text:
March 23, 2018 12:22 am July 15, 2019 1:50 pm
The 'First-Ever' Rom-Com With Gay Protagonists, 'Love, Simon': A Needed, Imperfect Film
By Victoria Anders 496 Views 0 Comment
"Love, Simon" hit box offices early this month, being widely praised for its refreshing take on the mainstream rom-com through a queer coming of age lens. (Courtesy of 20st Century Fox)
"Love, Simon" opens, as many others, with a "typical teenager" going through high school.
"I have a totally, perfectly normal life," Simon, the protagonist, says. "Except I have one huge-ass secret."
Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) loves his family and their Netflix nights, has supportive (stereotypically suburbanite millennial) friends, and goes to a school with a welcoming, try-too-hard vice principal (certainly not everyone's experience), but not without homophobic bullies and a small student population that's anything other than straight and cis.
Of course, the one thing that makes him different from 'the norm' is that he is gay. And so, his coming out story begins.
"Love, Simon" is a rewrite of the classic, overused romantic comedy framework. Person A likes person B. Person B doesn't know. Person A wins over person B. Except here, person A and B are the same gender. And don't know each other's identity.
The big news at the beginning of Simon's senior year is an anonymous letter published by a student known only as "Blue" on the school gossip blog, revealing that he is gay but doesn't know how, or if, he can come out.
"A lot of my life is great, except nobody knows I'm gay," Blue says.
Hit with the realization that someone else feels the same as he does, Simon immediately emails Blue with his revelation, calling himself "Jacques" ("Jacques à dit" is the French version of 'Simon says').
The Gmail pen-pals quickly become much more than that, but their identities remain unknown until the end of the film, not without a couple cases of mistaken identity in Simon's quest to find Blue. The internet becomes each emailer's "safe place," but Simon seeks much more trust and openness than Blue is willing to return.
The family dynamics surrounding Simon echo those portrayed in "Call Me By Your Name" — incredibly supportive parents (Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel), openly talking about masturbation while naively (and heteronormatively) assuming that Simon is imagining his girlfriend Gigi Hadid.
All of the film's characters play up the stereotype of their role a little too much. The drama teacher is a bit too dramatic (and ultimately channels this into publicly humiliating the aforementioned bullies), the school nerd remains too laughable and outrageous, the class couple kisses a bit too often and strongly, and Simon is too terrible at hiding his lack of desire for girls.
Most of all, there are too many instances of people saying the wrong thing to Simon as he comes out.
The classic tropes become intriguingly complex as Simon is forced to hide his identity for fear of it being revealed on someone else's terms, a battle he ultimately loses, and during which, he hurts most of his friends. His parents also require some time to figure out the right thing to say once Simon reveals his secret.
"I am still the same Simon," he tells them, without actually believing it himself yet. His dad holds regret for not realizing this fact about his son, while his mom regrets not asking him about it. It takes a lot of reflection, pain, and courage (with much of the support system he begins with lost) for Simon to finally come out for himself, in his own words.
Though this portion of his journey is the shortest and least fleshed out in the film, Robinson strongly portrays the "ferris wheel" of emotions involved.
In some ways, the movie shows that the struggle of coming out exists among people in all social situations and climates. Having a relatively diverse group of friends and a supportive family and school environment will not guarantee a smooth coming out process.
It delves into the world of coming out, particularly in high school when the last thing anyone wants is to be marked as 'different,' in the age of constant gossip and information spread throughout school, reaching even your siblings and teachers. But it also undermines the experiences of those who don't have many of those privileges as they come to terms with their sexuality.
It's certainly not the first film with gay protagonists, not even the first released this year. But, it may just be the first film taking on the money-making, low-risk, mainstream rom-com genre with a same-sex romance.
Perhaps, "Love, Simon" will bring the trials and strength in coming to terms with and revealing your sexuality, or any other aspect of your identity, at your own pace and in your own manner, to a younger audience that hasn't experienced these on-screen through its otherwise arthouse predecessors.
Is The 'Madness' Of March As Great As It Seems?
Five Things I Learned About Life After Rape


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text:
March 31 – April 6, 2018 | No. 198
A journey down the Whanganui River with Charles Ranginui. By Romy Ash.
Whanganui River guide Charles Ranginui
The Whanganui River, on the North Island of New Zealand, is in flood. It's racing towards the river mouth. Here in the town of Whanganui, the water is high over the boardwalk. Ducks quacking and diving, bums in the air. I see Charles Ranginui from afar and he has a camera to his eye. He has it pointed at a pair of half-submerged rubbish bins, and then out into water that's full of debris. I watch a chest freezer float past. The branches of a huge tree break against the town bridge as it sweeps beneath it. I can smell mud, and the water is brown with silt.
Ranginui has lived and worked on this river his whole life. He's a river guide and his iwi, his tribe, is Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. He was brought up with the Ngā Poutama people of the bottom reaches of the river. His clan is Ngāti Ruru of Parinui, of the upper reaches. As well as working as a river guide during the summer season, he exhibits his photography and drives trucks. Seven years ago he guided my family down the river on a similar day, the river rising in flood, though it wasn't as fierce. I remember him standing tall at the back of his six-man canoe, made from his iwi's mould. In his wetsuit, slick as quicksilver in the pouring rain, he steered with a paddle, laughing and telling stories, even as he instructed us on how to paddle through treacherous rapids, each of which he knows by name. The route Ranginui guides takes days to canoe and is incredibly remote, the river weaving through fern-rimmed canyons. When he sees me he draws me into a deep hug. "How you doing, darling?" he says smiling.
"Look," he says, pointing to the water. "The drama."
There's a stump floating upright. "See, it's going down now, and it's going to come back up." It looks incongruous. It's so large and moving wildly. "Wow, that's epic," he says. "That's what happens upriver. That's why it's so dangerous up there. You know, the roots are down low. See how it's popping up and down, that's freaky." He says that even when the river isn't in flood, these submerged trees can rise up out of the water with no warning at all.
Ranginui was born upriver, in a place called Ohui. "My family, they'd use the dinghy and go out and grab logs," he says. "They'd have No. 8 wire and they'd jump on and hammer the No. 8 wire into the log while it's still drifting, and they'd use the dinghy to drag the logs in close to the shore and they'd quickly jump off, tie it around a tree and it'd anchor and then swing right around. Free firewood, but some are good to carve, too. There'd be lots of native out there," he says, pointing to the debris-filled river. "It's a carver's dream. They're all going to end up on the friggin' beach. The next couple of days, it's going to be epic."
The beach at the river mouth is a black iron sand beach and driftwood piles up at the high-tide line. As if to prove him right, a log, straight and long, floats by and the timber is a beautiful red colour. Ranginui exclaims and shakes his head at the missed opportunity: beautiful timber, could make a waka with that, he says – a canoe. "If we could catch it."
"We used to have an ancient canoe, a dugout, and it was so stable. There's a couple in the museum. We used to go across the river and the sides – it's not high like a six-man, it's really low. It's like just sitting on a log. My dad would have all the pig dogs, sheep dogs, and all the food – my dad, I remember him using a shovel as a paddle – bloody amazing. I'll never forget the shovel. We'd be right on top of the water and the dogs would try and jump. I remember misty mornings – the mist, wow. Hence my photography now. It really made an impact. Everywhere I look I see pictures."
Ranginui is soft spoken, and I have to lean in to hear his voice as a cold wind whips across the water.
"There's a natural eddy – see where the bubbles are," he says, pointing to the river again. "That's been there since ancients' times, before Europeans. Everywhere on the river where there's a natural bend, there's always eddies. See that current out past the bubbles, it's all swinging down that way and then here's the calm spot – and in this flood you can still paddle upriver if you stay in close, can you see? You could paddle up there pretty easy, really, until you hit some swift. But then you could still sidle across there, you know, just sidle across to the other side, just gently, it'd be kind of freaky with all the logs – but it's doable. But upriver today, it'd scare you to bits."
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on Mar 31, 2018 as "Life of a river guide".
A free press is one you pay for. In the short term, the economic fallout from coronavirus has taken about a third of our revenue. We will survive this crisis, but we need the support of readers. Now is the time to subscribe.
Romy Ash is a novelist. Her first book, Floundering, was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE TABLE OF CONTENTS NEXT ARTICLE
March 31 – April 6, 2018 Edition No. 198
The reality of Australian cricket's boor war Martin McKenzie-Murray
Dutton uses visas as second criminal sentence Santilla Chingaipe
Tim Storer's stand on corporate tax Karen Middleton
Facebook and data harvesting Greg Foyster
Gap not closing on Indigenous disadvantage Mike Seccombe
Russian diplomats expelled around globe Hamish McDonald
The land of the fair gone Mike Carlton
Abbott's giving up is not the same as letting go Paul Bongiorno
Gadfly: Throwing the book at Dutton Richard Ackland
Jason Phu Cartoon, March 31–April 6, 2018 Jason Phu
Race chasing
Politicians in stasis on climate
Author Sarah Sentilles' churchless faith Kirsten Krauth
'The Other Side of Hope' Christos Tsiolkas
Whanganui River guide Charles Ranginui Romy Ash
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted Reviewer: CG
Little Gods Reviewer: EA
Munmun Reviewer: JD
Squid noodles with shiitake David Moyle
On tour in Serbia Hugo Race
Starting a magazine Beth Wilkinson
The Mayor: Stewart McSweyn, 22, runner Cindy MacDonald
Easter always falls on the first Sunday after what? Cindy MacDonald

