US forces who bombed Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria also targeted a separate armed group plotting an imminent attack against US and Western forces, the US defence ministry has said. Arab allies Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates took part in the strikes, which started early on Tuesday, it added. Eight US airstrikes were aimed at the Khorasan group which is made up of experienced al-Qaeda operatives, the Pentagon said in a statement. "The United States has also taken action to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western interests conducted by a network of seasoned al-Qaeda veterans - sometimes referred to as the Khorasan Group - who have established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks, construct and test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners to conduct operations," the statement said. The US military used fighter jets as well as remotely piloted aircraft and Tomahawk missiles to conduct 14 strikes against ISIL. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/09/us-begins-bombing-isil-positions-syria-201492313622252650.html |
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I like the Book of Esther. There's a lot to be learned from that story, but that does not mean we should do everything each of the characters in the story does. I don't think we would want to our presidents choose a first lady in the same manner King Xerxes chose Esther. Nor do I think that we would want to have a swordsman standing next to our president ready to kill anyone, including the first lady, who approached him without being sent for.....unless he offered that person his scepter as a signal for the swordsman to let that person live.
If you wish to learn more about such things, just research Bible Minimalists whose goals are to seek actual physical proof the Bible stories are true. Often these Bible Minimalists are quite biased in their pursuit of the "truth", but just as often they will be the first to admit that they have yet to discover anything that demonstrates the OT Bible stories are anything other than myth and/or legend. But that is beside the point. |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Purgatory Actually, the concept of Purgatory dates back even before Christ. Praying for the dead and their afterlife purification is found in history of Jews. "The descriptions and doctrine regarding purgatory developed over the centuries.[2] Advocates of belief in purgatory interpret Bible passages such as 2 Maccabees 12:41-46 (not accepted as Scripture by Protestants but recognized by Orthodox and Catholics), 2 Timothy 1:18, Matthew 12:32, Luke 16:19-26 and 23:43, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 and Hebrews 12:29 as support for prayer for the dead, an active interim state for the dead prior to the resurrection, and purifying flames after death.[2] " Medievalist Jacques Le Goff defines the "birth of purgatory", i.e. the conception of purgatory as a physical place, rather than merely as a state, as occurring between 1170 and 1200.[38] Le Goff acknowledged that the notion of purification after death, without the medieval notion of a physical place, existed in antiquity, arguing specifically that Clement of Alexandria, and his pupil Origen of Alexandria, derived their view from a combination of biblical teachings, though he considered vague concepts of purifying and punishing fire to predate Christianity.[39] Le Goff also considered Peter the Lombard (d. 1160), in expounding on the teachings of St. Augustine and Gregory the "Great, to have contributed significantly to the birth of purgatory in the sense of a physical place. While the idea of purgatory as a process of cleansing thus dated back to early Christianity, the 12th century was the heyday of medieval otherworld-journey narratives such as the Irish Visio Tnugdali, and of pilgrims' tales about St. Patrick's Purgatory, a cavelike entrance to purgatory on a remote island in Ireland.[40] The legend of St Patrick's Purgatory (Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii) written in that century by Hugh of Saltry, also known as Henry of Sawtry, was "part of a huge, repetitive contemporary genre of literature of which the most familiar today is Dante's";[41] another is the Visio Tnugdali. Other legends localized the entrance to Purgatory in places such as a cave on the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily.[42] Thus the idea of purgatory as a physical place became widespread on a popular level, and was defended also by some theologians. So who is correct? Everyone? Do you lilke the other parts of the Old testament as well? If so, when can we get together and stone my neighbor for shaving his beard? The Old Testament is full of stories that tell the history of Judaism. There's a lot to be learned from the history, but that doesn't mean that the laws of Moses for the Israelites traveling through a desert after escaping from slavery should be adopted by us today. On the contrary. True, the OT is full of stories, but not history. History is history because it comes from reliable sources that can be verified by other accounts or actual physical evidence the events occurred. There is no good reason to think the Bible Stories are anything other than myth/folklore. |
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If you choose to place your faith in the above,noviapriani, then that's your choice. But,you are hardly in any position to claim that it's the only way to interpret it, especially since Purgatory isn't even a biblical convention.
