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Topics - elan

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61
General Discussion / Catholics Views on Jews
« on: October 26, 2011, 05:12:57 PM »
RC Archbishop criticised for Jew remarks
Wednesday 26th October, 2011

 

Jewish Groups in the United States have spoken out against statements made by outgoing RC Archbishop, Edward Gilbert, at a mass in San Fernando on Sunday.

One group, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), said it "deplored" Archbishop Gilbert's statements when he compared local politicians to Jews, whom he described as "although a compassionate and caring people only looked after the people of their nation."

Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's International Director of Interreligious Affairs, criticised the Archbishop, saying "such prejudicial comments not only reflect personal ignorance, but also ignorance of the teaching of the Catholic Church since Nostra Aetate."

Rabbi Rosen added that the 1974 Vatican Guidelines on Nostra Aetate precisely warn against such misrepresentation and generalisations and called on the Holy See to reiterate its repudiation of such prejudicial stereotyping. He continued: "Archbishop Gilbert's comments again highlight the need for more effective global Catholic education regarding the Holy See's official teaching on Jews and Judaism."

Another organisation, the Jewish Telegraph Society, noted what it said was the Archbishop's anti-Jewish statements in a sermon.

The Anti-Defamation League also called the statements "a disturbing repackaging of ancient anti-Jewish canards and supersessionist beliefs."

ADL National Director Abraham Foxman said in a statement: "Archbishop Gilbert devalues Judaism over and against Christianity. The false notion that Jews only care about themselves and don't care enough about others is one of the major pillars of classical anti-Semitism."


62
Football / Caribbean Girls Legacy Cup
« on: October 16, 2011, 09:32:45 PM »
Caribbean Girls Legacy Cup

An international Under 15 to Under 19 Girls tournament hosted in Trinidad and Tobago.

April 3-7th, 2012

                               
For more information contact Evelyn Fuentes at Evelyn@premiersoccerservices.com

Link



Anyone Knows anything about this event?

63
Football / New Adidas 'Smart' Cleats
« on: October 09, 2011, 06:54:31 PM »
Adidas F50 adiZero miCoach

Published: Friday, 30. September, 2011 in category SoccerCleats101 


Adidas unveiled the latest technological advancement in the world of soccer cleats – the addition of miCoach. The new F50 adiZero is powered by miCoach, an innovative new system that will revolutionize how players evaluate their performance.
 
The boot’s soleplate has been remodeled in such a way that a cavity now exists, which will house a miCoach SPEED_CELL chip. This chip will capture 360° movement and measuring key performance metrics including speed, average speed (recorded every second), maximum speed (recorded every five seconds), number of sprints, distance, distance at high intensity levels, steps and stride rates. Offering the everyday player an opportunity to track their in-game performance is an excellent ploy on Adidas part – it will become the go to product for players that want to monitor their progress.


The boot itself has also undergone some slight modification, the most significant of which is the addition of SprintWeb in the upper, a distinct 3-D textured design that runs across the top of your toes. Its purpose is to improve grip as you dribble. In terms of weight, they have been kept at a superlight 5.8oz (in the synthetic version.) Adidas has also spent time redefining stud configuration, and the result is an outsole that delivers a more stable level of traction.

What about the design? Well, it seems like Adidas might have banked on the bright High Energy/Electricity/White colorway increasing the visual appeal of the release. In my opinion, it really takes away from the boot and will only look good if worn by the Spanish national team or Ronald McDonald! Ultimately, this might be a release where you wait for a future colorway before paying the $200 retail price, although the technology does make these a must-have for any aspiring pro!

Soccer.com Pre-Order





64
General Discussion / 3D Porno
« on: October 07, 2011, 10:44:22 AM »

65
General Discussion / Bim vs T&T vs JA
« on: September 26, 2011, 11:00:44 AM »
The Superiority Complex Of Jamaica, Trinidad And Barbados

Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Written by Jeevan Robinson
 



Do the citizens of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados feel they are superior to other Caribbean islands' citizens? This is a topic that can stir the passion of every Caribbean national, whether at home or in the Diaspora. A question that can equally ignite derision; so too, in some aspects, impassioned reasoning to affirm why one island should be considered better than the other.

I made an observation last week. An article was published two weeks ago showcasing the achievements of Chef Lij & Kari, two Jamaican nationals excelling in Dubai. The sin committed in the article, as one commentator was keen to highlight, was to introduce both Chef Lij and Kari as ‘Caribbean nationals’ and not as Jamaican nationals. The piece did proceeded to mention that they are Jamaicans but this inclusion seemingly passed the eye of one individual who promptly fumed that Jamaicans should not to be referred to as Caribbean nationals as and when it suits.

“They are Jamaicans, not Caribbean nationals, so stop saying that,” said the commentator. “.... promote yourselves off your own prowess and allow us to bask in our glory without you small island interlopers.”

Interlopers is a bit strong, would you not agree? Surely, this comment cannot be meant to include Trinidad and Barbados, the other two heavyweights in the English speaking Caribbean. Do Jamaicans turn their noses at Trinidadians and Barbados also? The question answers itself as the evidence always speaks volumes as to the nature of the crime. The fights in recent times between these three islands has become headline-gripping content.