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The conventional dual polarization micropulse lidar uses two separate photomultiplier tubes (PMT) to detect both the copolarized and cross-polarized beam. The prominent sources of error in the depolarization ratio measurement are mismatch in PMT, improper selection of discriminator threshold and unequal PMT high voltage. In the present work a technique for the measurement of lidar depolarization ratio using only one PMT sensor has been developed. The same PMT detects both copolarized and cross-polarized lidar backscatter. A stepper motor is used along with the mirrors to bring both the received polarization signals over the PMT window. Application of the same PMT minimizes the error caused in the depolarization ratio measurement due to error in photon counting of an individual channel. The design description of this technique along with the preliminary results depicting its functionality has been mentioned in this article.


While analyzing my blog stats and post click. I found out that most of my viewers liked app listing for Android OS. So, today, I am here to list out the Top 10 Must Have Android Apps for STUDENTS.
& Thesaurus.com! OFFLINE access is now available!
Save articles, news stories, blog posts, videos, recipes, and any web links that you find online or from your favorite apps.
S Converter is a fast, simple, and colorful unit converter.With a clean and simple user interface, S Converter is the most. HOLO and easy to use unit converter!Convert kilometers to miles, kilograms to pounds, decimal numbers to binary numbers, and much more with ease!
• Instant Conversion as you type.
• Convert to all units simultaneously.
• Hide unused units by swiping them away (or unchecking them from the settings page).
• Currency conversion with over 60 currencies.
Timetable is the most beautiful and intuitive app on Google Play for managing your school or university life. Save your timetable and all tasks from homework to exams. You only need to enter them once, because Timetable syncs across all your Android devices. Often forget to turn down your phone's volume? No problem with the app automatically mutes your phone during lessons.
TED's official Android app presents talks from some of the world's most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus, and music legends. Find more than 1700 TEDTalk videos and audios (with more added each week) on the official TED app — now for tablets and smartphones.
Android's #1 Scientific Calculator. A fully featured scientific calculator which looks and operates like the real thing.
Innovative book reader with powerful controls & full functions.
• Highlight, Annotation, Dictionary (Offline or Online, support ColorDict, GoldenDict, Fora, ABBYY Lingvo, etc.), Translation, Share functions all in this ebook reader and many more.
With Coursera, education is free, open, online – and now mobile! Coursera connects students, professionals, and lifelong learners everywhere with free online courses from over 100 top- tier global universities and institutions. Browse courses and watch lectures from the world's best instructors anytime, anywhere – on your commute or on the treadmill, whether you're interested in cooking or computer science.
Message from Wikipedia Foundation – Welcome to the Wikipedia Beta for Android! We're excited to offer a major update to the Wikipedia Android app for beta testing before our full market release.
World's Most Popular, Free Android Office App. Over 300 Million Users and 490,000 Google Play Reviews! Fully compatible with Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and Excel.
The list would not be complete if I didn't list Google Keep which is an awesome apps for adding notes, lists and photos.
What's your favorite apps among above list. Do comment it.


These Chinese spectators staring at "The Big Dig" exhibit at the Xi'an International Horticultural Expo are clearly wondering why there is a giant hole in the ground – and so, probably, are you. German design firm Topotek1 was asked to build a garden exhibit for the expo which they were happy to do, except instead of sticking with the same old standard two dimensional program, they dug a swirling green hole that explores what it would be like if, say, the temperatures on earth become so unbearable that people decide to dig a giant tunnel that leads all the way to China. The exhibit or hole in Xi'an is the imaginary destination – the place where subterranean travelers would arrive!
We don't often come across them, but we love speculative design projects that challenge us to imagine a world that we can't readily see. But maybe we shouldn't take the little blue pill too soon?
These Chinese spectators staring at "The Big Dig" exhibit at the Xi'an International Horticultural Expo are clearly wondering why there is a giant hole in the ground - and so, probably, are you. German design firm Topotek1 was asked to build a garden exhibit for the expo which they were happy to do, except instead of sticking with the same old standard two dimensional program, they dug a swirling green hole that explores what it would be like if, say, the temperatures on earth become so unbearable that people decide to dig a giant tunnel that leads all the way to China. The exhibit or hole in Xi'an is the imaginary destination - the place where subterranean travelers would arrive!


You know, my church lied to me for many years?
They said men had one less rib than women. Because of how God created Eve from Adam's rib.
I mean, they've been telling me that for many many years. And I believed that. How can I not believe them when I trusted them with my life?
At that time, there was no Internet.
As I got older I realized that they've been lying to me.
All religion is good and beautiful. Innocent blind faith will not hurt anyone as long as they preach love and care.
But don't lie to them.
This feeling of resentment still remains after 20-30 years.


text:
from oslo_config import cfg
from oslo_log import log
from oslo_service import periodic_task

from arsenal.common import rate_limiter
from arsenal.common import util
from arsenal.strategy import base as sb

LOG = log.getLogger(__name__)

CONF = cfg.CONF

opts = [
    cfg.StrOpt('scout',
               help='The scout modulename and class name to load in the '
                    'director. Should follow the format: '
                    'module_name.ClassName'),
    cfg.IntOpt('poll_spacing',
               default=120,
               help='How long to wait, in seconds, between polling various '
                    'sources (Ironic, Nova, Glance, etc.) for data.'),
    cfg.IntOpt('directive_spacing',
               default=120,
               help='How long to wait, in seconds, between issuing new '
                    'directives from the configured strategy object.'),
    cfg.BoolOpt('dry_run',
                default=False,
                help='When true, prevents Arsenal from issuing directives. '
                     'Useful for debugging configuration or strategy issues '
                     'in a real environment, without affecting outside '
                     'services.'),
    cfg.IntOpt('cache_directive_rate_limit',
               default=0,
               help='Limits how many cache directives that can be issued by'
                    'arsenal before triggering a cool-down which prevents more'
                    'cache directives from being issued until the cool-down '
                    'expires.'),
    cfg.IntOpt('cache_directive_limiting_period',
               default=300,
               help='Determines the amount of time needed to pass before a '
                    'new rate-limit period for cache directives begins.'),
    cfg.IntOpt('eject_directive_rate_limit',
               default=0,
               help='Limits how many node-eject directives that can be issued '
                    'by arsenal before triggering a cool-down which prevents '
                    'more ejection directives from being issued until the '
                    'cool-down expires.'),
    cfg.IntOpt('eject_directive_limiting_period',
               default=300,
               help='Determines the amount of time needed to pass before a '
                    'new rate-limit period for ejection directives begins.'),
    cfg.BoolOpt('log_statistics',
                default=True,
                help='When True, Arsenal will log detailed information about '
                     'the state of nodes returned by the configured Scout. '
                     'Including a breakdowns by flavor and images.')
]

director_group = cfg.OptGroup(name='director',
                              title='Configuration for Arsenal\'s '
                                    'DirectorScheduler.')

