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Writing for the Acton Institute, Joe Carter explains that, "The U.S. began imposing sanctions against Cuba after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, nationalized the economy, and stole more than $1 billion in American assets on the island. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba broke off in 1961 as tensions between the two nations increased after Cuba signed a trade agreement with the Soviet Union. Even though the Cold War ended, not much has changed in the relationship between Cuba and the U.S." Why is it that even though Cuba hasn't changed at all and is as repressive...

Recently, a district court sentenced parents of nine to pay a fine of 700 Euro each for their violation of the compulsory school attendance for all children in Germany. The public prosecution department demanded six months in prison for the married couple due to their repeated offense. An appeal was rejected in October. The father, Thomas Schaum, 51, explains the reason for his third conviction: he did not want to give his children in the hands of strangers. He also criticised the sexual education that children received in schools. Three of the nine children of the Schaums are in school...

John MacArthur on The Jesus You Can't Ignore Tue, Aug. 11, 2009 Posted: 04:42 PM EDT We need to pay more careful attention to how Jesus dealt with false teachers, what He thought of religious error, and how He defended the truth, says evangelical pastor and popular speaker John MacArthur.Breaking the stereotype of the gentle Jesus, MacArthur illustrates in The Jesus You Can’t Ignore how Jesus was rarely cordial when confronting false teachings, hypocrisy and self-righteousness in His time. The outspoken, bold and blunt Jesus is the one whom the Church today needs to follow, he argues. The soft and less...

Sonoma County voters called Sarah Palin a risky as well as a brilliant choice for the Republican vice presidential nominee when the selection was announced Friday. On Wednesday, making her first major speech on a world stage, Palin issued what local viewers said was a rock-solid performance, earning the respect of local Republicans and Democrats alike. "I thought she was dangerously persuasive," said Laura Goldenberg, a 58-year-old marriage and family therapist from Sebastopol and avid Barrack Obama supporter. "Governor Sarah Palin tonight has shown her personal courage in standing up against those elites who have hypocritically questioned her ability to...

Along with unfair stereotypes of other traditions, such are the urban legends surrounding the emerging church—one of the most controversial and misunderstood movements today. As a theologian, I have studied the movement and interacted with its key leaders for years—even more, I happily consider myself part of this movement or "conversation." As an evangelical, I've had my concerns, but overall I think what emerging Christians bring to the table is vital for the overall health of the church. ...snip... A final stream flowing into the emerging lake is politics. Tony Jones is regularly told that the emerging movement is a...

In church circles, some of the hottest words today are "emerging" and "emergent." Last weekend, Christian communications company Zondervan hosted a Seattle conference called "Emergence 2007." The event featured a conversation among four emerging-church leaders: Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill, Dan Kimball of Vintage Faith Church, Doug Pagitt of Solomon's Porch and Karen Ward of Church of the Apostles. Moderator Krista Tippett, host of National Public Radio's "Speaking of Faith," got it right when she said, "The emerging church is not just one thing." There are mega-sized emerging churches, such as Mars Hill with three Seattle- area locations, and smaller...

DENVER - Rudy Giuliani emerged as a favorite among many members of the GOP's largest gay organization, who cited his record on social issues, taxes and defense. However, delegates to the Log Cabin Republicans annual convention said Friday they also fear that the former New York mayor, in his bid to capture the Republican presidential nomination, might be waffling as he reaches out to the more conservative GOP voters who hold sway in the primaries. "Mainstream Republican voters and moderate voters are going to vote for you. Don't tilt to the right," said Frank Ricchiazzi, who helped found the Log...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - No clear winner is emerging from the deadly fighting in Gaza between the Hamas and Fatah movements, a sign that neither is strong enough to knock the other out. The bitter rivals have been buying, smuggling and building weapons for months trying to gain an edge, but they have held back from all-out battle and find themselves in a stalemate. That leaves many Palestinians with grim hopes that a power-sharing deal still can be worked out between the Islamic militants of Hamas and the more moderate President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. Bursts of violence have...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - From the baseball diamond to the speedway oval, Vice President Dick Cheney is turning up at lots of high-profile venues, increasing his visibility ahead of the fall election. Saturday offered a double-dip in the all-important political state of Florida: seeing the space shuttle Discovery blast off and then catching a NASCAR race, complete with a visit with the drivers and their crews. Cheney often does most of his work behind the scenes, but has taken on more public appearances this year. It's part of an all-hands-on-deck effort at the White House to improve the GOP's standing...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – After terrorism, the ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction is the second major threat to the safety of the U.S. and its allies, and Iran and North Korea are both emerging as potential dangers in that area, a top U.S. official told a Senate committee here today. "The time when a few states had monopolies over weapons of mass destruction is fading," said John D. Negroponte, director of national intelligence, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. national security. "Technologies, often dual-use, move freely in our globalized economy, as...