Fights over low cost carrier REDjet amongst these three islands sometimes lent towards callous language and a bit of snobbery. Furthermore, between Barbados and Trinidad earlier this year, Shanique Myrie’s case pitted David against Goliath in a good demonstration of how not to air your political and social disagreements in public. It is always mostly these three islands. Can’t they all just get along?

There is undoubtedly a prejudice that exists between the islands of the Caribbean. Islanders both at home and abroad often make their biased and snotty comments against each other as often as can be counted. But the distaste that often shows its ugly head between Jamaicans, Barbadians and Trinidadians sometimes seems to take on meteoric proportions. Why is this?

Between Jamaica and Trinidad, I have always thought that there is a subtle power play. It is political and economic as well as it is social. Both islands are blessed with natural resources; just that one exploits them for profit more efficiently than the other. The power of the petro-dollar is not only a phenomenon in Middle Eastern states but it is also very real in southern regions of the Caribbean.

On top of that, you have the social strength of these two nations, who might quite possibly have two of the largest Diaspora populations globally. Jamaica gave the world Bob Marley, reggae, dancehall, ackie and saltfish, Blue Mountain Coffee, Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake! Trinidad, on the other hand, will not be outplayed, as they have given to the world the greatest Carnival spectacle outside of Brazil, soca/calypso music, the steelpan, Machel Montano, roti, Brian Lara and Dwight Yorke. This is just but a slither of the offerings coming from these islands.

Both islands can be said to be on par, if we were to use social and cultural references to ground this discussion. But that would be unfair, as there are other factors where Trinidad will come up trumps over Jamaica and likewise Jamaica will come up flexing over Trinidad.

And Barbados, where does she fit into this power play? A bastion of economic stability on the region, they will boast of their stable currency, low level of crime as compared to both Jamaica and Trinidad and low unemployment rates. Jamaicans accuse Bajans of being obnoxious and condescending towards them. 'Little England' they say, is snobbish and thinks herself better than not just Jamaicans but the rest of the region. Can there be any truth to this?

I have some very firm friends who are Jamaicans who without skipping a heartbeat, remind me at every turn of my small island status. The banter is often returned with equal gusto. Many Jamaicans seem to buy into this small island talk from what I have noticed. For me though, the concept of ‘small island’ is flawed.

While I can see why some islands would want to play head honcho, the fact is that socio-economically and geo-politically we are all but small islands with no clout, no power, no militaries to challenge anyone, not enough economic purpose and yet still somewhat adrift of the entire concept that the world is now globalised and we are all one village. We are all small islands in the bigger scheme of things.

For better relations between the islands to take root, I submit that citizens, and maybe too some politicians of the bigger islands would have to start by dropping the superiority complex. Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, did not help this along any further when earlier this year he insulted Barbados by suggesting that the island can fit into a Jamaican Parish. It did sound funny at the time but such a lack of diplomacy is unwise in areas where sensitivities are delicately poised.

It serves no purpose to keep on blaming Jamaica for failing the development of the former West Indies Federation. We cannot forever go on blaming them for a short sighted and insular position by its then leaders. Likewise, Trinidad’s economic prosperity aided by petro-dollars should not be a reason for it to want to parade as a Caribbean superpower. Getting its house in order is key. It is no easy feat when your island has one of the highest levels of crime in the region. Barbados’ somewhat detached position from the Caribbean arc may be the reason why other islands view Bajans as lofty and snobbish towards the other islands less fortunate than they are. Perhaps! Perhaps not!

That being said, these three islands must find a way to settle their differences beyond cosmetic plastering. The question is though, is such a thing possible?

66
Football / My Young 'un
« on: September 19, 2011, 10:22:12 PM »
Just a bit of highlights guys.

Age 10 here.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/d7t8UeTzCro&amp;feature=related" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/d7t8UeTzCro&amp;feature=related</a>


Age 12 Here.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/R5wYMuTOfIw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/R5wYMuTOfIw</a>



Age 13 here.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/qEsI-Vma1aw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/qEsI-Vma1aw</a>

67
General Discussion / People, Position and Power
« on: August 17, 2011, 03:24:07 PM »
Stanford prison experiment continues to shock

17 August 11

By Alastair Leithead BBC News, San Francisco

Forty years ago a group of students hoping to make a bit of holiday money turned up at a basement in Stanford University, California, for what was to become one of the most notorious experiments in the study of human psychology.

The idea was simple - take a group of volunteers, tell half of them they are prisoners, the other half prison wardens, place them in a makeshift jail and watch what happens.

The Stanford prison experiment was supposed to last two weeks but was ended abruptly just six days later, after a string of mental breakdowns, an outbreak of sadism and a hunger strike.

"The first day they came there it was a little prison set up in a basement with fake cell doors and by the second day it was a real prison created in the minds of each prisoner, each guard and also of the staff," said Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist leading the experiment.

The volunteers had answered an advertisement in a local paper and both physical and psychological tests were done to make sure only the strongest took part.

Despite their uniforms and mirrored sunglasses, the guards struggled to get into character and at first Prof Zimbardo's team thought they might have to abandon the project.

As it turned out, they did not have to wait long.

"After the first day I noticed nothing was happening. It was a bit of a bore, so I made the decision I would take on the persona of a very cruel prison guard," said Dave Eshleman, one of the wardens who took a lead role.

