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[News] Term Limits as a Voting Right Issue
Civil Rights refers to the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, and to the laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender, age, sexual orientation, and many other criteria.
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Kids take back seat to gay agenda By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | March 15, 2006 IN PSYCHOLOGY, ''projection quot; occurs when someone attributes to others his own unpleasant beliefs or motivations. It is projection, for instance, when a liar assumes that everyone he deals with is dishonest, or when a man tempted by adultery accuses his spouse of planning to deceive him. Projection occurs in the public arena as well, as when supporters of racial preferences label ''racist quot; those who believe the law should be strictly colorblind. A fresh example of projection arrived the other day by way of a news release from the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organizations. On March 10, Catholic Charities of Boston had announced that it was being forced to shut down its highly regarded adoption services, since it could not in good conscience comply with the government's demand that it place children for adoption with homosexual couples. Caught between the rock of Catholic teaching, which regards such adoptions as ''gravely immoral, quot; and Massachusetts regulations, which bar adoption agencies from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, the Boston Archdiocese had hoped to obtain a waiver on religious-freedom grounds. But when legislative leaders refused to consider the request, the archdiocese was left with no option but to end a ministry it had been performing for a century. Whereupon the Human Rights Campaign issued its news release. It was headlined ''Boston Catholic Charities Puts Ugly Political Agenda Before Child Welfare, quot; and a more perfect illustration of psychological projection would be hard to imagine. For the political agenda driving this affair is the one favored by the Human Rights Campaign and its many allies in the media and state government: the normalization of homosexual adoption. So important is that agenda to its supporters that they will allow nothing to stand in its way -- not even the well-being of children in dire need of safe and loving families. Catholic Charities excels at arranging adoptions for children in foster care, particularly those who are older or handicapped, or who bear the scars of abuse or addiction. Yet the Human Rights Campaign and its friends would rather see this invaluable work come to an end than allow Catholic Charities to decline gay adoptions. Note well: Catholic Charities made no effort to block same-sex couples from adopting. It asked no one to endorse its belief that homosexual adoption is wrong. It wanted only to go on finding loving parents for troubled children, without having to place any of those children in homes it deemed unsuitable. Gay or lesbian couples seeking to adopt would have remained free to do so through any other agency. In at least one Massachusetts diocese, in fact, the standing Catholic Charities policy had been to refer same-sex couples to other adoption agencies. The church's request for a conscience clause should have been unobjectionable, at least to anyone whose priority is rescuing kids from foster care. Those who spurned that request out of hand must believe that adoption is designed primarily for the benefit of adults, not children. The end of Catholic Charities' involvement in adoption may suit the Human Rights Campaign. But it can only hurt the interests of the damaged and vulnerable children for whom Catholic Charities has long been a source of hope. Is this a sign of things to come? In the name of nondiscrimination, will more states force religious organizations to swallow their principles or go out of business? Same-sex adoption is becoming increasingly common, but it is still highly controversial. Millions of Americans would readily agree that gay and lesbian couples can make loving parents, yet insist nevertheless that kids are better off with loving parents of both sexes. That is neither a radical view nor an intolerant one, but if the kneecapping of Catholic Charities is any indication, it may soon be forbidden. ''As much as one may wish to live and let live, quot; Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon wrote in 2004, during the same-sex marriage debate in Massachusetts, ''the experience in other countries reveals that once these arrangements become law, there will be no live-and-let-live policy for those who differ. Gay-marriage proponents use the language of openness, tolerance, and diversity, yet one foreseeable effect of their success will be to usher in an era of intolerance and discrimination . . . Every person and every religion that disagrees will be labeled as bigoted and openly discriminated against. The ax will fall most heavily on religious persons and groups that don't go along. Religious institutions will be hit with lawsuits if they refuse to compromise their principles. quot; The ax fell on Catholic Charities just two years after those words were written. Where will it have fallen two years hence?
[Video] Proof that Homosexuality is Sin! (Part 4)
[Post] Identities in 3 Words
Also, I was purposefully trying to capture a diverse set of options for people. There's a little of everything in these descriptors: race, gender, family, sexual orientation, political orientation, ideological orientation, ... [Site] tehran times : First round of election showed people's political ...
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[News] Political battles
Now in their 30s, Jason Marsden and Guy Padgett have settled into living a boring middle-class existence.
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We need to change the mindset' (The interview by T.S. SUBRAMANIAN on Front line 26 August-8 September 2006) Interview with Sumith Nakandala, former Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka. SUMITH NAKANDALA, now Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Nepal. AMARALAL SUMITH NAKANDALA, former Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai, is a man committed to pluralism in society. He swears by the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious character of the island-nation. This world outlook was evident when he went beyond his brief and helped the Tamil refugees who wanted to return to Sri Lanka. After the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed a ceasefire agreement in February 2002, he took the initiative to speed up the issuing of birth certificates, marriage certificates, travel documents and so on. This made him hugely popular among the refugees. Nakandala, who was posted as Deputy High Commissioner in November 2001, gave a new orientation to consular work by organising lectures by eminent Sri Lankans in archaeology, a subject in which he has a keen interest, besides film festivals, dance programmes and music concerts. In fact, his four-and-a-half-year stay in Chennai was a period of busy cultural activity at the High Commission. Nakandala, 46, is now Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Nepal. He has a post-graduate diploma in International Relations and Development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague in The Netherlands and is a graduate in agriculture from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Nakandala spoke to Frontline on June 30, on the eve of his departure to Kathmandu. Excerpts: The Sri Lankan government decided yesterday to make knowledge of Tamil and Sinhala compulsory for new recruits to public service at all levels. According to D.E.W. Gunasekara, Minister for Constitutional Affairs and National Integration, faithful implementation of the dual language policy could resolve 50 per cent of the problems Sri Lanka is facing. Do you think this is a late realisation by Colombo? This is an important question. This should have been done long ago. It is unfortunate that we are implementing this dual language policy 50 years after bringing in the Sinhala Only Act in 1956. The Minister is 100 per cent right. I appreciate his courageous move because Sri Lanka is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-religious entity. The language policy should start from the school level up. We can still rectify the damage already done. We should provide opportunities to students to learn not only Sinhala, Tamil and English but also another language, such as Hindi or Malayalam. In the last few weeks, there have been several incidents of the Sri Lanka Navy firing on Indian fishermen. This issue has festered for long. I am perturbed by these shooting incidents and it is an unfortunate situation because fishermen are doing only fishing. The fact is that Indian fishermen cross the international boundary, enter Sri Lankan waters and fish there. You never saw this kind of incident happening during the ceasefire agreement, during peace talks. Why are they happening now? There are prohibition zones. No-go zones? The LTTE has been masquerading as innocent fishermen and a number of incidents have taken place. The Sri Lanka Navy is a responsible Navy and it exercises maximum restraint. We know that firing on unarmed innocent fishermen is not acceptable. What is important here is to understand the security environment in which the Sri Lanka Navy is called upon to perform its legitimate duties for [protecting] the territory and people of Sri Lanka. We need to find a practicable solution to the problems faced by Indian fishermen, especially in the Palk Bay area. From January this year, refugees from Sri Lanka have started coming back to Tamil Nadu. After the ceasefire agreement in February 2002, a number of refugees returned to Sri Lanka. You also helped them - by issuing them birth certificates, wedding certificates and visas. You gave a new orientation to consular work. What made you do this? It is simple. They are part of Sri Lankan society. I am not worried about the reasons why they took refuge here. As the representative of the Government of Sri Lanka in south India, it is my duty to look after every Sri Lankan citizen trading, staying, studying and visiting this part of India. It is an inalienable responsibility of a Foreign Service Officer. In fact, the refugees were facing a lot of problems. Those who were born in Tamil Nadu after 1983 did not have birth certificates. I started this consular work [of issuing birth certificates]. All this consular work has a financial component. You have to pay some money to get your birth certificate. You have to pay money to register your birth under the Citizenship Act. But refugees do not have money to pay for these certificates. That is what I am saying... . If refugee-parents apply for the birth certificate of their child born here after 1983, they have to pay Rs.6,000. That is a huge amount. If you don't register the birth within a year, you have to pay a penalty for every succeeding year. I made a representation to the Sri Lankan government and it responded magnanimously. I raised this question with the then Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe. I told him to make a special waiver for the refugees in Tamil Nadu. He took it up immediately. There were two people who were involved in this whole exercise - Ranil Wickremesinghe and Milinda Moraguda, then Minister for Science and Technology who was part of the negotiating team of the Sri Lankan government. I considered doing the consular facilities for refugees as part of the peace-building process. I was proved right because I was able to re-establish the confidence of the Sri Lankan refugees [in the state]. That is why they came here [to my office]. I also went to their camps, met them, registered their births and accepted their travel document forms. They saw a big difference in this - the state coming to their doorstep. What I did here was making peace and simultaneously creating a constituency for peace. Here, I must acknowledge the excellent support given by the then Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, her officials, the Government of India, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry. All these agencies were helpful in facilitating all consular work. In parallel, I was making another internal adjustment. I had to change the mindset in the Mission here. I said every refugee should be facilitated. They should not be questioned. The big problem was that the refugees did not have birth certificates. What the Tamil Nadu government did was to issue identity cards to refugees. That made a great difference. Whether they had birth certificates or not, their names and dates of birth were included in the refugee-identity cards. In parallel with the Tamil Nadu government, the OFERR [Organisation for Eelam Refugees' Rehabilitation] headed by S.C. Chandrahasan did a lot of work. I started working with them as far as the refugees