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Thursday, May 31, 2018

Opinion | What to Expect the 264th Month - The New York Times

Opinion | What to Expect the 264th Month - The New York Times: Being a parent gets hard when you’re trying to decide when to stop.

Inside the Beltway: Anti-Trump fervor backfires on Democrats - Washington Times

Inside the Beltway: Anti-Trump fervor backfires on Democrats - Washington Times: For months, Democrats have been warned by informed observers that they can't build a winning election strategy for the 2018 midterms or the 2020 presidential election on anti-Trump fervor.

When a College Takes on American Poverty - The Atlantic

When a College Takes on American Poverty - The Atlantic: Amarillo College, in Texas, is working hard to accommodate low-income students—but it can only do so much.

The Push for Outdoor and Nature-Based Preschools - The Atlantic

The Push for Outdoor and Nature-Based Preschools - The Atlantic: When did America decide preschool should be in a classroom?

North Korean Facing Pompeo Is a Master Spy Who Helped Groom Kim, Then Survived His Purges – Foreign Policy

North Korean Facing Pompeo Is a Master Spy Who Helped Groom Kim, Then Survived His Purges – Foreign Policy

Teenager With Down Syndrome Died After Botched Third-Trimester Abortion | LifeNews.com

Teenager With Down Syndrome Died After Botched Third-Trimester Abortion | LifeNews.com: Teenager With Down Syndrome Died After Botched Third-Trimester Abortion

A Mother's Love for Her Unborn Baby Demonstrates Why Abortion is Wrong | LifeNews.com

A Mother's Love for Her Unborn Baby Demonstrates Why Abortion is Wrong | LifeNews.com: A Mother's Love for Her Unborn Baby Demonstrates Why Abortion is Wrong

Parents Pull Their 11 and 12-Year-Old Kids From School After Class Pushes Sex and Birth Control on Them | LifeNews.com

Parents Pull Their 11 and 12-Year-Old Kids From School After Class Pushes Sex and Birth Control on Them | LifeNews.com: Parents Pull Their 11 and 12-Year-Old Kids From School After Class Pushes Sex and Birth Control on Them

When can Christians withdraw life-sustaining medical treatment?


When can Christians withdraw life-sustaining medical treatment?


https://yellowhammernews.com/when-can-christians-withdraw-life-sustaining-medical-treatment/

Number One in Poverty, California Isn't Our Most Progressive State -- It's Our Most Racist One

Number One in Poverty, California Isn't Our Most Progressive State -- It's Our Most Racist One

Did Congress Just Shut Down Trump’s War Plans for Iran? - Defense One

Did Congress Just Shut Down Trump’s War Plans for Iran? - Defense One: The Senate would do well to follow the House’s lead — and go even farther to shut all the backdoors to war.

'Let us know when she's dead': Cancer patient tortured in UAE pri

'Let us know when she's dead': Cancer patient tortured in UAE pri: Cancer patient Alia Abdulnoor has been left to die in isolation, chained to a hospital bed, after being subjected to extreme forms of torture inside a UAE prison.

Indigenous Women Have Been Disappearing for Generations. Politicians Are Finally Starting to Notice.

Indigenous Women Have Been Disappearing for Generations. Politicians Are Finally Starting to Notice.: U.S. lawmakers are beginning to grapple with the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Canada’s inquiry suggests the road ahead will be steep.

Defend right to life, conscientious objection, pope tells doctors

Defend right to life, conscientious objection, pope tells doctors: Make medicine and health care more humane by protecting the life and dignity of all patients, particularly the weakest and the unborn, Pope Francis told Catholic doctors and medical specialists.

(19) Bishop Barron on the Mass - YouTube

(19) Bishop Barron on the Mass - YouTube: Watch Episode 1 of my newest film series on the Mass right here: https://mass.wordonfire.org Please share this important series with your family and friends!

(19) Bishop Barron's "The Mass" - Trailer - YouTube

(19) Bishop Barron's "The Mass" - Trailer - YouTube: Watch Episode 1 of my newest film series on the Mass right here: https://mass.wordonfire.org Please share this important series with your family and friends!

Irish vote shows need for new pro-life strategy | National Catholic Reporter

Irish vote shows need for new pro-life strategy | National Catholic Reporter: The overwhelming vote in Ireland in favor of allowing access to abortion shows that the pro-life movement needs a new strategy. Trying to preserve anti-abortion laws or trying to reverse the legalizat...

