Women in Civil Rights Movement (Aug. 26 poem recited by Maya Angelou) "Abundant Hope"

from WHITE HOUSE dot-gov posting of the event honoring women / complete poem as recited:

many of the of the celebrations are going on as planned, including today's Women Who Dare to Dream luncheon, which honored the women of the Civil Rights movement whose legacy of strength and dignity continues to inspire hope. Dr Maya Angelou shared this poem she had written for Sunday's dedication at the luncheon, where guests also paid special tribute to Coretta Scott King.
Reverend Martin Luther King
The great soul
Flew from the Creator
Bearing manna of hope
For his country
Starving severely from an absence of compassion.
Martin Luther King
The Great Spirit,
Came from the Creator
Proffering a sparkling fountain of fair play
To his country
Parched and deformed by hate.
The whole man came forth
With a brain of gentle wisdom
To persuade quiet
Upon the loud misery of the mob.
A whole man stood out
With a mellifluous voice
To bind the joints of cruelty.
A whole man came
In the midst of a murderous nightmare
Surrounded by demons of war
He dared to dream peace and serenity
With a heart of faith
He hoped
To resurrect his nation.
I open my mouth to the Lord,
And I won’t turn back.
Martin Luther King
Faced the racial
Mountain of segregation and
And bade it move.
The giant mound of human ignorance
Centuries old
And rigid in its determination
Did move, however slightly, however infinitesimally,
It did move.
I will go, I shall go
I’ll see what the end will be.
Martin Luther King
Brought winds of healing
To his country
Reeling unsteady
With the illness
Of racial prejudice,
Screams of vulgarity
Could not silence him.
Fire bombs and dogs
Could not take his voice away
Ona my knees,
I told God how you treated me
Ona my knees.
He knew himself
A child of God
On a mission from God, and
Standing in the hand of God.
He spoke to the hideous hearts
And to the bitter monstrosities
And asked them to transform
Their ways and thereby
Liberate his country.
Representing the grace of heaven
He spoke to the evils of Hell
Representing gentleness
He sang to brutes.
He brought the great songs of faith
Persuading men and women
To think beyond
Their baser nature.
Lord, don’t move your mountain,
Just give me strength to climb it.
He hummed the old gospels
Encouraging the folk to act
Beyond their puny selves.
You don’t have to move
That stumbling block,
Lord, just lead me around it.
Leader to those who would be led
And hero to millions.
Martin Luther King
Was father to
Yolanda,
Martin, III,
Dexter, and,
Bernice.
He was lover
Friend, and
Husband
To
Coretta Scott King.
He spoke respectfully
Of the Torah.
He spoke respectfully
Of the Koran.
In India, walked in the footprints
Of Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi.
Christianity made him patient
With all religions
And his tremendous heart
Made him believe
That all people
Were his people
All creeds and cultures
Were comfortable in
His giant embrace
And all just causes
Were his to support and extol
Through sermons and allocutions
With praise songs and orations
He preached fair play and serenity
From hand cuffs and prison garb
From leg irons and prison bars
He taught triumph over loss
And love over despair
Hallelujah over the dirges and
Joy over moaning.
Fear not, we’ve come too far to turn back
We are not afraid, and
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
Deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome
Someday.
 © 2011 by Maya Angelou

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/08/26/maya-angelous-abundant-hope

Tennis Wins - Losses (Women's Wimbledon Champ falls) - Day one of U.S. Open Tennis Championship 2011

WASHINGTON POST coverage (excerpt of online article August 29, 2011):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/othersports/tennis/going-according-to-plan-berdych-gets-first-round-win-at-us-open/2011/08/29/gIQACwjmnJ_story.html
Joining Serena Williams in first-round action Tuesday will be defending champion and second-seeded Rafael Nadal against Andrey Golubev and both the top seeds — Novak Djokovic vs. Conor Niland and Caroline Wozniacki vs. Nuria Llagostera Vives.
The only major upset on opening day was Alexandra Dulgheru’s 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over No. 5 Petra Kvitova. Kvitova became the first reigning Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round at the U.S. Open.
She has only won two matches since hoisting the trophy at the All England Club. Asked why she was struggling, she said, “That’s a good question, actually.”
The player she beat at Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova, had to go three sets Monday for her win. She needed 2 hours, 34 minutes to beat Heather Watson, the remarkably nimble, 102nd-ranked 19-year-old from Britain.
The bad weather stole some practice time over the weekend from Sharapova, a three-time major champion, and she conceded she was far from her best.
“It’s just a matter of belief within myself, that no matter how well or bad or good I’m playing, or my opponent is playing, I know I can tough it out,” she said. “No matter what the situation is, I have the belief.”
In the last match of the first day, 16-time major winner Roger Federer beat 54th-ranked Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to collect his 224th victory in Grand Slam play, tying Andre Agassi for second-most in the Open era. Jimmy Connors holds the record at 233.
“It’s just another way of saying, ‘Roger, you’ve been doing many things right throughout your career,” Federer said. “It gives me good satisfaction and points me in the right direction, I think.”
The only men’s seed to lose on Day 1 was No. 15 Viktor Troicki of Serbia, a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 loser against Alejandro Falla of Colombia.
Other winners included No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, a finalist last year at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open; 16-year-old Madison Keys of Boca Raton, Fla. — the youngest and, at 455th, lowest-ranked woman in the draw — who beat 37-year-old Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-4; and No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who beat her younger sister Urszula 6-2, 6-3.
But surprise 2009 U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Ga., lost 6-0, 7-6 (7) to Romina Oprandi of Italy, falling to 9-29 in 2011.
Oudin said she’ll spend most of the rest of this season playing in lesser events, hoping to get some matches, and wins, under her belt to get some seasoning for a long career in front of her.

Peach Harvest (Treemendus Fruit, Eau Claire, Berrien County, Michigan) - August 2011

from POSTED Announcement at treemendus-fruit dot-com website (http://treemendus-fruit.com/ )

August is our "Peachiest" MonthYou will find over 36 varieties of peaches and nectarines ripening in rotation at Tree-Mendus Fruit farm. Each variety has its own character, flavor, and texture.  The best place to meet a real peach is in our orchard.  Reach for a peach and find "love at first bite". 

Labor Day Weekend! Sept. 2nd - Sept. 5th, 2011Peach and Nectarine harvest continues, Plum & early Apple Harvest begins*.  "Love ya a Bushel and a Peck".  With each bushel of apples or peaches you pick, receive a free peck of Tree-Mendus Fruit as you check out.  We will be making Cherry Waffle Boats filled with our own Cherry Brite Topping.  Clean Picnic & Play ground area...farm animal Corral, farm-wagon Rides.

Four Flags Area CROP Walk - Niles-Buchanan Michigan - Sunday September 25 this year

Impact your community and the world. Walk with us! 9/25/2011 Niles, MI

Photo: Naida Fabi

Four Flags Area (Niles/Buchanan) CROP Hunger Walk 2011

Details:
The annual world Hunger relief Walk beginning at Grace United Methodist, Niles, Michigan is 2 or 4 miles.

Incentive Challenge: A gift of $25.00 for every sponsored walker above last years total of 133 walkers! Our goal is 175 walkers, for a $1,000.00 gift! Come walk with us! Thanks to our generous donor!

Contact:  Rev. Rob McPherson of Buchanan, revrobmac@sbcglobal.net, 269-695-3282.