were concerned. I knew there would be obstacles. I overcame these difficulties, thanks to the stakeholders in the process. You organised several cultural programmes during your tenure as Deputy High Commissioner for south India. You organised the Vesak commemoration lectures, which featured top archaeologists and academics from Sri Lanka. (Vesak is the day on which the Buddha attained enlightenment.) What motivated you? A career foreign service officer should carry out his duties with a passion, a passion for humanity. We are not here merely to carry out instructions from our home country/headquarters. Consular work is in the book. I gave a new life [to consular work]... I realised during my previous tenure in New Delhi and from my own reading on India that India is a phenomenon. It is a huge civilisational process. That made me think seriously about the shared culture between Sri Lanka and India, not only with Tamil Nadu, but with the whole of India. After all, Buddhism, the majority religion in Sri Lanka, came from India. The culture, music, dance, language and the way of life are shared between Sri Lanka and the rest of Indian subcontinent. As [eminent Sri Lankan archaeologist] Sriran Deraniyagala aptly put it, 7,000 years before the present, a landmass existed between southern India and northern Sri Lanka. It [the landmass] is now called Adam's Bridge. It was a visible landmark. That was how people went up and down. We have Asian elephants. The flora and fauna found in the Western Ghats of India are found in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It [India and Sri Lanka] was one entity. When I talk of shared cultures, it is my duty, as the representative of the Sri Lankan government here, to bring some of these salient features of such a culture to the doorstep of our friends in Tamil Nadu. The Vesak commemoration lectures were different. I gave a new intellectual orientation to the lecture series. I realised it was important to keep pluralism in mind. Political pluralism, cultural pluralism and religious pluralism are important elements in the Buddha's central philosophical thesis. Pluralism is a very important yardstick in measuring today's world and society. A country may have all the resources, but if it does not abide by pluralism the international community will not respect it. The most important element is pluralism. So I wanted these lectures to be held on Vesak day, in May, as our own homage to the Buddha. I have heard that as a student during the July 1983 anti-Tamil riots, you protected Tamil students. It [protecting other human beings] is not a surprise because this quality is embedded in every human being. This [pluralism] concept has been articulated by all religions. The Gita does not say anywhere that you can persecute human beings. Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, all religions advocate this. In my case, the concept of peace was articulated by my father and teachers. I had wonderful teachers from grade one to 12, in the university and during my graduation at The Hague. I am eternally grateful to them. I will certainly uphold my commitment to pluralism, to a society where human beings are allowed to live in harmony, without fear and without persecution. What happened in the university? In the University of Peradeniya 50 per cent of the students were Sinhalese and the rest were Tamils. We shared our meals and had a wonderful stay. Then came the 1983 riots and for the first time, there were riots within the university. We were there to protect these people [Tamils]. There were excellent professors from the Tamil community. They had transcended all these petty boundaries. They too were harassed during this period; some of them left Sri Lanka. Members of the departments of Agriculture, Engineering, Arts and Medicine got together and constituted peace committees. I was also part of that set-up to prevent anti-Tamil riots in the university. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse swears by the unitary set-up. A perceptive political analyst observed that no state could survive in the 21st century without a federal set-up. Do you think Rajapakse is treading the right path? The question is not whether it is unitary, federal or whatever. President Rajapakse has clearly said that he would go for maximum devolution of power. Federal is not the word. It is sharing of power, devolution. To that extent, the Government of Sri Lanka is absolutely clear that this question will be solved. I have no doubt about that. The unfortunate thing here is that people are trying to put tags - federal, unitary, undivided and so on. The question today is to approach the problem in a balanced way. President Rajapakse has appointed a constitutional advisory committee comprising eminent lawyers from Sri Lanka. They will take cognisance of all proposals presented so far by the government and other parties and make recommendations to the government with a view to solving the problem. The late J.N. Dixit, who was India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, once told me that unless the mindset of the Sinhalese towards the Tamils changed, the Tamil problem could not be solved. We need to change the mindset. It should be a conscious effort by the people. That is why I started talking about shared cultures. Archaeological and anthropological findings can be certainly used to resolve conflicts... When you go down history, the early Iron Age, the Pre-historic Age and so on, [you will find] that these differences have been made by the people. The differences between the Sinhalese and the Tamils were made. We, therefore, need to change that mindset. The mindset for a progressive discourse should be cultivated by the people. I am sure, we in Sri Lanka need to make conscious efforts to change the mindset. I also relate this issue to the first question you asked me - Gunasekara's new approach to the language policy. I am not for bilingualism. I am for multi-lingualism because Sri Lanka is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-religious entity. The mindset of the Sinhalese will change towards the Tamils and that of the Tamils towards the Sinhalese. In fact, the Sinhalese are a sophisticated lot, like the Tamils in Sri Lanka. If you read the history of the past 100 years, you will find enough examples of these two communities living in harmony. I am sure the mindset will change. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Video] Proof that Homosexuality is Sin! (Part 3)-Heritibility Not Inheritance
[Post] Elections in Canada, 2008: Rewind, Replay, Return, but with Some ...
... with some former Conservatives, but also some former Communists, and is anti-federal; the NDP is closer to resembling Ralph Nader’s political orientation; and the Greens are similar to most Green parties elsewhere in the world.) ... [Site] NationMaster - Political orientation > Far right (most recent) by country
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[News] Drew Westen: The Last Three Weeks: Anxiety about the Economy vs. Anxiety about Race
The best way to take race off the table as an issue is to put it on the table, make clear that you're comfortable talking about exactly what people are worrying about, and free yourself to stay on message on the economy.
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a href= http://www.nowpublic.com/sc_voters_to_decide_on_same_sex_marriage www.nowpublic.com/sc_voters_to_decide_on_same_sex_marriage /a This is the ending point of their 20- week walk across America from Phoenix, Arizona to Foundry United Methodist Church on 16th St. NW, Washington DC. CrossWalk America embraces no particular political ideology, and seeks to explore and articulate the theological principles behind both faith and politics from a distinctly moderate/progressive Christian perspective. While our organization is joyfully and unapologetically Christian, we welcome the participation of Christians and non-Christians alike, from all walks of life. CrossWalk America (CWA) is both a brand-new organization, and an organization that has been around a number of years: In 1998, a group of Christian clergy gathered in a Phoenix coffeehouse, concerned about the increasing marginalization of moderate and progressive voices within the public sphere of Christianity. These clergy came from several traditionally “mainline” denominations - United Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Lutheran. The ministers’ original vision was to speak on a wide variety of topics, offering an alternative voice to that of radical fundamentalism. They also felt it would be important to include laypeople in their membership. However, at the time, there was so much controversy over gay and lesbian issues, largely propagated by Christian ministers, they decided to focus on this single set of issues for the time being, and to do so specifically as Christian clergy. No Longer Silent : Clergy for Justice (NLS:CFJ) was formed as a clergy-only group dedicated to offering an alternative voice to Christian fundamentalism, strictly regarding glbt issues. One of the significant products of their efforts is The Phoenix Declaration – a document that, among other things, points out that there is no credible biblical or theological basis for determining homosexuality to be a sin, or for excluding gays and lesbians from the full life of church and society. The essence of Christian life is not focused on sexual orientation, but how one lives in relationship with God with compassion toward humanity. Over 160 clergy in Arizona signed this document. While NLS:CFJ continues to operate as a powerful voice within and beyond the state of Arizona , this year the original vision to expand both in terms of voice and membership has become reality. A new organization has been formed, called CrossWalk America . The purpose of CWA is to articulate and act upon a set of twelve theological principles called The Phoenix Affirmations. These Affirmations articulate what it means to live as a Christian seeking to embody Jesus’ great commandments to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself. The basic assumption of both CWA and NLS:CFJ is that moderate and progressive Christians have been overly content to remain silent as fundamentalism has gradually eroded mainstream Christianity in the public sphere. We believe it is time to “stand up and be counted,” calling the church to be church, in voice and action. A quote by Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984), sums our stance up well: quot;When they came for the communists, I was silent, because I was not a communist; When they came for the socialists, I was silent, because I was not a socialist; When they came for the trade unionists, I did not protest, because I was not a trade unionist; When they came for the Jews, I did not protest, because I was not a Jew; When they came for me, there was no one left to protest on my behalf. quot; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Phoenix Affirmations: The public face of Christianity in America today bears little connection to the historic faith of our ancestors. It represents even less our own faith as Christians who continue to celebrate the gifts of our Creator, revealed and embodied in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Heartened by our experience of the transforming presence of Christ’s Holy Spirit in our world, we find ourselves in a time and place where we will be no longer silent. We hereby mark an end to our silence by making the following affirmations: As people who are joyfully and unapologetically Christian, we pledge ourselves completely to the way of Love. We work to express our love, as Jesus teaches us, in three ways: by loving God, neighbor, and self. (Matt 22:34-40 // Mk 12:28-31 // Lk 10:25-28; Cf. Deut 6:5; Lev. 19:18) Loving God Includes: Affirmation 1: Walking fully in the path of Jesus, without denying the legitimacy of other paths God may provide humanity; Matthew 11:28-29; John 8:12; John 10:16; Mark 9:40 As Christians, we find spiritual awakening, challenge, growth, and fulfillment in Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection. While we have accepted the Path of Jesus as our Path, we do not deny the legitimacy of other paths God may provide humanity. Where possible, we seek lively dialog with those of other faiths for mutual benefit and fellowship. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found wherever love of God, neighbor, and self are practiced together. Whether or not the path bears the name of Jesus, such paths bear the identity of Christ. We confess that we have stepped away from Christ’s Path whenever we have failed to practice love of God, neighbor, and self, or have claimed Christianity is the only way, even as we claim it to be our way. Affirmation 2: Listening for God’s Word which comes through daily prayer and meditation, through studying the ancient testimonies which we call Scripture, and through attending to God’s present activity in the world; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 13:12 As Christians, we listen for God’s Word in the living presence of the Holy Spirit, praying every day, and discerning God’s present activity in our world. We also study and revere the ancient records which we call Scripture, recognizing that they have been formed within distinct historical and cultural contexts, yet have been informed by God’s Spirit, which transcends all ages and times. Most of all we seek the meaning of salvation, of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as it is presented in the Scriptures and discerned in daily life. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers engage in daily prayer and meditation, as well as personal and community study and interpretation of Scripture, as central ways God’s continuing voice is discerned in everyday life. We confess that we have moved away from Christ’s Path when we have claimed that God’s Word is restricted to that which may be contained in a written document, or that either the recording of God’s Word in Scripture, or our interpretation of it, are infallible. Further, we have moved away from the Path when we have allowed the mere fact of Scripture’s fallibility, or our own, to dissuade us from seeking God’s Word in Scripture, prayer, and reflection on daily life. Affirmation 3: Celebrating the God whose Spirit pervades and whose glory is reflected in all of God’s Creation, including the earth and its ecosystems, the sacred and secular, the Christian and non-Christian, the human and non-human; Genesis 1:31a; Psalm 96:1,11-12; Acts 17:23 As Christians, we seek to act as righteous stewards of the earth and its ecosystems. We celebrate the reflections of the Creator’s glory in both the sacred and secular, human and non-human, Christian and non-Christian. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers act as caring stewards of the earth, and where the presence of the living Christ is celebrated wherever Christ’s spirit manifests itself, transcending all preconceived human categories. We confess that we have stepped away from this Path when we have ignored our role as stewards of the earth, or have interpreted Scripture in a way that fails to account for the sacredness of the earth or the integrity of its ecosystems. We have further moved away whenever we have claimed that that the glorification and praise of God is limited only to that which is consciously and overtly Christian. Affirmation 4: Expressing our love in worship that is as sincere, vibrant, and artful as it is scriptural. Genesis 2:7; Exodus 31:2-5l; Revelation 18:22 As Christians, we strive to respond to God’s artistry in Creation by integrating the arts in worship, education and proclamation. We encourage the reclaiming of artistry and artistic expression in all Christian endeavors, both personal and communal. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers make sincere and vibrant worship of God as central to the life of their community as Jesus did. We further affirm artistic expression as a way of reflecting God’s creativity, joy, and prophetic voice in what may be seen, heard, felt, tasted, sung and spoken. We confess that we have moved away from Christ’s Path when we have failed to make worship the product of our best efforts to experience and express love for God, neighbor and self in community with others. We have moved further from this path when we have considered the arts as trivial or merely tangential to the life of a mature Christian community. Loving Our Neighbor Includes: Affirmation 5: Engaging people authentically, as Jesus did, treating all as creations made in God’s very image, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, nationality, or economic class; Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-5; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7 As Christians, we welcome those of every race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical and mental ability, nationality, and economic class into the full life of our community. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers uplift and celebrate the worth and integrity of all people as created in God’s very image and likeness. We further affirm that Christ’s Path includes treating people authentically rather than as mere categories or classes, challenging and inspiring all people to live according to their high identity. We confess that we have stepped away from this Path whenever we have failed to recognize the essential goodness of God’s Creation by treating some classes of human beings as more godly than others. We have moved further from Christ’s Path when we have treated people superficially, as objects to be used rather than human beings with depth and distinction. Affirmation 6: Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast and oppressed, the denigrated and afflicted, seeking peace and justice with or without the support of others; Micah 6:8; Luke 12:48 As Christians, we advocate and care for those who experience oppression and poverty, either physically or spiritually, within our faith communities, our country, and the world. We recognize the local congregation as the primary context for offering such care, even as we seek to extend it beyond our faith communities into the wider world. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers honor the essential unity of spirit and matter by connecting worship and theology with concrete acts of justice and righteousness, kindness and humility, with or without the support of others. We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have suggested that Christianity is concerned with only the spiritual in contrast to the material, or vice-versa. We have moved further away when we have celebrated blessings given by God without also acknowledging responsibilities that come with blessing. Affirmation 7: Preserving religious freedom and the Church’s ability to speak prophetically to government by resisting the commingling of Church and State; Luke 20:25; 1 Peter 2:17 As Christians, we strive to live as responsible citizens of our country, just as we seek to live as Christ’s disciples. We celebrate the separation of Church and State as much for the protection of the Church, and other faith communities, as the State. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers honor the role of the State in maintaining justice and peace, so far as human discernment and ability make possible. We affirm the separation of Church and State, even as we endeavor to support the state in as far as Christian conscience allows. We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have confused the role of the State with that of the Church. We have moved further from the Path when we have renounced the Church’s calling to speak prophetically to the State by suggesting that the Church should or could take on the nature, tasks and dignity which belong to the State, thus becoming itself an organ of the State. Affirmation 8: Walking humbly with God, acknowledging our own shortcomings while honestly seeking to understand and call forth the best in others, including those who consider us their enemies; Luke 18:9-14; Luke 6:27-29; Galatians 5:22-23; John 15:18-19 As Christians, we recognize that we are misfits both with respect to God’s Realm and the world. We are misfits with respect to God’s Realm in that we rarely live up to the principles and ideals we espouse. We are misfits with respect to the world in that the ideals for which we strive frequently do not conform to the ways of the world. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers love those who consider them their enemies as much as they love themselves, striving humbly to embody the “fruits of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have promoted a notion that people of faith are morally or ethically superior to those without faith. Further, we have moved away when we have supported any cause, no matter how just or righteous, without reflecting the “fruits of the Spirit” toward all. Loving Ourselves Includes: Affirmation 9: Basing our lives on the faith that, in Christ, all things are made new, and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination – for eternity; Psalm 22:27-29; Psalm 23:4-6; Psalm 139:7-12; John 3:16-17; Romans 14:7-11; Philippians 1:20-26 As Christians, we bear witness to, and nurture faith in, all persons who are hungry for, or open to the revelation, love, and salvation of God in Christ. We do not seek to evangelize those who have no desire to explore the Christian Path. We trust, rather, that God’s love, grace and invitation, has been, and will be, revealed in other paths, witnesses and times. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers are continually discovering, and rediscovering that they – and all people – are loved beyond their wildest imagination, and they determine to live their lives according to this discovery. We find in this discovery and surrender the very essence of salvation, which is a process, not an end-point, within an eternal journey. We confess that we have moved away from this Path whenever we have denied God’s love for all people, or have denied the effectiveness of God’s eternal will that all be saved. We have moved further from Christ’s path when we have not actively born witness to God’s love and grace with those who seek it. Affirmation 10: Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts, recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the pursuit of truth; Proverbs 1:20-22; 1 Corinthians 3:18-19; 1 Corinthians 14:15 As Christians, we seek to develop intellectually as sincerely as we seek emotional development. We further seek to clarify that the truths contained in Scripture are not conveyed primarily through scientific revelations, but through wisdom which may be gleaned frequently in story and song, symbol and parable. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers value the pursuit of wisdom, which is found at the intersection of head and heart, where God seeks relationship with the human soul. We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have denied either the role of the mind, or that of the heart, in the seeking of wisdom. Further, we have moved off the Path when we have denigrated the role of doubt or pursuit of scientific knowledge as if they were enemies rather than allies of faith. Affirmation 11 Caring for our bodies, and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship and recreation in addition to work; Exodus 5:4-8; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 As Christians, we strive to embrace and embody ways of living that promote the health of the body, the joy of living, and the benefits attained when work is combined with rest and recreation, reflection and prayer. We do this for our sake, for the sake of others, for the sake of the earth, and for the sake of Christ. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers care for their bodies as temples of the holy, and take time to pray and play, to worship, and to reflect, as essential parts of their vocation. We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have supported the ethics of Pharaoh over the ethics of God by promoting systems of production and consumption without attending to the disciplines of rest and recreation, reflection and prayer. We have further moved from the Path when we have denigrated or abused our bodies, or those of others, or denied the rights and responsibilities of others to make decisions about how they care for the bodies God gave them. Affirmation 12 Acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose; a vocation and ministry that serves to strengthen and extend God’s realm of love. Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 5:15-16; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31 As Christians, we practice prayer as a daily discipline, seeking in prayer both to enjoy God’s presence and to discern God’s will for our lives and our faith communities. We accept it as one of our highest responsibilities and privileges to help those in our communities of faith discern God’s direction for their lives, and to celebrate and value their discernment in the worship and missional life of the church. In every available way, we seek to help people develop and use their diverse callings as an expression of their faith. We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where all of Christ’s followers are understood to be called into a ministry. God’s intention for us can be found and followed, however haltingly and imperfectly, in obedience to the guidance and insights, which come in prayer. We hold this conviction to be true of the Church as well as of each of its members. We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have claimed that one form of ministry is any higher or more sacred than any other, in or outside a church Further, we have moved from the Path when we have failed to concretely value meaningful input and participation by both laypeople and clergy in the worship and mission of our communities.