Vatican's doctrine czar says all-male priesthood is 'definitive'

Vatican's doctrine czar says all-male priesthood is 'definitive': The Vatican's top doctrinal official said that St. Pope John Paul II's teaching on the all-male priesthood can't be walked back.

State Department releases annual report on international religious freedom

State Department releases annual report on international religious freedom: Everyone has "a stake in this fight" for religious freedom, said the U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback.

GK Chesterton's sainthood cause may soon be opened

GK Chesterton's sainthood cause may soon be opened: As an investigation into the life of Catholic apologist G.K. Chesterton nears a close, admirers of the English writer voiced hope that his sainthood cause could soon be opened.

Hawaii parishioners displaced by lava ask for prayers

Hawaii parishioners displaced by lava ask for prayers: Hawaii's residents try to help one another in the continuing drama of lava flow from an active volcano.

Pope names apostolic visitor to Medjugorje | National Catholic Reporter

Pope names apostolic visitor to Medjugorje | National Catholic Reporter: Pope Francis has named as apostolic visitor to Medjugorje the Polish archbishop he had initially sent to the town as his personal envoy to study the pastoral needs of the townspeople and of the thousa...

How to be a Good Disciple of Christ | Ascension

How to be a Good Disciple of Christ | Ascension: The term “discipleship” has been a buzz word for a while (like 2000 years at least!), but especially in recent years. In this video, Fr.... Read more »

Roseanne Barr is convenient scapegoat for right-wing racism and anti-Semitism - Israel News - Haaretz.com

Roseanne Barr is convenient scapegoat for right-wing racism and anti-Semitism - Israel News - Haaretz.com: Pro-Israel advocates embraced the disgraced Hollywood star despite – or possibly because of – her history of deranged outbursts

'They Worshiped, but They Doubted' | Ascension

'They Worshiped, but They Doubted' | Ascension: It is hard to fully comprehend the experience of the apostles. These men have become giants in our minds, and truthfully, they are monumental figures.... Read more »

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection May 31, 2018

Your daily Gospel reflection...
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Luke 1:39-56
Friends, today’s Gospel tells of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. I’ve always been fascinated by Mary’s "haste" in this story of the Visitation. Upon hearing the message of Gabriel concerning her own pregnancy and that of her cousin, Mary "proceeded in haste into the hill country of Judah" to see Elizabeth.

Why did she go with such speed and purpose? Because she had found her mission, her role in the theo-drama. We are dominated today by the ego-drama in all of its ramifications and implications. The ego-drama is the play that I’m writing, I’m producing, I’m directing, and I’m starring in. We see this absolutely everywhere in our culture. Freedom of choice reigns supreme: I become the person that I choose to be.

The theo-drama is the great story being told by God, the great play being directed by God. What makes life thrilling is to discover your role in it. This is precisely what has happened to Mary. She has found her role—indeed a climactic role—in the theo-drama, and she wants to conspire with Elizabeth, who has also discovered her role in the same drama. Like Mary, we have to find our place in God’s story.

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 572

Reading 1 Zep 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

Gospel Lk 1:39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

And Mary said:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."

Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

Tomgram: Engelhardt, What Can't Be Walled Out -- or In | TomDispatch

Tomgram: Engelhardt, What Can't Be Walled Out -- or In | TomDispatch: null

Ohio Hospital Lets Newborns Die Without Assistance

Ohio Hospital Lets Newborns Die Without Assistance: Mother: 'They were born alive and died as Riverside Methodist Hospital staff denied my pleas for help'

The Battle for Hodeidah: Two Views on What’s at Stake | Arabia Foundation

The Battle for Hodeidah: Two Views on What’s at Stake | Arabia Foundation: Hodeidah, Yemen’s fourth-largest city (population 400,000), is strategically situated on the Red Sea coast and houses the only major port under Houthi control.

Know your oligarch: A guide to the Jewish billionaires in the Trump-Russia probe - U.S. News - Haaretz.com

Know your oligarch: A guide to the Jewish billionaires in the Trump-Russia probe - U.S. News - Haaretz.com: Of 10 billionaires with Kremlin ties who funneled political contributions to Donald Trump and a number of top Republican leaders, at least five are Jewish

Guest Post: Israel at 70: An Alarming Growth of Racism And Intolerance By Allan C. Brownfeld

THIS ARTICLE APPEARS IN THE JUNE-JULY 2018 ISSUE OF THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON 
      MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 


Israel at 70: An Alarming Growth of Racism And Intolerance
By Allan C. Brownfeld


As Israel commemorates its 70th anniversary, and Likud and its far-right allies consolidate their hold on power, it confronts an alarming growth of racism and intolerance.