Eid al-Fitr date confusion (coverage of Media) - August 30

STORY by Elizabeth Flock (Washingtonpost dot-com reporter) - August 29 edition

Depending on where Muslims are around the world, the sighting of a sliver of the new moon at sunset that signals it is Eid al-Fitr — the day the month-long Ramadan fast can be broken — could happen Tuesday or Wednesday, spreading confusion over the day on which Eid really falls.
Eid’s date was never a problem in the past. But increasing global connectivity has made the difference in sighting times evident around the world (according to Wall Street Journal postings).
This year, followers in North America, Europe and the Middle East will see the moon and argue Eid falls on Tuesday, while India, Pakistan and Southeast Asia will see it and argue for Wednesday. Many others are just confused.
To make it easier, many countries follow the lead of Saudi Arabia, home to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. The Saudi Supreme Court, however, has not yet decided whether Eid is on Tuesday or Wednesday this year.
There are others among the 1.2 billion people celebrating Eid that will use science to inform their decision.  At midnight, official astronomical committees will scan the sky for the elusive sliver of moon. A group of scholars called the Fiqh Council of North America will lobby for using precise astronomical data to mark Eid’s start. The Islamic Crescents’ Observation Project, which shares global moon sighting data, will show that the moon is going to be sighted in South America first, an observance not likely to be taken kindly by Saudi Arabia.
Muslims’s five daily prayer were once dependent on the sightings of the sun, but have now become standardized, with prayer times published by local Islamic authorities. But the Wall Street Journal writes that around the world, there’s a feeling that a holiday as important as Eid, “should be celebrated by all on one day.”

Country Music trio "Lady Antebellum" to appear at Ed Sullivan Theatre - DAVID LETTERMAN Show on Sept. 1, 2011, 11:35 p.m.

from the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN - this week's guests segment of website (www.cbs.com/ )

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Julianna Margulies
(The Good Wife)

Comedia Joe Wong
(Stand-up)

Lady Antebellum
(CD, "Own the Night")

http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/show_info/this_weeks_guests.php

End of Ramadan (Eid al Fitr) - Religion & Ethics Newsweekly CALENDAR entry (August 31)

 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/multifaith-calendar/

August 30

Eid al Fitr (Islam)
Eid al Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. Ramadan recognizes Muhammad’s divine revelation from Allah, as recorded in the Qur’an. During this period, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and time is focused on prayer, charity, and self-reflection. On Eid al Fitr, Muslims celebrate the end of fasting and give thanks to Allah for giving them the strength to practice self-control during Ramadan. In North America, this event begins on August 31st, due to the lunar calendar.

The "Night of Power" Laylat al Qader (revelation of Qur'an) - August 23 or 26 this year

August 26

Laylat al Qader (Islam)
Meaning loosely "the night of power," this is identified as the night in which Allah first revealed the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad. It is believed that this day holds more power in prayer than a thousand months; thus many Muslims spend the whole day in prayer and reading the Qur’an. Sunni Muslims traditionally observe Laylat al Qader on the 27th day of Ramadan, while Shi’as believe the 23rd day to be the most important. Since the specific day of the revelation is uncertain, many Muslims spend the last 10 days of Ramadan focused on prayer.

Colin Powell (General / Secretary of State) on MLK and current legacy (FACE_THE_NATION comments) CBS News

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/28/ftn/main20098430.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

On the 48th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I have a dream" speech, former Secretary of State Colin Powell reflected on the civil rights leader's legacy - and lauded the man whom he said "freed all of America."

"He meant a great deal to me," Powell said of King, in an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation.

Powell was instrumental in facilitating the construction of a new memorial honoring King, and thousands of people from across the country had planned to visit Washington, for its Sunday dedication. The event, however, was put on hold as Hurricane Irene tour up the East Coast.

Nevertheless, Powell spoke with CBS' Bob Schieffer about his personal thoughts on King's place in history - and what he might think of politics today.

"You know, when he gave that famous speech I was serving in Vietnam. When he was killed several years later, I was training to go back to Vietnam. Most of that period I was away from the country, my wife and young children were in Birmingham Alabama during those terrible days in 1963," Powell remembered. "What Dr. King meant to me was that the second revolution, the second civil war was underway. It was time now to meet the dream set out for us by our founding fathers. And what Dr. King did was not just free African Americans - he freed all of America. He caused us, through his sacrifice and his service, he caused America to look at a mirror of itself."

"He was the leader who took us through that change and that's why it's so fitting that he be memorialized in this manner," Powell added.

But the former Bush administration official said King's dream was still a long way off from realization - and that if King were alive today, he would be "raging."

"If Dr. King was here now he would be raging about poverty," Powell said. "He would be raging about inequalities in our society. He would be raging about the fact that we are not educating all of our youngsters, especially all of our African American youngsters."

He said, too, that he thought King would be "disappointed" in the state of contemporary politics.

"We have such a lack of civility in our political life now. We are fixed on ideological polls and we seem unable to come together," Powell said.

He continued: "What Dr. King was always saying was, 'Can't we come together? Can't we talk about these issues?' Our Founding Fathers argued with each other, but they also knew that argument was part of the Democratic process. But ultimately you have to compromise with each other in order to reach a consensus just to keep the country moving forward. If all we do is remain fixed on these polar opposites of our political spectrum, the country will not be moving forward."

International Space Station -- may need to be abandoned this year -- NASA comments to "Spaceflight Now" website

Astronauts may need to temporarily withdraw from the International Space Station before the end of this year if Russia is unable to resume manned flights of its Soyuz rocket after a failed cargo launch last week, according to the NASA official in charge of the outpost.

The doomed Soyuz rocket lifted off from Kazakhstan at 1300 GMT (9 a.m. EDT) on Wednesday. Credit: Energia

Despite a delivery of important logistics by the final space shuttle mission in July, safety concerns with landing Soyuz capsules in the middle of winter could force the space station to fly unmanned beginning in November, according to Michael Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager. "Logistically, we can support [operations] almost forever, but eventually if we don't see the Soyuz spacecraft, we'll probably going to unmanned ops before the end of the year," Suffredini said in an interview Thursday, one day after Russia lost a Soyuz rocket with an automated Progress resupply ship bound for the space station.
A Soyuz rocket rocket crashed Wednesday minutes after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The third stage of the Soyuz-U rocket was firing when something caused the vehicle's RD-0110 engine to turn off early, scattering debris in the Altai region of Siberia more than 1,000 miles east of the launch site, according to Russian media reports.
The Soyuz-U's third stage is almost identical to equipment used on the Soyuz-FG booster that propels human crews into orbit, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.
The problem Wednesday occurred nearly five-and-a-half minutes after liftoff when the rocket detected a low fuel pressure reading, according to Suffredini.
"They have data showing that the engine was shut down due to what looks like low pressure on the fuel side. They saw data all the way down to when the vehicle broke up," Suffredini said. "In this case, they at least know where the potential anomaly area is, so they can focus their attention there."
The Russian space agency set up a board to investigate the cause and recommend corrective actions, while other groups were tasked with reviewing implementation plans for Russia's manned space program and checking the quality of manufacturing throughout the Russian space industry.
"We will understand, to our satisfaction, the anomaly, what is believed to be the cause and how they resolved it," Suffredini said. "If we're not happy, we won't put our astronauts on the Soyuz."
NASA astronaut Daniel Burbank and cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin were preparing to launch to the space station Sept. 22, but that flight is likely going to be delayed until at least October in the wake of Wednesday's rocket failure.
Wednesday's Soyuz launch mishap was the second rocket failure in a row for Russia. A communications satellite launched Aug. 17 by a Proton rocket was stranded in the wrong orbit due to an anomaly with the mission's Breeze M upper stage.
Engineers will present data to space station management Monday morning that could lead to a formal decision to extend the stay of three astronauts on the space station beyond their scheduled Sept. 8 landing date.
Space station commander Andrey Borisenko, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev and NASA flight engineer Ronald Garan launched to the complex April 4 and planned to depart the lab and return to Earth on Sept. 8.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp28/110827unmannedops/

Tropical Storm Irene won't stop U.S. Open Tennis Championships (ESPN posted article) - Aug. 28, 2011

from www.espn.com/

The U.S. Tennis Association says the site of the U.S. Open has "minimal damage" from Tropical Storm Irene and the aim is to begin the Grand Slam tournament on time.
In a posting on the tournament website Sunday, the USTA says workers are preparing the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for a scheduled 11 a.m. start Monday.
The USTA says it is in contact with New York City officials about mass transit, road conditions "and the ability to start the event on Monday."
Irene made landfall in New York as a tropical storm with 65 mph winds, not the 100-mph hurricane that had churned up the East Coast.