At the same time the prisoners, referred to only by their numbers and treated harshly, rebelled and blockaded themselves inside their cells.

The guards saw this as a challenge to their authority, broke up the demonstration and began to impose their will.

"Suddenly, the whole dynamic changed as they believed they were dealing with dangerous prisoners, and at that point it was no longer an experiment," said Prof Zimbardo.

It began by stripping them naked, putting bags over their heads, making them do press-ups or other exercises and humiliating them.

"The most effective thing they did was simply interrupt sleep, which is a known torture technique," said Clay Ramsey, one of the prisoners.

"What was demanded of me physically was way too much and I also felt that there was really nobody rational at the wheel of this thing so I started refusing food."

Power of situations

He was put in the janitor's cupboard - solitary confinement - and the other prisoners were punished because of his actions. It became a very stressful situation.

"It was rapidly spiralling out of control," said prison guard Mr Eshleman who hid behind his mirrored sunglasses and a southern US accent.

"I kept looking for the limits - at what point would they stop me and say 'No, this is only an experiment and I have had enough', but I don't think I ever reached that point."

Prof Zimbardo recalled a long list of prisoners who had breakdowns and had to leave the experiment. One even developed a psychosomatic all-over body rash.

The lead researcher had also been sucked into the experiment and had lost clarity.

"The experiment was the right thing to do, the wrong thing was to let it go past the second day," he said.

"Once a prisoner broke down we had proved the point - that situations can have a powerful impact - so I didn't end it when I should have."

In the end it was a fellow psychologist who intervened.

Prof Zimbardo had been dating Christina Maslach, a former graduate student, and when she saw what was happening in the basement she was visibly shocked, accusing him of cruelty. It snapped him out of the spell.

Prison disturbances in the US drew attention to the Stanford experiment and, all of a sudden, the dramatic results became well known in the US and all over the world.

"The study is the classic demonstration of the power of situations and systems to overwhelm good intentions of participants and transform ordinary, normal young men into sadistic guards or for those playing prisoners to have emotional breakdowns," said Prof Zimbardo.

'Ethically wrong'

The abusive prison guard, Mr Eshleman, also felt he gained something from the experiment.

"I learned that in a particular situation I'm probably capable of doing things I will look back on with some shame later on," he said.

"When I saw the pictures coming from Abu Ghraib in Iraq, it immediately struck me as being very familiar to me and I knew immediately they were probably just very ordinary people and not the bad apples the defence department tried to paint them as.

"I did some horrible things, so if I ever had the chance to repeat the experiment I wouldn't do it."

But prisoner Mr Ramsey felt the experiment should never have taken place as it had no true scientific basis and was ethically wrong.

"The best thing about it, is that it ended early," he said.

"The worst thing is that the author, Zimbardo, has been rewarded with a great deal of attention for 40 years so people are taught an example of very bad science."

But Prof Zimbardo calls this "naive" and argues the work was a very valuable addition to psychology - and its findings were important in understanding why abuse took place at Abu Ghraib.

"It does tell us that human nature is not totally under the control of what we like to think of as free will, but that the majority of us can be seduced into behaving in ways totally atypical of what we believe we are," he said.

68
General Discussion / Black Man Killed by White Kids
« on: August 10, 2011, 10:00:41 PM »
Video shows white teens driving over, killing black man, says DA

By Drew Griffin and Scott Bronstein, CNN Special Investigations
August 8, 2011 -- Updated 1849 GMT (0249 HKT
)



Jackson, Mississippi (CNN) -- On a recent Sunday morning just before dawn, two carloads of white teenagers drove to Jackson, Mississippi, on what the county district attorney says was a mission of hate: to find and hurt a black person.
In a parking lot on the western side of town they found their victim.
James Craig Anderson, a 49-year-old auto plant worker, was standing in a parking lot, near his car. The teens allegedly beat Anderson repeatedly, yelled racial epithets, including "White Power!" according to witnesses.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith says a group of the teens then climbed into their large Ford F250 green pickup truck, floored the gas, and drove the truck right over Anderson, killing him instantly.
Mississippi officials say it was a racially motivated murder. What the gang of teens did not know was that a surveillance camera was focused on the parking lot that night, and many of the events, including the actual murder of Anderson, were captured live on videotape.
CNN has exclusively obtained that surveillance tape. The group of teens that night was led by 18-year-old Deryl Dedmon, Jr., of Brandon, Mississippi, according to police and officials.

Deryl Dedmon, Jr., right, could face two life sentences in connection with the killing. John Aaron Rice, left, has been charged with simple assault.
"This was a crime of hate. Dedmon murdered this man because he was black," said Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith. "The evidence will show that."
Asked if there could be any doubt whether the intent was to actually hurt and kill a black person, Smith responded: "No doubt about it. They were going out to look for a black victim to assault, and in this case, even kill."