[Video] challengestodemo00unit #42 CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY IN ALBANIA
[Post] Five-Minute Time Out: The Boy Crisis - Trouble With Boys author ...
I try to lay out in the book why I think this is an important issue for all people, whatever their political orientation. I consider myself a strong feminist and I am the mother of sons. I don't feel that my looking at this is taking ... [Site] NationMaster - Political orientation > Far left (most recent) by country
Lifestyle > Political orientation > Far left by country. ... People who viewed "Lifestyle > Political orientation > Far left" also viewed these world stats: ...
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[News] Botswana: Political Connections to Blame for Poor Work Ethic
Political influence is one of a number of factors that have led to Botswana having a poor work ethic, a senior government official has said.
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a href= http://www.openspace-zkp.org/english/english_start1.html www.openspace-zkp.org/english/english_start1.html /a INTERFACE is based on the presentation of art works which consciously confront themselves with religion. The aim of the exhibition is neither to shock nor draw attention to the religious questions, but trace different approaches to this theme by artists coming from various religious environments – Islam, Jewish and Christian, as well as different local contexts (Asia, Europe, America). The main intention of the exhibition is to search possibilities of understanding among various religions. In the eyes of an ordinary man the mass media manipulation can easily turn every Muslim into an enemy, a terrorist. Similar manipulations can deform our opinions on the Jewish, Christian or other religious identity. Works, created in the media of video, object and painting, presented at the exhibition INTERFACE raise questions about how artists from different cultures and religions express themselves in art. How does a universal language of contemporary art reflect different religious and philosophical approaches? To what extent does religion even today effect our ability to see and interpret the visual reality? Did contemporary art lose the Church as a patron that for many centuries had commissioned artists to create art works? Do religious topics and motifs, the sacred and transcendent still belong among topical issues of art? The exhibition does not have an ambition to judge nor take an apriori attitude about the theme but on the basis of the presented works it wants to provide a space for a discussion. TAMARA MOYZES me and Arafat Video, 2003 Running time: 03'24'' Tamara Moyzes (1975), born in Bratislava (IL, CZ), is a video artist. She studied at the New Media AVU Prague (2004). Her work is characterized by the orientation on political issues. In her work she does not choose an academic approach but prefers a direct intervention – she does not comment on the reality from a distance but she is a part of the story. People depicted in her fictional documentaries are not real actors and their artistic “role” only emphasizes and completes their real status. To reflect current social contestations she uses a blend of documentary, pathetic and humorous scenes. Parody-like handling of topics is a strategy that does not relieve the situation, on the contrary it presents its fiery nature and content in a form that is not very digestible for us. For Tamara Moyzes video is a tactical and political tool. The work Arafat was done while she was living in Israel. Arafat captures her personal encounter with Yasser Arafat in style of a music video with the music by Palestinian political rap band.
[Video] John McCain and Sarah Palin incite riot?
[Post] Shilowa convenes break-away ANC convention in November
"To all South Africans we say 'no idea is irrelevant or too small to consider'. As they say, every thought counts, irrespective of who raises it and regardless of their ideological and political orientation." Sowetan Online. [Site] Political Orientation of People in Rural... [Hardcover] | Target.com
Shop for Political Orientation of People in Rural India (A Study of Bihar With Reference to Antecedents An Correlates) at Target. Choose from a wide range of Books
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[News] Voters get six choices in race for two seats
Simi Valley voters have a broader slate of candidates to choose from than in recent years, with six candidates vying for two City Council seats.
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90% of Ukrainian people speak Russian perfectly. They have changed their political orientation recently from Russia to West, but some already are dissappointed that nothing really changed. Now goes Belarus. It has been said that Belarus is the only dictatorship country in Europe, governed by Lukashenko who is called by most people of Belarus as Batka - it would be father in
[Video] Unity for the human
[Post] “No on Prop. 8″ needs YOUR $$ to run their new ad!
Hundreds of Mormons and friends of Mormons have written letters and signed a petition at SigningForSomething.org to oppose the church’s inappropriate political posturing in California. The letters and petition will be delivered to ... [Site] All In The Mind - 17 November 2007 - The political brain
But how do you simplify the mental gymnastics of a person's political values? ... to new information might actually relate to people's political orientation. ...
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[News] North Bulletin Board
ART Butler -- Associated Artists of Butler County, 344 S. Main St., will hold an opening reception for its HOT PINK -- A Celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness exhibit -- from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
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My friend Leigh (who was actually behind me at the time of this photo) organized a bake sale for Obama. I made really simple sugar cookies with frosting letters for O B A M A...alot of people made really complicated vegan things. I was impressed! I really do hope that we get Obama in the white house-I was never a Hilary supporter-because I think it would mean something different and better for our country. There's alot of things I agree with Obama on in terms of his political viewpoints but also, I really like that he didn't take PAC contributions, which are donations from corporations (Hilary did). I feel like we've just had a representation of corporate America in the white house for far too long. Obama is not beholden to them...he's beholden to constituents which are you and I... The one thing I think we really have to make sure of this time is that no voting fraud occurs. This is something that really scares me because I feel that Diebold in Ohio and Florida was inaccurate and that a democracy was not served. Here's an overview of problems with the electronic machines.: a href= http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/11/13/8393084/index.htm money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/11/1... /a In 2004, I went to Washington D.C. to protest the current presidential inauguration. I won't say there weren't radicals and anarchists among the men dressed up as cowboys and the women in their fur coats. But the most convincing and horrifying thing to me was meeting another protester from Florida. He was not a radical. He was about my grandfather's age. He was not even there because he was protesting Bush's policies. He told me he was there because it wasn't a democracy any longer. He had been a poll representative in Florida during the election. He was helping many of the older people in Florida to access the polling place. Apparently, many of them voted for Kerry and their receipt said Bush. We never got the original receipts of voting records from Florida because they were destroyed (which looks suspicious enough). Still, the media would like to paint the picture that democrats are just whiners and weak when we'd just like to be sure that democracy actually took place in our own country (ahem wasn't that one of the major justifications for going into Iraq that we were spoon fed...that we were supposed to bring these people democracy and freedom (apparently by bombing the heck out of them because most people are really keen on a drastically different system of government after you kill all of their friends and relatives.) Anyhow, I actually do believe in a democracy for this country and in a world where you can actually vote and it means something. I believe in a country where the leader actually talks to the world and instead of investing trillions of dollars in bombs, invests money in human heath care, for citizens of the country that are dying in the streets. I believe in a president I think will stand up to big oil, invest money in alternative energy. America should have had a feasible and widespread use electric car a long time ago. I am strong on women's rights and the rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation. I think this country has wasted so much money and energy with simply put imperialistic tendencies that go nowhere and has forgotten about everyday Americans. I think unemployment is a huge problem (don't say it's not by quoting figures...those figures won't account for people who have stopped collecting because time ran out and they still don't have a job.) I also think, as a result, classism is still a problem. We live in a country where we have all kinds of natural resources to develop alternative energy and make peace with the rest of the world. Using these and advocating for a peaceful way of life doesn't make the US weak...it makes us respectful. Last, if you are skeptical, that's great! Form your own opinions..but realize one thing about the media in this country: a huge percentage is owned by Rupert Murdoch and Clear Channel, both with a huge republican bias. Don't be quick to trust what you hear. My advice, listen to the CANDIDATES. See who matches your political perspective. See who you think can actually bring about a better America. Otherwise, you're just helping Clear Channel buy ad space. UPDATE: According to Leigh, the bake sale raised over $1100! Cool!
[Video] The Youtube Community Guidelines Nonsense
[Post] What Will Kill Blog?
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [MySpace] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Technorati] [Email]. Tags: click throughs, crossroad, dynamic content, inbound links, page views, political orientation, revenue sources, twitter, web source ... [Site] political orientation, ideology, political theory: Information from ...
political orientation , ideology , political theory an orientation that ... the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by ...
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[News] Judicial supremacy wins marriage case
How many Connecticut Supreme Court justices can dance on the head of a pin? The court's majority decision and its three dissents the other day in the same-sex marriage case suggest that all the black robes can trip the Light Fantastic in the smallest of spaces.
