All about god - Matoumba

BNP membership list posted online by former 'hardliner'

- 1 days and 1 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/36443?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+BNP+membership+list+posted+online+by+former+%27hardliner%27ch=Politicsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Far+right+%28UK+-+politics%29%2CUK+news%2CFreedom+of+information%2CComputer+security%2CRace+issues+%28News%29%2CPolice+%28politics%29c5=Policy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CConsumer+Electronicsc6=Ian+Cobain%2CEsther+Addley%2CHaroon+Siddiquec7=2008_11_19c8=1120092c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=The+far+rightc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FThe+far+right" width="1" height="1" //divpThe entire membership list of the British National party has been posted on the internet, identifying thousands of people as secret supporters of the far right and exposing many to the risk of dismissal from work, disciplinary action or vilification./ppThe BNP leader a href="http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,,-7394,00.html"Nick Griffin/a claimed today that he knew the identity of the person who published the list, describing him as a "hardliner" senior employee who left the party last year./pp"He didn't like the direction the party was going and broke away, taking the list with him," Griffin told BBC Radio 4's Today programme./ppAround 13,500 names and home addresses were posted on a website late on Monday evening./ppAs well as names and addresses the list includes the home and mobile phone numbers and personal email addresses of BNP members. It is thought that the list may include lapsed members of the party and the names and addresses of people who have expressed an interest in joining the party, but have not signed up. Many of the members' occupations are listed, revealing a small number of police officers, two solicitors, four ministers of religion, at least one doctor and a number of primary and secondary school teachers./ppBNP spokesman Simon Darby said: "If we find out the name of the person who published this list it will turn out to be one of the most foolish things they have done in their life."/ppBut Griffin insisted those words did not represent a threat of violence but the reality that the person faced prison for breaching a high court injunction. The BNP leader admitted the party was relying on the Human Rights Act, based on EU legislation, which it opposes, to try to protect the privacy of its members. /ppHe said he had no problem with publication of members' occupations but listing their names and addresses represented "a nasty piece of intimidation on behalf of the Labour regime"./ppHowever, Griffin also welcomed the publicity the story had garnered for the party, saying the list showed the perception of the average BNP member as a "skinhead oik" was "simply not true"./ppLast night Darby said the police had been called in to investigate the data security breach. Describing the posting as "malevolent and spiteful" he said: "This isn't a question of us mislaying the information, this is theft."/ppThe BNP list also included the names and ages of children who have become members of the party after a parent has taken out a family membership, and several people who have joined the party at the age of 16./ppAgainst the name of a woman said to be a serving police officer and living on the Wirral, Merseyside, for example, is the note: "Discretion required re employment concerns - police officer", along with the names and ages of a number of her children./ppOther notes against the names of individuals include: "Discretion requested (employment concerns), government employee, IT consultant" and "activist (discretion requested), teacher (secondary school)"./ppThe BNP is known to go to considerable lengths to conceal the identities of members. Membership lists are held on computer spreadsheets, usually by an official based in York. He sends limited lists to local organisers as encrypted attachments to emails that can be accessed only by officials who have been given a password./ppThe BNP conceded that very few people would have had access to its full membership list. The party said that the list was not up-to-date, featuring no members who had signed up since late 2007, and claimed that it included the names of people who had never been members of the party. The party also said it had obtained an injunction earlier this year at the high court in Manchester to prevent the misuse of its membership list./ppGriffin confirmed on the party's website that much of the list was genuine, and that it contained data that was stored at some point between November 30 and December 2 2007. He added: "This latest attack is not really directed against our own people, who are already tough-minded and know that nothing ever comes of this sort of bluster, so much as against the thousands of [members of the UK Independence party] who are thinking of joining us./pp"It probably will frighten some of them, but it's water off a duck's back to the stout hearts of the British National Party."/ppLast night, internet chat rooms frequented by British supporters of the far right were buzzing with anger, indignation - and considerable alarm. One typical posting said: "The most shocking thing is some of the comments by the names! God help anyone who is in the army, the prison service, health care, a police officer or a teacher."/ppIt is thought that the information commissioner, who enforces the Data Protection Act, may investigate the matter, looking not only at the posting of the membership list, but at the amount of information that the BNP has been storing about its members./ppA spokesperson for the Information Commissioner's Office said: "Following media reports that the personal details of BNP members have been incorrectly disclosed, we will be contacting the party to establish the full facts. We will then decide what action, if any, is appropriate./pp"We encourage all organisations to alert the Information Commissioner's Office if they discover a security breach has occurred."/ppThe membership list reveals that the BNP has a handful of members in Australia, one in Oman and around 17 living in the United States. Strangely, some of the members' hobbies are also listed. One gives her occupation as "holistic therapist" and her pastimes as "metaphysics, cartoon drawing". Another lists his hobbies as "fantail doves, koi carp, gardening"./ppThere are also one or two insights into reasons that people have left the party. Against the name of one lapsed member from Gillingham, Kent, is the note: "Objects to being told he shouldn't wear a bomber jacket."/pp· Additional reporting Duncan Campbell, Paul Lewis/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/thefarright"The far right/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/freedomofinformation"Freedom of information/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/security"Computer security/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/race"Race issues/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/police"Police/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Politicscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227086084663111909242743010"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Politicscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227086084663111909242743010" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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Co-op resurrected: Ars reviews Left 4 Dead

