January 27, 2006
Note that the plaintiff doesn’t expect to actually win but is using this as a means to get to a European court. This is a tactic the ACLU has used for years in the US.
Judge to Rule on Merit of Christ Case
VITERBO, Italy - An Italian judge heard arguments Friday on whether a small-town parish priest should stand trial for asserting that Jesus Christ existed.
The priest's atheist accuser, Luigi Cascioli, says the Roman Catholic Church has been deceiving people for 2,000 years with a fable that Christ existed, and that the Rev. Enrico Righi violated two Italian laws by reasserting the claim.
...Cascioli filed a criminal complaint in 2002 after Righi wrote in a parish bulletin that Jesus did indeed exist, and that he was born of a couple named Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth.
Cascioli ...said he has little hope of the case succeeding in overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Italy, but that he is merely going through the necessary legal steps to reach the European Court of Human Rights, where he intends to accuse the church of what he calls "religious racism."
Righi, 76, has stressed substantial historical evidence — both Christian and non-Christian — of Jesus' existence...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_eu/did_jesus_exist
Government targets small black church
Oklahoma city wants to make room for tax-generating shopping area
January 27, 2006- A small church in Oklahoma has come up against the large hand of the state as it faces possible seizure to make room for a tax-generating shopping center.
…Ousting a church from its building has become possible for city officials thanks to last summer's Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London, in which the justices cleared the way for a government to seize private land to be turned over to private developers.
Though the practice of eminent domain is provided for in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, the Kelo case is significant because the seizure is for private development and not for "public use," such as a highway or bridge.
...Gildon says his church can't afford to move, even if it were to accept the city's offer of $142,000 for the church and two adjoining lots.
"After I heard the news, we started looking to see if we could move," Gildon told Heather Wilhelm for a column in National Review. "I just don't think we can afford it. It's too expensive. And if we can't move, and they take our building, what happens to the church? If we leave, who is going to minister to the black community in Sand Springs?"
Added the pastor: "I guess saving souls isn't as important as raking in money for politicians to spend."
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48520
Pro-Family Attorney Sees Tide Turning Against ACLU's Anti-Religion Efforts
January 25, 2006- …Four years ago, Rutherford County commissioners voted to display historical documents relating to the founding of the United States, including the Ten Commandments. The other documents in the "Foundations of American Law and Government" tableau include copies of the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the Tennessee Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner, and a drawing of "Lady Justice."
Despite the County's use of the Ten Commandments in a historical context, a lawsuit was filed [by the ACLU] claiming the display violated the United States Constitution. Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, is defending the display in the legal proceedings.
...The attorney contends that the courts and history both are working against the civil liberties group. "I think in fact what has happened," he says, "is the landscape and the court rulings have changed over the last six months." Notably, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently declared that the First Amendment to the Constitution does not demand a wall of separation between church and state.
But despite the changing legal climate, Staver says ACLU litigators simply "can't restrain themselves" and will keep pressing to remove representations of religious faith from the public square, "even though they see the handwriting on the wall."
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/252006a.asp
US bank bans loans to developers using seized land
January 25 2006 21:26 - A regional US bank has banned lending to commercial developers who plan to build on land seized from private citizens, in protest against the strengthening of government powers to make compulsory purchases.
The decision by BB&T, one of the largest banks in the US south-east, followed a controversial Supreme Court ruling last June that empowered governments to seize private property to make room for commercial developments.
...The lending restrictions appeared designed to tap into widespread public anger about the Supreme Court ruling, which critics believe undermines a fundamental part of American freedom.
“One of the most basic rights of every citizen is to keep what they own,” said Mr Allison.
The Supreme Court case involved an attempt by local authorities in the city of New London, Connecticut, to bulldoze homes standing in the way of a planned commercial development including a hotel, luxury apartments and offices.In a 5-4 majority ruling, the nine-member court argued the seizure was justified because of the increased tax revenues and jobs the development would generate.
...In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said the ruling could be used to replace “any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory”.
...Activists opposed to the Supreme Court ruling have filed a petition to replace Justice David Souter’s house in New Hampshire with an inn called the Lost Liberty Hotel.http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3a535fde-8de8-11da-8fda-0000779e2340.html
I thought we didn't have any manufacturing anymore...
Big-Ticket Factory Orders Hit All-Time High
January 26, 2006- WASHINGTON -- Orders to American factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a third consecutive increase in December, closing out a record year for the nation's factories.
...For all of 2005, orders increased by 8.2 percent to an all-time high of $2.51 trillion. Orders for durable goods had risen by 10 percent in 2004 and 4.2 percent in 2003 after posting declines in 2002 and 2001, the year the country was in recession.
...The 1.3 percent increase in orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, followed even stronger gains of 5.4 percent in November, a month when demand for commercial aircraft had soared, and 3.1 percent in October.
In December, the strength was led by a 6.5 percent jump in demand for machinery. Transportation posted a solid gain of 1.9 percent as demand for new cars and trucks shot up by 6.6 percent following declines in October and September as automakers struggled to trim an overhang of unsold cars.