Writing in the April 4 edition of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Bradley Burston notes that, “It hurts me to write what I’m about to. But it also hurts me to have to live in this place today...This is Zionism as racism. This is Israel at 70...As a public servant, as an Orthodox rabbi, as a settler, you’re free to say anything you want, as long as it’s anti-Arab, anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, and, for good measure, anti-Ashkenazi, anti-North American Jew, anti-New Israel Fund.....”

In Burston’s view, “For sheer, unadulterated...Zionist bigotry and hatred...no one can touch Binyamin Netanyahu. In recent years he’s hammered away with racist and mendacious incitement against Arab citizens of Israel and African asylum seekers...I understand where this comes from. Jews of all ethnicities bear the scars of every manner of heinous racism, up to and including genocide. It’s all too true, at the same time, that in a tragic given of human nature, the abused is at great risk of becoming an abuser. In the case of Zionism, can’t the victims of anti-Semitism come to acknowledge their—our—own bigotry, our own ingrained prejudices, our own sense of superiority and entitlement, our own history of injustice to the minorities in our midst?”

Even a brief look at the growing racism and intolerance shows the direction in which contemporary Israel is headed. In March, for example, during his weekly sermon to the nation, Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi called black people “monkeys.” Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef mentioned a blessing uttered upon seeing an “unusual creature,” citing the example of a black person who has two white parents on the street in America. According to Ynet, Yosef referred to black people by the derogatory Hebrew word “kushi,” and then went on to call a black person a “monkey.” Yosef’s fellow chief rabbi, Yisrael Lau, had already used this term to describe black people—on his very first day in office.

Dov Lior, chief rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba and head of the “Council of Rabbis of Judea and Samaria,” issued a religious edict saying “a thousand non-Jewish lives are not worth a Jew’s fingernail.” He said that Arabs arrested for terrorism could be used for medical experiments, and ruled that Jewish law forbids employing Arabs or renting homes to them. Ovadia Yosef, a former Sephardi chief rabbi, said that the sole purpose of non-Jews “is to serve Jews.” This declaration was later endorsed by some 250 other Jewish religious figures.

According to the ideologies which underlie Gush Emunim and other West Bank settler groups, non-Jews have “satanic souls.” One of the rabbinic leaders of this movement, Yitzhak Ginsburgh, speaks freely of Jews’ genetic-based spiritual superiority over non-Jews: “If you saw two people drowning, a Jew and a non-Jew, the Torah says you save the Jewish life first...If every simple  cell in a Jewish body entails divinity, it  is a part of God. Therefore, something is special about Jewish DNA...If a Jew needs a liver, can you take the liver of an innocent non-Jew passing by to save him? The Torah would probably permit that. Jewish life has an infinite value.”

Jews who are not white have also been subjected to widespread discrimination. Today, 81,000 Israelis were born in Ethiopia, while 38,500 of the community were born in Israel. When Ethiopians protested that blood donations from their community were thrown out, they were told that it was not because they were black, but because of HIV in Africa. In 2010, Israel was accused of a “sterilization policy” aimed at Ethiopian Jews. They were frequently prescribed contraceptive drugs like Depo-Provera, which is long-lasting. The agencies involved in immigration denied that Ethiopian women were guided toward this drug. But Dr. Yifat Bitton of the Israeli Anti-Discrimination Legal Center “Tmura” said that 60 percent of the women receiving this contraceptive are Ethiopian. Noting that Ethiopians made up only 1 percent of the population, Bitton added that “the gap here is just impossible to reconcile in any logical manner that would somehow resist the claims of racism.” In 2012, Israeli public television featured a documentary in which 35 Ethiopian women who had immigrated to Israel reported that they had been told they would not be permitted into the country unless they agreed to the shots.

