For more videos from this event, see http://youtu.be/dv7sUCQ4C2I; http://youtu.be/CAWjVk_xCrQ; http://youtu.be/efpipiZulT4; http://youtu.be/3P5uG8q5AM0; http://youtu.be/QzudZTfjXbY; and http://youtu.be/Ymjfpci6iWE.


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Vince Gill: Time Jumpers Bring Career Full Circle
Vince Gill has a shelf-full of Grammy gold for his solo work, as well as for his collaborations with fellow artists, and he may be adding to that shelf in a few weeks for his contributions to country swing band the Time Jumpers, a group he says has him feeling like a kid again.
The Time Jumpers are up for Best Country Album for their self-titled CD, and also for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their song, "On the Outskirts of Town," which features lead vocals by Vince. The Country Music Hall of Famer says it's important to him to live up to that title, and he finds his work with his new band definitely fits the bill.
"If you look at the 20 Grammys I've won, more than half of them have been with Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs or Asleep at the Wheel, and I was always willing to share the gifts I was given," Vince tells The Boot. "I'm having arguably the best time of my life right now … I'm playing music that really goes all the way back to my infancy, and I'm playing it in an authentic way, which means more than anything. Some of my contributions to this band feel countrier and more authentic than anything I've ever done. So I feel like a brand-new kid almost. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame a few years ago has inspired me to go earn it, and with that I want to earn it with honesty and with things that are authentic. Nothing drives me too much that's commercially motivated."
The Time Jumpers have a standing gig every Monday at Nashville's 3rd & Lindsley music venue. The lauded guitar slinger says their performances have upped his musical game, while also reminding him of his musical roots.
"I'm having the time of my life with these guys, and I'm a better musician because of it because they're so good," says Vince. "At the end of the day, we're getting to do some things that none of us probably ever thought we'd get to do. And the popularity of this band is really a blessing to watch, because there's not that much of this music going on. The people who come down there on Monday nights are crazy about this kind of music, and it reminds me of when I was a kid. People would come because that's what they wanted to hear, the bluegrass band I was in, and it wasn't a bar scene where you were background noise … everybody came and they listened. That's all a musician ever wants anybody to do, is respond. Playing music is a conversation, and if it doesn't come back to you, there's no point in talking."
Watch Vince Gill Sing Live in Our Studio


text: Here's the thing from my perspective: I don't know if we got better or worse. Honestly, we haven't moved the needle much either way. It's just a lot of shaking up of a roster that had some success and seemed to get along great in the locker room, by all accounts. I get that we needed to make some moves and our bench bludgeoned us against Miami, but I don't see where long-term or short-term these moves make us a significantly better team. It just seems to be moves for the sake of making moves.


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Case Study on Productivity (1 of 3): Henry Ford and the Model T
This lesson printed from:
Part 1
People often credit Henry Ford with inventing the automobile and the assembly line. In fact, he did neither! What Mr. Ford actually did was change the way manufacturers operate. Henry Ford brought together many innovative ideas that helped revolutionize mass production. For an introduction to this man and the car that made him famous, read the following:
In the activities that follow, you will learn more about how Henry Ford ' s production of the Model T helped to revolutionize the manufacture of automobiles and life as we know it today. You will be asked to adapt one of his strategies—the moving assembly line—for the production of bookmarks.
The Early Days of Ford Motor Company and the Model T
When Henry Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903, automobiles were expensive, custom-made machines purchased as a luxury item by the wealthy. Workers at the Ford factory in Detroit produced just a few cars a day.
Henry Ford's ambition was to make "a motor car for the great multitude." He wanted to build a high-quality automobile that would be affordable to everyday people. He believed the way to do this was to manufacture one model in huge quantities.
Ford and his company's engineers designed a car named the Model T. First offered for sale in 1908, the Model T was produced like other cars—one vehicle at a time. But the Model T was more sturdy and powerful than other cars. Considered relatively simple to operate and maintain, the auto offered no factory options, not even a choice of color. The Model T was also less expensive than most other cars. At an initial price of $950, 10,000 autos were sold the first year—more than any other model.
|Vanadium Steel. Henry Ford searched the world for the best materials he could find at the cheapest cost. During a car race in Florida , he examined the wreckage of a French car and noticed that many of its parts were made of a metal that was lighter but stronger than what was being used in American cars. No one in the U.S. knew how to make this French steel—a vanadium alloy. As part of the preproduction process for the Model T, Ford imported an expert who helped him build a steel mill. As a result, the only cars in the world to utilize vanadium steel in the next five years would be French luxury cars and the Model T.