You Are Free

The More Things Change...

365 tomorrows

- 1 days and 5 hours ago

Author : Carter Lee

-flash-

There was no one else, anymore. Something had happened, and I am all that is left. Here on this empty, dusty stretch of nothingness. Grey plane stretched out on all sides, merging with the grey sky, lit only by a dim sun. There was no one, there was nothing, just me, and the plain, and the sky.

I had walked, for a while. However, nothing and no one existed here, except me, and so I just sat. I looked at the plain, and at the sky, and breathed the still air in and out.

All alone. I closed my eyes.

-flash-

I woke as the helmet lifted off my head, and the safety bars retracted. I slid out as the next user slid in, our chests brushing and our breath mixing as we changed places. She didn’t look at me, but at the alcove, her eyes filled with hunger and anticipation. No doubt, my eyes held the same hunger, but now that my time was up, the hunger would be replaced with regret.

I pulled my gaze away, and looked at the mass of people passing in front of me. The corridor was filled with a never-ending mass of hurrying men and women, their eyes fixed on the back in front of them as they sped past, endlessly, without pause. God help the person who came out of step with the person behind or in front of them. Just yesterday, more than 200 hundred people had died in one of the North6LevDown corridors, trampled when the Hall Monitors hadn’t been able to divert the flow fast enough.

I slid into the flow, and over the next mile, pressed from the right side to the left side of the corridor. I made it across just in time to spin myself into the downstream line for my local elevator.

I just managed to squeeze into the â€˜Vator, pressed tight against the inner safety mesh. For just a second, I saw the resigned expression of the person who was now at the head of the downstream line, saw his shoulder hunch down to fight the pushing of the mass streaming past, rubbing and bumping him as his hands, white-knuckled, gripped the support bar. Head of the line, fighting the flow, it’s a tough spot to be in.

The ride was interminable, creeping upward while constantly moving, sliding this way and that to get out of the way of those leaving at the next level, then pressing forward myself as my level neared. Sliding out, into the flow, across the hallway, navigating the tricky left at Junc. 317, crossing the corridor again, and finally, miles later, joining the flow into my section. Finally, I slid into my niche just as my predecessor left. Good timing, I thought as I got comfortable, leaning back slightly. Eight hours of full sleep before the next shift arrived, and I would have to have eight hours of â€˜recreation’ before work.

I closed my eyes.

-flash-

I woke to the sound of electricity crackling, smelling smoke, eyes filled with the destroyed world I hated so much. The machine had malfunctioned again. And I was cast out of my lovely, barely remembered dream. Cast back into my personal hell of devastation and loneliness.

The machine is broken, and I do not know if I can fix it, this time. Here, in the city of destroyed buildings and rotting corpses, I found myself alone, again. In despair, I began to cry, feeling more tired than was possible, and sank to the ground, eyes closed. Against my wishes, I slept.

-flash-

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Baker: Media have "blood on their hands" for murder of transgender woman because they created "false sense of reality"

Media Matters for America

- 1 days and 9 hours ago

During the November 18 broadcast of his Minneapolis radio show, Chris Baker said of the November 14 murder of a transgender woman who reportedly went by the name Latiesha Green: "I believe that the fault, and I know, 'cause already I'm seeing quotes and comments and, 'Oh, it's hate. It's a hate crime. It's a horrible hate crime.' Doesn't some of the blame lie with the American media who enables this fraud?" Baker added: "I would say a majority of the blame does not lie with the nitwit that shot him, other than the fact that he's a nitwit and a guy who should have been in prison in my opinion, who shot him. But to me, this is the -- this is an example of how, by enabling people and trying to push this false reality, leads to horrible crimes like this."

