LOVE IN
ACTION
“For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.”
John
3:16 (King James
Version)
Joanne Lowe
April 29, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Joanne Lowe's Meditations: 'Love In Action'
Jim Whitman sings 'Another Bar to Cry In'
One of my favourite Country Music stars is Jim Whitman, and here he is singing 'Another Bar to Cry In.' I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Colin Gordon-Farleigh & A 'Blast from the Past'
About 17, and feeling grown up enough to smoke a pipe --- Uuugh!!!
In my 20's, and with the brilliant poet Richard Ball for a publicity shot following the publication of his book The Last Voyage of the Titanic.
Above and below: These two pictures come from the days when was in my early 30's. I was living in Rhodesia and worked occasionally as a model.
A magazine shot taken around the same time as part of the Meikles advertising campaign.
Over the years I have often been associated with the theatre one way or another. This picture, and the two below, come from those days when I was privileged to belong to the Powys Theatre in Newtown and work with some brilliant actors.
These two photos were taken at The Curiosity Bookshop in Runcorn when I was doing a book signing for my poetry collections.
Kittens are the cutest creatures!
Here's a great opportunity for you to look at a few photos and sigh, "Oh! Isn't that cute!"
Siobhan Owen sings: 'In A Garden So Green'
Here's a real treat for you today! Siobhan Owen is a young Welsh friend of mine, living in Australia, who is not only a great harpist but a fabulous singer. Enjoy!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Catching the sun!
In a moment of reflection my cat Smokey basks in the sunshine and takes a little thyme to do it!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
A beautiful surprise with Sam!
I was out with my little dog, Sam, this morning, on one of his favourite walks close by our home. As I approached a small public garden that was on our way I couldn't help thinking once again just how beautiful the flowering cherry trees are at this time of year, and so I took the shot below on my mobile phone to share with you, dear reader.
We walked through this little garden as well, with its view of the Cenotaph war memorial. For some reason, now long-forgotten, we call this place 'The Secret Garden,' although it's not really very secret at all, being on the road junction for all to see or walk through. I guess that it's just what some would refer to as "a little bit of romantic nonsense" but we love it!
This building is the old Cottage Hospital, although nowadays it's used as offices. The flower-bed to the fore is a fairly recent addition and has certainly brightened the place up.
I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of the things we saw this morning!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Joanne Lowe's Meditations: 'Does He See Dust On The Bible?'
DOES HE SEE DUST ON THE
BIBLE
“Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy
2:15 (King James
Version)
Joanne Lowe
April 23, 2012
ISNA and the FBI
Why
are we so concerned about what appear to be hundreds of pages of revisions to
FBI counterterrorism training materials?
Among many reasons, here’s one.
As ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) reported on February 14th, (see ISNA’s release below), the organization met with top leadership of the FBI to discuss concerns about the training materials.
Who is ISNA?
We could provide you a lot more
information, but you get the point. As we point out in a DVD entitled “Unmasking
the Enemy Among Us,” the Muslim Brotherhood and its front organizations such as
ISNA are experts at information warfare. (This DVD is available on our Donate
page.)
Now ISNA is advising the FBI on what should be in our counterterrorism training materials! In fact, scroll to the end of ISNA’s release and you’ll see it calls this is a “first step.”
If you have not yet signed our open letter to congressional chairmen asking them to investigate what the FBI is doing, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TODAY.
Immediately below is a two minute interview with Rep. Allen West on the issue of the FBI training materials. Rep. West will be the keynote speaker at this year’s National Conference & Legislative Briefing.
ISNA & Nat. Orgs. Meet with FBI Dir. to Discuss Biased FBI Training Materials
http://www.isna.net/articles/News/ISNA--Nat-Orgs-Meet-with-FBI-Dir-to-Discuss-Biased-FBI-Training-Materials.aspx
(Feb 14, 2012) In a continuing effort to address concerns related to inflammatory training material, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently met with community and interfaith organizations to provide an update on steps taken by the agency to rectify the matter. On Wednesday, February 8, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), Interfaith Alliance, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muflehun, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), and the Shoulder-to-Shoulder campaign had an opportunity to discuss the matter with the Public Affairs Office of the FBI. Director Robert Mueller joined the meeting to discuss these matters with the representatives from the organizations.
The conversation with Director Mueller centered on material used by the agency that depicts falsehoods and negative connotations of the Muslim American community. The use of the material was first uncovered by Wired Magazine in an article published on September 14, 2011. Director Mueller informed the participants that the FBI took the review of the training material very seriously, and he pursued the matter with urgency to ensure that this does not occur again in the future.