The Moving Assembly Line
Like parts for other cars of the time, parts for the Model T were initially purchased made-to-order from other businesses. Teams of two or three skilled mechanics in the factory would gather these parts and put them together at a workstation, using everyday tools. When parts did not fit together as needed, workers used files and hammers to make them fit.
Take a peek at this process on the following video clip.
Henry Ford realized that a more efficient production process was needed to lower the price and meet increasing consumer demand for his popular new car. He needed to improve productivity—the amount of goods and services produced from a given amount of productive resources. Economists refer to goods and services as output. Henry Ford's output was the Model T. The productive resources used in production—natural resources, capital resources and human capital—are inputs. Ford's inputs were the steel, workers, and other resources required to manufacture the car.
Ford looked at other industries and found strategies that he could apply to making the Model T. Take a look at Interchangeable Parts and the Assembly Line to learn more about two of the first strategies he adapted.
Using interchangeable parts required making the individual pieces of the car the same every time. All pieces would fit with all others. Any valve would fit any engine and any engine would fit any frame. The standardization of parts made it possible to break down assembly of the Model T into distinct steps. Each worker was trained to do just one step or a very few steps. Economists refer to this practice as specialization or the division of labor.
|Ransom Olds is the first manufacturer to have used interchangeable parts and the assembly line in the U.S. auto industry. He used these ideas in the production of the 1901 Curved Dash Oldsmobile also referred to as "the runabout".
In 1913, the Ford Motor Company established the first moving assembly line ever used for large-scale manufacturing. On a trip to Chicago , Henry Ford observed meat packers removing cuts of beef from a carcass, as it was passed along by a trolley, until nothing was left. He was inspired to reverse the process for the production of his automobile.
Parts were attached to a moving Model T chassis in order, from axles at the beginning to bodies at the end of the line. As vehicles moved past the workers on the line, each worker would do one task. Some components took longer to put together and attach than others. Subassemblies were established for these. For example, each radiator with all its hose fittings was put together on a separate line feeding into the main assembly line. The interval between delivery of the car and its components was carefully timed to maintain a continuous flow.
View a video clip which shows the moving assembly line in action. Click on "Ford Assembly Line, 1920's" at the bottom of this web page .
The home for this new production system was the Highland Park Plant near Detroit, Michigan, which Ford opened in 1910. Assembly wound downward in the factory starting on the fourth floor where body panels were hammered out. On the third floor workers placed tires on wheels and painted auto bodies. After the assembly was completed on the second floor, the autos moved down a ramp past the first-floor offices. Test your comprehension of this lesson in the following activity.
Critical to the success of the Model T was Henry Ford ' s ability to increase productivity—output per unit of input. Specialization and division of labor helped Henry Ford and his company increase Model T productivity. Assembly line production was more efficient than having individual workers making complete products. Interchangeable parts made this new way to organize production feasible.
In the groups assigned by your teacher, you are going to employ an assembly line to mass produce bookmarks. Click here for your instructions.
Draw the steps in the process for manufacturing a product you use. Label the various stages in the production process.
Volunteer to collate materials or stuff envelopes for a community organization. Develop a plan to improve task productivity.