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Sri Lanka Diaspora in Italy -2004 Introduction Many Sri Lankan migrants chose Italy as a permanent working and living destination. This led to the creation of a large and consolidated community Over the last 30 years of which no comprehensive social scientific research has been conducted. In this sense, the Italian case is fairly peculiar if compared to other Western destinations chosen by Sri Lankan migrants, such as Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Germany. In fact, the only studies that deal with Sri Lankans in Italy are concerned with a few communities that settled down in Milan, Rome and Catania. Moreover, there are some general statistics concerning the foreign presences in Italy which take into account the Sri Lankan immigrants. On this basis we have conducted an explorative research, consisting of interviews with some key persons of the Sri Lankan Diaspora in Italy and an analysis of public statistical data and studies. Yet our mapping is incomplete. It consists of a fairly detailed description of the Sinhalese Diaspora, but largely leaves aside the Tamil one. The main reasons is the much Smaller number and influence of Tamils in Italy, as well as the lack of time and Resources for doing research on the Tamil groups in the South. Addresses of mayor Tamil groups can be found on page 14. At the heart of the study lies an outline of the main phases of the Sri Lankan Immigration to Italy and a mapping of the social structure of this community. It describes locations, employment sectors, organizations and integration in the Italian society. The mapping aims to give a first systematic overview of the Sri Lankan Diaspora in Italy, hoping to become an orientation-paper for further social Research on the Sinhalese and Tamil immigration and for supporting political Pro-peace activities by its members. 2.Sri Lankan Immigration to Italy The first Sri Lankans immigrating to Italy during the second half of the Seventies were mainly Catholic women that had been recruited for working in old people’s homes. Those were rapidly followed by people who had worked for Italian entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka at the beginning of the Eighties. Italy was seen as a temporary destination, nevertheless most of theimmigrants chose it as a permanent place of residence. The main reasons why Italy became a popular destination were the conviction of finding employment opportunities easily and the better admission possibilities compared to other European countries. Indeed, before going to Italy, lots of Sri Lankans tried to immigrate into Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland or France, but their application for residence status was rejected. Between 1986 and 1990 a series of Admission Acts attracted many Sri Lankans. Moreover, in 1996 the Dini Decree1 simplified the bureaucratic Procedures for the family reunifications, enabling a few thousand Sri Lankans to join their relatives. Furthermore, an attraction factor has been the so-called “nominative calls”, a system of legal immigration consisting in a formal admission demand made by At that time Lamberto Dini was the Italian Foreign Minister an Italian employer who must guarantee a working place for the foreign worker (Cologne, 2003: 25). After 1998 another Admission Act augmented the percentage of Sri Lankan men, balancing the rates between female and male presences. In the big Italian cities, such as Rome, Milan and Naples, the Sri Lankans have built up a solidarity network, creating “enlarged families” in which working positions and employment opportunities are exchanged among relatives’ and compatriots (Martinelli, 1998: 165). The number of Sri Lankan presences in Italy is not precise. There are different datas publically defunded by official institutions referring to 2003. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Rome declares that in 2003, 80,000 Sri Lankans were regularly registered in Italy (Interview, 2004); ISTAT, the Italian Institute for Statistics, esteems the Sri Lankan presences to be 26,474 in 2001; the Caritas/Migrants statistics on immigration state that the Sri Lankans living in Italy are 35,845. Taking into account these three values, we estime the Sri Lankan presences to be 45,000/50,000. The division of Sri Lankans into Sinhalese and Tamils is not confirmed by recent statistics. Nevertheless, the sociologist Enrica Morlicchio estimated that 2/3 of the entire Sri Lankan population in Italy is composed of Sinhalese and1/3 of Tamils (Mottura, 1992: 294). Besides the official presences, the illegal ones are considered very high. This phenomenon is facilitated by some organizations that introduce Sri Lankans illegally into Italy, mostly through the Balkans or through Austria. The illegal traffic of immigrants is often hidden behind travel agencies or import-export enterprises. (Morlicchio, 1992). Emigrating towards Italy is considered an economical investment for a future Return to the mother country. 65% of the Sri Lankans came to Italy for working reasons. Among these 58,9% are dependent workers and 3,2% have their own enterprises. Only 0,1% have immigrated for studying and 0,7% for religious reasons, instead 31,4% for family reunifications (Caritas, DossierStatistico, 2003: 117). Many Sri Lankans left their country for political reasons, but the Central Commission for Recognizement of the Refugee status rejected most of the Asylum demands. In 1993, 43 Sri Lankans asked for political asylum, but only 3 were accepted as refugees. In 2001, 555 Sri Lankans asked for political Asylum and in 2002, 1,406. Nevertheless, there is no public data about the number of accepted demands throughout the past years (Caritas, 2003: 481). Political asylum requests in Italy 2001 2002 Iraq 1,985 Sri Lanka 1,406 Turkey 1,690 Iraq 1,199 Serbia-Montenegro 1,526 Serbia-Montenegro 1,183 Sri Lanka 555 Turkey 531 Romania 501 Eritrea 473 (Dossier Statistico Immigrazione Caritas/Migrantes, 2003. Elaboration on datas of UNHCR). 3. Location of the Major Communities 3.1. Lombardia In 2003, 17,850 Sri Lankans lived in the industrial region of Lombardia (Ismu, 2003). Moreover, 1,860 illegal are estimated to live in Lombardia. Their place of residence is often close to the working location. 3.1.1. Milan In 2003, 7,216 Sri Lankans were legally registered in Milan (Cologna, 2003: 24). The first immigration waves during the second half of the Eighties towards thi City consisted mainly of Tamils, followed by Sinhalese at the beginning of the Nineties. The Sinhalese in Milan mostly come from the South-western part of Sri Lanka, especially from the cities of Colombo, Negombo, Handala, Ja-Ela, Nathandiya, Halawatha, and Wennapuwa. The demographic profile of the Sinhalese in Milan shows that the Admission Act from 1998 favored the introduction of men, so to balance the percentage between male (40,5%) and female (59,5%) presences. The residential locations of Sri Lankans in Milan are mainly the popular districts of Loreto, via Venini, and Lazzaretto. Paying rent is one of the biggest problems which Sri Lankans in Milan have to face. Therefore, they tend to live in “Immigration houses” (Cologna, 2003), overcrowded flats, where morefamilies live together. Sinhalese in Milan meet in the Duomo Square during their free time or playcricket in the Lambro and Trento Parks. The Tamils often live in caravans because they work at the fairs in Idroscalo and Veresina, two peripheral districts are the main meeting points of the as well. 3.2. Lazio The most significant Sinhalese community in the Lazio region is located in the city of Rome and its surrounding. 3.2.1. Rome Rome is seen as the biggest multicultural city and is therefore the main Attraction centre for Sinhalese immigrants. The favorite residential areas for Sinhalese in Rome are the Cassia, Collina Fleming, and Appia districts; furthermore, the peripheral zones of La Rustica, Mentana, Prima Porta, Monterotondo, Ostia. Throughout the years the Srilankan communities have gradually started to establish contacts with Italian public institutions, such as the Immigration Offices both of the Lazio Region and the Lazio County and the Regional Employment Office. In spite of the cooperation built up with some Italian 6 institutions, during interviews Sri Lankans manifested dissatisfaction and mistrust towards these public offices (Interviews, 2004). During the free time Sinhalese meet regularly around the Roman Colosseo, the San Pietro Church, the Verona Square, the Trevi Fountain or at “Castel Sant’Angelo”, a fortress, reminding Srilankan castles (Avola, 1998). Furthermore, the Sinhalese community organizes collective meetings in public squares, such as the Mancini and Vittorio Squares, where they post news manifestos in Sinhalese. During the summer they often meet and play cricket in the Villa Carpegna Park. 3.3. Southern Italy Many Sri Lankans chose to live in Southern Italy because they feel its society to be similar to their mother country’s one (Interviews, 2004).In Sicily 95,1% is concentrated in the big urban districts of Palermo (38,6%),Messina (31,4%) and Catania (25,1%) (Caritas, 2003: 468). A big Sri Lankan communitiy lives in Naples as well (Mottura, 1992: 298). 4.Main Employment Sectors Most Sri Lankans in Italy are employed in the domestic sector3. This type of Employment characterizes more the Sinhalese community rather than the Tamil one. The recent emancipation of Italian women increased the demand for domestic workers. These people, mainly Sri Lankans or Philippines, often live in the family they work for and have one free day a week. The working condition of Srilankans in Italy has been defined as “subordinate”4 (Cologna, 2003: 64). Indeed, 97,2% of the Sri Lankans are dependent workers, mostly employed in the professional niches of domestic assistance, housekeeping, waiting, factory-work in light industry, and cleaning services. 4.1.Milan Besides the domestic employment, the Sri Lankans in Milan satisfied their needs for ethnic services (Cologna, 2003: 27), opening restaurants, cleaning enterprises, call centres, video-shops, traditional food shops and minimarkets. The location of Sri Lankan’s working places is spread out all over the city. The ethnic shops are frequently situated at the Viale Papiniano market and the popular district of Lazzaretto. 