Manifold Greatness: Birth and Afterlife of King James Bible (museum - Wash. D.C.) September 2011

Events > 2011 > 09 > 23 > Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible

Friday, 23 September 2011 - Thursday, 12 January 2012

Location: Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC, United States

Organisation: Folger Shakespeare Library

Topic: Bible

Website: http://www.folger.edu/wosummary.cfm?woid=660

View Location on Map

Details:

A landmark, broadly inclusive exhibition, Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible is the American portion of a shared endeavor by the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Bodleian Library at Oxford University to mark the 400th anniversary of the printing of the King James Bible. The exhibition assembles and interprets an extraordinary selection of rare books, manuscripts, and works of art from several libraries' extensive collections, telling the story of the King James Bible in richly personal terms, from its origins and creation to its wide-ranging cultural, social, and literary impact in the United Kingdom, the United States, and beyond.
Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible will include the exhibition at the Folger Shakespeare Library, which will travel to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. A text and image panel version of the exhibition will travel the United States and both the exhibition of rare materials and the traveling panel exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive website.

About the exhibition:

Despite the long reach of the King James Bible, its fascinating and complex history remains surprisingly little known. Even many of those whose lives have been affected by the King James Bible may not realize that the very idea of the Bible translated into English was once considered dangerous and even criminal. Equally compelling is the story of the book’s afterlife—its reception in the years, decades, and centuries that followed its first printing, and how it came to be so ubiquitous. Essential to this story is the profound influence that it has had on personal lives and local communities. Beyond the text, copies of the King James Bible often survive as cultural artifacts. For many families, the Bible became a place to record births, deaths, marriages, and other important events in their history (some nineteenth-century editions were even printed with blank pages or forms to hold this information). The afterlife of the King James Bible is also reflected in its broad literary influence in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Among authors from John Milton to Allen Ginsberg, direct quotation is surprisingly common. Many of the same writers also allude subtly but distinctly to the King James Bible in ways ranging from paraphrase to metaphor and allegory.
An illustrated publication produced by the Bodleian Library will accompany the British and American versions of Manifold Greatness. The publication includes contributions from established British and American scholars across the disciplines of history, theology, English literature, and Biblical Studies.

Observing the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks with national service -- Weekly Radio Address B. Obama (WHITE HOUSE)

Presidential Proclamation (www.whitehouse.gov/ )

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, August 27, 2011

In just two weeks, we’ll come together, as a nation, to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.  We’ll remember the innocent lives we lost.  We’ll stand with the families who loved them.  We’ll honor the heroic first responders who rushed to the scene and saved so many.  And we’ll pay tribute to our troops and military families, and all those who have served over the past ten years, to keep us safe and strong.
We’ll also recall how the worst terrorist attack in American history brought out the best in the American people.  How Americans lined up to give blood.  How volunteers drove across the country to lend a hand.  How schoolchildren donated their savings.  How communities, faith groups and businesses collected food and clothing.
We were united, and the outpouring of generosity and compassion reminded us that in times of challenge, we Americans move forward together, as one people.
This September 11th, Michelle and I will join the commemorations at Ground Zero, in Shanksville, and at the Pentagon.  But even if you can’t be in New York, Pennsylvania or Virginia, every American can be part of this anniversary.  Once again, 9/11 will be a National Day of Service and Remembrance.  And in the days and weeks ahead, folks across the country—in all 50 states—will come together, in their communities and neighborhoods, to honor the victims of 9/11 and to reaffirm the strength of our nation with acts of service and charity.
In Minneapolis, volunteers will help restore a community center.  In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, they’ll hammer shingles and lay floors to give families a new home.  In Tallahassee, Florida, they’ll assemble care packages for our troops overseas and their families here at home.  In Orange County, California, they’ll renovate homes for our veterans.  And once again, Michelle and I look forward to joining a local service project as well.
There are so many ways to get involved, and every American can do something.  To learn more about the opportunities where you live, just go online and visit Serve.gov.  Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost; a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.        
On this 10th anniversary, we still face great challenges as a nation.  We’re emerging from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes.  We’re taking the fight to al Qaeda, ending the war in Iraq and starting to bring our troops home from Afghanistan.  And we’re working to rebuild the foundation of our national strength here at home.
None of this will be easy.  And it can’t be the work of government alone.  As we saw after 9/11, the strength of America has always been the character and compassion of our people.  So as we mark this solemn anniversary, let’s summon that spirit once more.  And let’s show that the sense of common purpose that we need in America doesn’t have to be a fleeting moment; it can be a lasting virtue—not just on one day, but every day.

Birthday of Hegel (philosopher born 1770): put forward concept of dialectic and opposites

from Garrison Keillor's Writer's ALMANAC (Minnesota Public Radio):

It's the birthday of philosopher Georg Hegel, born in the city of Stuttgart (1770). He started out as a theologian, particularly interested in how Christianity is a religion based on opposites: sin and salvation, earth and heaven, finite and infinite. He believed that Jesus had emphasized love as the chief virtue because love can bring about the marriage of opposites. Hegel eventually went beyond theology and began to argue that the subject of philosophy is reality, and he hoped to describe how and why human beings create communities and governments, make war, destroy each other's societies, and then build themselves up to do it all over again.
He came up with the concept of Dialectic, the idea that all human progress is driven by the conflict between opposites, that each political movement is imperfect and so gives rise to a counter movement which takes control -- which is also imperfect -- and gives rise to yet another counter movement, and so on to infinity. Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx argued that the most important dialectic of history was between worker and master, rich and poor, and their ideas lead to the birth of Communism.
Hegel wrote, "Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights." And, "We do not need to be shoemakers to know if our shoes fit, and just as little have we any need to be professionals to acquire knowledge of matters of universal interest."

Women's Equality Day (Aug. 26) -- 91st anniversary since 1920 - Pres. Proclamation

www.whitehouse.gov/

Presidential Proclamation--Women's Equality Day

WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY, 2011

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution tore down the last formal barrier to women's enfranchisement in our Nation and empowered America's women to have their voices heard in the halls of power.  This Amendment became law only after decades of work by committed trailblazers who fought to extend the right to vote to women across America.  For the women who fought for this right, voting was not the end of the journey for equality, but the beginning of a new era in the advancement of our Union.  These brave and tenacious women challenged our Nation to live up to its founding principles, and their legacy inspires us to reach ever higher in our pursuit of liberty and equality for all.
Before the Amendment took effect, women had been serving our Nation in the public realm since its earliest days.  Even before they gained the right to vote, America's women were leaders of movements, academics, and reformers, and had even served in the Congress.  Legions of brave women wrote and lectured for change.  They let their feet speak when their voices alone were not enough, protesting and marching for their fundamental right to vote in the face of heckling, jail, and abuse.  Their efforts led to enormous progress    millions upon millions of women have since used the power of the ballot to help shape our country.
Today (Friday August 26, 2011), our Nation's daughters reap the benefits of these courageous pioneers while paving the way for generations of women to come.  But work still remains.  My Administration is committed to advancing equality for all of our people.  This year, the Council of Women and Girls released "Women in America:  Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being," the most comprehensive report in 50 years on the status of women in our country, shedding light on issues women face in employment, crime, health, and family life.  We are working to ensure that women-owned businesses can compete in the marketplace, that women are not discriminated against in healthcare, and that we redouble our efforts to bring an end to sexual assault on college campuses.
On the 91st anniversary of this landmark in civil rights, we continue to uphold the foundational American principles that we are all equal, and that each of us deserves a chance to pursue our dreams.  We honor the heroes who have given of themselves to advance the causes of justice, opportunity, and prosperity.  As we celebrate the legacy of those who made enormous strides in the last century and before, we renew our commitment to hold true to the dreams for which they fought, and we look forward to a bright future for our Nation's daughters.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2011, as Women's Equality Day.  I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in this country.

