Salem Monthly

May 4, 2004

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A new capital ban edict has been placed into effect by His Majesty, the Emperor this morning to ensure that the current level of calm remains intact.  In addition to these measures, bans dealing with conduct have been added to this edict and are in force until a new constitution has been created. 

Imperial Edict #01-101809 Capital Ban Edict

These are the offenses that will result in an immediate ban from Attera Prime

1. Not addressing the Imperial Couple by the appropriate title or epithet (ie. Sire, Majesty, Ma’am, Majestrix, ect.).
2. Not addressing other nobles properly (ie. Lord, Lady depending on gender).
3. Sitting on the Imperial Thrones by anyone other than the Emperor and Empress.
4. Not offering information to the Imperial Crown on capital cases, or cases being investigated by the Order of the Dragon (Secret Service).
5. Entering Palace grounds uninvited or not on official capacity such as for Parliament meeting or formal petitions to the Imperial Crown.
6. Not assisting in the defense of Attera Prime if under active attack.  In situations such as this, everyone in the sim is to be considered as army personnel, in full army uniform to include weapons, repulse the attack and then resume regular duties.
7. Any harassment of fellow Atteran citizens by Atteran citizens.  Any disputes must be resolved in the Imperial High court and in front of His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor who will decide fault in the matter.  Or may be offered as a challenge in the stadium under predetermined rules.
8. Any citizen participating or supporting any act that is deemed harmful to the Atteran people or to the State, whether it be action or words.
9. No unauthorised rezzing of any object.  Which will result in unnecessary prim waste. (ie. Must gain Imperial authority to rez any item from this point forward).
10. No abuse of use of the civil warning devices.  All tests will be announced several hours prior to the test.

This Imperial Edict is hereby signed by my hand on 18 October, 2009 and is in accordance with the current Martial Law edict that will continue to be in force until the new government decides to deliberate on the execution and implementation of said edict.  This Imperial Edict will be submitted to the Attera Prime Gazette as a matter of public record.

.:HSIM Mik’el Tzion I:.

Emperor of All the Atterans and All the Atteras

-End of Line

Debate on whether or not catholic men of the cloth and those who have been ‘called’ should be allowed to marry has become heated lately; there have been revelations of priests living in unholy and unsanctioned alliances outrightly in disregard to church laws and in defiance of the Pope, futher to this several priest have cost the church billions in payments to boys who bore the brunt of amorous male priests who molested and sexually abused them under cover of harmlessness projected by the dog collar , some of these victims have been waiting for compensation for as long as 50 decades! Then comes the revelation that the venerated Father Kizito, a famous/infamous columnist in a Kenyan local daily and who runs a children’s home in Nairobi is allegedly a paedophile as well!

To address the celibacy issue I believe we have to acknowledge that there are two differing circumstances to consider: We need to separate between Priests who want to marry after taking a vow of celibacy and those who want to become priests but are already married. For those who knowingly took a vow of celibacy and have suddenly rediscovered their carnal urges, these should resign or be sent packing because they made a decision to be supported by the church and in turn devote full attention to clerical matters and be ready to travel anywhere at short notice. For those who want to become priests but are already married, they should show proof of how they will support their family while devoting time to tending their flock. Rogue priests who are discovered to have been living in secret unions should be forced to resign and find work like other family men.

The other dimension to the celibacy debate that deserves attention concerns the need to carry out studies on the likelihood of a correlation between celibacy and paedophilia especially in the developed world, the reason I separate the two is because i posit that in Africa a horny priest is more likely to jump on a sexually starved wife, a member of the choir or even a sister (basically a woman) or even marry secretly before he resorts to groping little altar boys, whereas in California, Boston, Germany and recently Ireland little boys seem to have been debauched at the hands of lecherous priests. If there is a connection between celibacy and an attraction to kids I believe it behooves the Pope to make a relevant edict on the soundness of tenaciously holding onto the dogma of celibacy, just as it’s my feeling the question of a ban on condoms needs to be reconsidered in light of the trying times we live in.

