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From rock 'n' roll to pop and hip hop, popular music may be, well, popular. But it is rarely understood as a musical form. Now that's about to change. The University of Rochester has established an Institute for Popular Music that treats the study of popular genres as seriously as classical music.
This is an approach the institute's founding director, John Covach, calls "both traditional and revolutionary" because it applies methods of analysis in musicology to provide a better understanding of popular music's impact on society. "When people 'see' popular music they often think of celebrities and bubblegum pop music. But we mean 'popular music' in a much broader sense," said Covach. In fact, one of the institute's first lectures in the spring will examine songs from the Civil War.
As director, Covach will work with a group of seven faculty from the University of Rochester and an advisory board of 13 professors from the U.S. and the U.K to develop programs that support research in fields including musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology, and music performance. "The focus of the institute is to support and encourage academic studies in popular music in the form of lectures, books, and articles," said Covach. "But we also want to support the performance aspects of this music, since making music is an integral part of studying it." Covach has dual appointments in the College Music Department, where he is the Mercer Brugler Distinguished Teaching Professor of music, and at the University's Eastman School of Music where he is a professor of music theory.
According to Joanna Olmsted, dean of Arts and Sciences, Covach has an unusual breadth of expertise that was important in shaping the creation of the institute. "He is a dynamic and highly respected faculty member who can teach from the perspectives of both a scholar and a performer."
In recent years, Covach has incorporated a rock repertory ensemble into Rochester's curriculum, giving students the opportunity to study the history of rock and perform concerts for the community. "That is a great achievement and a rarity in higher education," said Daniel Harrison, the Allen Forte Professor of Music Theory and chair of the Department of Music at Yale University.
According to Harrison, popular music since the 1960s has attracted influential critics at well known publications like Rolling Stone magazine. But the scholarly study of popular music is deeply concerned with issues in history and popular culture as opposed to the more familiar concert reviews and album critiques. "If you add this to the expertise of someone like John, who is interested in the construction of the music, form, melody, and the materiality of the sound, there is a great match of strengths."
In addition to partnering with the faculty in the College's music department, the institute will compliment the expertise at Rochester's Eastman School of Music. Covach hopes the institute will be used as a model for other institutions to promote the study of popular music within academia.
The institute will initially support five existing majors and programs at the University, and will continue to add courses to the 25 currently in place. Current offerings include courses on the Music of Black Americans, Progressive Rock in the 1970s, Religion and Hip Hop, and workshops in musical theatre. Additional initiatives include a speaker series featuring leading scholars in the field of popular music studies, summer workshops or think tanks where invited scholars will train teachers in popular music and share their expertise with students and faculty, and the eventual creation of pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships.
"Twenty years ago it was considered risky for academics to be associated with the study of popular music because up until that point most music scholars were classically trained," said Covach. "But now academics can get doctorates in the field and expertise in pop is even considered an advantage in landing a teaching job. It's a very active area of cultural ferment."
Harrison agrees. He credits the field's newfound legitimacy to baby boomers' respect for rock as an art form. "That belief was pretty well founded, given the events going on in 'high art' music at the time. So that's really how scholars got their ticket punched to enter in and study popular music."
For additional information about the Institute for Popular Music, visit http://www.rochester.edu/popmusic/index.html.


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11 October 2005 03:15
O'Reilly's CD bookshelfby daocren & 4 others
一个非常不错的oreilly书库 包括很多方面知识的基础图书
1 (1 marks)
Founded in late 2003 and heartquartered in France, we are non-profit and independant.
We believe in the open web, think internet services should be sustainable, build for the long term.
While we are re-launching the service, we only accept new members through invitation.
last mark : 11/10/2005 03:24

subset: commoncrawl


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Often, in this age of celebrity worship, recognition of some of life's true heroes goes unnoticed. This Saul Bass inspired motion graphic short is part of a larger health initiative campaign focusing on some of those great inventors in science and medicine.
Dramatic, vibrant and striking, yet deceptively simple, the piece uses bold graphics emphasized by a vivid color palette and direct messaging to create a good, strong effective piece that succinctly tells the compelling story of surgeon, Frederick Banting and his determination to find a treatment for the life threatening disease, diabetes.
In 1920, working on a hunch, Banting made one of the greatest discoveries to benefit mankind ever – the correlation between diabetes and insulin.
Banting struggled to get his theory recognized and funded so that he could make, refine and demonstrate it's effectiveness. He persevered, refusing to take no for an answer, lobbying for a laboratory and some simple supplies.
Working day and night with associate, Charles Best, and research student, James Bertam Collip, Banting finally succeeded in distilling a treatment for a disease that remains incurable to this very day. Insulin is still the only treatment for diabetes making the difference between life and death for millions of people worldwide.
In 1923 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine, sharing his prize winnings with Best. In a great humanitarian gesture, Banting sold the rights for the patent to the University of Toronto for just one dollar, ensuring that insulin could forever more be available to anyone in need.


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On the eve of new year, we should forget about all the problems . My new track in the style of Ambient filled with Love and Positive . I imagine loving couple on the ice New Year's Eve . Perfect for your project !
Thank you for your attention to my music !


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As you may recall, Mark Reed-Walkup and Dante Walkup were married this past October. Their marriage was officiated via Skype by a person authorized to perform marriages by the District of Columbia, who was physically in DC at the time of the service. Mark and Dante decided to conduct their vows in their home state so that family and friends could be in attendance without the significant costs and problems of flying everyone to DC.
However, after the Skype wedding made headlines DC officials intervened and nullified the wedding on the grounds that Mark and Dante were not in the District at the time the ceremony was performed.
More recently, and in what can only be an effort to prevent future public relations disasters, a DC Clerk's office posted this sign:
However, such provision is not presently included in the District of Columbia's Official Code governing marital relationships (See: Division VII, Title 46, Subtitle I, Ch. 4). Instead, DC has taken upon itself to enforce a provision of law which does not exist. This means, if you or someone you know obtained a marriage license from the District of Columbia, but conducted the ceremony even inches outside the confines of the District's border (perhaps for a better view of the ocean), your marriage may be nullified, too.
For example, let's say you've lived and worked all your life in DC as has your future spouse. You and your spouse decide to get married, head off to the clerk's office, get your license, abide by the 3 day waiting period, plan your ceremony, go to Little Falls Park (5.6 miles from the center of DC) and get married. YOU WERE NOT IN D.C.
Or let's say you take a look at popular wedding places in the D.C. area and choose one of the top ten venues, Brookside Gardens. You are not in D.C., and therefore your marriage is not valid!
DC retroactively nullified the marriage of Mark and Dante due to this "requirement." How many more marriages will they nullify? Will yours be next?
Dante Walkup DC Marriage License E-Marriage Gay Marraige Gay Rights License in DC to Marry Mark Reed Mark Reed-Walkup Nullifying Marriages Same Sex Marraige Skype Top DC Wedding establishments


