text:
An older brother 500 years later
"Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found."
— Luke 15: 25-32
We are angry because we feel we deserve more prominent recognition. Better seat, better treatment, better rewards. We are angry that the Father would not even tell us what happened. He just disappeared into the party, forgot to call us in while we were at work, doing our best for His household. How can He be happy having the younger Church back. He is not asking questions, just suddenly giving him the ring, the robe and the sandals like nothing matters any more. Suddenly he has the best seat with all the perks and everyone seems to be fine with that. Meanwhile, we still slave at the fields, in the heat, in the rain, in the season and out of season. Same ol' job, as always.
We are lost because our steadfastness turned into stiff obligation. We think we can work harder for the heartful laughter of the Father who always seems to be pondering the next step. We quietly try to read His mind and do the mundane without murmuring but there is an end to even the most holy obedience when we do not see any approval in the eyes of the Father, just the tears.
We refuse to go into the house full of laughter because we have been working so hard an no one noticed for so long yet when the younger Church shows up, everyone has all the fun, cool parties and even the culture celebrates it. We scoff them saying they live on emotional hype, they celebrate easily the surface images, lacking virtues and the test of time while we walk with the the stoic joy caught in the marble cherubs flying in our cathedrals, frozen in time for ages to come.
The Father finally comes out and asks us in but that's just too much to deal with. Let the extraverts dance, we will retrospect and rely on reason. We are too sophisticated for resentment, we will find a pious phrase which will acknowledge our correctness. Our justified pout will be ransomed by few quotes and a jovial sigh at the infantile behavior of the young Church. We are jealous of its appeal, power shown in signs and wonders and effectiveness but we present it as a concern, scrupulously writing blog posts what could go wrong and cautioning all (dying) around not to get involved.
The Voice resounds throughout eons of times: all is yours, taste and see, partake. Trust me in this.
Author: Iwona Bednarz-Major
I am still shocked when I hear that people do not really realize what Christian community, the basic block of Christian life, is all about, and that all, no matter the state of life, are called to live in some kind of community beyond their own family. It is not an idea for religious, extroverts, or people with the works of mercy bent only.
The word 'Christian community' is overused, abused and misused.
I have asked recently on my Fb page, casually, if people thought that community can be built online or the close proximity of bodies is a requirement? Not surprisingly, some of the answers were confirming people's wrong ideas about what Christian community is. It also confirmed the fears or excuses many of those have when they imagine kind of hippie communes or old type Charismatic communities with ladies flowing around the prayer rooms with tambourines. The truth is that the lack of living examples create imaginary ideas for what Christian living in a community should be. We imagine that having family life and going to Mass on Sunday with an occasional participation in youth group or Bible study and a dance is all that that is. We have fallen so far away from the ideal that the scraps of any communal living are satisfactory to us. We don't even know what we are missing.
From my short questions online, I realized that people confuse community with friendships, spiritual friendships, utilitarian friendships, networking, collaborating, hanging out, and all kinds of other things they identify as creating communities and community living.
The biggest malady of today's Western world is that everyone is trying to become self-sustained and independent. They do not like or want to depend on anyone, so each family tries to build a palace and a kingdom around their own needs, wants, and dreams. We do not really know how to build a harmonious family where spirituality, education, rest and work can take place in a purposeful and meaningful way. We follow the modern ideal of a family life and then we complain for the lack of time, we pretend we are busy while binging on watching Netflix for hours weekly, we surround ourself with clutter and then are overwhelmed with taking care of it, we live as slaves and we pretend we are having everything under control. The family can become an idol in itself and we can't see beyond that. Community life heals and supports modern family like nothing else. There is no other better remedy for families not only to survive but to thrive as living in a Christian community. It will teach you freedom, release your greatest potential and train you for life.
Community doesn't happen when I seek likeminded people. The likemindedness in practicing charisms will develop and take place within a community structure but it is not based on it. People looking for likemindedness, as C.S. Lewis underlined, are looking for the same spark and interest in another when they are being moved inside of their soul. This is the beginning of friendship but relying on building a community only on likemindedness will not move forward beyond struggles, opposition, difficulties, trials.
Community is not networking or collaborating only. These can come out as a fruit of being in one community but if community is built only on that, it wil not last beyond the points of engagement in particular tasks, work, project, no matter how exciting, innovating and progressive it sounds. Task oriented collaboration could ignite further interest in belonging to a Christian community.
Community is not connectedness, although the early stage of building community is all about that. Connectedness happens when we connect. Duh. We connect enthusiastically and purposefully. But we do not engage in deep relationships, we are looking for points of interest that can further out own expansion. It is utilitarian friendship. Most friendships online fall under this category. From LinkedIn to Fb groups. People might feel they are building something close, yet if you really think about it they are very selective, interest focused and eliminate all distractions (things important but not convenient) from their point of view. Anything that doesn't suit them they omit. It's a selective world in the quietness of everyone's hand held device. People can say whatever they wish, whenever they wish and supply whatever visual aid for it online, yet the reality is far away from the portrayal of it created by them. Idealized life attracts but doesn't sustain. That's why marketing and consulting is huge now days. We want to attract to the ideal without showing the price that has to be paid. Connectedness is attraction without reality. That's why religious orders have try outs and postulancy. The first attraction has to wear off an the reality has to hit on.
Community is not looking at its core only for building spiritual friendships, although it is crucial that we find spiritual friends (persons who know us very well, and help us in our spiritual walk; not a spiritual director but a person who can speak into my life and carry my burdens with me, no matter what) within community. Sooner or later most people find their spiritual friends within a community but we are not aiming at creating clubs.
Community is not a neighborhood of default people living around in one geographical location. That's a suburb or a village or a district. People within its parameters can be friendly, know each other a bit, kindly offering meals and help in need, clean the streets and watch out for each other property but this doesn't constitute a community. It's a bunch of households trying to manage their surroundings to have pleasant life.
Christian community is not a prayer meeting. It can start as one and it is one of the core times and places where people engage and interact yet it is just the beginning. Your prayer group could be the beginning of community but it is not a community yet. It has some elements of a community.
Christian community is not having weekly meal together and talking about interesting things. It is a part of social life within a community and feasting and celebrating together is important yet just sitting around the table doesn't mean we have a common life.
Christian community is not weekly Bible study or even small group. They can be part of formation and well led small group can become a great place of discipleship.
If we would look to the Book of Acts, we would see what a local Christian community is, what principles should govern it, and what status and importance it should have.
Christian community, as in the Book of Acts, is build around one mind, one heart, and one spirit, in love. It is living in communion with God and others. Everything else comes out of that: it's purpose, goals, mission, ideals, charisms, spirituality etc.
Community will have its own rhythm, certain rule, charisms given to the founders. It will have certain feel, particular aspect of ministry and spirituality that will be elevated, a drive for concrete purpose. If you think it sound more like a religious order and less like a parish that you go to, you are exactly right.
Modern parish is still striving to accomplish what was set 2,000 years ago yet it fails on many fronts. It seems that modern parish in the US became a sacramental center not a community of believers that pray together daily, share all they possess, take care of all sick and needy among them, raise, train and send from their midst apostles and prophets. When parish lost its cultural appeal, the bare structure or what was left of it couldn't and can not sustain itself as a spiritual center or a community. Frantic scheduling of programs and frustration of lack of response is a daily bread for parish workers. People thinking that quick resolutions, weekly programs, occasional Bible studies, potlucks, social gatherings will draw crowds into Masses, religious education classes, etc. are shocked that so many people do not respond to the rhetoric of parish any more. Parishes can become communities but that requires a lot to change. St. John Paul II wanted each parish to become community of communities.
Community will require everything from you. You will have to sacrifice your time, energy and money. You will not be able to hide in your home whenever your want, if you are serious about community. You will discover and be confronted with your ghosts, skeletons, hurts as well as you will discover your potential, gifts, call and vocation. You will not be able to live as you wish for you will have to learn what real freedom is. You will have to confront every aspect of your life in the light of the Gospel. No one will control you, no one will force you, no one will demand anything from you. But you will be compelled, for the love of Christ, to revolutionize your ideas about life, reorder your priorities, and you will have to die many deaths to enter into communion with God and others and sustain those relationships, not run from them each time you want.
You can not build a community without living in close approximation. Community has many aspects of family life. You do not chose your family members, you live with them. Especially those you naturally initially dislike will be the instruments of chiseling of your heart and character. You will also find people who will enormously inspire you, draw you closer to God, you will discover depths of human interactions that you thought are not possible. You will go beyond formal, surface and weekend relationships, and you will see, sooner or later, the beautiful and the ugly of most of your community members. And you will understand that we need each other to start living on earth as in heaven now.
So Christian lay community, which can include religious, priests and lay people, will have a governing body, structure, vision, goals, mission, formation, discipline, accountability, vision, spirituality.
In our pragmatic world focusing on success what we usually ask is 'but what do you do?' asking also about Christian community. People may see that certain community is helping immigrants, or orphanages, or making retreats for confirmation kids, or presenting evangelization drama or leading praise and worship and music during certain events or running a soup kitchen but what they see is only the action of community, it's the same when we see Trappists making caskets or brewing beer, thinking this is their main occupation that improves and aids society. But we chose communal life first so we can belong not so we can do things together. Doing flows from being. In a community we verbalize our bonding in Christ, and our doing is secondary although it brings much good to common humanity. In a community we accentuate caring above accomplishing. In a community we give each other space to heal and grow. We are not offended neither distracted by it, we welcome inconveniences connected to it and we try to carry each other burdens by more than weekly phone call. We walk in brokenness together, covering each others' wounds and releasing healed hearts and bodies. In community we learn to forgive for we have to be forgiven much and often. We do not live in offense or disconnection because of someone's political different opinion, we do not carry the offense but we dig in to discovering the reasons for it. We want to understand and be open. To be seen as effective and productive is not the primary concern of a community for we understand that becoming like Christ takes long time. We decide to give ourselves and others enough time to grow. In a community we learn to trust and how to become trustworthy. In a community we receive new heart and a new spirit to soar. In a community we learn how to live in a biblical covenant and true personal freedom.