...The category that covers non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft was up by a strong 3.5 percent in December following much smaller gains in November and October, indicating that businesses are boosting their investment plans.
Analysts are looking for manufacturing to be a source of strength this year, spurred by increased investment by businesses to expand and modernize their operations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012600551_pf.html
Study: Most Reservists Earn More in Combat
Jan 26 2006
Most military reservists who left their civilian jobs to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan made more money there than in their regular jobs, according to a study that contradicts the notion that citizen soldiers lose money when they go to war.
The study, by RAND's National Defense Research Institute, found that 72 percent of the troops surveyed made more while on war duty in 2002 or 2003 than they did in their civilian jobs in 2001. More than half made at least $10,000 more.
On average, the reservists made $850 more per month while on duty than in their civilian jobs, the report found.
It went on to say, however, that there is still a sizable number _ 28 percent _ of the reservists who lost money, including some who saw their earnings drop by more than 10 percent.
Higher salaries, combat pay supplements, family separation allowances and tax-free earnings all have combined to boost troops' pay on the front lines. But RAND senior economist Jacob Alex Klerman said researchers are still working to understand why this study differs so dramatically from earlier surveys and anecdotal reports about families struggling to get by when a primary wage-earner went to war.
Klerman said the study uses earnings data supplied by the Social Security Administration, and therefore is likely to be more accurate than earlier surveys, which often relied on information volunteered by soldiers. Also, he said, those surveys did not reflect the fact that reservists serving in combat zones do not pay federal income taxes on their pay.
...He said the study does not imply that reserve pay is adequate. Those troops, he emphasized, are still getting shot at, sleeping in tents and spending months away from their families.
Noting that some reservists are in school, and therefore have no jobs or a very low-paying jobs, Klerman said the study also broke out earnings for those who made at least $10,000 or more in their civilian jobs. Even in those cases, he said, reservists made an average of nearly $7,000 more while on duty.
Overall, the study looked at 212,500 reservists and compared their civilian pay in 2001 to the amount they made while on duty in either 2002 or 2003.
To get a good idea of the impact on a full year's pay, it also provided statistics for the 51,200 reservists who were at their regular jobs for most if not all of 2001, and then on duty for more than 271 days in either 2002 or 2003. For those reservists the study found:
The average civilian pay was $39,300, compared with $56,400 while on combat duty.
83 percent made more on duty than at their civilian jobs.
66 percent saw their pay increase more than $10,000 while on duty.
7 percent lost more than $10,000 while on duty.
http://www.townhall.com/news/ap/online/gov/cabinet-state-pentagon/D8FC0FSO4.html
David Bennett <><
http://www.freewill-predestination.com
Judge to Rule on Merit of Christ Case
VITERBO, Italy - An Italian judge heard arguments Friday on whether a small-town parish priest should stand trial for asserting that Jesus Christ existed.
The priest's atheist accuser, Luigi Cascioli, says the Roman Catholic Church has been deceiving people for 2,000 years with a fable that Christ existed, and that the Rev. Enrico Righi violated two Italian laws by reasserting the claim.
...Cascioli filed a criminal complaint in 2002 after Righi wrote in a parish bulletin that Jesus did indeed exist, and that he was born of a couple named Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth.
Cascioli ...said he has little hope of the case succeeding in overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Italy, but that he is merely going through the necessary legal steps to reach the European Court of Human Rights, where he intends to accuse the church of what he calls "religious racism."
Righi, 76, has stressed substantial historical evidence — both Christian and non-Christian — of Jesus' existence...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_eu/did_jesus_exist
Government targets small black church
Oklahoma city wants to make room for tax-generating shopping area
January 27, 2006- A small church in Oklahoma has come up against the large hand of the state as it faces possible seizure to make room for a tax-generating shopping center.
…Ousting a church from its building has become possible for city officials thanks to last summer's Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London, in which the justices cleared the way for a government to seize private land to be turned over to private developers.
Though the practice of eminent domain is provided for in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, the Kelo case is significant because the seizure is for private development and not for "public use," such as a highway or bridge.
...Gildon says his church can't afford to move, even if it were to accept the city's offer of $142,000 for the church and two adjoining lots.
"After I heard the news, we started looking to see if we could move," Gildon told Heather Wilhelm for a column in National Review. "I just don't think we can afford it. It's too expensive. And if we can't move, and they take our building, what happens to the church? If we leave, who is going to minister to the black community in Sand Springs?"
Added the pastor: "I guess saving souls isn't as important as raking in money for politicians to spend."
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48520
Pro-Family Attorney Sees Tide Turning Against ACLU's Anti-Religion Efforts
January 25, 2006- …Four years ago, Rutherford County commissioners voted to display historical documents relating to the founding of the United States, including the Ten Commandments. The other documents in the "Foundations of American Law and Government" tableau include copies of the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the Tennessee Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner, and a drawing of "Lady Justice."
Despite the County's use of the Ten Commandments in a historical context, a lawsuit was filed [by the ACLU] claiming the display violated the United States Constitution. Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, is defending the display in the legal proceedings.