ISNA President Imam Magid stated, "The discovery of FBI training materials that discriminated against Muslims did damage to the trust that was built between dedicated FBI officials and American Muslim community. We welcome and appreciate Director Mueller's commitment to take positive steps toward eradicating such materials and rebuilding trust and an open dialogue."
The Director also informed participants that to date, nearly all related FBI training materials, including more than 160,000 pages of documents, were reviewed by subject matter experts multiple times. Consequently, more than 700 documents and 300 presentations of material have been deemed unusable by the Bureau and pulled from the training curriculum. Material was pulled from the curriculum if even one component was deemed to 1) include factual errors, 2) be in poor taste, 3) be stereotypical, or 4) lack precision.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to share with Director Mueller other matters of concern to community members. Issues related to privacy, including the surveillance of mosques, were discussed. It was clear to all meeting participants that the issue of trust between community members and the FBI needs to be taken seriously by all of our nation's decision-makers. It was also evident that the Bureau must strengthen its efforts to build trust. The Director has testified before Congress about the invaluable contribution that the Muslim community makes to our nation's security, noting a recent bomb plot in Tampa, FL that was foiled thanks to a joint effort by the FBI and the local Muslim community.
The changes proposed by the FBI to the training modules are a welcomed first step in ensuring that such a mistake does not occur again in the future. The group asked the FBI Director to issue a formal statement on this matter acknowledging the negative impact of these training materials on the Muslim community. Representatives from the community and interfaith organizations also stressed the importance of transparency by the Bureau in dealing with these matters, and suggested that a committee of community leaders and experts be assembled to review training material issued by the FBI. Meeting participants requested that the training process be open and transparent moving forward, and requested future meetings with Director Mueller to continue the conversation.
Among many reasons, here’s one.
As ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) reported on February 14th, (see ISNA’s release below), the organization met with top leadership of the FBI to discuss concerns about the training materials.
Who is ISNA?
|
the first organization listed in the back of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “explanatory memorandum” which calls for a “civilization jihad” against America. Land Foundation terrorism financing trial. our government. Hamas is a designated terrorist organization. |
Now ISNA is advising the FBI on what should be in our counterterrorism training materials! In fact, scroll to the end of ISNA’s release and you’ll see it calls this is a “first step.”
If you have not yet signed our open letter to congressional chairmen asking them to investigate what the FBI is doing, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TODAY.
Immediately below is a two minute interview with Rep. Allen West on the issue of the FBI training materials. Rep. West will be the keynote speaker at this year’s National Conference & Legislative Briefing.
ISNA & Nat. Orgs. Meet with FBI Dir. to Discuss Biased FBI Training Materials
http://www.isna.net/articles/News/ISNA--Nat-Orgs-Meet-with-FBI-Dir-to-Discuss-Biased-FBI-Training-Materials.aspx
(Feb 14, 2012) In a continuing effort to address concerns related to inflammatory training material, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently met with community and interfaith organizations to provide an update on steps taken by the agency to rectify the matter. On Wednesday, February 8, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), Interfaith Alliance, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muflehun, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), and the Shoulder-to-Shoulder campaign had an opportunity to discuss the matter with the Public Affairs Office of the FBI. Director Robert Mueller joined the meeting to discuss these matters with the representatives from the organizations.
The conversation with Director Mueller centered on material used by the agency that depicts falsehoods and negative connotations of the Muslim American community. The use of the material was first uncovered by Wired Magazine in an article published on September 14, 2011. Director Mueller informed the participants that the FBI took the review of the training material very seriously, and he pursued the matter with urgency to ensure that this does not occur again in the future.
ISNA President Imam Magid stated, "The discovery of FBI training materials that discriminated against Muslims did damage to the trust that was built between dedicated FBI officials and American Muslim community. We welcome and appreciate Director Mueller's commitment to take positive steps toward eradicating such materials and rebuilding trust and an open dialogue."
The Director also informed participants that to date, nearly all related FBI training materials, including more than 160,000 pages of documents, were reviewed by subject matter experts multiple times. Consequently, more than 700 documents and 300 presentations of material have been deemed unusable by the Bureau and pulled from the training curriculum. Material was pulled from the curriculum if even one component was deemed to 1) include factual errors, 2) be in poor taste, 3) be stereotypical, or 4) lack precision.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to share with Director Mueller other matters of concern to community members. Issues related to privacy, including the surveillance of mosques, were discussed. It was clear to all meeting participants that the issue of trust between community members and the FBI needs to be taken seriously by all of our nation's decision-makers. It was also evident that the Bureau must strengthen its efforts to build trust. The Director has testified before Congress about the invaluable contribution that the Muslim community makes to our nation's security, noting a recent bomb plot in Tampa, FL that was foiled thanks to a joint effort by the FBI and the local Muslim community.