There are hundreds of Catholic lay communities around the world. Ecclesial movements, local communities, base communities, small Christian communities, houses where lay celibate and religious live together. Some communities can be as small as several people, especially if they live together, and some can have several hundreds people in them, sometimes multiplying itself in different locations. Hundreds of thousands of people in Catholic lay communities pray, serve, grow, give and receive, train, impact their surrounding daily. It is still the most invisible force that continues the presence and work of Christ in many lands, regions, countries and without them there is no future for a vibrant, impacting, holy Church to survive current challenges.
This is a repost from MajorChange Fb Group thread, it has been reposted in its original form.
If you are interested in learning more about how to build faith communities, check out our new Stone to Flesh School of the Heart.
"When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God."
— 1 Cor 2: 1-5 (NAB)
This Scripture passage calls to mind certain excerpts from the writings of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., in which he tries to navigate the muddy waters of the topic of the anointing as understood and experienced in charismatic circles. I am not limiting the understanding of this concept here to one of the sacramental, nor to biblical exegesis. I found these quotes several years ago and come back to them often. I ponder how the anointing changes the game, and how we attain such an intimacy with God which allows Him to use us as vessels of His Spirit.
""Anointed faith is what gives to a speech prophetic power. Let me try to explain how this happens when we preach about the crucified and the risen Lord. While the preacher is speaking, at a certain point, quite apart from any decision of his, he becomes aware of an intervention, as though a signal on another wavelength were coming through his voice. He becomes aware of this because he begins to feel deeply stirred, invested with a strength and an extraordinary power of conviction that he recognises clearly is not his own. His words come out as incisive, with greater assurance. He experiences a touch of that "authority" that all recognised when they listened to Jesus speaking. The listener is brought to a point of total concentration into which no other voice can reach: he too feels "touched", and often a shiver goes through his body.
At a moment like this, the human speaker and the human voice fade out of the picture, to make way for another voice entirely. Someone has said: "The true prophet, when he speaks, remains silent" (Philo of Alexandria). The prophet is silent because, at that moment, it is not he who speaks, but another. God says to his prophets, poor sinful human creatures, "You shall be as my own mouth" (Jr 15, 19), and the thought of it makes his messenger tremble.
Of course, this doesn't happen at the same level of intensity all the way through. There are special moments. God needs only one phrase, one word. The speaker and the listeners have the feeling that drops of fire mingle at a certain point with the preacher's words and they become white-hot and shining. Of all images, fire is the one that is least inadequate when it comes to expressing this operation of the Spirit. So it was that at Pentecost, he showed himself as "tongues of fire" (Acts 2, 3). We read of Elijah that "he arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch" (Eccl 48,1), and in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, God himself declares, "Does not my word burn like fire, is it not like a hammer shattering rock?" (Jr 23, 29).
The best thing on an occasion like this is to ask God for a new anointing of his Spirit so that leaving this meeting each one can confidently say, with Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted." (Lk 4,18)
What we need to do is simply ask for the anointing before we set out to do any evangelistic work.""
— "Faith Which Overcomes the World" by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa
This quote above touches on the power of kerygmatic preaching, such as Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, when the crowds joined the apostles and disciples who previously were troubled but now boldly stepped out to propose a new Way of Life. It wasn't St. Peter's sophisticated eloquence, his edginess in communication, his persuasive rhetorical skills, his pedagogy or methodology of preaching or catechesis, nor was it his powerful biblical or apologetical knowledge that convicted the hearts of several thousands of passersby to ask: What now? If we are to believe that the conversions of Pentecost were the result of mass hysteria, or of some instant psychological empowerment enabling Peter to become the inspirational speaker of the day, or perhaps due to a brilliant marketing technique to make some people follow the new band of brothers, we would have to settle at least for a sudden remarkable transformation of a fisherman. Instead, we have to realize that this moment shattered everything the disciples understood previously. It enlightened their minds, and equipped their hands and feet to do what Jesus already told them to do.
Three years of being discipled by the Son of God, and then seeing their Master's death and resurrection (which was witnessed also by the crowds) were not enough for them to cross from a fearful and circumstantial reading of the world to meeting the challenges of the culture. Only the self-giving of God and His decision to live on the inside of His beloved creatures initiated a concrete and experiential event which changed the history of the world.
So where does this new understanding of the anointing come from? You will find it surprising, I think:
"You who are named the Paraclete, gift of God most high, living fountain, fire, love and anointing for the soul (Veni Creator sequence).
And now we will see how the anointing, seen as a way of life or a quality of action, is grafted onto these biblical and sacramental roots. There is a very close relationship between this anointing and the sacramental one. Nevertheless, the two are not identical, because one belongs in the objective order of sacraments, while the other belongs in the subjective order of asceticism and mysticism.
How did this second or spiritual sense of anointing come to be accepted? (...)
A new phase in the development of the theme of anointing opened with Saint Bernard and Saint Bonaventure. In their writings the new, spiritual, and modern understanding of anointing became firmly established, linked not so much to the theme of the knowledge of truth as to the theme of the living experience of the divine reality. At the start ot his commentary on the Song of Songs Saint Bernard says: "A song such as this only anointing can teach, and only experience can enable you to understand it."
(...) anointing is not something that is limited to the area of devotion; it is of interest above all in the area of contemplation. Bonaventure distinguishes between two basic forms of contemplation: an intellectual contemplation, whose goal is knowledge of the truth and that is based on the gift of understanding, and a sapiential contemplation, whose goal is an experience of and a taste for things divine based on the gift of wisdom. The latter is what he calls "the anointing". He liked to say that the Dominicans tended to experience the first kind of contemplation, and the Franciscans the second. "One Order concentrates first on speculation and secondarily on the anointing, and the other Order attends first to the anointing and the secondarily to speculation."
The meaning that Saint Bonaventure gives to the anointing comes across more clearly in what he writes at the beginning of his work "The Mind's Journey to God":
Therefore I exhort the reader, before anything else, to turn earnestly in prayer to Christ crucified, whose blood takes away the stain of our faults, and I do that lest he think that the reading alone will be enough for him, without the anointing, or that speculation will be enough without devotion, or study without admiration, consideration without exultation, effort without piety, knowledge without love, understanding without humility, or zeal without the grace of God.
This anointing, he says finally, depends not on nature, nor on science, nor on words, nor on books, but on "the gift of God that is the Holy Spirit." (...)"
— Fr. Cantalamessa's "Come, Creator Spirit", p. 162 - 169
If we think it is only about the crowds, only about the unbaptized, only about the streets, we might miss the point of training ourselves in following the Holy Spirit's presence under the times of anointing. How many times in the last year or so have you heard clear kerygmatic preaching under the anointing of the Holy Spirit? How many times have you released yourself to proclaim God's mercy in that way?
It seems that a progression flows from St. Anselm of Canterbury, who famously quoted Credo ut intelligam ("I believe in order to understand"), taking a phrase from St. Augustine, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Credo ut experiar, ("I believe in order to experience") which is then carried by St. Bonaventure. For our post-modern world, it creates a link between what we call charismatic and mystical experience of God, firmly showing that the anointing, although sovereignly poured out on individuals and groups, and having its source only in God who is on the move, is firmly set within the context of people who are given to God in totality, even in the midst of their weaknesses and personal turmoil.
"If we are to understand the term "anointing" in a way that embraces the entirety of its usage, especially in the English-speaking world, following the spread of the Pentecostal and charismatic phenomenon, we need to take into account a still-later development of the term. Not only within the Catholic ambit, but outside of it as well, the terms "anointed" and "anointing" are used today to describe the way a person goes about doing something, or to describe the quality of someone's preaching or teaching. (...) ... in the Pentecostal and charismatic use of the term it suggests the idea of empowerment and persuasive power of efficacy. A sermon is said to be anointed when the listeners are moved to recognize the work of the Spirit in it: a message that moves the hearer deeply, that 'convicts" one of sin, that pierces the heart. And in this we come back to an exquisitely biblical usage of the term, found for example in the text from Acts where it says that Jesus was "anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38). (...)
The outward effects of all of this are seen at times in gentle calm and peacefulness, in delicacy, devotion, or in deep emotion, and at times in authority, strength, power, or ability to take command of the situation, all in keeping with the circumstances, the character of the person concerned and also the responsibility each carries for the work that must be done. The clearest example is Jesus himself who, moved by the Spirit, showed himself meek and humble of heart but also, when the occasion demanded it, able to act with divine authority. "
Yes, the anointing is for extroverts and introverts because God made us to receive Him fully. It comes as the thunder, or in silence, as Elijah learned. It comes in the big stadiums and in the lepers' colonies. It comes as a holy anger demanding righteousness, or as quiet tears asking for healing.
"One characteristic of the anointing is that it confers a certain inward clarity that enables us to do what has to be done with ease and mastery. It is, in a way, like "being in form" for an athlete or "inspiration" for a poet: being in a position really to give of one's best. Yet the anointing itself is something more than we will ever be able to tell in words. There is no mistaking an anointing when we are in the presence of someone who is experiencing it, but though we "see" it, it is never possible to find clear concepts or definitions to say what it is that we see, for it partakes, in fact, of the very nature of the Holy Spirit and of an order of being beyond our grasp.
The Dictionary of Spirituality says, "The spiritual teaching of Saint Bonaventure is suffused throughout with anointing and poetry." One has intuitive grasp of what that means, though one cannot define it with concepts and words. (...)