CONF = cfg.CONF
CONF.register_group(director_group)
CONF.register_opts(opts, director_group)

def get_configured_scout():
    loader = util.LoadClass(CONF.director.scout,
                            package_prefix='arsenal.director')
    return loader.loaded_class()

def get_configured_rate_limiter(name, rate_limit, limiting_period):
    if rate_limit == 0:
        LOG.info("%s directives will not be rate limited during this run." %
                 (name))
        return None
    LOG.info("%(name)s directives will be rate limited to %(rate_limit)d "
             "every %(seconds)d second(s).", {
                 'name': name,
                 'rate_limit': rate_limit,
                 'seconds': limiting_period})
    return rate_limiter.RateLimiter(
        limit=rate_limit,
        limit_period=limiting_period)

def get_configured_ejection_rate_limiter():
    return get_configured_rate_limiter(
        'Ejection',
        CONF.director.eject_directive_rate_limit,
        CONF.director.eject_directive_limiting_period)

def get_configured_cache_rate_limiter():
    return get_configured_rate_limiter(
        'Cache',
        CONF.director.cache_directive_rate_limit,
        CONF.director.cache_directive_limiting_period)

def rate_limit_directives(rate_limiter, directives, name, identity_func):
        if rate_limiter is not None:
            filtered_directives = list(filter(identity_func, directives))
            LOG.info("Got %(num)d %(name)s directives from the strategy.",
                     {'num': len(filtered_directives), 'name': name})
            other_directives = list(filter(lambda d: not identity_func(d),
                                    directives))
            rate_limiter.add_items(filtered_directives)
            rate_limited_directives = rate_limiter.withdraw_items()
            LOG.info("Limited %(name)s directives issued to %(num)d, due to "
                     "rate limiting.",
                     {'num': len(rate_limited_directives), 'name': name})
            directives = rate_limited_directives + other_directives
            # NOTE(ClifHouck): Clearing the items in the rate limiter so
            # that old directives don't stick around. This doesn't
            # affect rate limiting behavior otherwise.
            rate_limiter.clear()
        return directives

class DirectorScheduler(periodic_task.PeriodicTasks):
    """Arsenal Director Scheduler class."""

    def __init__(self):
        super(DirectorScheduler, self).__init__(CONF)
        self.node_data = []
        self.image_data = []
        self.flavor_data = []
        self.strat = sb.get_configured_strategy()
        self.scout = get_configured_scout()
        self.cache_rate_limiter = get_configured_cache_rate_limiter()
        self.eject_rate_limiter = get_configured_ejection_rate_limiter()

    def periodic_tasks(self, context, raise_on_error=False):
        return self.run_periodic_tasks(context, raise_on_error)

    @periodic_task.periodic_task(run_immediately=True,
                                 spacing=CONF.director.poll_spacing)
    def poll_for_flavor_data(self, context):
        LOG.debug("Scouting for flavor data...")
        self.flavor_data = self.scout.retrieve_flavor_data()

    @periodic_task.periodic_task(run_immediately=True,
                                 spacing=CONF.director.poll_spacing)
    def poll_for_image_data(self, context):
        LOG.debug("Scouting for image data...")
        self.image_data = self.scout.retrieve_image_data()

    def rate_limit_cache_directives(self, directives):
        def is_cache_directive(directive):
            return isinstance(directive, sb.CacheNode)

        return rate_limit_directives(self.cache_rate_limiter,
                                     directives,
                                     'cache',
                                     is_cache_directive)

    def rate_limit_eject_directives(self, directives):
        def is_eject_directive(directive):
            return isinstance(directive, sb.EjectNode)

        return rate_limit_directives(self.eject_rate_limiter,
                                     directives,
                                     'eject',
                                     is_eject_directive)

    @periodic_task.periodic_task(spacing=CONF.director.directive_spacing)
    def issue_directives(self, context):
        LOG.info("Consulting strategy and issuing directives.")

        # NOTE(ClifHouck): It's really important to have node state be as
        # current as possible. So instead of polling for it, I'm leaving it
        # tied to updating the state of the strategy.
        self.node_data = self.scout.retrieve_node_data()

        self.strat.update_current_state(self.node_data, self.image_data,
                                        self.flavor_data)

        if CONF.director.log_statistics:
            sb.log_overall_node_statistics(self.node_data,
                                           self.flavor_data,
                                           self.image_data)

        if len(self.node_data) == 0:
            LOG.warning("No images to cache! Are you sure Arsenal is talking "
                        "to Glance properly?")
        if len(self.flavor_data) == 0:
            LOG.warning("No flavors detected! Are you sure Arsenal is talking "
                        "to Nova properly?")
        if len(self.image_data) == 0:
            LOG.warning("No nodes detected! Are you sure Arsenal is talking "
                        "to Ironic properly?")

        probable_scouting_error = (len(self.node_data) == 0 or
                                   len(self.image_data) == 0 or
                                   len(self.flavor_data) == 0)
        if probable_scouting_error:
            LOG.error("Probable scouting error detected. Arsenal will not "
                      "consult the configured Strategy nor issue new "
                      "directives until scouting returns to normal.")
            return

        directives = self.strat.directives()

        directives = self.rate_limit_cache_directives(directives)
        directives = self.rate_limit_eject_directives(directives)

        if CONF.director.dry_run:
            LOG.info("Director is in dry-run mode. No directives will be "
                     "issued during this run.")
            LOG.info("Got %(num)s directive(s) from the configured strategy.",
                     {'num': len(directives)})
            for directive in directives:
                LOG.info(str(directive))
            return
        else:
            LOG.info("Issuing all directives through configured scout.")
            for directive in directives:
                self.scout.issue_action(directive)

        LOG.info("Finished issuing directives.")

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
HomeAus Capital TerritoryUniversity Of Canberra
QS Ranking: #511-520
CRICOS Provider Code: 00212K
Institution Name: University of Canberra
Total capacity across all provider's locations: 3816
The main campus of the public research institution University of Canberra (UC) is situated in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Westfield Belconnen is a short stroll from the university, and it is 8.7 kilometers (5.4 miles) from Canberra's Civic Centre. The University of Canberra offers undergraduate and graduate programs in five faculties: science and technology, business, government and law, art and design, health, and education.
UC collaborates with the University of Canberra High School Kaleen and UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra, two nearby ACT schools. Both domestic and foreign students can enter university through the University of Canberra College.
UC graduates have a 90% employment rate and higher beginning wages than the average for Australian universities because of the real-world, practical approach to education and deeply embedded work-based learning.