Later in the show, Baker discussed the case again, stating that "this guy is a murderer and should go to jail. ... But I personally believe that by the media and all these other people out there enabling these people that they put people like this at risk, because they give them the boldness, the confidence, the -- to decide, 'Well, you know what? I'm a girl. Even though I'm not a girl, I'm a girl. And the media will call me a girl, so, therefore, I can walk into any party I want. I can go anywhere I want.' " Baker also stated: "I believe the media and the rest of the enablers out there, they have this guy's blood on their hands because they create this false sense of reality and they enable people who need serious psychological counseling."

Syracuse's WSYR-TV reported on November 17 that Dwight DeLee had been charged with the crime, which occurred after Green attended a party, and that "Syracuse Police say they believe DeLee's motive was a dislike for [the victim's] sexual orientation."

During the show, Baker also discussed the appearance of Thomas Beatie, a pregnant transgender man, and his wife, Nancy, on the November 17 edition of CNN's Larry King Live. During the interview, King asked the Beaties: "Did he get pregnant right out of the box?" Baker repeatedly aired the audio of this portion of the interview, responding, "It's a she, Larry. ... It's a she." Moreover, Baker called the Beaties "mental cases" and referred to Thomas Beatie as a "mutilated lesbian."

As Media Matters for America documented, Baker also called Beatie a "mutilated lesbian" on the November 14 edition of his show. He also stated: "If a lesbian gets pregnant, I'm fine with it. I'm OK. Just stop alternating reality and trying to force me to buy into your psychosis."

From the November 18 broadcast of KTLK's The Chris Baker Show:

BAKER: Last night on Larry King -- we're gonna play you some audio. Last night on Larry King, he had the mutilated lesbian on, and they described how the mutilated lesbian got pregnant, where this whole thing came from, why they did it, and then -- you know, some of the, some of the -- here, by the way, here's my favorite question from Larry King.

KING [audio clip]: Did he get pregnant right out of the box?

BAKER: You can't beat that.

PERRY: Well, technically, Larry --

BAKER: Atta boy, Larry.

KING [audio clip]: Did he get pregnant right out of the box?

PERRY: Did he get pregnant right out of -- you -- technically, Larry, here's how it worked.

BAKER: Oh, God. You can't -- Larry King is -- this guy. How can --

PERRY: I bet he didn't even see the humor in that.

BAKER: How you could do an interview with these two mental cases -- all right. Look, I -- if -- look, if you're gay, you're gay. Good for you, all right. But -- and then I'm gonna dovetail this into another story, and this is where the conversation we have to get into.

There's a very sad story about a transgender man. It's a guy who thinks he's a woman, just so we clarify. Shows up to a party and some guy with an extensive criminal record, by the way, and a history of weapons charges, shot him, killed him -- terrible story. My question is: One, why is this guy with the extensive prison record, or shall we say, criminal record, and extensive list of weapons charges, why is he not in jail in the first place?

Second of all, I believe that the fault, and I know, 'cause already I'm seeing quotes and comments and, "Oh, it's hate. It's a hate crime. It's a horrible hate crime." Doesn't some of the blame lie with the American media who enables this fraud? Doesn't some of the blame -- I would say a majority of the blame does not lie with the nitwit that shot him, other than the fact that he's a nitwit and a guy who should have been in prison in my opinion, who shot him. But to me, this is the -- this is an example of how, by enabling people and trying to push this false reality, leads to horrible crimes like this, by -- by telling people, "Oh, well, you know, he -- did he get pregnant?"

KING [audio clip]: Did he get pregnant right out of the box?

BAKER: No. It's a she, Larry.

KING [audio clip]: Did he get pregnant right out of the box?

BAKER: It's a she.

[...]

BAKER: So annoying for me, but there's a story today, it's a very -- it's a horrible story from Syracuse, New York. A guy's been charged with murder after he shot two people last week. One of them was a transgender person. So, now, they're talking about hate crime charges, things like that. Look, this guy is a murderer and should go to jail. This guy should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

But I personally believe that by the media and all these other people out there enabling these people that they put people like this at risk, because they give them the boldness, the confidence, the -- to decide, "Well, you know what? I'm a girl. Even though I'm not a girl, I'm a girl. And the media will call me a girl, so, therefore, I can walk into any party I want. I can go anywhere I want. I can demand whatever I want and no one can stop me because the media is going to call me a girl."

Well, guess what? In my opinion, other than the fact that the guy that allegedly murdered this guy -- and this guy I'm talking about would be the transgender guy. I promise I'm just getting this off my chest. This is just driving me nuts.

I believe the media and the rest of the enablers out there, they have this guy's blood on their hands because they create this false sense of reality and they enable people who need serious psychological counseling. I mean, what guy in his right mind would have his stuff cut off? Now, there's a lot of women in their right mind that would like to do that to a guy, but what guy in his right mind wants to have his stuff cut off? What woman in her right mind wants to have her breasts removed? I mean, do they notice the millions of dollars women spend every year in this country to get bigger ones?