The actual anointing does not depend on us, but the removal of the obstacles that prevent the anointing shining forth does depend on us. It is not difficult for us to understand what the breaking of the alabaster jar means in our own case. The jar is our own humanity, our "I", often the arid intellectualism to which we cling. (...)
However, although our own effort to be surrendered, obedient, plays a part, it is not all that is needed. The anointing comes much more through believing, praying, and in humble simplicity asking for it. (...) What we need to do, simply, is ask for an anointing before we set out to do any work, any service of the Kingdom. (...)
There are times when we almost in a physical way feel the anointing coming upon us. Feelings are deeply moved, the soul enjoys clarity and assurance; all trace of nervousness disappears, all fear and timidity are gone. We experience something of the tranquility and the authority of God himself. Certain songs or hymns are particularly helpful in disposing us to be open to this anointing from on high. (...)"
All artists are prophets. The ones who create under the anointing of the Holy Spirit are able to move, heal, and restore lives, communities, and societies. There is a difference between admiring a work of art, even in the beautiful classical form, which was created by an artist who was, as St. Paul describes, still in the flesh, carnal and not redeemed, and admiring a work of art created by an artist who is becoming spiritual and mature in Christ. The anointing which is growing within the spiritual artist will permeate not only the psychological and carnal sphere, but will cross into the core of a human being, resurrecting the dead, leaving the effect of experiencing God or of having a religious, spiritual experience.
Contemporary praise and worship aims at creating an atmosphere where the anointing of the Holy Spirit will be welcomed, cherished, allowed to influence, and to bring transformative power. It releases its impact to those who are open to it. There is more to creating this atmosphere than following the standard prescription of fast praise, slow worship, silent adoration, and final receptiveness to the new creative word spoken to all in a prophetic utterance. (More about this point will come in later posts.)
And here is the last bit about the anointing the pertains to the clergy, and how ecumenism becomes a natural fruit of operating under the leadership and anointing of the Holy Spirit:
"On every side we see signs of how vitally necessary it is, especially for the leaders of the Church, to live and work under this spiritual anointing in its twofold aspect of gentleness and strength. It would be a mistake for ordained ministers to count only on the sacramental anointing, received once only when they were ordained and not to be repeated, and which enables them to be appointed to lead, preach, and to teach. Ordination provides, so to say, the authorization to do certain things, but not necessarily the authority to do them. It assures the apostolic success. (...)
This bishop goes on to describe the effect that this anointing had on his diocese. Where before he had not known what to do for priests struggling with the problem of alcoholism other than to suggest to them that they go to a clinic for treatment, he now invited them into his home and prayed with them, and number were completely healed by the power of prayer. Where before at clergy meetings they had spoken of everything but evangelization and the real spiritual mission of the Church, they now all agreed that what the diocese most needed was renewal in the Holy Spirit. Ecumenism, which had been a kind of abstract doctrinal problem, became a living reality, and the various Christian churches in the area were drawn together in a new relationship and by new contacts. "
Do you think your understanding of the anointing is too narrow?
When and how do you experience the anointing?
Join our FB Group to discuss this topic this week.
5 years, 11 months.
I wanted to post this on Dec. 30th, right before Onething 2015 morning session with Audrey Assad, Matt Maher and Francis Chan but I did not finish the second to last paragraph. So here it goes, one of the stories where I can humbly acknowledge that I have not screwed up very badly in assertively prevailing in praying for what has followed as one of the most beautiful reconciliation and worship moments I have witnessed. It is very personal and I don't usually post such intimate reflections but sometimes I have to suck it up and just share things that are allowed to be shared.
In 2009, while on staff at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, during prayer, I received a desire which could be best articulated as a desire to see a united Body of Christ praising God together in the U.S., including Catholics. I have seen it done before in many nations were I lived. Growing up as a young adult in Poland, we Catholics would organize and invite Protestants, non-denom, and Pentecostals to join for the March for Jesus, joint street evangelization, conferences or prayer initiatives. Living in Russia, we saw hundreds and thousands of people from different Christian backgrounds coming to seek God's face, praise Him together and enter into deeper understanding of our callings and visions. And it wasn't a surprise for me to participate in similar gatherings even while living in the Middle East. Surprisingly, I have not been able to see many of the same in the U.S., since we moved back here in 2003.
So, at that moment in 2009, not knowing any Catholics in the U.S., I googled "Catholic worship leaders". It did not take me long to pick which one I sensed would fit the vision that was crystalizing in my heart: Matt Maher. At this point, I didn't know any Catholics personally, except a group of homeschoolers in an online forum, I never went to any Catholic services since moving to the U.S. from Qatar in 2003. I had no contact with any Catholic parish, organization or priest.
We were planning to go to TheCall in Houston for a prayer rally around the newest abortion clinic that was about to be opened. I had a sense to search for "Catholic events" in Houston during that weekend. I found two: a John Michael Talbot concert and Matt Maher playing during the Mass in a small suburban parish. I told Keith we needed to go to both.
After the concert I briefly talked to John Michael Talbot, telling him how we were copying his tape recordings for years during Communism and how popular his music was behind the Iron Curtain. He was the first Catholic in the U.S. I encountered personally.
After the rally we went to the church and that was my first Mass in the U.S. After Mass, we wanted somehow to briefly talk to Matt and we did, in the parking lot after everyone had left. We told him we were 'from IHOP' and 'from the Call'. I told him that I believed "he is supposed to play with IHOP and TheCall" some time in the future. When I was saying this, my brain was telling me: "This is the stupidest introduction I could make. The guy will think we are the weirdosmatics who claim daily downloads from God and try to prophesy over everything that is alive in a five yard distance." But my gut was sensing the kairos moment that no mishaps of words could blow away. Matt was moved, we were moved, we prayed and asked God to take us from this point of history to the next and we asked for Him to arrange the time. Or something like that. This happened in January 2010, in a parking lot of the Our Lady of Rosary in the suburbs of Houston. (I am recalling this meeting to the best of my memory). That was 5 years and 11 months ago.
If you are into anything even remotely touching ecumenical dialogue, you know that papers, declarations and formal documents do not move people into trusting each other, they just open up the horizons and give a general way of entering into conversation, providing understanding, language and theological as well as historical background to further explorations. But the heart of ecumenism is in relationships which start when we see a similar trait of Jesus in another person who wants to love us as He does and whom we decide to encounter, hoping to discover similarities leading us toward His presence. Mutual honor, respect and learning from each other proceeds any theological discussion. So we left it at that and communicated every now and then, seeing if God was moving us toward something more concrete.
Matt visited IHOP soon after (with Leeland) and I made them good scrambled eggs at 7 am, because spiritual life totally depends on it. Soon after, Matt's manager sent us Matt's CD and another young girl's CD, saying she recommends her music, or something like that. I listened to the first two measures of the first song on that girl's CD and suddenly I had the feeling that "she will make it big" and "she will do that unity thing with Matt". I looked at the name on the cover. It was Audrey Assad. It happened that I met her soon after and clumsily asked to pray for her, which she agreed to. In that moment the Spirit's voice was gently descending and the Unspoken brilliance of His creative power rested peacefully in that place. A call to trust was born. It felt like swirls of colors breaking from the prism while echoing the sounds of heaven. Enough said. Disclaimer: I am not that prophetic but this was quite hard not to hear. At this point I know you might think that I am making this stuff up, but I don't care. Something intensified for a moment, and then, as it usually happens, died. The vision went dormant, the expectation of a relationship between the Evangelicals/Charismatics and Catholics sort of died and life went on.
I feel disunity in the Church strongly. It is almost a physical thing for me; it is violent and the wound I experience is very deep. There are seasons where the only decent expressions in prayer are growling lamentations and I feel the torment of the hordes of hell raising the voice of triumph over earthly divisions, the claims of a Church victorious sound pitiful, and the norm is an unawareness of the lack of credibility of witness through becoming One Voice. Notions of unity are dismissed as naivete, and no one grieves or cries over this wound. To make people agree to come together as one requires an enormous amount of spiritual grit, endurance, discernment, assertiveness, favor, spiritual warfare, time, conversations, relationship building, failures, being misunderstood, being considered imprudent and plain crazy; it demands travailing, endurance, frustration, and waiting for peace where there is only crucifixion. It takes you through feeling stupid among the wise ones and it makes you look inadequate and foolish among the knowledgeable ones. This deal of 'becoming one' demands being open to the kairos moments of encountering God and His people and prayer and changing everything when He asks. No formula can deliver what God makes out of our weak efforts and no perfect planning or marketing will ever achieve what His wisdom anoints in a moment and among people He chooses as His own. The price for restoring the Body to become one is death in totality but Jesus' sweating blood is worth it all.
Today at 9am, I will sit on a burgundy chair among 20,000 people and experience Jesus being worshipped by one Body when Matt and Audrey will lead the Onething2015 conference in praise and worship. I don't feel any closure to this story, quite the opposite. Let's see what happens.
An Intercessors-Eye View of Onething 2015
Prayer is an amazing thing.
In order to truly enter into Christian prayer, we need to understand ourselves as the anawim, as God's wholly-dependent children, aware of our need even to the point of being overwhelmed with the helplessness of it all, and yet trusting in the immense love of our Heavenly Father, and waiting on His good will. To pray is to give our hearts and our lives to God's unfolding drama.
Oh, how we have prayed.
As coordinator of intercessors, I asked a small group of mostly local fellow intercessors to pray for MajorChange, and for the Onething conference in particular. Several more joined in from across the country as the time drew close, including a community of Sisters. Twenty-five people committed to pray in the 12 hours leading up to the Wednesday morning session that could only be described as a break-through in God's purposes for unity in His church. But it is no coincidence that since the conference I have heard several times "I have been praying for something like this for years," "This has been an ache in my heart for decades." Just today, a man told me he had put it on his prayer list three years ago that the Majors would be able to pull this event together and make it happen. From a general ache to a specific vision, this has not just been the answer to a few prayers. It has been God imparting a desire of His heart into our hearts, and enfolding us all in the drama He intends for His church in this time.
I am quite certain that the story is still unfolding, and the seeds that were planted during the last week in December 2015 in Kansas City will bear much fruit which still remain to be even imagined by us. The ache of prayer will continue; day-in, day-out faithfulness will be asked of all of us; many needs will arise to be met. God is not done. Isn't it exciting?
With all of our hearts, let us tell God "yes" in every way, that we can participate in HIs desire to save those lost in darkness by means of His church, united in purpose and love.