Israel is a society which has rejected genuine religious freedom. Non-Orthodox rabbis have no right to perform weddings, preside over funerals or conduct conversions. If a Jew and non-Jew wish to marry, they must leave the country to do so. Christianity and Islam are under constant attack. A senior Catholic spokesman, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Custodian of the Holy Land, says that a lack of police action and an educational culture in which Jewish children are encouraged to act with “contempt” toward Christians, has resulted in life becoming increasingly “intolerable” for many Christians (see p. xx). 
The Telegraph reports that Christian leaders feel that the most important issue Israel has failed to address is the practice of some ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools which teach children that it is a religious obligation to abuse anyone in Holy Orders they encounter in public: “Such ultra-Orthodox Jews, including children as young as eight, spit at clergy on a daily basis.” Ruling on the case of a Greek Orthodox priest who had struck a yeshiva student who spat near him, a Jerusalem magistrate wrote, “Day after day, clergymen endure spitting by members of those fringe groups—a phenomenon intended to treat other religions with contempt...The authorities are not able to eradicate this phenomenon and they don’t catch the spitters, even though this phenomenon has been going on for years.”

Racist From Its Earliest Days

Racism has characterized Zionism from its earliest days. Zionists used the slogan “a land without people for a people without land.” But the land of Palestine was not empty when the first Zionist settlers arrived there in 1882. This fact was known to the Zionist leaders even before the first Jewish settlers arrived from Europe. A delegation sent to Palestine by the early Zionist organizations reported back to their colleagues, “The bride is beautiful but married to another man.”

According to Israeli historian Benny Morris, the early Zionist settlers referred to the indigenous Arabs as “mules” and “behaved like lords and masters, some apparently resorting to the whip at the slightest provocation, a major source of Arab animosity.”
The Russian Jewish writer and philosopher Ahad Ha’am wrote in 1891 that the settlers “behaved toward the Arabs with hostility and cruelty, trespass unjustly upon their boundaries, beat them shamefully and even boast about it.” He reported in 1893 that, “The attitudes of the colonists to their tenants and their families is exactly the same as toward their animals...We are accustomed to believing...that the Arabs are desert savages, a people like donkeys, and they neither see nor understand what is happening around them. But that is a great mistake.” Ha’am surmised that aggressive settler attitudes stemmed from anger “toward those who reminded them that there is still another people in the Land of Israel that have been living there and do not intend to leave.”

Israeli historian Zeev Sternhell, one of the world’s leading authorities on fascism, laments that Israel is confronted with growing fascism and racism. He writes: “I frequently ask myself how a historian in fifty or one hundred years will interpret our period. When, he will ask. did people in Israel start to realize that the state that was established...on the ruins of European Jewry...had devolved into a true monstrosity for its non-Jewish inhabitants. When did some Israelis understand that their cruelty and ability to bully others, Palestinians or Africans, began eroding the moral legitimacy of their existence as a sovereign entity?”

Advocates of liberal democracy in Israel, he continues, are “...no longer capable of overcoming the toxic ultra-nationalism that has evolved here, the kind whose European strain almost wiped out the majority of the Jewish people...We see not only a growing Israeli fascism but racism akin to Nazism in its early stages...According to Likud leaders, the Arabs aren’t Jews, so they cannot demand ownership of any part of the land that was promised to the Jewish people. According to this view, a Jew from Brooklyn, who has never set foot in this country, is the legitimate owner of this land, while a Palestinian, whose family has lived here for generations, is a stranger, living here only by the grace of the Jews...This is the situation with regard to Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers and their children, who are Israeli for all intents and purposes. This is how it was with the Nazis...” 

Israel repeatedly refers to itself as a “Jewish state,” but its current direction represents a rejection of traditional Jewish moral and ethical values. Slowly, more and more American Jews, who believed Israel shared their values, are coming to the realization that it does not. 


--------------------------
Allan C.Brownfeld is a nationally syndicated columnist and is editor of ISSUES, the quarterly journal
of the American Council for Judaism.

The face in the waves - The Boston Globe

The face in the waves - The Boston Globe: Jaimee was beloved. Jaimee was struggling. And then Jaimee was gone. Her family threw everything into solving the first mystery — who killed her. The second was so much harder. How could they, how could anyone, live on without her?

UK: You're Not Allowed to Talk about It. About What? Don't Ask.

UK: You're Not Allowed to Talk about It. About What? Don't Ask.: "I am in a country that is not free... I feel jealous as hell of you guys in America. You don't know how lucky you are." — Carl Benjamin (aka Sargon of Akkad), YouTuber with around a million subscribers. "I am trying to recall a legal case where someone

Swift Injustice: The Case of Tommy Robinson

Swift Injustice: The Case of Tommy Robinson

UK "Justice": "Silencing the Silencing"

UK "Justice": "Silencing the Silencing": The charge against Robinson declared by the police at the time of arrest, "breach of peace," was changed to "contempt of court." Apparently, the former offense would not constitute a violation of the terms of Robinson's suspended sentence from last year

Trump Campaign Spying -- Obama Administration Investigation Aimed at Trump Campaign | National Review

Trump Campaign Spying -- Obama Administration Investigation Aimed at Trump Campaign | National Review: Trey Gowdy and Marco Rubio evidently paid little attention to testimony before their own committees on how Obama officials made the Trump campaign the subject of a counterintelligence investigation.