4.2.Rome Mainly all Sri Lankans living in Rome are employed in the domestic sector. During interviews, Sri Lankan women declared to be disappointed by the Employment market they found in Italy. They state that being dependent 2 Domestic assistance.3 cfr. Ambrosini, 1995b 7 workers mines any career possibility. Moreover, they feel that the Italian working conditions impede their emancipation even more than in their mother country (Cologna, 2003: 167). After working for several years in the domestic sector, some Sri Lankan men Started their own entrepreneurial activities, founding consumer cooperatives, handicraft shops, food shops, and cultural initiatives. One of the biggest school-cleaning enterprises in Rome is the “Cooperativa Multietnica di Pulizi Sud-Est”, indeed led by Sri Lankans. 4.3.Catania The Srilankans in Sicily’s second biggest city are mainly employed in the Service and restauration sectors or work as guards and gardeners. In Catania a small portion of Sri Lankans found employment in the agricultural Production as well (Martinelli, 1998: 29). 5. Integration within the Italian Society Many Sri Lankan immigrants stated in interviews that they perceive the working tie with Italian employers as a “master-servant” relationship (Cologna, 2003: 183). This depends mainly on Sri Lankans´ subordinate workingposition that increases the mistrust towards Italians and intensifies a sort of“class consciousness” (Poltrinieri, 2001). Sri Lankans living in Italy often have a high education on secondary level and those who belong to the middle-class in their mother country do not easily accept to send their children to Italian schools or universities. The most, indeed, prefer the perspective of studying in an English speaking country. Italians are mostly judged as impolite and the Italian education level is considered mediocre (Interviews, 2004). The behavior towards the Italian public health system marks out the mistrust of Sri Lankans towards their host country. Especially women prefer to address to compatriots rather than to the public health institutions (Cologna, 2003:83). Italian public institutions try to eliminate the gap between Italian society and Srilankan community. Indeed almost each town has a “Foreigner’s Council”6, where representatives of the biggest communities are elected in order to participate to the local political life. The most significant ones are the “Foreigner’s Council of the County of Florence”6, the “Foreign Communities’ Forum”7 and the “Immigration Council”8 at the Italian Government in Rome. Two Sinhalese men have been elected into these three councils: Tiskumana Ranijth Bandra in Florence and Dayaratne Ananda Sarath Seneviratne in Rome. 4 “Consiglio degli Stranieri” 5 “Consiglio degli Stranieri della provincia di Firenze” 6 “Forum delle Comunità Straniere” 7 “Consiglio degli Immigrati” Strong ties exist between the Sri Lankan Associations and the Trade Unions, Especially the C.G.I.L.(left-oriented) and C.I.S.L. (centre-oriented) that often Offer rooms and financial aid for Sri Lankan meetings.Every year the administration of the city of Palermo organizes a sport Competition, called “Giornata dello Studente Tamil” (“Day of the Tamil Student”), trying to foster the integration of the large Tamil community living in Sicilian capital. 5.The Sri Lankan organizations in Italy 6. The types of Sri Lankan organizations in Italy can be divided into five groups: associations, religious groups, politically engaged groups, multiethnic initiatives and interest groups in the Italian public institutions. The associations deal mainly with welfare work, bureaucratic support, employment intermediation and often have contacts with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Rome. There are no Sri Lankan organizations in Italian only mobilizing on political grounds. Nevertheless, there are some that perceive themselves more Politically engaged, many of them influenced by JVP. Most of the JVP people fled to Italy between 1987 and 1990 and started organizing the political life in the communities of the bigger cities. In Verona, Venice, Rome, and Bologna the JVP ideological background is predominant in at least one association per city. 6.1. Sinhalese Associations, Politically Engaged Groups and Multiethnic Initiatives 6.1.1.Rome Sri Lanka Association Italy Hon. President: Dayaratne Ananda Sarath Senavirathna Via S. Croce in Gerusalemme 106 a 00185 Rome Tel: ++39-06-7001745 ++39-368-3216143 Fax: ++39-06-233225878 The association was founded in 1980. Activities: - Legal and bureaucratic assistance - Consulting - Organization of events →“Non solo tè”9: exhibition of traditional Dances; literary discussions; organization of a Batik market. - Production of a Sinhalese-Tamil-Italian dictionary - Administration of a Sinhalese library - Cooperation with Italian organizations dealing with immigrants; - Summer courses for children 8 “Not only tea” 9 - Professional education courses JVP-Italy Official Representative: Sudath Adikari Via Giolitti 231 00185 Rome Tel: ++39-06-30609545 ++39-339-6386214 E-Mail: jvpitalia@tele2.it sudathadikari@tele2.it Activities: - Legal and bureaucratic assistance - Consulting - Efforts of drawing Italian public opinion’s attention towards the civil war in Sri Lanka. 6.1.2.Florence Sri Lanka Association Florence Chairman : Ajith Kariyawasan Via Lambertesca 10 50100 Florence Tel: ++39-338-1244785 E-Mail: ajith26@libero.it Activities: - Legal and bureaucratic assistance - Organization of events: →“Festival dei Popoli”10. Naples Association Sri Lanka Napoli Mark Anthony Perera Via Torino 16 80142 Naples Tel: ++39-338-4742125 Fax: ++39-81-261896 This association was founded in 1987. Strong ties with the left-oriented trade union C.G.I.L. Activities: - Legal and bureaucratic assistance - Italian courses Sri Lanka Women’s Association Napoli Madona Dissanayake/Selin F. Vicolo Lammatari 45 80137 Naples Tel: ++39-08-18768402 9“The People’s Festival” 10 ++39-340-5708142 6.1.3. Catania Associazione Culturale dello Sri Lanka Via Franchetti 6 Catania Sri-Lanka Musical Group Via C. Abate 10/E Catania 6.1.4. Bologna Sri Lanka Circle Bologna Representatives: John R. Gomez/Hiendra Nawarathna Via Marconi 16 40124 Bologna Tel: ++39-051-221664 E-Mail: yasakavi@libero.it Chaminda jayanath Manamendra Via Otello Bonvicini 7 40124 Bologna Tel: ++39-339-8341154 ++39-334-3069304 6.1.5. Milan World Ceylon Circle Sylvestor Jayakody Via Porpora 14 20131 Milan Tel: ++39-02-29403406 Fax:++39-02-178222938 E-Mail: worldceylon@tiscali.it Cooperativa X-Etnica Italian-Srilankan-African project. Activities: - Promotion of multicultural integration Arcobaleno This multiethnic cooperative was founded in 1982. Activities: - Legal and bureaucratic assistance - Italian courses 11 - Organization of a football matches between immigrants: → “Mundialito” 6.1.6. Verona Associazione della Solidarietà Sri Lanka B.L. Sudath Fernando Via Artigliere 1 37129 Verona Tel:++39-045-594744 This association is JVP-oriented Activities: - Legal and bureaucratic assistance - Administration of a Sinhalese library Comitato Verona Aiuto Studenti Sri Lanka Jayakody Ivan Vicolo Dietro SS. Apostoli 2 37121 Verona Tel:++39-045-597946/803668 Activities: - Scholarships for Sri Lankan students 6.1.7. Venice Associazione Sri Lanka Venezia Ronlas Perera Casella Postale 107 Venice Tel:++39-380-3520896 Activities: - Legal and bureaucratic assistance - Humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka 6.1.8. Messina A.N.O.L.F. Sacalde (affiliated to the trade union C.I.S.L.) Dino Calderone Tel:++39-338-5677501 E-Mail: sacalde@tiscalinet.it 12 6.2. Temples, Churches and Religious Meeting Points 6.2.1. Milan Mihan Vihara Temple/Yatarthawady-Buddhist Realist Centre Via Bernardino Verro Sri Lanka Buddha Sangamaya Rev. M. Wimalarathna Thero Via Pienza 6/a 20142 Milano Tel: ++39-02-89305295 E-Mail:laukaramaya@hotmail.com wimala72@yahoo.com Activities: - Humanitarian aid - Traditional dance courses - Administration of a Sinhalese library. 6.2.2. Rome Santa Maria dei Pellegrini Church Rev. Fr. Neville Joe Perera Via Bernardo Pasquini 34 00124 Rome Tel: ++39-06-5098263 ++39-339-5878246 E-Mail:nevillejoe@hotmail.com 6.2.3. Florence Samadhi Viharaya Rev. D. Nandasiri Thero Via Carlo Del Prete 10 50127 Florence Tel: ++39-055-4377833 E-Mail:samadhiviharaya@msn.com Fr. Leo Perera Via Romana 55 50125 Florence Tel: ++39-055-22233 ++39-333-4516299 E-Mail:leoperera@hotmail.com 13 6.2.4. Catania Tempio Buddista (Buddhist Temple) Via Carini 9 Catania 6.2.5. Verona Centro Buddista (Buddhist Centre) Ven. G. Piyadassi Thero Via Chioda 96 37136 Verona Tel: ++39-045-950968 ++39-349-4375038 E-Mail:piyadassi@virgilio.it San Luca Church Rev. Fr. M. Jude Piyal Fernando Corso Porta Nuova 12 37122 Verona 6.3. Major Tamil Associations 6.3.1. Palermo Coordinamen to Tamil Matha Candia/Kanes Woren Via Dante 218 90141 Palermo Tel: ++39-091-6850274 ++39-339-3818763 Fax:++39-091-6812948 E-Mail: italy@tronline.org Centro Cultural Tamil Thureswamy Aravinthan Via Balsamo 90141 Palermo Tel: ++39- 6.3.2. Catania Associazione dei Tamil in Italia Tahasan Via Oliveto Scammacca 4 95127 Catania Tel: ++39-347-8538213 14 Tempio Tamil Via San Calago 45 Catania 6.3.3. Naples Associazione Sri Lanka Piazzetta Ponte Corvo 5 80100 Naples Tel/Fax: ++39-081-291418 ++39-338-4742125 E-Mail : less_sportello@tiscali.it Student Welfare Organization Sri Lanka Junior School Via Foria 68 80137 Naples Tel: ++39-081-290013 E-Mail: srilankajuniorschool@libero.it 6.3.4. Lecce Associazione dei Tamil in Italia Suqitharan Navaratnam Via Francesco Crispi 20 73100 Lecce Tel: ++39-0832-279808 ++39-340-4068796 6.3.5. Bologna Associazione Tamil Bologna 6.3.6. Reggio Emilia Associazione Sri Lanka Tamil Josef Tambinajagam Campo Samarotto 10 Reggio Emilia Tel: ++39-0522-455371 ++39-339-3174478 15 Newspapers and Broadcasting 7.1 Broadcasting Program: Trasmissione Comunità dello Sri Lanka Radio Station: Radio Città Aperta (Rome) The program was established in 1989; weekly; in Sinhalese and Tamil Language. Program: Radio Giornale Radio Station: Radio Messina Quartiere (Messina) The program was established in 2000; daily news in Italian and Sinhalese. Name of the program: Nuova Frontiera Radio Station : Radio Messina Quartiere (Messina) Daily; thirty-minute-long program; traditional music; cultural informations. Program: Vivara Radio Station: Radio Onda d’Urto (Brescia) The program was established in 1996; every two weeks; interviews, legal information, traditional music; in Sinhalese. 