Curiosity made me search out some photos and history of the "real Thornfield Hall" in Yorkshire. I blogged an interesting article about the connection to the house and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre earlier in December.
The house was built in medieval times, with later additions being added at various times. The house is best known for the visit made by Charlotte Bronte in 1839. A family legend concerning a madwoman confined in an attic is said to have inspired the mad Mrs Rochester in Jane Eyre. The house is also an original of Thornfield Hall.
The house also has an 18th century walled garden with Orangery and herbaceous borders.
In season, you can pick your own fruit, raspberries, red currants, blackcurrants and gooseberries. (Please check beforehand). Teas are served when the garden is open for charity events. Plants, especially unusual hardy plants are available for sale from Easter to September.
Norton Conyers is 4 miles north of Ripon on the road to Wath and 3.5 miles from the A1: turn off at the Baldersby Gate flyover onto the A61 to Ripon and turn right at the road signposted "Melmerby."


text:
Q: how to separate a java string that is separated by "$"? I am using spock to test a java app.It seems "$" is a special character in groovy.any java string  that is separated by "$" can't be separated in groovy properly.Any workaround for this problem?
update
The "split" happened in java code that I can't edit. It turns out that java code has a problem same as:Why can't I split a string with the dollar sign?

A: I don't think $ is a special character in Groovy strings. Edit: Yes, it is, if you use GStrings! But the rest may still be useful: But it's a special character in the string you give to String#split, because that string is interpreted as a regular expression, and in a regular expression, $ is "end of input" (or end of line, depending on flags).
If you're using String#split, to make it split on a literal $, you have to escape it with a backslash. To make the regex engine see a backslash, you have to escape the backslash in a string literal with another backslash.
Example:
'testing$one$two$three'.split('\\$').each {
  println it
}

Output:

testing
one
two
three

Better yet, as suggested by Dónal, use tokenize:
Example:
'testing$one$two$three'.tokenize('$').each {
    println it
}

(Same output)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
STW opens up Texas brackish source project
19 October 2015, source Desalination & Water Reuse
Water management firm, STW Water Process and Technologies, has started to develop a newly acquired brackish water lease in the Imperial, Texas area. The move is part of STW's West Texas Water Project to discover new brackish water sources.
The water source is a key component in the West Texas project that will use new sources to produce potable supplies for industry and municipalities. The first phase of the lease is scheduled for completion at the end of this year. It will include site excavation, a hydrogeological report, the acquisition of production and transportation permits and a long-term water purchase agreement.
The newly purchased lease has artesian brackish water flowing from the San Andres formation, which is approximately 600 metres below the surface. According to the Pecos County Water authorities, several of the eight water wells currently flowing have been producing 4-10 Ml/d for the past 40+ years. The water produced will be processed with STW's proprietary Hybrid Brackish Reverse Osmosis System prior to sale to surrounding communities and industrial users. The estimated current water flows are more than 80 Ml/d.
The Company's strategy involves adding other currently unusable brackish aquifers in Texas and California and throughout the southwestern United States to the company's water lease portfolio.
STW has approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the site plans and the water treatment technology and processes that the company will be using.
STW's hydrogeologists, have begun their study of the San Andres formation to estimate the water reserves. Their findings are required for the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District permitting process. STW has estimated that water sales to industrial customers will begin during the first quarter of 2016.The company said Phase II was expected to commence in January.
Phase II is estimated to take 12 months and the build-out another 14 months, starting commercial production operations for the entire West Texas Project in the second quarter of 2018.
STW chief executive officer, Stanley Weiner, said, "The number of wells being planned to drill will be dependent upon the amount of water that can be produced from each well. This threshold appears to be approximately 1-2.5 million GPD from each well based upon the existing flowing wells on the lease. Although the brackish water from these wells has been free flowing for many years and accumulating on the surface, this water can now be economically processed to potable specifications for municipal use with STW's advanced technologies."
Weiner emphasized, "We currently have nine solid water projects similar to this project in the state of California alone in our project pipeline with a number of additional projects being qualified.
| Texas | California | California | Texas | Water Management

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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I am the leasing agent for this site with NAI. A couple of points of clarification here. The Aldi lease has been signed, however, the construction on this cannot being until a natural gas utility line is successfully relocated. This should be done by the spring, and from there the building should break ground thereafter, with a 2019 store opening.
Further, the 26,000 square foot area along Chimney Rock is .6 acres of land area. The maximum tenant or group of tenants here would be 4,500 square feet of leasable space.
@JRG NAI Thanks for pointing this out, Jason. We've updated the story to note that the pad site is .6 acres of land for lease, not built area.
So excited Aldi is going into the old HEB space! YAY!
Jason. How about going after a Starbucks? Or Dunkin Donuts for the corner location?? We certainly could use a coffee place in Westbury and either of those would work.
Gail – It's not going into the HEB location at Chimney Rock and Braeswood. Westbury Centerette is at the junction of W. Bellfort, and Chimney Rock. This is new construction.
Also, 17% utilization on a 26,000 square foot lot — hooray parking minimums!
Aldi and Trader Joe's are not owned by the same company, they are separate legal entities — Aldi Nord (Trader Joe's) and Aldi Sud (Aldi).
Excited to see a grocery store go in this location.Either Chipotle or Starbucks would be nice. I'm liking those ideas. NAI needs to go ahead and develop the westbury square site with additional commercial retail as well. I believe the demand is in Westbury, its residents are just taking their money elsewhere at the moment.
Any updates on this? It doesn't look like the natural gas line has been relocated, and there is a new for sale sign on the Chimney Rock side of the property. Did the Aldi's deal fall through?
It sounds like Aldi backed out of the deal. Supposedly a developer has a contract on the lot now. It's too bad about Aldi, a grocery store is needed in the area. It will be interesting to see what ends up being developed there.


text:
Q: how to make swig interface file for C++, protobuf Apparently, protobuf need to know all the headers involved.
Below is the content of Header.h
Test.h is the protobuf generated header file
#pragma once
#include "Test.h"

class TestClass
{
private:
    test::Person _person;
public:
    bool eventReceiveData(char*);
    bool eventRecieveData(char* const);
    bool eventRecieveData(std::string);
    std::string getData() const;

    void eventReceiveMessage(test::Person);
    test::Person getPerson();
};

Since Test.h includes all these header files,
#include <google/protobuf/stubs/common.h

#include <google/protobuf/arena.h>
#include <google/protobuf/arenastring.h>
#include <google/protobuf/generated_message_util.h>
#include <google/protobuf/metadata.h>
#include <google/protobuf/message.h>
#include <google/protobuf/repeated_field.h>
#include <google/protobuf/extension_set.h>
#include <google/protobuf/unknown_field_set.h>

does that mean I have to do this?
%module Test
%{
#include "Header.h"
%}
%include "Header.h"
%include <google/protobuf/stubs/common.h>
%include <google/protobuf/arena.h>
%include <google/protobuf/arenastring.h>
%include <google/protobuf/generated_message_util.h>
%include <google/protobuf/metadata.h>
%include <google/protobuf/message.h>
%include <google/protobuf/repeated_field.h>
%include <google/protobuf/extension_set.h>
%include <google/protobuf/unknown_field_set.h>

And also, do I have to include all the static libraries for protobuf?
My target language is C#
There is so little information related to using swig and protobuf in the same time.