This whole thing is -- it's just infuriating to me. You know why? Because I gotta explain this to my kids.

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Police officers among BNP members listed on web

Guardian Unlimited

- 1 days and 10 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/47488?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+Police+officers+among+BNP+members+listed+on+webch=Politicsc3=The+Guardianc4=Far+right+%28UK+-+politics%29%2CComputer+security%2CPolice+%28politics%29%2CFreedom+of+information%2CUK+news%2CPolitics%2CTechnologyc5=Policy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CCorporate+IT%2CConsumer+Electronicsc6=Ian+Cobain%2CEsther+Addleyc7=2008_11_19c8=1120037c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=The+far+rightc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FThe+far+right" width="1" height="1" //divpThe entire membership list of the British National party has been posted on the internet, identifying thousands of people as secret supporters of the far right and exposing many to the risk of dismissal from work, disciplinary action or vilification./ppAround 13,500 names and home addresses were posted on a website late on Monday evening, apparently by a disgruntled member of the party's own leadership./ppAs well as names and addresses the list includes the home and mobile phone numbers and personal email addresses of BNP members. It is thought that the list may include lapsed members of the party and the names and addresses of people who have expressed an interest in joining the party, but have not signed up. Many of the members' occupations are listed, revealing a small number of police officers, two solicitors, four ministers of religion, at least one doctor and a number of primary and secondary school teachers. /ppLast night the BNP's spokesman Simon Darby said the police had been called in to investigate the data security breach. Describing the posting as "malevolent and spiteful" he said: "This isn't a question of us mislaying the information, this is theft." /ppThe BNP list also included the names and ages of children who have become members of the party after a parent has taken out a family membership, and several people who have joined the party at the age of 16. /ppAgainst the name of a woman said to be a serving police officer and living on the Wirral, Merseyside, for example, is the note: "Discretion required re employment concerns - police officer", along with the names and ages of a number of her children./ppOther notes against the names of individuals include: "Discretion requested (employment concerns), government employee, IT consultant" and "activist (discretion requested), teacher (secondary school)"./ppThe BNP is known to go to considerable lengths to conceal the identities of members. Membership lists are held on computer spreadsheets, usually by an official based in York. He sends limited lists to local organisers as encrypted attachments to emails which can be accessed only by officials who have been given a password. /ppThe BNP conceded that very few people would have had access to its full membership list. The party said that the list was not up-to-date, featuring no members who had signed up since late 2007, and claimed that it included the names of people who had never been members of the party. The party also said it had obtained an injunction earlier this year at the high court in Manchester to prevent the misuse of its membership list./ppThe BNP's leader, Nick Griffin, confirmed on the party's website that much of the list was genuine, and that it contained data that was stored at some point between November 30 and December 2 2007. He added: "This latest attack is not really directed against our own people, who are already tough-minded and know that nothing ever comes of this sort of bluster, so much as against the thousands of [members of the UK Independence party] who are thinking of joining us. /pp"It probably will frighten some of them, but it's water off a duck's back to the stout hearts of the British National party."/ppLast night, internet chat rooms frequented by British supporters of the far right were buzzing with anger, indignation - and considerable alarm. One typical posting said: "The most shocking thing is some of the comments by the names! God help anyone who is in the army, the prison service, healthcare, a police officer or a teacher."/ppIt is thought that the information commissioner, who enforces the Data Protection Act, may investigate the matter, looking not only at the posting of the membership list, but at the amount of information that the BNP has been storing about its members./ppA spokesperson for the Information Commissioner's Office said: "Following media reports that the personal details of BNP members have been incorrectly disclosed, we will be contacting the party to establish the full facts. We will then decide what action, if any, is appropriate. /pp"We encourage all organisations to alert the Information Commissioner's Office if they discover a security breach has occurred."/ppThe membership list reveals that the BNP has a handful of members in Australia, one in Oman and around 17 living in the United States. Strangely, some of the members' hobbies are also listed. One gives her occupation as "holistic therapist" and her pastimes as "metaphysics, cartoon drawing". Another lists his hobbies as "fantail doves, koi carp, gardening"./ppThere are also one or two insights into reasons that people have left the party. Against the name of one lapsed member from Gillingham, Kent, is the note: "Objects to being told he shouldn't wear a bomber jacket."/pp· Additional reporting strongDuncan Campbell/strong, strongPaul Lewis/strong/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/thefarright"The far right/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/security"Computer security/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/police"Police/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/freedomofinformation"Freedom of information/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Politicscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227055974142111901021137412"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Politicscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227055974142111901021137412" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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Major Help.. Im a coding noob...

