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Little Fox Goes to the End of the World
by Ann Tompert
Marshall Cavendish Children
One day, while chasing a butterfly, Little Fox strayed farther and farther from her home. " Come back, Little Fox, " called her mother, "or you may get lost." But Little Fox was tired of playing near the mouth of her den. "Some day," she said, "I'm going to travel to the end of the world." "Oh," said her mother. "Is the end of the world very far?" As Little Fox's imagination soars, she tells her mother how she will outsmart bears, tigers, elephants, monkeys, and even crocodiles. But finally, she'll sail home, because "I shall miss you."
The text was originally published in 1991.


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First look: Ambitious affordable housing build shows life downtown
Phased development would rise on historic church property off Peachtree Street
February 09, 2022, 12:45PMJosh Green Comments
The quest by one of Atlanta's oldest churches to create affordable housing from underused property could result in two towers of new development downtown—and monthly rents for new apartments starting around $500.
That's according to Invest Atlanta paperwork obtained by Urbanize Atlanta that shows the scope of redevelopment plans around Atlanta First United Methodist Church at 360 Peachtree Street for the first time.
Church leadership initially made headlines in August 2019 by issuing a Request for Proposals that challenged developers to help them realize a "God-size vision" for creating inclusive housing on 1.8 acres next the gothic-style sanctuary from 1903. Situated between Peachtree and West Peachtree streets, the land in question is currently home to pay parking lots, an unused outbuilding, and an education building.
Early last year, the church's development task force unanimously approved a joint venture with Chicago-based nonprofit developer Evergreen Real Estate Group, citing that company's track record of mission-driven, community-focused projects in urban environments.
Now, the church and developer are seeking a predevelopment loan of $250,000 from Eastside TAD funding to set the project in motion, according to Invest Atlanta. The first phase is expected to cost north of $105 million overall.
That will include a 16-story building with 170 apartments—the majority of them reserved as affordable or workforce housing—where West Peachtree Street meets Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard.
How the curved, phase-one building would rise along Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. Evergreen Redevelopment/Moody Nolan; via Invest Atlanta
A four-story podium building with 5,000 square feet of retail, a parking garage, and new facilities for Atlanta First Day School and Ansley School would also be included in the phase one mix, per Invest Atlanta.
Aside from some renovations, the historic sanctuary building would be untouched in the redevelopment. The church's annex—which houses the Midtown Assistance Center to help the working poor with food, transportation, rent, and utilities—is expected to be rehabilitated.
The phase one timeline calls for having a firm financing commitment in place by the third quarter of this year, breaking ground in the first quarter of 2023, and delivering the first phase in 2024, per Invest Atlanta.
The current church was erected in 1903 with Stone Mountain granite. According to church historians, its belfry contains the only church bell in Atlanta to survive the Civil War. It's been used in three different buildings since 1850.ZeWrestler/Wikimedia Commons; 2009 image
It's unclear how many apartments the two-phase project might ultimately entail, or when it all could be built. Inquiries to Atlanta First UMC and Invest Atlanta officials haven't been returned.
Renderings also show a phase-two tower of significant height standing immediately south of the church and phase-one building. The site's SP1 zoning classification would allow for a tower rising 50 stories or more, as church leaders have previously noted.
The overarching plan for both phases, with Peachtree Street shown at bottom left. Evergreen Redevelopment/Moody Nolan; via Invest Atlanta
According to the project's phase-one affordable housing forecast, 42 units in the 16-story building would rent for 30 percent of the area's median income or less.
That means rents would range from $485 for one-bedroom apartments (four of them total), to $582 for two-bedrooms (32 total), and $672 monthly for six three-bedrooms in the plans.
A total of 94 units would rent at 60 percent AMI or below, with rents between $970 and $1,552.
And 24 apartments would rent at market rate, between $2,000 and $2,700 monthly.
Invest Atlanta notes that benefits of the project include activating church parking lots that are underutilized most days, while "providing new mixed-income residences with deep levels of affordability." Building new facilities for a school that will serve homeless kids, and space for shops and eateries in an area that lacks retail, are also bonuses, according to Atlanta's economic development arm.
Where components of the redevelopment would be arranged, in relation to Peachtree Street (bottom). Invest Atlanta/Atlanta First UMC
The ministry, which has operated downtown for more than 170 years, would determine what all of the property is used for in perpetuity, per the earlier agreement.
Atlanta First UMC isn't expected to spend anything to develop the site, and all marketing costs should be refunded through future profits, officials have noted. No land will be sold—the church will instead lease the ground to developers—and the deal is expected to provide the church "multiple streams of income … for years to come."
Beyond Evergreen Redevelopment and its construction arm, the development team will include Moody Nolan as lead architect and Balfour Beatty and H.J Russell & Company as general contractors. SHAPE and Goode Van Slyke will also assist with architectural designs, per Invest Atlanta.
• Historic South Downtown church to developers: Let's make a deal (Urbanize Atlanta)
360 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta First United Methodist Church
Atlanta First Day School
Evergreen Redevelopment
Evergreen Construction
Evergreen Real Estate Services
Eastside Tax Allocation District
Moody Nolan
Good Van Slyke Architecture
H.J. Russell & Co.
Balfour Beatty Construction

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Test filename with regular expression I am trying to test a filename string with this pattern:
^[A-Za-z0-9-_,\s]+[.]{1}[A-Za-z]{3}$

I want to ensure there is a three letter extension and allow letters, numbers and these symbols: - _ , \s to precede it but I don't want to have to include all of the letters and characters in the filename. I could just use a * instead of a + but that would match 0 or more which wouldn't be a valid filename.
Here are some examples of how the rule should react:
Correct file name.pdf - true
Correct, file name.pdf - true
Correct_file_name.pdf - true
Correctfilename.pdf - true
Incorrect &% file name.pdf - false
Incorrect file name- false

It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction.
Thanks

A: You could use these expressions instead:

*

*\w - is the same as [a-zA-Z0-9_]

*\d - is the same as [0-9]

*\. - is the same as [.]{1}
Which would make your regex:
^[\w,\s-]+\.[A-Za-z]{3}$

Note that a literal dash in a character class must be first or last or escaped (I put it last), but you put it in the middle, which incorrectly becomes a range.
Notice that the last [a-zA-Z] can not be replaced by \w because \w includes the underscore character and digits.
EDITED: @tomasz is right! \w == [a-zA-Z0-9_] (confirmed here), so I altered my answer to remove the unnecessary \d from the first character class.

A: This question was asked specifically to allow a three letter extension.
For anyone coming from DuckDuckGo like me (yes, you shouldn't use Google :p), this regex tests for valid filenames and file paths on Windows, Unix and macOS:
^[^<>:;,?"*|/]+$

or even
^[^~)('!*<>:;,?"*|/]+$

Note: On Windows, \is not allowed in filenames, but the above regex works for checking valid paths on Windows. Include \\ between the brackets ^[...]+$ if you want it to check for valid filenames and not checking paths.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Eight athletes and TV personalities stripped down and opened up about their bodies for Women's Health U.K.
We were seriously impressed by the cover of our Women's Health U.K. editors' unbelievable Naked Issue, which features the gorgeous and smart-as-hell Chrissy Teigen. So when we got our paws on even more photos from inside the mag, we knew we had to do the right thing and share them with all of you. Fair is fair, mates!
Here are some of our favorite photos and quotes from the entire issue, which you can grab in print on July 30.
"I have a very particular body shape—but I've accepted my big shoulders are the tools of my trade."
"I was watching MTV and made a bet with my PT [and ex], Danny Young, that he couldn't make my body look like Britney Spears' circa 'I'm a Slave 4 U.' He proved me wrong in three weeks."
The September of Women's Health U.K. issue hits newsstands July 30.