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Actually if you follow the rules, there is only one interpretation...
the rules;
Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Isa 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
Isa 28:12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Luk 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That's the point and I are making is, there is no "rule" that says that we can't change the "rules" if we don't like them. It's not like we're dealing with a scientific formula, or a testable theory in which, repeating the same experiment under the same conditions should always yield the same results. You're talking about religious beliefs that have no more basis in reality than any other superstitious beliefs or fairy tale. |
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After all, there is no guidebook on the subject. Even the Bible changes depending on how you want to read it. The Bible comes in all flavors, just pick one.
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First, we need to get our facts straight....
Purgatory was never a part of early/ primitive Christian culture, and wasn't invented until about 1500 years AFTER the formation of The Holy Roman Church. And all it is is a "catholic cop-out" visa vie..... If you die in a car crash on your way to confession, you have a second chance. That is a Catholic version of a, "state of grace".
It is purley a religious invention with absolutley no basis in biblical scripture.
But, just like all the other religious BS available... if it makes you feel better, then go for it. What have you got to lose ( except a whole lots of wasted emotional stress)?
Hey...its just as valid as everything else ....or perhaps invalid was the term I was looking for. But today Im going to behave like a christian and believe the bits that make me happy and reject the other parts as figurative. I get a second chance if all this crap is right....yahoo!!! That is why modern religion is so convenient. You just mke it up as you go along. IF you don't like X, then get rid of it... if Y tastes bad... go with Z..... ..if you don't like one person's brand of "Heaven", then make-up your own! |
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First, we need to get our facts straight....
Purgatory was never a part of early/ primitive Christian culture, and wasn't invented until about 1500 years AFTER the formation of The Holy Roman Church. And all it is is a "catholic cop-out" visa vie..... If you die in a car crash on your way to confession, you have a second chance. That is a Catholic version of a, "state of grace".
It is purley a religious invention with absolutley no basis in biblical scripture.
But, just like all the other religious BS available... if it makes you feel better, then go for it. What have you got to lose ( except a whole lots of wasted emotional stress)?
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Somethings don't add up. The upward revised number of ISIL forces is 31000. They have no airforce and no air defence. Supposedly fighting them are the American Air Force plus more than 700 ADVISORS, the Iraqi army, the Iraqi militia, the Kurdish Beshmerga, Iranian elite Alqus forces, Hizbullah and the Syrian government forces and still those ragtag gangs are storming more towns in Syria on one side and threatening Baghdad on the other side. Is anybody seriously fighting them? I really doubt that.
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They probably attended the "man made global warming" march in NY...I'm sure they'll be back shortly. like John Kerry said, we need to protect Muslims from "climate change".