Part 1


text: Show Hide image Culture 21 March 2013 Reviewed: The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon Splintered self. Sign up for our weekly email * The Book of My Lives Aleksandar HemonPicador, 224pp, £20 To write about a life, you need a life to write about. Or you used to, anyway. Aleksandar Hemon, as his book's title implies, has a surfeit. His are the multiple lives of the uprooted: the remembered life of his upbringing in Bosnia, the transposed life of the new immigrant to Chicago and the present life of the author, husband, father. Hemon's fiction also navigates displacement – his most recent novel, The Lazarus Project, flips between two stories of immigrants in Chicago, a century apart – but here, Hemon mines his own ruptured state. His mode is memoir or near-memoir. The Book of My Lives is composed of 15 stand-alone essays, all but one previously published in various magazines. A note at the back says the essays have been re-edited for the book but there are still overlaps and repetitions, odd clashes of tone. In the first piece, "The Lives of Others", there's a strangely alienating (and alienated) analysis of immigrant psychology: "The funny thing is that the need for collective selflegitimisation fits snugly into the neoliberal fantasy of multiculturalism, which is nothing if not a dream of a lot of others living together, everybody happy to tolerate and learn." It's an interesting point but expressed in terms that make an admirer of his fiction anxious. "Self-legitimisation" is not a word you find often in the lithe, wired language of his novels. Nor would you find it in the more human accounts in this book. Much later, in "The Lives of Grandmasters", he devastatingly describes his chess opponent Peter, "in whose throat the bone of displacement was forever stuck". It's a different context but also a different writer – we've switched from the remote jargon of the analyst to the poetry of the artist. The first essay was written in 2007, the second for this collection six years later: his writerly consciousness and mode of expression has changed. The book, then, is not the result of a singular effort but a collage of multiple effects and its inconsistencies are at times jarringly present. Hemon's chronology is loose, often swerving from present to past, his life divided – and multiplied – by the year 1992, when he left a threatened Bosnia just before the siege of Sarajevo, his home city. Much of the early part takes us back to his childhood, to the family borscht feasts and youthful antics, including a startling account of an ironic Nazi-themed cocktail party held in 1986 that resulted in Hemon and many of his friends being publicly shamed. The tale (the book is worth reading for this alone) offers an early sign of Hemon's multiple personalities: as the after-effects of the misjudged theme became apparent, he felt he was "reading a novel in which one of the characters – a feckless nihilistic prick – had my name. His and my life intersected, indeed dramatically overlapped. At some point I started doubting the truth of my being." Not many memoirists are so harsh with their subjects but Hemon never lets himself off the hook. He mocks his deluded, youthful self, hung up on theory and cowardly irony, distracted by frivolous attempts to provoke the establishment. His self-directed viciousness is perhaps the residue of anxiety and depression he says he suffered in his twenties, which he interpreted as a "depletion of my interiority" (another self endangered) and treated by going alone to the mountain home of his parents to read in marathon stretches. His writing has the brutal edge of a brain accustomed to turning on itself. Sometimes, the bullying is accompanied by a blackened wit. Hemon describes returning to Sarajevo in 1997, walking down a street and instinctively turning to look over his shoulder at a building. He can't work out why he's stopped, until he remembers that it once housed a cinema and he used to check the posters to see what was on. His body, he writes, "had been trained to react to urban stimulation in the form of a new movie poster, and it still remembered, the fucker, the way it remembered how to swim when thrown in deep water". As an anecdote, it is a poignant demonstration of how memories live on in the body, even when the mind has re-homed itself elsewhere. Yet it's the "fucker" that sings. The surprise of it, the quick drop in tone. In Hemon's flexible hands, it's not just a swear word but a style. Hemon is most frequently, lazily, compared to Vladimir Nabokov. The link is a compliment – they share an impressive, gymnastic facility with a language that wasn't their first. However, this is no Speak, Memory. Nabokov's memoir was conceived as a whole, a mammoth feat of recollection and execution written much later in life. Hemon's has been gathered together and you can feel the draughts between the fragments. He also doesn't have the firepower of Nabokov on the page (who does?) but he compensates with a sensitivity, honesty and open heart that is sometimes lost amid the high style of the Russian. This is most evident in the final essay, "The Aquarium", about the death of his baby daughter Isabel from a rare form of brain tumour. If his first essay suffered, in parts, from academic distance, then this is the counterpoint – Hemon recounts the harrowing events leading to Isabel's final breaths with agonising immediacy. His questions still have the rawness of a living pain: "How do you leave your dead child behind and return to the vacant routines of whatever you might call your life?" Hemon tries to work out what to call his life throughout these essays. He doesn't come up with an answer. "The Aquarium" is the last piece in the book and ends in the suspended ache of loss. But loss, of all kinds, is Hemon's subject. There can be no neat endings here. Sophie Elmhirst is features editor of the New Statesman Subscribe from just £1 per issue This article first appeared in the 18 March 2013 issue of the New Statesman, The German Problem More