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HomeNCSHA BlogHouse Appropriations...
House Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2015 HUD Funding Bill
On May 21, the House Appropriations Committee reported by a vote of 28 to 21 the FY 2015 Transportation-HUD (T-HUD) appropriations bill. The House bill has a funding level of $52.03 billion, $1.2 billion more than the FY 2014 enacted funding level and $7.8 billion less than the President's FY 2015 Budget request. However, as noted during the markup by the Committee and Subcommittee leaders, the bill's funding level is effectively $1.8 billion less than the FY 2014 enacted level due to a decrease in receipts available from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to offset spending in the bill.
During the markup, the Committee adopted amendments to increase funding for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) by $1 million and to direct HUD to evaluate and report on the effect of Housing Choice Voucher (voucher) portability on costs to certain public housing authorities (PHAs). It also accepted a manager's amendment that includes provisions to increase funding for HUD's housing counseling program by $2 million to $47 million and to increase funding for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program (HOPWA) by $2.9 million to $305.9 million. The Committee rejected amendments to increase funding for the HOME and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs. Other than the additional funding for housing counseling, HOPWA, and USICH, the funding levels for HUD programs remain unchanged from the May 7 Subcommittee-reported bill, which NCSHA describes in this blog post.
In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham (R-IA) reiterated points he made during the Subcommittee markup, stating that the bill provides sufficient funds to keep all families currently receiving housing assistance under the umbrella of the various HUD programs. Subcommittee Ranking Member Ed Pastor (D-AZ) said the bill freezes many programs at last year's funding level and cuts a number of programs, including the HOME and Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction programs. He said he is hopeful they will be able to address some of these shortfalls as the bill moves through the process.
In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) stated, "This bill focuses funding on the infrastructure that grows the American economy and on the housing options that protect our most vulnerable citizens." As she did in the Subcommittee markup, Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) stated she is concerned about the bill's proposed cuts to the HOME program and the Public Housing Capital Fund, which she said are vital to the rehabilitation and modernization of the country's affordable housing stock. She reiterated that the proposed $700 million funding level for HOME is the lowest in the program's history.
Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) offered an amendment on behalf of himself and Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) to increase funding for HOME by $900 million to $1.6 billion. Chairman Latham said he had to oppose the amendment because it did not have an offset and therefore would cause the bill to exceed its spending cap. The amendment was not adopted.
Schiff also offered an amendment to direct HUD to use an alternate formula to reimburse housing authorities monthly for the cost of administering ported vouchers. Latham opposed the amendment and said the provision should be left to the authorizers. Latham offered to work with Schiff on the issue and Schiff withdrew the amendment. Later in the markup, the Committee adopted an amendment worked out by Latham and Schiff to include repot language requiring HUD to report on the effect of voucher portability on costs to certain public housing authorities (PHAs).
Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) offered an amendment to increase funding for CDBG by $270 million to $3.27 billion. Latham commented that they all know how important the program is and said they tried to be supportive of the program in the bill. He opposed the amendment because there was no offset offered. The amendment was rejected on a recorded vote of 22 to 28.
Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) offered and then withdrew an amendment to increase from 60,000 to 250,000 the statutory cap on the number of public housing units that can be converted under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). Latham said the provision should be left to the authorizers and stated the Committee still has a lot of outstanding questions about RAD's long-term impact on the project-based Section 8 account. Latham added that the Committee received a letter from House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) asking the Committee to not increase the cap.
The Committee adopted Representative David Price's (D-NC) amendment to transfer $1 million from HUD's information technology account to USICH after Latham modified the amendment by reinstating USICH's sunset date, which is October 1, 2016. Price's amendment would have authorized USICH indefinitely. Latham also agreed to work with Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) to find an offset to restore funding for the lead hazard reduction program after she agreed to withdraw her amendment to increase the program's funding level.
As reported in NCSHA's May 7 post, the bill would provide the following FY 2015 funding levels:
$700 million for the HOME program, $300 million less than the FY 2014 level and $250 million less than the President's FY 2015 Budget request.
$9.7 billion for project-based Section 8, $171 million less than the FY 2014 level and equal to the President's request.
$17.7 billion for voucher renewals, $328 million more than the FY 2014 level and $313 million less than the President's request.
$3 billion for CDBG, $30 million less than the FY 2014 level and $200 million more than the President's request.
$2.1 billion for homeless assistance grants, equal to the FY 2014 enacted level and $301 million less than the President's request.
Prior to the markup, the Subcommittee released report language to accompany the bill. The report provides an explanation of provisions in the bill.
The report states that the Committee acknowledges the bill's funding level for project-based Section 8 would provide less than 12 months of funding for some contracts. It states the funding level is based on the Administration's proposal to shift to a calendar year funding cycle for payments on renewal contracts.
In the report's section on Community Planning and Development programs, which includes HOME and CDBG, the Committee acknowledges that "at reduced funding levels communities will need to be innovative in finding ways to do more with less by leveraging State, local, and private sector partnerships."
The report also states, "The Committee concurs with decisions by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that HUD's contracts for performance based contract administrator (PBCA) services are procurement contracts. The recommendation rejects the request to give HUD authority to administer PBCA funds as grants or cooperative agreements and directs HUD to follow the law and GAO by soliciting and awarding procurement contracts under full and open competition and without geographic limitations. The Committee further directs HUD to carry out these procurement processes in a manner that is compliant with requirements under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Competition in Contracting Act."
The report says the Committee's bill reflects the Administration's proposal to reorganize the Self-help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) as a set-aside within the HOME program. The President's Budget requests that up to $10 million within the HOME account be set-aside for SHOP.
The schedule for consideration of the bill by the House has not been announced. The Senate T-HUD Subcommittee has not released its FY 2015 funding bill, but is expected to markup the bill in early June. See NCSHA's funding chart for additional information on HUD and USDA housing program funding levels.


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Q: About two ways of computing the probability of an event Let us say that we have coin which shows heads with probability $0.002$ and we want to know the probability of getting 1 head in 1000 tosses. The "standard" way to count this is to compute $(1000)(0.002)(0.998)^{999}$.
Is there a way to count this number using a more basic principle of evaluating, $\frac{\# \text{of desired events}  }{ \# \text{total number of possible events }}$ ?

A:
Let us say that we have coin which shows heads with probability $0.002$ and we want to know the probability of getting 1 head in 1000 tosses. The "standard" way to count this is to compute $(1000)(0.002)(0.998)^{999}$.
Is there a way to count this number using a more basic principle of evaluating, $\frac{\# \text{of desired events}  }{ \# \text{total number of possible events }}$ ?

Yessish.   The "more basic principle" only works when you have equally probable outcomes.

*

*So we could model the biased coin as having $1000$ equally-likely outcomes, two of which are called heads and nine-hundred ninety-eight of which are called tails.   (Keywords: microstate, macrostate.)
The count of ways to make $1000$ independent choices each with $1000$ equally probable options is $1000^{1000}$.
The count of ways to make $1$ choice with $2$ equally likely option is $2^1$.   The count of ways to make $999$ independent choices with $998$ equally probable options is $998^{999}$.   The count of ways to select $1$ place among $1000$ is ${^{1000}{\rm C}_{1}}$.
Putting this together we have: $$\begin{align}\dfrac{\# \text{of desired events} }{ \# \text{total number of possible events }}~=&~\dfrac{{^{1000}{\rm C}_{1}}\cdot 2^1\cdot 998^{999} }{1000^{1000}}
\\[1ex] = & ~ 1000~(0.002)~(0.998)^{999}
\end{align}$$

*We don't do this because modeling the bias of a coin in such a ways is a naive kludge.   We simply observe that the coin has two visible outcomes with different probability weights.   Then we simply measure the probability of heads on one coin and tails on $998$, appearing in any of the $^{1000}{\rm C}_1$ ways to arrange these results, as: $${^{1000}{\rm C}_{1}}~(0.002)~(0.998)^{999}$$


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Home > Business > Reliance Industries' Q4 profit rises by 8.5% to Rs 6,381 crore
Reliance Industries' Q4 profit rises by 8.5% to Rs 6,381 crore
PTI18 April 2015 12:42 AM GMT
Consolidated net profit in the January-March quarter at Rs 6,381 crore, or Rs 21.7 a share, was 8.5 per cent higher than Rs 5,881 crore, or Rs 20 per share, profit a year ago.
Standalone net profit was up 10.8 per cent at Rs 6,243 crore. This is the highest quarterly net profit for RIL since it clocked Rs 8,079 crore net profit in the third quarter of 2007-08. RIL, the operator of world's biggest oil-refinery complex, earned $ 10.1 for turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in the fourth quarter of 2014-15, as compared to a gross refining margin of $ 9.3 per barrel a year ago. The refining segment of oil-to-telecom conglomerate recorded the highest ever quarterly pre-tax profit (EBIT) of Rs 4,902 crore, up 23.7 per year-on-year.
This helped offset a 6.8 per cent decline in EBIT in petrochemical business to Rs 2,003 crore and a near 36 per cent slump in the same from oil and gas business to Rs 489 crore. Its US shale gas business also saw a 23.1 per cent drop in EBIT to Rs 336 crore but the booming retail business saw per-tax profits jumping from Rs 24 crore in January-March 2014 to Rs 104 crore in the fourth quarter of 2014-15.
"FY 2014-15 has been a very successful and important year for Reliance. In a time when the collapse of crude oil prices unsettled the hydrocarbons markets, our refining business delivered record earnings," said RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh D Ambani. While the earnings validate RIL philosophy of investing in world-scale, cost competitive assets and cutting-edge technology, the company has made strides to sustain growth momentum with the highest-ever capital investment into hydrocarbon business and our next-generation digital services initiative.
"Our organised retail business maintained its high growth trajectory with a wider pan-India footprint," he said. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL), the firm's telecom arm, has acquired spectrum in 800 Mega Hertz and 1800 MHz bands in 13 key circles or zones last month, raising its presence to 20 out of the nation's 22 circles. This is besides the pan-India 2,300 MHz spectrum it holds, the company said but stopped short of saying when it will start telecom services. RIL turnover fell by 33.3 per cent to Rs 70,863 crore due to nearly halving of international oil prices. Exports also declined by 44 per cent to Rs 37,480 crore. Debt rose to Rs 160,860 crore from Rs 150,007 crore as on December 31, 2014. Cash balance also rose to Rs 84,472 crore as on March 31 as compared to Rs 78,691 crore as on December 31.
Interest cost at Rs 677 crore in the fourth quarter was lower than Rs 978 crore in corresponding period of the previous year due to lower average exchange rate during the quarter. For the full 2014-15 fiscal, RIL reported a 4.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 23,566 crore even as turnover fell 13 per cent to Rs 388,494 crore. Net profit in January-March, 2014-15, was 21.4 per cent higher than Rs 5,256 crore of the previous October-December quarter, the biggest jump in earnings by any corporate on quarter-to-quarter basis.
Reliance Retail's FY15 revenue up 21% to Rs 17, 640 cr
Reliance Retail's revenue grew by 21.2 per cent to Rs 17,640 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2015 on the back of a wide product offerings with value proposition. The company, which maintained the status of India's largest retailer, said it achieved profit before depreciation, interest and taxes (PBDIT) of Rs 784 crore for the year. In the fourth quarter ended March 31, the company said its revenue grew by 31.1 per cent to Rs 4,788 crore despite slow consumption growth and challenging macroeconomic environment. Commenting on the performance of the retail arm, Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani said: "Our organised retail business maintained its high growth trajectory with a wider pan-India footprint."


