Amplify’d from theintelhub.com

RFID in Casino Chips? Police State!

Editors Note: This is just another way to illegally track American citizens. We are slowly being introduced to different tracking devices all in the name of security.

Slate

What’s the point of stealing casino chips?

Another hitch is that many casinos embed radio frequency, or RFID, tags into their high-value chips—$1,000 and above, possibly, though the casinos are tight-lipped on this point. These devices serve two purposes. One is to prevent counterfeiting: If a cashier scans a chip that’s supposed to have an RFID but doesn’t, it’s probably a fake. (Most counterfeiting involves lower-denomination chips: The most common way to counterfeit a chip is to repaint a $1 piece to look like, say, a $100 piece.) RFIDs also serve as individualized bar codes to keep track of every chip. With the right technology, the Bellagio can figure out exactly which chips were stolen. And if anyone tried to cash them, he’d get nabbed.

Read Entire Article

Students Forced To Wear Radio Frequency IDs At Multiple Schools Big Indian Brother? India Creates National Biometric ID System Small chip to prevent a pandemic? All Humans To Be Microchipped By 2017 RFID No Panacea for Prisons Putting the Fun into RFID Courtesy of Facebook and Coca-Cola Germany to roll out ID cards with embedded RFID Is Military Spending Saving or Enslaving? Read more at theintelhub.com

 

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Just 17% Say They Are Happy With The Way Things Are Going in the United States

Amplify’d from www.hapblog.com

Just 17% Say They Are Happy With The Way Things Are Going in the United States

And here's the one steering our country... gallup.com PRINCETON, NJ -- Seventeen percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time, the low point in a year when satisfaction levels generally have been in the 20% range % Satisfied The United States' continuing economic struggles are likely the reason behind the low satisfaction levels. Gallup's "most important problem" question confirms this, as 30% of Americans say the economy in general is the top problem and 24% say unemployment or jobs specifically, easily the top two issues mentioned. Thirteen percent mention dissatisfaction with the government, 10% the federal budget deficit, and 8% healthcare Top ten concerns to voters Read more at www.hapblog.com

 

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Belarus erupts

Amplify’d from www.onenewsnow.com

Belarus erupts

Russ Jones - OneNewsNow

MINSK, BELARUS - A peaceful demonstration turned violent as some 20,000 protesters took to the streets of Minsk, Belarus, after elections there on Sunday.

With shouts of "free Belarus" filling the streets, the landlocked nation in Eastern Europe became volatile when protesters stormed the Belarusian parliament in central Minsk after preliminary election results were announced. Protesters claim the elections were fraudulent.   Reports indicate President Alexander Lukashenko has won a fourth term in office by gaining nearly 80 percent of vote. Some have concerns with voting irregularities.   Silver Meikar, a member of the Estonian Reform Party since 1997 and a member of the parliament of Estonia, has great concern for the people of Belarus. "I think the biggest loser of this [very bloody] event...were the people [who were] very peacefully demonstrating for a better life, for more democracy, for human rights and so on," he laments.   According to Meiker, those who participated in the unsanctioned protests could suffer severe punishments.   The U.S. Embassy in Belarus has condemned the excessive use of force by the authorities, including the beating and detention of several presidential candidates. The foremost opposition leader Vladimir Neklyayev was one such candidate beaten and taken to a nearby hospital. Activists claim four plain-clothed men wrapped Neklyayev in a blanket and took him from the hospital to an unknown location.   Editor's note: Dozens of international journalists, including OneNewsNow's Russ Jones, were trapped in the lobby of Hotel Minsk where police barricaded the front doors, not allowing them outside. Jones reports he came "inches" from being clubbed while shooting video during the protests. Read more at www.onenewsnow.com

 

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Warnings issued over rushing through DADT repeal

Amplify’d from www.onenewsnow.com

Warnings issued over rushing through DADT repeal

Fred Jackson - OneNewsNow

Now that the Senate has voted to repeal the 17-year-old ban against homosexuals serving openly in the U.S. military, a number of groups have issued warnings over the consequences of Saturday's decision.