A: Based on the fact that your protobuf object has a namespace I'm assuming you're using the normal C++ protoc.
The short answer to your question is that no, you don't necessary have to include all or any of the protobuf headers inside your SWIG interface. You might want to include some or augment/replace them inside SWIG though, in order to make it actually work completely and neatly. I'll show you how to do it, but I strongly believe that this is not the right design solution for most cases. See my suggested alternative at the end of this answer.
As an example for a discussion though I took the person.proto from the protobuf tutorial. I assume that's also what you're working with, but it's hard to say, so here it is:
message Person {
  required int32 id = 1;
  required string name = 2;
  optional string email = 3;
}

When we run protoc we get one .h file. If we start with a SWIG interface like:
%module test
%{
#include "person.pb.h"
%}
%include "person.pb.h"

Then we get a mostly unusable C# interface generated - SWIG doesn't wrap std::string or Google's ::google::protobuf::int32 types neatly, because it knows nothing about them.
On the other hand if we write a protobuf.i file:
%include <std_string.i>
%include <stdint.i>
#define GOOGLE_PROTOBUF_VERSION 2006001
#define GOOGLE_PROTOBUF_MIN_PROTOC_VERSION 2006001
namespace google {
namespace protobuf {
typedef int32 int32_t;
typedef uint8 uint8_t;
// ... whatever else you need
}
}

And use that in your module:
%module test
%include "protobuf.i"
%{
#include "person.pb.h"
%}
%include "person.pb.h"

Then now we're in business, that's the minimum needed to get something sane in a wrapped interface. You'll be able to work with protobuf objects that C++ has created and managed for you from within C++ with "beanlike" behaviour, i.e. basic sets and gets will be usable.
There's plenty of stuff that also won't be usable without more work though, e.g. descriptors, metadata, message types, coded io, strings with ownership transfer.
Each of those is fixable with a bit more work in your SWIG interface however I think you're approaching this problem from the wrong angle. You've got a protobuf compiler for both C# and C++ so what I'd do instead would be to add a setPerson() as well as a getPerson() method and use in and out typemaps in SWIG to serialise and construct the native C++/C# corresponding types transparently. This is a particularly good plan given that deliberately or otherwise what your getPerson() method returns is a copy of the private member not a reference, so changing the underlying protobuf object that's returned won't have any visible effect inside C++ anyway.