The "Fix" (Politics blog at WASH. POST dot-com) takes my question -- Friday 26 August

www.washingtonpost.com/ -- subbing for regular host Chris "The Fix" Cillizza was Aaron Blake :

Dick Cheney memoir

Will Cheney actually autograph copies for book buyers of his memoir, interacting with the public at malls or just do so from a sealed room at a centralized location?

• –
  August 26, 2011 8:07 AM
• Permalink

A.

Aaron Blake :

Dick Cheney has never been a people person. And that may be an understatement.
The question is whether his sealed room is in fact underground. We'd like to believe that it is.

– August 26, 2011 11:03 AM

http://live.washingtonpost.com/live-fix-0826.html

Postponed to Sept./Oct. MLK Memorial Dedication events -- approach of storm makes postponement necessary

from WASH. POST article about Maryland - Virginia - District of Columbia change of plans:

Sunday’s dedication of the memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was postponed.
Organizers said the event will be rescheduled for September or October. The memorial, the first on the Mall honoring an African American, has been a quarter-century in the making, but safety trumped ceremony.  Hurricane Irene was forecast to sweep over the Outer Banks of North Carolina overnight Friday and advance into the Washington area with a vanguard of showers beginning Saturday afternoon.

Early Friday morning, the National Weather Service upgraded the Tropical Storm Watch issued for much of the D.C. area to a Tropical Storm Warning. Meanwhile, Irene weakened slightly to a Category 2 storm as it approached the East Coast, where a hurricane warning was also extended to New Jersey.
If the hurricane stays on track, the worst of Irene will arrive in Virginia, Maryland and the District later Saturday and into Sunday morning. Late-summer vacationers evacuated Atlantic coast beaches, which are expected to be hit hardest before the storm wallops New England.
The intensity of the storm and the shift in the forecast track farther to the west prompted the decision to delay the memorial dedication, said Harry E. Johnson Sr., chief executive of the memorial project foundation.
“I’m disappointed and hurt, really,” Johnson said. “But the memorial is going to be there forever.”
Johnson said the change might allow those who planned to travel to stay home and for those in Washington to leave ahead of the storm.
Governors along the coast, including those in Virginia and Maryland, declared states of emergency Thursday, and thousands of weekend events were canceled.  Colleges on the verge of opening for the fall semester warned students to delay their arrival, and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg told its students to go home.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/hurricane-irene-swings-north-on-path-that-will-rake-eastern-seaboard/2011/08/25/gIQAjz3neJ_story.html

Today is 59th birthday of Puzzle Master Will Shortz (NY TIMES CROSSWORD editor)

as written up by Garrison Keillor (Writer's Almanac, Minnesota Public Radio):

Today is the birthday of puzzle master Will Shortz, born on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1952. He's the world's only academically accredited enigmatologist; he designed his own course of study at Indiana University. Shortz sold his first puzzle to a magazine when he was just 14 years old, and within a couple years he was a regular contributor to puzzle publications. He's the current crossword editor of The New York Times, the puzzle master of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, and the author or editor of dozens of books. His latest obsession is KenKen, a numerical logic puzzle originally designed by a Japanese teacher to help kids learn math.
He told Time, "Puzzles really help newspapers. They help the print edition because most people agree it's more satisfying to solve a puzzle on paper than on a screen."

Iftar Dinner (to break time of daily fast for Ramadan) to be hosted at Israel's Embassy (Wash. D.C.) CNN article Aug. 25

from CNN dot-com posted complete article:

Israeli ambassador to U.S. hosts Ramadan dinner

By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor

(CNN) - The Israeli ambassador to the United States is hosting a dinner celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Thursday, marking the first time an ambassador from the Jewish state has hosted such a dinner in the United States, the embassy said.
Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren is hosting the dinner at his residence, with about 60 guests expected, including imams, rabbis and officials from the White House, Congress and the State Department, according to Israeli Embassy spokesman Lior Weintraub.
Oren told CNN that the unusual dinner is fitting at a time when the future of the Middle East is uncertain, as the Arab Spring has unseated regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and as Libya appears poised on the brink of a revolution.
“We’re in the middle of a huge transition in the Middle East and we see risks, but we also see opportunities there,” he said. “We want to be able to tell people in the Middle East what those opportunities are.”
“There’s a lot of misinformation about Israel and we want to show we’re open to dialogue and reconciliation,” he said. “We can begin to build bridges on an interpersonal level.”
Thursday’s Ramadan dinner, called an Iftar, will feature a call to prayer, during which the dining room at the ambassador’s residence will be turned into a Muslim prayer space, the embassy said.
All food served at the meal will be halal, meaning it has been prepared according to certain Muslim customs. The meal was prepared under the direction of a Muslim chef, the embassy said.
Oren said he hopes the meal at the Israeli ambassador’s residence becomes an annual tradition.
“Israel has a very large and vibrant Muslim population, with Muslim members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) and in science and academics and I’m their ambassador as well,” Oren said. “This is very much a state function for us, not just about reaching out.”
The ambassador said he was heartened about prospects for Jewish and Muslim cooperation when his wife visited an Israeli hospital last week for an emergency appendectomy, with the operation and the recovery overseen by Jewish and Muslim doctors and nurses working together.
Oren said he saw medical staff “acting on the basis of common humanity, without any distinction over faith … everyone there was an example of how it can be.”
The Iftar dinner comes at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and much of the Muslim world, with a rash of violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the past week and the Palestinian Authority preparing to make a bid for statehood in the United Nations next month.
Iftar dinners are held during Ramadan to break the daily fast.
President Barack Obama hosted an Iftar dinner at the White House this month, a tradition that dates to President Bill Clinton.

MLK Memorial Service adjustments (due to approaching hurricane and earthquake's damage to National Cathedral)

from USA TODAY posted update from CEO of the Martin Luther King National Memorial Project foundation --

At a press conference Thursday August 25, 2011, the head of the memorial foundation said that dedication plans are proceeding, pending any possible storm-related changes.
"We're going forth with our program," said foundation CEO Harry Johnson. "We will bring you back tomorrow to talk about if, in fact, we'll have any change, but today we're still confident that we're moving forward with the dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial."
The final decision about whether to postpone or move the ceremony, slated for 10 a.m. Sunday on the National Mall, rests with the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation in conjunction with the National Park Service, Johnson said.
Safety concerns are being weighed with the fact that thousands of visitors from across the country have made plans to attend, he added.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, situated on the Tidal Basin between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, seen Monday evening during a public preview. The memorial is to be dedicated Sunday morning on the National Mall, depending on Hurricane Irene.

CAPTION

By Charles Dharapak, AP

Original post: Plans for Sunday's dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial are up in the air because of Hurricane Irene.