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Now we want to talk a little bit about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and I don't want to get bogged down and spend weeks and weeks and weeks defining every facet of the Spirit's ministry, but to basically look at what is important and critical and revealed in Scripture instructive for us and effective and necessary for our spiritual lives with regard to the Spirit of God. We have to assume a few things and one is that we're going to assume that you understand that the Holy Spirit is God. In fact, in Hebrews 9:14 He is referred to as the eternal Spirit. And so that in itself affirms that He is God who is eternal and who alone is eternal. Genesis 1:2 tells us that He was the one who moved across the formless deep and brought form to it. Therefore He is the Creator.
Scripture also tells us that He is the divine agent by which by whom the Scriptures were written, holy men wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. There are Trinitarian passages in the Scripture, such as the baptism of Christ where you have the Spirit descending as a dove, you have the Father speaking out of heaven, and you have the Son present. And so God is not just one God who appears in three different persons at various times, He is at all times three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We understand then that when we talk about the Holy Spirit, we're talking about God...God, the third person of the Trinity, fully God, worthy of praise, worthy of worship, worthy of all that we render to Christ and all that we render to God the Father.
We're going to leave that as the foundation, that we understand that the Holy Spirit is in fact as He is so designated in Scripture the Spirit of God, just as Jesus is the Son of God. But I want us to look based on that assumption of what His divine ministry is. How He works to accomplish the purposes of God. In eternity past when the Father and the Son agreed on the unfolding glorious work of redemption, the Father determining to create a world and out of that world to call into eternal glory a redeemed humanity as a love gift to His Son...the Son responds by being willing to receive that gift and to be incarnate in this world and therefore pay the price necessary to purchase that gift, the price of redemption on the cross.
And so we think about that pledge between the Father and the Son that sets all of redemptive history in motion, but it's important to affirm as well that the Holy Spirit agrees in all of that and becomes the one who makes application of that plan. It is the Spirit, for example, who comes upon Mary and she is given a child without a human father. It is the Spirit who fills the Lord Jesus and who works through Him so that to deny the power of Jesus was to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit in the Father's will who raises Him from the dead. It is the Spirit who comes down and establishes the church. It is the Spirit who regenerates every believer. It is the Spirit who has given, as I said, full revelation of God so that all we know about God and all we know about redemptive history, and all we know about salvation is the product of the Holy Spirit.
So we're talking when we talk about the Holy Spirit of God the very God, as the ancients used to call Him. He is equal to God in every...to God the Father in every sense, equal to God the Son in every sense, and in no sense is He less than equal. And yet certainly He does not get equal consideration and that would be perhaps more true in this particular climate than it has been, at least in my life, in the past. I remember when I began to do ministry as a college student and speak here and there at youth conventions and places like that, almost everyone wanted me to speak on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Everywhere I went I was asked to speak on what it means to be filled with the Spirit, what it means to walk in the Spirit, what it means to be sealed by the Spirit, what it means to be indwelt by the Spirit of God, what it means to be taught by the Spirit, what it means when the Bible says I'll bring all things to your remembrance through the Spirit, the Spirit of truth. This was a major emphasis. Many books were written about the Holy Spirit, on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I would say that it was probably the ministry of the Holy Spirit that was the dominant theme in those early years of my ministry. There was a lot less being said about the person and work of Jesus Christ, there were some things that were sort of standard givens, very little was being said about the doctrine of justification, substitution, imputation, which is very popular in evangelical circles today. And frankly not a lot was being said about God and the character of God and the nature of God. If you wanted to find a book like that, you pretty much had to go back to Puritan literature and find Stephen Charnak's Existence and Attributes of God, or some old book on God, until A.W. Tozer's little book began to gain public interest, The Knowledge of the Holy, and then J. I. Packer's very impactful book, Knowing God arrived on the scene in the early years of my ministry and people began to their focus toward God. And little by little the interest in the Holy Spirit diminished and the interest in the Holy Spirit among evangelicals began to diminish in direct proportion to the ascendency of the Charismatic Movement.
As the Charismatics increasingly kidnaped the Holy Spirit and held Him hostage to their aberrant theology, interest in the Holy Spirit began to wane among other evangelicals who didn't want to start a fight with the Charismatics. So there was a certain setting aside of the ministry of the Holy Spirit for the sake of unity because if we are going to teach a biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit, it's going to be an all-out attack on aberrant teaching concerning the Holy Spirit which is essentially rife in that movement. And so, little by little discussion, meaningful discussion, helpful, direct, accurate, precise, biblical presentations of the person and work of the Holy Spirit began to disappear.
After the Charismatic Movement had done its work of sort of coopting the Holy Spirit for its own definitions, along came the Pragmatic Movement. And pragmatism basically said we can do the work of the church, we can do the work of the ministry through human means. If we just figure out sound marketing strategy, we can win people to Christ. If we figure out how to effectively present the message and approach people on the basis of their felt need, we can convince them by our technique and by our style to embrace the gospel. If we can figure out the psychological keys to people, if we can find out what makes them tick, if we can define them psychologically and know where their points of psychological contact really are, then we'll be able to reach them. And so as the church moved from the Charistmatic Movement to the Psychological Movement and into the Pragmatic Movement, interest in the Holy Spirit continued to diminish and diminish and diminish until here we are today and it is a very rare thing to hear a message on the person of the Holy Spirit or the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
On the one hand we're reluctant to teach the truth as over against the error that's so popular about the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, we aren't really sure that the Holy Spirit is that critical about everything because we're so good at what we do in terms of marketing and strategies and we have figured out people so well with our psychological analysis that we know basically how to get to them and maybe the Holy Spirit's ministry isn't as critical as it once was. In addition to that, we've got so many resources, we have so many books and tapes and CDs and seminars and opportunities for people to get the information that they need and digest and process that information and we have so many ministries, endless ministries, so many teachers on radio, and television, and so many authors proliferating the landscape that there's certainly enough out there for people to absorb. And we wouldn't say it but it makes the Holy Spirit a little less critical.
Well something like that was going on in Galatian thinking, in the churches in Galatia and Paul addressed it. Turn to Galatians chapter 3, a little different approach but the same idea. They too were diminishing the place of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 3 of Galatians, and I don't want to take the time to develop the whole argument here, but we'll read the first three verses and make a couple of comments just to set the context. "You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?" This is the only thing I want to find out from you, it's down to this, did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
The Galatians, like all other believers, began their Christian lives in the power of the Spirit. That's how they began. But they were coming under the influence of Judaizing teachers that would be Jews who would affirm the gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ, but also would add the necessity of circumcision, literal physical circumcision, and obedience to the Mosaic Law as a necessity for salvation so that they are essentially asking people to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and then to live their lives if their salvation is to be legitimate, following Mosaic ceremonies, circumcision, and Mosaic Law. The gospel of grace then disappears and in its place a system of human effort.
Paul calls this being bewitched...bewitched describes their condition, baskaino is the Greek verb. It means to fascinate. It means to charm in a misleading way. Who has charmed you away from reality? Who has charmed you away from the truth? They had become willing victims, succumbing to a flesh-pleasing kind of spirituality. They received the Holy Spirit by faith. They began the Christian life by faith. Is it going to be perfected by flesh? Is it going to be perfected by fleshly methods, by circumcision and the keeping of the Law and ceremonies? Paul's point is pretty simple. If a person receives eternal salvation through trust in Christ who is publicly displayed as crucified, verse 1, and at that point by believing in the crucified Christ has received the fullness of the indwelling Holy Spirit as all believers do at the point of salvation, and if with the Spirit taking up residence in that believer's life, the power of God is therefore placed at that believer's disposal, why would anyone turn to human effort to achieve spiritual goals? The Holy Spirit is the Christian's source of life and power. The Holy Spirit is to the Christian what the Creator is to the creation. Without God the Creator, the world does not come into existence. Without God as the sustainer, it does not continue in existence. It is God who created it and God who sustains it. And so it is with the Holy Spirit and the Christian. Without the Holy Spirit we wouldn't be the new creation. Without the Holy Spirit we wouldn't be born again, we wouldn't be regenerated. And without the Holy Spirit we would not continue to be constantly being sanctified by divine power. We would immediately, apart from the Holy Spirit, fall back into spiritual deadness from which we came. The creation cannot continue, it cannot survive without the upholding power of God the Creator, and neither can a Christian sustain that Christian life by works or by ceremony or by religious rite or ritual, it can only be sustained by the Holy Spirit. Were it not sustained by the Holy Spirit, I say it again, we would drop right back into spiritual deadness. We live in the Spirit. We are being kept by the Spirit. He is the source of our life. He is the sphere of our spiritual existence. No one is saved without the Spirit or sanctified without the Spirit. We cannot minister in the flesh, we minister effectively and only in the Spirit.
So why...he says to the Galatians...would you begin understanding the power of the Spirit that saved you, and then turn from the work of the Spirit by grace in your heart backwards to those things which you left, those outward external fleshly shadowy symbolic elements. Why begin in the power of the Spirit and try to perfect what was begun in the flesh?...in the flesh?
I have the feeling that the evangelical church today that certainly would claim to have begun in the power of the Spirit at salvation has now tried to perfect itself in the flesh. This massive movement called the Charismatic Movement ascribes itself to the Holy Spirit but it is far more a work of the flesh than it is the work of the Spirit because the Spirit of God does not invest convincing expressions of His power into aberrant theology. The Spirit of God doesn't do that. If there were a gift of healing, it wouldn't belong to a heretic. God doesn't verify heretics. It wouldn't belong to a false teacher. It wouldn't belong to a charlatan. It wouldn't belong to a fraud. It wouldn't belong to somebody getting rich at the expense of sick people. If God gave those kinds of abilities to do miracles, He wouldn't give them to people who want to take your money and run. He wouldn't give them to scam artists. He wouldn't give them to those who teach wrongly about the work of the Holy Spirit. God does not validate and verify error.
But we've backed away as if people in that movement are the only ones who have a right to affirm certain things about the Holy Spirit, and it's time without necessarily focusing only on that movement to say we need to go back and understand what the Bible says about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now if you want to know more about that specific movement, I have written a book called Charismatic Chaos, it still speaks to that issue clearly on the subjects that are necessary. But it isn't just that. As I mentioned a little while ago, we've become very good at what we do, very crafty at what we do in the church, very skilled at our style and technique, very good at developing music that attracts a crowd, very good at assessing people's psychological felt needs. We've become very adept at marketing strategies so that we can sell millions upon millions of books when we figure out the strategy that's going to work in a given market and a given culture. We're good at that kind of stuff. And that's a big head trip. And when many numbers of people respond to that, it gives the illusion of spiritual success and it may have absolutely nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. Very little talk about the work of the Holy Spirit today, very little interest in the filling of the Holy Spirit, very little interest in walking in the Spirit.
And as I said, in the early years of my ministry, everywhere I went this was the main issue to talk about. I had a period of about two and a half, almost three years just before I came to Grace Church, way back in the sixties, when I was traveling around preaching about 35 times a month...about 35 times a month. I did that for about two and a half years, almost three years. And I was speaking mostly to youth groups here and there. And in variably everywhere I went they wanted me to talk about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. That was just what everybody was interested in. That was before things got so confusing with the development of the Charismatic and the Pragmatic and the Psychological Movement.
This is to dishonor the Holy Spirit, of course, and we need to go back and give to the Holy Spirit the honor that He is due as God. You cannot set Him aside without bringing dishonor upon God for He is God. So what are we going to learn about the Holy Spirit? Let me give you some things to think about, just a little bit of a list, okay? We're going to kind of work our way through this list.
Before I do that, just one other comment or two. I really believe that this is a sin in the life of the church to diminish and depreciate the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is a serious sin. It is a sin to think that we can do what only the Holy Spirit can do, that we can by our cleverness convert people. Plagianism, if you will, is a sin, that is to believe that people are saved by their own will and all we have to do is manipulate their will. It is a sin against the Holy Spirit. It is a sin to think that we can win people to Christ by our techniques. It is a kind of usurping of the role of the Holy Spirit. It is a kind of blasphemy, if you will. It's a kind of profanity, really. And we know that the Holy Spirit always works His work through the Word, and you cannot honor the Spirit without honoring the Word...for the Spirit is the author of the Word.
It comes down to the fact that the church has lost its interest in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, feeling that perhaps it can do things better. And I'm deeply concerned. And I think the Spirit is quenched and grieved over this. So let's talk about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
First of all, we have to start where we have to start, and that is that the Holy Spirit is the agent of salvation...the Holy Spirit is the agent of salvation. I don't know if I'll get past this, that's okay. What do we mean by that? Let's begin by looking at John 16....John 16.
And I want you to know that there's so much in the Scripture about the Holy Spirit that we could never do an exhaustive study of this in a few Sunday nights. We're not attempting to do that, rather to give you an overview. This is Holy Spirit, class 101. This is not the advanced study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. If you want the advanced and more extensive study, you can go to the book store or the library and you can dig tomes out of the shelves that will expand on the marvelous breadth of biblical revelation concerning the Holy Spirit. But there are some things that are so foundational regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that we need to understand them and understand them well.
In John chapter 16, the Lord Jesus is promising to send the Holy Spirit. He has been saying that. He says it in chapter 14, He says it in chapter 15 and He says it again in chapter 16. Look at verse 7. "If I do not go away," the middle of the verse...the helper, the paraclete, the one who comes alongside, the Holy Spirit who has been so designated in the earlier mention in chapter 15 and verse 26 and back in chapter 14 verse 26, the Advocate, the Helper, Paraclete, the Comforter. "If I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you and He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me, concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer behold Me. And concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged." Now we'll stop there for the moment, anyway.
What is this ministry of the Holy Spirit? Convicting the world...convicting the world. That is, bringing upon the heart and soul of unredeemed humanity, the awareness of sin. He does a convicting work. He convicts of sin, first of all, because they do not believe in Me and that is THE sin that damns. Finally and ultimately, no other sin finally and ultimately will damn you but that one. Those who go to hell go to hell because they do not believe in Christ. Any other sin is forgiven when one does believe in Christ. So this is that ultimate damning sin, rejection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit then convicts, the Spirit works in the heart to produce guilt and fear and anxiety and trepidation and terror and the reality of sin.
And then secondly, righteousness, "Because I go to the Father and you no longer behold Me." What does that mean? It means the Spirit convicts the sinner not only of his own sin, but the Spirit convicts the sinner of the righteousness of Jesus Christ who is utterly unlike the sinner and that is why the Father received Him at the right hand. He went to His Father and His Father received Him and sat Him at His right hand because of His perfect righteousness. It is the Spirit of God then who works those great realities in the human heart..the reality of the sin of the sinner and the righteousness of the Savior.
And the Spirit also produces in the heart conviction concerning judgment, that sin will be judged because the ruler of this world has been judged. As Christ bruised the serpent's head at the cross, as Christ crushed His enemy as the seed of the woman of Genesis 3:15 destroys the enemies of our souls, we see the judgment power of Christ displayed and all who are part of Satan's domain will experience that same judgment. Those are the things that the Spirit of God wants to produce in the heart by way of a conviction...conviction of sin because people don't believe in Christ, conviction of the absolute perfect righteousness of Christ who has therefore satisfied God with a sufficient atonement and propitiation and entered into heaven and seating...and being seated at His right hand, and of the reality of judgment upon those who remain a part of Satan's domain. Since those are the areas which the Holy Spirit works to convict sinners, then those should be the areas which we proclaim, right? The Holy Spirit doesn't do this work in a vacuum. As we preach sin and righteousness and judgment, we provide the necessary truth for the Spirit of God to work His great work. Admittedly, preaching sin is not popular, it's not what people want to hear, but it is absolutely necessary. Preaching the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ and the fact that His sacrifice is there...is therefore a perfect satisfaction to the holy law of God and the perfect...a perfect offering to satisfy His holy wrath, He then receives Christ to His right hand. And so we are preaching here the great doctrine of substitution, the great doctrines of propitiation. And, of course, we preach judgment. And that means the judgment of the prince of this world and all who are a part of his kingdom of darkness, we preach eternal judgment, eternal hell, eternal wrath, eternal retribution.
The Spirit of God works to produce these things. The Spirit of God needs the Word to be proclaimed in these categories in order to do His work. And there are literally all throughout the pages of Scripture, all throughout the pages of Scripture, these truths over and over again rehearsed...in the Old Testament by way of prophecy and type and symbol, and all throughout the New Testament. Listen to 1 Thessalonians 1:5, "Our gospel did not come to you in Word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." When you preach the gospel in the power of the Spirit, He produces conviction. If I want to evangelize somebody, if I want to preach a message that really can change people's hearts, the first thing I have to understand is I can't do that...I can't do that on my own. There's only one who transforms people and that's the Holy Spirit. So I want to ask the question, what is it that the Spirit of God does, what is it that the Spirit of God uses to begin the work of conviction? And it is the truth about sin and the truth about Christ and the cross and the truth about judgment.
Secondly, if we're going to begin at the beginning, we have to understand that it is the Holy Spirit who produces conviction when the truth is proclaimed and heard and understood. It is also the Holy Spirit who produces repentance. It is also the Holy Spirit who produces repentance. In fact, I'm confident that's precisely what we have in the eleventh chapter of Acts in the eighteenth verse. "When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God saying, 'Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.'"
And how did this come about? The preaching mentioned earlier in verses...prior verses. And then in verse 15 the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did on us at the beginning. Verse 17, God gave to them the same gift that He gave to us, also after believing in the Lord Jesus because the same Spirit who came upon us is the Spirit who came upon them who had prior to that granted them repentance. The Spirit produces conviction about sin, conviction about the truth of the cross which is related to sin and our sinfulness and the only hope we have to escape judgment, and the Spirit produces conviction about judgment in order to produce repentance.