Racial Issues
Dedmon led and instigated the attack from early in the evening, he took part in the beating of Anderson, and Dedmon was also the actual driver of the Ford 250 truck that would serve as the murder weapon, according to officials.
As the teens were partying and drinking miles away from Jackson that night, in largely white Rankin County, Dedmon told friends they should leave, saying "let's go f**k with some niggers," according to law enforcement officials.
Then, the gang of teens climbed into Dedmon's green truck and a white SUV Cherokee, and drove 16 miles down Interstate 20, to the western edge of Jackson, a predominantly black area.
The teens would have seen Anderson immediately as they exited the highway, as the parking lot where he was standing is just beside the exit ramp.
"This is the first business that you get to coming off the highway and so that was the first person that was out here and vulnerable," said district attorney Smith.
On the videotape, obtained and reviewed by CNN, the group of teens is seen pulling into the parking lot, and stopping where Anderson is standing, though he is just off camera and not visible.
The teens can then be seen going back and forth between their cars and Anderson. Witnesses told law enforcement officials this is when the repeated beatings of Anderson took place.
Dedmon pummeled Anderson repeatedly as he crumpled to the street, according to officials, though this is not visible in the videotape. Finally, after the beating some of the teens left and some got into the green truck.
At this moment on the video, Anderson becomes visible, as he staggered into view and walked towards the headlights of the truck. The truck suddenly surges ahead, running over Anderson, then continuing at high speed away from the scene.
Shortly after he allegedly drove the truck over Anderson, Dedmon allegedly boasted and laughed about the killing, according to testimony given by some of the teens to detectives.
"I ran that nigger over," Dedmon allegedly said in a phone conversation to the teens in the other car.
He repeated the racial language in subsequent conversations, according to the law enforcement officials.
"He was not remorseful he was laughing, laughing about the killing," said district attorney Smith.
Later that morning, James Craig Anderson's family learned their 49-year-old brother and son died in a hit and run. Only later, when witness statements were taken did they learn the real horror.
"It appears there is no doubt that this was a racially motivated killing," said Winston Thompson, the attorney representing Anderson's family. "The family is still in shock still in disbelief."
Smith and officials in the Hinds County District Attorney's office say they plan to indict Dedmon for murder and a hate crime.
Deryl Dedmon is thin, weighing a mere 130 pounds, and short -- at 5 feet; he has straggly blond hair and piercing blue eyes.
The teen, just 18 years old, has been charged with murder and now faces a possible double life sentence. Calls to Deryl Dedmon's attorney have gone unanswered.
During a bond hearing his attorney told the court he saw nothing to back up the "racial allegations."
At Dedmon's home, a girl who answered the door pretended not to know him though the pick-up truck he allegedly used as a murder weapon sticks out of the family's garage.
Police say they returned it after the vehicle was processed. A second teen, 18-year-old John Aaron Rice, has been charged with simple assault, for his part in the beating his attorney also did not return calls.
Neither teen has entered a plea.
The other teens in the group have not been charged.
And James Craig Anderson's family has decided to remain silent for now, trying to come to grips with a crime they thought was in Mississippi's past: the murder of a man just because he was black.

Video and Report Here

Video is very graphic.

69
Gols Galore Trinbago Style / Quality Goal
« on: July 31, 2011, 12:46:21 PM »

70
General Discussion / Moruga Police Shooting
« on: July 28, 2011, 11:50:08 AM »
Sandy receives report from Gibbs
'Let investigation continue'
By Julien Neaves

Story Created: Jul 27, 2011 at 11:43 PM ECT

Story Updated: Jul 27, 2011 at 11:43 PM ECT

NATIONAL Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy reported he has received a preliminary report from Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs on the killing of three people by police officers in Moruga.

He has also asked protesting residents of that area to allow for the investigations to continue.

Abigail Johnson, 20; her best friend, Allana Duncan, 28; and construction worker Kerron Eccles, 26, were shot and killed when police intercepted their car in Barrackpore last Friday night.

From Tuesday, a group of Moruga residents have engaged in protests, calling for justice over the killings, vowing not to stop until the officers are suspended and charged.

Sandy was speaking with the media yesterday, following a signing ceremony with representatives of the Organisation of American States at the National Security Ministry, Temple Court Building, Port of Spain.

He noted investigations into the killings were ongoing and upon completion, a report will be submitted.

He said both he and Gibbs were aware that the protest action in Moruga intensified yesterday.

"And I am making an appeal to the citizens in the Moruga area to allow the investigation to take its course," he said.

He noted he saw residents praying for the repose of the lost souls and families, and he joined in that prayer and grief.


71
General Discussion / Casey Anthony
« on: July 05, 2011, 12:47:52 PM »

72
General Discussion / COP elections 2011
« on: July 03, 2011, 08:26:43 PM »
Prakash Ramadar is the new COP leader
CNewslive
 
Prakash Ramadhar is the new Political Leader of the Congress of the People.
 
Over 30,000 members voted in Sunday's election and reports coming from COP Headquarters say Mr Ramadhar won by a landslide.
 
Anil Roberts, one of his three opponents conceded defeat at around 5:30pm.
 
Mr Ramadhar spoke to C News shortly after his victory and promised to continue working for the people.
 
He said, "I have always seen leadership of the COP as nothing to celebrate as much as it is a burden that is a duty to our people. We have done that from 2006 onwards and today, now that I have been chosen as leader of the Congress of the People, it is an enormous responsibility that has been placed on our shoulders. To make sure we do everything in our power to live up to the expectations of our people. So I am happy for the opportunity and I am humbled by the occasion. Rest assured that we will continue to work, to build, to strengthen and to always make this country proud." 
 
