Doesn't matter how many times they "fix" the rules for shadow, it's never going to work properly (I think they've just given up trying to fix it anyway). Quickest solution is to just use the rules for concealment but for cover and los, it'll save you from a mountain of headaches.
So we're stuck with the horrendous Shadow rules, and it looks like Masters and Totems aren't going to be balanced properly. If this doesn't just kill 3E right out of the gate I guess a couple house rules should fix these problems.
This has been an issue for a while, and it has been brought up numerous times, but the people at Wyrd have shown no indication that they're interested in fixing this problem. And now that open beta is finished, I guess this problem never will get fixed. 2E was always praised for being one of the most balanced games on the market, I guess the same won't be said about 3E.
But cost is also a measure of a model's power, otherwise cost would be meaningless. A 16ss master is more powerful than a 12ss one, whether it's being used as a second master or the crews leader. What if there ends up being a master that costs 40ss, but you get it for free because it's a leader. You'd be ok playing against it with your 15ss master? In 2e there were other mechanics in place to help balance masters and totems (namely the cache and having to buy the totem). Now, Masters and totems = 0ss, with no other balancing factors, so every master should be exactly equal in power (or near enough) and every totem should be exactly equal in power (or near enough). But, since the costs of masters and totems are all over the place, they obviously aren't equal.
So, it looks like the costs of some masters are being increased. I guess this means any thought of leader master+totem combos being balanced have been totally thrown out the window. Pretty soon we'll have master + totem combos of 10SS total along comobs of 30ss total. I mean, since they both end up costing 0, I guess models worth 10ss are equal to models worth 30ss, right? I can't believe how much of a mess this whole master + totem cost thing is becoming, and it amazes me how few people actually understand how this is a problem.
Are you sure it's just that the version number didn't get changed, or are these actually the 1.31 cards? For example; Somer's Extended Family is still missing the word "attach".
Tabletop Simulator mod for 3e?
I already have the vassal mod for 3e, but I recently got TTS in the lunar new year sale on steam and I remembered someone was working on a 3e mod for TTS so I thought I'd see if it was still around somewhere.
In the closed beta there was a mod for malifaux 3e for tabletop simulator. Is that still floating around somewhere? Can it be put up on the workshop now that it's no longer closed beta?
How useful has the open beta actually been so far? It must be very difficult to separate actual model balance data from all the other variables of open beta feedback. I mean, lets say you get 10 battle reports where Ironsides beats Sonnia every time. Is that an indication that Ironsides is too powerful, or that Sonnia is too weak? Or are those results skewed because the Ironsides player is better at the game than the Sonnia player. Or maybe the terrain favoured one master over the other. Or maybe one player is better at counting cards than the other. Etc, etc, etc. Without any way to control all the variables, I'm wondering just how much the open beta is actually harming more than helping the development of the game.
Pursue gives a +1 bonus to attack actions against models that have "already activated that turn". How does that work with disengage strikes? Is the enemy model counted as having "already activated" even though it's in the middle of its activation?"
If it's intended then cover should work the same way. I wish Wyrd would just ditch the Shadow rules already.
In 3E push movement is still halved by severe terrain.
I'm so happy that I know indesign and will be able to make my own, standard sized cards for the hundreds of sleeves I already own.
Now that Wyrd can essentially make multiple models with near-exact same stats and just give them different keywords, I think we're going to see a lot of filler in the next couple expansions. We not only need balance in versatile models, but certain keywords are also pretty lacking. The easiest solution to both would be to just take existing models, copy-paste their stats, then give them different keywords.
How else would it work then? Just say "you can't push a model off a ledge if there isn't enough room for it's base at the bottom"?