And, of course, we can add to that, look at 1 Peter 1:12...1 Peter 1:12. The Spirit energizes the gospel, and these are just different ways at looking at the same dynamic work of the Spirit, but 1 Peter 1 it says, "It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in these things...speaking about the Old Testament prophets...in these things which now they have announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." The gospel when it is truly preached is preached by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Why do we say that? Are we talking about some mystical power? Well we're talking certainly about the divine power of the Holy Spirit. We're also talking about the gospel which has been given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So the Spirit who is the author of the gospel is also the Energizer, those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Again the indication here is the Holy Spirit is the Energizer of gospel preaching. First John 5 says, "The Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is the truth." Whatever is a representation of the truth of Scripture comes from the Holy Spirit and is therefore the witness of the Spirit, it is further energized by the Spirit.
Go back to John chapter 3, and we're just touching on these things ever so briefly in order to keep moving a little bit. But in John chapter 3 it all kind of comes together here where Jesus has His conversation with Nicodemus. "How can a man be born when he is old?" talking about the new birth, talking about how to get into the Kingdom of God, necessary to be born again. And then in verse 5, "Truly, truly...Jesus says...I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." The point here is the Spirit regenerates. So the Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Spirit produces repentance by means of that conviction. The Spirit energizes gospel preaching. And the Spirit then regenerates. If there is regeneration, it is because the Spirit has done that, the Spirit gives life. That's why we're talking about being born of the Spirit.
In Titus chapter 3 it says in verse 5, "He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by the Holy Spirit." It's the Spirit that renews and regenerates. Those are almost synonyms in that passage.
So the whole work of salvation then is a work of the Spirit of God. He's the author of Scripture which is the source of truth about sin, righteousness and judgment. He is the author of Scripture which is the call to repentance. He is the author of Scripture which is gospel truth. It is He who then through the proclamation of the Scripture convicts, produces repentance, energizes gospel preaching and witness and regenerates, gives new life.
Now that is not all that the Holy Spirit does, but that's the initial work. And there are a lot of ways to see that in the general flow of New Testament teaching. Let me just give you a couple of illustrations. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and here we get a little broader look at this initial ministry of the Holy Spirit...2 Thessalonians 2:13, "We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." We're not talking about progressive sanctification here, we're talking about the sanctification here that is synonymous with salvation. And sanctification often is synonymous with salvation. The word sanctification means to be set apart, it means to be cleansed, it means to be separated. That's what salvation is, we are separated from sin, we are separated from iniquity, we're separated from condemnation, we're separated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God's dear Son. So initial salvation is a launch of sanctification, it is a separation. And that's what we're talking about here because he says, "For salvation through sanctification." It is this kind of sanctification that saves you and it is by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It happens in that perfect combination of believing the truth when proclaimed and experiencing the glorious power of the Holy Spirit. He sets us apart to God. This is another way of saying everything I've already said, that He convicts and He causes repentance and that He gives the gospel power and He regenerates...just another way to say the same thing.
There are many other things that the Holy Spirit does but everything starts with His mighty work of salvation. So that...going back to our text in Galatians chapter 3, you don't need to turn to it, just listen...Paul says, "Having begun in the Spirit are you now perfected by the flesh?" We know we began in the Spirit, it all started with the work of the Spirit. And we needed to be reminded again the fact that any evangelism that bypasses the agencies which the Spirit uses, that is the biblical revelation about sin, righteousness, judgment, the biblical truth about repentance, the biblical truth about the gospel and we talked a little bit about that this morning and what's involved in a true and appropriate presentation of the gospel, and the biblical truth about regeneration and that it's not something the sinner can do for himself but it's something that only God can do and all the sinner can do is cry out to God and beg God to do that on his behalf, when we preach that kind of message, then we preach the truth which the Spirit of God applies.
Having begun in the Spirit, can we then be perfected by the activity of our flesh? That's the question Paul is asking and while it relates to the specific issue going on there, are you going to go off now into some fleshly form of living, some external ritualistic ceremonial kind of living and assume that's a necessity to hang on to your salvation and to progress with God? If you do, then you're forsaking the Spirit with whom you began and you're now living in the flesh. And this is a kind of bewitching. We need to continue in the Spirit now that we have begun in the Spirit, we need to continue in the Spirit.
What does that mean? Let me give you a few things to start and I probably have about...oh, I could give you 15 or 20 things the Spirit does but we'll see how many I finally kind of boil it down to. But there are a couple of things that we need to start with here, okay?
Number one, He brings us the knowledge of and communion with God. He brings us the knowledge of and communion with God. The Spirit is the one who gives us access into fellowship with God. He is the source of all our communion, all our fellowship. Turn to Romans 8...Romans 8, there's a couple of passages that say this and they'll be good enough to suffice for the moment to make the point. But in Romans chapter 8, this is the chapter on life in the Spirit and I would suggest to you that you couldn't study anything better than this entire eighth chapter to find out what it means to live in the Spirit. And we looked at it a little bit earlier in our doctrinal study when we were talking about the doctrine of sanctification. But it's about the Spirit. Verse 9, for example...well, we can go back to verse...you can go all the way back to the beginning of the chapter, but let's go back to verse 6, "The mind set on the flesh is death, the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace." Verse 9, "You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." Verse 11, "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you." Verse 13, "If you're living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the Spirit you're putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." So we're talking about life in the Spirit here clearly...clearly.
We begin in the Spirit and we live in the Spirit. We go on living in the Spirit, not according to the flesh. But just look down to verse 14, and we'll pick out one of the elements of this that it should be a treasure to us all. "All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." When you experience the direct leading of the Spirit of God in your life, it is an affirmation that you belong to God as a true son. "For you have not received a spirit of slavery, a spirit or an attitude of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."
Now this is a marvelous reality in our lives. We literally say Abba, Father. That's a...basically it's a diminutive for papa, daddy, signifying endearment, intimacy. It's like the writer of Hebrews saying, "Let us draw near," or James, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." This is an immense privilege to call God daddy, papa. And we do that by the Spirit. The Spirit frees us from fear, frees us from dread, frees us from terror that one might have in one's heart in approaching God an all holy, glorious God. And we come into God's presence as children and we come eagerly and we run into His presence and we speak to Him intimately and we unload our issues and our desires and our prayers and our petitions and our praise and we say papa, and daddy, and that's the work of the Spirit.
When one has been born again, the Spirit of God produces that attitude in the heart of a believer. We feel drawn to God, not fearful of Him. We feel privileged to ask Him for anything and the Spirit of God gives us that internal freedom. The Spirit of God has revealed in the Scripture as the divine means by which the Scripture has come to us all these things that are true about our relationship but I don't think it's just talking about information, I think it's talking about a spirit or an attitude. That's verse 14. If you're led by the Spirit, these are the sons of God, you have not received a spirit of slavery. That's gone. You hear people talk about being converted and the burden being lifted. You hear people talk about never wanting to pray, having no knowledge of God, no interest in God. All of a sudden they're converted to Jesus Christ and they're eager to pray and they're eager to read the Word and they love to commune and they want to sing praises. And they sense that God is open. There is a true joy of fellowship because access has been opened. We can even cast all our care on Him because we know He cares for us. We can unload every issue in our lives. We can be honest with Him about our sins. We don't have to hide them from Him. We can be honest with Him about our sins, we should be honest with Him about our sins. We should confess them all before Him without fear knowing that they are all covered by His grace through the sacrifice of Christ.
So the Spirit then opens to us communion with God. And as you grow as a believer, this joyous communion, this joyous prayer and praise takes over more and more of your life and there's a wonderful freeness in that. We sing hymns about God's holiness. We sing hymns about God's glory. We sing them with a smile. We sing them with joy in our hearts. We sing them with gladness. We come before the Lord, as the psalmist said, with singing. We're a truly happy people. We're without fear because of the work of the Holy Spirit.
There's a second ministry of the Holy Spirit that I'll talk to you tonight, and I'll just cover this one briefly, leave the rest for next time. He illuminates the Scripture...He illuminates the Scripture. We just wrapped up our little look at the doctrine of Scripture and the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture. And you can build a little bridge in your mind to this particular function of the Holy Spirit, He illuminates Scripture. As I mentioned earlier, according to the words of Peter in 2 Peter 1, "No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." That tells us the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture. But He's not just the author of Scripture, He is the illuminator of Scripture...the illuminator of Scripture.
First John 2, look at it for a minute...1 John 2. I'll give you a couple of passages to look at. First John chapter 2 and verse 20, "You have an anointing from the Holy One, you have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know," or some versions say you know all. What is this anointing? Well it's none other than the Holy Spirit who is the source of our understanding of Scripture. Down to verse 27, if you will, "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you." Now we know we're talking about the Holy Spirit. We've received Him from the Lord and He abides in us. "And you have no need for anyone to teach you." We don't need any human philosophy, human wisdom, human teachers. It doesn't mean we don't need Spirit-filled teacher, it doesn't mean we don't need believing teachers because the Lord has given to the church evangelists and teachers, pastor/teachers, with teaching of Scripture. But we don't have any need for anyone other than those who are the means by which the Spirit teaches us the Word because as His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. He in us and we in Him. The Spirit lives in us and we live in the Spirit. We live and move and have our being in the realm of the Holy Spirit. We literally possess the life of the Spirit and the Spirit lives in us. This is a marvelous thing. And the ministry of the Spirit therefore, this anointing, this gift from God, this deposit placed upon us, is our teacher, the one who opens to us an understanding of divine truth. The Word anointing here is the word chrisma, it means ointment, something placed on us like an anointing oil. And it is the Spirit of Truth. As I said, in John 14, John 15, John 16, the Spirit of Truth comes to lead us into all truth, to guide us to see the glories of Christ. We'll see more about that later. All this is referring, of course, to the Holy Spirit.
But for the passage that's most critical on this, turn to 1 Corinthians 2 and we'll finish up here...just five minutes or so. First Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 9. Now verse 9 borrows from a couple of passages in Isaiah, "Just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard." All right, this would be truth not available to empirical search. It's not available to empirical search. Secondly, "And which have not entered the heart of man." It's not available through intuition. You can't find it externally and you can't find it internally. "But it's truth about all that God has prepared for those who love Him." Everything that God has for those who are His children is unavailable in terms of understanding to the unregenerate. It's not available to them. You can't find it externally by scholastic effort. You can't find it internally by intuition. Verse 10, "For to us God revealed them," that is these things that He's prepared for them that love Him, "through the Spirit." God revealed them through the Spirit. "For the Spirit searches all things even the depths of God." That is to say that the Spirit knows everything the mind of God knows for the Spirit is God. To us, God revealed them through the Spirit. The Spirit again is the agency by which all that God knows and wants to dispense to us is provided.
And He gives a little analogy. "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him. Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God." If you want to know the thoughts of God, then God's going to have to determine to reveal those thoughts to you and He has done that through His Spirit. "So we have received...verse 12...not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God that we might know the things freely given to us by God." All these wonderful things which you can't find by external academic search, you can't find by internal intuition, all these things that God has prepared for those that love Him are unavailable to anyone apart from those who are taught by the Holy Spirit. "And we, verse 12, have received the Spirit." So we have an internal resident truth teacher who illuminates us. This is part of the doctrine of illumination. Inspiration brings us the message. Illumination is the work of the Spirit which gives us an understanding of what the message means. The Spirit illuminated us to understand our sinfulness. The Spirit illuminated us to understand the gospel. The Spirit illuminated us from the very beginning and continues this work of shining the light of truth brightly in our minds.
So, says Paul, verse 13, "Which things we also speak. So we speak the things which the Spirit has disclosed to us, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. A natural man doesn't accept the things of the Spirit of God, they're foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they're spiritually appraised."
I received a phone call a few months ago from the History channel. And the History channel keeps doing all of these religious documentaries about Jesus and the New Testament and the Old Testament, and the Bible, and you've seen some of them. And they said, "We would like for you to be one of our regular experts on the Bible. Would you be interested?" And my reply was, "Absolutely not...absolutely not, because there's no concord between Christ and Belial. There's no fellowship between light and darkness." You can't have a whole list of people denying what the Bible says and I understand their denial of it because they're explained right here, they are natural men who do not accept the things of the Spirit of God. They're foolishness to him. He can't understand them because they're spiritually appraised. He's spiritually dead. So he comes up with some intellectual answer or some intuitional answer which is not anywhere near the truth and why would I get aboard that ship of fools? I don't need...I don't need to be just another voice in the cacophony, particularly when it would be my tendency to say, "Well you're all wrong and I know exactly what the truth is." I would last about one program, I think. They would have edited me down to nothing. And it's not because I'm brighter than them, I'm not. It's not because I'm more school than them, I'm not. It is because I have the resident truth teacher in me who illuminates the Word when I diligently apply myself to understand it. And the marvelous thing of all is in verse 16, "Who has known the mind of the Lord that He should instruct him?" Who knows the mind of the Lord but the Spirit of the Lord, that's the implication. And we have the mind of Christ.
It's an amazing thing to realize that we expect...I expect unregenerate people to botch Bible interpretation. I expect them to misunderstand the Old Testament and the New Testament. I've sat down with some rabbis, some very fine gentlemen, some very bright, articulate, far brighter than I and more articulate than I am, who don't get any of it in the Old Testament. They don't get it at all. And I understand that. I have read and interacted with New Testament quote/unquote students and scholars who don't get it at all. And I get it not because I'm smarter, but I get it because I'm like you, I have the teacher...I have resident in me the One who wrote the Scripture and who interprets it. And I know that sometimes you think that I come up with things that are just...you just can't find them. I even have...I had somebody ask me a week ago, "Where in the world do you get this stuff? I come every week and you come up with stuff and I never see that in the text." I just want you to know, there's no secret. As I told a young pastor many years ago who said to me, "What's the secret to great preaching?" I said, "Accurate interpretation of the text."
"How do you do that?"
"Keep your rear end in the chair till you've understood what it means." You have the promise of the truth teacher, but it's not going to happen in a vacuum of ignorance. You've got to apply yourself. You know what being a pastor really is? It's just being freed up to work hard enough to bring to you what you don't have the time to find, or perhaps the training. Maybe I'm justifying the necessity of my existence, but...(laughter)...what can I say? You're here and you're listening. That's a good thing. But it's so wonderful to come out of hours and hours of study every week and say, "I know what this means...I know what this means, the illuminating work of the Spirit of God has made it clear. It means this..." And what Paul is saying here is, "No one know the person but the spirit of that person." And that's true in the divine sense by analogy. No one really knows the mind of God but the Spirit of God, and aren't we grateful that the Spirit of God wrote the truth here so that we have the true representation of the mind of God and the mind of Christ?" And then the Spirit's taken up residence in us to illuminate that truth to us.
Well that's two out of ten. We'll cover some more next week.
Father, again what a wonderful day to be together and we want to honor You, Holy Spirit. There's no reason we can't pray to You and praise You and thank You, blessed Spirit, for saving us, for convicting us of sin, righteousness and judgment. We thank You, Holy Spirit for producing in us repentance. We thank You for quickening and making the gospel live and penetrate in all its winsomeness. We thank You for regenerating us, giving us life so we can apprehend the glorious truth of the gospel. We thank You for sanctifying us. We thank You for giving us intimate knowledge of God. And we thank You for ushering us into His presence in which we enjoy fellowship in the sweetness of prayer and praise. We thank You for opening the Word to us, though we're not many noble, or mighty, that we are the weak and the lowly and the nothings and the nobodies. We have the mind of Christ. We thank You that that's been made known to us and understandable to us by the work that You do, O blessed Holy Spirit. And we regret and we are pained by the attitudes today that shut You out. This must be of all times a time of grief for You. We are warned in Scripture not to grieve the Holy Spirit. We're warned not to quench the Holy Spirit. And we're called to give honor to You, O Holy Spirit. May You forgive the horrendous sins against You by those who claim to be the children of God. And may You give the church a new desire to know Your work and to know Your person, to experience Your power, to depend upon You. May we who are in the Spirit live by the Spirit and not by the flesh. May we not be like those Galatians, become bewitched by human means but know always that the work that You do is done through the Word. Make us faithful to that and may You be honored in our lives as we walk according to Your will and in Your power. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Senate ally of President Barack Obama said Thursday that Democrats won't push controversial ideas like additional money to implement signature party initiatives as the chamber advances a huge spending measure that would fund day-to-day federal operations through September.
Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said there's a "delicate balance" between supporting Obama administration priorities and going too far as to "sink the bill."
Mikulski said the Senate would give agencies including the Agriculture, Homeland Security and Justice departments their detailed, line-by-line budgets as part of legislation advancing next week to head off a government shutdown at the end of March. Other agencies would run on autopilot essentially at last year's funding levels. Automatic cuts of 5 percent to domestic agencies and 7.8 percent to the Pentagon would apply whether or not an agency received its detailed budget.
Mikulski spoke shortly after House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, warned Democrats controlling the Senate not to load up the funding measure "with extraneous provisions, partisan riders (and) budget gimmicks." The Maryland Democrat said she was not being "provocative or pugilistic" but that her party has priorities like additional funding for transportation.
Mikulski also said that she would include a provision to give federal agencies greater flexibility to shift money around to cope with automatic, across-the-board spending cuts imposed last week on virtually every federal agency.
The House passed a narrower version of the spending bill on Wednesday, one that focused on giving the Pentagon additional money for military readiness and boosting spending on veterans programs.
Mikulski only characterized the Senate measure in broad terms. It won't be revealed fully until floor debate begins next week. Congress faces a March 27 deadline to avoid a government shutdown.
Both the House and the Senate bills are expected to give budget relief to a few agencies — the FBI and the Border Patrol among them — to help them avoid having to furlough employees once the automatic cuts, known as a sequester, begin to bite. Other programs receiving new funding include security for embassies and modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Mikulski took over the powerful appropriations committee after the death of Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, in December.