Earlier in the day, Mr Ramadhar along with contenders Nalini Dial, Vernon De Lima, and Anil Roberts all stained their fingers to vie for the top spot in the leadership race.
 
A month ago, Ms Dial did not exist in the political landscape. After weeks of going toe to toe with her male counterparts in an election that at times got very heated, she expressed happiness that the race was at an end.
 
She said, "I am happy it is over and the best person will win. I have confidence in the true COP members who will be voting for change and new politics. Whoever wins, we must continue to strengthen and build the party because I truly believe that it is only through the COP that citizens can get good governance."
 
Vernon De Lima reflected on the last six weeks saying at times, things got too heated with the political mudslinging but he admitted that it is part of the local political scene and he does not even remember every word that he threw or what was thrown at him.
 
Mr De Lima said, "When you are up on the platform and people are asking you questions as opposed to the other man, sometimes you say things that afterwards you regret."
 
The frontrunner and eventual winner in the COP race, Prakash Ramadar, said most of the jabs were for him but he has left that aside and will keep working as hard as he always had.
"I will continue. My heart is in this. I have dedicated my entire life to the country and will continue to work."
 
Mr Roberts expressed some level of disappointment over the traffic caused by the Red Bull Flugtag crowd which marooned voters in the west of MovieTowne.
 
Mr Roberts said, "The people in Carenage especially, because they have to come out. There is no polling station in Carenage so they have to come out of Diamond Vale and the numbers are very low. The people are having some problems in exercising their franchise."
 
Though the candidates all expressed confidence of their victory tonight, they said that come tomorrow, they are still COP members.


74
Football / Check This Out
« on: June 01, 2011, 09:25:57 PM »

75
General Discussion / No Hell?
« on: April 03, 2011, 12:44:45 PM »
Hell isn't place of eternal torture
 
Written by
Bob Smietana
THE TENNESSEAN 



Hell, it turns out, may not be like the Hotel California. You can check out anytime you like. And you can always leave.

A new best-selling book by evangelical megachurch pastor Rob Bell claims that the "turn or burn" approach to Christianity, which claims people have to accept Jesus or face an eternity burning in hell, is wrong.

Bell, who will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Belmont University's Curb Event Center, contends God won't torture people in hell forever.

"A God who does that can't be trusted and is not good," he said.

Bell's controversial views sent his book Love Wins to second on the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover advice and sixth overall in books at Amazon.com. But conservative Christian critics, including leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention, claim the book is heretical. They say Bell offers a softhearted God who never gets angry. And they claim he has become a universalist — a person who believes everyone is saved — a view they say undermines Christianity.

"At the heart of it, there is a disdain and contempt for the doctrine of God's wrath," said Denny Burk, associate professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. "The cross is not a place where God punishes his son in the place of sinners. That is an enormous revision of evangelical theology."

Bell, who leads the 3,000-member Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich., is not the first to claim that God gives people in hell a second chance.

Origen of Alexandria, a third-century writer, claimed that everyone, including the devil, eventually is saved. In his 1945 novel, The Great Divorce, British writer C.S. Lewis depicts souls from hell going on bus trips to heaven. If they want to stay in heaven, they can. Lewis also wrote that people choose to go to hell because they don't want to go to heaven.

Bell makes a similar argument. He said people can make their lives a hell on Earth. "God gives us what we want, and if that's hell, we can have it," Bell writes.

The main message of Christianity is choosing heaven by allowing Jesus to save you, Bell said, and his belief on that means he's not a universalist.

Bible says little about hell
The Bible speaks very little about hell. Bell said Jesus used the Greek word "gehenna," which referred to a garbage dump near Jerusalem where trash was burned, to refer to hell. Bell doesn't say whether there is a fiery hell or if the devil wears red tights and has horns — that's all speculation, he said — but God does punish people at times for their own good to purify them.

"Fire — in the Scriptures — is about refinement," he said. "You heat the metal in order to shape and to form it. Fire is how you burn away the chaff."

Andrew Smith, an English instructor at Tennessee Tech, has been a fan of Bell's for several years. He bought the book and plans to hear Bell on Tuesday at the free event. Smith said he grew up going to church, left organized religion for about 20 years and then began attending a Presbyterian church a few years ago.

He agrees with Bell's view. Smith said that no human parent would torture his children for being disobedient. So he doesn't believe God would torture people in hell forever.

"We don't want to imagine a God who is less compassionate than we are," he said.

Liz Knowles also plans to hear Bell on Tuesday. She has been a fan for a number of years and bought Love Wins as soon as it came out. She thinks Bell's critics have taken him out of context.

"People choose heaven and hell every day," said Knowles, a Nazarene. "God wants to give us a choice — if we deny him and choose hell, he's not going to say you are damned forever."

The Rev. Gene Mims, pastor of Judson Baptist Church in Franklin, thinks Bell meant well in his book, but its premise is wrong.

Bell "is not the devil people are making him out to be," he said. "I think he is as wrong as he can be. He's not holding evangelical thought or historic Christianity."

The Rev. Judy Cummings, pastor of New Covenant Christian Church in Nashville, said Christians have debated the details of the afterlife for centuries.