Introduction

Throughout history, there have been many pivotal moments that have affected the way that humans view Christianity. These pivotal moments began with the Apostles witnessing the death, burial, and resurrection, as they finally understood what their rabbi had been teaching them for three long years. From this point they sought to instruct others in accepting a message of eternal love and salvation. As time progressed, the message became less of a revelation and more of universal creed. This however did not come without many moments that progressed or limited the Christian faith. Three of such instances are Edict of Milan, the Council of Nicea, and the Council of Chalcedon.

Edict of Milan

Christians had lived in a culture of constant turmoil due to the various rulers of the Roman Empire. At times the emperors would simply ignore the monotheistic believers. While at other times they openly persecuted them due to their growing popularity. The Edict of Milan, “was the outcome of a political agreement concluded in Milan between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius in February 313. The proclamation, made for the East by Licinius in June 313, granted all persons freedom to worship whatever deity they pleased, assured Christians of legal rights (including the right to organize churches), and directed the prompt return to Christians of confiscated property” (Edict of Milan, Encyclopedia Britannica Online). This was a cosmic step for the Christian church as they moved from being an underground movement, to a recognizable religion in Rome and the surrounding territories. In fact, the edict itself states that, “we (the emperors) thought to arrange that no one whatsoever should be denied the opportunity to give his heart to the observance of the Christian religion, of that religion which he should think best for himself, so that the Supreme Deity, to whose worship we freely yield our hearts, may show in all things His usual favor and benevolence. Therefore, your Worship should know that it has pleased us to remove all conditions whatsoever, which were in the rescripts formerly given to you officially, concerning the Christians and now any one of these who wishes to observe Christian religion may do so freely and openly, without molestation” (Edict of Milan, gbgm-umc.org). Without this edict establishing the freedom of religion, one must consider if Christianity would have been as wide spread or accepted with such reverence that it eventually received.

The Council of Nicea

After Constantine defeated Licinius in 323, thus ensuring the preservation of religious freedom, the Christian’s themselves began to fragment over the Arian controversy. The Arian controversy began, “as a debate between the bishop Alexander and the presbyter (pastor, or priest) Arius. Arius proposed that if the Father begat the Son, the latter must have had a beginning, that there was a time when he was not, and that his substance was from nothing like the rest of creation” (The Council of Nicea, Columbia.edu). This controversy agitated Constantine, but he called the council together in 325 and “presided over the opening session and took part in the discussions. He hoped a general council of the church would solve the problem” (Council of Nicea, Encyclopedia Britannica Online). From this gathering of “some three hundred bishops”, the word, “”homoousious” or “consubstantial” meaning “of one substance”” was coined and used to refute Arius’ assertion (The Council of Nicea, Columbia.edu). From the concept of Christ being homoousious, the council sought to prevent additional disputes in discovering what Jesus was.

The Council of Chalcedon

The Council of Chalcedon met in 451 and “confirmed the decisions of Nicaea, and responded to new debates of which had subsequently erupted over the humanity of Christ” (McGrath, 1998, P. 33). Presided over “by the emperor Marcian, it was attended by about 520 bishops or their representatives and was the largest and best-documented of the early councils. It approved the creed of Nicaea (325), the creed of Constantinople (381; subsequently known as the Nicene Creed), two letters of Cyril against Nestorius, which insisted on the unity of divine and human persons in Christ, and the Tome of Pope Leo I confirming two distinct natures in Christ and rejecting the Monophysite doctrine that Christ had only one nature” (Coucil of Chalcedon, Encyclopedia Britannica Online). While this council convened to primarily to approve the work of previous councils and creeds, yet it provided a model of constantly checking and revising what previous theologians have taught as.

Conclusion

Through their many functions, the Edict of Milan, the Council of Nicea, and the Council of Chalcedon, each had a long lasting effect upon the Church or culture as a whole. First, the Edict of Milan was a major milestone, marking a vast acceptance of various religions, but most importantly Christianity. Progressing it from an underground religion and into everyday Roman life. Rome’s established freedom of religion could be argued to be a model for the forefathers of the United States constitution, thus providing a model for today’s religious acceptance or tolerance today. The Council of Nicaea was the first large gathering of church leaders to answer the Arian Controversy. From this council the edict of Christ being of one substance or homoousious, was established and is no longer a key issue for the church today. Additionally, the convening of this council set precedence for churches then and now. Following the model of Acts 15:4-22, the council of Nicaea sought to be orderly and unified on key issues in the Christian faith. Finally, the Council of Chalcedon convened primarily to ratify what other councils and creeds set forth as norms close to a century before, thus, establishing a clear example of constantly looking backwards to see what our predecessors have done and how that is impacting us today. Through each of these aspects of theological history we begin to see and accept how the church of today was formed and shaped by these key instances. This must remain in the forefront of our minds as we continue to influence the church today.