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Gibbs Cancer Center has offered cancer treatment to Spartanburg and surrounding counties since 1999.
Gibbs Cancer Center has offered cancer treatment to Spartanburg and surrounding counties since 1999.
Soon, it will begin to conduct "top-notch" cancer research, which it said could impact the entire realm of cancer care.
"Our mission is evolving here to where we are not only delivering care, but we are performing the research that will define tomorrow's care," said Dr. Timothy Yeatman, director of Gibbs Cancer Center. "We want to become a major research institution. We want to build a regional and national reputation."
An 8,000-square-foot research lab is currently under construction on the third floor, in a space that previously was occupied by offices.
The lab, a $2 million project, is expected to open in March.
Yeatman was hired in November 2011. He is determined to take the facility to the next level and turn it into what he has coined a "Next Generation Cancer Center": A place for both top-notch cancer care and cutting-edge cancer research.
"If you don't have cutting-edge research going on, you can't claim to be a cancer center," said Yeatman, who has spent the past 20 years building the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., into one of the nation's leading cancer institutes. "The largest cancer centers in the country have built their reputations on research. Research is a strong component of any cancer center."
Gibbs Cancer Center currently conducts clinical trials, in which researchers test the effects of new drugs on a group of volunteers who have cancer.
But Yeatman says the lab, when completed, will be a place where doctors and support staff of all disciplines work together to find ways to cure and prevent cancer.
Large amounts of funding for this project are provided by the Spartanburg Regional Foundation, which raised $7 million in 2009 when Spartanburg Regional Health Care System established an endowed chair program.
The endowed chair program was a $15 million effort between the hospital, the foundation and Marsha and Jimmy Gibbs to bring national talent to Gibbs Cancer Center that would bring notoriety to the hospital and the cancer center, Jimmy Gibbs said at the time.
"The endowed chair is a very prestigious way to bring in those top-tiered researchers and doctors," said Sheila Breitweiser, executive director and vice president of the Spartanburg Regional Foundation. "We knew we would have to do something like that to bring top-tiered researchers to Spartanburg."
She said the foundation is very proud to be a part of this process.
Yeatman feels the lab could catapult the cancer center into the national spotlight as a leader.
"We want to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer," he said. "We want to be part of that story, and we want to be leaders in that area; we don't want to be followers. To be leaders, you have to participate."