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http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/fischer/130802A Crisis of Military Leadership The number of generals either drummed out of the service or forced into early retirement since Obama took office is growing by the month. Untruthful pretexts have been manufactured by the Obama administration to usher out many of our top military commanders. Many of these generals were among our most effective and experienced military leaders. Almost all of these generals are being replaced by men with less military experience and this fact alone leads to a less effective military. This unprecedented parade of musical chairs, being played out against our military leaders, began when Obama demanded the resignation of General McKiernan. This marked the first time, since the time of the Korean War when General Douglas MacArthur was fired by President Truman in a disagreement over strategy, that a battlefield general was fired by a president. The strategy backfired in Korea and it backfired in Afghanistan as McKiernan was deemed to be to old school to suit Obama. He was old school to Obama because he wanted to kill the enemy while minimizing American losses. Obama wanted to adopt a policy which allowed the enemy to open fire first which, before Americans could return fire. This has surely caused the casualty rate to rise. After he was fired, McKiernan challenged Obama’s impotent leadership by stating that “I don’t understand ever putting your men and women in harm’s way, without their having the full ability to protect themselves. That also means operating on actionable intelligence to defeat insurgents, and protect your forces.That’s how you keep your soldiers alive.” Obama apparently does not care how many soldiers get to come back home to their families. Following McKiernan, Obama appointed Stanley McChrystal. But very soon, the new general grew weary of forcing his troops to accept fire before shooting back for fear of offending the Afghans. McChrystal later claimed that he had presented a plan to Obama for defeating the Afghan resistance, but Obama continued to promote rules of engagement which served to make the Americans a less effective fighting force. The relationship between McChrystal and Obama became strained and McChrystal was fired over a negative Rolling Stone article, written by Michael Hastings, that revealed that McChrystal had become disgusted with Obama. Petraeus replaced McChrystal who was in-turn quickly replaced by General Allen who then became entrapped in the same scandal, and the confirmation of General Dunford had to be rushed through and subsequently completed in record time. Count them, Obama has gone through four generals and is now on his fifth battlefield commander. His firing of two-four star generals is unprecedented in American History. This is what Stalin did when he assumed the dictatorship of Russia and it almost cost the Russians victory in WWII. The war in Afghanistan is lost thanks to Obama. General Mattis, the Commander of Central Command offended several administration personnel and was fired on the spot. Admiral Gayoutte, the former commander of Carrier Task Force Three, operating in the Gulf, was fired last fall. General Hamm, the former commander of AFRICOM was fired last fall as well. Gayoutte and Hamm both tried to launch a coordinated rescue mission designed to save the life of Ambassador Stevens in Libya. Both leaders were refusing to follow a Presidential order, delivered through Leon Panetta, to stand down with regard to the Stevens affair. Both men were arrested prior to dispatching the rescue troops. To this point, we may just have a case of gross incompetence. Yet, aren’t we supposed to fighting al-Qaeda? According to our government, did al-Qaeda plan and carry out the attacks of 9/11? Then why are we supporting al-Qaeda in Libya and Syria? Treason of stupidity? When the leadership of the military is greatly compromised, it cannot help but to weaken the fighting effectiveness of our troops. There is more, but suffice it to say that Obama goes through senior military leaders more times than he changes his underwear. The Air Force Crisis Air Force combat pilots are leaving the Air Force at an alarming rate and, as such, this has constituted an emergency. The USAF is now offering bonuses that amount to several hundred thousand dollars in a desperate attempt to retain their services. The pilots cite the low pay (Obama just slashed Congressionally approved pay raises by over half), being overworked and the ability to find more lucrative employment in the private sector.
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because; he gets to name their replacements. There's been a buzz going around since 2012 that he's really afraid of a military coup
As a nation, we can afford bouts of economic downturns, civil strife and even some degree of political mistrust of our leaders. A nation can take definitive steps to recover these maladies. However, the one thing that America cannot tolerate is the compromising of our military, and since Obama has been president, the effectiveness of our military has been greatly compromised as witnessed by the firing of 200+ command level officers.
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Pope in Albania urges Muslims to condemn extremism TIRANA, Albania — Pope Francis has called on moderate Muslims and all religious leaders to condemn Islamic extremists who “pervert” religion to justify violence, as he visited Albania and held it up as a model for interfaith harmony. One of the highlights of Francis’ visit was a meeting Sunday with representatives of Albania’s Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic communities, which all suffered persecution under communism but now live and work together peacefully. Francis said religious intolerance was an “insidious enemy” particularly alive in parts of the world today. He urged all believers to “firmly refute as false” any perversion of religion for the sake of violence. He said: “To kill in the name of God is a grave sacrilege. To discriminate in the name of God is inhuman.” http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/09/21/16007785/Good for the Pope. It is important that all religious leaders speak out against killing and discrimination, don't you think? In this time where some want to hate and kill all Muslims - isn't it great that a leader says otherwise? |
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This is just a marketing stunt to garner attention to the company. We are not even close technology wise, and you cannot guarantee a product for a date when it is currently physically impossible.