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Tag Archives: Donna Merow
Darkness Unfolding As Light
On April 14 approximately 80 women from across Franconia and Eastern District Conferences joined together at Towamencin Mennonite Church for the annual Sister Care Gathering. The theme was "Darkness Unfolding as Light," with the book of Ruth as the Biblical text. Cathy Spory, Elementary Principal at Johnstown Christian School, took on the character of Naomi and gave insightful first- person monologues. Marilyn Bender, one of four co-pastors at Ripple Church in Allentown and Rose Bender Cook, Marilyn's sister-in-law and a bi-vocational pastor at Whitehall Mennonite Church, shared their personal and Biblical reflections including speaking of the illness and loss of Marilyn's husband John, Rose's brother.
The women were invited to string beads, with knots representing the rough places and the iridescent beads representing those light-filled moments. There was time for conversation and prayer with each other at our tables, and an opportunity to experiment with different ways to pray including praying with color, walking prayer, healing prayer and anointing.
Pastor Letty Cortes from Centro de Alabanza led the women in activities to get to know one another. There was much singing together and the women enjoyed a delicious lunch including a wonderful cake gifted to them from MCUSA out-going Executive Director, Ervin Stutzman, from his retirement party the night before. It was bi-lingual day, with everything presented in English and Spanish, and was a deeply moving day, culminating in the women giving testimony as to where God had unfolded their darkness into light.
Many thanks to the planning committee: Anne M. Yoder, Coordinator; Pastor Donna Merow; Pastor Doris Diener; Pastor Letty Castro; and Pastor Marta Castillo. Special thanks to Pastor Marilyn Bender, Pastor Rose Bender Cook and Cathy Spory for all their energy and all they shared with the women of our Conferences.
May 3, 2018 Articles, conference, Front Page, NewsAnne Yoder, bilingual, Centro de Alabanza, Donna Merow, Doris Diener, Ervin Stutzman, intercultural, John Bender, Leticia Cortes, Marilyn Bender, Marta Castillo, missional, Ripple, Rose Bender Cook, Sister Care, Sistering committee, Towamencin Mennonite Church, Whitehall Mennonite ChurchConference Office
Every Ordination is Miraculous
By Steve Kriss, Director of Leadership Cultivation & Congregational Resourcing
To order a Dancing Flame Oil Lamp handcrafted by June Keener Wink please call 413-258-4243 or e-mail junewink@gmail.com.
The year 2015 has been a year of ordinations in Franconia Conference. We've been celebrating and marking commitments and calling nearly every six weeks . . . Mike Ford at Blooming Glen, Joe Hackman at Salford, Donna Merow at Ambler, Angela Moyer at Ripple, Kris Wint at Finland, Josh Meyer at Franconia, Samantha Lioi at Whitehall and Ubaldo Rodriguez at New Hope Fellowship in Baltimore for mission work in the Philippines.
Ordination is an ancient process of setting apart leaders for public ministry in the way of Jesus. Within Franconia Conference, we follow a set of procedures that seek to honor both the individual and the community while respecting the work of the Spirit within both settings. There is coursework for completion, interviews, paperwork that intends to keep our communities both safe and accountable, mental wellness assessments, varieties of continuing education and varying levels of mentoring. Some of our pastors breeze through the process at a steady and assured pace in the two year minimum waiting and working period of licensing. Others take much longer to plumb the depths of call both personally and communally and to wrestle it out. Personal disclosure, it took me six years of working, waiting and wondering in Allegheny Conference before I could wrap my head around the commitments and calling that ordination entails.
We take this process seriously yet the days of ordination have a more celebratory tone. There are few times in our lives when we make commitments that will shape our life like ordination. In front of a gathered congregation at the request and affirmation of a particular Christian community, we make commitments to serve, lead, pray, study, turn from evil and live into the role of Christian leadership as long as God sustains.
Many of us wrestle with the meaning of ordination. I've found this human and historic process of calling, recognizing, working and wrestling and receiving becomes quite holy. Somewhere in the wrestling and symbols, the questions and the mundane of the paperwork, the Spirit unfailingly shows up.
In this flurry of ordinations in the midst of a turbulent time, I am confident that the Spirit is still at work with us, trying to bring life. Each person who says yes to the invitation of God and the community strengthens the possibilities of future "yes" responses into the next generation. This round of ordinations represents our first millennial generation ordained ministers, our first Italian American woman, our first ordination for mission work in the Philippines. We've called at some of our most historic congregations and our newest. The churches are rural, suburban and urban. We're recognizing the sons and daughters of historic Franconia Conference families, as well as persons who were drawn to Mennonite congregations by conviction, relationships and call. We've held events in Episcopal and Lutheran facilities and even at a Lancaster Conference church in Baltimore. (Interesting side note, a Lancaster Conference African congregation recently used the Towamencin meetinghouse for an ordination worship).
It's definitely a different time. The ordination process isn't what it used to be. There's no somber ceremony with Bibles or hymnals and a slip of paper as in Mennonite history. But the holy moments remain, those wonderful spaces where community and Spirit commingle to cultivate surprising invitations toward ordination and wonderfully amazing continued responses of "yes I am willing." Every time we ordain, it's a sign that the church will go on. And in these days of turbulence and questions both in the church and in the culture around us, every yes somehow feels miraculous. And I'm grateful to get to witness it as the Good News still breaks upon us. . . this year about every six weeks.
September 24, 2015 Articles, conference, Front Page, NewsAngela Moyer, Donna Merow, Joe Hackman, Josh Meyer, Kris Wint, Mike Ford, Samantha Lioi, Ubaldo RodriguezConference Office
Three congregations credential new leaders on Pentecost
by Sheldon C. Good
Many Christian congregations commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, and three Franconia Conference congregations in particular acknowledged the Spirit's movement through the credentialing of leaders for ministry.
On June 8, all occurring in southeastern Pennsylvania, Donna Merow was ordained and Danilo Sanchez and Phil Bergey were licensed for ministry. Their credentialing brings the number of credentialed leaders in the conference to approximately 160 men and women serving in at least seven states and four countries.
Merow was ordained for pastoral ministry at the Ambler congregation, where she has pastored for more than four years. LEAD minister Jenifer Eriksen Morales led Merow's credentialing. Merow chose to be ordained on Pentecost Sunday after discovering she was confirmed in the United Methodist church on Pentecost 40 years prior.
LEADership Minister Jenifer Eriksen Morales and members of the congregation pray at the ordination of Donna Merow (seated center), pastor of Ambler Mennonite Church. Photo by Andrew Huth.
"The 40-year journey from one public confession of faith to another," Merow said, "has been a significant one for me — including marriage and becoming a mother and grandmother, completing college and graduate work, worshipping in multiple traditions other than the one in which I grew up, and facing the challenges of breast cancer and kidney disease."
Merow was only 12 when the possibility of religious vocation was first suggested to her. Between now and then, she "worked at a church camp, dropped out of college, cared for blind students, got married, and raised two daughters." She has also been an active participant in churches from several denominations: Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Mennonite.
She described her credentialing ceremony as "an outward acknowledgement of an inward change in identity as I became a pastor in the process of practicing pastoral care."
Sanchez was licensed for youth ministry among multiple Anabaptist congregations in and around Allentown. LEAD minister Steve Kriss led the credentialing. Sanchez is primarily working with Whitehall and Ripple, both Franconia congregations, by leading music or teaching children, but is also working alongside Karen Fellowship (independent), Iglesia Menonita Evangelica Restoracion (Lancaster Conference), Christ Fellowship (Eastern District Conference), and Vietnamese Gospel (Franconia Conference).
Sanchez said his licensing felt like an important personal and professional step because many people and institutions, including Franconia Conference and Whitehall, "are recognizing my gifts and willing to walk alongside me as a pastor." Sanchez, grew up in the Boyertown congregation and has interned with both Souderton congregation and Philadelphia Praise Center while a student at Eastern University. He graduated from Eastern Mennonite Seminary last year with a Master of Divinity degree.
Members of Whitehall Mennonite Church pray over Danilo Sanchez. Photo by Patti Connolly.
"I finally feel like a pastor," he said. "I am so honored that God has called me to be a leader. I'm thankful for the ways that Whitehall and Ripple will shape me into the leader God has called me to be."
Bergey was licensed as interim lead pastor of the Blooming Glen congregation, where he has been a member for about 20 years. Ertell Whigham, executive minister of Franconia Conference, led the credentialing. Bergey is former conference executive of Franconia Mennonite Conference.
In the wake of Firman Gingerich's resignation as Blooming Glen's lead pastor, the congregation's board invited Bergey to assume a part-time interim lead pastorate. The congregation is searching for a long-term pastor.
Phil Bergey, interim lead pastor of Blooming Glen.
Bergey preached the morning of his licensing, focusing on the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12. He framed the commencement of his pastoral leadership and the pastoral search processes not as the beginning of a journey but the continuation of a journey. That journey, he said, includes the history of the Blooming Glen congregation, the Anabaptist tradition, and the Christian church, going all the way back to Abraham and Sarah.
Bergey said: "Blooming Glen, like other congregations, has been through pastoral transitions before; it is simply part of a congregation's life together. And pastoral transitions are especially true for a congregation that is approaching 300 years of age."
June 25, 2014 Articles, conference, Front Page, NewsAmbler, Blooming Glen, Danilo Sanchez, Donna Merow, Ertell Whigham, formational, Jenifer Eriksen Morales, Pentecost, Phil Bergey, Ripple, Sheldon C. Good, Steve Kriss, Vietnamese Gospel, WhitehallConference Office
Ministerial Update (April 2014)
Hadi Sunarto was licensed as a deacon at Philadelphia Praise Center in March.
Steve Kriss, Director of Leadership Cultivation, provided this update from the March & April meetings of the Credentials and Ministerial Committees:
Hadi Sunarto (East Rutherford, NJ) was approved for a license for specific the ministry of deacon at Philadelphia Praise Center.
Krista Showalter Ehst (Bally, PA) was approved with a license toward ordination to serve as pastor at Alpha (NJ) Mennonite Church.
Bill Martin was approved with a license toward ordination and to serve as associate pastor at Towamencin Mennonite Church.
Danilo Sanchez (Whitehall congregation) was approved to serve as Allentown area youth minister with a license toward ordination.
Donna Merow was approved for ordination and continues to serve as pastor at Ambler (Pa) Mennonite Church.
Several new members have been added to the Ministerial and Credentials committees.
Mike Clemmer (Towamencin) and Marlene Frankenfield (Salford) have been named to the Ministerial Committee. Heidi Hochstetler (Bally) resigned her position from the committee earlier this year. Continuing Ministerial Committtee members include: Verle Brubaker (Swamp), Ken Burkholder (Deep Run East), Carolyn Egli (Whitehall), Janet Panning (Plains), Mary Nitzsche (Blooming Glen), Jim Williams (Nueva Vida Norristown New Life).