Eight Republican senators joined with Democrats on Saturday to put an end to forcing homosexuals in the military to keep their sexual preference to themselves -- a policy which became known as "don't ask don't tell." (Final roll call vote: 65-31)

A former Army chaplain who now recruits military chaplains says by repealing the ban, Congress has redefined morality, with uncertain consequences. Retired Brig. Gen. Doug Lee tells The Associated Press that chaplains from the churches he represents could be forced to choose between their career and their calling to teach and counsel what the Bible says about homosexuality. Lee notes that the Bible says, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil."

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the repeal into law this week, although changes to military policy probably won't take effect for several months. Under the bill, the president and his top military advisers must first certify that lifting the ban won't hurt military cohesion, recruitment or retention. Repeal would mean that, for the first time in U.S. history, homosexual men and women would be openly accepted by the armed forces and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out.

Passed with needless haste

Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness says history will note that the outgoing 111th Congress acted with needless haste allowing no time for substantive hearings to examine findings and controversial recommendations in the Pentagon's Comprehensive Review Working Group Report.

She says liberals in Congress knew that the report could not withstand informed scrutiny, so "Senator Susan Collins [R-Maine] persuaded others to join her in breaking their word on legislative priorities -- a betrayal that belied previous statements calling for full and open debate."

In a statement released on Sunday, Donnelly outlined several issues in the Pentagon's Working Group report which now must be dealt with:

• A mandate to “prohibit the creation of separate bathroom and shower facilities based on sexual orientation” (p. 18). Such a policy, tantamount to forced cohabitation of men with military women, would disregard normal dynamics of human sexuality.  Local commanders dealing with unprecedented problems would be, essentially, on their own.

• Mandatory “three-tiered” education program, focusing on resistant combat troops, to change attitudes and opinions on LGBT issues (pp. 25-26). The plan does not suggest ways to get personnel accustomed to routine personal exposure to others who may be sexually attracted to them, in conditions of “forced intimacy” offering little or no privacy.

• Punishments for “resistance” -- i.e., zero tolerance of anyone who disagrees for any reason, including “moral or religious beliefs” (pp. 50-51). Senate testimony confirmed that an undetermined number of chaplains having moral conflicts with LGBT policies would be lost to the service. The report concedes that on the issue of religious freedom for chaplains, “boundaries are not always clearly defined” (p. 16 and p. 80). Litigation is guaranteed, but Congress has surrendered decision-making power to unelected bureaucrats or federal courts.

• Repeal of certain personal conduct provisions in the UCMJ, eliminating or lowering some standards to accommodate consensual homosexual conduct (p. 18). Congress has just voted to repeal statutory findings that rules of conduct apply both on- and off-base.

• Unresolved issues involving marital status, including disparities in benefits and access to family medical care in states that do not recognize same-sex "marriages," plus access to military family housing for opposite- and same-sex unmarried couples (pp. 19-21). Again, the courts will likely decide, at the behest of administration who will cite LGBT Law in the military to accomplish repeal of the DOMA.

• Unresolved questions about morale and costs related to the retention of HIV+ personnel, who must be retained in non-deployable status under current regulations (p. 22).

Meanwhile, the conservative legal group, Alliance Defense Fund, issued a statement after the vote saying" "The Senate's cave-in to pressure from activists to impose homosexual behavior on our military will place our troops' religious liberties in unprecedented jeopardy. Indeed, the first official casualty of this hurried vote may well be the religious freedom of chaplains and Service members."  ADF itigation counsel Daniel Blomberg went on to say "no Americans, and especially not our troops, should be forced to abandon their religious beliefs."

ADF says it stands ready to defend Service members if they are ever unconstitutionally required to choose between "serving their country or obeying their God as a result of this damaging policy decision."

What's the key reason the ban on 'gays' in the military has been repealed?