7.2. Newspapers and Reviews The World Ceylon (Milan) Monthly; publication of Sri Lankan and Italian news in Sinhalese. Lakhiru (Rome) Weekly; publication of Sri Lankan and Italian news in Sinhalese. Il Dhumcatu (Rome) Monthly; founded in 2001; supervised by Sri Lankans, Pakistani, Indians, ROMs, Peruvians; published in Italian, English, Bengali. Stringer (Rome) Monthly; publication of South Asian political news. Printed and online format. 168. Preliminary Conclusions In this explorative study we have elaborated some key patterns of the social Structure of the Sri Lankan communities in Italy. As outlined, the Sri Lankan Community is composed of a Sinhalese majority (approx. 90 %). There is no Empirically verified data concerning the Tamil and the Muslim minorities Therefore it would be necessary to conduct a further analysis to outline more Precisely the structure of these smaller communities. The Sinhalese reside mainly in the rich and industrial Northern cities of Milan, Verona and in Rome, Florence, Bologna, Naples, Palermo and Messina. Themain employment sector of Sri Lankans is the domestic one, even if a growing percentage has started their own enterprises. The Sri Lankan Diaspora in Italy is characterised by a well-structured communitarian life. Many organizations have been established in order to assist and support the immigrants. The Sinhalese associations are characterised by local-based assistance activities in which politics play a minor role. Yet, members of the Diaspora community are aware of political developments back home and open for a dialogue for the establishment of a Diaspora network on a national basis. The latter would aim for fostering realistic political discussions on the peace process and the exploration of support opportunities.
[Video] Free Society vs. PC society: 1984 was 24yrs ago!
[Post] Motives, Action, and Ordinary People
In the end, this is because there's no way to social-scientifically determine whether someone is "responsible" for something, because responsibility is a value-orientation rather than a social-scientific conclusion. ... [Site] Political Orientation of the Freethinker " A Division by Zer0
It seems that most people who are irreligious, atheist or generally freethinkers ... Comments Political+Orientation+of+the+Freethinker2008-07-14+21%3A14 ...
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[News] Initiative honors abuse victims
TRUMBULL -- Dozens of colorful T-shirts hang shoulder-to-shoulder from clotheslines outside the Trumbull Library. Each one represents the millions of women and children affected by domestic violence
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Silkscreen, Acrylic Paint, Glass, Wood, Canvas, Assemblage c. 5' x 9' May 1, 2008 Finally think I found a nice resting point to work on this summer. I drew influence from the totem poles of the people of the Pacific Northwest. In the same way they used them, I use them to illustrate stories, or talk about notable events in my life and the world around us. Future designs for these touch on concepts of social injustice and inequalities, political orientation, political surroundings, disconnection, evolution, American culture, you get the point. This particular piece measures over 9 feet tall. It is a story, read from the bottom up, describing the last few years of my life. I needed to work this piece out in order to arrive at my next few totem pieces, which are much less personal, but still talk about accepted thoughts and concepts, and why exactly they are such the norm in today's American culture. I fully believe that we are spoon-fed a lot of shaky values and morals that we wash down with a large glass of denial. The current morals and values in our lives should be questioned by us every day. Politics should be questioned by us every day. Standards of living should be questioned by us every day. Gas prices should be questioned by us every day. Art should be questioned by us everyday. And, we should never stop questioning why there aren't any solely electric-run cars on the road when they have been around for close to a href= http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/6111/electcar.htm 200 years /a .
[Video] Palin, Gay "Choices" & Trade Missions
[Post] Report on Merdeka 2008: A Restoration of Hope
Upon the announcement of the election results, there was largely a cheer of exhilaration among the rakyat who decided it was time for a change in the state of the country’s political affairs. But within several months after that, ... [News] Election 2008 from across the Atlantic
With the visit of Michelle Obama to the Keene State College campus this past week, I think it is a good time to explain how the United States presidential election is followed on this side of the pond. There are some major differences between the electoral systems in France and the U.
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The 'Time' Magazine Reporter Who Wrote Cover Story on Gay Teens October 11, 2005 - John Cloud, a gay man who wrote the cover story for Time magazine (Oct. 10) on the rise of gay teen advocacy groups on high school campuses, has a long history of promoting the gay political agenda while disguised as a mainstream reporter. Cloud's sexual orientation was not mentioned in the Time article. In past Time articles, Cloud has promoted gay political attacks against the Boy Scouts, portrayed transgender activists as a new oppressed minority group; wrote approvingly of anonymous gay sex orgies for an alternative newspaper in Washington, DC; and earlier had penned a guide to gay bathhouses in Washington, DC. Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a NARTH Scientific Advisory Committee member wrote a letter to Time magazine to dispute Cloud's claims about the rate of suicide and mental illness among gay teens. Fitzgibbons wrote: The Time writer of the gay teen article and the president of the APA have done a serious disservice to teens, their parents and educators by ignoring the well designed research studies on suicide and mental illness in those with same sex attractions. Two well designed major studies of young people with same sex attractions published in the Archives of General Psychiatry revealed they were over 6 times as likely to have attempted suicide, 4 times as likely as their peers to suffer major depression, almost three times as likely to suffer generalized anxiety disorder, nearly 4 times as likely to experience conduct disorder, 5 times as likely to have nicotine dependence, 6 times as likely to suffer multiple disorders. Teenagers have the right to know the truth and should be given informed consent by doctors, school psychologists and counselors, educators and parents as to the serious emotional, mental and physical illnesses associated with the homosexual lifestyle. Catholic author Mark Gauvreau Judge has followed John Cloud's career as a gay activist disguised as a journalist. Judge, author of God And Man At Georgetown Prep, notes of Cloud's gay teen article in Time: I suppose that before starting it must be said again. It's not the bias as much. It's that the bias is not admitted. That mantra from conservative critics of the liberals media is recited religiously, but it's imperative to keep it in mind when one reads the endless cover story in the new Time magazine about America's quot;Gay Teens. quot; It is the usual stew of pc agenda-advancing and conservative-bashing in the guise of straight (so to speak) journalism. I know this because the article's author is John Cloud. Cloud is a gay man -- a very liberal and dangerously promiscuous one, if a graphic article he once wrote about visiting an anonymous gay sex club is any indication. Indeed, Cloud's older piece subverts a main point of his Time dissertation - i.e., that the notion of gay men as promiscuous and reckless is a dangerous stereotype. Again -- and here is where I may get in trouble with my fellow religious conservatives -- I don't care that in 1997 Cloud -- who at the time had a boyfriend -- visited a house in Washington, D.C., and paid $8 to watch men having group sex and watch gay porno. I mean, sure, as a Catholic I think it's bad for his soul. But I don't lose sleep over it. What concerns me is that Cloud is a liberal with an agenda to make homosexuality mainstream -- and that that bias is not addressed or admitted in his massive article. If Time asked me to do a profile of the Pope, as early in the piece as possible I would announce that I am an orthodox Catholic -- then I would proceed to give the other side a fair shake. Cloud doesn't admit the bias, and his disdain for those who disagree is not well hidden. Bias runs through the Time piece, and its germ is found in the gay bathhouse story he wrote in 1997. The latter appeared in the Washington City Paper, a tiresome hispter weekly published in DC. In quot;The Naked City, quot; Cloud ventures to a house in the Adams Morgan section of the city and, after paying $8, is admitted into the house. Cloud's intention was clear: quot;I had always assumed (and, admittedly, hoped), that while one of the activities might well be massage, other activities were even more...well, hands on. I got a couple of friends to admit that they had attended, and one of them described the parties this way: 'It's sort of like a bathhouse without the baths. quot; Indeed. There's no need to go into the details of what Cloud saw, which is sickening. Some of it was hard even for Cloud himself to take -- well, kind of. quot;Feeling equal measures of pity, disgust, and horniness, quot; he writes after seeing something out of latter-day Rome, quot;I skulk back into the hallway and then