Aldo Siahaan (Philadelphia Praise) and Marta Castillo (Nueva Vida Norristown New Life) have been named to three year terms on the credentials committee. Continuing committee members include: Rose Bender (Whitehall), Verle Brubaker (Swamp) and Mike Clemmer (Towamencin).
Steve Kriss began serving as Conference staff liaison for both committees since the retirement of Noah Kolb late in 2013.
April 3, 2014 Articles, conference, NewsAldo Siahaan, Alpha, Ambler, Bill Martin, Danilo Sanchez, Donna Merow, Hadi Sunarto, Krista Showalter Ehst, Marlene Frankenfield, Marta Castillo, Mike Clemmer, ministerial, Norristown New Life Nueva Vida, Philadelphia Praise Center, Salford, Steve Kriss, Towamencin, YouthEmily
Successful Conference, Seminary partnership concludes
Steve Kriss (top right) and Derek Cooper (second row, fourth from the right) have partnered for five years to take seminary students on intercultural learning trips, including this spring's trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Photo by Dennis Dong.
by John Tyson, Salford congregation
Theological educators believe headfirst immersion into unfamiliar cultural terrain is a requirement for preparing church leaders in the context of the twenty-first century. For students at Biblical Theological Seminary (Hatfield, Pa.), a lifelong commitment to intercultural ministry begins at the second year mark of their LEAD Master of Divinity Program.
To meet the complex and unconventional demands of intercultural education, Biblical Seminary and Franconia Conference have partnered together to create the Intercultural Ministry Experience (IME). For the past five years, Franconia's director of leadership cultivation, Steve Kriss, and Biblical's director of the LEAD program, Derek Cooper, have led a total of seventy-five students on journeys far and wide, from Israel/Palestine to Italy to Cambodia and Vietnam.
For Dr. Derek Cooper, the ten-day trips abroad produce formative insights and questions that dwell with students well beyond their time in seminary. "It is my favorite component of the LEAD program, and students receive a very concentrated educational experience," said Cooper. "Students always come away from the trip changed, challenged, and more culturally aware. It's completely transformative."
"We also talk a lot about contextualization, and we learn much about how the local Christian community addresses issues relating to history, culture, politics, and world religions," Cooper added.
Josh Meyer, associate pastor of Franconia congregation (Telford, Pa.), participated in the 2011 trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Meyer identified practices of learning and listening as the educational core of his experience. "This was not a mission trip where rich, white Americans did a service project and 'brought Jesus' to the forgotten corners of the globe," he said. "Rather, this was a learning experience where we went as students, not saviors; as listeners, not experts; as those interested in exploring ways in which God was already living and moving and active in the culture, not as those bringing Jesus to a place where, prior to our arrival, God was not present…This approach to cross-cultural study resonated deeply with my own wariness of short-term missions and helped to shape my thinking on how we as people of faith engage with the rest of the world."
The required IME provided Donna Merow her first opportunity to explore spaces beyond U.S. borders. Now pastor of Ambler (Pa.) congregation, Merow recalled how her trip to Israel/Palestine transformed both her understanding of ancient scripture as well as the present Israeli/Palestinian conflict. "The reality of walking where Jesus did, of visiting his birthplace, the village he called home, the Sea of Galilee, and the site of his death has changed the way I read the Bible," Merow explained. "Seeing and touching the separation wall, staying in the homes of Palestinian Christians, and visiting one of the multigenerational refugee camps has made me ask hard questions about government policy and church practice."
For many travelers, encountering weathered, historically nuanced places reveals how tender the balance is between the past and the future. This was one of the major lessons absorbed by KrisAnne Swartley, associate pastor of Doylestown (Pa.) congregation, on her trip to Italy. "I was struck by the history there, and how it is preserved and revered, and how that can be both a strength and a weakness," Swartley reflected. "The strength is in remembering our story, remembering how the faithful who went before us worked through questions of faithfulness in the midst of change/struggle. The weakness can be that we are so trapped by traditions of the past that we become irrelevant in the present and into the future. I continue to think about this balance, to pray that I remember and learn from the church of the past but also [have courage] to walk into the future bravely, not afraid to let go of what was as the Spirit gives new wisdom."
While this spring marks the end of the Biblical/Franconia IME partnership, its conclusion is cause for celebration, according to Kriss. "The model proved to be an effective partnership because both the seminary and the Conference benefitted," he said. The Conference offered resources of intercultural education and global networking, he observed, while the seminary provided students who were positioned to deeply engage. "The surprising outcome," Kriss said, "was to build relationships with Anabaptist students on campus which helped Conference congregations to have new connections with potential pastors. And these new potential pastors had already been shaped somewhat by Anabaptist ways of engaging the world. It was a fruitful endeavor, not without struggles at times, but one that represents effective and strategic partnering in healthy ways."
July 30, 2013 conference, Front Page, NewsAmbler, Biblical Seminary, Blooming Glen, Derek Cooper, Donna Merow, Doylestown, formational, Franconia, intercultural, John Tyson, Josh Meyer, KrisAnne Swartley, Steve KrissEmily
Delivering Christ to a waiting world
by Donna Merow, Ambler
The live nativity at Towamencin congregation. Photo by Casie L. Allebach.
Christmas. I have long been ambivalent about this holy season. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas—the anticipation of Advent, the children's pageant, singing "Silent Night" by candlelight with guitar accompaniment, the live nativity, the retelling of the familiar story, the making and wrapping of gifts.
But I also dread its coming—the gaudy lawn decorations, inane songs like "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" blaring from the radio, the excesses of the celebration. I lament with Linus its commercialization and long to discover if the Grinch's Whoville observation is farther reaching and that it can, indeed, come "without packages, boxes, or bags."
I trace my ambivalence to singing "Will Santy Came to Shanty Town?" for a school program when I was about nine. The song is a child's first person wondering if Santa will visit his side of the tracks this time around or if his mother will have to repaint his toys the way she did the year before. At the time I needed to believe in the magic of Christmas more than anything. My parents had recently divorced, which necessitated a move, and my world was turned upside down by the addition of a stepfather who drank too much. But Eddy Arnold's musical autobiography captured my youthful imagination. The revelation that Santa apparently didn't come to all deserving children was an epiphany for me and one that has shaped my Christmas-keeping in the decades since.
The Irish have a beautiful custom of having the youngest child light a candle in the window on Christmas Eve, lest Christ should come in the guise of a stranger. I count the strangers I have met during this time of year to be among my most treasured gifts.
One year we were able to connect with a woman we read about in The Inquirer. She lead a group of fearless females who stood on the corner in their neighborhood with their mops and brooms to reclaim it from the drug dealers, and she often provided sanctuary to a dozen or more children in her home.
Then there was the mother of the family we had adopted through the Visiting Nurses Association who selflessly offered a sleeping bag that she had requested to another mother who showed up at the center because she had nothing to give to her little ones.
I generally avoid the mall as much as possible, but one year I was approached there by a stranger as I was enjoying a snack after a fruitful search for flannel sheets for my newly-separated father. Within a half hour I had learned about her painful spiritual journey through divorce and the sexual abuse of her children.
Volunteers with Liberty Ministries pack Christmas gifts for inmates.
That same year, my family traveled into Philadelphia for a performance of The Nutcracker. A young woman struck up a conversation with me (I am an avowed introvert and rarely initiate such encounters) as we waited on the platform at Market East for the R5 to take us home. Our conversation continued until she got off at the stop before us. She was a recovering drug addict trying to put her life back together. Her grandfather was dying in a nursing home in the area, and friends were taking her to visit him. He had believed in her even when she didn't believe in herself, she explained.
This year the world was too much with me, and I feared that Christmas might not come, "but it came just the same." It came through offering a ride to an elderly woman in front of me in the check-out line at the Dollar Tree store who would surely have struggled walking home with her cane and packages. It came in attending a nursing home concert in which several members of my congregation performed. It came shopping with a neighbor for an immigrant family facing its first Christmas without a mother/wife/daughter/sister. It came helping to prepare nearly 2,000 brown paper packages for the inmates at Montgomery County Correctional Facility and having the privilege of joining others from Liberty Ministries in their distribution to the women who eagerly awaited them and gratefully received them. It came with a real "baby Jesus" in the pageant this Sunday and our own costumed angels poignantly drawing us in as we mourned the slaughter of the Holy Innocents in a sleepy New England town.
Christmas. The celebration of God with us invites us all to be open to possibility and opportunities—to "deliver" Christ to a waiting world, to serve Christ among the least of these, and to be surprised anew by the ways Christ comes to us in the midst of our isolation and loneliness, our longing for things to be different, our busyness and self-absorption, and our grief and pain, our hopes and fears.
December 20, 2012 Blog, Front Page, Guest BlogAmbler, Christmas, Donna Merow, intercultural, missional, PeaceEmily
Introducing Ambler Mennonite Church
Ambler's Kids Art Club paints a 44-foot mural.
Ambler began in a garage in 1952 as an outreach of Franconia Conference. This mission was nearly abandoned when those who came to serve the children of the area found them too unruly. A decade later, a meetinghouse was built on donated land at the corner of Spring Garden and Mount Pleasant Avenues, within walking distance of the train to Philadelphia. In the last century Ambler grew as a company town for Keasbey and Mattison, an asbestos manufacturer. Despite this environmental legacy, Ambler is in the midst of revitalization with numerous restaurants, theaters, and shops opening on its main street. It's first female mayor, a member of our congregation, was elected last fall.
Ours is an average-sized congregation with leadership provided by a full-time pastor, a pair of elders, and a ministry team composed of a chair, five commission chairs, our Conference delegate, and the pastor that meets monthly. Our current pastor is the second woman in that position and was called from within.
Ambler is a diverse congregation—racially, ethnically, generationally, geographically, theologically, and otherwise. Our worship style is eclectic, informal, and participatory. We are a people who enjoy each other's company and look for opportunities to connect outside the walls. Who we are is reflected in our mission statement —"a diverse community of believers following Jesus in building relationships by serving those among and around us with love and offering the good news of peace, hope, and healing."