"There are endless speculations about what happens in the afterlife. Tension in the Bible leaves room for varying perspectives in the Christian faith," she said in an email.

'There is a battle right now'
Scot McKnight, a New Testament professor at North Park University in Chicago and an influential blogger about evangelicals, said Bell's book is controversial because he is popular with younger evangelical Christians.

Bell is best known for a series of popular videos called NOOMA — a derivative of the Greek word for "spirit" — used by youth groups around the country. The videos are sold in Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay bookstores, as is his previous book, Velvet Elvis. LifeWay doesn't plan to stock Love Wins through stores but will special order the book.

As a megachurch pastor, Bell has drawn a lot of attention, McKnight said.

"He's been saying things over the last few years that have gotten people irritated," he said. "Once you put it all in print, people have something to latch on to."

Bell's church draws about 5,500 adult worshippers on Sundays. About 7,000 attend Mars Hill's programs in a given week.

McKnight said that Love Wins has exposed a power struggle among evangelicals. In recent years, the so-called New Calvinists, who stress God's holiness and wrath over sin, have become more prominent.

"There is a battle right now over who is truly evangelical," he said. "Some people are intent on saying who is in and who is out."

Bell says he is too busy caring for his parishioners and raising money for causes such as providing clean water in poor countries to worry about his critics. He hopes to use some of the proceeds from the book for charitable work.

76
General Discussion / Bullets for refusing Kiss
« on: March 23, 2011, 02:23:05 PM »
Refused a smooch, 92-year-old woman fires gun?
 



Helen Staudinger, 92, wanted a kiss.

But authorities say after her 53-year-old neighbor refused, the central Florida woman aimed a semi-automatic pistol at his house and fired four times.

"If my head would have been over just a little bit further, (a bullet) probably would have hit me in the back of the head," the neighbor, Dwight Bettner, told Reuters.

Staudinger remained in jail on Tuesday, a day after being arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into a dwelling. Her next court date is April 26.

The case of the kiss that wasn't occurred in Fort McCoy, Florida, about 20 miles northeast of Ocala.

Bettner, a former law enforcement officer and boilermaker, said his elderly neighbor has seemed attracted to him since he moved in six months ago. He's not sure why.

"I've taken her trash out for her, just neighborly stuff," Bettner said. "I guess she just took that as something else."

He told Marion County Sheriff's deputies that Staudinger threatened to shoot him recently when he told her he had a girlfriend but didn't follow through.

Just after noon on Monday, Bettner argued with Staudinger when she came to his house and refused to leave, according to an incident report.

"I want a kiss before I leave," Bettner said Staudinger told him.

No, he said.

"Just go back to your property, and leave me alone," Bettner recalled saying.

Bettner was on the phone with his father when he heard gunshots moments later. One bullet went through a window, spraying him with glass.

Staudinger told deputies that she fired at Bettner's new Mitsubishi 3000GT, a car "that he loved so much," the incident report said.

Bettner said on Tuesday that he would probably move out of his rented home.

"I just don't need the stress or the hassle," he said. "I thought this only happened to younger people."

(Editing by Jerry Norton)  Yahoo News


77
General Discussion / Egypt
« on: February 10, 2011, 03:26:39 PM »
Egypt's Mubarak transfers power to vice president
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press – 4 mins ago


CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he is handing his powers over to his vice president, Omar Suleiman, and ordered constitutional amendments. But the move means he retains his title of president and ensures regime control over the reform process, falling short of protester demands.

Protesters in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, hoping he would announce his resignation outright, watched in stunned silence to his speech, slapping their hands to their foreheads in anger, some crying or waving their shoes in the air in a sign of contempt. After he finished, they resumed their chants of "Leave! Leave! Leave!"

"I have seen that it is required to delegate the powers and authorties of the president to the vice president as dictated in the constitution," Mubarak said near the end of a 15-minute address on state TV. The article is used to transfer powers if the president is "temporarily" unable to carry out his duties and does not mean his resignation.

Mubarak said that the demands of protesters are just and legitimate. He said he had requested six constitutional amendments to answer protesters' reform demands and that he would lift hated emergency laws — but with the caveat, when security permitted, a promise that his vice president made earlier this week but was dismissed by protesters.


Yahoo News

78
Football / Joga Bonita
« on: January 26, 2011, 01:33:15 PM »
Ronaldinho is back at Flamengo and most likely will end his career there. Left out of the 2010 WC team, for a more rigid style of play not attributed to the Brazilian Samba Soccer may have previewed the end of the flambouyant Brazilian style of play.

Touted as Ronaldinho heir to exciting, smiling, full-of-flair, distressing defenses, Robinho has all but disappeared from the world scene. One time world best Kaka, transferred to Real Madrid for a massive transfer fee, has been plagued by injury and may  even have been forgotten by ordinary soccer fans.

No true Brazilian master player filled with Ronaldinhos' smile, love for the game, creative mind and work ethic has come forward thus far.

Is Samba soccer dead?

79
General Discussion / I not liking this
« on: November 14, 2010, 10:00:01 AM »
I don't like how our security infrastructure  ??? is being dismantled.


1. The boats to patrol were stopped from being delivered.

2. The head man in SUATT( was it) get fired just so.

3. The intelligence agency just got "outted" why?


What's next?  Something very wrong here...........or is just me?