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Napoleon was a good leader in terms of making people follow him. he was a brilliant military leader in that he knew how to win battles, and the human psychology that leads to military and political success.
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Main purpose would be to run visual studio and an instance of SQL. It would also be used for everyday business purpose where mobility is key. Thin and light.
Been looking at Dell Inspiron 7000, Lenovo Y series, HP Elitebook 850. Budget around $1200-1500.
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A blogger in ‘poor psychological condition’ has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammad on Facebook. According to an ‘informed source’, speaking to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Soheil Arabi, 30, had kept eight Facebook pages under different names and admitted to posting material insulting to the Prophet on these pages. Mr Arabi, who was arrested along with his wife in November last year by agents from the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is said to have written the “material without thinking and in poor psychological condition”. Branch 75 of Tehran’s Criminal Court, under Judge Khorasani, found Mr Arabi guilty of insulting the Prophet, or “sabb al-nabi”, on 30 August. Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code states insulting the Prophet carries a punishment of death, however, article 264 of the Penal Code says if a suspect claims to have said the insulting words in anger, in quoting someone, or by mistake, his death sentence will be converted to 74 lashes. The anonymous source claims: “Unfortunately, despite this Article and the explanations provided, the judges issued the death sentence. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iranian-blogger-found-guilty-of-insulting-prophet-mohammad-on-facebook-sentenced-to-death-9741572.html |
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The fact is that Ebola, by comparation, has not killed as many Africans as other factors during the same time period. But the fact is that Ebola is still spreading and without proper containment current predictions are for exponential growth. It is much less likely to do that here and it does not require the level of panic of airborne transmission, but that doesn't mean it can't come here or mutate.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand why it is not reasonable to both try to stop the spread and also not freak the hell out.
I am more concerned about what's coming over our southern border. Terrorists have been caught, even people from Africa. What if one of them gets through and has a Ebola??? So, excuse me if I am more concerned about the southern border than what is going on in Africa. And, let's not forget innocent Americans that are being murdered, raped, among other crimes on a daily basis....by freaking illegal aliens. |
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I seriously do not understand why you wouldn't see a story like this only supports the need to send troops. Do you not understand that if this is not contained, it is going to spread? Potentially here? There simply isn't time to "win hearts and minds" with a soft approach...Obviously as this story affirms..... so forced containment is the only option.
I believe that is what some of us have said from the beginning. That also includes stopping people, even American citizens, from coming to the US from these African countries. But, nobody wants to do that, so don't talk to me about containment when that is the first thing that should be done. We've had people right here on this forum that have insisted this isn't a threat to the US...that it can be contained. Which is it??? If you have supported us sending troops to help with containment from the beginning, then why do you appear to be opposing it now? And yes, I agree that some on this forum have taken the opposite position of being far too dismissive as well. Here's a thought...how about not going to either extreme? No, I don't support sending troops to Africa....that's not what our military is for. Just as '41' should not have sent our troops to Somalia for 'humanitarian reasons.' Remember Clinton's Blackhawk Down? |
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I seriously do not understand why you wouldn't see a story like this only supports the need to send troops. Do you not understand that if this is not contained, it is going to spread? Potentially here? There simply isn't time to "win hearts and minds" with a soft approach...Obviously as this story affirms..... so forced containment is the only option.
I believe that is what some of us have said from the beginning. That also includes stopping people, even American citizens, from coming to the US from these African countries. But, nobody wants to do that, so don't talk to me about containment when that is the first thing that should be done. We've had people right here on this forum that have insisted this isn't a threat to the US...that it can be contained. Which is it??? |
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