We continue to be a congregation with a focus on young people. This has included Vacation Bible School and a Kids Can Club, an art club that ran for several summers, hosting rock concerts featuring local high school bands, and sharing our space with the Ambler area Boys and Girls Club. Some of us regularly participate in prison ministry, gun shop and drone protests, and MDS work; others keep the situation in the Holy Land before us. We support the local food cupboard and Interfaith Housing and join with another congregation in May to shelter homeless families. We provide meeting space for a group trying to bring a food co-op to town. In recent years, we have become well known for our Pennsylvania Dutch dinners in the spring and a community flea market in the fall. Shoo-fly pies figure prominently in both.
October 18, 2012 Congregational Profiles, Franconia ConferenceAmbler, Donna MerowEmily
Quiet rebellion against the status quo
(To Mennonite Blog #3)
In a sermon titled Transformed Nonconformist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, "The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority" (Strength to Love, 27).
To "Mennonite" is to be creatively maladjusted to a society that promotes materialism, nationalism, militarism, and violence.
I was introduced to the Mennonite/Anabaptist perspective at Providence and Methacton more than thirty years ago. This was the era of Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and Doris Jantzen Longacre's Living More with Less. The lifestyle of simplicity and service such books advocated captured my imagination in a big way. My sister describes me to her friends as "almost Amish," and, in some ways, I suppose I am. We decided to raise our children without Santa Claus or television. A clothesline replaced the dryer and kept us connected in some small way with the rhythms of the natural world. We built a little house in the woods and lived on one income so I could be a full-time stay-at-home mom until my daughters were in high school.
Such non-conformity to the standards of culture is only possible if one takes Jesus seriously, not only on Sunday morning but in every encounter and experience throughout the week. This was something I saw modeled in the first "salt of the earth" Mennonites I met. Doing so means thoughtfully considering what following Jesus looks like in decisions big and small—the purchases one makes, the words one speaks, the actions one takes, how one spends his/her time. Should I spend a little more for organic produce? Do I really need that new dress? Can I skip that trip and take a walk instead? How do I speak the truth in love in this delicate situation? Will doing this honor/model Christ?
To "Mennonite" also means taking community seriously. I was rebaptized and became a member of the Mennonite Church on my first wedding anniversary. One of the most memorable questions posed to me as part of this public confession was, "Are you willing to give and receive counsel in the congregation?" The mutual accountability and responsibility inherent in the question continues to remind me that we are in this relationship together. Everyone, I think, needs to have someone in his/her life who loves him/her enough to risk speaking the truth, however painful it may be. The vulnerability this demands of both giver and receiver is powerfully present each Holy Week in the simple act of kneeling before each other to wash feet. But the love symbolized in this annual ritual is evident throughout the year as we celebrate life's milestones, care for children, prepare meals, clean houses, move possessions, offer advice, or listen with a sympathetic ear.
This spring I did a six-week class on memoir writing at the Mennonite Heritage Center. Our last assignment included considering a possible title for our would-be memoir based on the writing we had done during the class. I called mine "Closet Rebel," and the Mennonites are largely to blame. I am grateful to those who "Mennonite" at Ambler and Methacton for giving me the space and encouragement I needed for my quiet rebellion against the status quo. They have accepted me wholeheartedly, creatively maladjusted as I am.
Next week, Noah Kolb, a forty-year minister in Mennonite congregations, will wrestle with his splintered heritage of faith and practice. How do you "Mennonite"? Join the conversation on Facebook & Twitter (#fmclife) or by email.
Who am I? (To Mennonite Blog #1)
Serving Christ with our heads and hands (To Mennonite Blog #2)
Quiet rebellion against the status quo (To Mennonite Blog #3)
Mennoniting my way (To Mennonite Blog #4)
Generations Mennoniting together (To Mennonite Blog #5)
Body, mind, heart … and feet (To Mennonite Blog #6)
We have much more to offer (To Mennonite Blog #7)
Mennonite community … and community that Mennonites (To Mennonite Blog #8)
June 19, 2012 Blog, Front Page, Guest BlogAmbler, Donna Merow, formational, Mennonite, Methacton, ProvidenceEmily
Communing with each other and the world
by Emily Ralph, eralph@franconiaconference.org
Every year, followers of Jesus around the world join together in remembering his death and resurrection through the act of communion. World Communion Sunday is a celebration marking that through his death, Jesus broke down the wall of hostility between people groups and that through his resurrection, Christ formed a new family of disciples world-wide.
Swamp's children encircle and walk around the globe singing "I am the Church" on World Communion Sunday. Photo by Abby Mason.
Whether wearing clothes from countries around the world, as they did at Plains in Hatfield, Pa., or sharing a spaghetti dinner with the church down the street, as they did at Ripple in Allentown, Pa., Franconia Conference congregations spent October 2nd remembering this holy communion with the world-wide church.
"This remains one of my favorite services of the year," said Sharon Ambrose, a member of Swamp (Quakertown, Pa.). "I find it so meaningful to celebrate with Christians around the world." In addition to sharing communion bread from other countries and reading Scripture in multiple languages, Swamp's service focused on expanding circles of concern from the congregation to the world, both locally and globally.
Church elders pray behind the communion table at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life. Photo by Emily Ralph.
At Nueva Vida Norristown New Life, Pastor Marta Castillo also encouraged her congregation to evaluate how their actions affected believers around the world. "On World Communion Sunday," she said, "we need to think about how we commune with the Body of Christ that is hungry . . . with the Body of Christ that is persecuted. . . with the Body of Christ that are immigrants."
Souderton (Pa.) Mennonite Church celebrated with the theme of hospitality from Acts 2, which describes how the early church worshiped and ate together, sharing their possessions. The congregation used a braided bread of different colors to remind them that people from many nations were celebrating the Lord's Supper with them. As members of the congregation approached the communion tables, they were joined on the big screen by photos of people celebrating communion around the world.
Souderton used a braided bread to remind them that people from many nations were celebrating the Lord's Supper with them. Photo by Alyssa Kerns.
Ambler celebrated more than World Communion Sunday—the congregation also hosted a regional CROP walk to end hunger that afternoon. Ambler's preschoolers mixed and bagged trail mix for those who would be "praying on their feet" and, with issues of global hunger on their minds, the congregation worshiped around tables. On each table was a cut-out of the earth with facts and quotes about the condition of the world printed on it, said Pastor Donna Merow. "These became part of our silent confession as we prepared for Communion," she reflected. "We served one another [around the tables] and then enjoyed an international meal together before heading out to walk to raise funds for global relief efforts."
On World Communion Sunday and throughout the rest of the year, we are being formed as Jesus-followers, joining God's world-wide mission to invite all people to participate in God's kingdom. "Marking this day gives us an invitation to remember our sisters and brothers in places far from us," said Samantha Lioi, associate pastor at Whitehall Mennonite. "Hearing scripture in three languages and being asked to choose from a variety of breads reminds us we are sojourners as Jesus was, not quite at home but creating welcome places wherever we pitch our tents."
October 11, 2011 conference, NewsAmbler, Donna Merow, Emily Ralph, formational, intercultural, Marta Beidler Castillo, Norristown New Life Nueva Vida, Plains, Ripple, Samantha Lioi, Souderton, Swamp, WhitehallEmily
A long distance out of the way: Decades of living life lead to a call to pastor
Donna Merow, Ambler
Edward Albee wrote, "Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly." This describes my journey to pastoral ministry.
In the seventh grade an aptitude test indicated "nun" as a suitable career choice. This is not what most adolescent girls dream of becoming, especially if they are Protestant. It took me decades to realize that there were few other options available in 1970 to young women with a decidedly religious bent and even longer to answer the call to pastor. I went to college, dropped out, got married, raised two daughters, finished my bachelor's degree, was diagnosed with early stage cancer, began a teaching career, earned a graduate degree in education and became a grandmother.
All the while I was actively involved in churches—Methodist, Baptist, Mennonite (where I was rebaptized thirty years ago), Episcopalian, Presbyterian—and the communities they served. Many people along the way encouraged me to consider seminary (none more persistently than former Ambler pastor Mel Thomas), but I always had a ready excuse.
For twenty years I was a stay-at-home mom with an incomplete degree and lots of time to invest in the lives of young people through the scouting and Odyssey of the Mind programs. By the time I finished my undergraduate work, my firstborn was beginning her's; her sister was four years behind. As a first generation college graduate, I wanted this to be the best possible experience for my girls.
Although I had been collecting catalogues from area seminaries, the timing did not seem right. After our youngest graduated, I was able to spend several months trying on a pastoral role when Sharon Wyse Miller was granted a sabbatical. I wanted to see what it was like to prepare and deliver a message each week before I could seriously entertain the idea of attending seminary full-time. It was a wonderfully rich summer for me as I applied many of the pedagogical techniques I had practiced in the classroom to Jesus' teaching through parables. At its conclusion, I wrestled with God about seminary.
I learned two important lessons from my undergraduate experience that informed my decision. The first was that I could not study in isolation; I needed to have one foot in the "real" world. The other was my desire for face-to-face interaction. I am an introvert by nature, so while distance education was comfortable and rewarding, it did not afford the opportunities for growth that I needed.
I found a good fit with Biblical's LEAD MDiv degree. An alternative program designed for working adults, this allowed me to continue teaching and to build relationships with the members of cohort 12 with whom I have all of my courses.
I am old enough to be my classmates' parent, but we enjoy a symbiotic relationship. I have the life experience and they have the tech savvy. It has proved to be a winning combination. With only a year of seminary completed, I did not expect to be looking for a position in a church for several years, but God had other plans. Sharon announced her planned retirement at the end of August at our January congregational meeting. Her announcement prompted me to complete the necessary paperwork to be considered as a candidate.
A month later, I learned that I would not have a job come September. The economic downturn made it necessary to cut my position at school. Unemployment made it necessary for me to trust God's providence and possible to see the search process through to completion. It also freed me to do many things grading papers never allowed time for—a week at camp with special needs adults, putting siding on a Habitat house, helping to build a playground.
On October 4, the congregation that I have called "home" for a decade called me as its next pastor. It has been a long and convoluted path to pastoral ministry, but my installation service on November 8 confirmed that this is where I belong. I am excited by the possibilities before us as we live out the Gospel and respond to Christ's missional call here in Ambler and beyond. Thanks be to God!
March 17, 2010 Call to Ministry Stories, IntersectionsAmbler, Biblical Seminary, call story, Donna Merow, formational, Service