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By Jerry Beach, The Sports Xchange
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The latest incarnation of the New York Jets running back by committee racked up 212 yards Sunday afternoon, and the Jets limited the Oakland Raiders to 25 rushing yards in a 19-14 win at MetLife Stadium.
The Jets, trying to return to the playoffs after missing the postseason each of the past three years, improved to 26-29 in season openers, including 5-1 under Rex Ryan.
The Raiders fell to 24-31 all-time in season openers, including 1-11 in the past 12 years. Oakland has endured 11 straight nonwinning seasons, the longest active streak in the NFL.
Running back Chris Ivory put the game away by rumbling for a...


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Marquette, Mich.—Eight United States Olympic Education Center Greco-Roman Wrestlers gained their first international experience at the Lilla Mälar Cup in Stockholm, this weekend, with two athletes earning silver medals.
In the 55-kilogram weight class, Ramon Moreno of Miami Lakes, Fla., earned his silver medal by defeating Rahman Khashei of Sweden 4-2, 1-4, 2-0.
Finishing second at 60 kg was Mike Mioni of Phoenix. Mioni received his silver by defeating Simon Andersson of Sweden 1-0, 1-0.
Brandon Rivera of East Plainfield, Ill., who competed at 96 kg., took fourth place. Rivera faced Anders Malmstrøm of Norway, winning 4-1, 3-0 to advance to the bronze medal match. In the match for bronze Rivera lost a close contest to Anton Euren of Sweden 0-1, 2-0, 0-1.
The USOEC team finished third overall in the competition with seven athletes finishing in the top ten. Sweden won the title, followed by Finland.