80
General Discussion / Big Brother? or National Security?
« on: October 16, 2010, 06:40:03 PM »
Oil change reignites debate over GPS trackers
           

 SAN FRANCISCO – Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old computer salesman and community college student, took his car in for an oil change earlier this month and his mechanic spotted an odd wire hanging from the undercarriage.

The wire was attached to a strange magnetic device that puzzled Afifi and the mechanic. They freed it from the car and posted images of it online, asking for help in identifying it.

Two days later, FBI agents arrived at Afifi's Santa Clara apartment and demanded the return of their property — a global positioning system tracking device now at the center of a raging legal debate over privacy rights.

One federal judge wrote that the widespread use of the device was straight out of George Orwell's novel, "1984".

"By holding that this kind of surveillance doesn't impair an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy, the panel hands the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives," wrote Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a blistering dissent in which a three-judge panel from his court ruled that search warrants weren't necessary for GPS tracking.

But other federal and state courts have come to the opposite conclusion.

Law enforcement advocates for the devices say GPS can eliminate time-consuming stakeouts and old-fashioned "tails" with unmarked police cars. The technology had a starring role in the HBO cops-and-robbers series "The Wire" and police use it to track every type of suspect — from terrorist to thieves stealing copper from air conditioners.

That investigators don't need a warrant to use GPS tracking devices in California troubles privacy advocates, technophiles, criminal defense attorneys and others.

The federal appeals court based in Washington D.C. said in August that investigators must obtain a warrant for GPS in tossing out the conviction and life sentence of Antoine Jones, a nightclub owner convicted of operating a cocaine distribution ring. That court concluded that the accumulation of four-weeks worth of data collected from a GPS on Jones' Jeep amounted to a government "search" that required a search warrant.

Judge Douglas Ginsburg said watching Jones' Jeep for an entire month rather than trailing him on one trip made all the difference between surveilling a suspect on public property and a search needing court approval.

"First, unlike one's movements during a single journey, the whole of one's movements over the course of a month is not actually exposed to the public because the likelihood anyone will observe all those movements is effectively nil," Ginsburg wrote. The state high courts of New York, Washington and Oregon have ruled similarly.

The Obama administration last month asked the D.C. federal appeals court to change its ruling, calling the decision "vague and unworkable" and arguing that investigators will lose access to a tool they now use "with great frequency."

After the D.C. appeals court decision, the 9th Circuit refused to revisit its opposite ruling.

The panel had concluded that agents could have gathered the same information by following Juan Pineda-Moreno, who was convicted of marijuana distribution after a GPS device alerted agents he was leaving a suspected "grow site."

"The only information the agents obtained from the tracking devices was a log of the locations where Pineda-Moreno's car traveled, information the agents could have obtained by following the car," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote for the three-judge panel.

Two other federal appeals court have ruled similarly.

In his dissent, Chief Judge Kozinski noted that GPS technology is far different from tailing a suspect on a public road, which requires the active participation of investigators.

"The devices create a permanent electronic record that can be compared, contrasted and coordinated to deduce all manner of private information about individuals," Kozinksi wrote.

Legal scholars predict the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately resolve the issue since so many courts disagree.

George Washington University law professor Orin Kerr said the issue boils down to public vs. private. As long as the GPS devices are attached to vehicles on public roads, Kerr believes the U.S. Supreme Court will decide no warrant is needed. To decide otherwise, he said, would ignore a long line of previous 4th Amendment decisions allowing for warrantless searches as long as they're conducted on public property.

"The historic line is that public surveillance is not covered by the 4th Amendment," Kerr said.

All of which makes Afifi's lawyer pessimistic that he has much of a chance to file a successful lawsuit challenging the FBI's actions. Afifi is represented by Zahra Billoo of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country's largest Islamic civil rights group.

Afifi declined comment after spending last week fielding myriad media inquiries after wired.com posted the story of his routine oil change and it went viral on the Internet.

Still, Billoo hopes the discovered GPS tracking device will help publicize in dramatic fashion the issue of racial profiling the lawyer says Arab-Americans routinely encounter.

She said Afifi was targeted because of his extensive ties to the Middle East, which include supporting two brothers who live in Egypt and making frequent overseas trips. His father was a well-known Islamic-American community leader who died last year in Egypt.

"Yasir hasn't done anything to warrant that kind of surveillance," Billoo said. "This was a blatant example of profiling."


Link

81
General Discussion / Diplomat Found Dead
« on: September 23, 2010, 11:20:27 AM »
Police: Nicaraguan diplomat found with throat slashed


A Nicaraguan diplomat based in New York was found dead Thursday with his throat slashed in his apartment in the Bronx, said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne. The victim is not being identified pending family notification.


CNN

82
General Discussion / Muslims
« on: August 26, 2010, 11:14:45 PM »
N.Y. man charged with stabbing cab driver for being Muslim
By Terence Corcoran, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News


NEW YORK — A Manhattan cabbie who was stabbed Tuesday night by a Putnam County man questioned Wednesday whether the attack stemmed from the contentious debate over creating a mosque near ground zero.
Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, of Queens, was stabbed several times by Michael Enright, 21, of Southeast, N.Y., after Enright had asked Sharif if he was Muslim and the cabbie responded that he was, a police spokesman said.