text:
Vila Nova de Cerveira () è un comune portoghese di 8.852 abitanti situato nel distretto di Viana do Castelo.

Società

Evoluzione demografica

Freguesias
 Campos
 Candemil
 Cornes
 Covas
 Gondar
 Gondarém
 Loivo
 Lovelhe
 Mentrestido
 Nogueira
 Reboreda
 Sapardos
 Sopó
 Vila Meã
 Vila Nova de Cerveira

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Comuni del distretto di Viana do Castelo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Older entries link within a category page I have set up a category called 'blog' and have all of my posts displaying from this category. I have selected to display 4 posts / page therefore there is a link at the bottom that says older entries. However, when I click on "older entries" button, it takes me to the store page. I think the url is causing this problem but I have spent the whole night last night to figure it out and I still haven't found a solution yet.
My website is: www.talis.com.au
My blog is: www.talis.com.au/?cat=28 (how to change it to www.talis.com.au/blog?)

A: Go into Settings > Permalinks, and change the Permalink to a Custom Structure:

/%category%/%postname%

You may need to update your Menu in Appearance > Menus also.


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Manufactured by Sankyo, the world's leading producer of musical movements, this sturdy 18 note movement is the most widely used type of musical movement placed in craft, hobby, gift and novelty projects. Cylinder Music Box The pins embedded in the cylinder drum click the comb teeth, then play the melody. It was born in Switzerland as an accessory of the and developed.Cylinder Music Box The pins embedded in the cylinder drum click the comb teeth, then play the melody. It was born in Switzerland as an accessory of the and developed. Wind the music box up and the drum turns and the pins on the drum pluck the teeth on the comb and make the beautiful melody. The mechanism on these movements is encased in a white plastic shell that can be removed if you wish to see the movement rotate and play. The movement with shell measures 2- 1/8"L x 1- 7/8" W x 1- 1/16"H. When fully wound it plays approximately 2-1/2 minutes. It has 18 notes to provide a nice range of tones. It winds from the bottom and 3/4" long gold T-Bar winding keys is included. We ship fast from our US warehouse -beware of other sellers who ship from China.


text:
Twins capture state tourney
by Joey Klecka
In the end, the Post 20 Twins reaped the rewards of their hard work.
The Twins captured the American Legion Alaska State Tournament crown Saturday night at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage, defeating the Post 28 Service Cougars in a dramatic 8-7 thriller.
The championship is the fourth in Twins program history, adding to titles won in 1991, 1995 and 2012.
In their quest to win the title, the Twins had to hold off a determined Service team that they had clobbered 17-1 earlier in the week.
After staking out a 5-0 lead after four innings, the Twins were left to watch as Service rallied back to tie it in the top of the eighth with reliever Calvin Hills on the mound.
Ultimately, Hills earned sweet redemption in the bottom of the frame, scoring the winning run on a ground-out bunt by Justice Miller. Hills led off with a single, then advanced on a wild pitch by Service pitcher Nicholas Hall to reach third.
"I had to make up for my mistakes," Hills said. "I had to pay the team back."
If the celebration that ensued after Hills touched home plate wasn't ecstatic, the melee and dogpile that unfolded on the field after Gavin Petterson struck out Service's last batter sure was.
Petterson finished off the final 1 1-3 innings, getting the last out of the eighth after Hills was pulled, then producing a gutsy performance in the top of the ninth, whiffing Service's last three batters after issuing a leadoff walk.
"To be honest, it took a little focus, but I knew the guys behind me could cover me," Petterson said. "It's huge. I never thought we could be here, I never thought I could play on this team."
As a fellow teammate and pitcher, Twins starter Joey Becher praised Petterson's finish on the bump.
"I don't know how he did it," Becher said. "We were told by a coach to go out there with a little cockiness."
A year ago, Post 20 clawed its way back through the second-chance bracket at the state tournament only to lose to Chugiak in the "if-necessary" championship game.
This year, there was no such comeback at state, as the second-seeded Twins made it to Friday as the lone unbeaten team over the week before losing to Juneau.
Meanwhile, Service had to go through No. 3 seed South, defending champs Chugiak and top-seeded Juneau to make it to Saturday's title matchup.
"They beat all those other guys, so they were the Cinderella story," Becher said. "We felt like this was a championship game, and it was tough."
Becher pieced together a solid outing on the mound, going the first seven innings and giving up two earned runs on seven hits and six walks, while fanning seven. Becher kept Service scoreless until the sixth, when he began to tire out.
"I began to fade a little bit, but I tried to keep throwing fastballs down the middle," he said.
Becher also credited catcher Kenny Griffin for giving him a good performance from behind the plate. Becher will be playing baseball at Treasure Valley Community College in the fall.
The championship also gave the Soldotna High School players on the team a bit of redemption. The successful 2016 Stars team fell flat at the prep state tournament in early June at the same field, failing to win a single game in a two-and-out performance.
Becher and Hills were a part of that Soldotna squad, and Saturday's glory was made all the sweeter because of that.
"Oh yeah, it feels good," Hills said.
"It's a bit of redemption," Becher added. "These are the best guys I could ask for"
Hills finished the day 3 for 4 from the plate with a double and two RBIs.
An RBI ground-out by Cody Quelland put the Twins on the board in the bottom of the first.
Steffensen then launched a deep leadoff triple to the left field wall in the bottom of the third, and was followed by a two-RBI double by Hills to push the lead to 3-0. Hills then scored on a ground-out by Becher for a 4-0 Twins advantage.
Service scored its first run in the top of the sixth on a fielder's choice hit by Carsen Sandau, then added two more runs in the seventh to cut Post 20's lead to 5-3.
Petterson notched an RBI single and J.J. Sonnen drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run in the bottom of the seventh, moving the lead back up to 7-3.
However, Hills took the mound in the eighth in relief of Becher and did not enjoy a successful outing. Hills gave up three hits, two walks and hit two batters to allow four runs, the tying score coming on an RBI single by Service's Derek Scroggins, who beat out the throw to first by Hills, tying the contest at 7-all.
With the title, the Twins qualify for The Northwest Regional Tournament in Cheyenne, Wyoming, from Aug. 3 to 7.
Juneau defeats Twins at state; Twins still advance to Saturday title game
Oilers split doubleheader with Chinooks


text:
El vuelo 455 de Cubana, el cual se dirigía desde la isla de Barbados a la de Jamaica —con destino en la capital cubana de La Habana— fue destruido en un atentado terrorista que tuvo lugar el 6 de octubre de 1976. Las 73 personas a bordo de la aeronave, un Douglas DC-8 de fabricación estadounidense, resultaron muertas en el hasta entonces peor ataque de este tipo en el hemisferio occidental. En el luctuoso hecho se utilizaron dos bombas, descritas como dinamita o explosivo C-4.

La evidencia posterior implicó a varios individuos contrarios a la Revolución del exilio cubano que tenían vínculos con la CIA, además de algunos miembros de la policía secreta venezolana de aquel entonces (la denominada Dirección de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención, DISIP).

Además, el hecho tuvo rápidamente implicaciones políticas internacionales cuando el gobierno cubano acusó, aunque sin pruebas en concreto, al gobierno de los Estados Unidos de complicidad en el ataque. Documentos de la CIA recién desclasificados en 2005 indican que esa agencia estadounidense: «tenía inteligencia concreta de avanzada, tan temprano como junio de 1976, sobre planes de grupos terroristas cubanos exiliados, de atacar con una bomba un avión de línea de Cubana».Por su parte, el antiguo agente de la CIA Luis Posada Carriles negaría haber estado personalmente involucrado en el atentado, pero no obstante proveería varios detalles del mismo en su libro de 1994 Los caminos del guerrero.

Cuatro hombres fueron arrestados en relación con el atentado, y se realizó un juicio al respecto en Venezuela: Freddy Lugo y Hernán Ricardo Lozano fueron sentenciados a 20 años de prisión, pero Orlando Bosch Ávila fue finalmente absuelto debido a defectos técnicos en la consecución de las pruebas o evidencia por parte de la fiscalía y luego vivió en la ciudad de Miami, donde murió el día . Por su parte, Luis Posada Carriles estuvo detenido durante ocho años mientras aguardaba una sentencia definitiva, pero eventualmente logró huir. Con posterioridad ingresó a los Estados Unidos, donde estuvo detenido por haber ingresado ilegalmente a su territorio, siendo liberado el 19 de abril de 2007. Vivió protegido en ese país hasta su muerte en 2018.

El atentado
El 6 de octubre de 1976, el vuelo CU-455 de Cubana de Aviación partió desde Guyana hacia la capital cubana de La Habana, vía las islas de Trinidad, Barbados y Jamaica.

Sin embargo, el avión no logró llegar ni siquiera a Kingston, ya que a las 17:24, sólo nueve minutos después de haber despegado desde el Aeropuerto de Seawell y a unos 18000 pies de altura, explotó una bomba que estaba escondida en el baño trasero. El capitán de ese vuelo, el piloto Wilfredo Pérez Pérez, emitió por radio el siguiente mensaje a la torre de control: «¡Tenemos una explosión a bordo, estamos descendiendo inmediatamente! ¡Tenemos fuego a bordo! ¡Solicitamos aterrizar de inmediato! ¡Tenemos una emergencia total!».La aeronave inició un descenso rápido, mientras ambos pilotos trataban infructuosamente de llevar la aeronave de regreso al Aeropuerto de Seawell. Una segunda bomba explotó en el lapso de los siguientes minutos, contribuyendo definitivamente a que el avión se estrellase.

Como realizar un aterrizaje de emergencia ya no era posible, en apariencia el capitán decidió enfilar la aeronave hacia el Océano Atlántico, salvando eventualmente las vidas de los turistas que se encontraban en las playas cercanas. El avión finalmente se estrelló a unos 8 km del aeropuerto.

Las 73 personas a bordo murieron (48 pasajeros y 25 miembros de la tripulación). Según su desglose por nacionalidades, se trató de 57 cubanos, 11 guyanenses y 5 norcoreanos. Entre los fallecidos se encontraban los 24 miembros del equipo nacional juvenil de esgrima cubano, quienes regresaban a Cuba luego de haber ganado todas las medallas de oro en el Campeonato Centromericano y del Caribe; varios de ellos no llegaban ni siquiera a los 20 años de edad. Algunos funcionarios cubanos también se encontraban en el avión: Manuel Permuy Hernández, entonces director del Partido Comunista del Instituto Nacional de Deportes (INDER), Jorge de la Nuez Suárez, secretario del PCC para la flota pesquera de camarones, Alfonso González, comisionado nacional de deportes con armas de fuego y Domingo Chacón Coello, agente del Ministerio del Interior. Por su parte, los 11 pasajeros de Guyana incluían a estudiantes de medicina de solo 18 y 19 años de edad, además de la joven esposa de un diplomático de ese país sudamericano. Por su parte, los cinco norcoreanos eran funcionarios del gobierno de Kim Il-sung, además de un camarógrafo.