It’s fiction, but America just got wiped out by a man-made terror germ - MIT Technology Review

It’s fiction, but America just got wiped out by a man-made terror germ - MIT Technology Review: At “germ games” held in Washington, DC, pandemic planners get a look at the threat posed by synthetic biology.

Energy And Military Compatibility In The Eastern Gulf « Breaking Energy - Energy industry news, analysis, and commentary

Energy And Military Compatibility In The Eastern Gulf « Breaking Energy - Energy industry news, analysis, and commentary

Ken Burns on America, history, and “the better angels of our nature”

Ken Burns on America, history, and “the better angels of our nature”: On May 17, 2018, The Christophers presented our Life Achievement Award to documentary filmmaker Ken Burns for his body of work exploring American history over the past nearly-40 years. Based on the…

China could force women to have birth after one-child policy is ended, says expert--Aleteia

China could force women to have birth after one-child policy is ended, says expert--Aleteia

China in race to overtake the US in AI warfare | Asia Times

China in race to overtake the US in AI warfare | Asia Times

Effects of E.coli Outbreak in Lettuce Ripple Through U.S. Food-Supply Chain - WSJ

Effects of E.coli Outbreak in Lettuce Ripple Through U.S. Food-Supply Chain - WSJ: The outbreak of E.coli traced to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Ariz., is expected to deal a multimillion-dollar blow to the food industry.

How Puerto Rico’s Death Toll Was Ignored, and Could Have Been Avoided | naked capitalism

How Puerto Rico’s Death Toll Was Ignored, and Could Have Been Avoided | naked capitalism

Meet the Economist Behind the One Percent’s Stealth Takeover of America | naked capitalism

Meet the Economist Behind the One Percent’s Stealth Takeover of America | naked capitalism: Nobel laureate James Buchanan is the intellectual lynchpin of the Koch-funded attack on democratic institutions, argues Duke historian Nancy MacLean

Why the Menorah Is the Most Enduring of All Jewish Symbols » Mosaic

Why the Menorah Is the Most Enduring of All Jewish Symbols » Mosaic: Unlike the case with nearly every other Tabernacle fixture, the function of the menorah does not cease when the Jewish people no longer possess a Temple.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Planned Parenthood Caught Doing Abortions on 12-Year-Old Girls, Not Reporting Sexual Assault to Authorities | LifeNews.com

Planned Parenthood Caught Doing Abortions on 12-Year-Old Girls, Not Reporting Sexual Assault to Authorities | LifeNews.com: Planned Parenthood Caught Doing Abortions on 12-Year-Old Girls, Not Reporting Sexual Assault to Authorities

Martin Luther King's Niece to Starbucks: If You Really Oppose Racism, Oppose Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com

Martin Luther King's Niece to Starbucks: If You Really Oppose Racism, Oppose Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com: Martin Luther King's Niece to Starbucks: If You Really Oppose Racism, Oppose Planned Parenthood

AMA Should Continue Opposing Efforts to Legalize Assisted Suicide | LifeNews.com

AMA Should Continue Opposing Efforts to Legalize Assisted Suicide | LifeNews.com: AMA Should Continue Opposing Efforts to Legalize Assisted Suicide

Priest Blasts Pro-Abortion Catholics: "If You Don't Believe What the Church Teaches, You're Being a Hypocrite" | LifeNews.com

Priest Blasts Pro-Abortion Catholics: "If You Don't Believe What the Church Teaches, You're Being a Hypocrite" | LifeNews.com: Priest Blasts Pro-Abortion Catholics: "If You Don't Believe What the Church Teaches, You're Being a Hypocrite"

Feminism's Doctrinal Injustice > Christopher DeGroot

Feminism's Doctrinal Injustice > Christopher DeGroot: by Christopher DeGroot (June 2018) Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso, 1907     In the wake of the #MeToo movement, many people are rightly concerned that a woman’s mere accusation is now widely taken to be tantamo...

