Infallibility of the Pope

It has been said, that the number of people who hate the Catholic Church for what it is can be counted on one hand while thousands hate it for what they THINK it is. (the quote may not be exact but close enough)

I have never hated the Catholic Church but have always seen it as a faithful, orthodox voice, which I have turned to many times over the years to "test the spirits" if you will of the many competing voices in the world. Being Protestant, I have had some trouble with many things Catholics believed but I knew, all in all we were always on the same page. Ironically, at most every major step in my discipleship, almost every point of growth, the Catholic Church has been responsible in some small or greater way. So why am I not a Catholic, you ask? Well, I do consider myself a "closet Catholic" but as I mentioned, there were things that I could not hold to, could not accept.

But I like to learn about things and recently I have been listening to a radio program called Relevant Radio. A  national Catholic program with a local affiliate. It has been a real blessing to me and I would recommend it to anyone regardless of their faith (or lack of it) I have learned a great deal about the Catholic faith and have learned that much of what I thought I knew was just not true. One of these, is the teaching of the infallibility of the Pope. Over at Catholic Culture, they talk about this issue, in regards to the book, Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times. 

...As any educated Catholic should know, the doctrine of papal infallibility does not mean that the reigning Pope will be right when he predicts tomorrow’s weather, or when he voices his opinion on a current political controversy. The charism of papal infallibility is not a sort of magic that protects the Pope from error whenever he opens his mouth. Pope Benedict makes a special point of saying that his own personal opinions, as he puts them forward in Light of the World, should not be regarded as official Church teaching.

The Pope does not speak with infallible authority when he speaks in his own voice. He only enjoys that authority when he speaks for the Church. Pope Benedict explains this authority—which is enjoyed to some degree by any priest—early in the book:

The important thing is that I do not present my ideas, but rather try to think and to live the Church’s faith, to act in obedience to His mandate. 

There will be times when Christ’s mandate is not altogether clear, even to those who honestly wish to know it. Then, when there is confusion or uncertainty among the faithful, the Pope must respond to Christ’s exhortation to St. Peter, and “confirm the brethren.” When he responds to that imperative, the Pope is not voicing his own opinions; he is not creating his own doctrinal rules. Rather, he is prayerfully discerning what the Church teaches, what the Church has always taught, what has been believed semper et ubique by the faithful....

Constancy and authority are good things. One I think missing in most Protestant denominations, including my own.

new PSAs depicting bone loss, dementia and anal cancer related to HIV

The gist of the PSA is to (the answer to all problems) wear a condom. Interesting to note the gay rights groups more concerned with how they look than safety. Of course, its homosexual activity and promiscuity that is at the heart of the matter. Wonder when we'll see a PSA on that. Right

From NBC NY:

The Health Department's new PSAs are intense and graphic, depicting bone loss, dementia and anal cancer related to HIV.

Calling the ads sensationalistic and stigmatizing, at least two gay rights organizations want them removed, but another gay rights group, Gay Men of African Descent, praises the PSA's candor. More

incest laws are "obsolete"

From the Telegraph:
The upper house of the Swiss parliament has drafted a law decriminalising sex between consenting family members which must now be considered by the government. More

Just Thinkin'

My son son showed me a video  of a back story for a video game called Homefront. The premise is that over the coming years a resurgent North Korea, under the leadership of "dear leader's son" "reunifies" the Korean peninsula, annexes much of Southeast Asia, and them marches across the Pacific to eventually take over the U.S. Clever video if not a particularly realistic scenario but it got me to thinking.....here's a "scary ghost story" for Christmas:

Sometime in the future...
North Korea decides to "reunify" Korea threatening and then using (if necessary) nuclear weapons against Japan.

China decides to "reunify" China by attacking Taiwan. Its new technology cripples the Pacific fleet.

At the same time Iran launches attacks on Israel with the aid of Hezbollah and Hamas (with possible/probable nuclear and conventional missiles and overthrows the Iraq government.

Mexico (becomes) a failed state and rebels supported by Venezuela overthrow the government. Venezuela launches medium range missiles into U.S.

A resurgent Russia (aiding Iran) also seeks reunification of former territory such as the Ukraine, Belarus etc and threatens Germany and other European powers with dire consequences if they interfere.

The U.K. is racked with internal strife and unable to assist, as the Muslim population rises up.


Whew! the paranoia thing is really going huh?
This is why I don't play video games.

Russia delivered 1,800 shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles to Venezuela in 2009

WaPo

Russia delivered at least 1,800 shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles to Venezuela in 2009, U.N. arms control data show, despite vigorous U.S. efforts to stop President Hugo Chavez's stridently anti-American government from acquiring the weapons.