The National Park Service and the National Park Police have not made any decisions on whether to cancel the event, said Sgt. David Schlosser, a spokesman for the park police. He says the two agencies will decide based on the forecasts from the National Hurricane Center.
The Category 3 storm, packing winds of up to 115 mph, is expected to hit the Washington, D.C., region late Saturday and early Sunday.  The foundation organizing Sunday's event on the National Mall is holding a press conference that was set to begin at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the impact of the weather on the dedication.
A statement by the foundation president, Harry Johnson, invited people to attend Sunday, "come rain or shine."
At a luncheon for civil rights pioneers Thursday afternoon, National Urban League CEO Marc Morial said the strategy for preparing for Irene is "prayer."  Foundation officials said their plans for Sunday are still in place but they say they are reviewing their plans.
Two other events leading up to the dedication had to be moved because of earthquake damage to the buildings where the events were to be held.
A gala Wednesday night (Aug. 24) to kick off the five-days of festivities had to be moved from the National Building Museum to the convention center, and Saturday's interfaith service (Aug. 27) at the Washington National Cathedral was moved to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Niles (MI) "New Tech Academy" September 1 Fan Drive (High School student initiative) 2011 ahead of Opening

from NILES STAR dot-com story -- contact person is School official Patrick Malley (August 24)

A small group of Niles New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy students are getting a jump on learning how to create social change by launching an effort to make Niles’ schools a little cooler next summer.
Six New Tech students are organizing a collection drive for fans, which would be used inside classrooms next year. They are accepting donations of new and slightly used fans Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 at two locations. One group will be collecting fans at the Niles Bensidoun French Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. while a second group will be collecting fans at Niles High School from noon to 8 p.m.
Last week, the small group of students organizing the event met at Westside Administration
Building to formulate their plan and present it to New Tech’s dean, Patrick Malley.
“It was the students’ idea from the start,” Malley said. “They asked me if I minded them organizing a fan drive. Why would I? It’s a great idea and it’s just the type of initiative we want to support at New Tech this year.”
The students’ goal is to cool as many classrooms as possible throughout the district. If they collect more fans than they know what to do with, they plan to make a fan donation themselves to a local charity.
In addition to accepting fan donations, students will also be collecting contact information from anyone wishing to join the Niles New Tech Fan Club. The group’s plan is to keep this club informed of upcoming New Tech events and news throughout the year. Fan club members will even get a fan club card.

Libya remarks (week of August 22) -- President Obama on behalf of the American people

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ -- statement as part of 2:20 p.m. Press Conference (August 22)

The situation is still very fluid.  There remains a degree of uncertainty and there are still regime elements who pose a threat.  But this much is clear:  The Qaddafi regime is coming to an end, and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people.  
        In just six months, the 42-year reign of Muammar Qaddafi has unraveled.  Earlier this year, we were inspired by the peaceful protests that broke out across Libya.  This basic and joyful longing for human freedom echoed the voices that we had heard all across the region, from Tunis to Cairo.  In the face of these protests, the Qaddafi regime responded with brutal crackdowns.  Civilians were murdered in the streets.  A campaign of violence was launched against the Libyan people.  Qaddafi threatened to hunt peaceful protestors down like rats.  As his forces advanced across the country, there existed the potential for wholesale massacres of innocent civilians.
        In the face of this aggression, the international community took action.  The United States helped shape a U.N. Security Council resolution that mandated the protection of Libyan civilians.  An unprecedented coalition was formed that included the United States, our NATO partners and Arab nations.  And in March, the international community launched a military operation to save lives and stop Qaddafi’s forces in their tracks.
        In the early days of this intervention the United States provided the bulk of the firepower, and then our friends and allies stepped forward.  The Transitional National Council established itself as a credible representative of the Libyan people.  And the United States, together with our European allies and friends across the region, recognized the TNC as the legitimate governing authority in Libya.
        Qaddafi was cut off from arms and cash, and his forces were steadily degraded.  From Benghazi to Misrata to the western mountains, the Libyan opposition courageously confronted the regime, and the tide turned in their favor.
        Over the last several days, the situation in Libya has reached a tipping point as the opposition increased its coordination from east to west, took town after town, and the people of Tripoli rose up to claim their freedom.
        For over four decades, the Libyan people have lived under the rule of a tyrant who denied them their most basic human rights.  Now, the celebrations that we’ve seen in the streets of Libya shows that the pursuit of human dignity is far stronger than any dictator.  I want to emphasize that this is not over yet.  As the regime collapses, there is still fierce fighting in some areas, and we have reports of regime elements threatening to continue fighting.
        Although it’s clear that Qaddafi’s rule is over, he still has the opportunity to reduce further bloodshed by explicitly relinquishing power to the people of Libya and calling for those forces that continue to fight to lay down their arms for the sake of Libya.
        As we move forward from this pivotal phase, the opposition should continue to take important steps to bring about a transition that is peaceful, inclusive and just.  As the leadership of the TNC has made clear, the rights of all Libyans must be respected.  True justice will not come from reprisals and violence; it will come from reconciliation and a Libya that allows its citizens to determine their own destiny.
        In that effort, the United States will be a friend and a partner.  We will join with allies and partners to continue the work of safeguarding the people of Libya.  As remaining regime elements menace parts of the country, I’ve directed my team to be in close contact with NATO as well as the United Nations to determine other steps that we can take.  To deal with the humanitarian impact, we’re working to ensure that critical supplies reach those in need, particularly those who have been wounded.
        Secretary Clinton spoke today with her counterparts from leading nations of the coalition on all these matters.  And I’ve directed Ambassador Susan Rice to request that the U.N. Secretary General use next month’s general assembly to support this important transition.
        For many months, the TNC has been working with the international community to prepare for a post-Qaddafi Libya.  As those efforts proceed, our diplomats will work with the TNC as they ensure that the institutions of the Libyan state are protected, and we will support them with the assets of the Qaddafi regime that were frozen earlier this year.  Above all, we will call for an inclusive transition that leads to a democratic Libya.
        As we move forward, we should also recognize the extraordinary work that has already been done.  To the American people, these events have particular resonance.  Qaddafi’s regime has murdered scores of American citizens in acts of terror in the past.  Today we remember the lives of those who were taken in those acts of terror and stand in solidarity with their families.  We also pay tribute to Admiral Sam Locklear and all of the men and women in uniform who have saved so many lives over the last several months, including our brave pilots that have executed their mission with skill and extraordinary bravery.  And all of this was done without putting a single U.S. troop on the ground.
        To our friends and allies, the Libyan intervention demonstrates what the international community can achieve when we stand together as one -- although the efforts in Libya are not yet over.  NATO has once more proven that it is the most capable alliance in the world and that its strength comes from both its firepower and the power of our democratic ideals.  And the Arab members of our coalition have stepped up and shown what can be achieved when we act together as equal partners.  Their actions send a powerful message about the unity of our effort and our support for the future of Libya.
        Finally, the Libyan people:  Your courage and character have been unbreakable in the face of a tyrant.  An ocean divides us, but we are joined in the basic human longing for freedom, for justice and for dignity.  Your revolution is your own, and your sacrifices have been extraordinary.  Now, the Libya that you deserve is within your reach.  Going forward, we will stay in close coordination with the TNC to support that outcome.  And though there will be huge challenges ahead, the extraordinary events in Libya remind us that fear can give way to hope and that the power of people striving for freedom can bring about a brighter day.

"Party": Biblical-themed cake competition plus donkey rides (September 3)

posted at KJV Trust website-blog

Bible Party

Saturday, 3 September 2011

Time: 10am - 7pm

Location: Spring Farm, Wainlode Lane, Bishops Norton, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

Details:  Our family, with help of local Christians, is holding a Bible Party at our small holding in Bishops Norton, Gloucestershire on Saturday Sept 3, 10am-7pm. It is a free event to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the KJV and a chance to celebrate scripture and learn more about how we came to have the Bible in our own language.

It will include speakers, choirs, exhibitions including living ones with appropriate plants and animals, a biblically themed cake competition (including children’s categories), children’s activities and (we hope) donkey rides. There is parking for about 150 cars although the bulk of this is in an agricultural field rather than hard standing. From the top of the site there are glorious views over the Severn River and vale.
There will be a field set aside for campers but spaces must be booked ahead with a donation of £10 per family per night suggested. The facilites will be basic (compost toilets and portaloos and primitive washing facilities). However, there are some good walks by bridle and footpath direct from the site and a pub down the road.