text:
Atheism is Evil
For discussion of moral and ethical issues.
Re: Atheism is Evil#15014123
By Godstud - 25 Jun 2019 01:06
- 25 Jun 2019 01:06 #15014123
Anasawad wrote: These radicals will keep using these buzz words until it loses all of its meaning.
Nowadays, the words sexist, racist, misogyny, bigotry, prejudice, oppression, slavery, fascism, and even Nazi have pretty much lost their meaning since 'they' call everyone who disagrees with them these things.
If everyone is a Nazi, then the word Nazi means nothing. If everyone is sexist, racist, etc then no one is.
No, this is patently false. These words are being used properly to describe behaviors, and what people say. It's very rare for a person to be called a racist or even Nazi, unless they are actively promoting those ideas. The right-wing just wants gullible people to believe that they are being used indiscriminately, so they can have carte blanche when it come to expression their odious ideas.
On this forum, when you see someone called a racist, it's after they say some stupidly racist shit. Nazi? After they sit there supporting Nazis for pages on end. It's simple and it's obvious.
"Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Godstud
Ideology: Social-Democrat
Location: Pak Khat, Bueng Kan, Thailand
By SolarCross - 25 Jun 2019 01:12
@Godstud
Did you even read the post that @anasawad commented on? @SSDR just called @Truth To Power a nazi twice. Do you seriously mean to claim that @Truth To Power is an actual goosestepping state-worshipping fuhrer-loving nazi?
By anasawad - 25 Jun 2019 01:23
It's right up there.
In response to saying he is a centrist who doesn't fully agree with either capitalists or socialists and supports liberty and justice, he was called a Nazi.
In response to hem clarifying that not everything is slavery and that it's not good to broaden the term so much it loses the meaning, he is accused of supporting slavery.
(Which by the way, I do agree with that, we have these many categories because broadening the meaning of the word slavery diminishes the horrors it entails)
And I've seen this many many times, whether here on PoFo, or Youtube, or mainstream media, or politics. And not only on western sites and channels, even here these movements are catching on.
Throwing the words Nazi or sexist or racist on everything is not good, and it is being done by many radical left wing activists nowadays.
If someone said for example the Africans at the moment have lower IQ on average than the rest of the world. That's not a racist statement, it's a statistical observation.
If it was followed by the reasons why these numbers are like that, e.g. constant threat and danger due to wars, poverty, lack of education, lack of nutrition, etc. Then it's not racist.
If, however, it was followed by a justification of: "it's because they're black", then it's racist.
However what we do see is that regardless of the context, the person is called a racist just for noting these statistics.
In this thread I've been called a sexist and other things, why? for pointing out that men and women do have biological and psychological differences that does influence their behavior and preferences and supporting the equal but different principle, as well as putting a factual statement that families are not "oppressive" or "anti women", but rather a natural part of evolution as mammals since family structures do indeed exist all over the mammalian world and it is a mammalian instinct.
Just read the conversation, and tell me if you can find a place where it is sexism or whatever with justification for why it would be. You wont. I checked.
But ,nonetheless, here we are.
You can go around the entire internet, social media, and mainstream media, and you'll find the same thing everywhere.
These words are just thrown around for any disagreement.
That is a major problem that should be addressed. It's not a joke.
If everything is sexist, then no one will take it seriously in cases of actual sexism.
If everything is racist, then no one will take it seriously in cases of actual racism.
If you throw around the word fascist everywhere, then no one will react sufficiently when actual fascists show up.
anasawad
Solarcross wrote: @Godstud
No, and I do not care, as SSDR is quite the radical(my opinion only), and this is not the norm.
@anasawad noemon posted something about this on another thread. I mentioned you in that thread, to point it out to you. It applies quite well to this conversation.
And radicals are increasing in number on both the far left and far right, and that is a problem that should be addressed.
noemon posted something about this on another thread. I mentioned you in that thread, to point it out to you. It applies quite well to this conversation.
The statement I was noting was just his last statement and response to it, I did not read the entire conversation, just the last two posts which I commented on.
But it doesn't have to be his, I was called the same. Where is the sexism and misogyny in my posts?
And I've seen these radical feminist activists in action in Minsk, and online they give an endless supply of examples for this misuse of terms.
From the other thread:
I think it applies to your comment on another thread about people using words like Nazi and racist.
I do understand there is a cultural connotation in some countries, I don't necessarily know what it is but I do know some sensitivities exist.
But, nonetheless, we're arguing online on an international forum, and local sites are rare since most are international. So the discussion and statements within it should be taken on its own merits regardless of the cultural and societal connotation of the one who said it.
Last edited by anasawad on 25 Jun 2019 01:45, edited 1 time in total.
anasawad wrote: And radicals are increasing in number on both the far left and far right, and that is a problem that should be addressed.
It's easy to see when someone calling someone a racist, is unfounded. How do you suggest we address this problem? Do we stop calling racist people racists, simply because some people use it uncorrectly?
On the flip side, some people call the people who criticize Israel anti-semitic. It's not, of course.
anasawad wrote: Where is the sexism and misogyny in my posts?
When I mentioned it, I was not picking on you in particular, even though some of what you said was indeed sexist. The others posted the misogynistic things. I was generalizing, at the time.
anasawad wrote: And I've seen these radical feminist activists in action in Minsk, and online they give an endless supply of examples for this misuse of terms.
You can go anywhere and see this, but as you see, it's mostly the radicals who can't differentiate. You get the same with the RWSJW (Right Wing Social Justice Warriors), who call LGBTQ people "alphabet people" simply to be belligerent.
By Julian658 - 25 Jun 2019 01:51
Godstud wrote: It's easy to see when someone calling someone a racist, is unfounded. How do you suggest we address this problem? Do we stop calling racist people racists, simply because some people use it uncorrectly?
Oh, please look around. Racism has gone down a lot and continues to go down. The issue is that the media publishes
racism 24/7 and gullible people fall for that sort of thing.
Julian658
Rank: Unperson
I do look around and I do not see what you see.
Racism is as alive as ever in the USA, and more visible than ever.
What is wrong with identifying racism, when you see it? Do you want to hide racism behind a false facade?
I won't claim to have a solution, however we can start by correcting and calling the misuse when it's the case to atleast preserve the meaning of words.
For a full solution, I'm sure many more qualified people than me will figure one out and I'll gladly walk along.
And that's the problem I have, which is why I responded to you and clarified.
I don't believe any of what I said was sexist. In lines of work, some fields both men and women perform equally in that each individual performance is determined by the skills, education, expertise, etc of that individual irregardless of gender.
On the other hand, there are fields where men, on average, perform better due to their biology, particularly physical labor and the such; All while other fields women, on average, perform better, also do to their biology, particularly fields regarding care, and they do in care due to the inherit motherly instinct ingrained in females in general which makes women, on average (not all), better than men in this regard.
I did also mention marketing and sales, which I wont say all, but rather average and not all again, and I figured it is that way since women do represent a disproportionate percentage of these fields in most countries. I assume this is due to neoteny and other factors, but I will have to do more reading on it to specify all the factors regarding why this disparity is in place.
(Which is why I didn't delve much into these)
I don't see how this argument is sexist. There is no prejudice or any such thing in it.
And that is something to be addressed, not to be ignored.
By Pants-of-dog - 25 Jun 2019 04:49
Speaking of atheism and racism:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog ... and-racism
Secularism, Religion, and Racism
Who is more likely to be racist, the strongly religious or the strongly secular?
Who is more likely to be racist: strongly religious people or strongly secular people?
Let's first consider each group's basic worldview or belief system concerning the nature of people.
According to the strongly religious, we humans are all God's children. A few thousand years ago, an invisible, magic Being made Adam and then Eve, and we are all the descendants of these two first humans. And thus—despite our various ethnic, racial, or phenotypical differences—we are all one. We are all brothers and sisters, given that we all have the same divine progenitor: God. Such a belief should clearly render racism untenable.
According to the strongly secular, we humans are the descendants of preexisting primates. Many hundreds of thousands of years ago, through the processes of random mutation and natural selection, humans evolved out of earlier primates. Grounded upon extensive scientific evidence, the reality of our evolutionary past illustrates that we are all in fact one species; despite various ethnic, racial, or phenotypical differences, we are all brothers and sisters, sharing the same genetic inheritance and makeup. Such a fact should clearly render racism untenable.
There is thus some nice agreement—between religious and secular—when it comes to the "oneness" of humanity. Although based upon completely different perspectives, both worldviews agree that racial distinctions are ultimately insignificant, or at least should be. Skin color, hair texture, eye shape, nose shape, etc.—such trivialities should not be a basis to separate humanity into distinct or different groups, nor should they determine character, morality, or potential. Racism is thus not only pernicious and unloving, but intrinsically at odds with both orientations.
And yet, despite the potential for human unity and oneness within both the strongly religious and the strongly secular perspectives, social science reveals that the religious worldview actually fails to "click" with many religious people, especially the strongly religious, who are much more likely to be racist than the strongly secular.
In his latest analysis of 40 years of aggregate data from the General Social Survey (see his book Changing Faith, 2014), sociologist Darren Sherkat reveals that strongly religious Americans are far more likely to support laws against interracial marriage than secular Americans; indeed 45 percent of Baptists and 38 percent of sectarian Protestants (conservative Evangelicals) support laws against interracial marriage, but only 11 percent of secular people do. And while 26 percent of Baptists and 21 percent of conservative Evangelicals state that they would not vote for an African American for president, only 9.5 percent of secular/non-religious people state as much.
Sherkat's analysis is no outlier. He's found what many others have found: that the more religious a person is, the more likely he are she is going to be racist, and the less religious he or she is, the less likely.
Consider perhaps the most definitive study on this question ever published. In a landmark analysis titled "Why Don't We Practice What We Preach: A Meta-Analytic Review of Religious Racism," Duke University professor Deborah Hall and associates carefully analyzed 55 separate studies in order to reveal the relationship between religion, irreligion, and racism. And the most pertinent finding was that strongly religious Americans tend to be the most racist, moderately religious Americans tend to be less racist, and yet the group of Americans found to be the least racist of all are secular Americans, particularly those espousing an agnostic orientation.
As psychologists Ralph Hood, Peter Hill, and Bernard Spilka have noted, in their comprehensive The Psychology of Religion, and basing their assessment upon decades of research, "as a broad generalization, the more religious an individual is, the more prejudiced that person is."