Procesamiento judicial

Arrestos
Horas después de las dos explosiones, las autoridades de Trinidad y Tobago arrestaron a Freddy Lugo y a Hernán Ricardo Lozano, exagentes venezolanos de la Dirección de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención (DISIP) que habían abordado el avión en Trinidad y que en teoría viajaban a Cuba como destino final, pero que finalmente desembarcaron en la escala intermedia de Barbados, antes de volver a su isla de partida. Evidentemente, se trataba de un movimiento que ya de entrada resultaba ser muy sospechoso. Luego se descubriría que Ricardo había estado previamente viajando bajo una identidad falsa, bajo el nombre de José Vázquez García. Lugo y Ricardo finalmente confesaron, declarando haber actuado bajo órdenes de Luis Posada Carriles. Sus testimonios, además de otras pruebas o evidencias adicionales, implicaron a Posada Carriles junto al cubano Orlando Bosch Ávila.

El presidente Carlos Andrés Pérez ordena al agente cubano venezolano Orlando García como jefe de la DISIP, la investigación del atentado terrorista. El 14 de octubre de 1976, tanto Posada Carriles como Bosch fueron arrestados en Caracas y las oficinas de «Investigaciones Comerciales e Industriales C.A.» (ICICA), una agencia privada de investigaciones de la que Posada era dueño, fueron allanadas. Allí se encontraron armas, explosivos y un transmisor de radio. Ricardo era un empleado del ICICA cuando se produjo el ataque, mientras que Lugo trabajaba como fotógrafo para el Ministerio de Minas e Hidrocarburos. El siguiente 20 de octubre, funcionarios oficiales de Barbados, Cuba, Guyana, Trinidad y Tobago y Venezuela mantuvieron una reunión en Puerto España, durante la cual tomaron la decisión de que se realizase un juicio en Venezuela debido a que esa era el lugar de procedencia de los cuatro acusados. Poco tiempo después, Lugo y Ricardo fueron deportados a ese país.

Juicio militar
El 25 de agosto de 1977, la juez Delia Estava Moreno derivó el caso a un tribunal militar, acusando a los cuatro conspiradores de haber cometido traición. Tres años después, en septiembre de 1980, un juez militar venezolano absolvió a los cuatro hombres. El fiscal apeló, argumentando que una corte militar era el foro judicial equivocado para juzgar el caso por dos razones: ninguno de los hombres acusados tenía grado militar alguno en 1976, y el delito de homicidio calificado no puede ser juzgado por un tribunal militar, sino por uno penal común. Por lo tanto, la Corte Militar de Apelación acordó declararse incompetente y renunciar a su jurisdicción respecto del eventual procesamiento de los sospechosos por parte de la misma. El juez sentenció que los acusados:«son civiles y los crímenes que se les imputa están regidos por el Código Penal (y no por el de Justicia Militar)... Los delitos comunes no están sujetos a las disposiciones del Código de Justicia Militar...».

Juicio civil
Los cuatro fueron entonces acusados, ante la Corte Penal N° 11 de Venezuela, de los cargos de homicidio agravado. El 8 de agosto de 1985, el juez Alberto Pérez Marcano sentenció a Lugo y a Ricardo a cumplir 20 años de prisión cada uno. No obstante, el juez se abstuvo de aplicar una pena mayor "debido a la circunstancia de no tener un prontuario criminal previo". Con respecto a Orlando Bosch Ávila Ávila, éste fue finalmente absuelto porque las pruebas recolectadas por las autoridades de la pequeña isla de Barbados durante el transcurso de la investigación no pudieron ser utilizadas en el juicio que se había previamente iniciado en Venezuela, ya que fueron presentadas demasiado tarde y aún no habían sido traducidas del inglés al español.

Por otro lado, Posada Carriles huyó de la penitenciaría de San Juan de los Morros en víspera de que el tribunal pronunciase su sentencia. Justamente había sido confinado a esa prisión luego de dos fallidos intentos de fuga anteriores. Posteriormente se alegaría que las autoridades venezolanas implicadas en su detención habían sido sobornadas para ayudarlo a escapar, o que le habrían permitido hacerlo. En esas nuevas condiciones, no se pudo alcanzar ningún veredicto contra él porque, según el Código Penal entonces vigente en Venezuela, un proceso judicial no podía ser en ausencia (in absentia) y por el contrario requería la presencia del acusado durante la sustanciación del mismo. La Corte entonces emitió una orden de detención contra él, la cual en noviembre de 2005 aún se encontraba pendiente.

Consecuencias legales a largo plazo
Otro juez ordenó que el caso fuese revisado por una Corte de Apelación. El entonces gobierno venezolano declinó apelar el caso, y en noviembre de 1987, Orlando Bosch Ávila Ávila fue liberado. Había cumplido 11 años de prisión, a pesar de haber sido absuelto, no una sino dos veces. Por su parte, Lugo y Lozano fueron finalmente liberados en 1993 y continuaban residiendo en Venezuela. Por su parte, Posada huyó a Panamá y luego a los Estados Unidos. En abril de 2005, el gobierno de Hugo Chávez emitió una nueva orden de captura contra este último, en conexión el atentado terrorista contra el vuelo 455 de Cubana. No obstante, un juez de inmigración de los Estados Unidos falló que Posada no podía ser deportado ni a Cuba ni a Venezuela porque «podía ser sujeto a torturas en esos países».

El 18 de julio de 1990, el entonces presidente de EUA, George H.W. Bush (padre del posterior mandatario George W. Bush), a solicitud de su hijo Jeb Bush, perdonó a Bosch de todos los cargos estadounidenses que sobre él todavía pesaban. Este perdón fue otorgado a pesar de las objeciones del propio Departamento de Defensa, respecto de que Bosch era uno de los más letales terroristas que habían actuado «dentro del hemisferio [occidental]», agregando que «aunque varios países buscan la extradición de Bosch, él continúa libre en los Estados Unidos». La presión política para otorgarle un perdón a Orlando Bosch Ávila Ávila había comenzado durante una campaña al Congreso de los Estados Unidos realizada por Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, ella misma una cubana estadounidense (esa campaña en cuestión había sido supervisada por Jeb Bush, quien por su parte llegaría a ser electo gobernador del estado de la Florida, cargo que desempeñaría hasta 2007).

En 2005, Posada fue detenido en el estado de Texas por las autoridades inmigratorias de los Estados Unidos, bajo la acusación de ingreso ilegal a su territorio. El 28 de septiembre de 2005, un juez de inmigración estadounidense sentenció que Posada no podía ser deportado porque enfrentaba la amenaza de torturas en Venezuela. Los cargos fueron finalmente retirados el 8 de mayo de 2007. Su previa liberación bajo fianza el 19 de abril de ese año había provocado una fuerte reacción negativa por parte de los gobiernos izquierdistas de Cuba y Venezuela.

En 2007, el congresista Bill Delahunt y José Pertierra, un abogado de inmigración que representaba al gobierno de Venezuela, argumentaron que Posadas sí podía ser deportado, debido a que el gobierno de EUA en realidad estaba haciendo una excepción legal en su caso. Ya que, según ellos, Estados Unidos practica la dudosamente legal extraordinary rendition respecto de la captura y el transporte de sospechosos de terrorismo a Egipto y Siria (ambos países acusados de haber practicado torturas contra prisioneros), EUA también podría deportar a Posada Carriles a Cuba o Venezuela.

Liberado de sus cargos en Venezuela, Orlando Bosch Ávila viajó a Estados Unidos, con la asistencia del entonces embajador de Estados Unidos en Caracas, Otto Reich; allí, sería finalmente detenido debido a la violación de los términos de su libertad condicional.

El Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos había urgido a esa Corte a mantenerlo en prisión porque él era «un autor intelectual (mastermind) reconocido de conspiraciones y ataques terroristas», un riesgo y un peligro para la comunidad.

Conocimiento de parte de la CIA y del FBI

Luis Posada Carriles, un cubano exiliado y nacionalizado venezolano, entre 1967 y 1974 había sido el director de contrainteligencia de la Dirección de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención (DISIP) de Venezuela. Por otro lado, un documento clasificado estadounidense, liberado a través de la FOIA (Freedom of Information Act, Acta de libertad de información), confirma el estatus que llegó a tener Posada Carriles con la Agencia Central de Inteligencia de los Estados Unidos:«Luis Posada, en quien la CIA tiene un interés operacional - Posada está recibiendo aproximadamente 300 dólares por mes de la CIA».Además, Posada estaba fuertemente involucrado con los grupos derechistas del exilio cubano de Miami, contrarios al gobierno cubano, en particular con la Fundación Nacional Cubano-Americana (National Cuban-American Foundation, CANF) y con la Coordinadora de Organizaciones Revolucionarias Unidas (CORU), en ese momento dirigida por Orlando Bosch.

De acuerdo a documentos, Posada dejó de ser un activo de la CIA en 1974, pero continuó teniendo «contactos ocasionales» con ella hasta junio de 1976, unos cuatro meses antes del atentado terrorista contra el vuelo 455 de Cubana. Además, como ya se ha mencionado antes, ya para junio de ese año, la CIA tenía inteligencia avanzada acerca de los posibles planes terroristas de grupos radicalizados del exilio cubano de atacar un avión de la aerolínea Cubana de Aviación, e incluso uno de los agentes del FBI en Caracas llegó a tener varios contactos con uno de los venezolanos que finalmente terminarían colocando las bombas en la aeronave. A pesar de esa información sobre un posible atentado, se les proveyó de visa de entrada a los Estados Unidos el 1 de octubre (cinco días antes del ataque), a pesar de las sospechas que pesaban sobre él, en particular las relacionadas al hecho de que aparentemente estaba involucrado en actividades terroristas bajo la dirección de Luis Posada Carriles.

Un documento desclasificado de la CIA, con fecha original del 12 de octubre de 1976 (seis días después del atentado terrorista y casi un mes después de la reunión de recolección de fondos para la CORU, que tuvo lugar el 15 de septiembre), cita a Posada Carriles diciendo «Vamos a golpear un avión de línea cubano... Orlando tiene los detalles» (Las identidades de Orlando y las del pronombre tácito «nosotros» delante de ese «Vamos» eran desconocidas en ese momento).Un documento desclasificado del FBI, fechado el 21 de octubre de 1976, cita al entonces miembro de la CORU Secundino Carrera señalando que esa organización contraria al gobierno cubano:«era responsable por la bomba en el DC-8 de Cubana de Aviación del 6 de octubre de 1976... Esa bomba y las muertes resultantes estaban plenamente justificadas porque la CORU estaba en guerra contra el régimen de Fidel Castro».Carrera entonces también expresó su satisfacción debido al interés que había despertado ese atentado dentro de los Estados Unidos, en parte porque estaba distrayendo la atención hacia él mismo y su asociado.Documentos liberados por el National Security Archive el 3 de mayo de 2007 revelan los vínculos que Posada Carriles tenía con el atentado al vuelo 455 de Cubana de 1976 y con otros planes de ataques terroristas y conspiraciones, incluyendo una oficina de la aerolínea British West Indian Airways en Barbados y la embajada de Guyana en Trinidad y Tobago.