MLK Memorial (National Mall, D.C.) opens Aug. 22 - dedication is Sunday 28th

from "Post Now" (blog at Washingtonpost dot-com): reporter who posted online is Michael E. Ruane  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/king-memorial-opens-to-the-public-today/2011/08/22/gIQAL7zBWJ_blog.html?hpid=z5

Washington’s new $120 million memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. opens to the public Monday at 11 a.m.
More than 25 years in the making, the granite memorial features a 30-foot-tall statue of King on a landscaped parcel on the northwest shore of the Tidal Basin, just southwest of the World War II Memorial.


The King memorial will be open Monday until 10 p.m., and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday it will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., but will close Friday and Saturday in preparation for its official dedication at 11 a.m. Sunday. President Obama is scheduled to unveil the “cloaked” statue before tens of thousands of onlookers, including members of the slain civil rights leader’s family.
The National Park Service says for Monday’s opening an entrance line will form near the Memorial on Independence Avenue SW near Ohio Drive, and rangers will direct visitors into the site.
The memorial is the first to an African American on the Mall, and is situated about half way between the Jefferson Memorial, on the other side of the Basin, and the Lincoln Memorial, to the northwest.
The main statue of King depicts him standing with his arms folded, holding a scroll, and looking out across the water. It is built of 159 giant blocks of granite that were quarried in China and carved by master sculptor Lei Yixin. The blocks were shipped to the U.S. and the statue was assembled on the site late last year.
This week will see days of celebrations and commemorations as dignitaries from around the world gather to pay tribute to King, who was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, and remember his role in the Civil Rights movement.
The dedication will take place on the 48th anniversary of the day he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington in 1963, and many people who were present then are expected in Washington this week.

Tripoli as Headquarters for Qadhafi dictatorship set to fall -- Obama message August 21 night

released by way of WASHINGTONPOST dot-com Media --

Tonight (August 21), the momentum against the Qadhafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. The Qadhafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator. The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Moammar Qadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end.
Qadhafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all. Meanwhile, the United States has recognized the Transitional National Council as the legitimate governing authority in Libya. At this pivotal and historic time, the TNC should continue to demonstrate the leadership that is necessary to steer the country through a transition by respecting the rights of the people of Libya, avoiding civilian casualties, protecting the institutions of the Libyan state, and pursuing a transition to democracy that is just and inclusive for all of the people of Libya.
A season of conflict must lead to one of peace. The future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people. Going forward, the United States will continue to stay in close coordination with the TNC. We will continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected. And we will continue to work with our allies and partners in the international community to protect the people of Libya, and to support a peaceful transition to democracy.

Norwegian victims of shooting & bombing attacks memorialized (Sunday August 21)

from ABC online posting (news service):

An emotional memorial service has been held in Norway to honour the 77 people who died at the hands of a mass murderer one month ago.

Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg addressed the 6,700 people who had come to remember the victims of the country's worst atrocity since World War II.
He asked the congregation gathered at the Spektrum concert hall in Oslo to look after each other and to be vigilant for intolerance.
Musicians and singers paid tribute to the victims as relatives broke out in loud sobs.
"We will welcome home those who have strayed. But those who resort to violence, we will combat them with the full democratic arsenal. Everywhere they go, they will find us standing in their way," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"Together we have conquered hate. Together, let us embrace openness, tolerance and a sense of community.
The ceremony was opened by the Nordic country's monarch and included a performance by A-Ha, the iconic Norwegian 1980s pop band that was reformed for the occasion.
"Nearly all words have been used by now," King Harald V said, choking back tears.
"These last weeks have been difficult for us, but it's doing all of us good to be gathered here today."
The ceremony was directed by Haddy N'jie, born of a Gambian father and Norwegian mother, representing the mixed-race society explicitly rejected by the killer.
Between passages of music, Norwegian actors read aloud the names of the 77 victims, mostly young people, who perished in the attacks carried out by Anders Behring Breivik on July 22.
Breivik has admitted to last month's bombing in central Oslo and shootings at a Labour Party youth camp on Utoya island outside the capital.

Seeking video replies: Questions on Effects of 9/11/2001 (Lehrer NewsHour PBS dot-org)

www.pbs.org/newshour

We will soon mark 10 years since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 shook the nation, and the world. Since 2001, The PBS NewsHour has covered many of the faces, places, effects and implications of the deadly terrorist strikes. For this 10th anniversary, we're adding something new to our coverage: your voice.
It's a project we're calling the "9/11 Video Quilt."
Here's the plan: we've put together five questions about your take on the effects of 9/11. We'd like you to record a 90-second video response and submit it below. We'll feature the responses in our video quilt on the NewsHour website and may feature some of them on the NewsHour broadcast.
Here are Hari Sreenivasan, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, Jeffrey Brown and Ray Suarez with more:

"An Apple of Discord" -- Lincoln during debate (August 21, 1858) - Ottawa, Illinois

part of the LINCOLN - DOUGLAS debate transcripts -- (First in a series of scheduled debates and assemblies)
from ABRAHAM LINCOLN ONLINE (   http://www.thelincolnlog.org/view/this_day )

Saturday August 21, 1858 -- U.S. senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas are in Ottawa, Illinois, where they meet in their first joint debate. Newspapers report, "Twelve Thousand Persons Present!" Douglas asserts, "Mr. Lincoln and his party...are trying to array all the Northern States...against the South, to excite a sectional war between the free States and the slave States." Lincoln responds, "I leave it to you to say whether, in the history of our government, this institution of slavery has not always failed to be a bond of union, and, on the contrary, been an apple of discord and an element of division."

World Youth Day - Madrid, Spain (August 20, 2011) - conclusion (NY TIMES reporter)

as submitted online for NY TIMES -- Raphael Minder, correspondent

Pope Benedict XVI closed the religious ceremonies of World Youth Day on Sunday with a giant Mass in which he told young people to “swim against the tide” and abide by the principles of the Catholic Church despite broader changes in society. 

The culmination of World Youth Day — a six-day event that drew more than one million pilgrims to Madrid — took place at an air base on the outskirts of the city.

Though the event was marred earlier this week by clashes between the police and protesters condemning its cost, the huge and ebullient welcome for the pope provided a powerful demonstration of his influence, even at a time when church attendance has been dwindling in Catholic countries like Spain.
At the end of Sunday’s Mass, the pope announced that the next such event would be in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. Until then, he told those at the service, in Portuguese, that they “will be swimming against the tide in a society with a relativistic culture, which wishes neither to seek nor hold on to the truth.”
Young pilgrims had started to gather Saturday morning at the air base ahead of an evening vigil, in order to get closer to the altar, which was 220 yards long, draped in white and crowned by a giant, treelike parasol, made of interwoven golden rods and designed to protect the pope from the brutal heat. Although organizers set aside an area the size of 48 soccer fields to allow pilgrims to spend the night,  thousands had to be turned away because of lack of space. With the temperature at around 100 degrees, and despite eight fire trucks patrolling the area to hose down the crowd, almost 900 people required medical attention on Saturday because of heat-related problems.
Still, the weather broke abruptly just after the pope arrived for the Saturday service, forcing an interruption in the vigil and the cancellation of the communion while the pope took shelter from the wind and rain under a white umbrella. When the storm passed, the pope resumed his homily by thanking his audience for their “joy and resistance.” and for being “stronger than the rain.”
While about 70 percent of Spain’s residents consider themselves to be Catholics, the country has witnessed a sharp fall in church attendance, with the number of civil weddings overtaking religious ones in 2009.
Still, the economic downturn has shown the importance of religious charities, at a time when the government has imposed severe austerity cuts to help resolve its debt problems. About 800,000 people in Spain fell into poverty from 2007 and 2010, according to a report published last month by Cáritas, a Catholic charity.   