Perhaps this helps explain why secular white people were more likely than religious white people to support the Civil Rights Movement, or why secular Americans today take a more accepting/generous attitude towards immigrants of color than religious Americans, or why secular white South Africans were more likely to be against Apartheid than religious white South Africans, or why secular Israelis today are more likely to support the human rights of Palestinians than religious Israelis.
Of course, this whole matter of religiosity-secularity-racism is only a correlation. We certainly cannot conclude that religion causes racism, or that secularism somehow makes racism magically disappear. We know that there are many secular people who are racist to varying degrees, and there are many religious people who don't internalize racism, and resist and fight against it with all their hearts. Racism within the secular community needs to be acknowledged, confronted, and diluted. And humanistic, anti-racism within religious communities needs to be lauded, echoed, and supported.
But the correlation still stands. When it comes to racism, it is more likely to be found among the religious, and less likely among the secular. Whether this has to do with our differing belief systems and worldviews, or sociological factors such educational attainment, socio-economic status, and rural/urban demography, or a host of other possibilities, needs to be better understood.
So, it turns out that theists are more likely to be racists than their irreligious siblings.
But wait, it gets more complicated:
https://www.bartduriez.com/sites/defaul ... sebaut.pdf
The relation between religion and racism: the role of post-critical beliefs
B. DURIEZ & D. HUTSEBAUT
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
The relation between religion and racism has often been studied, but summarising these studies provides a fragmented picture. Generally, American research concludes there is a positive relation, whereas research in the Low Countries concludes this relation is negative. However, the conclusions of the latter research tradition might be premature, because inaccurate religiosity measures were used. The results of this study suggest that both frequency of church attendance and belief salience are no longer significantly related to racism. Four religious attitudes are described, based on individuals inclusion or exclusion of transcendence, and preference for symbolic or literal interpretation. Orthodoxy (literal, transcendent) and External Critique (literal, non-transcendent) were significantly positively related to racism, whereas Relativism (symbolic, non-transcendent) was significantly negatively related to it. Second Naïveté (symbolic, transcendent) at first sight turned out not to be significantly related to racism. However; a path analysis—in which some important background variables such as age and education were included—suggested the existence of an indirect negative relation. Overall it looks as if the privatisation of religion has reached new heights. Thus nowadays, studies of the relation between religion and racism need to focus on the cognitive (rather than behavioural) aspects of how people deal with the religious realm.
Godstud wrote: I do look around and I do not see what you see.
If you are obsessed about your crooked nose you check out the noses of everybody and you discover a lot of crooked noses.
If you are not paying attention to crooked noses you only see a few here and there.
No one is obsessed with anything. Recognizing it, when it occurs, is obviously something you are incapable of.
It's a matter of saying, "It's raining.", when it rains. You don't say, "It's raining.", when it's not.
Your metaphor was idiotic.
Godstud wrote: No one is obsessed with anything. Recognizing it, when it occurs, is obviously something you are incapable of.
OK, let me give you an example:
Cops shoot more white people than black people and yet there is the perception that blacks are preferentially shot.
A study carried out at the University of California found "evidence of a significant bias in the killing of unarmed black Americans compared to unarmed white Americans".[1] In this study, the probability of being shot by the police as a black, unarmed person versus as a white, unarmed person was 3.49 times higher. Unarmed Hispanics' likelihood to be shot was 1.67 times higher than for unarmed Whites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_bias
By Truth To Power - 25 Jun 2019 17:18
Julian658 wrote: OK, let me give you an example:
And that perception may or may not be valid, depending on a number of factors. How many black people are there compared to white people? How many violent crimes does each race commit? How many interactions with police does each race have? In what fraction of police interactions is each race a known criminal? In what fraction of such interactions does each race have a weapon? A firearm? Etc.
Truth To Power wrote: And that perception may or may not be valid, depending on a number of factors. How many black people are there compared to white people? How many violent crimes does each race commit? How many interactions with police does each race have? In what fraction of police interactions is each race a known criminal? In what fraction of such interactions does each race have a weapon? A firearm? Etc.
All that data is available.
The problem is that American cops are trained to shoot right away if there is any perception of danger to them. The cops are poorly trained.
There are many videos of white people that are executed by cops if you search for them. The media never shows these executions because the victims are white.
Here is a video of one of the whitest man in America------- Watch how he was murdered:
White man murdered by a cop
Here is another man of Nordic origin being shot while moribund on the ground: Forward to 1:50 to see the murder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3kJg6rNVz8&has_verified=1
The media was silent about these cases. BTW, there are plenty more if you care to look.
Godstud wrote: A study carried out at the University of California found "evidence of a significant bias in the killing of unarmed black Americans compared to unarmed white Americans".[1] In this study, the probability of being shot by the police as a black, unarmed person versus as a white, unarmed person was 3.49 times higher. Unarmed Hispanics' likelihood to be shot was 1.67 times higher than for unarmed Whites.
Looking at those results does not mean racism. That would be like saying the NBA is 90% black therefore there is discrimination against white basketball players. It does not work that way.
Julian658 wrote: Looking at those results does not mean racism. That would be like saying the NBA is 90% black therefore there is discrimination against white basketball players. It does not work that way.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a platypus??
More white than black people are shot. It is important to distinguish to differentiate between the number of deaths of an ethnic group and the likelihood of being shot by police.The likelihood of being shot as a black rather than a white person is higher, whether the victim is armed or not.
SSDR wrote: In socialism, everyone has an equal chance in their lives.
Like the naked mole rats, who all have equal opportunity to eat each other's feces.
"Legal entitlements to benefit" doesn't exist in socialism
You will pardon me for being skeptical about what you claim does and doesn't exist in socialism.
because that economically promotes the family institution via inheritance.
Inheritance doesn't require privilege.
"Above" meaning socially, economically, politically, and culturally.
Then men are below women in our culture: they do worse in school, they are ten times as likely to be in jail, they die earlier, they cast fewer votes, they are three times as likely to commit suicide and four times as likely to be murdered, etc., etc.
Men are manipulated to act tough, while women are manipulated to act submissive, and emotional.
It's not manipulation. It's biology. Hormones. DNA. All the same sexual dimorphisms and consequent sex role differences are observed in our closest primate relatives. Socialists have just never come to terms with Darwin.
In lesser advanced economics, women have to rely on male fathers or male husbands due to how the obsolete economics are set up.
It's socialism that is obsolete -- except for socialist naked mole rats happily feeding on each other's feces, of course.
There are not a lot of female politicians.
Or female prison inmates. And for much the same reasons: the difference in value placed on status, dominance, and power vs affiliation, safety, and relationships.
Women in politics wasn't common until the mid 20th century.
And it's because most women know better than to go into electoral politics, which is brutally demanding, dirty and competitive.
Margot Honecker (one of the best people to ever live) is a great example of someone who would go against patriarchy politically.
You mean the Minister of Forcible Communist Indoctrination and Thought Control??
The false definition of slavery that you have shows that your statements are false.
The definition I gave is accurate.
Slavery is when one human is OWNED by another human.
No, that's only chattel slavery. There are also, e.g., penal slavery, military slavery, etc., which do not involve ownership. You are, as usual, just objectively wrong. OBJECTIVELY.
It doesn't have to involve direct force.
Religion, family faith, and certain cultural norms existed in the past to prevent the masses from gaining real consciousness (slaves supporting slavery).
That is not slavery.
You are attempting to redefine slavery so that you can teach people that some kinds of slavery are not slavery.
No, you are redefining it so that you can call things slavery that are not slavery.
And here is an example: Human trafficking is a kind of slavery.
No it isn't, unless labor is compelled by force.
Exploitation is a kind of slavery.
Eating another's feces is not an example of socialism.
Yes, it is. Naked mole rats are the only known example of socialist mammals, and they eat each other's feces.
There is a difference between private property, and personal property. You do not know that, so you cannot criticize socialism if you do not know it.
I am aware of the socialist distinction, and why it is a red herring.
And comparing humans to rats is not useful.
In this case, it's very illuminating.
If someone deceived you into supporting slavery, would you support slavery?
That's a tautology.
Each individual is different. You cannot stereotype each sex individually because you do know know every single human.
That's pretty rich coming from a socialist who advocates Procrustean egalitarianism.
You're a Nazi.
You just disqualified yourself from serious discussion.
You're using science to politically go against capitalism and socialism.
Mixing emotional terms such as "evil" with non emotional subjects such as science is a Nazi act.
You just confirmed your disqualification from serious discussion. And emotions are also an appropriate object of scientific inquiry.
Different political ideologies have different views on what is evil.
And some are correct, while others are incorrect.
What is your definition of "evil?"
I just gave it: deliberate abrogation of others' rights with intent to inflict injustice, and rationalization of such acts.
You're imposing bullshit Social constructs that were created to control the masses.
In chimpanzee society as in human society? REALLY???
Your impositions cannot work since you support slavery, and others like myself don't.
Your absurd ad hominem accusations disqualify you from serious discussion.
You're a Nazi who supports human trafficking.
You again reconfirm your disqualification from serious discussion.
By SSDR - 25 Jun 2019 19:34
@Truth To Power.
This is not a political statement.
You are opinionating about the false characteristics of a socialist economy.
In a non socialist economy, inheritance is a privilege because not everyone can have inheritance in a non socialist economy. Some people also get more than others (rich children versus children born in homelessness).
That's because you're not in a Nazi country.
It's social norms and you don't realize that because you're a Nazi.
Socialism is the most advanced form of economics. In socialism, no woman's life is dependent on a man's.
You believing that women prior to the 20th century being smarter than now is very alarming and reactionary. Non socialist politics is demanding because of its money oriented atmosphere and due to higher rates of testosterone.
You're not engaging in a political discussion by calling someone "wrong."
Human trafficking is a type of slavery you Nazi.
How do you feel about Nazism?
This is not a political discussion. This is an aggressive statement. What ideology do you need to motivate you to work?
You believing that humans are chimpanzees or rats is not realistic.
This is a Nazi, human trafficking supporting viewpoint on what reality is. You believing that humans are rats is not a political statement.
SSDR
Rank: 78% Corrupt
Ideology: Communist
Return to "Morals & Ethics"