into the 'smoking room.' quot; Cloud gets quot;groped here and there quot; before escaping Hell House, but not before making this observation: quot;Though I'm not sure, I imagine most of the guests to be closeted, and a fair number married. With their conservative styling [!], I can also imagine most of them in K street law firms or federal office buildings or Northern Virginia computer companies. Strangely, I can't imagine them at a sex party, even as I watch them have orgasms. quot; Cloud also wrote a guide to DC gay bathhouses for the City Paper. No need for details, you get the idea. Cut to the present. Cloud, now ensconced at Time, offers a gigantic cover story on gay teens. According to Cloud, quot;Kids are disclosing their homosexuality with unprecedented regularity -- and they are doing it much younger. quot; Moreover, even conservatives are getting on board. quot;When their kids come out, quot; Cloud writes, quot;many conservatives -- just ask the Vice President -- start to seem uncomfortable with traditionalist, rigid views on gays. quot; The kids these days are entering a brave new world: quot;Until recently, growing up gay meant awaiting a lifetime of secrecy -- furtive encounters, darkened bar windows, crushing deracination. quot; Sounds like a memory from his days in DC. The Time piece is nothing so much as a position paper for the Human Rights Campaign, America's largest gay lobby. These days gay teens quot;no longer need endure the baleful combination of loneliness and longing that characterized the childhood of so many gay adults quot; (not to mention the adulthood of certain journalists). Books, networks, movies and big business all cater to gays. These days, quot;at many schools it is now profoundly uncool to be seen as anti-gay. quot; Furthermore, quot;it's important to note that nearly all mental-health professionals agree that trying to reject one's homosexual impulses will usually be fruitless and depressing. quot; Even the Christians are getting involved -- although, of course, this is not good news to Cloud. quot;In a jarring bit of rhetorical mimicry, quot; Cloud writes, quot;many Christians who work with gay kids have adopted the same pc tributes to 'tolerance' and 'diversity' employed [by gay activist groups]. quot; They've even had the gall to publish a book -- it boasts, in Cloud's phrase, quot;the near parodic title Loving Homosexuals As Jesus Would. quot; I don't suppose it would do much good at this point to speculate that to most Americans there is nothing at all parodic about that title. Or to once again note that the decent thrust behind much political correctness, the desire to respect the personhood of others, actually came from Christianity itself. Of course, the left has taken that very Christian, very Western idea and turn it into a totalitarian system of groupthink and racism. But I digress. The point is that gay sex and Democratic groupthink is good, and conservatism and Christianity bad. But Cloud outs it much better: quot;A lot of Exodus youths seem captives of their Christianity, caught in a hermetic loop of lust and gay sex (or masturbation), followed by confession and grim determination. quot; And gay activist Michael Glatze is worried that gay kids, unlike their parents' generation, won't be obsessed with sex: quot;I don't think the gay movement understands the extent to which the next generation just wants to be normal kids. The people who are getting that are the Christian right. quot; Well, that is cause for concern. According to some of the kids co-opted by the Christian right, the gay lifestyle has a certain quot;superficiality quot; about it, and an obsession with dangerous anonymous sex with multiple partners. In the summation of his piece, Cloud tries to debunk the quot;stereotype quot; of gay men being pathological sexual predators who -- well, who visit anonymous sex houses. Perhaps he should read his own clip file.
[Video] Political Compass
[Post] Rachel Maddow Takes the High Road
She is a welcome contrast from the angry, screaming pundits who tend to dominate political discourse. John Stewart and Stephen Colbert have proven for quite a few years now that humor, snark, and sarcasm can be effective tools in ... [News] Brown, Pier face off in supe's race
Valerie Brown and Will Pier are contending for the 1st District Supervisor seat. Valerie Brown was born in Kansas City, Mo., earned a master's degree in counseling psychology and was licensed as a marriage, family and child counselor. She has lived in the Sonoma Valley since 1984.
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Human Rights [ Biblical References to Homosexuality ] Culled from quot;Of Love and Justice: Toward the Civil Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage, quot; a resource developed by The United Church of Canada for congregations by Alyson C. Huntly. Even though there is no record of Jesus having mentioned homosexuality or same-sex relationships, many Christians continue to believe that Jesus himself condemned homosexuality. Jesus did not. Instead he preached a message of radical inclusion, in stark contrast to the strict adherence to purity codes observed by many within his society. So what does the Bible say about homosexuality? The short answer is, quot;nothing. quot; The concept of homosexuality as a sexual orientation was unknown in biblical times. The Bible does make a few explicit references to same-sex genital activity. Several of these texts have been used to assert a biblical condemnation of homosexuals and their relationships. Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19, cf. Judges 19-21) The story of Sodom and Gomorrah and a very similar story in Judges, has nothing to do with same-sex affection or sexual intimacy. Rather, it is about infringing ancient Near Eastern hospitality codes, and about gang rape as a violent expression of male dominance. In both stories, women are offered to men quot;to do with as they please. quot; The women are offered as substitutes for male visitors that townsmen want to violate. In the story from Judges, the two women are gang-raped and murdered. When later biblical texts refer to quot;the sin of Sodom, quot; the sins referred to are arrogance, adultery, lies, insincere religious practices, political corruption, oppression of the poor, neglect of orphans and widows, and inhospitality. Homosexuality or same-sex sexual acts are not mentioned. An Abomination (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13) Leviticus states, quot;if a man lies with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. quot; The second reference adds, quot;they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them. quot; These acts were considered an abomination (which literally means a practice which prohibits one from entering the precinct of the Jewish temple) for several reasons. Within the patriarchal culture when a man treated another man quot;like a woman quot; he degraded him, because women were considered non-persons. This was reflected in an ancient Near Eastern practice of anal raping of captured male foes as a sign of domination. In patriarchal societies, the worst and most degrading thing a man could do to another man is to use him as a woman might be used. Secondly, the Hebrew understanding of procreation was that the sperm contained all of life. It entered the female body for incubation only. Thus, the spilling of sperm in coitus interruptus (Genesis 38:1-11), masturbation, or anal intercourse was like abortion or murder. People who single out these verses to condemn lesbians and gays choose to ignore other prohibitions in the book of Leviticus such as being naked with next of kin (which was a crime); having sex during menstruation; breeding hybrid plants; wearing garments made of more than one type of fibre; eating rabbit, meat with blood or milk, shellfish, or shrimp; bearing tattoos; or males cutting the hair on their temples and trimming their beards. Male Prostitutes (1 Corinthians 6:9) Paul's list of quot;wrongdoers quot; -- those who quot;will not inherit the kingdom of God quot; -- includes male prostitutes. The Greek word, which is translated quot;Sodomites quot; or quot;homosexuals quot; in some versions of the Bible, refers to adolescent boys who sold sexual favours to older men in Greek towns such as Corinth. Unnatural Relations (Romans 1:26-27) In reference to women, Paul writes of women who exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural. The specific acts, which are against nature, are not specified. In the modern period this is often assumed to mean homosexuality. Pre-twentieth century Christians would have interpreted this to mean non-procreative sexual activity, or oral and anal sex. The passage goes on to condemn men who, quot;giving up natural intercourse with women were consumed with passion for one another. quot; In Paul's time there was no notion of homosexual orientation so Paul would have assumed that homosexual relations were unnatural for everyone. Gay and lesbian people have noted that a same-sex relationship would be unnatural for (against the nature of) a heterosexual person. But it would be very much according to the nature of a gay or lesbian person. Paul uses these statements in a debate about the ritual requirements of Jewish law regarding diet and male circumcision. Ironically, these verses, which are so often quoted to judge and condemn homosexuals, were used rhetorically by Paul to denounce judgemental and self-righteous behaviour. Paul chose behaviour that would have been generally condemned in order to make his point. But his point was, quot;There is no one who is righteous, not even one quot; (Romans 3:9). a href= http://www.united-church.ca/humanrights/biblereferences.shtm www.united-church.ca/humanrights/biblereferences.shtm /a
[Video] Policy Talks@Google: Guerriero, Kendell, & Smith
[Post] TF Republicans change laws to keep Paul supporters in line
Commit-tee members said that Alice Alice Paul protagonists are trying to overtake the commission with political orientation and haven't been active in local political relation enough, particularly with the Abraham Lincoln Day feasts and ... |