text:
FREE OMAR
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES | The Omar Khadr Case
2015 Student Handout | What is Omar Khadr's Story?
Christians Care About Omar Khadr
Omar Speaks
Omar Speaks | "Freedom Is Way Better Than I Thought"
Omar Khadr in his own words | First written interview
Omar Speaks | "Truly Omar", his letters to friends
Omar Speaks | interrogation, The secret Khadr Tapes
Omar Speaks | Quotes by people who know him
Omar Speaks | Through his Affidavit, 2008
Omar Speaks | Through his Work of Art
Omar Speaks | Letter to his lawyer Dennis Edney from Guantanamo Bay
Omar Speaks | His Ambitions
Omar Speaks | His Letter to Boycott the Military Commission in Guantanamo
Omar Speaks | Through his former lawyer
Omar Speaks l First letter to his mother
Omar Pics
Photo Timeline | Omar Khadr during his detention [2015 – 2002]
Torture and Illegal Imprisonment of Omar Khadr
Free Omar Khadr Campaign Logo
TAKE ACTION !
Coalition Partners to FREE Omar Khadr NOW
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Alex Neve | Amnesty International SG, discussing Omar Khadr on CHIN Radio
Green Party of Canada | Speaking Out on Omar Khadr
Campaign | Write and Ask your MP to Take a Stand on Omar Khadr
Write/email your MP | Sample Letter
Write your MP | letter to Bob Dechert
OMAR KHADR | write your MP – newsletter sample
PETITION – CANADA'S OBLIGATION TO OMAR KHADR
The Omar Khadr case | The worst thing is that we bequeath this legacy to our children
Omar Khadr needs surgery to restore failing eyesight, tutor says
Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu phones Omar Khadr
What Can You Tell Us about Omar Khadr? Interview with Dennis Edney QC
Omar Khadr and the Charter of Rights
The Professor and the Prisoner
Why is Omar Khadr still in jail? (2/2)
Harper, International Human Rights Day and Nelson Mandela
Growing support for Omar Khadr's freedom and next steps to justice
Love Knows No Bounds: A Christian Response to the Omar Khadr Story | Arlette Zinck
Omar Khadr in Court: Eight Ways the Mainstream Media Missed the Real Story
WikiLeaks on Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr War Criminal, Child Soldier… or Neither?
Court Hearing Omar Khadr | Inside Stories
'This is a human rights issue': Campaign raises money for Omar Khadr's legal expenses
Global Twitter Storm for Omar Khadr, Guantanamo Victims
IN CANADA | Omar Khadr: From Frying Pan to Fire
Khadr terminology and law 2013
Happy Birthday Omar Khadr | Aisha Maniar
Petition for Clemency and Dr Sageman's rebuttal of Welner
Toronto Star coverage of Omar Khadr since his Guantanamo military trial
"Punitive post-conviction confinement" | Heather Marsh [4/4]
"The world doesn't get it" | Heather Marsh [3/4]
Canada, the entire world is still watching | Heather Marsh [2/4]
"Omar Khadr is a lovely young man" | Heather Marsh [1/4]
Omar Khadr's Lawyers Demand His Return to Canada from Guantánamo
Orwellian Circus: The Omar Khadr Trial
The Unending Torture of Omar Khadr | Rolling Stone
Canada's role in the persecution of child soldier Omar Khadr
Government Witness Welner Claims Gitmo Child Soldier is Radicalized
Guantanamo Expert, Andy Worthington | on Omar Khadr
Khadr left hooded, chained in cage after capture, prosecution admits
New York Times | Delays Keep Former Qaeda Child Soldier at Guantánamo, Despite Plea Deal
Omar Khadr war-crimes appeal in U.S. could face lengthy delay
Dennis Edney – "From Omar Khadr and Guantanamo to the rule of law in an age of terror"
Sam Morison appeals Omar Khadr's Guantanamo military 'conviction'
Documentary: YOU DON'T LIKE THE TRUTH | 4 Days Inside Guantanamo
The U.S. versus Omar Khadr | Video link (42:43)
Omar Khadr's legal options | CBC video
Talk U.S. Brigadier General (ret) Stephen Xenakis, MD | 'Omar Khadr gentlest most decent man'
Dr. Arlette Zinck, Professor English | about Omar Khadr
Gail Davidson, Lawyers Right Watch Canada | about Omar Khadr
Music video Welcome Back Khadr | Evelyn Wreckage
Lecture Sam Morison | Omar Khadr: the Man – the Law
Omar Khadr | Child Soldier
The Legal Inadequacy of U.S. Military Commissions for Trying Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr on Wikisource
2014 | Khadr vs Edmonton Institution | Transfer to provincial correctional facility
Khadr | Factum of Intervener
Repatriation of Omar Khadr to Canada
Supreme Court Judgment 2010 | Omar Khadr
Lecture Dennis Edney "The Rule of Law in an Age of Terror" | Fathima Cader, Faculty of Law UBC
Website University of Toronto, Faculty of Law | Omar Khadr legal documents
Professor David Glazier – Omar Khadr 'convicted' in court without jurisdiction
St. Michaels University School demands Justice for Omar Khadr | Feb 2012
Law students from the universities of Toronto, Osgoode, UBC, Ottawa, McGill, Saskatchewan, Victoria, Dalhousie, Windsor, Queen's, Western, Alberta and Calgary have joined together in the Omar Khadr Project.
Obama officials pushed, failed to get rules based on International Law in Khadr tribunal (2010)
The Key Activities of the Free Omar Campaign
Statement from Omar Khadr's Legal Team | Regarding Status Of Prisoner Transfer Application
OTTAWA, June 21, 2012 /CNW/ – Omar Khadr's legal team provided an update today on the status of Omar's prisoner transfer application, which was submitted to the Canadian government on March 30, 2011.
Despite the agreement made by the Canadian government to transfer Omar into Canadian custody to serve the remainder of his sentence, which was made as part of his plea deal in 2010, his American and Canadian legal teams confirmed today that the delay in processing the transfer rests solely with the Canadian government. The prisoner transfer process is the responsibility of the office of the Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews.
John Norris, lead Canadian counsel:
"The conduct of the Canadian government is unconscionable. Omar was officially recognized by the United Nations as a child soldier, and despite this, he is the only minor to have been convicted of war crimes in modern times.
The Minister should approve the transfer application immediately. In October 2010, the Canadian government was intimately involved in the negotiations of the pre-trial agreement. At that time, Canada agreed to approve Omar's transfer to Canada. The Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed in the House that Canada would implement the agreement.
We continue to be stonewalled by Minister Toews' office. They have provided us with no information on the progress of the application. The only response we have received from Minister Toews is a letter sent to us three hours after the release of our press advisory about this press conference. It simply repeated the government's empty rhetoric.
Omar is a Canadian citizen. He has now spent a decade at Guantanamo Bay. We call on Minister Toews to immediately approve the prisoner transfer application and return Omar to Canada to serve the remainder of his sentence in his home country."
Lieutenant-Colonel Jon Jackson, lead U.S. military counsel:
"The bottom line is that there would have been no plea deal without Canada's agreement in October 2010 to bring Omar to his country of citizenship. The only thing preventing Omar's transfer from the United States is the Canadian government. The U.S. Secretary of Defense approved the transfer on April 16, 2012. There is nothing stopping Minister Toews from approving the transfer now.
The United States is not soft on terrorism. The American government would not allow a detainee to leave Guantanamo if he was in any way a threat. The actions of the U.S. government on Omar's case demonstrate that Omar is not a threat: it is why the U.S. entered into the plea agreement; it is why the U.S. agreed to the transfer; and why the U.S. is prepared to transfer him now.
The Canadian government is failing to live up to the commitment it made in 2010."
For further information:To request an interview with John Norris or LTC Jackson, please contact:
Patrick Gossage
patrick.gossage@mediaprofile.com
Nicole Bell
nicole.bell@mediaprofile.com
By Aaf Post • Posted in Omar Khadr
ALEX NEVE | Canada must do more to stop torture
The Globe and Mail, Jun. 06 2012
Canada is failing to live up to its international obligations to stop torture. Last week, the UN Committee against Torture released its concluding observations from a review of Canada's record on preventing, punishing and remedying torture and ill-treatment. It's a review that comes around periodically, the last one in 2005, by virtue of the fact that Canada signed on to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 25 years ago.
The committee lays out a solid framework of recommendations for action by the federal government. Key now is for the government to promptly implement those recommendations. Doing so will uphold the rights of individuals who have experienced torture or ill-treatment through the action, inaction or complicity of Canadian officials. It will also position Canada as a forceful leader in the campaign to eradicate torture worldwide.
There has been much debate recently about the validity of UN human-rights experts reviewing countries like Canada. The UN special rapporteur on the right to food faced derision from a number of cabinet ministers for carrying out a mission to Canada last month. Those criticisms seem predicated on the view that because human-rights violations are much worse elsewhere, global bodies should not waste their time looking at Canada's record. No doubt some will raise the same objection to this report from the Committee against Torture.
But that misses the point. Human-rights norms, whether dealing with the right to food, protection against torture or any other right, are universal. No one is more or less entitled than anyone else to have their rights protected. If UN human-rights experts start drawing lines between countries, they will undermine that fundamental notion of universality.
The committee's review does not, by any measure, suggest that there is a crisis of torture in Canadian prisons. Holding the report up against the review it has recently completed of Syria's record leaves no doubt as to where torturers are most active.
But international obligations with respect to torture are directed not only at those who apply electric shocks and beat prisoners with cables and clubs. Countries are obliged to ensure that they do not in any way facilitate torture in other countries. They are required to make sure torturers face justice wherever they commit their crimes. They must ensure that survivors of torture receive redress. And they must put in place laws, policies and oversight processes that will prevent torture and ill-treatment from occurring in the first place. The committee finds Canada comes up short across all of those obligations.
For instance, Canada risks complicity in torture by allowing deportation to torture, denying fair process in security-certificate cases, giving the nod to prisoner transfers in war zones when there is an obvious risk of torture and, under proposed legislation currently before Parliament, restricting appeal rights for refugee claimants who fear torture in their home countries. There is clearly complicity in the ministerial direction to CSIS allowing intelligence information to be shared with other countries even when that might cause torture, and in authorizing the use of intelligence information that was likely obtained through torture in other countries. The committee has called on Canada to adopt reforms in all of these areas.
The failure to provide redress to the three men whose cases were examined in a judicial inquiry conducted by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci attracts the committee's attention. The inquiry found Canadian complicity in the overseas torture inflicted on Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin in Syria and Egypt. Five years later, the men are bogged down in court, trying to obtain compensation and an apology. The committee chastises Canada for failing to provide them with redress. It also notes the importance of remedying the human rights violations that the Supreme Court of Canada has twice ruled on in Omar Khadr's case.
The committee speaks out about a range of other issues, many of which have been the subject of considerable attention in Canada. It calls for a national action plan to address violence against indigenous women, rejecting the Canadian government's worrying assertion that this was an issue beyond the scope of the Convention. It points to the need for inquiries to look into the policing of the 2010 G20 Summit; as well as the Ontario Provincial Police's handing of indigenous land protests at Tyendinaga, Ont., in 2007 and 2008.
It notes that the government's 2011 "most wanted" list once again exhibited a preference to deport accused war criminals and torturers rather than actively ensure they will face justice. It highlights that state-immunity laws should not shield foreign governments from Canadian lawsuits brought by survivors of torture. It is concerned about the lack of consistent restrictive standards for Taser use. And it urges that the Arar Inquiry's proposal for reformed oversight of national security activities in Canada be adopted.
Torture and ill-treatment continue to be a worldwide human-rights plague. Canada can be a leader in the campaign to bring it to an end by doing what the UN's expert body on torture says we must do, and then by forcefully and consistently pressing other governments to follow suit.
Alex Neve is secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada.
Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/canada-must-do-more-to-stop-torture/article4233910/?cmpid=rss1
PRESS RELEASE | Omar Khadr: U.N. Committee against Torture recommends transfer to Canada and redress for human rights violations
For Immediate Release Friday, June 01, 2012
Omar Khadr: U.N. Committee against Torture recommends transfer to Canada and redress for human rights violations
The Committee against Torture (Committee) issued its Concluding Observations on Canada on May 31. The hearing on Canada was held in Geneva May 21-22. Among the issues the Committee reviewed was Canada's treatment of Canadian Omar Khadr during his ongoing detention at Guantánamo prison. Omar Khadr is a Canadian citizen, captured in at age 15 in Afghanistan by the US in 2002 and imprisoned since in Bagram and Guantánamo Bay prisons.
In its May 2012 "shadow report" to the Committee, LRWC and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (CLMG) had recommended that Canada immediately repatriate Khadr and remedy the violations against him. The Committee agreed. The Committee's Concluding Observations urge Canada "to promptly approve Omar Khadr's transfer application and to ensure that he receives appropriate redress for human rights violations that the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled he experienced."
The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed in 2010 that Khadr's s. 7 Charter rights to liberty and security of the person had been violated by Canadian and US officials. In 2008 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that participation by Canadian officials in the Guantánamo Bay process—which violated the Geneva Conventions—was contrary to Canada's binding international obligations.
The Committee also recommended that Canada raise awareness of Convention against Torture (Convention) requirements amongst judges and members of the public.
All reports are available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats48.htm
A webcast of the Committee's review of Canada, which took place May 21-22 in Geneva, will be posted in the archives at: http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/
For interviews or more information, contact:
Gail Davidson, LRWC
Tel: +1-604 738-0338
Fax: +1-604 736-1175
Email: lrwc@portal.ca
Website: www.lrwc.org Gavin Magrath
Magrath O'Connor LLP
302-326 Richmond St. West, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V 1X2
Email: gavin at agrathoconnor.com
Source: http://www.lrwc.org/omar-khadr-committee-against-torture-recommends-transfer-to-canada-and-redress-for-human-rights-violations/
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text:
Bolstridge.info a One-Name-Study Database
Incorporating Parsons / Gulliver / Hill genealogy
Uploaded DNA
Thomas Bolstridge
Name Thomas Bolstridge
Born May 1745 Bedworth, Warwickshire, England [1]
Baptism 2 Jun 1745 All Saints, Bedworth, Warwickshire, England
Occupation Between 1765 and 1780
Ribbon Weaver
Residence Between 1768 and 1770 York Street, Shoreditch, London, England
Residence 1771 Cock Lane, Shoreditch, London, England
Residence 1772 East Street Ward, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Office 1772 Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Freeman of the City of Coventry
Residence 1774 Stoke, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Thomas and his wife Ann had several children, three of whom, William, Thomas and John David, were baptised at St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, in London, in 1768, 1770 and 1771. Why Thomas went to live in London at that time is a matter of speculation but, after a few years, he and his family returned to Coventry and in 1772, the year in which Thomas was admitted as a Freeman of the City, they were living in the East Street Ward of the City. Two years later, in October 1774, at the time of the Poll to elect an MP for Coventry, Thomas was listed as an " Out-Voter " , living at Stoke, near Coventry. Thomas and Ann's daughters, Sarah and Phoebe, were baptised at Stoke in 1774 and 1777. In 1785, Thomas was recorded as Thomas Boulstridge of Stoke, engine weaver and, in 1796, as Thomas Bouldstridge, formerly of Gosford Street and East Street Wards, Coventry, the Bouldstridge spelling being that which members of the family acquired in London. Thomas's brother William was living in New Buildings, Coventry at the time he was admitted as a Freeman of the City and, in 1774, was living in Gosford Street.
The Bolstridges alias Boulstridges of Bedworth (Prof. N.A. Dudley)
********************************************************************** ***********************
NB ---- I do not question the above information it is well documented at Coventry Archives, however I cannot not see the justification for assuming that this Thomas is the same Thomas, the son of Francis and Eleanor from Bedworth Woodlands as placed by Norman Dudley.
The lack of Bol(d)stridges in the Parish Registers preceding this period has more to do with the state or loss of these registers than their absence. A recent index of the Precept Records records Bo(u)l(d)stridges prior to 1772, I shall check these in due course.
A far more likely candidate is the Thomas Bolstridge who married Hannah King (Arnold) at nearby Astly. This Thomas was wrongly allocated to John and Ann Hewitt by Norman Dudley who had missed the burial of their Thomas.
Another likely Candidate is the Thomas Bolstridge buried at Great Packington in 1781. No age is mentioned but these is a connection to Packington via Francis Bolstridges second wife Mary Daniel.
********************************************************************** **************************
Person ID I1422 bolstridge
Father Francis Bolstridge, b. Feb 1722, Bedworth, Warwickshire, England , d. Oct 1794, Bedworth, Warwickshire, England (Age ~ 72 years)
Mother Eleanor UNKNOWN, b. Abt 1723, d. Between 1764 and 1770 (Age ~ 41 years)
Family Ann UNKNOWN, b. Abt 1745
+ 1. William Bolstridge, b. 10 Jul 1768, Shoreditch, London, England [natural]
+ 2. Thomas Bouldstridge, b. 8 Jan 1770, Shoreditch, London, England , d. Jun 1841, Clerkenwell, London, England (Age 71 years) [natural]
3. John David Bouldstridge, b. 23 Jun 1771, Shoreditch, London, England , d. Oct 1771, Cock Lane, Shoreditch, London, England (Age 0 years) [natural]
4. Sarah Boulstridge, b. Jan 1774, Stoke, Coventry, Warwickshire, England [natural]
5. Phoebe Bolstridge, b. Feb 1777, Stoke, Coventry, Warwickshire, England [natural]
Born - May 1745 - Bedworth, Warwickshire, England
Baptism - 2 Jun 1745 - All Saints, Bedworth, Warwickshire, England
Residence - Between 1768 and 1770 - York Street, Shoreditch, London, England
Child - William Bolstridge - 10 Jul 1768 - Shoreditch, London, England
Child - Thomas Bouldstridge - 8 Jan 1770 - Shoreditch, London, England
Residence - 1771 - Cock Lane, Shoreditch, London, England
Child - John David Bouldstridge - 23 Jun 1771 - Shoreditch, London, England
Residence - 1772 - East Street Ward, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Office - Freeman of the City of Coventry - 1772 - Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Residence - 1774 - Stoke, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Child - Sarah Boulstridge - Jan 1774 - Stoke, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Child - Phoebe Bolstridge - Feb 1777 - Stoke, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
[S548] Parish Registers WAR, Bedworth 1653 - 1876, ( LDS Film of Original Registers;), FHL Film 555453-6., Baptisms 1745.
Thomas son Francis and Eleanor Bolstridge 2 June
[S192] Estimated from known facts.
Bolstridge One Name Study - created and maintained by Martyn Parsons Copyright © -2021 All rights reserved.