References

Council of Nicaea. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413817/Council-of-Nicaea

Edict of Milan. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/382119/Edict-of-Milan

Council of Chalcedon. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104580/Council-of-Chalcedon

McGrath, Alister E. (1998) Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Blackwell Publishing. Malden, MA.

The Council of Nicaea. (2009). Columbia.edu. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/sbrandt/nicea.htm

The Edict of Milan. (2009). The Bible: The book that bridges the Millennia. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from GBGM-UMC.org: http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/milan.stm

I believe in this edict.
The instances are numerous, but the results are all the same.
It can be something as simple as giving a lift and getting late subsequently or having an attack of so called ethics and loosing goodwill of your contacts.
But do i live and learn. Nopes i think.
Heap it on i say.

        Jakarta, Jan 27 (ANTARA) – Indonesian tobacco farmers are opposed to an edict issued by the Council of Indonesias Ulema (MUI) forbidding Muslims in Indonesia to smoke although the country earns tens of trillions of rupiah of its revenues from cigarette taxes.     “The edict will affect the income of tobacco growers and  indirectly impact on people who want to smoke,” said Abdurrahman, chairman of the Tobacco Farmers Association in Jember which has  6,000 hectares of tobacco plantations in East Java.

     He expressed regret about the MUI edict which banned children, expecting mothers and people in public places from smoking, saying tobacco growers would not obey it and continue to plant tobacco to support their families.
     Abdurrahman said he was confident the MUI ruling would not change the habit of smokers and not apply to them in Jember because the region had many tobacco growers.  ”Plantations of kasturi tobacco alone cover 6,000 hectares,” he said.
     The secretary of Jember’s Tobacco Commission (KUTJ), Abdus Setiawan, said  farmers were not bothered by  the issuance of the edict. “Tobacco demand over the past five years has remained stable and it does not seem it will be affected by the edict,” he said.
     He said tobacco production in Jember was increasing almost every year. In 2007, production stood at 14,763.18 tons and it increased to 17,032.18 tons in 2008.
     The problem of smoking is not that simple, not just a matter of ‘halal’ (allowed) or ‘haram’ (forbidden), but also of health and most importantly of its commercial aspects which involve the welfare of a large segment of the public.
     On a national scale, cigarettes contribute tens of trillions of rupiah to the state in the form of taxes.
     Indonesia which has a population of about 228 million is a potential market for cigarette industries. Reducing the number of cigarette consumers would threaten tobacco/cigarette producers and millions of people whose livelihood depends on the industries.
     So far, cigarette industries have continued to grow in the country. Indonesia’s cigarette production in 2005 was recorded at 221.1 billion pieces. It rose to 240 billion pieces in 2006 and in 2009 it was planned to increase to 260 billion pieces.
     The increase in cigarette production also raised state income from cigarette taxes which in 2006 stood at Rp37 trillion and in 2007 increased to Rp42 trillion. The government also has set itself an income target of Rp46.5 trillion from cigarette excise tapes in 2008.
     The contribution of tobacco or cigarettes to the people’s welfare is so great that many people are opposed to the MUI edict which they thought would affect their livelihood.
     “We have to remember that many people depend on cigarettes like those who live in Java’s districts of Kudus, Temanggung, Kenda and other districts in Indonesia,” Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) for Central Java branch, Abdul Kadir Karding said here on Tuesday.
     He said that an MUI edict should be issued based on the interest of the public at large, not merely on the interest of certain groups of people. It should think of the fact that if implemented the edict would affect the people’s livelihood which so far relied on cigarette production. But because cigarettes involve people’s incomes, it would be difficult for them to implement the religious ruling by MUI.
     “I am convinced the people will not heed the MUI edict and thus it would corrupt the credibility and existence of the Muslim scholars council,” Abdul Kadir Karding said.