Sentences for Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer (U.S. Hikers captured at Iran border)

WashingtonpoSt dot-com BREAKING NEWS alert (Saturday afternoon -- during season of Ramadan, 2011):

Two American men arrested more than two years ago while hiking along the Iraq-Iran border have been sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage and illegally entering Iran, state TV reported Saturday.
The announcement appeared to dash hopes for the imminent release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal after Iran’s foreign minister suggested earlier this month that the trial could clear the way for their freedom.  This also could bring added tensions to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s expected visit to New York next month for the annual general assembly at the United Nations.

The Americans, whose final court hearing was three weeks ago, deny the charges and say they were only hiking in a scenic and largely peaceful area of northern Iraq near the porous border.
The two men were detained in July 2009 along with a third American, Sarah Shourd, who was released in September 2010 on $500,000 bail and returned to the United States.
Shourd’s case “is still open,” the website irinn.ir reported.
Bauer and Fattal, who are both 29, have been sentenced to three years each for illegal entry into Iran and five years each for spying for the United States, the website quoted “informed sources” at Iran’s judiciary as saying. It was not immediately clear if that includes time served. They have 20 days to appeal the sentence.
Their Iranian attorney, Masoud Shafiei, said he has not been notified of the verdict but he will definitely appeal the sentence if true.
“I’ve not been notified of any verdict in the case of my clients,” Shafiei told The Associated Press. “This is a strong verdict inconsistent with the charges.”
The Americans say they mistakenly crossed into Iran when they stepped off a dirt road while hiking near a waterfall. While other parts of Iraq remain troubled by violence, the semiautonomous Kurdish north has drawn tourists in recent years, including foreigners.
The case has added to tensions between the United States and Iran that were already high over other issues, including Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
The U.S. government has appealed for the two men to be released, insisting that they have done nothing wrong. The two countries have no direct diplomatic relations, so Washington has been relying on an interests section at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran to follow the case.
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he hoped “the trial of the two American defendants who were detained for the crime of illegally entering Iran will finally lead to their freedom.” Their lawyer also had expressed hope they might receive a pardon for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Phone and email messages left for Sarah Shourd, relatives of the two men and the families’ spokeswoman Samantha Topping were not immediately returned.
Shourd is back living in Oakland, California; Bauer grew up in Onamia, Minnesota; and Fattal is from suburban Philadelphia.
The last direct contact family members had with Bauer and Fattal was in May 2010 when their mothers were permitted a short visit in Tehran.

World Humanitarian Day (3rd Annual: August 19): White House Proclamation

from Press Secretary's posting:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/08/19/statement-press-secretary-world-humanitarian-day

Statement by the Press Secretary on World Humanitarian Day

This week in Somalia, the terrorist group Al-Shabaab burst into a hospital in Mogadishu and kidnapped three aid workers who were treating innocent civilians injured by the fighting in that war-torn nation.  This senseless attack came almost a year to the day since ten humanitarian workers in Afghanistan were brutally murdered by the Taliban simply for delivering medicine and eyeglasses to the Afghan people.  On this third annual World Humanitarian Day (Friday, August 19, 2011), the United States joins with the international community in honoring the courage and commitment of dedicated aid workers like these who devote their lives to serving their fellow human beings, often in extremely dangerous circumstances.
From the eastern Horn of Africa to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya to Yemen, Sudan to Pakistan to Afghanistan, these unarmed aid workers risk their lives to provide life-saving assistance to millions of men, women and children. When disaster strikes, these local and international humanitarians are often the first on the scene, as we saw again this year.  Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the earthquake in New Zealand, aid workers from those countries and around the world mobilized quickly and helped to lead the rescue and recovery efforts.  In the face of the on-going drought and famine in East Africa, aid workers are delivering food, medical treatment and clean water and saving countless lives.  In Sudan, aid workers continue to risk violent attacks, kidnapping and an increasing threat of landmines in their selfless efforts to provide food and shelter to those who have been displaced from their homes. 
‪On this World Humanitarian Day, we also honor the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to others.  Over the past decade, more than 750 humanitarian workers have lost their lives while helping innocent civilians in times of conflict and suffering.  Last year alone, 242 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped.  At a time when armed groups are increasingly targeting these humanitarians, the United States condemns any effort to harm aid workers and demands that they be given the access they need to reach those in need and save lives.  And we reaffirm our enduring commitment to the principles to which they dedicated their lives.  Around the world, every humanitarian aid worker must be free to serve without fear for their safety, and every human being must be able to pursue their aspirations in peace, dignity and security.

Pat Tillman -- Veterans Center for students (Arizona State University) Aug. 18, 2011

from Arizona State University alumni news publicity website (www.asu.edu/ )

Pat Tillman Veterans Center opens at ASU

August 18, 2011

Arizona State University has opened a new veteran’s center on campus, named after one of its most renowned student athletes, Pat Tillman, who died serving his country in Afghanistan.
The Pat Tillman Veterans Center is a 3,340 square foot facility located in the lower level of the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus.
It will provide a single point of contact for ASU veterans and their dependents, bringing together academic and student support services to promote a smooth transition from the military, provide assistance for veterans benefits, deployments, information, and referrals, as well as a place where veterans can gather for study groups and social activities.
Master of Ceremonies for the official opening was Kent Hopkins, vice provost for enrollment management. He was joined by Betty Capaldi, executive vice president and provost, Michael McBride, assistance director of undergraduate admission and Pat Tillman’s  former academic advisor, and Jason Ohanian, veteran student in the W. P. Carey School of Business MBA program, all who joined together to cut the ceremonial ribbon.
Hundreds of dignitaries, veterans and community members attended the opening, including Pat’s brother, Kevin, Kevin’s wife, Kandi, and their daughter.  Also attending were AZ Representative Lela Alston, AZ Representative Ben Arredondo, AZ Representative Ruben Gallego, Tempe Councilmember Corey Woods, Tempe Councilmember Robin Arredondo-Savage, Tempe Councilmember Mark Mitchell, Major General Carl Schneider (Retired, US Air Force) and Brigadier General J.D. Harris, Luke Air Force Base.
Hopkins read comments from Pat’s wife, Marie, who was unable to attend.
“It is important for university campuses to acknowledge that the transition veterans experience when returning to school is unlike that of most students,” she stated. “They face unique challenges related to financial aid, adjusting to campus life, and face a general lack of understanding of their experience by their classmates. In addition to offering innovative academic support and resources, the Veterans Center will address these needs by providing a place where veterans can find a strong sense of community on campus.
“Today, Arizona State is not only honoring Pat, by opening the Pat Tillman Veterans Center,” she continued, “rather it is honoring all veterans and military families by ensuring they have direct access to the assistance and resources they need to achieve their personal, educational and career goals."
ASU’s student body includes 1,391 veterans and 387 veteran dependents.
The university was named a “Military Friendly School” by GI jobs magazine for the last two years and was named one of the top 30 “Best for Vets: Colleges 2010” by the Military Times Edge magazine.
ASU also was chosen as one of the first eight institutions to be part of the VA’s pilot program, VetSuccess on Campus. Two VA staff, a vocational rehabilitation counselor and a Vet Center outreach coordinator are assigned and located on ASU’s campus to assist veterans with services such as vocational testing, career counseling, readjustment counseling, etc., to promote successful completion of educational and employment goals.
Student led veterans clubs have been organized on the Tempe and Polytechnic campuses to provide veterans with a voice on campus, a resource to guide veterans to available resources, and an opportunity for networking and outreach. In the spring of 2011, the ASU Alumni Association launched an ASU Alumni Veterans Chapter as part of a larger plan to support veterans on campus and promote more interaction between all veterans.

http://asunews.asu.edu/20110818_tillmancenter

Washington Post blog-discussion: Lisa Miller (author-editor) takes my question

www.washingtonpost.com/   "On Faith" weekly discussion

Will questions range across the Christian ethics continuum?