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text:
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CollegeAthleticsPedia™
Welcome to CollegeAthleticsPedia™- The San Jose State University Spartans
Provide consumers with faster, easier access to the information, products and services they want.
We search the major search engines and remove the duplicates, the advertising sites, the pop-up ads, and anything that might harm your computer. Then we include all the related products and services in this easy-to-remember place where you spend less time searching, and more time finding what you want.
San Jose State University Links: School Web Site - Athletics
San Jose State Spartans News Links:
W. Soccer. Women's Soccer Suffers First MW Loss On Late Goal To SDSU
29 Sep 2018 at 1:49am
SJSU women's soccer suffered its first loss in Mountain West play in 2018 on Friday, falling to San Diego State 1-0 after a late goal was conc...
M. Soccer. Rios Penalty Kick Leads Spartans To 2-2 Tie With Houston Baptist
29 Sep 2018 at 12:09am
Kalei Tolentino-Perry and Andy Rios scored for San Jose State in a 2-2 tie with Houston Baptist in a Western Athletic Conference men's soccer ...
W. Volleyball. Lousi Has Career Night For Spartans
San Jose, Calif.--Spartan Latahevai Lousi made her return to the court Thursday night with one of the best matches of her career as she hit .4...
General News. Champions, Olympian, Star Athletes & Legendary Booster Entering...
They won a Super Bowl, NCAA Championships, were national team players, went to the Olympics, were all-stars in their respective sports and wil...
M. Golf. Men's Golf Fourth At Husky Invitational
26 Sep 2018 at 11:57pm
Sean Yu, tied for seventh, and Ben Campbell, tied for ninth were two San Jose State University men's golfers finishing in the top-10 at the Hu...
W. Soccer. Women's Soccer Set To Host SDSU and New Mexico
26 Sep 2018 at 9:08pm
SJSU women's soccer, fresh off a 2-0 start to Mountain West play will host two more conference foes this weekend as San Diego State and New Me...
M. Basketball. MBB Take Five: Christian Anigwe
Freshman forward Christian Anigwe is one of four freshmen that will make their collegiate debut with SJSU men's basketball tips off this Novem...
M. Golf. Spartans 2nd At Husky Invitational Men's Golf After 18
Sean Yu and Ben Campbell each posted one-over par 72's to help San Jose State to a second-place start at the Husky Invitational men's golf tou...
W. Golf. Arevalo Wins Coeur d'Alene Collegiate As Spartans Finish Second
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho—Spartan women's golfer Abegail Arevalo won her second collegiate tournament of her career as she birdied three of her fin...
M. Basketball. SJSU Basketball Tip-Off Dinner Set For October 23
SJSU men's basketball head coach Jean Prioleau and women's basketball head coach Jamie Craighead are excited to offer an invitation to fans to...
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text:
London Life insurance company to be called Canada Life
In Business News Headlines
London Life, the iconic insurance company that carried the Forest City's name for almost 150 years, is getting a rebrand.
The company will join with two other insurance firms under a single banner, Canada Life.
"Our three companies, Great-West Life, Canada Life and London Life are celebrating the next stage of our journey. Welcome, as we unite under a single brand," said Jeff Macoun, president and COO of Canada Life.
"The new Canada Life brand combines the strengths of our three companies so we can even better deliver on our purpose — to improve the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians."
The demise of the London name was announced Wednesday at the historic London Life building on Queens Avenue in downtown London, Ont.
London Life was founded in London in 1874 and currently employs about 3,000 people in the city.
The historical roots of the London Life will always be iconic to the London area – Courtney Hance, The Branding Firm Inc.
It merged with Great-West Life in 1997 and then joined Canada Life in 2003.
"Uniting under one brand will make it easier for us to talk about what makes us different than other companies," Macoun said.
"It will help us simplify how we work, how we grow our business, and how we will put the customer at the centre of what we do."
The company says the change, which requires board, regulatory and policyholder approvals, will further simplify the business.
'Clear and concise'
Consolidating three brands under one makes a lot of sense, said Courtney Hance, the owner and president of The Branding Firm Inc., a London-based marketing agency.
"Brand unification is definitely something that allows for clear and concise messaging. It wakes away confusion in the marketplace, to current customers, to future customers, and within the organization," Hance said.
London Life will be rebranded as Canada Life in the coming months. (Kate Dubinski/CBC News)
"The historical roots of the London Life will always be iconic to the London area. I don't think this changes that. If anything, there's an interesting story about putting our city on the map, about a brand that was born in our city and has scaled up."
The Canada Life rebrand will happen over the next year. Customers will continue to work with the same advisors and group benefits won't change.
Canada Life will have more than 10,500 employees across the country and serve 13 million customers.
–with files from The Canadian Press
calledCanadacompanyinsuranceLifeLondon
OPP reviewing allegations of 'illegal and unregistered' lobbying of Premier Doug Ford
A voter's guide to climate change and the federal election


