(yeah, and tell us again that this is NOT a religious war…)
In August of 2005 Trijicon was awarded a $660 million dollar, multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 of its Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) to the U.S. Marine Corps. According to Trijicon, the ACOG is “designed to function in bright light, low light or no light conditions,” and is “ideal for combat due to its high degree of discrimination, even among multiple moving targets.” At the end of the scope’s model number, you can read “JN8:12”, which is a reference to the New Testament book of John, Chapter 8, Verse 12, which reads: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (King James Version) (ABC News)
Scientists have discovered the earliest known Hebrew writing — an inscription dating from the 10th century B.C., during the period of King David’s reign.
The breakthrough could mean that portions of the Bible were written centuries earlier than previously thought. (The Bible’s Old Testament is thought to have been first written down in an ancient form of Hebrew.)
Until now, many scholars have held that the Hebrew Bible originated in the 6th century B.C., because Hebrew writing was thought to stretch back no further. But the newly deciphered Hebrew text is about four centuries older, scientists announced this month.
Many studies have been made of magic and sorcery. However, following an exhaustive process of compiling and researching the documents of the Tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition, this study by the doctor in History from the University of Malaga, Rafael Martín Soto, is the first one to focus on the more everyday aspects of magic, bringing to life the persons who formed part of the process: the sorcerors, the clients, the witnesses and the victims. “In Spain we have highly valuable information in the registers of the Tribunals of the Inquisition, through the prosecutor’s allegations presented in each case. There is information about those involved and even regarding the districts where these sorcerors lived. These tribunals investigated matters which were not dealt with or documented in any other tribunal in Europe”, explains Martín Soto.
This more everyday focus is what distinguishes this book published in Spanish by the Andalusian Studies Centre and the Renacimiento publishing house, ‘Magic and Everyday Life. Andalusia, 16th-18th Century’: eleven chapters the result of intense compilation and research in the archives and cases of the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Spain by Rafael Martín Soto.
This essay also describes the interrelationship between the Church and magic, its benefits and its totally disproportionate prejudices, for magic was a common practice which took place on a day to day basis, with no element of obscurantism.
Although the author assures that the results and the practices in this study could in most cases be extrapolated to other regions of Spain and Europe, Martín Soto describes the Andalusia of the time as a “benchmark for magical practices” where disciples came to learn. This essay is a vindication of the originality and singularity of Andalusian magic, deriving from the presence of Muslims in the region who, among other things, had schools of talisman magic, leaving an important legacy in this field in Andalusia. In fact, many figures such as Leonor Rodríguez (one of the famous Camachas sisters) came during this period to study magic in Cordoba, Seville and above all Granada.
The author of the essay clarifies the difference between witches and sorcerors. “Witches were those who abandoned religion to make a pact with the devil and they were burned at the stake. However, sorcerors considered their work as a trade and did not deny religion, even going to mass every day. They received sentences of exile or whippings which in the majority of cases enhanced their fame and prestige.
In Andalusia the majority belonged to this latter group. However, “in this period magic knew no distinctions of class or education, being an instrument recurred to by noblemen and the educated as well as lower class, illiterate folk”. Martín Soto describes in the essay various cases in high circles.
Some were merely scams, such as that which the Count-Duke of Olivares suffered when he was tricked as to the supposed existence of a treasure. Others the author describes as “blood-curdling”. One such case was the nobleman of Granada, Andrés Segura, who sought longevity. “He had a group of sorcerors who worked for him and who had him eat gruel made from dead men’s testicles to conserve his virility and blood of unchristened children obtained while the children suffered”.
However, the typical client of magic was a woman with relationship woes or who sought to protect herself from her husband, eliminate rivals or conquer the heart of a man, in a period when the solutions were often cruel as there was very little value placed on human life. Magic was also called upon to speak to the dead, make money, find work or see into the future. “Magic was always the last resort in all periods, even today” concludes Martín Soto.
The Rev. Pat Robertson, on his CBN broadcast today, offered his own explanation of the earthquake in Haiti:
“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it,” he said. “They were under the heel of the French … and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French.’
“True story. And the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal,’” Robertson said. “Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another.”
His words, which refer to a piece of Haitian folklore about the country’s founder, Toussaint L’Ouverture, come around the 6:00 mark in the report above, which also includes interviews with missionary groups active in the country.
A nativity scene featuring a dark-skinned Jesus, Mary and Joseph that has gone on display in a Verona courthouse has created heated debate in a city with strong links to Italy’s anti-immigration Northern League party.
The nativity’s appearance coincides with the League’s controversial operation “White Christmas,” a two-month sweep ending on Christmas Day to ferret out foreigners without proper permits in Coccaglio, a small League-led town east of Milan.
The Christmas scene — featuring a dark-skinned baby Jesus dressed in a red shirt and lying in a manger — was the idea of Mario Giulio Schinaia, the chief Public Prosecutor in Verona.
“History teaches us that baby Jesus and his parents were very probably dark-skinned,” Schinaia told Reuters. “This nativity belongs to a universal Christmas tradition that brings together the whole of Christianity in celebration.”
The nativity has caused heated reactions in the rich northern town, where resentment toward foreigners has spread as the number of immigrants, particularly from north Africa and eastern Europe, continues to rise.
“It is a useless act of provocation, just like the suggestion not to have a nativity scene at all, in order not to offend Muslims,” Northern League farm minister Luca Zaia told one paper, referring to proposals in recent years that town halls and stores should no longer sponsor Christmas scenes.
“Magistrates have other problems to deal with: I hope they spend as much time thinking about lawsuits and trials,” he said.
The Northern League, an ally of conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with key cabinet posts including the interior ministry, has used its growing political clout to secure tough new laws including making illegal immigration a crime.
Voters in Switzerland have approved a ban on the construction of minarets on mosques, official results show.
Of those who cast votes in Sunday’s poll, 57.5 per cent approved the ban, while only four cantons out of 26 rejected the proposals.
The result paves the way for a constitutional amendment to be made.
“The Federal Council [government] respects this decision. Consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted,” the government, which had opposed the ban, said in a statement.
You may recognize these names from recent headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Stupak and Pitts have become familiar names through the media’s health care overhaul coverage; their abortion funding amendment introduced an 11th-hour twist as the House of Representatives approached a vote on a landmark health care bill.
Ensign was the focus of media attention over his affair with a campaign staffer. Just last night, a Nevada man disclosed that he found out about his wife’s affair with the state’s junior senator — his best friend — via a text message.
The common factor among these political players is their involvement with the Family, a secretive fellowship of powerful Christian politicians that centers on a Washington, D.C., townhouse. Investigative journalist Jeff Sharlet has written extensively about the influential group in his book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.
Sharlet returns to Fresh Air to talk to host Terry Gross about Ensign, Stupak and Pitts, and about new developments concerning the Family.
A Somali woman has been stoned to death for committing what a judge has said was adultery.
The 20-year-old divorcee was executed on Tuesday after confessing to having had sex with a 29-year-old unmarried man.
Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman, the judge for a court created by the rebel group al-Shabab, says the woman was killed in front of a crowd of some 200 people near the town of Wajid.
The woman, who gave birth to a stillborn child, was buried up to her waist before the stoning took place. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes for having the affair.
The woman’s death is the second recorded stoning for adultery carried out by al-Shabab fighters, who are confronting the government and control large parts of Somalia.
noting both the yin and yang of futurity, watching cover ups as they happen, fighting back, and wooking pa nub in all de wong places. that's what i do.
************************************
[the Other Outpost]