text:
Mental Prayer for July 23 - "Blessed Are the Merciful"
Mental Prayer Meditation Helps
Presence of God.
Grace I Ask: To love and imitate the mercy of God.
The Idea: The housemaid of a family was caught stealing a package of clothes and food. Instead of firing her, the owner of the house gave the maid another chance. We'd agree that, according to strict justice, the owner had a right to fire the maid. And justice is a virtue. By it we give to ourselves and others what is due. But mercy is also a virtue; by it we are inclined to forgive injustices out of a love for the offender. The owner above acted with mercy. In strict justice God could have taken our lives and thrown us into hell when we sinned mortally. Instead He was merciful.
My Personal Application: Suppose an ill-bred person maliciously ridicules my lack of ability. That hurts. Then months later I discover that same person heartbroken as a result of being "left out" on the big party preparations. I certainly owe nothing in justice. But he or she is my brother or sister in Christ's Mystical Body, and a kind word from me might easily give the comfort that is needed. I won't be the loser. I consider what words can aptly bring joy and yet ring true. I speak. With a slight look of surprise his face slowly brightens, and I find I have won a friend. And my mercy cost so little!
I Speak to Christ: I know that you expect me to stand up for my own rights. But what if you did that, Lord? Where would we all be? Where would I be? Often instead of demanding strict justice, I can forgive. The good I can do that way will far outweigh the little inconvenience or hurt I received.
Thought for Today: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)
Mental Prayer for July 22 - Who Thirst for Justice
Grace I Ask: To have this thirst for your justice, Lord.
The Idea: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be satisfied." Re-read this beatitude, substituting "holiness" or "goodness" in place of "justice." That will help you better to see Christ's meaning. If you're hungering and thirsting after something, you're not merely casually interested in that object. You eagerly search for it; you're obsessed with the idea of it. A glutton constantly thinks of food. The athlete is incessantly occupied with the game. Christ promises joy (even on earth) to the sort of person who has his or her heart set on fire with the desire for personal holiness through the love of God and neighbor.
My Personal Application: This beatitude points to a lively Christianity. It urges an interest in living. How happy is the Christian who has responded to the calling of the Holy Spirit, to a life of accomplishment for Christ. If teaching is my choice of vocation, let me hunger and thirst to bring my pupils a real character training. Shall I be an actor? Then I can strive to bring people healthy entertainment. A writer must eagerly search out truth and pass it on to people. If politics is my field, then I shall give all my effort to learn how to govern and how to protect.
I Speak to Christ: I know, Lord, that it is only the man or woman who gives himself wholeheartedly to his work for you and your kingdom who will ever really find satisfaction on this earth. Aid me to make my life a holy and useful one.
Thought for Today: "Where your treasure is, there is your heart also."
Catholics Drawn by Love of the Latin Mass
"Dominus vobiscum."
That sentence, which means "The Lord be with you," is one of the few phrases most Catholics remember from the Latin Mass. But for the members of the Latin Liturgy Association, "Dominus vobiscum" is just the beginning.
The association, which promotes the use of Latin in all approved rites of the Roman Catholic Church, held its 10th national convention last weekend in St. Louis. More than 100 people turned out for events July 14-16 that included church tours, speakers and Latin Masses — Tridentine and Novus Ordo, Low Mass and High Mass.
"One of the often-overlooked directives of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council is that, although the vernacular may be introduced in various parts of the Mass and other liturgical rites, the use of the Latin language should also be preserved in our rites," Archbishop Burke said. "More specifically, the council asked that pastors take care that the faithful are able to say and sing those parts of the Mass, which are proper to them."
Archbishop Burke celebrated a Pontifical High Mass at St. Francis de Sales Church July 16 in conjunction with the convention. St. Francis de Sales, an historic church in South St. Louis, has been designated an oratory for celebration of the traditional (pre-Vatican II) Tridentine Mass.
Posted by Prodigal Son at 7/21/2006 03:31:00 PM No comments: Links to this post
Catholic Culture: Immigration: Catholic Thought on Social Issues
by Dr. Jeff Mirus, special to CatholicCulture.org
Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University. Among her many accomplishments, she served as Vatican representative to the UN's Beijing Conference on Women in 1995, she is a member of the President's Council on Bioethics, she was named one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America by the National Law Journal, and she received the 2005 National Humanities Medal. Among serious intellectuals, policy makers and well-informed Catholics, Glendon's name is a household word.
Who strangled Gregorian chant and polyphony – and why?
I Had a Dream: The Music of Palestrina and Gregory the Great Had Come Back
An exclusive interview with maestro Domenico Bartolucci. Who strangled Gregorian chant and polyphony – and why. And how to bring them back to life. Benedict XVI? "A Napoleon without generals"
by Sandro Magister
Quite a dream - It is a reality in many places, though, and hopefully more will come.
Mental Prayer for July 21 -"Blessed Are Those Who Mourn"
Grace I Ask: To rely on you, Lord, as my true comfort.
The Idea: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Comfort stems from the very thought that God allows pain to make us think of eternity and heaven. It's a reminder that created things don't last long; heaven does. We know that the things about us simply don't last : teeth decay, food spoils, pets die, the car breaks down. There are other sources of hurt: study is necessary in order to know; wars destroy; nasty remarks cut into our souls; we sin; and finally all people die. Pain is good and useful only when, in seeking relief from it, we turn to God with supernatural hope.
My Personal Application: Are there some trivialities that I let irritate me? Things I'd be ashamed to own up to? When my team loses? Giving a speech? Disappointments? Has my first reaction been to sulk, to throw a tantrum? Do I "go to pieces" when ridiculed?
I Speak to Christ: Lord, I know you don't expect me not to feel hurt when there is cause for it. When I have reason for sorrow, no matter how
small the pain, I shall gently recall that I have no lasting home on earth. And more consolingly, I know that I have you to comfort me, to know all my needs, to answer all my prayers.
Thought for Today: For I shall be comforted.
In St Louis, National Guard Troops Mobilized....
... to help in storm recovery
Gov. Matt Blunt today mobilized troops from the Missouri National Guard to help the St. Louis area recover from Wednesday night's widespread storm damage.
About 230 members of the 1140th Engineer Batalion were sent to St. Louis from its annual training in Wappapello and Macon to assist with the storm cleanup; the Missouri Air National Guard's 218th Engineer Installation squadron had already sent 30 airmen, and the local senior command, 70th Troop Command, is mobilizing about 35 soldiers for the effort.
Earlier, with scorching temperatures and thousands without power, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay had asked the governor to declare the city a disaster area, echoing an earlier state of emergency declaration from St Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley.
I have heard reports of upwards of 450,000 homes & businesses in the area without power and possibly 3-5 days to restore it...
In a related news story:
A powerful summer storm slammed into the St. Louis area Wednesday evening, toppling buildings, street lights, tractor trailers and hundreds of trees.
At least 476,000 customers lost power, Metrolink was shut down and just one-third of flights were getting in and out of Lambert Field.
"This is one of the worst storms we can all remember to hit the city of St. Louis in recent years," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said at a hurriedly called news conference.
Day of Prayer for Mideast Peace
Pope declares day of prayer for Mideast peace
Jul. 20 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) has called for a worldwide day of prayer and penance for peace in the Middle East, to be observed on Sunday, July 23.
In a statement released on July 20 through the Vatican press office, the Holy Father called upon "the pastors and faithful of all the particular churches, and believers of the world, to implore from God the precious gift of peace."
Mental Prayer for July 20 - "Blessed Are the Meek"
Grace I Ask: Lord, let me learn what you meant when you said, "Learn from me; I am meek and humble of heart."
The Idea: In 1956 the Russian Communist government blundered in their human relations and "lost face" with the entire world of civilized people. They were intolerant of the Polish and Hungarian nations' desires for liberty. They were unforgiving of the Hungarian revolt. Finally they lost self-mastery. They could have prevented this, had they been tolerant, forgiving, and self-possessed - in a word: had they been "meek."
Meekness is a complex virtue that our present age needs. Strangely enough, even the pagan world recognizes the good sense of this virtue.
My Personal Application: What a shame if the pagan world grasps this beatitude, while we Catholics pass it by. I don't want to waste a moment of my life. And quarrels are sheer loss. Anger toward people I disagree with will never get things done. Let me look ahead into the next seven days: what chances will I probably have to practice this manly virtue of meekness with people I contact? "Forewarned is forearmed."
I Speak to Christ: Help me to win the happiness promised to meekness, for myself and for our world. In the face of anger let me be self-possessed. Where there is selfishness let me show reasoned patience. Let me replace any vengeance I might feel with forgiveness.
Thought for Today: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." (Matt. 2:29).
Hot enough for you today?
I got an email a couple of weeks ago and considering the effects of "global warming" , which many have been suffering of late, I though I would share it with you - hopefully, to put a smile on your face:
Dear Diary:
May 30th:
Just moved to Dallas...Now this is a city that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! Watched the sunset from the Reservoir lying on a blanket. It was beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.
June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun on the water everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper.
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.
July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat and humidity is taking longer that I expected.
Fell asleep by the pool. (Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body.) Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.
I missed Fritters (our cat) sneaking into the car when I left for work this morning. By the time I got to the hot car for lunch, Fritters had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag and stank up the $2,000 leather upholstery. I told the kids that she ran away. The car now smells like Kibbles and cats. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat.
The wind is a real pain. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the A/C repairman charged $200 just to stop by and tell me he needed to order parts.
Been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. $1,500 in house payments and we can't even go inside. Why did I ever come here?
August 4th:
It's 105 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85, but this humidity makes the house feel like it's about 95. I hate this stupid city.
If another wise guy cracks, "Hot enough for you today?", I'm going to strangle him. Crazy heat. By the time I get to work the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts and sat on the black leather seats in the ol' car. I thought my rear end was on fire. I lost two layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs... Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried flesh, and baked cat.
August 10th:
The weather report might as well be a recording. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do anything for 2 months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week!! Doesn't it ever rain in this desert?? Water rationing will be next, so might as well watch $1700 worth of cactus just dry up and blow into the pool. Even the cactus can't live in this heat.
Welcome to HELL!!! Temperature got to 105 today. Forgot to crack the window and blew the windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and said, "Hot enough for you today?" My wife had to spend the $1500 house payment to bail me out of jail. Freaking South.