The United States feared that the missiles could be funneled to Marxist guerrillas fighting Colombia's pro-American government or Mexican drug cartels, concerns expressed in U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and first reported in the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

... the American commander for military forces in Latin America, Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, publicly expressed concern this year that Venezuela was purchasing as many as 2,400 of the missiles, also called the IGLA-S.

Matt Schroeder, a missile expert at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, said the missiles are among the most sophisticated in the world and can down aircraft from 19,000 feet.

Built by monks, nurtured by pilgrims from India /Pre-Islamic-Christian-monastery- In the UAE

From the Daily Mail:

A 1,400-year-old monastery in the United Arab Emirates that is the only pre-Islamic Christian site in the region has opened to the public.

The site at Sir Bani Yas island in Abu Dhabi dates back to around 600AD. It was built by a community of 30 to 40 monks and is understood to have been established by pilgrims travelling from India.

The remains, which also include a church, chapel and tower, were unearthed in 1992 during an archaeological study. Excavations will continue as visitors come to the site with the first being allowed access on Saturday.

Twenty years ago, we had no idea that Christians came this far south and east in the Arabian Gulf.

'This shows that Christianity had penetrated far further than we thought before... We don't have many monasteries from this period.'

Christianity spread through the Gulf between the years 50 and 350, with the monastery's inhabitants probably being members of the Nestorian Church....

Read more here

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338060/Pre-Islamic-Christian-monastery-Abu-Dhabi-opens-public.html#ixzz180m9epak

something in her eyes- tiny numbers and letters in the eyes of the Mona Lisa

Intrigue is usually focused on her enigmatic smile.

But the Mona Lisa was at the centre of a new mystery yesterday after art detectives took a fresh look at the masterpiece – and noticed something in her eyes.

Hidden in the dark paint of her pupils are tiny letters and numbers, placed there by the artist Leonardo da Vinci and revealed only now thanks to high-­magnification techniques.

Read more: here

ObamaCare Cuts Drug Discounts to Children's Hospitals

From Raleigh News, H/T Catholic Caveman

Nancy Pelosi said that we wouldn't know what was in ObamaCare until it was passed.

It's been passed, and now we are finding out exactly what a nightmare it really is.

Case in point; for the past 18 years, Congress has ordered that specialized drugs, better known in the pharmaceutical industry as 'orphan drugs', to be sold to children's hospitals at a discount rate that ranged anywhere from 30%-50%.

That was before ObamaCare.

More here

Beautiful

Four pics of many over at Beauty of Nature. Beautiful indeed.

Killing an Innocent Man?

Kristof

Four people including a 200-pound former Marine,  killed by one man with a hatchet, an ice pick and one or two knives. but wait it gets even more fantastic:

...countless anomalies in the case. Cooper's blood showed up on a beige T-shirt apparently left by a murderer near the scene, but that blood turned out to have a preservative in it — the kind of preservative used by police when they keep blood in test tubes.

Then a forensic scientist found that a sample from the test tube of Cooper's blood held by police actually contained blood from more than one person. That leads Cooper's defense team and Fletcher to believe that someone removed blood and then filled the tube back to the top with someone else's blood.

The police also ignored other suspects. A woman and her sister told police that a housemate, a convicted murderer who had completed his sentence, had shown up with several other people late on the night of the murders, wearing blood-spattered overalls and driving a station wagon similar to the one stolen from the murdered family.

They said that the man was no longer wearing the beige T-shirt he had on earlier in the evening — the same kind as the one found near the scene. And his hatchet, which resembled the one found near the bodies, was missing from his tool area. The account was supported by a prison confession and by witnesses who said they saw a similar group in blood-spattered clothes in a nearby bar that night. The women gave the bloody overalls to the police for testing, but the police, by now focused on Cooper, threw the overalls in the trash.

This case is a travesty. It underscores the central pitfall of capital punishment: No system is fail-safe. How can we be about to execute a man when even some of America's leading judges believe he has been framed?

Lanny Davis, who was the White House counsel for President Bill Clinton, is representing Cooper pro bono. He laments: "The media and the bar have gone deaf and silent on Kevin Cooper. My simple theory: Heinous brutal murder of white family and black convict. Simple as that."

That's a disgrace that threatens not only the life of one man, but the honor of our judicial system. More

Clinton apparently now president again

From HotAir:

The depressing truth: Given the alternative, it really would be great news.

I can’t do justice to what you’re about to see. The spectacle of the president bugging out of his own press conference to go to a Christmas party is weird enough, but having Clinton back at the White House podium fielding questions on the hottest domestic issue of the day shoots past deja vu and lands firmly in “am I hallucinating?” territory. (The good news: It turned Twitter into an hour-long snark free-for-all, with Michael Goldfarb taking first prize.) I get that The One’s trying to leverage BJ’s popularity to pressure Democratic fencesitters on the tax deal. What I don’t get is why he’d leave him alone to address reporters, suggesting either ....more here

Swine Flu- Its Back

From the Independent

Doctors shocked by spread of swine flu – and its severity

H1N1 virus returns, already claiming lives of 10 British adults with early signs that illness has spread to other European countries

The swine flu virus that swept the world last year causing a global health emergency has returned to claim the lives of 10 adults in the UK in the past six weeks.