When officers responded to the scene around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sharif was outside the vehicle, suffering from stab wounds, after attempting to lock Enright inside the cab, a police spokesman said. Enright escaped but was captured nearby by police.

The charges against Enright include attempted murder as a hate crime.

In a statement Wednesday the from New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Sharif warned his fellow cabbies.

"Right now the public sentiment is very serious" because of the ground zero mosque debate, he said. "All drivers should be more careful."

Sharif, who was treated at Bellevue Hospital for stab wounds to his arms, throat and face, said the incident made him sad.

"I have been here more than 25 years. I have been driving a taxi more than 15 years. All my four kids were born here. I never feel this hopeless and insecure before," he said.

It was Sharif's first fare of his shift.

Enright, a 2007 graduate of Brewster High School and an aspiring filmmaker, recently returned from Afghanistan, where he filmed Marines as part of a project for the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where he is a student. In Afghanistan, he was embedded with a Marines Corps crew that included his fellow Brewster High graduate, Cpl. Alex Eckner.

Enright was highly intoxicated when he hailed the cab, the police spokesman said. Once inside the cab, Enright asked Sharif whether Sharif was Muslim. When Sharif responded yes, Enright stabbed him several times with some type of utility knife.

According to the statement from the Taxi Workers Alliance, Enright's conversation with Sharif started out friendly, with Enright asking the cabbie where he was from, how long he had been in America, if he was Muslim and if he was observing Ramadan.

Enright then went silent before suddenly cursing and screaming, the statement said.

He then shouted "'Assalamu Alaikum,' common among Muslims as a wish for peace, before pulling out the knife and slashing Sharif across the neck and stabbing several more times as Sharif tried to knock it out of Enright's hands, the alliance said.

Enright was charged with attempted second-degree murder as a hate crime, first-degree assault, felonies, aggravated harassment and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, misdemeanors. He is awaiting arraignment.

Enright also worked with Intersections International, a Manhattan-based, multifaith and multicultural effort that seeks to promote justice and peace. Messages left with the School of Visual Arts and Intersections International were not immediately returned.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-cabbie-stabbing-muslim_N.htm

83
Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Antwan Dodson
« on: August 18, 2010, 01:00:36 PM »
Watch first, then watch the 2nd video.


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/uzKtPezPsqE&amp;feature=related" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/uzKtPezPsqE&amp;feature=related</a>



<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/YEvNS5TzvwM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/YEvNS5TzvwM</a>

84
Fantasy League / World Cup 2010 Fantasy
« on: June 03, 2010, 04:24:30 PM »
Mods you can leave this for a bit on the main board and then move it to the WC board or move it right away which ever suits y'all.  ;)


I have not seen a Bracket league so I got one that you all can join and see who knows world football best.

Sign Up Here

Group: Warriors in South Africa
Motto: Pay de Money
Password: Jack Warner

Any objection let me know  :devil:



If some one wants to take over and run the league let me know and I can pass the group on.

85
Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Evony
« on: March 14, 2010, 03:25:16 PM »
Anyone here plays this game?

www.evony.com

86
2010 World Cup - South Africa / WC Pepsi Ad
« on: March 04, 2010, 09:29:07 PM »
Anyone posted this yet? This is a best commercial.  :rotfl:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/gwotFEedbUg&amp;feature=player_embedded" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/gwotFEedbUg&amp;feature=player_embedded</a>

87
General Discussion / Chinese in T&T
« on: December 21, 2009, 09:49:31 PM »
Have any of you seen this? What do you think? Do you think that such a situation should be laid squarely at the feet of the Prime Minister?

Story Here

Photos Here

88
General Discussion / Planet alignment
« on: November 11, 2009, 05:24:11 PM »
Hey any of you heard about some planet alignment uesterday that affected the earths gravitational pull or something like that? My friend showed me some pics where yesterday she stood her broom up on it's and it did not tip over.

89
General Discussion / Hole in the Sky
« on: October 13, 2009, 08:07:57 PM »
A Halo Over Moscow
by Mike Krumboltz




And you thought rainbows were cool. A few days ago, a mysterious cloud shaped like a halo appeared over Moscow, and the buzz has yet to break.

We're the first to admit that a photograph of the heavenly cloud appears to be photoshopped. It's just so...perfect. But meterologists have spoken up and said the cloud wasn't digitally altered. However, it wasn't exactly what it appeared to be, either.

When the cloud initially formed, some UFO enthusiasts declared it to be a "true mystery." Some even compared it to the giant spaceship hovering over Earth in the movie "Independence Day." Reality quickly dashed any predictions of an alien invasion. An article from the Daily Mail explains that the "luminous ring-shaped cloud" was simply an optical effect.

An official spokesperson for Moscow's weather department said, "Several fronts have been passing through Moscow recently, there was an intrusion of the Arctic air too, the sun was shining from the west — this is how the effect was produced."

The cloud loomed last week, but the searches are still soaring. Lookups on "halo cloud" and "moscow cloud" are both booming, and a video clip has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. You can check it out for yourself below...


http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93092?fp=1




<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/sHOPxVM6oIw&amp;feature=player_embedded" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/sHOPxVM6oIw&amp;feature=player_embedded</a>

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