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Manchester aldermen rebuke mayor, vote to contact SNHU deanBy TED SIEFER
New Hampshire Union Leader
December 05. 2012 2:00AM
MANCHESTER - The aldermen have voted to send a letter to the education dean at Southern New Hampshire University urging him to reconsider his decision to no longer assist in a strategic planning process for the school system.
Tuesday's vote came after Mayor Ted Gatsas at last week's school board meeting called on SNHU Dean Mark McQuillan to appear before the board to explain comments he made at a community meeting that there was "good evidence" that the school district was underfunded.
In response McQuillan, who volunteered to facilitate the strategic planning process, stepped down from his role.
Alderman Joyce Craig made the motion to send the letter to McQuillan.
"This was an open meeting, an open dialogue. This strategic plan is something this board determined should move forward," she said. "To turn Mr. McQuillan away the way we did, I think this is wrong. I think we should let him know our board appreciates his work."
Gatsas said he welcomed the involvement of the dean, but he questioned whether he was playing an impartial role, based on his comments about under-funding, as reported in an article in the New Hampshire Union Leader.
"If you're going to facilitate a discussion, you're not on one side or the other of the issue. You're in the middle trying to find solutions. That's what a facilitator does - a good one," Gatsas said.
Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur was among those who voted unanimously, in a voice vote, to send the letter.
"An opposing view is not always a biased view," he said.
Several parents during the public comment period before the meeting also decried Gatsas' comments about the dean. "We talk so much about bullies in schools, but I have to say we are at the mercy of the bully at the head of the school board," said Leslie Want, a parent who has often spoken out about school issues.
Alderman Craig also called on Gatsas to explain how he intends to keep the towns of Candia and Hooksett from pulling their high school students from the district. She was critical of the mayor for not allowing public comments at a recent meeting between the Manchester and Candia school boards.
"If these towns walk away, that's a loss of $7.2 million," she said. "I'm not willing to just let them go. To shut the door and not let them speak at a meeting - these towns have other towns courting them."
Gatsas replied that discussions with the towns about their contract with the Manchester district were ongoing, and that the issue was beyond the scope of the aldermen.
"My plan is to sit down with the school board, not this board," Gatsas said.
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Ted Siefer may be reached at email@example.com.


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Results 1 to 6 of 6
#1 Google Offers People Tracking Software.02-04-2009, 11:36 AMGoogle offers 'Latitude'
New, Free Software Enables You To Keep Tabs On Others' Whereabouts, And Vice Versa, Using Cell Phones, Says Natali Del Conte
Comments 24
Feb. 4, 2009
Tech Tracking Your Children
A new google cell phone application called Latitude allows users to track each other through the use of GPS technology. Natali Del Conte reports.
(CBS) Google is releasing free software Wednesday that enables people to keep track of each other using their cell phones.
CNET got a sneak peek at it, and CNET-TV Senior Editor and Early Show contributor Natali Del Conte explained how it works on the show Tuesday.
She says "Latitude" uses GPS systems and what's called cell tower triangulation to do the job. The software seeks the closest three cell towers and, with GPS, combines the data to show where someone is.
It is designed to work on any phone with Internet capabilities, except the iPhone.
"Latitude" is being marketed as a tool that could help parents keep tabs on their children's locations, but it can be used for anyone to find anyone else, assuming permission is given.
"What Google Latitude does is allow you to share that location with friends and family members, and likewise be able to see friends and family members' locations," Steve Lee, product manager for Google Latitude, told CNET. "For example, a girlfriend could use it to see if her boyfriend has arrived at a restaurant and, if not, how far away he is."
CNET points out that, "To protect privacy, Google specifically requires people to sign up for the service. People can share their precise location, the city they're in, or nothing at all."
"What we found in testing," Lee added to CNET, "is that the most common scenario is a symmetrical arrangement, where both people are sharing with each other."
Nah, they'll never track us up in these hills! We'll just brace up some of the old mines, and carry on forever, the wild cave people of West Virgina!
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Gebre, while I cannot offer you anything regarding the OO view of the Essence/Energies distinction, I thought I would just point out real quick that St Gregory did not articulate the distinction at the 7th Ecumenical Council, having been born about 500 years too late and the 7th Council dealing with Icons- unless there is something in the OO tradition regarding St Gregory Palamas speaking of either innate time travel capabilities or a blue call box
From the Coptic Psalmody on terms of theosis and partaking of the divine nature:Quote from: Monday PsaliGod is EmmanuelThe True FoodThe Immortal Tree Of LifeHere we start with the idea that the Tree of Life is God, who is our sustenance. Only God is immortal, and by partaking of immortality, it is an uncreated energy of God.Quote from: Tuesday PsaliCome to us todayO Christ our MasterShine upon usWith Your exalted divinitySend to usThis great graceof Your Holy Spiritthe ComforterHere, we ask God to give us the light of His divinity, and we call this "This great grace of Your Holy Spirit." Therefore, grace is the uncreated energy of God, and His light is an uncreated energy, which comes from from His divinity.Quote from: Tuesday TheotokiaYou are the bushwhich Moses sawFlaming with fireAnd was not consumed.That is the Son of GodWho dwelt in your wombThe fire of the DivinityDid not consume your body.This idea about the "fire of His divinity" was repeated in most other Theotokias of the week. Here, we see the Divinity burns, as is popular among some contemporary EO's in their eschatology. Nevertheless, we understand that this burning is not a burning of destruction, but of glorification. This fire does not consume, but deifies. Therefore, we hail the Theotokos:Quote from: The Second Hails of the Vatos Lobsh of the Saturday TheotokiaHail to the incorrupt vesselOf the divinityWhich heals everyoneWho drinks from itNotice the fire of the Divinity IS the Divinity. Her womb held the fire of divinity, and now she is called the "vessel of the divinity." The fire being divinity is uncreated. This distinction is implied and necessary. It agrees with Palamism. While the hymns are quite strong in their language, nevertheless, the Church teaches we are not partaking of the essence of the divinity. It is implied in this, whatever we partake of from the divine nature is necessarily distinct into whatever one wants to call it, grace, energy, glory, love, power, all from God, and all uncreated.
God is EmmanuelThe True FoodThe Immortal Tree Of Life
Come to us todayO Christ our MasterShine upon usWith Your exalted divinitySend to usThis great graceof Your Holy Spiritthe Comforter
You are the bushwhich Moses sawFlaming with fireAnd was not consumed.That is the Son of GodWho dwelt in your wombThe fire of the DivinityDid not consume your body.
Hail to the incorrupt vesselOf the divinityWhich heals everyoneWho drinks from it
While we as OOs as far as I have seen do not have the Palamite tradition, I can safely say based on what I read so far, his theology is more agreeable with what I've read.First off, I think it's important to note that there is for sure an essence/energy distinction that goes back to the Capadocians. It's not the essence/energy distinction that Barlaam and some scholastics had a problem with. It's saying that the diverse energies of God are an ontological reality and uncreated.From what I can understand, in OO theology, and even Cyrillian theology, the life that we receive from Christ's "life-giving" flesh is uncreated, because it comes from the divinity. In Coptic hymnology, we liken the womb of the Theotokos to the chalice that holds the blood, her womb held the divinity for those who drink from it. To be united or "mingled" with the divine nature is an important aspect of our salvation and sanctification. Holiness is not a creation, because holiness comes from the divine nature. So the priest also chants in the Coptic Liturgy, "the Holies are for the holies", and we reply "One is the All-Holy Father, One is the All-Holy Son, One is the All-Holy Spirit, Amen!" We are made Holy by uniting with the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit, and enter into Trinitarian life, filled with eternal uncreated love, eternal uncreated holiness, eternal uncreated life. Holiness, love, life, and many other diverse properties of God are all what St. Gregory Palamas calls energies, and what we also believe in.Recently, a few theologians, based on influence of scholastic theology from 19th Century Arabic resources, felt scandalized by theology that talks about "partaking of divinity" or "uniting with divine nature" or "becoming God," all of which are perfectly acceptable in the Patristic realm, but because of ignorance and misinterpretation, saw the need to condemn as heresy, since they only assumed this was alluding to the divine essence. When one says we become god, that doesn't mean we will be gods in the same way the persons of the Trinity eternally are.While there might be a theosis/theopoeisis distinction in some pre-Chalcedonian fathers, there is practically no difference. Both mean the same thing.
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Fire damages Milwaukee school's student union
Fire damages Milwaukee school's student union
A fire caused more than $300,000 in damage to a building at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design overnight.
A Milwaukee Fire Department representative said the fire was reported around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at MIAD's student union building located on East Erie Street.
No one was injured in the fire.
Officials believe electrical components may have caused the fire.
"Given the importance of the building as our students' gathering place and its historic significance, we are devastated by the fire and making plans to move forward as soon as possible," MIAD President Neil Hoffman said.
Classes resume at the school Jan. 14.