...The attorney contends that the courts and history both are working against the civil liberties group. "I think in fact what has happened," he says, "is the landscape and the court rulings have changed over the last six months." Notably, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently declared that the First Amendment to the Constitution does not demand a wall of separation between church and state.
But despite the changing legal climate, Staver says ACLU litigators simply "can't restrain themselves" and will keep pressing to remove representations of religious faith from the public square, "even though they see the handwriting on the wall."
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/252006a.asp
US bank bans loans to developers using seized land
January 25 2006 21:26 - A regional US bank has banned lending to commercial developers who plan to build on land seized from private citizens, in protest against the strengthening of government powers to make compulsory purchases.
The decision by BB&T, one of the largest banks in the US south-east, followed a controversial Supreme Court ruling last June that empowered governments to seize private property to make room for commercial developments.
...The lending restrictions appeared designed to tap into widespread public anger about the Supreme Court ruling, which critics believe undermines a fundamental part of American freedom.
“One of the most basic rights of every citizen is to keep what they own,” said Mr Allison.
The Supreme Court case involved an attempt by local authorities in the city of New London, Connecticut, to bulldoze homes standing in the way of a planned commercial development including a hotel, luxury apartments and offices.In a 5-4 majority ruling, the nine-member court argued the seizure was justified because of the increased tax revenues and jobs the development would generate.
...In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said the ruling could be used to replace “any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory”.
...Activists opposed to the Supreme Court ruling have filed a petition to replace Justice David Souter’s house in New Hampshire with an inn called the Lost Liberty Hotel.http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3a535fde-8de8-11da-8fda-0000779e2340.html
I thought we didn't have any manufacturing anymore...
Big-Ticket Factory Orders Hit All-Time High
January 26, 2006- WASHINGTON -- Orders to American factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a third consecutive increase in December, closing out a record year for the nation's factories.
...For all of 2005, orders increased by 8.2 percent to an all-time high of $2.51 trillion. Orders for durable goods had risen by 10 percent in 2004 and 4.2 percent in 2003 after posting declines in 2002 and 2001, the year the country was in recession.
...The 1.3 percent increase in orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, followed even stronger gains of 5.4 percent in November, a month when demand for commercial aircraft had soared, and 3.1 percent in October.
In December, the strength was led by a 6.5 percent jump in demand for machinery. Transportation posted a solid gain of 1.9 percent as demand for new cars and trucks shot up by 6.6 percent following declines in October and September as automakers struggled to trim an overhang of unsold cars.
...The category that covers non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft was up by a strong 3.5 percent in December following much smaller gains in November and October, indicating that businesses are boosting their investment plans.
Analysts are looking for manufacturing to be a source of strength this year, spurred by increased investment by businesses to expand and modernize their operations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012600551_pf.html
Study: Most Reservists Earn More in Combat
Jan 26 2006
Most military reservists who left their civilian jobs to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan made more money there than in their regular jobs, according to a study that contradicts the notion that citizen soldiers lose money when they go to war.
The study, by RAND's National Defense Research Institute, found that 72 percent of the troops surveyed made more while on war duty in 2002 or 2003 than they did in their civilian jobs in 2001. More than half made at least $10,000 more.
On average, the reservists made $850 more per month while on duty than in their civilian jobs, the report found.
It went on to say, however, that there is still a sizable number _ 28 percent _ of the reservists who lost money, including some who saw their earnings drop by more than 10 percent.
Higher salaries, combat pay supplements, family separation allowances and tax-free earnings all have combined to boost troops' pay on the front lines. But RAND senior economist Jacob Alex Klerman said researchers are still working to understand why this study differs so dramatically from earlier surveys and anecdotal reports about families struggling to get by when a primary wage-earner went to war.
Klerman said the study uses earnings data supplied by the Social Security Administration, and therefore is likely to be more accurate than earlier surveys, which often relied on information volunteered by soldiers. Also, he said, those surveys did not reflect the fact that reservists serving in combat zones do not pay federal income taxes on their pay.
...He said the study does not imply that reserve pay is adequate. Those troops, he emphasized, are still getting shot at, sleeping in tents and spending months away from their families.
Noting that some reservists are in school, and therefore have no jobs or a very low-paying jobs, Klerman said the study also broke out earnings for those who made at least $10,000 or more in their civilian jobs. Even in those cases, he said, reservists made an average of nearly $7,000 more while on duty.
Overall, the study looked at 212,500 reservists and compared their civilian pay in 2001 to the amount they made while on duty in either 2002 or 2003.
To get a good idea of the impact on a full year's pay, it also provided statistics for the 51,200 reservists who were at their regular jobs for most if not all of 2001, and then on duty for more than 271 days in either 2002 or 2003. For those reservists the study found:
The average civilian pay was $39,300, compared with $56,400 while on combat duty.
83 percent made more on duty than at their civilian jobs.
66 percent saw their pay increase more than $10,000 while on duty.
7 percent lost more than $10,000 while on duty.
http://www.townhall.com/news/ap/online/gov/cabinet-state-pentagon/D8FC0FSO4.html
David Bennett <><
http://www.freewill-predestination.com
posted by David Bennett | 4:14 PM
<< Home