What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here?
Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill
Bush announced his veto surrounded by 18 families who "adopted" frozen embryos not used by other couples to have children, otherwise known as "snowflake babies."
"Each of these children was still adopted while still an embryo and has been blessed with a chance to grow, to grow up in a loving family. These boys and girls are not spare parts," Bush said after several interruptions of applause from supporters.
"They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. The remind us that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells. And they remind us that in our zeal for new treatments and cures, America must never abandon our fundamental morals."
Emphasis above is mine...Thank you, Jesus, for allowing some in Washington to be guided by truth!
Not all, however, are satisified...
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada spoke out against Bush's veto.
"Democrats will not give up the fight for stem cell research to kill even more of the unborn," Reid said in a statement. "It is a fight America the devil must win. We're going to press Republicans to override this veto, just as we pressed to get it to the Senate floor and just as we pressed to get this bill passed."
Poor Harry...a man in much need of help and prayers...
"Their opposition to stem cell research is outside the American mainstream, so they want to give themselves political cover by voting for two meaningless bills," Reid said. "It's a playbook straight from the Republican Orwellian world of politics."
If anyone would know about "Orwellian" politics, it would surely be Harry and all of his pro-death Komrades...We need to pray for the souls of these demented individuals. They are incapable of rational thought. Perhaps, the Lord might look upon them with mercy, if indeed, their culpability for promoting the culture of death is really due to sheer stupidity and ignorance.
Science's Stem-Cell Scam
It should change its name to Pseudoscience
By Michael Fumento
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) receive tremendous media attention, with oft-repeated claims that they have the potential to cure virtually every disease known. Yet there are spoilsports, self included, who point out that they have yet to even make it into a human clinical trial. This is even as alternatives — adult stem cells (ASCs) from numerous places in the body as well as umbilical cord blood and placenta — are curing diseases here and now and have been doing so for decades. And that makes ESC advocates very, very angry.
I've written repeatedly of how the publication has made itself a propaganda sheet for ESC research, as well as other political causes. At the least, it should change its name to Pseudoscience. Sometimes it prints easily falsifiable studies, such as this, attacking the usefulness of ASCs [Adult Stem Cells]. Other times it falsely promotes ESCs. That culminated in January when the journal was forced to retract two groundbreaking ESC studies that proved frauds.
The journal wants to flood unpromising ESC research with taxpayer dollars because private investors know just how very unpromising it is. Now yet again Science has showcased the scientific and moral bankruptcy of the entire ESC-advocacy movement.
There those who, because of blindness or arrogance, view themselves as so highly enlightened or 'compassionate' that they are willing to promote the murder and death of innocent human life in the form of embryonic stem cell research in order to chase a dream. Some of these, seemingly suffering from an "I am god" complex, yearn to be, not only above the natural moral law, but also above the laws of the country - and all of this because of their idolatry of money and power.
I direct you to this article:
Three patents held by a Wisconsin alumni group may throw a bigger roadblock into stem cell research in the United States than federal funding restrictions, a leading stem cell scientist said Tuesday.
The patents give the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation broad rights over human embryonic stem cell lines in the United States.
Anyone who wants to derive medical therapies or other commercial products from embryonic stem cells may have to obtain permission and pay royalties to the foundation, affiliated with the University of Wisconsin.
The article continues here.
Many opponents of the deplorable experimentation of human life in its embryonic stages have long suggested that money and patents are at the root of the push to develop 'treatments' from cells obtained from the harvesting and experimentation of other human beings since adult stem cells do not offer the lucrative patents which embryonic stem cells might. And let's not be naive - this could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars or more...
So what do they do to remove this obstacle?
On Tuesday, two consumer groups filed challenges with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking to have the patents rescinded.
"The debate in Washington is morally based, but what's at stake with the patents is essentially money," said John Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, one of the groups that filed the challenge.
Money, money, money...but what about the promised cures and treatments? Let's not forget the numerous advances and treatments obtained from the se of ADULT STEM CELLS - something about which the media rarely reports. Some of these treatments are phenomenal! Yet many Americans remain clueless or ill-informed.
It will take about three months for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to decide whether to hold re-examination proceedings, said Dan Ravicher, executive director of the Public Patent Foundation.
If it does reconsider the patents, that process can take anywhere from 18 months to several years. But Ravicher said the odds are good for his group. He noted that 70 percent of the time when a re-examination occurs, patents are changed or revoked.
The controversy reveals another potential roadblock for California's stem cell program, which voters hoped would be a way to get around federal funding restrictions and move quickly to obtain new treatments for dozens of debilitating diseases.
Perhaps this portends another avenue of hope for the citizens of Missouri who face a vote on a cleverly and deceptively worded constitutional amendment this November which seeks to REDEFINE the word CLONING and enshrine this gruesome and malevolent practice in its laws...We know that it is God's will that the most innocent of human life be protected, yet many continue to thumb their noses (or worse) at Him...May the light of Christ touch the hearts of those who act with such ghoulish propensities.
Jill Stanek on "Why Jesus would not vote for Barack Obama"
In February 2004, U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, sent a fund-raising letter with the "alarming news" that "right-wing politicians" had passed a law stopping doctors from stabbing half-born babies in the neck with scissors, suctioning out their brains and crushing their skulls.
Michelle called partial-birth abortion "a legitimate medical procedure," and wouldn't supporters please pay $150 to attend a luncheon for her husband, who would fight against "cynical ploy[s]" to stop it?
Continued here....
Veto Expected Today on Stem Cell Bill
President Bush readied the first veto of his presidency to stop legislation to ease limits on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. The veto is expected as soon as the measure reaches his desk. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that was expected to happen about midday Wednesday, and that Bush would veto the measure as promised.
Priest Follows His 'Heart' And Weds
I was living a double life, but now my conscience is clear," says Catholic Priest Father Godfrey Shiundu, 38, of his recent marriage. "I knew it was wrong to have a girlfriend while serving God as a priest, but I couldn't leave her because I love her with all my heart."
"I'd be with my girlfriend in bed on a Sunday morning, then I'd rush to church to say Mass hurriedly so that I could go back to her. At the altar I portrayed an image of an honest and Holy Father, but in my head I knew that wasn't true. I was sinning. I couldn't live with that guilt anymore."
Father Shiundu is no stranger to controversy. Four years ago, he was accused of impregnating a seminary nun. Temporarily rejected by the church, he had no one to turn to but Stella. "The bishops didn't give me a hearing; I still maintain I'm innocent. Stella was my soul mate, the only person I could rely on."
The man has two daughters by this woman, the older one being six.
Let us not forget that nearly always, sins of the flesh lead to rejection of God and the authority of the Church. This man has subsequently joined a group called the "Reformed Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church." It's amazing how most every rebellious sinner still wants to claim to be Catholic. And, of course, "reform" and "apostolic" are usually part of the mix when renegades decide to venture off on their own forsaking the promises of Christ.
Where does this rebellion lead? We have witnessed it throughout history and the story is always the same:
The Reformed Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church now has more than 2,000 members, and is encouraging women to join as priests. The election of bishops is done by the faithful, rather than by the head American church, and lay people are allowed up to the altar to read the Bible. The new church also permits the use of condoms, provided one of the partners is HIV- positive and could infect the other. These radical changes fly in the face of accepted Catholic doctrine, but Father Shiundu says a more realistic, practical approach is needed towards life, sexuality and relationships.
"When I was ordained a priest I promised to remain celibate, but-like any other promise- you can break it if it isn't working," he says.
Oh yes, "Father", promises and vows mean nothing anymore. I'm certain our Lord understands.
Are there no more peacemakers?
Cardinal Sfeir of Lebanon Celebrates Mass for Peace in Washington
His Beatitude, Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, celebrated a Mass for Peace today in Washington, DC as he wrapped up a three-week trip to the United States. This was the Patriarch's last public event before returning to Lebanon.
Some excerpts from the Patriarch's homily:
My friends, I come today with a heavy heart because of what is happening in Lebanon. Are there no more peacemakers? I ask: is war inevitable?
Blessed are the peacemakers, Jesus said. May Our Lady of Lebanon, for whom this parish is dedicated, and to whom we turn to in prayer, protect Lebanon and help us to be, along with her, peacemakers.
More here...
Missouri Must Allow Inmates to Have Abortions
Let's see if I have this right...Those condemned to die for committing CAPITAL crimes cannot receive a just and lawful legal injection without a licensed anethesiologist present yet an innocent unborn child can be condemned to die at the hands of his/her mother and a murdering abortionist. Utter and sheer lunacy!
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The state must allow pregnant inmates to have abortions and transport them to facilities that perform the procedure, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple applies to all female prisoners in Missouri. In October, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state had to allow a specific inmate, listed as Jane Roe, to have an abortion.
Of course, the ACLU has its hands in this...
Chiesa: Israel Is Fighting for its Life, but the Vatican "Deplores"
Departing secretary of state Sodano is one of the prominent proponents of the anti-Israeli camp. But there are some who have a different view on the new war in Lebanon. An interview with Fr. David Maria Jaeger
These constant features of Vatican geopolitics all appear in the "declaration" released on July 14 by cardinal Angelo Sodano, the departing secretary of state:
"As in the past, the Holy See also condemns both the terrorist attacks of the one and the military retaliation of the other. In fact, the right of a state to defend itself does not exempt it from respecting the norms of international law, especially in those matters concerning the protection of the civilian population. In particular, the Holy See deplores the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation, and confirms its closeness to the people of Lebanon, who have already suffered so much in the defense of their independence."
In comparison with the words pronounced by Benedict XVI at the Angelus two days later, one notes in this declaration from Sodano a more unbalanced position against Israel, which is given almost the entire weight of responsibility for the extension of the conflict into Lebanon.
But this is not a surprise, coming from Sodano. The anti-Israeli party that is active in the curia has always had him as one of their leading proponents.
Further proof is found in the enthusiasm with which the official Hezbollah radio and television outlet, "Al Manar," greeted the July 14 declaration from Sodano, taking it as the position of pope Benedict XVI, "a defender of human rights and a model of sanctity."