Vote in our poll Read more at www.onenewsnow.com

 

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The Age of Unforgiveness

Amplify’d from www.disturbedchristians.com

The Age of Unforgiveness

God forgets. That's one of the great things that separates man from God. Where a man holds a grudge, though they might say all is forgiven, God closes the books and then burns it for added protection. Ultimately, man forgets—if not forgives; with time any fire simmers. Maybe friendships will be lost, but time heals all things and people eventually move on...well that's how it used to be. Is forgiveness truly possible in the age of Facebook? For the first time ever, everything is recorded. That picture you took in college before you were a Christian drinking beer at a party, wall updates about things you might have did that were questionable, even political statements. It's all there. Forever. Hitting the delete button no longer means delete; it means erased from your memory, perhaps. But it does not mean removed from the friend of a friend who hit "like" to your update, or the person you only sort of knew who decided to post your picture on their personal blog. Once there was a time when we could start over—even if it meant moving away to a place where friends didn't know you. That's no longer. It all comes back to haunt us. Salvation used to be this powerfully moving experience—a wave of joy overfilled you as you thought about everything from before removed—washed away and your sins are forgive. And it still is. Until you go home, log onto the Internet and see your sins are still there. When you become born again, there's that feeling of joy and excitement, and when you come down from the high the healing begins; in those delicate moments after salvation, God begins to work in you and shape who you are and who you will be. There is no baptism on Facebook. There is no way to wash away sins. The challenges for the modern Christian are more difficult than any age before us, because unlike Christians yesterday: our sins are forgiven, our sins are remembered. Our healing period is plagued with reminders that can make healing more difficult, and our old self is forever out there to remind us, and perhaps entice us, of the old ways. Is it fair for a church to check the Internet history of someone they are considering hiring? By the laws of man, yes. It shouldn't matter what someone did yesterday, but for some, the fact that it's out there means that it does. The Bible teaches forgiveness, but that doctrine becomes much harder to follow when it's so easy to see just what a person needs to be forgiven of. That healing that comes after salvation--the one that's between you and God--it's just not the same. When people know what your sins were, they want to be the judge of how you should heal; somehow the experience of salvation becomes a lot less personal when Internet looms over us. There are now two people who duel for your life. God—the one who fights for you. And the Internet—the one who remembers you—the one who reminds you—the one who can so easily control your life. I'd like to say there's a work around in all of this, but there's not. As Christians, it is our responsibility to help a person through that healing period, but that can be hard when sins never truly go away from man. As the Internet expands, it's only going to get smarter and remember more. For Christians, that means it's only going to get harder for forgiveness. We will accept what we did, and we will hand it over to God who will forgive us; and then we will face the Facebook--accepting that what we handed over to God was only the start of the healing; the real healing begins when we consider that what we have handed over can only be forgiven, not forgotten. Part of forgiveness of sins has always been acceptance of them; but it's a lot easier to accept what you were ten years ago when you don't have to see pictures that remind you of the fact. It's the age of Facebook--God help us all. Read more at www.disturbedchristians.com

 

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Links between Murders in Turkey and ‘Masterminds’ Expected

Amplify’d from www.compassdirect.org

Links between Murders in Turkey and ‘Masterminds’ Expected

Witnesses previously barred will be allowed to testify.