     Thus, the MUI decision to issue an edict which bans Muslims from smoking is a threat to its credibility and existence, he said. After all, the status of smoking in the Islamic law is already clear, namely Makruh (objectionable) so that there was no need to question it, let alone decide it as ‘haram’(forbidden).
     Meanwhile, Ridha Adjam, director of Makuwaje Consortium (non-governmental organization) of North Maluku province said he was opposed to the ruling because its legal basis was not clear.
     He said that in the Holy Book (Al Quran) and in the Prophet tradition, there was no single verse or point which clearly stated that smoking was forbidden. The reason that smoking was harmful to health was not strong to confirm that smoking was haram.
     “I personally agree that children and pregnant women should not smoke for health reason but I am opposed to it if they are banned based on the MUI edict because its legal basis is not strong,” he added.
     The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) issued an edict in a meeting in Padangpanjang, West Sumatra, on Sunday, banning children, pregnant women, MUI members and for those in public places from smoking.
     “MUI has issued an edict which states that smoking is forbidden for children, pregnant women, MUI members and for those in public places,” Amin Suma, chairman of the Edict Commission of the MUI said Sunday.
     He said that the MUI meeting agreed to two rulings, namely one that bans smoking for children, pregnant women, those in public places and MUI members and the other one that states that smoking was between ‘haram’ and ‘makhruh.’
     According to Suma, the adoption of the edict was based on the emergence of differences of opinions on whether smoking for Muslims was allowed or forbidden.
     Nurhayati Hakim, an advisor to MUI for West Sumatra, said the MUI decision on smoking was enough to serve as guidance for Muslims with regard to smoking. “At least, the MUI edict will provide restrictions so that the public would not be free to smoke at will,” she said.
     Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Commission for Children Protection (KPA), Seto Mulyadi, said the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI)’s edict which banned smoking was aimed at protecting children in their growth process from smoke exposures.
     “Basically the idea is to protect children first. The fact that adult people are also banned from smoking is just another idea which developed further,” Seto Mulyadi, popularly called ‘Kak Seto’ said on Monday.
     “For sure, we are fighting for the interest of children so that they would grow, develop and live a healthy life free from the exposures of smokes which contain addictive substances such as nicotine,” the KPA chairman said. (T.A014/A/HAJM/A/E002)  27-01-2009 20:08:45

(Moran, 1903)

EDICT AGAINST THE CLERGY

1. Whilst some Catholic soldiers remained in the island, the Puritan persecutors dare not display the full excess of their fury. Their first care, therefore, was to rid themselves of that check to their ferocity. Every facility was given to the foreign courts to transport the Irish soldiers to their service. The agent of the Spanish government, (writes a contemporary author in 1654), transferred thousands and thousands of them every month, partly to Spain and partly to Belgium (MS: “Status Rei Cath. in Hibernia hoc anno 1654” , in Archiv. Colleg. Hib. Romae). Borlase estimates the number of those transported in the year 1654 alone at 27,000; and another historian adds, that altogether no fewer than 40,000 Catholics were thus banished from Ireland to the Continent, to be a standing monument of the persecuting spirit of Puritanism, whilst they, at the same time, filled all Europe with admiration of their valour.

2. The troops being thus removed, on the 6th of January 1653, the first edict of persecution was published against the Catholic clergy.By it all ecclesiastics, secular and religious, were commanded, under penalty of treason, to depart from the kingdom within twenty days, and should they return, they incurred the penalties and confiscation specified in the 27th of Queen Elizabeth, that is, they were “to be hanged, cut down while yet alive, beheaded, quartered, embowelled, and burned; the head to be set on a spike, and exposed in the most public place”. In addition to this, the new act commanded that every person who, after the twenty days thus specified, should harbour or receive into his house any ecclesiastic, “would incur the confiscation of his property, and be put to death without hope or mercy”.