As Cool as the Other Side of the Pillow [Topic: Auburn Avenue Stuff]

BLOG and MABLOG

- 1 days and 11 hours ago

Just one last post here, and I am caught up with Green Baggins. Look at me go.

There are four basic issues to respond to in this post. The first is that Lane says, completely misunderstanding everything, that the "FV definition of the covenant" says that the "covenant of grace is undifferentiated between the elect and the non-elect." This, despite the fact that over the last number of years I have made clear that the covenant of grace is not undifferentiated between the elect and the non-elect, and have done so more times than Carter's got pills. I don't know what to do anymore, so I will just stand here forlorn, arms hanging by my sides.

On second thought, I do need to say something. I will be calm. I will be as cool as the other side of the pillow. If Lane can say this, and he is one of the few guys on the other side trying to understand us, heaven knows what everybody else over there is thinking. Some of them might even be thinking that Guy Waters did his homework, for example. Just for the record, this is a misrepresentation simpliciter. The fact that I am sure it was not deliberate doesn't change the fact that the claim made about us is false and incoherent. To say that the covenant of grace is undifferentiated between the elect and the non-elect covenant members is to say that there is no such thing as a distinction between elect and non-elect covenant members in the first place. To make the latter distinction at all establishes a necessary differentiation, one which has been made clear in other ways explicitly -- multiple times. What do they want? Egg in their beer?

Second, Lane asks what the "common operations of the Spirit" are for the non-elect. Here is a summary statement of it. The common operations of the Spirit for a non-elect covenant member would include every or any covenant privilege, minus efficacious grace. Those privileges would include, but not be limited to, baptism, hearing the Word, a Christian upbringing, restraint from grievous sin, and so on. Like common grace outside the covenant, such privileges when despised serve simply to heighten judgment when it comes.

Third, Lane argues that we ought not to be dismissive of the "judgment of charity" argument, as applied to those instances of Scripture where non-elect people are addressed as the elect, or as part of the elect body. Lane complains that the judgment of charity is airly dismissed by some FV folks, and asks us to argue "exegetically that the judgment of charity argument holds no water." Two points here. First, I believe that there are a number of places in the New Testament where the judgment of charity is obviously occuring, in my view. In other places it can't be occuring. For an example of the former, when Paul tells the Colossians as the elect of God to put on tendermercies, he is addressing the church corporately, and he speaks of them in their corporate identity. As most pastors would, he would probably have his doubts about some of them, but nevertheless addresses them all as the elect of God. He is not making an apostolic dogmatic pronouncement about the decrees. He is talking to a church body, and he calls them the elect of God because all of them are supposed to be, and most of them probably are. The phrase judgment of charity covers this very well. But note in passing that there is a difference between the judgment of charity and a judgment of suspended suspicion.

But here are many instances where the judgment of charity doesn't fit with the text at all. When Jesus talks about branches being cut out of the Vine in John 15, or when Paul uses the same kind of language in Romans 11, the judgment of charity doesn't fit with the language. If I address a body of a thousand people as part of the elect of God, a judgment of charity recognizes that some of them may well be decretally non-elect. But when Jesus talks about branches being cut out of the Vine, it is not a judgment of charity to say they were in the Vine. It is a state of fact -- they were in the Vine that they are being cut out of. The illustration doesn't work if they were really not in the Vine. The same goes for Romans 11. Decretal election is something that some church members never have, and so to speak of them as though they do is a judgment of charity. But we cannot say of removed branches that they never had branchness. Branchness is not a judgment of charity, but rather a judgment of fact.

The last point is that Lane asks what covenantal justification is. "What is it? I would propose that if the FV cannot answer this . . . then it is a very unhelpful term." I have not written a lot (if any) about covenantal justification, but let me take a stab at this anyway. I would begin by asking a question -- is the Church corporately justified? I am a justified person, true, but is there such a thing as a justified people? Sure. Corporate justification language is used in the New Testament. "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed" (Gal. 3:8). Contextually that blessing is justification. The Bride of Christ is justified, and it is clear that an individual who is unjustified can be a member of a justified body. He partakes of that covenantally justified status for a time, but he is removed in due time. He was never justified individually. The warts and blemishes are a true part of the Bride for a time, but they were always blemishes, and they are now removed. A blemish that is part of the justified Bride is not the same thing as a justified blemish.

So there we are, all caught up.