ISTANBUL, December 20

(CDN) — Attorneys prosecuting the murder of three Christians in southeastern Turkey are making progress linking the knifemen who slayed them to the masterminds who put them up to it, an attorney representing the family of one of the victims said Friday (Dec.17). Two witnesses, Veysel Şahin and Ercan Gelni – whose testimony the court previously blocked – will be allowed to testify about the plans behind the killings in Malatya. The judge changed his previous ruling blocking their testimonies because of new evidence that recently became available. The court will also protect a witness whose testimony would have possibly put him in danger. The latest court hearing was on Dec. 3. On April 18, 2007, two Turkish Christians, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and German Christian Tilmann Geske, were bound, tortured and then murdered at the office of Zirve Publishing Co., a Christian publishing house in Malatya. The suspects, Salih Guler, Cuma Ozdemir, Hamit Ceker, and Abuzer Yildirim were arrested while trying to escape the scene of the crime, as was alleged ringleader Emre Gunaydin. Establishing Links Prosecutors have contended that the killings were related to a larger conspiracy by the military and nationalists to destabilize the government by targeting minorities in Turkish society. “The people responsible are not just confined to the young men caught at the crime scene,” said Orhan Cengiz, one of the attorneys representing the interests of the victim’s families in the case. “Everybody knows the youngsters have connections [to the nationalists].” The new decision shows the court’s “willingness” to look into possible links between the killers and the gendarmerie, a special police force in Turkey that deals with internal security issues and is allegedly a key player in the destabilization plot, Cengiz said. Suzanne Geske, widow of Tilmann Geske, said she wants the Malatya murder trial linked with the trial over the Cage Operation Action Plan, believed to be part of the Ergenekon “deep state” operation to destabilize the government. “I want the Zirve Publishing House killings to be merged with the case into the Cage Operation Action Plan,” Geske told Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman. “I do not believe that those young men could have carried out the murders on their own. Some de facto links are evident. There are other influences behind these murders.” Ergenekon is an alleged “deep state” operation referring to a group of retired generals, politicians and other key figures thought by some to be the true power brokers in Turkey. The Cage Plan centers on a compact disc found a year ago in the house of a retired naval officer. The plan, to be carried out by 41 naval officers, termed as “operations” the Malatya killings, the 2006 assassination of Catholic priest Andrea Santoro and the 2007 slaying of Hrant Dink, Armenian editor-in-chief of the weekly Agos. Newspapers have reported that the Cage Plan, aimed at Turkey’s non-Muslim minorities, not only contained a list of names of Protestant Christians who would be targeted, but also named some of their children. “I believe that there is an ulterior motive behind the killings,” Geske reportedly said. “This may be linked to Ergenekon or another criminal group. I believe that the young men who carried out the murders were directed by criminal elements. I want those criminal elements to be exposed. Otherwise, the lives of those young men will be wasted while the real criminals will go unpunished.” The next Malatya hearing is scheduled for Jan. 20. END Read more at www.compassdirect.org

 

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Senate Passes Food Safety Bill -- Again

Amplify’d from www.cnsnews.com

Senate Passes Food Safety Bill -- Again

By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press

Washington (AP) - The Senate on Sunday passed a sweeping bill to make food safer, sending it to the House in the waning days of Congress.

It was the second time the Senate passed the bill, which would give the government broad new powers to increase inspections of food processing facilities and force companies to recall tainted food. The chamber passed the bill for the first time three weeks ago, but it was caught in a constitutional snag when senators mistakenly included tax provisions that are by law supposed to originate in the House.

The version of the legislation passed by the Senate on Sunday is amended to avoid another such mishap.

The bill would place stricter standards on imported foods and require larger producers to follow tougher rules for keeping food safe. The legislation has enjoyed bipartisan support, and supporters say passage is crucial in the wake of E. coli and salmonella outbreaks in peanuts, eggs and produce.

Recent domestic outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella have exposed a lack of resources and authority at the Food and Drug Administration as the embattled agency struggled to contain and trace the contaminated products. The agency rarely inspects many food facilities and farms, visiting some every decade or so and others not at all.

The bill would emphasize prevention so the agency could try to stop outbreaks before they begin. Farmers and food processors would have to tell the FDA how they are working to keep their food safe at different stages of production.

The House originally tried to rectify the Senate mistake by including the legislation in a year-end budget bill. Senators also included food safety in their version of the budget bill, but the spending legislation hit a roadblock when Republicans insisted it not include any add-ons.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., resurrected the bill -- which many thought was dead as Congress rushes to wrap up for the year -- by passing it and sending it to the House as a standalone measure Sunday. He said the bill is necessary because the food safety system has not been updated in almost a century.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a lead sponsor of the bill, said: "Tonight, we achieved a critical victory, bringing this bill one step closer to the finish line. I look forward to standing with the president as he signs this important measure into law."

"It is a huge victory for consumers following a weekend cliffhanger as both consumer and industry supporters prepared for bad news," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Read more at www.cnsnews.com

 

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Jimmy Carter: Americans Will Be Ready to Elect a Gay President 'In The Near Future'

Amplify’d from www.cnsnews.com

Jimmy Carter: Americans Will Be Ready to Elect a Gay President 'In The Near Future'

By Eric Scheiner

Former President Jimmy Carter says the U.S. would be willing to elect a gay president “in the near future.”

Carter made his remarks on the Big Think website, which describes itself as a “global forum connecting people and ideas”. The site offers over 1,000 interviews with experts in a variety of fields.

In a video on the website Carter is responding to a graphic with the question; “Is the country ready for a gay president?”