Theistic evolution, or evolutionary creationism, is the belief that God, or another higher power, used evolution as a tool to create the different species of living creatures on Earth. It says that evolution does not deny the existence of God.
This page was last changed on 28 January 2014, at 09:50.


text:
A popular Office for Mac version reaches the end of the support line
All Office editions are not created equal. Microsoft's support lifecycle for Office on Windows provides for 10 years of support. But Office for Mac doesn't qualify for extended support. That means a widely used Office version has reached the unsupported phase sooner than you might expect.
By Ed Bott for The Ed Bott Report | April 26, 2013 -- 18:07 GMT (11:07 PDT) | Topic: Apple
If you're using Office 2008 for Mac, it's time to upgrade.
It might seem like only yesterday, but that Mac version was released more than five years ago. And under Microsoft's Support Lifecycle, that's the end of the line. Office 2008 for Mac reached its Mainstream Support End Date on April 9, 2013. No more bug fixes, no more security updates, no more service packs.
That's a significant difference in support policy between the Mac and Windows versions. On Windows, Microsoft provides an additional five years of extended support for all Office versions, even the Home/Student/Teacher editions. Office 2007 is supported until October 10, 2017. Even Office 2003 is still supported, with an end date that matches Windows XP: April 8, 2014.
But Microsoft's Mac software is covered under the rules for Consumer and Multimedia products, not Business and Developer products. If you look under the Extended Support End Date heading, you see "Not Applicable."
What are your Mac alternatives?
Well, sticking with Office 2008 is an option. It won't stop working just because the support deadline has passed. Potentially, that leaves you vulnerable to attacks like the Uyghur trojan , which was discovered earlier this year on machines running Office 2008 for Mac on OS X. The vulnerability was patched in 2009, but some Mac 2008 users never got the update. Human rights activists working in Tibet and Eastern and Central Asia were targeted with spear-phishing emails containing booby-trapped Word documents that installed a backdoor on unpatched machines.
There's no evidence that similar undiscovered vulnerabilities exist in Office 2008. Yet. as long as you're comfortable with the idea that newly discovered vulnerabilities in that version won't be patched, proceed with caution.
Maybe iWork is good enough, or maybe you can make do with Google Apps or the Office Web Apps that are free with a SkyDrive account. The free OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice are also options.
If you plan to stick with Microsoft Office, you can upgrade to Office for Mac 2011, which is supported until January 12, 2016. If your Mac is one of multiple devices in your home or office, consider an Office 365 subscription, which allows you to install the latest version of Office on up to five devices (PCs running Windows 7 or Windows 8 or a Mac running OS X). That option gives you a license to use Office for Mac 2011 today and the right to upgrade to the latest version at any time.
Historically, a new Office for Mac has come out a year after its Windows counterpart. The 2008 and 2011 Mac Office versions followed Office 2007 and Office 2010, respectively. That suggests that a new version of Office for Mac will come out late this year or early next.
Microsoft iPhone Hardware Mobility Smartphones Tablets
More from Ed Bott
The Windows 10 misinformation machine fires up again
With new feature update calendar, Microsoft finally settles on a sensible Windows 10 release schedule