Thus did the persecutors seek to deprive the fold of its pastors; and we cannot but here adopt the words of Dominick de Rosario – “Right well did England know that her triumph would never be secure as long as the ministers of the Catholic religion, who kept watch over the flock, were suffered to live in the land” – (loc. cit. p.229).

3.An example of the severity with which this edict was carried into execution, is recorded in the narrative of the condition of Ireland in 1654 (MS. “Status Rei. Cath.” etc. 1654).

“When this edict was published the superior of the Jesuits was lying sick of fever in the house of a respectable citizen, unable to move in bed, not to say to journey on foot or on horseback; a petition was, therefore, presented to the governor of the city that he might be allowed to remain some few days till his strength should return. but the governor replied that, though the whole body of the Jesuit was dead, and life remained only in one hand or one foot, he must at once quit every inch of Ireland. The sick man was forthwith seized in bed, hurried along for about seventy Irish miles in the midst of a severe winter to a seaport, and there, with two other Jesuits, and forty secular priests, was cast into a vessel bound for Spain”.

4. The annual letters of the society of Jesus (anno 1662), having referred to the just mentioned decree, add:-

“It is easy to imagine what whirlwinds of dangers then assailed the Catholic commuity in this island! and yet the assault evinced how little the persecutors gained by that edict, for the more thier fury raged against the priests, the more courageous did these become to encounter every danger; and although very many of them in each of the kingdom were cast into prison, of whom some were hanged on gibbets, some expired, overcome by the sufferings of their filthy dungeons, some were sent into exile to Spain, and others transported as slaves to the Barbadoes, yet those who excaped from the enemy’s pursuit were not deterred by such impending dangers from the discharge of their ministry; and others who, scattered through the various academies of Europe, were engaged preparing themselves for the Irish mission, on seeing the harvest now ripe for the sickle, nd hoping for more abundant spiritual fruit amidst these temporal disasters, in greater numbers than was known for many years, abandoned their studies and entered on their field of labour.
In the meantime the magistrates, lest the edict might fall into oblivion, and in order to strike greater terror into those who might give shelter to the clergy, caused it to be proclaimed anew each year throoughout the entire kingdom; whence it happened that the greatest part of the priests, unwilling to create danger for their flocks, lived in caverns, or on mountains, or through the woods, or in remote hiding-places, and often, too, were obliged to pass the winter without any shelter, concealed amidst the branches of the trees. This deplorable condition of the kingdom fill all the Catholics with terror.”

5. This decree was carried into execution with the greatest rigour, and no mercy was shown to whosoever was found to violate it. Dr. Burgatt presents us with the following details as to the number of the clergy who were sent into exile, or suffered extreme penalty at this direful period:-

“In the year 1649”, he writes, “there were in Ireland twenty-seven bishops, four of whom were metropolitans. In each cathedral there were dignitaries and canons; each parish had its pastors; there was, moreover, a large number of other priests, and innumerable convents of the regular clergy. But when Cromwell, with exceeding great cruelty, persecuted the clergy, all were scattered. More than three hundred were put to death, by the sword or on the scaffold, amongst whom were three bishops; more than a thousand were sent into exile, and amongst these all the surviving bishops, with one only exception, the Bishop of Kilmore, who, weighed down by age and infirmities, as he was unfit to discharge the episcopal functions, so too was he unable to seek safety by flight. And thus for some years our island remained deprived of its bishops, a thing never before known during the many centuries since we first received the light of Catholic faith”. (Brevis Relatio, etc. by Dr. William Burgatt, agent of the Irish clergy in Rome, afterwards Archbishop of Cashel, presented to the Sacred Congregation, 1667).

6. To discover the clergy that remained in the kingdom, spies and informers scoured the country on every side, impelled partly by hatred to religion, partly by the proffered reward. Five pounds was the sum held out by government for the apprehension of a priest (the same price that was offered for the head of a wolf), together with a third part of the property of the person on whose lands he should be discovered; moreover, the profession of informer was declared an honourable one, and such persons were by virtue of the edict, to receive the special favour of the Crown, and to be promoted to offices and dignities, as men well deserving of the State (Morrison, “Threnodia” p.27) …