Carter says, “I would say that the answer is yes. I don’t know about next election, but I think in the near future. Because step by step we have realized that this issue of homosexuality has the same adverse and progressive elements as when we dealt with the race issue 50 years ago."

“So I would say that the country’s getting acclimated to a president who might be female, who might obviously now be black, and who might be as well a gay person. Yes, I would say the answer’s yes,” Carter adds.

In an Aug. 31, 2010 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter leaves the State Department in Washington.  (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) Read more at www.cnsnews.com

 

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Quiet Deal on Obama's Judge Nominees in the Senate

Amplify’d from www.cnsnews.com

Quiet Deal on Obama's Judge Nominees in the Senate

By David Espo, Associated Press

In this April 16, 2010 file photo, California law professor Goodwin Liu, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be US Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Washington (AP) - After a monthslong blockade, Senate Republicans have agreed to let at least 19 of President Barack Obama's non-controversial judicial nominees win confirmation in the waning days of the congressional session in exchange for a commitment by Democrats not to seek votes on four others, according to officials familiar with the deal.

Among the four is Goodwin Liu, a law school dean seen as a potential future Supreme Court pick, whose current nomination to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has sparked strong criticism from Republicans.

As part of the arrangement, the Senate has approved 10 judges in the past few days without a single dissenting vote. One of them, Albert Diaz, had been awaiting confirmation to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., since clearing the Judiciary Committee in January.

The agreement was worked out between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, with the knowledge of the White House, officials said. Spokesmen for the two Senate leaders declined comment.

In the talks, Reid also pushed for confirmation for James Cole, whom Obama picked last spring for the No. 2 post in the Justice Department. His nomination to be deputy attorney general is opposed by Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, and its fate is unclear.

Officials described the maneuvering on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.

Judicial nominations have become intensely political in recent years as presidents seek approval for nominees who frequently spark opposition from outside interest groups aligned with the opposing party as well as from senators themselves.

Democrats filibustered several of President George W. Bush's conservative nominees, refusing to allow a vote on some for years. The logjam was broken in the spring of 2005 in a compromise that allowed some to be confirmed while a smaller number were jettisoned.

More recently, Democrats have accused Republicans of delaying confirmation of even non-controversial nominees advanced by Obama by refusing to permit them to come to a vote without a time-consuming process than can take three days on the Senate floor.

In remarks over the weekend, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said 49 circuit and district court nominations made by Obama had been approved so far, "less than half the number confirmed during the first Congress of the Bush administration."

Before the action this weekend, Leahy said some 30 Obama judicial nominees, including seven to fill appeals court vacancies, were awaiting Senate confirmation.

"A majority of the nominations pending on the Senate's calendar received unanimous support from the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 17 of the nominations are to fill seats designated as judicial emergencies by the nonpartisan Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts," Leahy added.

The Senate also has confirmed both of Obama's nominees to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

In addition to the 10 nominees confirmed since Thursday, the Senate is expected to approve at least nine more before lawmakers adjourn for the year. All have been pending in the Senate since Sept. 23 or before. Another 15 have been awaiting a vote for less than a month.

The unconfirmed nominations will expire when Congress adjourns for the year. Obama is free to reappoint them, but Republicans will have more seats in the Senate in 2011, and there is no assurance the most controversial among them would be approved quickly, if at all.

Apart from Liu, they include Edward Chen, Louis B. Butler Jr. and John J. McConnell, Jr., all nominated to become U.S. District Court judges.

Liu is a dean at the University of California law school at Berkeley and the best-known of the four. Supporters and critics alike speak of him as a potential future selection for the Supreme Court by a Democratic president. He also could be the first Supreme Court nominee of Asian-American descent.

Republicans have attacked his nomination from the first.

At his committee confirmation hearing, Sessions Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., noted Liu's criticism when Samuel Alito was nominated to the Supreme Court by Bush. At the time, Liu said Alito's vision was an America "where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy ... where federal agents may point guns at ordinary citizens during a raid, even after no sign of resistance ... where the FBI may install a camera where you sleep ... where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man, absent ... analysis showing discrimination."

Kyl called those comments "vicious and emotionally and racially charged."