The 10 deaths were in younger adults under 65 and associated with H1N1 swine flu. Most had underlying conditions but "a small proportion" were healthy before being struck down by the virus, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA). More

Stuxneted

Choice!

Iran's nuclear program is still in chaos despite its leaders' adamant claim that they have 

contained the computer worm that attacked their facilities, cybersecurity experts in the United 

States and Europe say.

The American and European experts say their security websites, which deal with the 

computer worm known as Stuxnet, continue to be swamped with traffic from Tehran and other 

places in the Islamic Republic, an indication that the worm continues to infect the computers 

at Iran's two nuclear sites.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/09/despite-iranian-claims-stuxnet-worm-causing-nuclear-havoc/#ixzz17mFEEFca

'Hate crimes' law challenged for cracking down on biblical beliefs

From WND a very important case...


Officials with the Thomas More Law Center say they have appealed their lawsuit over the "hate crimes" law to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, raising pointed questions including why will the law attack Bible-following Christians who follow its instructions....


...In fact, during congressional debate on the issue, supporters admitted that a homosexual attacking a Christian pastor would be protected from the law's enhanced penalties that would apply should a Christian pastor attack a homosexual.

"Under the guise of enforcing 'niceness' and promoting 'tolerance,' homosexual advocacy groups have mobilized their financial power to purchase political clout which they now use to shut down any criticism of their deviant lifestyle. The truth is they are one of the most intolerant groups in our society and viciously attack anyone who opposes their point of view," said Richard Thompson, chief of the law center.

"The sole purpose of this law is to use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically based religious belief that homosexual conduct is an abomination and a sin."

The center confirmed that statistics from homosexual advocacy groups reveal that the greatest threat of violence to homosexuals comes not from Christians but from other homosexuals. More

coldest December for 100 years

From the Mail Online:

• Overnight lows of -15C in Scotland and -13C in England
• Experts say cold snap is 'once in a lifetime'

Slight thaw this weekend but a return to snow predicted for next week

The Army was called in today to help clear away ice and snow as Britain headed towards its coldest December for 100 years.

fuel runs out at petrol stations in Scotland and East Anglia

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336705/UK-big-freeze-Army-standby-coldest-December-100-years.html#ixzz17mCgqlI4

University of Hawaii professor - child pornography actually can serve a beneficial service to society

The state of higher education....


A University of Hawaii professor and director of the Pacific Center for Sex and Society is postulating that child pornography actually can serve a beneficial service to society because "potential sexual offenders use child pornography as a substitute for sex crimes against children." from WND

a 33-megajoule firing -The Railgun Becomes Reality

...the Navy produced a 33-megajoule firing ....

A single megajoule is roughly equivalent to a 1-ton car traveling at 100 mph. Multiple that by

33 and you get a picture of what would happen when such a weapon hits a target....

A theoretical dream for decades, the railgun is unlike any other weapon used in warfare. And it's quite realtoo, as the U.S. Navy has proven in a record-setting test today in Dahlgren, VA.

Rather than relying on a explosion to fire a projectile, the technology uses an electomagnetic current to accelerate a non-explosive bullet at several times the speed of sound. The conductive projectile zips along a set of electrically charged parallel rails and out of the barrel at speeds up to Mach 7. 

The result: a weapon that can hit a target 100 miles or more away within minutes.....

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/10/navy-railgun-shoots-bullets-electromagnet/#ixzz17m7bWcKI

Eeeeewww! Yuck! - Indeed.

 From theotherMccain

yesterday’s New York Daily News:

A popular Columbia professor was charged Thursday with incest – accused of a sick sex relationship with a female relative, prosecutors said.
Political science Prof. David Epstein, 46, bedded the young woman over a three-year period ending last year, according to court papers.
He was arraigned before a Manhattan judge on a single felony incest count.
Sources said the victim was over 18 when therelationship began in 2006 and that the two often exchanged twisted text messages.
Epstein faces up to four years behind bars if convicted.

This is the guy who called Sarah Palin “weak” and “self-centered.”

Project much, professor?

UPDATE: Oooh, details emerge of Professor Pervo’s (alleged) crime:

He had relations with his daughter, now 24, from 2006 through 2009, the complaint said.

So, according to his own daughter, Professor Pervo was engaged in this twisted behavior the whole time he was blogging at HuffPo.

UPDATE II: “Police say the relationship between Epstein and his daughter was consensual.”

All together now: Eeeeewww! Yuck!