July 31-Rally Against Human Cloning in Jefferson City
From the American Family Association:
You are cordially invited to attend a Rally titled "Christians Against Human Cloning" which will take place Monday, July 31, 7:00 PM at Concord Baptist Church, 3724 Truman Blvd., Jefferson City, Missouri.
My friends, Dr. Alan Keyes and Dr. Rick Scarborough, will present urgent information about Human Cloning and the proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution known as "Research and Cures Initiative." There will be entertainment by Kim Noblett and a nursery will be provided. There is no admission charge for the event.
There will be a complimentary dinner at 5:00 PM for all area pastors and their wives. [if married]
Please R.S.V.P. by calling 1-866-522-5582. Please share this information with your pastor.
You may call 1-866-522-5582 should need more details about this important event.
Please forward this important alert to all of your friends and family members in the Jefferson City area.
On a related note, we have been receiving numerous calls from 'research' firms (pollsters) on upcoming political races and initiatives such as the deceptive "Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative"...
One call was from a pollster for pro-abort Claire McCaskill who is running for the US Senate against Jim Talent - I played along and stated that I was an independent voter...When asked if I would support Claire in her upcoming election bid, I stated that "I can only support those candidates who defend and protect innocent human life since the right to life comes before all other rights."
The caller hesitated and said, "Uhhh, well, thank you." (click) Buh-bye!
Another pollster called about the "Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative", and began by claiming that it will lead to cures for all sorts of diseases (Oh, really?) and that it would ban human cloning....
As that point, I chimed in and stated, "Hold on a minute, this initiative would actually create a constitutional right to allow human cloning - Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer is, in fact, HUMAN CLONING. This initiative is a deceptive lie intended to confuse the people of Missouri." The caller, sounding somewhat perplexed, said something like "Really???"....I asked, "Do you support human cloning?" She said, "Uh, I have to go...Thanks."
Oh well, we have a major uphill battle before us. We need to storm heaven with our prayers, asking for our Lord's divine assistance and we need to educate the populace with the truth if this hideous amendment is to be defeated.
Troubled Young Woman
Charlotte Church has whipped up a storm of controversy by appearing as a drug-taking nun and calling the Pope a "Nazi" in her new TV show.
The singer performed a range of outrageous stunts for a pilot of her new Channel 4 talk show, such as smashing open a statue of the Virgin Mary to reveal a can of cider and eating a communion wafer emblazoned with a ecstasy smiley face and pretending to hallucinate. ... (Source)
An email from Ignatius Press states:
NOTICE TO ALL IGNATIUS PRESS CUSTOMERS
In light of the recent statements and actions of singer Charlotte Church, Ignatius Press will be dropping all of her products. It is with regret that we do this; Miss Church possesses a great gift from God, and in the past she has used her talent often to offer praise and glory to our Lord. She has performed for the late Pope John Paul II, and in many sacred concerts, televised Christmas celebrations, and her many albums were enjoyed by our customers over the years.
But we cannot stand by a young woman who uses her stature in the media to mock the Eucharist, slander the Holy Father, and denigrate the vows of religious women.
Therefore, our catalogs and website will immediately withdraw all compact discs, cassette tapes, DVDs and VHS tapes that feature Miss Church. Please join us in praying for this troubled young woman. For more information Click Here.
A real shame - engaging in blasphemous acts after being graced with such a gift from God. Ignatius Press is doing the right thing by pulling her products.
By the way, Ignatius Press has lots of specials here.
American TFP Offering Sacred Heart Badges
Don't pass this up...This is a wonderful campaign which will help to remind us of our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, especially in these times of wide-spread spiritual darkness:
The American TFP through its America Needs Fatima campaign is now offering a special badge to friends and supporters. This badge is the Sacred Heart Badge. When the first such badges were first presented to Blessed Pius IX in 1870, he called them an "inspiration from Heaven."
Besides a picture of the Sacred Heart, each card has the reassuring phrase: "I am a Catholic, in the event of an accident, please call a priest."
Imagine how many souls can be saved when they have such badges on their persons in times of disaster! Click here for details.
You can get free badges by clicking here.
Despite some objections, . . .
US Catholic clergy encouraged by bishops' liturgy decisions
Washington DC, Jul. 18, 2006 (CNA) - North American priests and deacons, who are members of the Confraternity of the Catholic Clergy, passed a resolution at their annual convocation last week expressing their support for the recent recommendations of the U.S. bishops to more accurately and faithfully translate the mass from the Latin text into English. The clergy asked, "for a complete and consistent correction of all errors and deletions in the Roman Missal."
"Rather than a partial repair, we, as daily celebrants of the Divine and Sacred Liturgy, see the need for a complete restoration of sacred language and precise translations, based on the axiom lex orandi, lex credendi," the resolution reads.
"We are particularly concerned for sacrosanct vocabulary such as 'consubstantial' defined by the Council of Nicea in 325 … and other areas the literal Latin expresses more reverence and clarity than the current translations."
The article continues here....
And with even more good news, we read:
Next year's convocation of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy is being planned for St. Louis, Missouri.
This is an opportunity to petition our local Serra Clubs and Knights of Columbus to help. Parishioners might also plan to help with the conference costs for their priests...
HT to Patte for the update!
More on "Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies"
American Papist has some updates on another the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S. 2754):
"The U.S. Senate is debating the passage of several bills related to stem cell research this week. And while the anticipated Presidential veto of one of these bills has been drawing a great deal of attention, there is another bill among this set that also threatens early human lives. I would claim that this legislation is the most dangerous (and thus the most important) of the stem cell bills being debated, because unlike its more famous brother, this bill threatens to pass quietly under the radar of Bush's presidential veto power and actually become law."
"There will be joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents." St. Luke, 15:10.
With some of his companions St. Bernard once had to go on a long journey. As night fell they stopped at a certain inn. The landlady was infatuated with the charming appearance of the saint. She assigned him a room not far from her own, that when the household had retired to rest, she might go and talk with him. After all were in bed, the door of his room slowly opened, and the lady of the house tiptoed in. When St. Bernard saw her in his room, he suspected some evil purpose. He prayed for grace. Then suddenly, as loudly as he could, he shouted: "Thieves! Thieves! Robbers!"
The bold woman fled back to her room. But the rest of the house jumped up, seized whatever weapons they could find, and ran about the whole place in search of thieves. Not finding any, they returned to their rooms to get some sleep.
The same thing happened a second and a third time. No thief could be found. By the time they had retired for the third time, morning had dawned, and there was no further alarm.
As the group resumed their journey, his companions asked St. Bernard why he cried out so often. Surely he had been dreaming.
"No, friends," St. Bernard answered, "it was all too true; there was a robber in the house. Our hostess was the robber; she wanted to rob me of a treasure which I value more than all the treasures of the world - the treasure of holy purity. Thanks be to God, I escaped."
Would that everyone would follow the example of St. Bernard. Would that more could recognize temptation to impurity at once and cry out: "Thief! Robber!" Purity is a treasure. Anyone or anything that threatens to take it away is a thief and robber.
With purity we buy the sight of God, just as Christ promised in the Sixth Beatitude:
"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." St. Matthew, 5:8.
1. Cleanness of heart means purity of the entire man, soul and body. It means chastity in our thoughts, words, and actions. It includes avoiding every idea or imagination, every word or story, every action or emotion, that might be impure in itself, or might lead to impurity. This purity of heart, which Christ calls blessed, is opposed to the merely external propriety or appearance of purity which the world requires.
"Man sees those things that appear; but the Lord beholds the heart." I Kings, 16:7.
Jesus Himself condemns this merely outward appearance when He spoke of the Pharisees as "whited sepulchres," white-washed outside, but full of dead men's bones within. That is why Christ emphasized purity of the heart, true, inner cleanliness of heart.
2. By the pure of heart we mean those:
A. Who carefully preserve their baptismal innocence. Comparatively, all too few have this singular grace of never being guilty of a deliberate sin against the virtue of purity. Would that the prayer of Mother Church at Baptism were always fulfilled! Toward the end of the baptismal ceremony, the priest places a white garment on the child as he says: "Receive this white garment, and see thou carry it without stain before the judgment seat of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that thou mayest have eternal life." Amen.
B. Who keep themselves clean from even impure thoughts and desires. Impurity takes its start in the heart, in the mind.
C. Who especially avoid any impurity in action whether alone or with others.
D. Who avoid hearing and telling impure stories.
E. Who avoid suggestive movies and shows, and put aside the book or magazine which is off-color.
F. Who, though guilty of impurity in the past, have been sorry, have washed it away in confession, and are trying to keep their determination to lead a clean life from now on.
G. Who, whenever they recognize anything or anybody as a danger to this virtue, cry out with St. Bernard: "Thief! Robber!"
3. The happiness of the pure in heart is a special joy:
A. They see God, even here, by a strong lively faith. On the other hand, impurity chokes faith.
B. They see God in all His works.
C. They have a peculiar power to see into the meaning of the mysteries God has revealed to us.
D. They see God's hand in every trial and happening.
E. They experience a closeness to God, which is one of the greatest joys of this life.
F. They have a delicate and sure conscience in other moral matters. In a word, the clear eye that goes with the pure heart is able to see the things of God even in this world.
4. But the rewards of the next life are most important:
A. The pure of heart will experience a special pleasure in the vision and sight of God.
B. They will enjoy a special likeness to God, as they see Him "face to face." (1 Cor. 13:12).
C. They will follow the Lamb wherever He goes. (Apoc. 14:4)
Jesus tells us in the Gospel that there will be joy among the angels of God over the sinner who is sorry. Perhaps you have sinned against purity. Today tell Christ that you are sorry, that you sincerely wish to repent, that you earnestly and honestly want to be pure of heart, so that you can enjoy the happiness, the blessedness of seeing God and the things of God more clearly in this life, and in the life to come, to join the pure in heart who see God face to face.
Adapted from Prayers, Precepts and Virtues
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1949)
Mental Prayer for July 19-Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
Grace I Ask: To gain an independence of material things.
The Idea: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" is not mainly a question of starvation or ragged clothes. The word "spirit" tells us this is a matter of the mind and heart. It is an attitude of independence toward material things. It's an ability to have and use things without becoming bogged down in them.
First of all we obviously must be able to leave possessions or people that we like but which are occasions of sin for us. Many, for example, have set their whole hearts upon winning or getting something they want. They are not independent of material things. Some Catholics under persecution even trade faith (and true happiness) for food and clothes.