Por su lado, Peter Kornbluh, director de la documentación relacionada con Cuba dentro del National Security Archive (NSA), mencionó que «estos proveen de pruebas adicionales sobre el involucramiento de Posada en esfuerzos violentos para socavar el gobierno comunista de Castro». La NSA es una organización de investigación independiente que se encuentra en la Universidad George Washington (George Washington University).

Conmemoración en el Caribe
En la localidad barbadense de Saint James fue erigido un monumento para honrar la memoria de las personas muertas en el atentado, el cual fue visitado varias veces por el propio líder cubano Fidel Castro (antes de su convalecencia desde mediados de 2006), incluyendo una visita durante una reunión del CARICOM en diciembre de 2005, durante la cual funcionarios cubanos pidieron que Posada Carriles:«sea llevado a la justicia para traer un cierre a este flagrante incidente que causó tanto dolor a los pueblos de la región».En 2008, se encontraba en construcción otro monumento para conmemorar este ataque terrorista, esta vez en la ciudad de Georgetown (capital de Guyana, desde donde partió el vuelo saboteado).

Véase también
 Estados Unidos y el patrocinio al terrorismo

 Vuelo 367 de JAT
 Vuelo 182 de Air India
 Vuelo 103 de Pan Am
 Vuelo 772 de UTA
 Vuelo 203 de Avianca
 Vuelo 9268 de Metrojet

Referencias

Enlaces externos
PDF Archivo PDF con informe sobre los procedimientos judiciales del caso
1998 Monumento en Barbados, localizado en la parroquia Saint James de esa isla, dedicado a la memoria de las víctimas del ataque terrorista que sufriese el vuelo 455 de Cubana de Aviación..
Fotografía del Douglas DC-8 de Cubana saboteado.
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1976/oct/08/cuba.fromthearchive Cuban exiles 'bombed jet'''], en el periódico británico The Guardian''.

455
Cubana
Cubana
Cubana
Terrorismo cometido por Estados Unidos
Atentados terroristas en 1976
Cuba en 1976
Relaciones Corea del Norte-Cuba
Relaciones Cuba-Venezuela
Accidentes e incidentes aéreos causados por bomba
Bridgetown
Barbados en 1976


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Netflix Brings New Original Anime Series, Perfect Bones, to Members Worldwide
February 24, 2016 / Ashley (Anime Angel)
Today Netflix announced, together with Production I.G, a groundbreaking deal that sees the upcoming original Anime series Perfect Bones to premiere only on Netflix. This marks the first ever original Anime title to debut all episodes simultaneously in 190 countries around the world.
Directed by Kazuto Nakazawa, the 12-episode series is set in the future where scientists have tried to breed the "perfect human" in hopes of keeping peace in the universe. After nearly achieving their goal through three children, the scientists send their "new humans" for further training where they are kidnapped by an evil organization set on using their powers to implement their own concept of a new world order.
"We are incredibly excited to work with Production I.G, who have worked on hit series such as Attack on Titanand Psycho-Pass, in bringing one of the most daring new Anime titles produced today to all Netflix members and Anime fans around the world," said Erik Barmack, vice president of global content acquisition. "In an era where the Internet knows no bounds, we are proud to deliver high quality original Anime to fans all over the world, at the exact same time, no matter where they live whether it be Japan, France, Mexico, the US, and beyond."
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, President & CEO of Production I.G, said about the collaboration, "Among all the tv series and films Netflix offers, the titles I personally find the most amazing are Netflix originals. Production I.G is eager to present another impactful title brought through our creators' passion and imagination. We're very excited about Perfect Bones!"
February 24, 2016 / Ashley (Anime Angel)/ Comment
Anime, News, Press Release
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Ashley (Anime Angel)
Review: Marvel's Jessica Jones on Netflix
November 19, 2015 / Sean Tucker
image credit: Netflix
Hey O&G fans, on November 17th we got a chance to see an early screening of the first two episodes of Marvel's Jessica Jones. It was a red carpet event and the stars and cast were in attendance for the screening. For those who aren't familiar with Jessica Jones or the Alias series created by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, here is a quick history of the character:
Jessica Campbell Jones Cage (comicbook History)
Midtown High student Jessica Campbell was present when Peter Parker was bitten by the irradiated spider which gave him his powers. She had a crush on him, and had just plucked up the courage to speak to him when he was distracted by the bite. She also had a celebrity crush on teen heart-throb Johnny Storm.
Jessica's father received tickets for Disney World from his boss Tony Stark. On the way home, their car collided with a military convoy carrying radioactive chemicals. Her family was killed, and, after spending several months in a coma, she awoke, stirred by the first coming of Galactus outside her hospital room. She was placed in an orphanage and adopted by the Jones family. Jessica later discovered that her radiation exposure granted her super strength, limited invulnerability, and flight (which she never fully mastered during her superhero career).
Ok Marvel and Disney went a completely different route with this series making it extremely dark and the results were AWESOME! Jessica Jones stands out as a decidedly mature project, which immediately lets you know this is really not a show meant for kids. I will admit when Kyristen Ritter was first cast as Jessica Jones, I was a little skeptical about it considering this was a Marvel/Disney series, but after the first episode..... I was so wrong, she is perfect for the role.
The series doesn't start with her early career as a Superhero, but with the darker side of her life after her encounter with the purple man and the private detective agency she runs. The flash backs and story about her experience will keep you intrigued through the first two episodes and definitely wanting to see more ( so its a good chance you will binge watch this series the entire weekend).
Ritter is assisted by a strong supporting cast, including Mike Colter as Luke Cage, setting up his character before he gets his own Netflix/Marvel series next year. Colter and Ritter have a fun chemistry together and there's a lot to enjoy seeing them banter across a bar. Carrie Ann Moss is brilliant as Jeri Hogarth, a powerful lawyer who sometimes employs Jessica. Kilgrave, the show's main villain, played by the Doctor himself, David Tennant doesn't show up till the second episode but his presence is felt throughout the first ep.
This is a must watch series and something you will be discussing after this weekend. With a strong start Marvel/Netflix has another hit under their belt.
November 19, 2015 / Sean Tucker/ Comment
Comic Books, Films, Interest, Review
Netflix Original Series, Netflix, Marvel, Marvel's Jessica Jones, Jessica Jones, Aka Jessica Jones
Orange is the New Black Season 3 Trailer Released
April 09, 2015 / Milly Millhauser
Orange is the New Black Season 3 Premieres June 12th. All episodes will be streaming on Netflix.
April 09, 2015 / Milly Millhauser/ Comment
Television, News
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Milly Millhauser
TV News: Netflix Reveals Daredevil's Red Costume.
Today Daredevil fans got a look at what they have been waiting for! Netflix's Daredevil has released a new motion poster via its Facebook page with the first glimpse of Daredevil's red costume. Fan now have an early look before the series starts Tomorrow.
Daredevil premiers Friday April 10th, it Stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and Vincent D'Onofio as the Kingpin.
Comic Books, News, Interest
Daredevil, Netflix Original Series, Netflix, Charlie Cox, Vincent D'onofrio, Red Costume
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Review
March 09, 2015 / Milly Millhauser
Kimmy follows an ad for a roommate and meets Titus, played by Tituss Burgess, a flamboyant, fabulous, singer from the south who begins the season working as one of the characters in costume in Times Square.
March 09, 2015 / Milly Millhauser/ Comment
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Will Marvel and Netflix dominate on the small screen in 2015
Hey Otakus and Geeks fans, as the year comes to a close ,2015 is setting up to be an exciting year for comic book fans. DC has ruled the small screen with (1st) Smallville, Then Arrow. Now they have a dominant line up adding Gotham, Flash, and Constantine showing four out of the seven days of the week. Marvel has been ruling the big screen with hit like Ironman, Capt. America, The Avengers, and Spiderman.
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TV News: Netflix-Marvel Cast DAREDEVIL's STICK
Image Credit: Marvel Studios
SCOTT GLENN Joins DAREDEVIL As STICK
Marvel and Netflix announced Monday that veteran character actor Scott Glenn has joined Marvel's Daredevil, next year's 13-episode series, as Stick, Daredevil's martial arts mentor.
Glenn joins Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/DD), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Rosario Dawson, and Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk) in the cast.
Stick is one of the most important figures in Matt Murdock's life and Scott Glenn embodies all the qualities of someone so integral to this hero's journey," said Jeph Loeb, Marvel's Head of Television in the announcement. "There are few actors who could bring such the authenticity, gravitas and charisma to such a key role in Matt's journey to become the super hero we call Daredevil."
Stick was of course created by Frank Miller during his seminal Daredevil run and was introduced on 1981's Daredevil #176.
source: Newsarama.com
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Netflix First Original Anime Series KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA Coming July 4th
June 26, 2014 / Justin D Williams
Orange Is The New Black, House of Cards, Hemlock Grove and now Netflix is taking on Anime with "Knights Of Sidonia." Knights Of Sidonia is based on the manga series by Tsutomu Nihei,marks the first Netflix original anime series. The story follows the struggle of human survival amongst the monstrous shapeshifting aliens "Gauna" who all but destroyed the solar system a millennia ago and are bent on eliminating humans from existence. Nagate Tanikaze, a low-born youth in a society of genetically engineered humans - now refugees that escaped the destruction of Earth one thousand years earlier, occupying the massive ship Sidonia. Nagate grew up living in the bottom layers of Sidonia away from civilization and raised by his now deceased grandfather. When Nagate's talent as a pilot is revealed he becomes one of Sidonia's elite defenders against the Guana. Check out the photo stills and trailer below.
June 26, 2014 / Justin D Williams/ Comment
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