There is this new phenomenon that is sweeping through the evangelical world - it is called the "Emerging Church". It is some amorphous sort of movement headed by megachurch pastors and other gurus, such as Brian McLaren. It opposes grand meta-narratives in the name of postmodernism, and is characterized by taking snippets of this, and a dash of that, and rolling it all together into a customized "church" experience." It is very anti-dogmatic, and tolerates multiple, even contradictory, views of Scripture and Tradition. The worship at these churches may include the use of icons and rock bands, eucharist and dance....

Clinton To Speak at Emerging Issues Forum Dinner Special To LTW RALEIGH – Former President Bill Clinton will deliver a speech at a dinner honoring the 20th annual Emerging Issues Forum at North Carolina State University. The dinner will take place at the North Carolina Museum of Art on Feb. 7. The theme of this year’s conference is “My Health Is Your Business: Making Healthcare Work in North Carolina.” It will take place at the McKimmon Center on NCSU’s campus on Feb. 7-8. The Emerging Issues forum was launched by former Governor Jim Hunt. Clinton spoke at a forum in...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Pre-Inca Ruins Emerging From Peru's Cloud Forests John Roach for National Geographic News September 16, 2004 On the eastern slope of the Andes mountains in northern Peru, forests cloak the ruins of a pre-Inca civilization, the size and scope of which explorers and archaeologists are only now beginning to understand. Known as the Chachapoya, the civilization covered an estimated 25,000 square miles (65,000 square kilometers). The Chachapoya, distinguished by fair skin and great height, lived primarily on ridges and mountaintops in circular stone houses. Sean Savoy, leader of the Gran Saposoa-El Dorado IV Expedition (July-August 2004), points out a stone...

Fabled Etruscan Kingdom Emerging? By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News April 21, 2004 — The fabled kingdom of the Etruscan king Lars Porsena is coming to light in the Tuscan hills near Florence, according to an Italian University professor. Known as Chamars, where the lucumo (king) Porsena reigned in the 6th century B.C., this was the leading city-state of the Etruscan civilization that dominated much of Italy before the emergence of Rome. It was from there that Porsena is said to have launched his most successful attack upon Rome in order to restore the exiled Tarquinius Superbus to the throne. Porsena...

<p>Hispanics are poised to emerge as an influential voting force in the United States, observers say, especially now that two southwestern states are playing an earlier role in the presidential nominating process.</p> <p>More than 35 million Hispanics live in the United States, according to Census Bureau figures. Nearly 2.7 million reside in the seven states holding primaries or caucuses Tuesday, the first day of multistate elections for Democrats seeking their party's nomination.</p>

Radical Sunni Islam emerging in Iraq August 01 2003 at 11:09AM Fallujah, Iraq - A radicalised current of Sunni Islam is emerging in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, as the community which ruled for decades watches the long-oppressed Shi'ites asserting their will by virtue of sheer numbers. Most fight the Americans in the name of Saddam Hussein, but some have picked up arms as an assertion of their Sunni identity, in anger over the United States designs to radically alter their world with plans for Western-style democracy. "The battle against the occupation and the wicked is an obligation of Islam," said a...

Live from the New Europe: Reporting from Lithuania By Andrew L. Jaffee, June 23, 2003 Home   Search   Forum   Terms I've haven't been back to Lithuania in seventeen years. Lithuania: my mother's homeland. In typical American fashion, Lithuania is only one of my ancestral ties. But I'm so glad it is one of those ties. It has given me great strength and helped me to appreciate the great gift that is the United States. After getting off the plane last Wednesday in Vilnius, the capital city, two things struck me. First of all, there are no more Russian/Soviet soldiers patrolling the streets. Second,...

Source: University Of California - Berkeley Date: 2003-06-13 SARS Death Rate Lower In Countries Responding Aggressively To Initial Outbreak Berkeley - Three months after SARS began its spread out of southern China, it is clear that a country's response to the epidemic can have a major impact on the percentage of infected people who die, according to epidemiologists at the University of California, Berkeley. An analysis accepted for August publication in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases indicates that countries that quickly initiated control measures against SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) saw a slower spread and a lower fatality rate. "The...