May 1, 2013

Brazilian Priest Excommunicated for Defending Gay Rights: Huff Post, Reuters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/brazil-priest-excommunicated_n_3187812.html

By Paulo Prada

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 30 (Reuters) - The Catholic Church has excommunicated a Brazilian priest after he defended homosexuality, open marriage and other practices counter to Church teaching in online videos.

In a statement released late on Monday, the priest's diocese said Father Roberto Francisco Daniel, known to local parishioners as Padre Beto, had "in the name of 'freedom of expression' betrayed the promise of fealty to the Church."

The priest "injured the Church with grave statements counter to the dogma of Catholic faith and morality." The actions amount to "heresy and schism," the statement said, the penalty for which is excommunication, or expulsion from the Church.
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In case anyone was wondering if the Catholic Church has changed, here is proof it hasn't.

April 30, 2013

I will share with you my review of a movie...The Croods..

I suspect that this is too much for some, but I really liked this film. In a sea of sadness, this film brought a smile to me. That says a lot..I saw it a few hours ago..

contains spoilers...that is some plot twists....if you don't want to know..don't read..

This is a great family movie. It is wonderful to watch and enjoy for that reason alone. A family deals with powerful problems within the family and outside of it. As it does so, it warms the heart in a very special way that hard to describe. While the story is somewhat predictable, the feeling of warmth that you have for the characters is not. I was surprised by how much I cared for all of the people in this film. I wanted this family to come together and overcome their difficulties. I was not let down and honestly, I cried out of happiness at the end. The first time that has happened in a very long time..

OK, I like sentimental films that work. and this film works. It takes you into a truly make believe world and makes you believe. The father is a warm and truly stubborn fellow who we learn to love as he deals with the rest of the family on its dangerous journey.The mom is strong and loving in her way and, the daughter has her own kind independence as teenage daughters do..So over time, we learn to care about the group in the same way that we cared about the troop of travelers in "Land Before Time." But this is much sharper and the characters have more depth and there is more comedy than the "Land". Also, because it is a journey with humans and a family we really like, our journey becomes more personal. We meet up with a new person who we also learn to care about and wish him success too. And we like the pets, yes pets.... And I will close by saying this: Croods is a very rare warm, entertaining and loving family film. And watching it is outstanding way to spend time with people you love...

For that is what this film is really about.

April 29, 2013

Beautiful Sunsets around the World...enjoy..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/beautiful-sunset-photos-around-the-world_n_3175797.html

April 29, 2013

NBA Center Announces He is Gay

Source: USA Today Sports

For months there has been speculation as to when the first active player in the four major professional sports would publicly come out of the closet. Today is that day.

Free agent center Jason Collins, an 12-year NBA veteran, who played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards this past season, declared in a Sports Illustrated cover story that he’s “a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

Here are five quotes from the first-person profile that detail Collins’ experience and why he decided to make the announcement now.


Read more: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/04/nba-center-jason-collins-announces-he-is-gay/

April 29, 2013

High School Student Shoots Self In Cincinnati Classroom

Source: Talking Points Memo, Assoiciated Press,

ASSOCIATED PRESS-April 29, 2013, 10:39 AM1206
CINCINNATI (AP) — Authorities say a high school student pulled out a gun and shot himself in a classroom at a Cincinnati area high school.

The Hamilton County sheriff’s office says the youth was taken to a hospital with a self-inflicted wound. They say there apparently was no threat to other students at La Salle High School, a private school west of Cincinnati.

A shot was reported at the school Monday morning at around 9 a.m. The school was put in lockdown until police confirmed there was no active shooter.

A school official is urging prayers for the student, but says no other information will be released about him.

Another link: Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/authorities-say-student-shoots-self-inside-ohio-high-school-classroom-no-one-else-injured/2013/04/29/7b84160a-b0d7-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html

says it is a private shool ..more at link:
At around 8 a.m., “a student produced a gun inside one of the classrooms and shot himself, and we’re dealing with that now,” Green Township Police Chief Bart West told reporters. School officials said the shooting was during the first class period of the day.


Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/high-school-student-shoots-himself-in-cincinnati-classroom.php?ref=fpb

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I taught in a high school for over 27 years. I saw a lot, but never saw this. I can't imagine what the others in that classroom are thinking now. Prayers to all involved.

April 28, 2013

Darden Restraunt Brands...So you know....Against sick pay for their employees..

See the story below..This chain is against sick pay for employees. It helped to draft a bill with Disney World in the Florida Legislature to prevent localities from passing laws which would have mandated sick pay.

original post in Latest News by onehandle

from his post.............
"The Florida Senate voted Friday to prevent local communities their enacting their own wage and benefits laws until a statewide study can be conducted, The Orlando Sentinel reports."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014467902

Here are the brands..

Red Lobster
Olive Garden
Long Horn Steakhouse
Bahama Breeze
Seasons 52
The Capital Grille
Eddie V's
Yard House
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So, local communities cannot have local control....sounds like the big government from Florida wants to control the localities.....
.doesn't sound fair to me...if localities want to control their businesses...say like zoning..they have that right..don't they? or is that also controlled by the state...? Think about the hypocrisy...

April 26, 2013

Mark Sanford Publishes Phone Numbers of Anyone Who Called Him..: Think Progress

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/04/25/1924201/mark-sanford-phone-numbers/
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Congressional candidates who are down in the polls often pull unexpected stunts to try to shake up the race — but even the most cunning strategist would have to question the wisdom of publicizing an unredacted list of phone numbers from people who have called the campaign.

This past weekend, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), best known for lying about an affair with an Argentinian woman, ran a full-page ad in the Charleston Post & Courier to support his congressional campaign after it was revealed that he had been charged with trespassing at his ex-wife’s house. In the ad, Sanford included his personal cell phone number and told readers to call him “if you have further questions.”

After Sanford published his own cell phone number, House Majority PAC, a Democratic-aligned super PAC, included his number in a fundraising email sent Wednesday.

Sanford responded Thursday by publishing a list of unredacted phone numbers from anybody who had called his cell phone in an attempt to publicly shame them. See a redacted version of the list below:

April 26, 2013

A Philosophy Joke..??

The Chair

An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one question final exam after a
semester dealing with a broad array of topics.

The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked
up his chair, plopped it on his desk and wrote on the board: "Using
everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not
exist."

Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion.
Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the
existence of the chair.
One member of the class, however, was up and finished in less than a
minute.

Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered
how he could have gotten an A when he had barely written anything at all.

This is what he wrote: "What chair?"

April 25, 2013

One Soda A Day Raises Diabetes Risk :ABC News

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/one-soda-per-day-raises-diabetes-risk-study-100043979--abc-news-health.html


There's yet another reason for giving up soda: A new study out today suggests that just one 12 ounce serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage can raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 22 percent.

Since most research on the evils of soda has looked at North American populations, researchers at the Imperial College of London wanted to see if they could establish a link between sugary drink consumption and type 2 diabetes in Europeans too.

To test their theory, the researchers combed through over 15 years of data on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption that included more than 27,000 people from seven European countries. During that time period more than 40 percent developed type 2 diabetes, with those who said they drank at least one soda or some other sweet drink each day showing an 18 percent higher risk of developing the disease. When factors like body weight and body mass index weren't controlled for, the risk rose to 22 percent.

This is consistent with findings from U.S. studies that find that soda drinking is associated with a 25 percent increased diabetes risk.

Notably, even diet soda drinkers had to worry about developing diabetes. However, when body weight and exercise levels were factored in, the link disappeared. In other words, healthy-weight, exercising diet soda drinkers were no more likely to develop type two diabetes than non-soda drinkers.

April 24, 2013

Will Mayor Bloomberg give lots of his money to help beat Senator Mitch Mc Connell?

I don't know. It will cost a lot to ultimately defeat him. Now it looks possilbe. But "November 14" is a long way away.
Just asking.. Do you think he will help bankroll Mc Connel's Democratic opponent?