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2 Accounts in Apple Mail

Newsweek publishes article on purported debate over whether "Obama [is] the Antichrist"

Media Matters for America

- 1 days and 14 hours ago

In a November 15 Newsweek article headlined "Is Obama the Antichrist?" senior editor Lisa Miller treated as newsworthy purported debate among some "conservative Christians" over whether President-elect Barack Obama is "the Antichrist." In doing so, Miller gave credibility to the views of RaptureReady.com editor and founder Todd Strandberg who has, among other things, smeared gays and lesbians, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For example, Strandberg has written that Rev. Jerry Falwell correctly blamed 9-11 on "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, [and] People for the American Way," and in January of 2006, Strandberg wrote that "Satan is the true god of the Hajj," the pilgrimage to Mecca that is a central part of Islamic faith.

In a November 18 post, Washington Monthly blogger Steve Benen wrote of Miller's piece: "When bizarre, fringe publications speculate openly about who may or may not be the Antichrist, it's easy to dismiss. When Newsweek publishes a 600-word piece on those who wonder about Obama being the Antichrist, one really has to wonder what on earth the editors were thinking." Benen later stated: "I can appreciate the fact that there are a handful of very odd people in the world, some of whom believe the Book of Revelation foretold Obama's election. Strange people can be led to believe strange things. That's not a reason for Newsweek to publish articles about their inanity."

In the Newsweek article, Miller reported:

Strandberg says Obama probably isn't the Antichrist, but he's watching the president-elect carefully. On his Web site, he has something called the Rapture Index, a calculation based on signs and prophecy of the proximity of the end. According to Strandberg, any number over 160 means "fasten your seat belts." Obama's win pushed the index to 161.

In addition to failing to mention Strandberg's smears, Miller did not note that an October 31 Salt Lake Tribune article reported that, "In his 22 years working on Rapture Ready, Strandberg has seen an 'avalanche' of anti-Christ suggestions, including Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. Obama doesn't fit the bill, he says, but he could be a type of 'anti-Christ,' which simply means too many people see him as a replacement for Jesus."

Strandberg has also made repeated anti-GLBT, anti-Muslim, and anti-progressive statements over the years. For example:

In a September 24, 2001, commentary, Strandberg agreed with Falwell's statement that "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way" "helped [9-11] happen":

One of the most asked questions of the past couple weeks has been, "Was this terrorist attack a Judgment from God?" I would put the answer as being most likely - Yes.

Jerry Falwell, once again, brought embarrassment to the cause of Christ when he first correctly laid the blame at the feet of immoral groups in America, but then he cowardly retreated when the press put fire to his feet.

Here is what Falwell said on The 700 Club:

"The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way - all of them have tried to secularize America - I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'"

Here is what Falwell later told ABC News:

"I do not believe they endanger America. I misspoke totally and entirely."

In Jerry Falwell's world it would appear truth depends greatly on how the liberal media views your theology. I've said it in the past, because this man has a gift for repeatedly putting his foot in his own mouth, I think he should decline from making public statements.

In a January 16, 2006, commentary discussing reports of mass deaths and injuries during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj, Strandberg stated that "Satan is the true god of the Hajj." From Strandberg's piece:

Considering that mass death stampedes are a rarity, their frequency in Mina defies logical explanation. I don't recall hearing of a regular body clean up after partygoers celebrate the New Year in Times Square, New York, or after national sports championships. It could be noted that these events even have an added danger because of widespread alcohol consumption.

I firmly believe the devil is the reason Islamic pilgrims are trampled to death with such strange regularity.

Because Satan is the true god of the Hajj, one would think he would want the pilgrimage to be a smoothly run operation. The ironic twist of having people die during the stoning ritual apparently is just too tempting for Satan and his host of fallen angels to pass up.

In response to the latest loss of life, the Saudis have announced plans for further modifying the site in the coming years to allow some 500,000 pilgrims an hour to carry out the stoning. I think they could expand that number to a million, and people will still be going home in body bags. Nothing will change until Muslims realize something is fundamentally wrong with their whole belief system.

In a September 24, 2001, commentary, Strandberg wrote that, "Instead of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks being a huge black eye to Islam, to my amazement, I'm seeing the resulting PR campaign as being used as a net positive. Muslim web sites are seeing heavy traffic, mosques are opening their doors to the public, and Islamic clerics are being invited to interfaith prayer services." He later stated: "Despite the overwhelming contradictions between Islam and Christianity the Antichrist will someday join together all faiths into one super religion that will have him as the supreme leader. The oddity that Islam did not suffer the common backlash of hatred that normally follows any similar type of incident indicates to me the Harlot Church of Revelation must not be too far off."