7. The condition of the priests whilst detained in prison was miserable in the extreme. Of Father Tobin, of Kilkenny, it is recorded that, though in a violent fever he was obliged to sleep on the floor, and his only food was a small quantity of half-boiled beans (Lett. in S. C. de Prof. Fid. 14. Martin, 1656). It was made a privilege to allow them to transport themselves to foreign parts, as appears from an order of 29th May 1654: and the the clause was added that each one should provide the five pounds which had been paid for his arrest. Sometimes, too, on account of infirmity or disease they were released from prison: thus, we find Roger Begs, on 4th August 1654, dismissed from prison “on account of his miserable condition,” after nine months imprisonment; but two conditions were added, viz., that within four months he should transport himself out of the country, and, during that interval, “should not exercise any part of his priestly functions”. Another priest, named William Shiel, was also dismissed from prison, on account of his “being old, lame, and weak, and not able to travel without crutches”; but two conditions were also added in his release, viz., that he should never exercise his priestly function, and should not move beyond one milefrom the spot in Connaught which would be assigned to him for residence by the Governor of Athlone (“Settlement, p.159). There is one other petition which merits our attention. On the 8th of January 1655 Richard and Thomas Tuite, Edmund and George Barnewall, and William Fitzsimons, held the castle of Baltrasna in the County Meath in defence and rescue of a priest who had repaired thither to say Mass. For this they were arrested and their goods seized; and the soldiers claimed the booty on the ground that the castle was defended against them “with arms and ammunition by those who maintained a priest in his idolatrous worship, in opposition to the declaration of the state in that behalf” (Ibid. p.160).
Owing to the diligence of the persecutors, the number of the Catholic priests that escaped their search was comparatively few: – “The prisons were everywhere filled with prelates, priests, and religious, some of whom were executed on the scaffold, others were privately butchered, whilst the greater number were sent into exile”. Thus writes the superior of the Jesuits in 1652.

Another writer, to whom we have more than once referred, describes the state of Ireland in 1654, and contrasts the comparative ease with which the Catholic clergy had in former years evaded the penal statutes, with the difficulty of remaining concealed amidst the present perils, and adds:-

”Now the whole aspect of the kingdom is changed; difficulties and dangers are met with at every step; no human industry can enable us to avoid them, but all must be left to a watchful Providence. The cities and towns are now wholly occupied by the heretics, and the Catholics are banished from them; the castles and country residences of the gentry are converted into barracks, or, if not, are held by heretical new-comers.
No one is allowed to travel through the country without being examined at every mile by the soldiery; you have to show the letters patent of the magistrate of the district from which you come, and in them your age, stature, beard, colour of hair, condition of life, and many other special characteristics are mentioned, and if you are found wanting in any of them, you are immediately arrested as a spy or a priest, nor is there any hope of the soldiers’ sentence being reversed, for each soldier has the juridical right by martial law to arrest any person he may suspect, and inflict capital punishment.
The same martial law authorises them to enter the house of any Catholic, at any hour of the day or night, and explore every corner of it, under the pretence forsooth, of detecting and arresting priests. And lest any of the soldiery should be enticed by bribes to allow any priest to escape, the English Government offers a larger reward for each discovery than could be hoped for from the oppressed and impoverished Catholics. The soldiers, therefore, partly impelled by hatred for the Catholic religion, and partly urged on by avarice and the hope of lucre, never cease by day and night to beset the houses of the Catholics, and explore their most secret recesses: moreover, they hire spies, and keep them in various quarters, that they may thus receive information of any rumour that may be heard of the arrival of a priest in the neighbourhood.” (Status Rei. Cath. etc., an 1654)

8. Doctor John Lynch, Archdeacon of Tuam, one of those who were thus compelled to seek a home in a foreign land, in his Cambrensis Eversus, written during his exile, gives a vivid description of the rigour with which this edict was carried into execution:-