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Especially suitable for ultra-flat TVs, the Hama Motion TV bracket supports all VESA standards up to 200x200 and comes with an integrated spirit level for easy installation.


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Bloodstain on clothes leads to conviction 25 years after fatal shooting
A jury found a Tennessee woman guilty of murder Friday, more than 25 years after her husband was shot to death in their Tomball home.
Norma Jean Clark, 64, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the April 1987 slaying of Edmund Hugh Clark at their home in the 22900 block of Laurelwood Lane.
Clark told Harris County sheriff's deputies she was sleeping in another room but was awakened by the sound of gunfire.
She then ran to a neighbor's home and told them what had happened.
Husband shot twice
Deputies found Edmund Clark face down on the bed with a blanket pulled up to his shoulders. He had two gunshot wounds, one to the back and a second in the back of his head. The murder weapon, a .38-caliber pistol, was found on a dresser next to the bed. It belonged to the victim, Harris County sheriff's detectives said.
There were no signs of forced entry and the house did not appear to be in disarray, according to the criminal complaint.
The case remained unsolved until 2010 when Harris County Sheriff's Office cold case detectives took a fresh look at it.
A neighbor told the detectives that Edmund Clark was planning to file for divorce before his death. She said Norma Clark told her, "I'll be damned if I will be left with nothing like in the last divorce," according to the criminal complaint filed against her.
A week later, Edmund Clark was dead.
Sheriff's officials said improvements in crime scene technology over the years proved crucial in Norma Clark's arrest and later conviction.
Clothes tell the tale
After the case was reopened, crime scene investigators found blood evidence on the clothes Norma Clark had been wearing the night of her husband's death.
The blood spatters were consistent with being near a gunshot. That would not have been the case if Norma Clark had been in another room at the time, as she had claimed, officials said.
Clark moved to Tennessee after her husband's death. She was arrested there by local authorities and later extradited to Texas.


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The House on Tuesday passed a $50.5 billion package of recovery and related aid for Superstorm Sandy and other disasters. It was divided into two parts: a $17 billion base bill for immediate recovery needs from the late October storm, and a $33.5 billion amendment for longer-term recovery efforts and projects to curb damages from future disasters.
A look at its main provisions:
—$5.4 billion for New York and New Jersey transit systems.
—$5.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief aid fund.
—$1.35 billion for Army Corps of Engineers projects.
— $3.9 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's community development fund for Sandy recovery projects.
—$235 million for repairs and renovations at Veterans Affairs Department facilities.
—$143 million to the Coast Guard for damages by Sandy.
—$10.9 billion for New York and New Jersey transit system recovery projects.
—$12.1 billion for Housing and Urban Development Department community block grants for Sandy and other federally declared disasters in 2011-2013.
—$3.4 billion for Army Corps of Engineer projects for Sandy-related damage and protections against future storms.
— $2 billion for the Federal Highway Administration's emergency relief program to repair storm-damaged federal highways.
—$290 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, much of it for programs and equipment to improve weather forecasting.


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The United States faces a "material risk" of losing its triple-A status if there is a repeat of the wrangling seen in 2011 over raising the country's self-imposed debt ceiling, credit ratings firm Fitch said on Tuesday.
Fitch also said Spain will continue to face downgrade risks even if it avoids having to ask for a bailout, while Ireland could claw its way back into the single-A rating band if a deal is struck to share the burden of its banking debts.
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Despite December's deal by U.S. politicians to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes, Fitch's head of sovereign ratings, David Riley, said pressure on the country's rating was increasing.
"If we have a repeat of the August 2011 debt ceiling crisis we will place the U.S. rating under review. There will be a material risk of the U.S. rating coming down," Riley said at a conference hosted by the firm.
Fitch currently assigns the United States its highest rating of AAA, but with a negative outlook.
Standard & Poor's has already downgraded the world's biggest economy, lowering the United States to AA+ in August 2011 - a move which appears to have done little to dull the attraction of U.S. bonds for investors. Moody's Investors Service shifted the outlook on its Aaa rating to negative in the same month and has kept it there ever since.
Riley said the United States did not need the same kind of super-strength austerity some major developed economies are currently implementing because it was grinding out more economic growth than other high-debt nations.
But he warned a repeat of the 2011 squabble would undermine confidence in Washington.
"It is a concern that these self-inflicted crises are seeing us stagger every six months to a new deadline," Riley said.
"That uncertainty over economic and fiscal policy is something that is not typically characteristic of triple-A, and more substantively we think it is weighing on the prospects for growth and the recovery."
On BBB-rated Spain, Riley said the downgrade risks were its ability to deliver on deficit reduction, the cost of bank recapitalization and, most significantly, economic performance.
"It's the economy. If this time next year the expectation is for another 1.5 or 2 percent contraction in the economy and unemployment getting towards 30 percent, it's very bad times," Riley said.
"Those are the drivers, even if in that scenario they are still able to fund themselves in the market because of the specter of OMT."
The European Central Bank has committed to make unlimited purchases of government bonds, known as Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT), to support any euro zone sovereign that enters into an international bailout program.
The promise of a backstop has helped slash the cost of borrowing for indebted euro zone sovereigns such as Spain since it was announced by the ECB in September.
A poll of 162 investors present at the conference showed that 57 percent expected Spain to request a bailout in 2013.
There was a more positive scenario for Ireland, which was bailed out by the European Union and International Monetary Fund in 2010 when the cost to the state of rescuing the country's banking sector spiraled.
If these debts could be shared out among euro zone states through the region's bailout mechanisms there could be scope for Ireland's BBB-plus rating to rise into the single-A category, according to Fitch analyst Douglas Renwick.
"If there is an element of risk sharing, say perhaps through the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) over a bit of time, it could rise back to the single-A (range)," Renwick said.


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CLAREMONT – Claremont McKenna College will spend about $25 million on a two-phase renovation of the mid-quad residence halls.
CMC officials, in a Wednesday news release, said this summer in the first phase Phillips, Beckett and Berger Halls would be renovated. The next phase, the following summer, will feature the renovation of Benson and Marks Halls.
Air conditioning and a complete interior overhaul of the interiors will be included with a bathroom redesign, new flooring, lighting, doors, window coverings and wall covering, according to the release. In addition, building exteriors will get new windows, signage, lighting and paint.
Stephanie Kingsnorth, architect at Pfeiffer Partners that is responsible for the design, said in a statement all of the buildings are being updated to meet Americans with Disability Act requirements.
"The goal for all of the Mid-Quad buildings is attaining LEED Silver designation," Kingsnorth said. "In order to achieve this, there are multiple sustainable features that are being installed, including all new mechanical systems, plumbing fixtures, interior finishes that are low VOC, and LED light fixtures. In addition, new insulation is being installed that will help the overall building envelope to maintain cooler temperatures." CMC student Karina Hwang, set to graduate in 2015, was one of the CMC students who served on the committee and also issued a statement.
"I'm really excited for the renovations in Mid-Quad. I've lived in Beckett during my two years at CMC, and I love the dorm. Mid-Quad has a unique culture that is not recognized as much as the South- or North-Quad's, and I think this renovation will really bring attention to its unique culture.
The final step, according to the release, will be the redesign of the Mid-Quad landscape and hardscape, with the architectural and planning firm Moore Ruble Yudell hired for the project after completing the North Mall and Flamson Plaza renovation this past summer and creating the CMC Master Plan in 2011.