In a November 19, 2001, commentary, Strandberg embraced Rev. Franklin Graham's statement that, "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion." Strandberg wrote, "I was quite surprised to read these comments made by Franklin Graham. I wasn't amazed at all by the remarks themselves. I agree totally with him that Islam is an evil and wicked religion. My astonishment was that he stood by his comments."

In a January 21, 2002, commentary titled "Is AIDS A Curse From God?" Strandberg wrote, "I know science doesn't see in terms of the supernatural, but it does seem inescapable to me that AIDS is an unrelenting scourge, and there doesn't appear to be anything man can do about eradicating it through normal medical means." He continued, "Maybe it's time we started looking at it as being a judgment from the All Mighty. It is common knowledge that 95 percent of the time the virus is spread through some type of immoral act. Men simply refuse to hear any talk about sin being the primary root of this plague."

In a November 10 commentary discussing Obama's November 4 election victory, Strandberg wrote that "it's unlikely that Obama will be the antichrist" but later said that Americans, in electing Obama, chose to move more rapidly "towards the end." Strandberg added, "[I]t's time for prophecy-minded Christians to fasten their seat belts":

At this point, I think it's unlikely that Obama will be the antichrist. The beast of Revelation will come out Europe, and he will be a man of profound political skills.

What makes Obama potentially important to the end time is not the fact that he will be the most socially liberal president in our nation's history; I think his prophetic significance will center on how he handles our relationship with the state of Israel.

[...]

The global financial crisis is rapidly pushing the world towards the one-world economic system the Bible predicts. Later this month, several key nations are going to come together for another strategy summit.

I don't mean to pick on Obama before he has even taken office. I believe we are so close to the tribulation hour, there is a good reason to be apprehensive about policies he will seek to implement. During the campaign, I thought it was strange that one man could be friends with so many people with radical political views.

Prophetic events have progressed along so far, the only real choice we had between John McCain and Barack Obama in the election was the speed at which we would choose to move towards the end. Now that America has selected the more rapid option, it's time for prophecy-minded Christians to fasten their seat belts.

I don't see anything shocking in last week's election. I do believe strongly that a dark demonic cloud has swept over the land, but this is how we should expect the end times to play out. And, I foresee more negative events to come. The only thing that worries me is the Christians who fail to see the danger that comes from prophecy being fulfilled in our day.

In his October 20 commentary warning his readers that Democrats could win a congressional "super-majority" in the November 4 elections, Strandberg wrote that "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] is the representative of America's Sodom and Gomorrah: San Francisco. I doubt the gay lobby will have any trouble getting her support." He later listed "just five" of the "very long list of liberal proposals that they [Democrats] would love to see become part of the law of the land," including:

- Union supremacy - Unions have been in decline for several decades. One of the key reasons is that they have a negative impact on business productivity. In a highly competitive world, unionized firms tend to fall behind. Democrats love unions because they are a good way to control large blocks of people with promises of government incentives.

- Medicare for all - The U.S. is already facing a calamity from the future entitlements promised to the baby boom generation. That bill will amount to $44 trillion. The idea of expanding the scope of Medicare makes me wonder if the Democrats are part of a secret plan to bankrupt this nation.

- Homosexual rights - Gays already have equal rights. The next step in this moral slide would be to make this sin protected from rebuke. In many European nations, it is a hate crime to quote the Bible's view of homosexuality.

He then wrote: "One of the disadvantages of being close to the time of the rapture is that we may witness some rather shocking changes in our form of government. If liberals are swept into super-majority power, there will be nothing to bar them from enacting these proposals. We can take comfort in knowing we will soon be rescued by a special Someone who will stand solidly for liberty and righteousness."

In a November 27, 2006, commentary, Strandberg criticized Pastor Rick Warren for allegedly saying during a trip to Syria that "he could find no persecution there of Christians or Jews. He also said he could find no evidence of extremism or terrorism in Syria." Strandberg wrote that Warren had responded to WorldNetDaily.com founder Joseph Farah's criticism of statements Warren made during his Syria trip by saying, "As a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Oxford Analytica, I might know as much about the Middle East as you." Strandberg wrote, "I found this remark hilarious because in defending himself he admits to being a member of two organizations that are known for being anti-Christ and supportive of a one-world government." Strandberg later stated:

If Warren understood Bible prophecy, he might not be in such hot water. Some day, Syria will be part of a surprise attack against Israel. His trip can only help embolden Israel's enemy into making its move.

Any leader who rejects prophecy runs the risk of becoming an active player in Satan's end-time plan. Warren is currently promoting a global peace plan, which is the same ploy the Antichrist will use to deceive the world.