What is the reward for this independence of material things. "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven"... the kingdom of peace of soul and self possession. And it will begin actually upon earth.
My Personal Application: Have I acquired this independence - God's attitude - toward material things and circumstances? Let me examine some of the above ideas and apply them to myself.
I Speak to Christ: Jesus Christ, who has promised me this happiness, help me to adjust myself to your plans, whether it means success or failure, justice or injury from those I come in contact with, good health or sickness. I don't care how you allow me to be treated, as long as I can serve you.
Thought for Today: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3).
A Reflection on Mercy
"A certain man gave a great supper, and he invited many." St. Luke, 14:16.
About forty years ago the Sisters in charge of Mercy Hospital, Chicago, treated a penniless stranger kindly and nursed him back to health. Thirty five years later they figured that this kindness had brought them $620,000.
The man had come to the hospital dangerously ill. Several weeks later he went on his way in good health. Th~ sisters marked it down as a charity case. The nuns had forgotten about the incident when, a year later, a check for $250,000 arrived from Paris, France. It was signed by a Ferris Thompson, a New Yorker living in Paris with his wife, a former countess. Thompson wrote that the man so kindly treated by the sisters was his friend. Thompson was not a Catholic, and he knew nothing of the Sisters of Mercy except what his friend had told him. The donor wrote that there were no strings attached, and that the money should be used to treat others as they had treated his friend. Furthermore, he was establishing a trust fund which would bring the sisters $5,000 every year.
The donor died in 1913, but the $5,000 continued coming every year. In 1930 the sisters built a new nurses' home and named it Ferris Thompson Hall. Recently, thirty-five years after they had performed their work of mercy, the sisters received word that the widow had died, leaving $200,000 to the hospital. Adding it up - the original $250,000, $5,000 each year for thirty-four years, and the $200,000 left in the will - the total reward for their deed of mercy was $620,000.
Yet, those same sisters would have been the first to say that this earthly reward, generous though it may have been, was nothing compared to the heavenly reward they expected, and of which they were sure, for their service to the sick and poor. Like millions of other religious and lay people, those nuns are counting on the words of Christ, expressed in the Fifth Beatitude:
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." St. Matthew, 5:7.
Not always, in fact, seldom, is mercy so generously rewarded in this life. Always will it be rewarded by the Lord of mercy. Always will He keep His promise to show mercy to those who show mercy.
1. Mercy means an active and effective compassion and sympathy for others. It is the very opposite of the worldly saying and program: "Happy he who needs no mercy." The world as much as says that those who need mercy are out of luck. Likewise, Christian mercy is opposed to the maxim of the world that we should take as much as possible and give as little as possible. The mercy of Christ prompts us to feel for others, to sympathize with their sorrows and pains, and to do as much as we can about it.
2. They are merciful:
A. Who relieve the wants of others according to their means. What a field - world-wide - there is for such mercy. Here is something you can do every day. Is there someone in need in your neighborhood or community? Be merciful and relieve that need.
B. Who practice the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The corporal works are the following:
to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to harbor the homeless, to visit the sick, to ransom the captive, and to bury the dead.
The spiritual works of mercy are: to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offenses willingly, to comfort the affiicted, and to pray for the living and the dead.
C. Who bear and excuse the faults of others. This type of mercy can be practiced every day. Excuse the faults of others, and God will excuse your faults.
D. Who willingly forgive injuries received. Happiness here and here after is assured the fopgiving heart.
E. Who offer pardon and assistance to their enemies.
F. Who sympathize and feel with others.
3. All your mercy must be grounded on faith. Otherwise it is merely a natural virtue, and merits only natural rewards. The decision on Judgment Day will be mercy or no mercy, depending on whether or not you have shown mercy on this earth.
4. Our supreme example of mercy is God himself, whose "tender mercies are over all His works." Psalms, 144:9.
He shows that mercy:
A. Toward all men, especially sinners.
B. Freely and fully.
C. With divine liberality.
D. Without fail.
5. Christ, God made man, showed compassion in every way - by His preaching and teaching, by His interest in the poor and downcast, by His miracles, by His forgiveness of sinners, and by His granting forgiveness from the cross.
6. The followers of Christ are identified by their works of mercy - corporal and spiritual.
7. Blessed, indeed, is he who shows mercy. He is happy:
A. In the gift of repentance and remission of sins.
B. In the inspiration of God's grace.
C. In temporal blessings. The gift to the Sisters of Mercy is an outstanding example of this.
D. In special favors from God. Through their mercy the saints won many favors from God.
E. In progress along the way of perfection.
8. The merciful are also rewarded with the faithful, superabundant, overflowing merits of God. To this mercy all of us are called, just as many were called to the great supper in the above Gospel reading.
Are you going to make excuses? Are you going to turn down the invitation? Are you going to make it necessary for the Lord to invite someone else to do His work of mercy? God forbid. Be merciful, actively and effectively and generously merciful, and you will be truly happy and blessed-here and hereafter. Amen.
Mental Prayer for July 18 - The Eight Beatitudes
Grace I Ask: To test my knowledge of the eight beatitudes.
The Idea: Many people shy away from the Church. They think Christian life is misery on earth that you accept in return for happiness in heaven.
This might be described as something like children chomping reluctantly and steadily through the tasteless vegetables while their eyes are fixed on the dessert.
What fun is there, they say, in always repressimg yourselves? Look at the eight beatitudes: you have to be poor, suffer persecution without lifting a finger. Do the beatitudes really mean sorrow, suffering, cowardliness, gloominess? (See Matt. 5: 1-12.)
My Personal Application: What do I personally think that the beatitudes mean? Is it possible that I heard them just as many non-Catholics do? If someone were to say that "Blessed are the poor in spirit" means the poorer you are, the happier you'll be, you'd answer "False." Fine, but what does it mean? Or does "Blessed are those who mourn" mean your life in heaven will be happy in proportion as your life on earth was painful and gloomy? Some people think so. Could you put them straight ? Can you put yourself straight?
And how about this: "Blessed are the merciful" means that it's always better to be nice to people even though they do you a great deal of harm. Correct?
I Speak to Christ: I find I don't understand these teachings of yours as well as I thought, Lord. Of course I want to be happy. But just knowing the beatitudes by memory isn't going to help me to practice them. In the next meditations on your beatitudes, please help me to see what they mean and to carry them out in my life.
Thought for Today: "My words give life."
More Examples of Why Prayer is Needed
Some of the recent titles from LifeSite:
Lord of the Rings Profits Used to Support Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Spain to Teach Children From Age 10 to Accept Homosexuality
Dutch Court Approves Pedophile Political Party
But there is good news!
Buffalo Abortion Mill Dedicated as Catholic Chapel of Holy Innocents
As much as I am prone to shake my head in disgust and outrage at much of the goings on, I must remember that the first thing to do is to pray and ask God's forgiveness and mercy for my transgressions and these immoral acts. Second, a personal commitment to ask for our Lady's intercession and help in offering reparations for such deeds is necessary. And, despite anything else, a firm resolution to carry out this daily prayer, offering all to our Lord, and being certain to recite the Rosary daily! And lastly, having petitioned our Lord for His help, steps need to be taken to change such immoral policies and actions and to persuade others who may be influenced by such evils and immoralities.
Pope: Pray for Mary's intercession in Holy Land
Our Lady of Lebanon
Valle d'Aosta, Jul. 17, 2006 (CNA) - After praying the Angelus with the faithful gathered in front of the house at Les Combes in Italy's Valle d'Aosta region which he is spending a brief holiday, Pope Benedict XVI called on people to pray for peace in the Holy Land and, in a special way, to pray for the intercession of Mary.
From: Matthew 10:34-11:1
Jesus' Instructions to the Apostles (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples) [34] "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.[35] For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; [36] and a man's foes will be those of his own household. [37] He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; [38] and he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. [39] He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
[40] He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. [41] He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. [42] And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."
The Mission of John the Baptist. Jesus' Reply
[1] And when Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
34-37. Our Lord has not come to bring a false and earthly peace--the sort of tranquility the self-seeking person yearns for; He wants us to struggle against our own passions and against sin and its effects. The sword He equips us with for this struggle is, in the words of Scripture, "the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17), "lively and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
The word of God in fact leads to these divisions mentioned here. It can lead, even within families, to those who embrace the faith being regarded as enemies by relatives who resist the word of truth. This is why our Lord goes on (verse 37) to say that nothing should come between Him and His disciple--not even father, mother, son or daughter: any and every obstacle (cf. Matthew 5:29-30) must be avoided.
Obviously these words of Jesus do not set up any opposition between the first and fourth commandments (love for God above all things and love for one's parents): He is simply indicating the order of priorities. We should love God with all our strength (cf. Matthew 22:37), and make a serious effort to be saints; and we should also love and respect--in theory and in practice--the parents God has given us; they have generously cooperated with the creative power of God in bringing us into the world and there is so much that we owe them. But love for our parents should not come before love of God; usually there is no reason why these two loves should clash, but if that should happen, we should be quite clear in our mind and in heart about what Jesus says here. He has in fact given us an example to follow on this point: "How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?" (Luke 2:49)--His reply when, as a youth, Mary and Joseph found Him in the Temple of Jerusalem after a long search. This event in our Lord's life is a guideline for every Christian--parent or child. Children should learn from it that their affection for their parents should never come before their love for God, particularly when our Creator asks us to follow Him in a way which implies special self-giving on our part; parents should take the lesson that their children belong to God in the first place, and therefore He has a right to do with them what He wishes, even if this involves sacrifice, even heroic sacrifice. This teaching of our Lord asks us to be generous and to let God have His way. In fact, however, God never lets Himself be outdone in generosity. Jesus has promised a hundredfold gain, even in this life, and later on eternal life (cf. Matthew 19:29), to those who readily respond to His will.
38-39. The teaching contained in the preceding verses is summed up in these two succinct sentences. Following Christ, doing what He asks, means risking this present life to gain eternal life.
"People who are constantly concerned with themselves, who act above all for their own satisfaction, endanger their eternal salvation and cannot avoid being unhappy even in this life. Only if a person forgets himself and gives himself to God and to others, in marriage as well as in any other aspect of life, can he be happy on this earth, with a happiness that is a preparation for, and a foretaste of, the joy of Heaven" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 24). Clearly, Christian life is based on self-denial: there is no Christianity without the Cross.