”Edicts,” he says, “were issued, commanding all priests to depart from Ireland before a certain day, and prohibiting them, under penalty of death, to remain beyond that time. All who harboured them were to forfeit all their property, to expiate that act of hospitality. As the wolf, in the fable, was ready to make a friendly alliance with the sheep, if they would drive away the dogs, as they could then slaughter the poor flock without resistance; so these men banished the priests from the Catholics, that the latter, when deprived of their pastors, might fall more easy victims to the proselytising attempts of heretical teachers. Of the priests who did remain in the country after the appointed day, some were executed, others wasted away their life in the tedious and loathsome horrors of a dungeon, others are still barred up in prisons; some were banished to the remote isle of inisbofin, and delivered in charge to the garrison, who tortured them with great cruelty; many were banished to the West indies, where they were sold as slaves, and condemned to work in twisting tobacco, and other slave labours. The magistrates prided them selves on what they considered extraordinary lenity, in allowing a great number of priests to escape from their talons to different Catholic countries of Europe” – (vol. III, p.199).

Thank you! To Our Friends in New York!

The Mormon Church seems perplexed on these demonstrations, and said the majority of Californian’s voted for Prop 8. Does this church even know anything about religious liberty, separation of church and state laws?

How can they be so perplexed about the protesters who are demanding their freedoms and rights back?

California’s constitution and laws, as I understand it, call for separation of church and state, not to mention the federal constitution.

California’s laws also state that the government should make no law respecting the establishment of religion.

Laws also protect the minority from an overbearing majority, so again the vote of Prop 8 is illegal and unconstitutional. We should never change a constitution for any religion, even with a majority vote! It does not matter about some ones religious fervor because we have religious freedom.

Aside from all that, how many people voted for Prop 8 after being told lies about what Prop 8 really does, and about same-sex marriage? It may have passed, but not by much at all. The Mormon Phone Bank didn’t even stop until October 25, 2008, and many ballots had been mailed long before they closed their Phone Banks or Telemarketing schemes.

The Mormons are giving us their religious edicts by claiming their ‘god’ ordains marriage, so they have to pass a proposition to change our civil laws? How can ‘god’ ordain marriage when the church didn’t even adopt the practice passed down by Pagan law until much later? If ‘god’ ordains it then why do they want to change our civil laws? If it’s ordained by ‘god’ then does that insinuate that the Mormon Church is ‘god’? What prophet gave them that information? The bible tells me to beware of false prophets!

It’s scary to see people follow church leaders like these people have, in order to harm another group of people, it rings of Jim Jones! The endorsement by the Mormon Church on prop 8 has brought harm on the minority group of Gay people, and their families, in the name of religion!

I don’t even believe that the word marriage is in any older translations of the bible, so it must be written in The Book of Mormon, and not even in the bible. We should not be translating and rewriting our constitutions for religious purposes, and that is what this is about. It’s about Separation of Church and State laws! A majority vote does not matter because it is a violation of laws, and the Mormon’s should not be exerting their religious edicts on the rest of us!

It doesn’t matter what a religion believes, no one is disputing that, but you cannot force your religious views or edicts on the rest of us, even by vote, regardless of a majority. That is NOT a democracy IT IS a theocracy!

Some wonder why the focus is on the Mormon Church, well the Pope did not send out edicts to churches, if he had then that is also illegal, and should be investigated. American’s have a right to religious freedom and separation of church and state. Some churches do offer same-sex marriages, so what are they to do now? Some churches and other faiths do not condemn Gay people or same-sex marriages, like the Mormons, so what about them?

Where is the religious freedom?

Mormons leaders sent letters to their upper echelons, they backed their followers in donating money, time and telemarketing in order to get the constitution changed in their religious favor, which would take away the rights of a targeted minority group who may or may not even be Mormon.

Shame! Shame on the Mormon Church! Keep your edicts to yourself!

At Mormon Temple, a Protest Over Prop 8
Thousands of people gathered on Wednesday evening in front of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the Upper West Side to protest the Mormon church’s support for Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California last week.

Those at the front of the march held a banner proclaiming “God Loves Gay Marriage.” There were chants demanding equality and signs with slogans like “Would Jesus spend tax-free dollars to support hate and injustice?”

Some in the crowd said they simply wanted to take a public stance in support of friends or relatives. Others said they were also motivated by anger over the idea that a religious institution would use the ballot process in what they saw as an attempt to impose religious values in a democracy based on separation of church and state.

Riding on a Segway at the front of the march was Christopher Harrison, 47, from Hell’s Kitchen, who said he was a fifth-generation Mormon but disagreed with the church on the matter of same-sex marriage.