Liu said he used "unnecessarily colorful language" and added, "I have the highest regard for Justice Alito's career." He said those remarks followed a 14-page analysis of Alito's rulings.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Republican who supported Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, called Liu, "a bridge too far for me. He should take those views and run for office."

Related Articles President Obama Pushing for Passage of START Treaty by Year’s End VFW Issues Warning to DoD that Reversing Homosexual Ban Could End All-Volunteer Military Obama Plans to Sign Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Wednesday 67 Percent of Marine Combat Forces Say Putting Homosexuals in Their Units Will Hurt Their Effectiveness in the Field, Says DOD Report Students Look to 2012 After Immigration Bill Fails in Senate Biden Says U.S. to Be Out of Afghanistan by 2014 New Population Count May Complicate Obama’s 2012 Presidential Bid Senate Passes Food Safety Bill -- Again Obama Family and Entourage Expected Soon in Kailua, Hawaii Congress Rushes to Finish Bills before Holidays

Sen. Inhofe Agrees with Marine Commandant: Repealing Ban on Homosexuals in Military Could Cost Marines Their Lives NewsBusted Right Now On CNSNews.com Read more at www.cnsnews.com

 

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God hates Christmas! Jeremiah 10 condemns Christmas trees!

Amplify’d from beyondbabylon.blogspot.com

God hates Christmas!

Jeremiah 10 condemns Christmas trees! Jeremiah 10 1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD: “ Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. 5 They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good.” 6 Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might), 7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. 8 But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine. 9 Silver is beaten into plates; It is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of the craftsman And of the hands of the metalsmith; Blue and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skillful men. 10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. Jeremiah 10 condemns idolatry, both in the letter and in the spirit, whether a physical idol or an idolatrous tradition based upon HEATHEN CUSTOMS like the "Christmas tree" that history clearly exposes as pagan in origin. Those who adorn their Christmas trees and remain in denial about its pagan origin, who play deaf, dumb and blind to the facts, who attempt to dismiss or downplay how it's a heathen custom, are living a lie and shamefully reject the clear commandments of God that speak against such spiritual adultery, mixing and matching pagan error with biblical truth, and will suffer the consequences for being so dishonest and deceitful. Pagan holidays like Christmas and pagan customs like Christmas trees are both abominations to God. True Christians shun both, we avoid them like the plague, because we love God more than idolatrous traditions of apostate men! Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas Christmas is About Giving -- Says Who? C.H. Spurgeon on Christmas and Roman Catholicism Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas? The Plain Truth about Christmas Read more at beyondbabylon.blogspot.com

 

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Christmas tree owner's deceitful responses

Amplify’d from beyondbabylon.blogspot.com

Christmas tree owner's deceitful responses

I wrote this last year and the following is one of two Christmas tree owners response:

Jeremiah 10 condemns Christmas trees! Jeremiah 10 1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD: “ Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. 5 They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good.” 6 Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might), 7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. 8 But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine. 9 Silver is beaten into plates; It is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of the craftsman And of the hands of the metalsmith; Blue and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skillful men. 10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. Jeremiah 10 condemns idolatry, both in the letter and in the spirit, whether a physical idol or an idolatrous tradition based upon HEATHEN CUSTOMS like the "Christmas tree" that history clearly exposes as pagan in origin. Those who adorn their Christmas trees and remain in denial about its pagan origin, who play deaf, dumb and blind to the facts, who attempt to dismiss or downplay how it's a heathen custom, are living a lie and shamefully reject the clear commandments of God that speak against such spiritual adultery, mixing and matching pagan error with biblical truth, and will suffer the consequences for being so dishonest and deceitful. Pagan holidays like Christmas and pagan customs like Christmas trees are both abominations to God. True Christians shun both, we avoid them like the plague, because we love God more than idolatrous traditions of apostate men! Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas Christmas is About Giving -- Says Who? C.H. Spurgeon on Christmas and Roman Catholicism Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas? The Plain Truth about Christmas www.davidbenariel.org   David,   We keep the Christ in Christmas.  We hope that you can open your heart and embrace the true meaning of the season - Love - Peace - Joy to all of God's children.    The Bible IS the greatest book ever written - however - much was lost in translation.  In your daily prayers, ask God to open your heart and mind to love - not criticize.   God's Blessings,   Kitty Treichel Treichel's Trees Read more at beyondbabylon.blogspot.com

 

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Amplify’d from gawker.com

Enjoy the Draft, You 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Haters

Conservative production company Citizens United has released this post-"Don't Ask Don't Tell" ad, warning effete liberals (and Lady Gaga) that they'll all get drafted after the current Marines quit in protest. Exactly! This was Joe Lieberman's plan all along.