40. To encourage the Apostles and to persuade others to receive them, our Lord affirms that there is an intimate solidarity, or even a kind of identity, between Himself and His disciples. God in Christ, Christ in the Apostles: this is the bridge between Heaven and earth. (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23).
41-42. A prophet's mission is not essentially one of announcing future events; his main role is that of communicating the word of God (cf. Jeremiah 11:2; Isaiah 1:2). The righteous man, the just man, is he who obeys the Law of God and follows His paths (cf. Genesis 6:9; Isaiah 3:10). Here Jesus tells us that everyone who humbly listens to and welcomes prophets and righteous men, recognizing God in them, will receive the reward of a prophet and a righteous man. The very fact of generously receiving God's friends will gain one the reward that they obtain. Similarly, if we should see God in the least of His disciples (verse 42), even if they do not seem very important, they are important, because they are envoys of God and of His Son. That is why he who gives them a glass of cold water--an alms, or any small service--will receive a reward, for he has shown generosity to our Lord Himself (cf. Matthew 25:40).
1. In chapters 11 and 12 the Gospel records the obduracy of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus, despite hearing His teaching (chapter 5-7) and seeing the miracles which bear witness to the divine nature of His person and His doctrine (chapters 8 and 9).
What is the way to happiness?
That is a question everyone tries to answer in his own life, for every man naturally wants to be happy and tries to be happy.
Christ had some ideas about happiness. In the Sermon on the Mount He gave us His rules for being happy. Could we follow better rules than His?
Some mental prayer helps are coming in the next days which can help us.
Mental Prayer for July 17 -The God-Man
Grace I Ask: Lord, let me see in you a man who is God.
Mental Picture: A day spent with Jesus, the young carpenter from Nazareth... on the road with Him, the strong tireless teacher... yet I see something more. He says that He will judge and reward men on the last day... He forgives sin in His own name... He changes the great law given to Moses and tells people to turn their cheek when offended... He raises the dead... heals the blind and the lame. He is a man, but no mere man could do all these things. He is more than human... He is God... He and the eternal Father in heaven are one. Great as is my admiration for Christ as a man, much more do I admire and believe in Him because He is the God-Man.
My Personal Application: Do I rightly look on Christ as my leader and model in my daily effort to live a full and upright human life? But does my vision stop there at His humanity? Should it not pierce through to see with the eyes of faith his divinity also? Is Jesus my Lord and my God?
I Speak to Christ: I believe, Lord; help me to scatter my unbelief. I have consecrated myself to you, and in doing this I acknowledge my faith in your divinity as well as your humanity. No one less than God is worthy of my full dedication, and to you I again dedicate and consecrate myself.
Thought for Today: I believe, Lord; help my unbelief.
The Forgotten Christians of Lebanon
...Eastern Christianity, which includes the Christian communities of Lebanon, has had to contend over the past 1,300 years with living in close proximity to, and often under, Islam, the religion that early on Became dominant in the region. Over the centuries, Western interest In, and subsequent incursions into, the Middle East have taken on many forms—a lot of them proving disadvantageous to the Christians of the region. The eventual defeat of the Crusades, for example, precipitated a violent Islamic backlash against the indigenous Christians, particularly those like Lebanon's Maronites, who had cooperated with and supported the crusading hordes. Later Western commercial and imperial expansion into Ottoman domains seemed at first to resuscitate the sagging fortunes of local Christian communities, only to have them witness a return of persecutions once the inevitable Western retreats occurred. Rivalries among the European powers in the Levant and in Egypt often enlisted the native Christians on the side of one and against the other. This too had its deleterious effects, culminating in the 1861 massacres of Christians in Mount Lebanon and Damascus that left a lasting scar on intercommunal relations, and aggravating the repeated oppression of Egypt's Copts to this day...
Meanwhile, the reputed tolerance of Islam, particularly for the "People of the Book", as Jews and Christians are designated, created in reality the dhimmi system of second-class servitude, which, under the guise of toleration, was actually a system of subtle repression and dehumanization leading to gradual liquidation.
"They beckoned to their comrades in the other boat to come and help them." St. Luke, 5:7.
Some years ago several members of the National Historical Association of Norway noticed certain passages in the Swedish history books which they thought were unfair to Norway. What could be done about it? How could they correct the books of another country?
They were fair-minded and peaceable enough to realize that they might be committing the same fault. They searched their own Norwegian textbooks of history, to find that there were cases of unfairness in their own books.
They sent copies of their own unfair passages to the Swedish Historical Association, with this explanation:
"We have found these passages in our Norwegian schoolbooks which we think unfair to you. Will you look through our texts further, and see if there are any other passages to which you take exception, so that we may change them in a new edition?"
The Swedish historians were so delighted with this peace-making approach that they made response in the form of an invitation to point out similar errors in the Swedish books. As a result both sets of books were revised with good will and understanding promoted on both sides.
Peacemakers of the world - take a lesson here. One cause of bloody war is misunderstanding. Removing misunderstanding is one task of the peacemaker. It is one work that will please the Prince of Peace who told us in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." St. Matthew, 5:9.
1. What is peace?
It is a state of the soul at rest with God and man.
Peaceableness is a virtue that disposes the soul to a calm and contented security that comes from being a friend with God and all men. The words of Christ mean that blessed are they who make sacrifices for the sake of peace, and who promote peace among others. They are blessed and happy because here below they enjoy the special protection of God, and hereafter they will receive the reward of true children of the Almighty.
The peace which Christ brought to this earth, and which He wants us to have, is opposed to the false peace and security of the world, which is fleeting and uncertain. It is also opposed to the spirit of rebellion, war, and conquest which we see all over the globe.
2. They are truly peacemakers:
A. Who reign over the passions of their hearts. Here is the very root of all world peace. The individual heart is the beginning. Control the heart, and you control all. Greed for gold and pleasure and power, pride and selfishness, and all the other passions uncontrolled are the sources of strife and warfare. For world peace, start with yourself.
B. Who have peace in their own conscience before God. The best peacemakers are those who make and keep peace between themselves and God. Sin spoils that peace. Sin also destroys peace of mind. It is the greatest enemy of peace, in the individual and in the world.
C. Who are regular and tranquil in their actions. People who are continually worried, who have no system of doing even the simplest tasks, who are always in a hurry or in a turmoil, do not help peace in any way. This hurry and worry is a constant curse in modern life. It is a result of and a cause for our not having our thoughts and lives anchored in the God of peace. We are lazy and indifferent only in regard to Him.
D. Who have peace with all men. Peacemakers do not exclaim: "I can get along with everybody but so-and-so." We must try to understand and cooperate with everyone, especially in the immediate and intimate circles where we live and work and play.
E. Who never take offense. Wounded pride and insulted self-esteem quickly destroy peace. Be humble.
F. Who endeavor to reconcile those who do not get along together. Too often we do the opposite. We spread stories, false and true, about one friend to another, causing misunderstanding and loss of friendship. Try to bring about peace. Say the thing, do the thing that will raise friends and neighbors and co-workers in the esteem of others. You can do that every day. Factual arbitration between labor and management is an example of this.
G. Who by prayer, penance and personal effort try to reconcile souls to God, to bring back the stray sheep.
H. Who avoid critical gossip and open breaks in their family, community, social and religious groups.
3. Such peacemakers are true children of God:
A. They become heirs to the riches of God. (Rom. 15:33).
B. Brothers of the Son who reconciled the world.
C. They take on a special resemblance to the God of peace.
D. They share in the work of the Prince of Peace.
4. Peacemakers, as opposed to troublemakers, are usually loved and revered by men. Always they are loved by God, because establishing peace, even between individuals, is spreading God's kingdom.
The Apostles must have been on friendly, peace-loving terms with their rival fishermen, because they called the others to help handle the big catch of fish.
Peace is built on understanding and unselfishness. The Norwegian and Swedish men of my story showed that understanding and consideration. They helped toward peace by removing some of the mistaken statements which might.have destroyed peace. They brought the two countries a little closer together.
May you, too, pray diligently for peace. May you merit the reward which Christ promises to peacemakers. May you be blessed with peace and its rewards.
From American Papist: What you need to know about the war in the Middle East
A conversation with a well-informed friend last night convinced me that what is happening in the Middle East right now is very important and will probably have far-reaching consequences regardless of how it unfolds, for Americans and Papists alike.
St Louis Priests Still Stranded in Lebanon
Rev. Andre Mhanna, the rector at St. Raymond's Maronite Catholic Parish in St. Louis and Rev. Lawrence Biondi, president of St. Louis University, are still stranded in Lebanon waiting for the U.S. to complete plans on evacuating Americans from the area.
Two St. Louis religious leaders who are stuck in Lebanon say they feel fairly secure and are going ahead with some of their plans despite what they see from the balcony of their five-star hotel.
Several miles from Beirut, they can see planes passing overhead on bombing runs, anti-aircraft guns countering from the ground, a naval blockage that has formed in the sea and a nearly constant cloud of smoke over the airport.
Mhanna estimated that about 15 other families from his church in St. Louis are also trapped in Lebanon because most travel has been blocked by Israeli forces. Like the rest, Mhanna and Biondi don't know when they will be able to return to the United States. They are awaiting information from the U.S. Embassy. "It could be days," Mhanna said. "It could be months."
Fox News Talked with Fr. Biondi today. He said that they were waiting for the US government to arrange for safe passage home. He is confined to his hotel and said he felt like a prisoner there. He said he could understand what it must be like to be a captive or prisoner in war.
An Interview with Fr Joseph Fessio, SJ.
From Inside the Vatican:
Fr Joseph Fessio SJ was a keynote speaker at the national conference of the Australian Catholic Students Association on the weekend of July 7-9 in Newman College at the University of Melbourne.
Fr Fessio is the founder and director of Ignatius Press, the largest Catholic publishing house in the US, and the Provost of Ave Maria College in Naples, Florida. A regular commentator on Catholic affairs, he did his doctoral thesis on Hans Urs Von Balthasar under then Professor Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, at the University of Regensburg, Bavaria in 1975.
In 1996, he founded Adoremus to push Cardinal Raztinger's goal of the "reform of the reform". As a close friend of the Holy Father, he has a unique perspective to comment on the affairs and controverises within the Church. At the conference, ITV was able to sit down with Fr Fessio and discuss some of these with him.
Thew Interview with Fr. Fessio is here.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Android: applying margins using general style doesn't work I'm trying to write a general style.xml for my app.
I want all my EditText views to have certain styling, so I've done something like this:
<!-- Base application theme. -->
    <style name="MyAppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
        <item name="android:editTextStyle">@style/App_EditTextStyle</item>
    </style>