A Palestinian child is guilty by default - Opinion - Israel News | Haaretz.com

A Palestinian child is guilty by default - Opinion - Israel News | Haaretz.com: In the military’s Orwellian language, it’s the soldiers who are the ones under attack. Meanwhile, 14-year-olds sit in jail

Study: Puerto Rico's Post-Hurricane Maria Death Rate At Least 70 Times Higher Than Official Figures - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Study: Puerto Rico's Post-Hurricane Maria Death Rate At Least 70 Times Higher Than Official Figures - Hit & Run : Reason.com: Disasters result from policies adopted and choices made before and after a natural hazard strikes.

U.K. Arrests Anti-Muslim Activist Tommy Robinson for Livestreaming Outside a Trial - Hit & Run : Reason.com

U.K. Arrests Anti-Muslim Activist Tommy Robinson for Livestreaming Outside a Trial - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Riyalpolitik and the Art of Influence in Trump’s Washington – Foreign Policy

Riyalpolitik and the Art of Influence in Trump’s Washington – Foreign Policy

After Alfie Evans, Vatican Issues ‘Rights of the Incurable Child’

After Alfie Evans, Vatican Issues ‘Rights of the Incurable Child’: The Vatican has struck back at the system that decreed the death of Alfie Evans, publishing a “Charter of the Rights of the Incurable Child”.

Prayers for Ireland Must Continue!


As you know, I sent you an action alert last week to pray for Ireland and its May 25th referendum about permitting abortion.
As you also likely know, the voters went the wrong way, and took away protection from children in the womb in that great country!
This was a massive mistake, and as I tweeted that day, the tears of joy that some pro-abortion people had is an ironic foreshadowing of the tears of grief that will flood the Irish countryside and cities as more mothers have their children killed!
But our prayer campaign does not stop here. In fact, it needs to intensify.
That is why I have re-written the Prayer for Ireland, which you will see at the end of this alert.
Please download it.
Please pray it individually and with your family.
Please bring it to your pro-life groups.
Please bring it to your pastor and have him promote it.
And please spread this email to anyone who may be interested!
Ireland is in great danger now of unleashing a holocaust.
The vote on May 25th opened the door to laws being passed that permit abortion.
A law has been drafted allowing abortion up to six months.
What happens to a country when it votes to permit abortion? Pope Saint John Paul II had some things to say about that.
Writing in Evangelium Vitae (n. 20), he declared,
“The State is no longer the “common home” where all can live together on the basis of principles of fundamental equality, but is transformed into a tyrant State…. The appearance of the strictest respect for legality is maintained, at least when the laws permitting abortion … are the result of a ballot in accordance with what are generally seen as the rules of democracy. Really, what we have here is only the tragic caricature of legality …When this happens, the process leading to the breakdown of a genuinely human co-existence and the disintegration of the State itself has already begun. …This is the death of true freedom.”
We must proclaim these words from the rooftops, across Ireland and around the world! And we will need to intensify our ministries of healing after abortion, to help all those who will be wounded by this violence.
And let’s pray that Ireland will be the last nation on earth to commit the mistake that has been made in this referendum!
Sincerely,
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

Priests for Life
PO Box 236695
Cocoa, FL 32923
Phone: 321-500-1000
Toll Free: 888-735-3448
Email: mail@priestsforlife.org
www.PriestsForLife.org

 

Tomorrow’s Terror Today – LobeLog

Tomorrow’s Terror Today – LobeLog: by Nick Turse For almost 20 years, U.S. drone warfare was largely one-sided. Unlike Afghans and Yemenis, Iraqis and Somalis, Americans never had to worry about lethal robots hovering overhead and r…

Beneath America’s Turbulent Relationship with Its Most Hated Ally – LobeLog

Beneath America’s Turbulent Relationship with Its Most Hated Ally – LobeLog: by Abrahim Shah Relations between the United States and its erstwhile ally Pakistan can best be characterized as turbulent. Ever since Pakistan decided to entrench itself in the American camp durin…

Magic Time!: ‘Republic Undone’ at The Metropolitan Club



Magic Time!: ‘Republic Undone’ at The Metropolitan Club

https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/05/28/magic-time-republic-undone-at-the-metropolitan-club/

The Queen's Church Wants Trannies to Be Priests, Russian Church Suggests They Visit a Psychiatrist

The Queen's Church Wants Trannies to Be Priests, Russian Church Suggests They Visit a Psychiatrist

US Sanctions On Iran: The Unraveling Of Pax Americana

US Sanctions On Iran: The Unraveling Of Pax Americana: Amid current news headlines about North Korea and related nuclear issues, it is important not to ignore the potential schism that could occur in the G7 world as a consequence of the practical fallout from Donald Trump’s decision on May 8 to exit the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

US Warns India Finalizing S-400 Purchase Would Jeopardize US-India Defense Ties

US Warns India Finalizing S-400 Purchase Would Jeopardize US-India Defense Ties: Washington has warned New Delhi that procurement of Russian advanced military systems may jeopardize defense cooperation and technology sharing between the US and India, as well as “interoperability” between their armed forces.