FA LA LA- FAA Folly

From Judicial Watch:
aviation mechanics that can't read the manuals or speak English, hackers in the ATC system and now:

...Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) actually admit that they fear the “gap” could be exploited by terrorists and drug traffickers. The agency in charge of aviation safety is missing key information on more than one-third of the country’s 357,000 private and commercial planes, even though federal law requires all U.S. aircrafts to be registered with the FAA and carry the registration certificate on board.... More

IKEA hacks help you find a new home for your technology*

* not limited to IKEA

from Lifehacker:

The best IKEA hacks help you find a new home for your technology. Here's how to make everything from a Linux server cluster filing cabinet to a wall-mounted desktop PC.

• Create a DIY CPU Housing with an IKEA Helmer Filing Cabinet - CPU cabinets can get a little pricey, but with a Helmer Filing Cabinet you can make a DIY version on the cheap.
• DIY Filing Cabinet Linux Server Cluster - Alternatively, if you want to take it up a notch, you can build an entire Linux server cluster right into a filing cabinet as well
• Build a Cheap Laptop Stand with Spare IKEA Parts - When you need to elevate your laptop, there are plenty of expensive solutions. Here's a cheap DIY option that makes use of scraps you can pick up at your local IKEA.
• Hang Your PC Tower on the Wall to Save Floor Space - If you've got a big desktop, one solution is hanging it on the wall. This IKEA hack will help you save a bunch of space by doing just that. More ideas here

Rolling Stone releases Lennon's final interview

From My Way News:

...Lennon saves some of his harshest words for critics who were perennially disappointed with Lennon's path, in both music and in his life, after leaving the Beatles.

"These critics with the illusions they've created about artists - it's like idol worship," he said. "They only like people when they're on their way up ... I cannot be on the way up again.

"What they want is dead heroes, like Sid Vicious and James Dean. I'm not interesting in being a dead (expletive) hero. .. So forget 'em, forget 'em."

He also predicted that Bruce Springsteen, then hailed as rock's bright future, would endure the same critical barbs: "And God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he's no longer God. ... They'll turn on him, and I hope he survives it."...

2,000-year-old Holy Thorn Tree Cut Down

Vandals have destroyed one of the most celebrated Christian pilgrimage sites in Britain and chopped down a tree said to have sprouted from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea 2,000 years ago.

The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury, Somerset, is visited by thousands every year to pay homage and leave tokens of worship. Those visiting today were moved to tears on finding the tree cut to a stump.

The sacred tree is unique in that it blossoms twice a year - at Christmas and Easter - and sprigs taken from the thorn are sent to The Queen each year for the festive table.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337159/Glastonburys-2000-year-old-Holy-Thorn-Tree-hacked-vandals.html#ixzz17eb8xGuK

Iran Placing Medium-Range Missiles in Venezuela; Can Reach the U.S.

From Hudson NY:


Iran is planning to place medium-range missiles on Venezuelan soil, based on western information sources[1], according to an article in the German daily, Die Welt, of November 25, 2010. According to the article, an agreement between the two countries was signed during the last visit o Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Tehran on October19, 2010. The previously undisclosed contract provides for the establishment of a jointly operated military base in Venezuela, and the joint development of ground-to-ground missiles....

According to Die Welt, Venezuela has agreed to allow Iran to establish a military base manned by Iranian missile officers, soldiers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Venezuelan missile officers. In addition, Iran has given permission for the missiles to be used in case of an "emergency". In return, the agreement states that Venezuela can use these facilities for "national needs" – radically increasing the threat to neighbors like Colombia. The German daily claims that according to the agreement, Iranian Shahab 3 (range 1300-1500 km), Scud-B (285-330 km) and Scud-C (300, 500 and 700 km) will be deployed in the proposed base. It says that Iran also pledged to help Venezuela in rocket technology expertise, including intensive training of officers...

More

number of federal employees, year by year, since 1940

 

A fine chart from DR

mobile phones a risk to foetuses

Ok- I'm not taking it too seriously but its kinda funny these first couple of paragraphs:

From the Sydney Morning Herald

PREGNANT women who regularly use mobile phones may be more likely to have children with behavioural problems, particularly if their children start using mobile phones in their first seven years, new research suggests.

American scientists reported that foetuses regularly exposed to mobile phones in the womb had a 30 per cent greater chance of behavioural difficulties at the age of seven.

Unfortunately its an American study

one in four terrorists released resumed terrorist activities

From the Washington Times:

Nearly one in four terrorists released from the detention facility at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, resumed terrorist activities against the United States and the number is expected to rise, according to a report to Congress by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence(DNI).

The report, made public Tuesday, stated that out of a total of 598 detainees released as of October, 150 were confirmed or suspected of "reengaging in terrorist or insurgent activities after transfer," the two-page unclassified summary said. More