When political personalities emerge in the Media "flavor of the month", why don't more questions get asked than just "Do you believe that wives must be submissive to their husband like you were?" Could someone ask about Wars and Famines and Religious tolerance - dialogue and not just about the quirky side of things like Mormon "underwear" ?

• August 18, 2011 8:46 AM

A.

Lisa Miller :

One of the reasons religion is such a tantalizing subject for media is the weird factor. The underwear. The speaking in tongues. The prophetic "damning America" preacher. The snake handlers and the rapture and all that. In my experience, most of that stuff is very through the looking glass. It looks very weird to outsiders and not at all weird to insiders and I urge journalists caution not to make too much of all of it -- without context, history, etc. After all, who's to say what's wierder? That Joseph Smith talked to an Angel named Moroni? Or that Moses saw a bush on fire that didn't burn? And heard a voice?

Jonathan Franzen is 52 today -- American novelist

Today in WRITER's ALMANAC (Garrison Keillor, Minn. Public Radio):

Author Jonathan Franzen was born in Western Springs, Illinois, on August 17, 1959. He grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He studied German at Swarthmore College and then went to Berlin on a Fulbright fellowship. When he came home, he started on his first novel, The Twenty-Seventh City (1988), writing eight hours a day during the week and working as a research assistant in a Harvard seismology lab on the weekends. His seismology experience provided material for his second novel, Strong Motion (1992).
His third novel, The Corrections (2001), took him eight years to write, and it was published just a couple of days before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Oprah named it to her book club, but Franzen made some disparaging remarks about the literary merit of some of her previous selections. He also worried that it would alienate male readers: "I had some hope of actually reaching a male audience," he told NPR's Fresh Air, "and I've heard more than one reader in signing lines now at bookstores say, 'If I hadn't heard you, I would have been put off by the fact that it is an Oprah pick. I figure those books are for women. I would never touch it.'" Oprah withdrew the invitation.
He's also written a collection of essays (How to Be Alone, 2002), and a memoir (The Discomfort Zone, 2006). His most recent novel, Freedom, was released in 2010.

Celebrate Diversity DAY -- August 15 -- blogger Jim Swilley

from his "Celebrate in the Now" blog -- he has a mega-church movement in Georgia --

CELEBRATE DIVERSITY!

The affirmation for August 15 from A Year In The Now...

In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and He is equally available to all.
(Colossians 3:11 Living Bible)

1.Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because I can confidently celebrate my complete freedom from prejudice, bigotry and all forms of narrow-mindedness. Because I understand the beauty of the diversity of the people of the earth—the spectrum of individuality that God has created for His world--I can enjoy life to the fullest. Diversity is a part of the natural order of things—as natural as the colors of the rainbow or the infinite number of shapes, shadows and shades of spring flowers or autumn leaves. God is good and so is His creation.

2.Today I will recognize that diversity brings new solutions - Kingdom solutions - to the ever-transient environment. I will appreciate the individuality of others, as well as that of my own, because God has called us all to rise above the uninteresting and limiting parameters of sameness. “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually”
(1 Corinthians 12:27).

3.Today I will exalt life by exalting diversity with all of the opportunities that it presents. I will do what I can to pull down the strongholds of intolerance and division when and where I can, taking dominion and overcoming evil with good!

4.Today, when I look at people, I will be able to see beyond their natural, fleshly appearance.

“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart, so today I will choose to see things in the world from God’s perspective.

5.Today I will live and let live, look for the best in others and will love people unconditionally because there is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear!

6.Today I will treat everyone with the respect that they deserve. I will do unto others as I would have them do unto me and, in so doing, I will show respect for myself and, ultimately, for the Creator of all the people of the earth.

7.Today I will show the real Jesus to the real world, and today I will live in the now!

Father, help me to be a bridge-builder today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Maltese reunited with family after NM auto accident months later

from WNDU dot-com news item log listing (August 14, 2011):

A Maltese dog named Caesar who disappeared more than a year ago after a car crash that killed two members of its owning family in eastern New Mexico is back in the bosom of his family in Michigan.

Caesar was found by a volunteer looking for adoptable dogs at a shelter in Tucumcari, N.M. She tracked down owner Monica Benson after Caesar was scanned for a microchip.

Benson lost her husband and a daughter in the accident. She tells The Detroit News the reunion was "unbelievable," and Caesar recognized her and her four children.

Caesar left Tucumcari last week and arrived late Saturday at the Benson's Genesee County home. It's in Vienna Township near Clio, about 10 miles north of Flint and about 65 miles north-northwest of Detroit.

---

Photo (August 13) -- Monica Benson hugs her family dog, Caesar, at her Clio, Michigan home Aug. 13, 2011. Caesar's 9:30 p.m. reunion with the family capped off a 1,500-mile journey for the dog, who'd been missing since a tragic June 15,2010, crash in New Mexico that killed Benson's husband, Gary, and daughter, Emily, 5, and injured her 18-month-old son, Benjamin. The Bensons, their five children and Caesar were riding on a remote stretch of Interstate 40 near Tucumcari, N.M., when their 2001 Chevrolet minivan overturned. In the accident, Caesar was thrown from the van and wandered away. He was found when a volunteer at an animal shelter seeking to place him for adoption found he was wearing a microchip. . .
http://hosted2.ap.org/txdam/54828a5e8d9d48b7ba8b94ba38a9ef22/Article_2011-08-14-Missing%20Dog%20Found/id-3ad2b1b9e2fc489f9a9aea446116a6a9

Today is the 112th anniversary of Hitchcock's birthday (August 13)

Today (Saturday, August 13) is the birthday of director Alfred Hitchcock, born in London (1899). His father was a greengrocer, and a strict man. Once, when the five-year-old Alfred misbehaved, his father sent him to the police station and they locked him in a cell for a few minutes to teach him a lesson. Hitchcock was so terrified that he was afraid of the police for the rest of his life, and he rarely drove a car so that he could not be pulled over.
Hitchcock directed great suspense and horror films, including Rebecca (1940), Notorious (1946), Rope (1948), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963). He was a notoriously difficult director -- he knew exactly how he wanted the entire film to look as soon as he and the writers had finished going through the script, and he was known to refer to his actors as "cattle." Critics have interpreted Hitchcock's behavior as a director in countless ways, writing long treatises on how he channeled his own repression, passions, and other psychological issues into his films and his treatment of his actors. But his life off the set seems to have been relatively quiet and uneventful. In 1926, he married Alma Reville, his assistant. They had a close working relationship -- Alma went through every detail of each of her husband's films, pointing out whenever the dialogue sounded slightly wrong, or there was a slight flaw in the filming. Hitchcock was rumored to fall for many of his blond leading ladies, despite a lack of affection in return; and he often remarked to interviewers and friends that he was celibate, or impotent, or both. Whatever his married life was like, he and Alma were devoted enough to each other that they remained married until Hitchcock's death more than 50 years later. They enjoyed going to art galleries and dining out.
Hitchcock had a legendary appetite. He liked to say, "I'm not a heavy eater. I'm just heavy, and I eat." Apparently, shortly after Hitchcock came to America from England, he went out to New York City's 21 Club. Hitchcock ordered a steak dinner, followed by an ice cream parfait; then he ordered another steak dinner, and another ice cream; and then the entire thing one more time. At the end of his three meals and three desserts, he drank a cup of strong tea and a glass of brandy, and told his companions: "There is as much anticipation in confronting good food as there is in going on a holiday or seeing a good show. There are two kinds of eating -- eating to sustain and eating for pleasure. I eat for pleasure." He had a full wine cellar in his home in Bel Air, and he had a soft spot for Burgundy wines, which is why he featured one so prominently in Notorious. Alma was a great cook, and her husband liked to help in the kitchen himself, and the couple often hosted large dinner parties. When Hitchcock received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1979, he said: "I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen. And their names are Alma Reville."