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June is for garden tours
This month, gardeners have the opportunity to explore the backyard sanctuaries of several Springfield private properties. In addition gardeners can enjoy watching the creative transformation of nature into art at Lincoln Memorial Garden.
Symphony Garden Tour
The Illinois Symphony Guild will host its 21st annual garden tour on Saturday, June 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The five gardens on the Symphony garden walk present a variety of styles and sizes. They range from a large garden featuring several distinct areas and mature plantings to smaller city gardens and some newly developed plantings.
The Dodwell garden, 2109 Illini Road, is beautifully laid out and features roses and large, mature trees and shrubbery. Patios for entertaining are incorporated into the design.
The Murphy garden, 1630 Wiggins Ave., is a rejuvenation of an old garden. A fountain and several whimsical touches will give many ideas to beginning gardeners as well as people wanting to update an older planting.
The McDermott garden, 1517 Bates Ave., has an old-fashioned air, with many transplantings from Mrs. McDermott's childhood home. A rose trellis, herb garden and balcony with cascading flowers all add to its charm.
The Metzger garden, 3305 Panther Creek Drive, is in Panther Creek, a relatively new residential area. This garden, however, is backed by mature shrubs and charmingly planted with annuals and perennials which define the garden as a delightful place to visit.
The Gerlach garden, 4309 Turtle Bay, is also in Panther Creek and contains a water feature and a number of interesting and unique ornaments. The garden is reached through a charming arbor.
Tickets are $15 per person, with children free. Tickets are available at the Illinois Symphony office, Wild Birds Unlimited, Beatty Televisual, Greenview Nursery, Homescapes, The Wardrobe, The Corkscrew and J.F. Hair Studio. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the garden tour at each of the five garden sites. If you have questions or would like to order tickets call Owsley Thunman, 217-546-7956, or Anita Walbaum, 217-787-0067.
Macon County Garden Walk
Stroll Decatur-area gardens in the Macon County Master Gardeners' annual Garden Walk Sunday, June 13. For this year's walk, seven private area gardens will be showcased, featuring a cottage-style garden, a park-like setting at an 1890s-era homestead, ponds and bridges, a garden created from scratch over the past 10 years and a two-acre space created over the past 30 years with many heirloom plants. Garden Walk hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 the day of the walk. The garden walk is sponsored by University of Illinois Extension Macon County Master Gardener volunteers.
Advance tickets are available at these Decatur locations: Cedar Lake Garden and Gifts, 3231 East Mound Rd.; Farmer's Market, Garden and Gifts, 1805 North Main St.; Haines and Essicks, 130 E. William St.; Mari-Mann Herb Co., St. Louis Bridge Road; The Garden Path, 3838 E. Lost Bridge Rd.; Tournesol, 134 Merchant St.; and Williams Greenhouse, 2890 South Mt. Zion Rd. Also available at Connie's County Greenhouse, 325 2400th Ave., Latham.
On the day of the walk, tickets are available in Decatur at The Garden Path, 3838 E. Lost Bridge Rd. and Farmer's Market, 1805 N. Main St. For more information, call the University of Illinois Extension Macon County office, at 217-877-6042, or visit the website at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/macon.
Art in the Garden
Lincoln Memorial Garden is hosting its second Art in the Garden on Saturday, June 26, featuring 47 works of art submitted by area artists and a day of activities with artists at work and family art activities.
The juried exhibition of artwork submitted to the garden will be at the Springfield Art Association June 4-20. Awards are to be presented to the Best of Show, five Honorable Mentions, and a Green Award for the best reused art.
Art in the Garden will offer a full day of activities June 26 for the entire family, including the chance to watch artists at work or to create art from materials found in the garden. All of these activities are free and open to the public. Sandwiches, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase throughout the day.
The en plein air artists will check in beginning at 8 a.m. and the public is invited to stroll along the garden's trails to watch them at work. Artwork they create will be donated and sold in a public auction to benefit the garden at 6 p.m. in the Nature Center.
A reception to honor participating artists will be held in the Garden Nature Center from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This event also is open and free to the public. The silent auction of juried artworks will end at 5:30 p.m.
Funds raised from this event will help maintain the not-for-profit garden's 110 acres of woodland, wetland and prairie, and help to support educational programs that introduce young people to the wonder and beauty of nature. For additional information call 217-529-1111.
Jennifer Fishburn is horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension, Sangamon-Menard Unit. Contact her at email@example.com.


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Silent auction to feature selection of distinctive items
Tickets are now on sale for the 2013 Premier, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center's annual black tie dinner and entertainment gala.
A highlight of the event will be a silent auction of distinctive and luxury items donated by medical center supporters.
The Premier will be held Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, 310 Fourth St., Niagara Falls, with three-time Grammy-winning artist Jon Secada appearing as the headline entertainment.
This year's auction is co-chaired by Dr. Richard and Anne Sawicki. Dr. Sawicki is a member of Memorial's medical staff.
"Our silent auction is in its second year and will feature many distinctive and dazzling items, including his and hers Movado watches, pearls, vacation packages - including trips for two to the Kentucky Derby and U.S. Open golf tournament - artwork and Waterford crystal," Dr. Sawicki said.
"In addition to luxury items and unique trips, we also have practical items such as a $1,500 scholarship to Niagara Catholic Junior/Senior High School," Mrs. Sawicki said.
The event will honor nurses from Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and the Schoellkopf Health Center and Dr. Michael Cropp, president and CEO of Independent Health, for their dedication to improving the health of the community. Proceeds will benefit Memorial's cardiac and stroke care services.
"We have already received more than 500 dinner reservations. The Premier is sure be a sellout, so you should purchase your tickets soon," Memorial Vice President Ann Marie Tucker said.
Individual tickets are $225. For information and sponsorship opportunities, call 716-278-4570 or visit http://www.nfmmc.org/ThePremier.


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MANLIUS — On Oct. 30, the Bureau Valley High School Renaissance Program held a breakfast to honor the Students of the Month and the Staff Member of the Month.
Each month teachers get to nominate students and one student is selected from each department. The nomination form for each student is sent home with a letter inviting the student's parents or guardians to the breakfast. One staff member is also selected for Staff of the Month, chosen from nominations written by students. The staff member and nominating student are also invited to the breakfast. At the breakfast each student/staff was honored by having their nomination read, being presented with a certificate, and were rewarded with gift certificates provided by Culver's and McDonald's, both of Princeton.


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Personalized Wood Print Pet ID:
*Includes hook for attaching to your pet's collar.
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*Bone shapes
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*Made of thin aluminum
*1 side or 2 sides printed
Please, let me know in the "note to seller" (at checkout) your dog's/cat's name and contact details should be on the tag.
All products are shipped out from Los Angeles, USA via USPS First Class Mail. For all domestic orders, please allow 2~3 days of shipping time.
We ship our products internationally via USPS First Class International. The international delivery time may vary by the country. If you'd like to get more information regarding shipping time of the specific country, please send us a Convo.
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Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Mar 7, 2018


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Paul Ryan: An opportunity to cut poverty
Let's re-conceive the federal government's role in providing a safety net for the poor.
This week, our economy received some bad news: The International Monetary Fund revised its projection for U.S. economic growth this year to just 1.7%. Working families will pay the price. Real median household income is still lower than before the recession. Deep poverty in America has reached record levels over the past three years.
We need to expand opportunity in this country. And to do that, we need Washington to get its act together. Each year, the federal government spends almost $800 billion on 92 programs to help struggling families. Yet the poverty rate is the highest in a generation.
The problem with all these federal programs is that they're fragmented and formulaic. They don't see how people's needs interact. And what's worse, they measure success by how much they spend, not how much good they do. Instead, we need to measure success by results — that is, by how many people we're helping get out of poverty.
Read full article at USA Today.


text: JERUSALEM (AP) — In a story Dec. 31, The Associated Press reported that Israel dropped a 5 1/2-year-old ban that prevented construction materials from entering the Gaza Strip. The story should have made clear that the ban applied to Gaza's private sector. Under the closure, imposed following the Hamas militant group's takeover of Gaza in June 2007, Israel allowed small amounts of construction goods into Gaza for humanitarian projects. In 2010 it began allowing such materials for projects under the auspices of the United Nations. Monday's announcement by Israel, part of a cease-fire deal reached with Hamas in November, further eases the ban by allowing private businesses to ship in building materials.