“It is time to promote love,” he said. “If they want to call themselves Christians, they have to do as Christians are supposed to do.”

Mormon Fatwa Targets US Constitutions! We should ALL defend Separation of Church and State laws! Numerous other religions will be affected if people start allowing changes to OUR Constitutions and Laws for a particular faith! It is NO longer just about Same Sex Marriages!

モルモン教徒 の ファトゥアー
標的 合衆国 憲法

It’s no surprise African Americans still remain skeptical of medical trials and reasearch considering the psychological horror and long-term health effects of the Tuskegee Experiments and coercive sterilizations of early to mid-1900s.  A recent town hall meeting in Harlem widely attended by local leaders, patients, family members and health professionals from the five boroughs of New York as well as national experts, discussed the ongoing issues surrounding low participation of African Americans and Latinos in clinical trials.  Despite the potential positive advantages of participating in clinical trials, experts and advocates are fearful African Americans and Latinos will continue to have higher mortality rates of diseases such as, cancer, AIDS, stroke, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

In order to get the type of response and participation from minorities that is needed to improve mortality rates, the medical field needs to make a concerted effort to acknowledge past deeds through targeted campaigns and health advocates.  It is important to reach out to doctors in local communities and clinics to make sure patients and families aware of the benefits of clinical trials and medical research.  As noted,

“Evidence shows an increase in survival when minorities and underserved patients have someone to guide them through a fragmented health care system,” Dr. Freeman stated. “By navigating patients around barriers to quality care, navigators actually help ensure that patients are not shortchanged in their options, including have access to clinical studying providing either standard treatment or something believed to be better.”

If you’ve ever searched for Japanese language software, chances are you’ll have heard of Jim Breen’s edict package. It is a collection of electronic Japanese dictionary systems all bundled into one. Unfortunately, you may find constraints within software designed to use the package. Edict uses a character encoding EUC-JP, which will give you bogus characters if you try and open it as Unicode (the default). Here’s a simple way to convert the edict, along with the kanjidic (Kanji (Japanese pictorial characters originally from China) dictionary) and compdic (computer terms) using Open Office.

1. Edict uses the Euc JP encoding, not Unicode or ISO Western. Open the file using the file type ‘Text Encoded (OO.o Master Document)’. In Debian this is located in /usr/share/edict/

You must use 'Text Encoded Master Document'

2. That will give you settings for importing it. Choose EUC-JP, not Unicode.

Tada! Now it opens and displays hiragana, katakana and kanji correctly.

3. Now click on ‘Export’

4. Choose HTML, or another format. You can save it as ordinary text, then edit to your will. Have fun.

Este aproape sigur ca si anul acesta, pentru nu nu stiu cata oara, Festivalul Mamaia va avea un show incendiar (a se intelege scandal). Daca anul trecut in culise era o caldura estivala, toaletele erau jenante iar problemele de sunet dese, in editia din 2008 avem o/un concurent/concurenta discutabil/a. Este vorba de Naomy (Florin). In cazul in care chiar nu ai habar despre cine vorbesc, mai jos e un filmulet. Stiu cum a fost in anul 2007 cand Naomy (Florin) era evitat/a de cam toata lumea insa surprinzator, cu unele vedete din muzica se avea chiar foarte bine!

SECTIUNEA SPECIALA DEDICATA FESTIVALULUI MAMAIA 2008 O GASITI AICI!

Ashoka rock edict is one of major rock edicts, which was constructed by Ashoka and they are great source of information about Mauryan Dynasty and history of Gujrat. It is located on the way from Junagadh to Girnar. Fourteen rock edicts of the Emperor Ashoka are inscribed on a great boulder. The inscription carry Brahmi script in Pali language and dates back to 263 BC. Rudrakama and Skandagupta added sanskrit inscriptions in around 150 AD and 450 AD respctively.

These inscriptions preach principles of matery of the senses, purity of thought, gratitude, devotion, self-control, secular thinking, kindness and oppose animal sacrifice and greed. The Edicts depicts the tale of Ashoka’s repentance for death and destruction during the wars waged by him.