text:
Virginie Viard Brings the '70s Back for Chanel Métiers d'Art 2023 in Dakar
The show marked a big first for the luxury fashion house.
Ana Colón
Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel's latest Métiers d'art show represented a monumental first for the luxury fashion house: its runway debut in Africa.
The show itself happened on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the former Palace of Justice in Dakar, and featured performances from Obree Daman, dancers from the École des Sables, choreographer Dimitri Chamblas and CKay. (Though technically unaffiliated with the official schedule, it took place just two days after Dakar Fashion Week.) On Dec. 8, Chanel debuted the collection via a film.
"The fashion show was born of the desire to immerse oneself in the creative effervescence of an international artistic capital, influential in all the fields that are dear to the house, such as fashion, cinema, dance, literature, contemporary art and music," an invitation from Chanel to view the film online read.
Métiers d'art highlights and celebrates the work of Chanel's 11 maisons d'art, which are housed at the le19M facility outside of Paris and are responsible for the fine craftsmanship you might see across its products, from embroidery to crochet to feathers to metalwork. As such, these are some of the most technically intensive and impressive collections the house puts out — rich in detail and texture.
The 2023 collection by Virginie Viard draws heavily from the '70s, specifically the exuberant spirit and rhythm of the era and its fashion: "an abundance of plant motifs, lines and geometric shapes, a profusion of warm colors, sequins and sparkling pendants, alongside the subtlety of lace," as the show notes read, across easy tailoring, flared trousers, oversized jackets and platforms.
Ahead of the show, Chanel said in a statement that the Dakar event would be "more than just a show" — rather, "part of a three-day cultural program accompanied by concrete action in terms of creative dialogue, sustainable development and the transmission of savoir-faire." The brand worked with the Montfermeil and Dakar Kourtrajmé schools on documentary films that followed the making of the collection and its preparation for the event.
See every single look from the Chanel Métiers d'art 2023 collection in the gallery below.
Chanel Métiers d'art 2023 in Dakar, Senegal. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Metiers D'artDakarNetworkVirginie Viard
Virginie Viard Ties One on for Chanel Métiers d'Art 2022
A bow, that is — big, preferably, and attached haphazardly onto hair.
By Tyler McCall Dec 7, 2021
What We Know About the Chanel 2022 Métiers d'Art Show in Dakar, Senegal
President of Fashion Bruno Pavlovsky and Brand Ambassador Pharrell Williams offered more details on the "three-day festival" at the Cruise 2023 Replica show in Miami.
By Ana Colón Nov 7, 2022
Chanel Is Taking Its Métiers D'Art Show on the Road Again — But It's Staying Close to Home [UPDATED]
The French fashion house will stage its annual off-calendar show at a Chateau in the Loire Valley this December.
By Dara Prant Nov 18, 2020
Virginie Viard Dares to Bring Back Leggings Under Dresses at Chanel Métiers d'Art
Are you ready for this throwback styling trick?


text:
Civilian police staff transferred to G4S in outsourcing contract
Daniel Ionescu
12:04 pm This story is over
A police officers talks to a member of the public at an action day in Gainsborough
Private security company G4S has taken on two-thirds of the civilian staff at Lincolnshire Police, as part of an outsourcing contract taking effect on April 1.
The Lincolnshire Police Authority signed a £200 million outsourcing contract with G4S in February, providing a range of support services over the next 10 years.
Chief Inspector Steve Taylor said that for the force, it's "business as usual":
"As we go forward and embed our partnership with G4S, we will be looking at further efficiencies, and constantly looking at ways to increase the presence of police in communities across Lincolnshire."
The force employed 813 full-time civilian staff, and around 544 have transferred, in a bid to put 97% of its warranted officers in frontline roles.
The services taken over include support services, ICT, finance, assets and facilities management, human resources and town inquiry offices.
As part of the deal, G4S will also design and build its own police station in Nettleham (subject to planning), with cells and office space, called the Bridewell suite
A "street to suite" initiative is being trailed as well, in which those arrested by a police officer are accompanied to a custody suite by G4S staff.
Inspector Taylor said the "street to suite" pilot is now part of business as usual and it proved extremely successful:
"[The trial] saved an awful amount of hours where police officers can be maintained to police the street whilst the support staff and G4S employees will do the transportation of prisoners safely to a custody suite."
Around ten other police authorities have indicated an interest in similar outsourcing to the Lincolnshire model.
Related Report: BBC Lincolnshire
Two Lincoln game shops safeguarded after one is closed
Newland junction with The Avenue reopened after refurbishment
Landsdown, 28 Horncastle Road, Woodhall Spa


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text:
The Seven Villages (; ; ) was a district of Brassó County in the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, all seven villages are part of Romania. Four of them are now part of the city of Săcele (Baciu, Turcheș, Cernatu, and Satulung), while the other three belong to the commune of Tărlungeni (Tărlungeni, Zizin, and Purcăreni). The seat of the district was at Satulung (). The four settlements now in Săcele (, lit. "Four Villages") are first mentioned in a privilege letter of Louis I of Hungary from 1366.

During the 1930s, the local press published a number of articles detailing the complex but peaceful relations between the three ethnic groups that lived in the Seven Villages: Romanian Mocani shepherds and Hungarian Csángós and Székelys.

References

Burzenland
Csángó communities
Historical regions of Transylvania

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Weird behavior of javascript Please see attached screenshot. See pendingApp property of Object. when I am debugging in eclipse then pendingApp show array of object, Which is correct! But when I am JSON.stringify(object) then showing me empty Array.

Please let me know reason of this behavior. I think I am not aware with any Java-Script thought/concept  ?? :P :)
When I will save this Object into DB then blank array of pendingApp will be stored !!
var pending_app = [];
var new_record = {"pendingApp" : [], "installedApp" :[] };
....SOME CODE+conditions HERE....
 pending_app[appId] = {'action' : action };
 new_record.pendingApp = pending_app;
// create app-config data
 return app_model.create(new_record); //will return promise object

A: It's not a weird behaviour but a common mistake of using an Array to store key-value data.
Short Answer : Use a literal Object to store these data

While you can add properties on every objects in Javascript, you cannot iterate over them with the default array mechanisms
for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++){}
array.forEach();

Simple demonstration :
var array = [];
array["anId"] = 1;
array.length; // 0

array[4294967295] = 1; // Indice >= unsigned 32-bit Max Value
array.length; // 0
array[4294967295]; // 1

So JSON.stringify with the ECMAScript 5 Specification will use the Array mechanism to iterate over all items and will find nothing.
Unlike Objects that you can list properties with
Object.keys(array); // ["anId"]


text:
Birmingham Water Works considering rate increase of 8.3% for 2023
Birmingham Water Works Customer Service Center(WBRC)
By Jonathan Hardison
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The Birmingham Water Works Board is considering raising rates by an average of 8.3% for 2023, but the rate increases could be much higher for some customers if the Board approves the recommendations of consultants and the BWWB staff presented to the Board's Finance Committee Wednesday.
The proposed rate hike is more than double the rate increased passed on to BWW customers this year, and well above the rate increases of the past several years, despite declining demand for the system's main product: water.
The BWWB staff's recommendation is for a $128 million dollar operating budget next year, up almost 11% from this year, even as the system's consultants project a 2-3% decrease in demand for residential water and a 3% decrease in demand for non-residential water.
The BWWB's new budget proposal includes calls for spending $2.4 million more on consultants in 2023 compared to this year, and $1.5 million more for labor including five new customer-facing positions, and two new jobs in the utility's PR department, despite the board just voting at its last meeting to hire a second outside PR firm. The BWWB is now paying two PR firms $50,000 per month in fees on top of the salaries of its in-house communications staff.
Here's what your rates would look like under the new budget proposal compared to this year:
Birmingham Water Works proposed rate changes(wbrc fox6 news)
If approved, these new rates would represent a 19% rate increase for customers who use a larger amount of water each month, part of the BWWB's tiered rate structure.
The proposed budget also includes an increase in the base service charge for residential customers from $26.26 a month to $27.03 a month.
BWWB's proposed capital budget includes spending $3 million to hire an outside consultant to begin studying Automated Meter Infrastructure or AMI, which would use web-based technology to get meter readings.
The capital budget proposal also proposes spending $25 million on replacing old pipes, about what the system budgeted to spend this year and last. The system has 619 miles of Unlined Cast Iron Pipe and Galvanized Steel pipe (of which 112 miles is more than 90 years old), and those 619 miles of pipe while only 15% of the system's mileage is responsible for 67% of the system's leaks. But at current replacement rates of 15-17 miles of pipe per year, it will be another 39 years before the system has replaced only it's oldest pipe, to say nothing of other leaks or breaks in the interim.
Wednesday's proposed budget still has to go through vetting by the board at its workshops, a rate hearing tentatively scheduled for November 10 and a final vote of the board likely to happen later in November, and is subject to change until then.
See more 6 On Your Side Investigates stories on Birmingham Water Works here.
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Mental health care expands at Tuscaloosa Co. Jail
Mental Health Service Funding