What Would a Minimally Successful Deal with North Korea Look Like?

What Would a Minimally Successful Deal with North Korea Look Like?: The fundamental issue at hand—should the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take place—is what a minimally successful agreement should look like.

Iraq Elections: A Step Toward Rebuilding Popular Power – LobeLog

Iraq Elections: A Step Toward Rebuilding Popular Power – LobeLog: by David Bacon The U.S. media quickly dismissed the results of Iraq’s national elections on May 12. Journalists were puzzled by what the followers of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Iraqi Communist P…

The alarming statistics that show the U.S. economy isn’t as good as it seems - The Washington Post

The alarming statistics that show the U.S. economy isn’t as good as it seems - The Washington Post: Forty percent of American adults don't have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense.

By suing WikiLeaks, DNC could endanger principles of press freedom - Committee to Protect Journalists

By suing WikiLeaks, DNC could endanger principles of press freedom - Committee to Protect Journalists: In 1993, WILK radio host Frederick Vopper broadcast a conversation intercepted by an illegal wiretap and sent anonymously to the Pennsylvania radio station, in which two teachers union officials discussed violent negotiating tactics. The officials sued Vopper, arguing that he should be liable for the illegal wiretap that captured...

Our Constitution Must Be the Battleground | The American Conservative

Our Constitution Must Be the Battleground | The American Conservative: Some 90 percent or more of our multi-trillion-dollar warfare state, surveillance state, bail-out state, and welfare state could be eliminated over time.

Fascism is back. Blame the Internet. - The Washington Post

Fascism is back. Blame the Internet. - The Washington Post: It’s polarizing our politics, making us ignore inconvenient facts and impeding real activism.

Jimmy Carter: U.S. Is an 'Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery' - Rolling Stone

Jimmy Carter: U.S. Is an 'Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery' - Rolling Stone: The 39th president said the 'Citizens United' ruling 'violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system'

A keen, harsh, funny look at American politics - Fabius Maximus website

A keen, harsh, funny look at American politics - Fabius Maximus website: Journalist Lewis Lapham writes some of the most perceptive political analysis in our time. The articles are funny but the message is serious.s

Pity the Right-Winger: He Gets No Respect!

Pity the Right-Winger: He Gets No Respect!: One of the signature stereotypes of present-day political controversy is the privileged and coddled Social Justice Warrior, usually resident on a university campus, who lives to take offense at the unfairness of life. Unlike hardworking, uncomplaining, and morally grounded Real Americans, the Social Justice Warrior is a petulant whiner whose troublemaking has brought us cringe-worthy notions like trigger warnings, safe spaces, and cultural appropriation. | By Mike Lofgren

Who Killed the Kiev Protesters? A 3-D Model Holds the Clues - The New York Times

Who Killed the Kiev Protesters? A 3-D Model Holds the Clues - The New York Times

And The Word Became Fresh – Finding Us In God’s Story – Interrupting the Silence

And The Word Became Fresh – Finding Us In God’s Story – Interrupting the Silence: Think how different are the experiences of reading a Shakespeare script and watching the play. The actors embody and live the words in a way that cannot happen when we just read the script. Words o…

Trudeau Plays Longer Game Against ‘Ruthless’ U.S. Bottom Line - Bloomberg

Trudeau Plays Longer Game Against ‘Ruthless’ U.S. Bottom Line - Bloomberg: Justin Trudeau wants to build a Canadian economy that will thrive a decade or more from now -- if that means losing a short-term edge to Donald Trump, so be it.

Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection May 30, 2018

Your daily Gospel reflection...
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Mark 10:32-45
Friends, in today’s Gospel James and John ask Jesus to place them in high places in his kingdom. They are asking for two of the classic substitutes for God: power and honor. Power is not, in itself, a bad thing, and the same is true of honor. Thomas Aquinas said that honor is the flag of virtue. It’s a way of signaling to others something that’s worth noticing.