text:
Archives / May 2016
The Briefing: Gorilla's death fuels sanctity of life debate, Curry's witness in the NBA
ib2newseditor — May 31, 2016
Sanctity of life argued after gorilla killing
The protests after Cincinnati Zoo officials killed a gorilla to protect the life of a young boy reveals a modern confusion over the dignity and sanctity of human life. Al Mohler says this confusion is not only a matter concern, but one of deadly significance as some call the endangered animal's death "worse than murder."
Pro-abortion bill on governor's desk
Last week, the Illinois House passed SB 1564 by a vote of 61-54 — a bill that would force doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to distribute information to help patients find morally objectionable medical services such as abortion, sterilization, and certain end-of-life care. This proposal was passed by the Illinois Senate in 2015 by a vote of 34-19. The bill now awaits Governor Bruce Rauner's signature.
Methodists reverse abortion support
The UMC held its quadrennial General Conference (GC) and considered more than a thousand resolutions. LGBTQ activists, anti-Israel advocates, and pro-choice "reproductive rights" feminists all lobbied to liberalize the denomination. Instead, the denomination moved in the opposite direction, making substantive progress toward a biblically-founded social witness.
States sue over Obama restroom rules
Eleven states and two school districts filed a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's directive demanding all federally funded schools apply a controversial interpretation of Title IX requiring schools to define a student's sexual identity based not on biological traits, but on feelings. Declaring the federal demands are "unlawful" and "capricious and arbitrary," the lawsuit calls for a permanent injunction preventing the administration from implementing and enforcing its rules.
Christians lead NBA teams to finals
NBA watchers called the Western Conference finals one of the most exciting playoff series ever, with two excellent teams led by two men known for their basketball prowess and outspoken Christian witness: Golden State's Stephen Curry and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant. It's Curry's team that will now take on the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sources: AlbertMohler.com, Illinois Family Institute, ERLC.com, Baptist Press, WORLD Magazine
In Briefing	abortion, Christians, Culture, Religious Liberty, sanctity of human life, transgender
Headline prayers
Today's headlines are driving me frequently to deeper and more desperate prayer. Many of us probably whisper something like "God help them" when we see a tragedy reported on the news. But I'm not primarily referring to headlines about a natural disaster, or a rare, heinous crime by an isolated, evil person. The headlines driving me to deeper prayer are those that reveal a declining morality in our culture that seems more and more widely accepted.
My main dose of these daily headlines usually comes in the early morning while I'm exercising in front of the TV. As I flip from one news channel to another, I more and more regularly see behaviors and lifestyles and decisions that would have been considered shameful or scandalous a generation ago. Now they are reported as progressive, or even normal. And the proud spokespeople for many of these decadent trends are interviewed by often adoring news anchors, as if they were the civil rights voices of today.
I often find myself asking "Help them, help us, help me."
Unrestricted freedom of individual choice, preference, and expression seem to have become idols in American culture today. Just this past week, a story and its follow up interview so shocked and deflated me that I moaned out loud, "Oh God, help them!"
"Help them to see the deception they have bought into, and the damage they are doing, and the long-term consequences of the sinful lifestyle they are advocating, both to themselves and to others. Convict them of sin, God, and show them the same mercy and grace that you show me when you convict me of my sin."
But as the disturbing interview went on, I also found my prayer deepening. "Yes, God, help them, but also help us! Your gospel had no voice in that headline, and your church had no spokesperson in that panel discussion. Interviewer and interviewee alike just presented that issue totally void of biblical perspective or truth. God, don't let that happen! Don't let millions of viewers gradually learn to accept that position as true and normative. Give your truth a voice through your people!"
The story passed, and I don't know what was on the screen next, because my prayer was driven even deeper. "Yes God, help them, and help us. But oh God, help me too! My voice is so silent. My life is so impotent. My efforts to carry the truth of your word and the power of your gospel are so weak. I'm going to go to the office in a few minutes to answer some e-mails, sit in some meetings, and move some projects along. But what will I have personally done to make any difference in the cultural decline I have just witnessed?"
My feeling of powerlessness was frustrating. And that frustration made me angry. I found myself wanting to pray for God's righteous judgment to simply fall upon these people, and upon our land if necessary, and make it all right again.
But I've learned to be careful, even fearful, about calling for God's judgment. I am too often deserving of it myself. And when I was most deserving of it, when I was still a sinner by lifestyle and choice, when I was just as far from God as the frustrating people in the headlines, that's when God in Christ reached out to me in mercy, and with conviction and grace and forgiveness. And he still does that today.
So I am meeting the morning headlines these days with these three prayers: God, help them. Help us. Help me. I invite you to join me in these prayers.
Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.
In Heartland	Culture, Nate Adams, Prayer
The gospel at the Governor's Prayer Breakfast
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner
Religion and faith were on display at the Illinois Governor's Prayer Breakfast as around 200 Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and others gathered at the Executive Mansion in Springfield May 26.
Yet, even in this setting with representatives of several religions, Jesus was lifted up. The gospel was clearly presented in song through the harmonies of The Gibson Girls, Scripture readings from Isaiah 2:1-4 and John 17, and prayer.
At the event, Governor Bruce Rauner asked attendees to pray for the state government. "I hope you will join us and people all around the state of Illinois in prayer. Keep us in your prayers. We need prayers for inspiration and to have good judgment."
He also shared from his own personal faith background. His father is Catholic, while his mother is Swedish Lutheran. Rauner said he was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopalian Church and his wife is Jewish. "We have interesting conversations around the dinner table," he joked.
But Rauner said he was inspired by his grandparents' faith and the lessons they taught him: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," from Luke 6:31 and "For whom much is given, much shall be required," from Luke 12:48. He spoke of the responsibility he felt after earning his own wealth, and said it was their examples that lead him to set up a charitable foundation to give to causes as well as to serve.
The governor shared about the importance of continuing the tradition of the breakfast, which some feared would not take place this year. In early May, a member of the organization that normally hosts the event, told media the breakfast would not be held due to state budget problems. Upon hearing the news, the Rauner expressed his disappointment and his office sought sponsors to host the event. Three organizations — the Abundant Faith Christian Center, the One Nation Under God Foundation, and the Illinois Executive Mansion Association — stepped up to sponsor the event, held every year since 1963. No government dollars were used to pay for this years event.
Bob Vanden Bosch, chairman of the One Nation Under God Foundation, told the Springfield State-Journal Register last week, "For us, this is a faith initiative. It's not something that's political. … I believe that prayer could be used by the state of Illinois right now."
The event did include a reading from the Koran, but the overall tone of the event was Judeo-Christian.
Illinois Southern Baptists were represented at the event by two of the Illinois Baptist newspaper's editors, Eric Reed and Lisa Sergent.
In News	Culture, Gospel, Illinois, Prayer
The Briefing: SBC's Floyd and others to meet Trump, protecting military chaplains,
Floyd among evangelicals to meet with Trump
Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd is among 500 evangelicals and other conservatives planning to meet with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump about his faith and values at a June 21 meeting in New York. Floyd is part of a small group of leaders to spearhead the meeting as the steering committee.
Trump's other outreach efforts include an address at the Washington conference of conservative Christians sponsored by the Faith & Freedom Coalition and Concerned Women for America June 10.
Military chaplains need the Russell Amendment
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives kept in place an amendment to this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that protects the rights of military chaplains. The Russell Amendment is a provision that applies to the religious exemption of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to federal contractors. It provides important protection to chaplains who have substantial discretion to supplement religious support programs via Department of Defense contractors and vendors.
Methodists postpone debate of LGBT issues
Amid protest, song and fears of a denominational breakup, United Methodists at their quadrennial General Conference decided yet again not to decide anything regarding LGBT rights. However, delegates voted 428-405 to allow the church's Council of Bishops to appoint a commission to discuss whether to accept same-sex marriage or ordain LGBT clergy.
Same-sex marriage advocates work to oust WY judge
In what could be the nation's first religious litmus test for holding a judicial post, the Wyoming Supreme Court is being asked to dismiss a municipal court judge because of her biblical views about marriage. Attorneys for Judge Ruth Neely argue the efforts of an unelected state commission to remove her from office are rooted in religious bias and misinterpretation of the law.
Churches hosting job fairs
Churches are partnering with Church Job Fairs, a faith-based organization that helps churches plan and promote job recruitment events. The events take place in local churches for the local community. The idea is simple: A church is meant to be a place of hope, encouragement, and love to its community. So why not host a job fair in a church and meet both physical and spiritual needs?
Sources: Baptist Press, Religion News, The Hill, Religion News, Baptist Press, WORLD Magazine
In Briefing	churches, Culture, Election 2016, Faith, LGBT, Religious Liberty, Southern Baptist Convention
Meet us in St. Louis: Everything you need to know (mostly)
Online registration by messengers urged; big prayer meeting Tuesday night
Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd has clear objectives in mind for Baptists meeting June 14-15 in the Gateway City. When they depart from St. Louis, he told Baptist Press, he's praying they will do so with a "deep burden for our nation, a new commitment to racial unity and an extraordinary commitment to evangelize America."