Send an email to Jim Newell, the author of this post, at newell@gawker.com. Read more at gawker.com

 

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Amplify’d from gawker.com

Young Citigroup Banker's Suicide Stuns Everyone

On Saturday morning, 27 year-old Citigroup associate Jessica Fashano—by all accounts a bright, caring, and popular woman—walked into the Trump Place tower on Manhattan's Riverside Boulevard, rode to the roof, and jumped off. Why?

Here's what we know so far, from reports in every paper:

Jessica grew up in New Jersey. She was 27, and an investment banking associate at Citi. She was extremely active in charity work. "She had been taking medication for depression, police sources said." On Saturday morning, she walked 16 blocks north of her Midtown apartment to the Trump Place tower. From the NYT: "A resident said she was returning from walking her dog and rode up with Ms. Fashano in the elevator. Dressed for the cold in Ugg boots and a winter jacket, Ms. Fashano asked the woman how to get to the roof - which has views of the Hudson River and New Jersey, where Ms. Fashano grew up. The resident, who declined to be identified, said Ms. Fashano seemed alert and aware." Fashano's body was found in the building's courtyard shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday morning. A resident reported hearing a "really bad sound - a boom." Friends have set up a memorial page for her on Facebook. Tributes to "her smile, her laugh, her passion for everything she did" abound.

And that's it. There's no suspicion of foul play at this point. Just tragedy. Hug your loved ones for Christmas.

Photos: Citigroup, Facebook Read more at gawker.com

 

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Pastors Fight

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Jesus People Fight Other Jesus People, for Jesus

"We are told the fight was caused by difference of views of the Scriptures." These Christian soldiers seem to be following all the rules. [KOB via Christian Nightmares]

Send an email to the author of this post at Hamilton@gawker.com. Read more at gawker.com

 

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FED FORCES BANK TO REMOVE CROSSES, BIBLE VERSES, AND CHRISTMAS BUTTONS

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FEDS FORCE BANK TO REMOVE CROSSES, BIBLE VERSES, AND CHRISTMAS BUTTONS

A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won’t let it keep religious signs and symbols on display.

Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of regulations. The examiners came to Perkins last week. And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller’s counter and buttons that say “Merry Christmas, God With Us.” were inappropriate. The Bible verse of the day on the bank’s Internet site also had to be taken down.

“I don’t think there should be a problem with them displaying whatever religious symbols they want to display,” said Amy Weierman, a Perkins resident.

Specifically, the feds believed, the symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. According to the clause, “…the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication … express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion.”

The feds interpret that to mean, for example, a Jew or Muslin or atheist may be offended and believe they may be discriminated against at this bank. It is an appearance of discrimination. But customers Eyewitness News 5 talked to said they aren’t buying it.

Read More: KOCO TV Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

 

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UN mulls internet regulation options

The United Nations is considering whether to set up an inter-governmental working group to harmonise global efforts by policy makers to regulate the internet.

Establishment of such a group has the backing of several countries, spearheaded by Brazil.

At a meeting in New York on Wednesday, representatives from Brazil called for an international body made up of Government representatives that would to attempt to create global standards for policing the internet – specifically in reaction to challenges such as WikiLeaks.

The Brazilian delegate stressed, however, that this should not be seen as a call for an “takeover” of the internet.

India, South Africa, China and Saudi Arabia appeared to favour a new possible over-arching inter-government body.

However, Australia, US, UK, Belgium and Canada and attending business and community representatives argued there were risks in forming yet another working group that might isolate itself from the industry, community users and the general public.

Read More: By John Hilvert, IT News

Engulfing the Internet Blackburn: Net neutrality is "fairness doctrine for the Internet" Tyranny vs. the Internet New Bill Gives Obama ‘Kill Switch’ To Shut Down The Internet Internet Freedom Challenged by Obama FCC Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

 

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