So what’s the problem? The problem is that they are asking for these two things in the wrong spirit. The ego will want to use power, not for God’s purposes or in service of truth, beauty, and goodness, but for its own aggrandizement and defense. When honor is sought for its own sake or in order to puff up the ego, it becomes dangerous as well.
So what’s the way out? "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all." When you serve others, you are accessing the power of God and seeking the honor of God.

Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 349

Reading 1 1 Pt 1:18-25

Beloved:
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,
love one another intensely from a pure heart.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:

"All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever."
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

Gospel Mk 10:32-45

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus went ahead of them.
They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them
what was going to happen to him.
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him,
"Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The chalice that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Bishop: Militants’ Master Plan to Wipe Out Christianity - ZENIT - English

Bishop: Militants’ Master Plan to Wipe Out Christianity - ZENIT - English: “We need people to raise their voices in our defense”

Korean Athletes Plead for Peace in Front of Pope - ZENIT - English

Korean Athletes Plead for Peace in Front of Pope - ZENIT - English: Pope Thanks Them 'for Message of Peace for All Humanity'

'Mary, Our Refuge in Difficult Times,' Reminds Pope - ZENIT - English

'Mary, Our Refuge in Difficult Times,' Reminds Pope - ZENIT - English: Honors Blessed Mother as Her Month Draws to a Close Tomorrow

Immigration checkpoint in New Hampshire nabs 17 - The Boston Globe

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The White House Official Trump Says Doesn’t Exist - POLITICO Magazine

The White House Official Trump Says Doesn’t Exist - POLITICO Magazine: Meet Matthew Pottinger, the former journalist who became the president’s top Asia hand.

The Age of Perplexity: Rethinking the World we Knew


BBVA
The Age of Perplexity: Rethinking the World we Knew
BBVA
The technological revolution and globalization have opened up an “age of perplexity": Perplexity in the face of changes that affect not only our lives, but the future of humanity and for which we don’t have guidelines or instructions to operate with.

23 leading academics and specialists analyze the great challenges and opportunities offered by the advances in science and technology and how they affect the economy, politics, society and our daily lives.

Gene therapy could free some people from a lifetime of blood transfusions - MIT Technology Review

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Five Blood Transfusions, One Bone Marrow Transplant — All Before Birth - The New York Times

Five Blood Transfusions, One Bone Marrow Transplant — All Before Birth - The New York Times: In a bold experiment in fetal therapy, doctors in San Francisco treated a fetus with a severe, often fatal blood disorder. The child was saved, but the long-term prognosis is still uncertain.

Papua New Guinea bans Facebook for a month to root out 'fake users' | World news | The Guardian

Papua New Guinea bans Facebook for a month to root out 'fake users' | World news | The Guardian: Analysts will explore how fake news and pornography spreads, and assess whether country needs its own version of the platform

Shutting down facebook in PNG is a reality - Post Courier

Shutting down facebook in PNG is a reality - Post Courier: Shutting down facebook in PNG is a reality

Papua New Guinea to ban Facebook for a month | TheHill

Papua New Guinea to ban Facebook for a month | TheHill: Papua New Guinea is banning Facebook for one month in order to research the social network’s effects on the population and to crack down on fake accounts.

HoloLens can now guide the blind through complicated buildings - MIT Technology Review

HoloLens can now guide the blind through complicated buildings - MIT Technology Review: The headset’s ability to map a space and talk people through it may prove more important than the mixing-imagery-with-reality stuff.

Blindness and visual impairment

Blindness and visual impairment: WHO fact sheet on blindness and visual impairment providing key facts, definitions, causes, who is at risk, global and WHO response.

HoloLens can now guide the blind


HoloLens can now guide the blind
The headset’s ability to map a space and guide people through it may prove its most useful purpose.
For the uninitiated: HoloLens is Microsoft's expensive AR headset designed to create a mixed reality experience.
A new use: A new app for HoloLens aims to act as a guide for blind people. It takes advantage of the device’s real-time spatial mapping capability and uses HoloLens’ speakers to make sounds that appear to come from different points in 3-D space.
What’s next: For now, the routes the app uses to guide people must be scanned in advance, and there isn’t a way to avoid bumping into other people. But the World Health Organization estimates that 253 million people are blind or visually impaired, so the potential market is huge—if the tech can be improved further.
—Rachel Metz