Floyd, completing his second one-year term as SBC President, is planning the second-annual Convention-wide prayer meeting for the Tuesday evening session in St. Louis. "A National Call to Prayer for Spiritual Leadership, Revived Churches, Nationwide and Global Awakening" will feature SBC leaders and pastors, with music by Keith and Kristyn Getty, the composers of modern hymns including "In Christ Alone."
"Here is what I know: If we do not plan to pray, we will not pray!" Floyd blogged in April.
"It is past time for us to prioritize prayer, both personally and in the church, as well as in our Southern Baptist Convention. For far too long, we have seen what we can do; it is time for us to see what God can do. This can only happen when we pray."
The 2015 prayer meeting highlighted the need for racial unity and diversity in the SBC. In St. Louis, African American pastor Jerry Young, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., will participate in the prayer meeting and also in a Tuesday morning session titled "A National Conversation on Racial Unity in America." Marshall Blalock, pastor of First Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C., also will join the conversation.
"With the racial unrest in St. Louis due to what happened in Ferguson in August of 2014, Southern Baptists will have a strong opportunity to represent Christ through Crossover ministry in the city," Floyd said, noting the evangelistic effort prior to the Convention.
"I believe we will leave St. Louis with a powerful, strong, clear and encouraging testimony of the need for loving one another, regardless of the color of one's skin."
In addition to racial unity, the convention will include a panel discussion on pastors, churches and politics, and a Q&A session with SBC entity leaders, who will answer questions from messengers.
Meeting highlights
The North American and International Mission Boards will host a Sending Celebration to conclude the Convention Wednesday afternoon. NAMB also will launch "Send Relief," an initiative to train church members to engage their communities with gospel-centered compassion ministries.
Prior to the convention, NAMB will host several ministry opportunities in the St. Louis area, including a partnership with First Baptist Church, Ferguson, Mo., to give away Backpacks of Hope and host a carnival for Ferguson children. Southern Baptist volunteers, in partnership with the Red Cross, will also go door-to-door to install free smoke detectors for Ferguson residents.
"We hope Southern Baptists can walk away from the convention this year knowing that there is a very attainable ministry that they can be involved with that will help them engage with and reach their community," said David Melber, NAMB's vice president for Send Relief.
The mission board also will operate mobile dental and medical clinics in St. Louis, and plans to make the units available to churches desiring to do similar ministry in their communities.
LifeWay Christian Resources will screen two movies during the Convention, including "The Insanity of God," a documentary featuring real-life stories of persecuted Christians around the world. The film, produced by the International Mission Board, is based on the book of the same name by Nik Ripken.
"The Insanity of God" will be shown free of charge in Ferrara Theatre at America's Center Monday, June 13, at 9 p.m. Tickets are not required, but seating will be limited. LifeWay Films will screen an additional movie following the Tuesday evening session.
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission will release the first three books in its "Gospel for Life" series in St. Louis. The 9-book series "aims to help the church in navigating through ethical and cultural issues," said ERLC President Russell Moore. The first three books in the series focus on religious liberty, racial reconciliation, and same-sex marriage.
The SBC Exhibit Hall will once again include a Wellness Center hosted by GuideStone Financial Resources. The center will offer cholesterol and glucose screenings, as well as data to determine body mass index. Participants will receive a personalized report that is suitable to take to their family doctors, and on-site medical professionals will be available to discuss results.
GuideStone also will offer three seminars aimed at various audiences: "Retirement Income Solutions," "Health Care Reform Impacts Your Church, Too," and "The Struggle is Real: The Solution is Simple," a seminar for younger investors. All seminars are free, space is limited. Visit GuideStone.org/SBC16 to register.
In addition to the three candidates for SBC President (see page B-3), Illinois pastor Doug Munton has announced he will be nominated for the office of First Vice President. John Yeats, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, will be nominated for a 20th term as SBC Recording Secretary.
John Avant, pastor of First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, Tenn., will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference.
Several Baptists from Illinois have been selected for committees meeting during the Convention: Munton and Michael Allen, pastor of Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago, will serve on the Committee on Committees, which nominates members of the Committee on Nominations who, in turn, nominate trustees for the boards of SBC entities.
Dan Eddington, director of missions for Three Rivers Baptist Association, and Ric Worshill, a member of Crossroads Community Church in Port Barrington, will serve on the SBC Credentials Committee.
Online registration tools
Convention messengers can register online at sbcannualmeeting.net under the Messengers/Guests tab. To help ensure the orderly flow of attendees and enhance security of the convention hall, this year each messenger, exhibitor, and guest must be registered and properly badged for entrance into the general sessions June 14-15.
After completing online registration, each individual will receive an eight-digit registration code to present at the express registration lane. There, the code can be entered into a computer and a nametag will be printed.
Registration is also open for preschool child care, Giant Cow Children's Ministries, Children in Action Missions Camp, and Youth on Mission in conjunction with annual meeting. All activities for children and youth will be housed at America's Center. Youth who have completed grades 7-12 will begin their days at the convention center with worship before going into the community for hands-on mission projects.
Pre-registration is required and is available online at sbcannualmeeting.net under the Children/Youth tab.
The SBC Annual Meetings app is again available to Convention-goers, including a listing of speakers for the SBC Pastors' Conference and SBC annual meeting, as well as the daily program schedule, daily events, exhibitor listing, convention center maps, 2016 Book of Reports and more.
For more information on the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention and the SBC Pastors' Conference in St. Louis, as well as other meetings and events, go to sbcannualmeeting.net.
– From Baptist Press reports
In Heartland, Southern Baptist Convention	Crossover St. Louis, GuideStone, IMB, LifeWay Christian Resources, NAMB, Southern Baptist Convention
Listen to 1VP nominee Doug Munton's interview with SBC This Week
Doug Munton
Doug Munton, expected Southern Baptist Convention First Vice President nominee, is a featured guest on SBC This Week's May 20 podcast. You can listen to the interview and learn more about his vision for the SBC and the Cooperative Program at sbcthisweek.com.
Munton, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, O'Fallon, Ill., announced April 26 he will be nominated for First Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The nomination will be made by John Marshall, pastor of Second Baptist Church, Springfield, Mo., during the SBC's annual meeting in St. Louis June 14-15.
Munton, 56, has pastored FBC O'Fallon for more than 20 years, during which time the church has grown from 550 to over 1,600 people in average attendance and has baptized about 2,000 people. In the 2014-15 reporting year, the church gave just over 8% of budget receipts through the Cooperative Program—Southern Baptists unified method of supporting missions and ministry.
He served as president of the Illinois Baptist State Association for two years, and is currently on the SBC's Committee on Committees. His wife, Vickie, is the president of the Ministers' Wives Conference this year at the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis. The Muntons have four adult children and will soon have their seventh grandchild.
In News, Southern Baptist Convention	Cooperative Program, Doug Munton, Southern Baptist Convention
Ready with a reason
Crossover volunteers prepare for St. Louis
Last summer, Steven and Robin Glover went home again—kind of. The Chicago couple and their children traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for the Southern Baptist Convention and Crossover, the annual evangelistic outreach held prior to the SBC.
Steven Glover, born and raised in Columbus, is an IBSA zone consultant in Chicagoland. His wife, Robin, is a writer and homeschool teacher to their four daughters. The Glovers lived in Ohio before moving to Chicago in January 2015, where Steven began a church planting internship at Uptown Baptist Church.
Each year before the SBC's annual meeting, Uptown sends a team to work with a church in the convention host city. In Columbus, Uptown's volunteers led a practicum on prayer, evangelism and discipleship at United Faith International Church. They gathered for training, then went out into the community to put into practice what they'd learned.
"Two groups comprised of 8-10 people targeted a neighborhood near the church for prayer walking as well as evangelism," Steven said. "Upon arrival, the evangelism team had an immediate opportunity to share the gospel with young men hanging out in a local park who happened to be Muslims from Ethiopia."
Glover and a man from the partnering church launched into an apologetics discussion with one of the young men who was interested in talking about his faith. They talked about Jesus, discussing the places where Islamic and Christian scriptures differed. "[We] took the opportunity to explain the purpose of Christ coming and the importance of his death, burial, and resurrection," Glover said.
Nearby, his wife, Robin, and others on the team prayed for the conversation, even asking God for a break from the heat. "We were very hot and the sun was beaming down, so we prayed for a breeze," she remembered. "Soon thereafter, there was a nice breeze and some light rain. The sun then returned to its work of warming.
"God was with us in Columbus. I was blessed to have joined him while he worked."
Their Columbus experience gave the Glovers some advice for volunteers who will serve through Crossover in St. Louis.
"It is important that mission teams participating in Crossover 2016 be familiar with the demographic make-up of St. Louis," Steven advised. "Through prior research, our mission team discovered that Columbus is known to have a large Islamic population, therefore, I brought with me a Quran (in English) to use in a witnessing conversation in order to establish the true identity and ministry of Jesus Christ."
He referenced 1 Peter 3:15: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (KJV).
For a list of Crossover projects in Illinois, go to meba.org/crossover-st-louis-2016. Watch the Crossover St. Louis video at namb.net/crossover.
In Southern Baptist Convention	Crossover St. Louis, evangelism, Faith, Southern Baptist Convention
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