    <style name="App_EditTextStyle">
        <item name="android:background" >#ff0000</item>
        <item name="android:textColor">#00ff00</item>
        <item name="android:layout_marginLeft">50dip</item>
        <item name="android:height">50dip</item>
    </style>

In the manifest i apply the theme:
 <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:theme="@style/MyAppTheme" >

and here is the sample layout:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical" android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:id="@+id/main_layout">

    <EditText
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:id="@+id/editText"
        android:text="Test" />

    <EditText
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:id="@+id/editText2"
        android:text="Test2" />
</LinearLayout>

Everything is working fine except for the margin. For some reason it does not apply and i have to add it manually to the EditText. Am i missing something?

A: If you want to do it for all EditText widgets, then apply this to the LinearLayout tag:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical" android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:id="@+id/main_layout"
    style="@style/MyAppTheme">

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Homeless Brothers Land Apartment After Kind-Hearted Cop Paid For Their Hotel Stay
News 1:41 PM PDT, September 30, 2015 - Inside Edition
1:41 PM PDT, September 30, 2015 - Inside Edition
Two homeless boys who made headlines when a kind-hearted deputy paid for them to stay in a hotel got another surprise when he found them a new apartment.
Read: Cop Pays for Homeless Family to Stay in Hotel After Finding Them Sleeping in Jail Lobby
INSIDE EDITION was there as Zaire and his younger brother, Shawn, checked out their new apartment. "We love it!" they told their mom.
The brothers are happy to have a decent place to live because just one week ago, they were found sleeping in the lobby of the local sheriff's department in Hamilton, Ohio. The photo of them went viral, shocking America
Their mom, Tierra Gray, said that she had been down on her luck.
Read: Cops Pull Over a Teenage Girl With Cancer, Give Her a Check For Her Treatment
"This was my last option. It's not a place that I would have imagined coming," she told INSIDE EDITION. "But it's a place where my kids could at least sleep for a night."
Their luck was about to change - thanks to the kind-hearted Deputy Sheriff, Brian Bussell.
"The kids shouldn't be sleeping in a jail lobby, or under a bridge," he told IE.
He called a homeless shelter - but there was no room. So out of his own pocket, Deputy Bussell checked them into a local Comfort Inn. He also took them to Walmart, where they got new shoes and clothes, all paid for by Bussell.
Then he really went way beyond the call of duty: he found the family a new home.
Bussell said: "It's nice. It's a nice feeling. They're happier than what they were a week ago. It's worth it."
Tierra told him: "I'm grateful, I mean, really, extremely grateful."
Watch Below: Police Officer Dad Pulls Over Kids in Power Wheels
Police Officer Dad 'Pulls Over' Kids in Power Wheels, Gets Funny Reaction


You don't have to go to the beach to read a good book on vacation--just hole up in one of these 10 stunning hotel libraries.
Kelly Wearstler not only designed, but also curated, the Viceroy Santa Monica's cheery yellow library. The collection features more than 2,000 books about art and culture.
Il Salviatino's stately candlelit library feels more like a private study, with its dark wood and leather furnishings. Here, you can read Italian romances and plan your stay with regional maps and guides—all with a glass of Tuscan wine in-hand.
Casa Palopa's library has a direct view of the San Pedro volcano—but if you can manage to peel your eyes away from the stunning vista, you'll find a library built to honor its Mayan heritage, with stucco walls and Guatamalan artwork and artifacts.
Harbour Rocks Hotel isn't just on The Rocks—Sydney's historic city center—but it brings them inside as well. The brick-lined walls feel almost medieval in spirit, and make the entire library that much cozier.
Sometimes you don't have time for beach reading during the day, and Kura Hulanda Lodge & Beach Club in Curaçao knows that's okay—just stop by the thatched-roof library to spend your evening relaxing and reading.
The JW Marriott Cusco is a train ride from Machu Picchu, but you can find history inside, too, with preserved pre-Inca walls and 16th century flooring. The library offers an expansive array of books, from classics like Don Quixote to history and law.
The NoMad's library may technically be a bar, but there's no reason not to grab a drink and peruse their extensive collection of books, which spans two levels connected by a spiral staircase imported from the south of France.
The Royal Livingstone's library is filled with vintage National Geographics—perfect to read before heading out to the hotel's pool, located right on the banks of the Zambezi River and a favorite gathering spot for local zebras.
Rudding Park's library is the perfect place to curl up with a book—particularly during the Christmas season, when the hotel hosts a series of festive events, like caroling and sleigh rides.
In stark contrast to the rest of Trump SoHo's glitz and glamour, its quasi-hidden library, filled with dark woods and ostrich leather, is quiet and serene. The library is curated by Taschen, and contains elegant large-scale books on art and design.


text:
Home Gallery Chambre & Suites Restaurants Wellbeing Escapades Activites Événements Madrid
Mad Cool 2018
The summer season of musical festivals is well underway throughout Spain, one of the most anticipated and most important on the national calendar is Mad Cool that takes place in Madrid during mid-July. In the run up to August, the traditional time when most people in Spain take their holidays, locals and visitors to the capital city are keen to get into the party mood. And parties don't come any bigger and more spectacular than Mad Cool which this year takes place between July 12th and 14th at Valdebebas.
Spain's Premier Rock and Indie Rock Festival
Alternative, Indie and Rock
With a line up that could be described as a who's who of contemporary rock music that includes an eclectic mix of sub-genres with headlining acts featuring grunge and alternative rock Pearl Jam on Thursday the 12th July; indie rock legends Artic Monkeys on Friday the 13th July and veterans of electronic sounds Depeche Mode together with Queens of Stone Age on Saturday 14th July. Mad Cool includes a number of stages and spaces that will include bands, solo artists and Djs kicking off each evening of the festival at 6 PM and going on into the wee small hours of the following morning (till 4.30 AM), every evening there is literally something for everyone, whatever their musical tastes. A marathon of music that will include more than 100 concerts over its three days and gives a platform to emerging talents as much as established musical icons, as is clear from even a summary glance a its programme.
The festival precinct, located at Avenida de las Fuerzas Armadas, s/n includes a restaurant area, Mad Cool gallery exhibition space, safe space, shopping and merchandising as well as first aid facilities.
Mad Cool started in 2015
The first edition of Mad Cool was held in 2015, organisers of the festival wanted to provide a showcase for rock and alternative rock music which rapidly became the biggest festival of its kind in Spain. In 2017 Mad Cool was held at the Caja Mágica (magic box) venue, a multipurpose stadium designed by architect Dominique Perrault located in the San Fermín neighbourhood (Usera, Madrid) but this year all the concerts will be held at Valdebebas on the outskirts of the city.
A new home for the festival
With more than 240,000 ticket sales projected for the 2018 edition of the festival the decision to move to Valdebebas was taken for logistical reasons. Valdebebas is a new urban zone located approximately 8 km from Plaza de Castilla in north-eastern Madrid, between the city centre and Barajas Airport, adjacent to Ifema (where the city's trade fairs are held). An open space measuring 100,000 sq.m. that can accommodate up to 80,000 people. Accessible by metro, the Línea 8 will run all night for the duration of the festival and EMT (Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid) will also lay on special buses from Plaza de Castilla between midnight and 6 AM every night.
Tickets can be obtained direct from the Mad Cool web (www.madcoolfestival.es) or from usual outlets Ticket Master, Festicket as well as FNAC, Halcón Viajes and Carrefour.
Access to the festival is via wristband which is supplied at the festival ticket booth on presentation of a printed ticket from authorised dealers. Children under eight are welcome if they have purchased a ticket and are accompanied by an adult (parent of legal guardian). Discounts are available with Club Mad Cool membership, see web for details.
The Viladebebas precinct can be reached by Metro (Línea 8, purple line) the stop is Feria de Madrid (previously known as Campo de las Naciones). By train, C1, Cercanías Renfe as well as the special bus service laid on by Mad Cool leaving from Plaza de Castilla, and Madrid's taxi service.
Rock n'Roll & Foodies
For festival visitors who want to combine gastronomy and rock music we highly recommend lunch and/or dinner at Ático Restaurant (The Principal Madrid) and Ramón Freixa Madrid (Único Hotel Madrid), the latter with 2 Michelin Stars and 3 Repsol 'Suns' and the former with one Repsol 'Suns'. Either restaurant provides a great opportunity for foodies to experience the intuitive Mediterranean cuisine of one of Spain's most renowned chefs. While Ático is ideal for a less formal dining experience Ramón Freixa Madrid is a full on gastronomic delight where the chef shows his Rock n'Roll avant-garde approach that combines creative technique with the utmost respect for raw material.
Listen to our Spotify playlist
Local agenda
Abonnez-vous à notre newsletter pour tout savoir sur l'actualité de The Principal Madrid.
J'ai lu et j'accepte la loi sur la protection des données*
Calle Marqués de Valdeiglesias 1,(Esq. Gran Via, 2) 28004 Madrid info@theprincipalmadridhotel.com (+34) 91 521 87 43


Sales Executive / Account Manager. Based Biddisham Somerset.
This is NOT a telesales role and does not COLD CALLING. This is an internal Account Management / Customer Service role that require exceptional communication skills.


text:
namespace NorthwindWindowsStore.Service
{
    public class SalesTotalsByAmountService
    {
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Fujifilm is supporting the Pink Ribbon campaign to promote the early discovery of breast cancer. In October, which is designated as the promotion month, Fujifilm cosponsored the Pink Ribbon Smile Walk in Japan. Also, the company has been promoting this campaign in other countries by requesting hospitals to put up these posters.