In an undated post on his website titled "Satan's Little Helpers" that has been there since September 26, 2000, Strandberg warns readers that, while Satan can use dictators to control countries that have them, "In the 'free world,' Satan has found the liberal media makes for an effective tool for guiding and controlling society." Strandberg later stated: "When Jesus Christ returns to earth, He'll cast the liberal media into the pit of darkness. In hell, members of the media won't be harassed by us Christians, so they'll have the freedom to follow whatever news stories they choose." From Strandberg's piece:

Although Satan has a host of demonic angels throughout the world, there is one area to which the devil finds himself mostly restricted. Satan and company are spiritual beings, which makes them incapable of acting in this physical realm. Satan's little helpers must be of flesh and bone. so this is where the need for human organizations comes in. In the nations where the devil has dictators in command, he can use them directly to control those countries. In the "free world," Satan has found the liberal media makes for an effective tool for guiding and controlling society.

[...]

The liberal media will be a substantial player in end-time events. When the Antichrist finally does come to power, the liberal media will be tripping over itself to report his every word. The values that the press currently portrays will perfectly match the values of the forthcoming Antichrist. It will be love at first sight.

The liberal media's final act will be to broadcast the hatred of the Jews and nonconforming Christians. Even today, these two groups are constantly reported about a negative bias [sic]. As we draw closer to the tribulation, the negative media coverage will only increase.

When Jesus Christ returns to earth, He'll cast the liberal media into the pit of darkness. In hell, members of the media won't be harassed by us Christians, so they'll have the freedom to follow whatever news stories they choose. They will be able to cover topics like, "Why is hell so hot?" or "Does a snowball really stand a chance down here?" I'm sure the liberal media, at that time, will conclude that hell is a racist and homophobic place, and the burning sulfur will certainly be noted as destructive to hell's environment.

Finally, in the Frequently Asked Questions section of his website, Strandberg has written the following about Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Question: How can I recognize a cult?
From the answer: Just for example, let's look briefly at the Jehovah's Witnesses. They believe that Jesus was a good man, but not that He is the Son of God. They also place divine authority on sources other than the Bible. Furthermore, they believe that they acquire salvation through their good works. These beliefs obviously indicate that Jehovah's Witnesses is a cult. But, a religion does not have to meet all of the above criteria to be considered a cult; just one characteristic will do it. Many mainstream denominations are deceiving people by not teaching the truth. But God does not make exceptions to His Word.

Question: What is Mormonism?
From the answer: Mormonism is a cult that, like most cults, is sprinkled with enough truth to just hint at the truth of the Bible while missing it entirely. Again, we have a religion that denies the deity of Jesus Christ. In this faith, He is relegated to being a mere mortal, a true offspring of Elohim and an equal to Lucifer, another of Elohim's offspring. According to the Mormon Doctrine, "Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions;" "There was never a time when there were not Gods and worlds;" and, "Each god, through his wife or wives, raises up a numerous family of sons and daughters." So, every man is equal to Jesus in that he has the opportunity to become a god and have dominion over his people.

From Miller's November 15 Newsweek article headlined "Is Obama the Antichrist?":

On Nov. 5, Todd Strandberg was at his desk, fielding E-mails from around the world. As the editor and founder of RaptureReady.com, his job is to track current events and link them to biblical prophecy in hopes of maintaining his status as "the eBay of prophecy," the best source online for predictions and calculations concerning the end of the world. Already Barack Obama had drawn the attention of apocalypse watchers after an anonymous e-mail circulated among conservative Christians in October implying that he was the Antichrist. Former "Saturday Night Live" ingénue Victoria Jackson fueled the fire when, according to news reports, she wrote on her Web site that Obama "bears traits that resemble the anti-Christ." Now Strandberg was receiving up-to-the-minute news from his constituents in Illinois. One of the winning lottery numbers in the president-elect's home state was 666 -- which, as everyone knows, is the sign of the Beast (also known as the Antichrist). "It is very eerie, and I take it for a sign as to who he really is," wrote one of Strandberg's correspondents.

[...]

Before Christ comes again, those who are saved will ascend to heaven, according to this end-times theology, in a huge, upward whoosh called the Rapture. Strandberg is so certain that the Rapture is coming, he's bought a number of Internet addresses in addition to RaptureReady: AntiAntichrist, Tribulationus and RaptureMe. In the event that RaptureReady crashes during the apocalypse, anyone who needs an update will, with a simple Google search, be able to get one. Strandberg says Obama probably isn't the Antichrist, but he's watching the president-elect carefully. On his Web site, he has something called the Rapture Index, a calculation based on signs and prophecy of the proximity of the end. According to Strandberg, any number over 160 means "fasten your seat belts." Obama's win pushed the index to 161.

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