Contrarian trading is a way to profit from crowd behavior. Most successful contrarians know that this requires understanding and then anticipating the dynamics between market participants.
The most important dynamic is the interplay between the "price-maker" and the "retail trading segment" – in other words, the unsophisticated traders.
In this post I'll examine one particular topic of contrarian trading; namely historical patterns.
The ideas that I am sharing in this post helped me to generate consistent profits over several years of intraday FX trading and helped me become one of the top 14 Trade Leaders in Currensee. Currensee was the forerunner to newer social trading platforms like ZuluTrade and eToro. It was once one of the largest FX trading networks in the US, with thousands of live trading accounts connected to it.
Some details of the performance during this period are posted on the European Central Bank's website here (page 29) and on FXDD's Japanese language blog here (page 15).
Contrarian investment and trading is about doing things differently. In essence it means identifying what the majority of market players are doing, and then doing the opposite. For example if everyone is buying an asset the contrarian is selling and vice versa.
A common misconception is that contrarian trading is about trading against the trend. Contrarian trading is not about trading against the direction of prices. Rather it is about trading against the majority of market participants who are behaving as a crowd. For example, if the majority expects that a trend will reverse, the contrarian trader will continue to trade in the direction of the trend. On the other hand, when the majority expects that the trend will continue, the contrarian will start positioning for a trend reversal.
The first step towards being a contrarian is to understand the market participants in terms of their performance and sophistication.
Figure 1 below shows how a contrarian would typically classify market participants. This diagram shows participants in the foreign exchange (FX) market but it holds true for almost any other "off-exchange" financial market as well.
FX trading, at least in the very short-term (think intraday traders) is a zero sum game. By this I mean one person's gain is another person's loss.
Within this space the general consensus is that market makers are consistently making money and the crowd is consistently losing.
For example, one subgroup of the crowd is the community of retail traders. The corresponding subgroup of market makers is those financial institutions and brokers that take the opposite side to the positions of retail traders.
Table 1 and 2 shows one recent US study in which retail traders as a whole are consistently losing.
Small players are price takers. They are trading on prices provided by market makers and are not part of the price formation process.
Retail traders are probably the least successful subgroup of the crowd. However the above factors may also impact other subgroups that make up the crowd. For example, these can be non-financial companies, as well as small to medium asset managers.
Overall, the less informed market participants are more likely to face losses in the market. And those with less sophisticated risk management system are more likely to behave emotionally when met with uncertainties. This results in mistakes.
Of course not all retail traders will lose. Many individuals are highly successful. Rather, I am classifying the aggregate performance of the entire group.
We also have to remember that for many participants, FX simply plays a functional role in meeting foreign exchange needs. For these players, profit is not even an issue.
To summarize, within the various subgroups of the FX market there are ample opportunities for the contrarian to act on bias and inefficiency. The next section shows how I do this this in practice.
In order to construct a contrarian strategy, the first task will be to look at the main assumptions that lead to negative returns and then adopt the opposite position.
For example let's take one of the most widespread assumptions behind naïve trading decisions. This is the assumption that "history will repeat itself". In reality, FX markets are always in a state of flux and nothing is permanent besides change. While some events may appear extremely similar, careful analysis shows that history never repeats itself in exactly the same way.
To build a contrarian trade against this popular assumption, we need to find extremely similar situations and trade against the repetition of that event's history. In other words, we need to detect when the crowd, consciously or subconsciously, is expecting that history will repeat itself.
Let's look at couple of examples.
Figures 2 and 3 shows two similar technical patterns on the EURUSD chart. In both cases the pair initially moves up a distance of about 180 pips from a significant minimum (circled in red). These moves were initially slow with low volatility. Then in both cases, after facing some resistance, the pair moved up sharply about 380 pips.
Figure 4 shows the 24-hour volatility chart during the same period. As can be seen two distinct peaks occur at these two events. These are circled.
The contrarian view: Taking the contrarian view I now assume that the crowd will expect history to repeat itself. Namely, they will assume that the next move of the second pattern from point D1 on Figure 3 will be down 420 pips to 1.0960. As EURUSD initially turns bearish, more people will start to believe that it will reach to 1.096.
The contrarian trading idea, based on the notion that history will not repeat itself is as follows.
The entry point is such that the size of the stop loss in pips is no greater than the take profit.
The stop loss is set at 1.096.
Take profit is set at or slightly above 1.1380.
I set the stop loss at 1.096 because in this situation there's no point chasing the market down. If the price reaches this level I will know by then that my contrarian assumption hasn't played out.
Figure 3 illustrates the above trade. As can be seen, this contrarian prediction does indeed play out. History does not repeat itself. The market rises strongly again after an initial bearish run. This happens after meeting strong support around 1.1100 – this may have been a result of market makers having to offset their risk.
This example shows another case of similarity. This time I'll look at a technical pattern combined with a news announcement.
1680 – 1.0680 = 1000 pips.
Central bank decisions were due approximately 120 hours from the start of each pattern.
Figure 5 shows the complete story on the chart.
The price will not break down the range again. Instead it will do the opposite and break up.
Buy EURUSD before the second news announcement. Entry will be around 1.0620.
With these parameters, the take profit is at least 170 pips greater than the stop loss. That is, 350 pips up from the maximum of the range 1.0680. Again, if the price falls to 1.0450 I know the contrarian setup hasn't played out and there's no point chasing the market down any further.
As Figure 5 and 6 shows, we didn't see a repetition of what happened in the past. After a fake dip, the market rebounds and rallies strongly to the upside. These kinds of moves often trap large swathes of market participants into losing positions. As a contrarian, it's my job to be on the other side.
As a contrarian, it's important to realize that you will not correctly predict every pattern every time. What you should try to do is to have an edge on the crowd. This can tilt the odds in your favor by enough of a margin to be profitable.
If the similarity is simple and seen by many participants it will quickly attract large volumes from unsophisticated traders. This will create materially significant opposite positions for market makers. In this case it will be in their interest that the similarity stops so that they can reduce their risk.
If the similarity is complex, it will take much longer to be noticed by enough participants to attract large volumes and become a materially important factor in the market.
Due to the likelihood of mistakes, as a contrarian you will need to generate many trading ideas. This should be across several diversified currency pairs or other instruments. This will allow you to allocate a small risk to each idea and thus generate less volatile returns.
i am an alpari customer and i am testing their retail trader market sentiment i am always trade against retail traders maximum volume.
for example : gbpusd retail traders have 35% sell volume and %65 buy volume.
but unfortunately this method sometimes work and sometimes market goes with their majority positions.
do you have any idea to make decisions more accurate?
Thank you! The tool from Alpari US you mentioned gives the actual positions, but unfortunately it does not give any information about expectations. That is where those open positions are expected to be closed and profits/losses fixed. In my opinion, identifying the levels of concentration of current take profit and stop loss orders of retail traders can be helpful to understand expectations. I would suggest to look at following resources from larger brokers, some of which give information not only about positions, but also about limit orders of traders.
Of course these resources will not give you the complete picture since many traders do not put orders or just put protective orders far from the market. However, I think they can improve results, especially in extreme market conditions. The good example was the picture in Oanda's open order book of EURCHF before the removal of the peg by Swiss National Bank in January 2015. At that time, in Oanda's order book there was a huge concentration of stop loss orders just below the peg level (1.20) and about 95% of positions by retail traders were long EURCHF. This explains why we saw such a big gap dawn for EURCHF. When there is a gap over the stop loss orders, they are executed by market price and not order price. This means bigger losses for the crowd and huge profits for market makers.
In addition to above mentioned resources, I would also suggest to consider following to other sources of market sentiment, such as analyst research and trading signal providers. This will also help to identify those factors that are behind traders' positions and on which levels are orders concentrated.


Mary Magdalene had her eyes fixed on Jesus in an amazing way. This may have been the reason she was the first person referred to in the Bible as having seen the risen Christ. So intent was she on Jesus that she came to His tomb before sunrise and remained there after Peter and John had left. She hardly noticed two angels in dazzling robes sitting in His tomb (Jn 20:12). She was preoccupied with, immersed in, baptized in Jesus (Acts 2:38).
To meet the risen Christ, we must also fix our eyes on Him. This is only the third day of the fifty-day Easter season, but as so many things vie for our attention, Jesus' resurrection may be the farthest thing from our minds. We must refuse to focus on our pressures, problems, and pleasures. We must not allow these things to push Jesus into the background. Rather, we should cast our cares on Him (1 Pt 5:7) and make the risen Lord the Center of our attention.
Prayer: Jesus, this Easter week, I refuse to focus on the most pressing problems or most attractive pleasures. I fix my eyes on You (Heb 12:2).


text:
Colin Cheaney's 22 points not enough for Batavia to hold off St. Francis
By Rick Armstrong
| Aurora Beacon-News |
Batavia's Colin Cheaney, left, looks to pass Friday night as St. Francis' Matthew Cooney defends. Cheaney had a game-high 22 points in the Bulldogs' 53-51 loss. (Jon Cunningham / The Beacon-News)
For senior Colin Cheaney and his Batavia teammates, Friday's 53-51 loss to St. Francis really stung. And there was a good reason.
This one got away.
Playing at home in the 41st annual Ken Peddy Classic, the Bulldogs held a seemingly comfortable 46-38 lead over the Spartans through three quarters. Batavia went cold in the fourth, however, shooting 1-for-7 and getting outscored 15-5.
Cheaney, a 6-foot-3 guard/forward who led all scorers with 22 points, struggled to explain it.
"I feel we were there with them the whole time," he said. "Just simple mistakes we can fix. Mental mistakes and turnovers killed us. They kind of kicked our (butt) in the fourth quarter. We're all (mad) about it. We're just going to work in practice really hard."
Batavia (1-2) committed five of its 19 turnovers in the fourth and junior guard Eric Peterson (9 points) made the Bulldogs' only basket, a 3-pointer with 47.1 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 52-51.
St. Francis (2-1) made just 1 of 4 free throws in the final 42 seconds and Batavia came up empty on their final two possessions with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Cheaney had a big hand in a 12-point swing over the final seven minutes of the second quarter as the Bulldogs erased a 19-12 deficit and took a 33-28 lead at halftime. He scored 10 points and had two rebounds in the quarter.
"I was just trying to get our team back in the game," Cheaney said. "I knew we needed a spark and I provided it. We've got to just stay with our roles defensively and follow the game plan."
Cheaney added eight points to go with a steal and an assist in the third quarter before things unraveled.
"(Cheaney) can do a lot of things well," Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. "But he'll be the first to tell you there are things he can improve on. He's our leading-minutes guy coming back. He could be a little more vocal out there. He's got to learn to take the initiative on things now."
Cheaney said he's trying.
"We haven't got a lot of guys back, so I'm trying to take the role," he said. "I've got to be the guy that brings us all together on the court and talking to guys on the floor, picking them up."
Nazos said his team is searching for its identity in the five-team round-robin tourney that concluded Saturday night.
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"In both our losses we've give the other team far too many possessions," he said. "We can't live like that."
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Wheaton Warrenville South 56, Kaneland 34: Dan Franck led Kaneland (1-3) with 11 points and Jake Hed had nine. Dillon Durrett had 17 points and Jake Healy added 11 for Wheaton South (3-0).
rarmstrong@tribpub.com
Twitter @RickArmstrong28