The changes proposed by the FBI to the training modules are a welcomed first step in ensuring that such a mistake does not occur again in the future. The group asked the FBI Director to issue a formal statement on this matter acknowledging the negative impact of these training materials on the Muslim community. Representatives from the community and interfaith organizations also stressed the importance of transparency by the Bureau in dealing with these matters, and suggested that a committee of community leaders and experts be assembled to review training material issued by the FBI. Meeting participants requested that the training process be open and transparent moving forward, and requested future meetings with Director Mueller to continue the conversation.
Sammie-Jo sings 'We All Need Our Heroes'
Check out this Youtube video of 17-year old Sammie-Jo singing my song We All Need Our Heroes, which is helping to raise funds for the 'Help for Heroes' fund through the sale of the CDs. You can order the CD from the Sheer Joy Music online shop by clicking here.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
"God is not looking for brilliant men, is not depending upon eloquent men, is not shut up to the use of talented men in sending His gospel out in the world. God is looking for broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves, but in God."
- H.A. Ironside
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Joanne Lowe's Meditations: 'Let Him Take Control'
LET HIM TAKE CONTROL
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Jeremiah 29:11
King James Version
Joanne Lowe
April 17, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Here is a Really BEAUTIFUL Picture!
This is such a beautiful picture that any words that I might add would be superfluous.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
'Presley Orbison & Cash', written and sung by Pete Rivers.
Most of my readers will already know that I just love a good Country song, and this song by Pete Rivers, 'Presley Orbison & Cash' is definitely a great song. Written and sung by Pete, this deserves a universally wide audience. Please do Pete a favour and go to Youtube and press the 'Like' button for him. Thanks!
Joanne Lowe's Meditations : 'Your Faithfulness'
YOUR FAITHFULNESS
“O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”
Isaiah 25:1 (King James Version)
Joanne Lowe
Friday, April 13, 2012
'The Last Voyage of the Titanic' by Richard Ball
Joanne Lowe's Meditations: 'Are You A Lady?'
ARE YOU A LADY
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
John 13:34,35 (King James Version)
Joanne Lowe
April 12, 2012
Does CAIR support the Constitution?
Ten questions for the Council on American Islamic Relations
Special to WorldTribune.com
http://www.worldnewstribune.com/2012/03/22/ten-questions-for-the-council-on-american-islamic-relations/
By Brigitte Gabriel and Frank Gaffney
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has launched a propaganda campaign attacking a state legislative initiative that is designed to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, including Muslims.
That initiative is known as American Laws for American Courts (ALAC).
CAIR claims this bill would have the opposite effect — infringing upon Muslims’ and others’ right to freedom of religion. CAIR’s real motivation, however, is not to safeguard the U.S. Constitution, but rather to promote the insinuation here of Shariah, a totalitarian Islamic political-military-legal doctrine. Shariah requires and enforces discrimination against women, children, homosexuals, atheists, members of other religions such as Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, as well as Muslims who repudiate the dictates of that doctrine.
A review of the actual language of the American Laws for American Courts legislation shows that CAIR is deliberately and falsely characterizing it as anti-Shariah. As we shall see, ALAC is not targeted at either Shariah or Islam. Unlike a constitutional amendment to the State of Oklahoma’s constitution that was approved in 2010 by seventy percent of the voters, neither term is mentioned anywhere in ALAC’s bill language. (A complete comparison can be found here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/american_laws_for_american_courts.html .)
ALAC’s very different approach was vindicated when the Council on American Islamic Relations succeeded in challenging the Oklahoma amendment on the grounds that it singled out Shariah law and therefore was ruled unconstitutional. Instead, ALAC is crafted to prevent the infringement in our court system on individual liberties by any foreign laws or legal doctrines, a phenomenon known as “transnationalism.”
This is made necessary since America has unique values of liberty that do not exist in many foreign legal systems. Among those guaranteed rights and privileges are: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, due process and equal protection under the law, the right to privacy and the right to keep and bear arms.
Unfortunately, increasingly, foreign laws and legal doctrines that would restrict or deny these liberties are finding their way into U.S. court cases, thanks largely to the rulings of transnationalist judges. In some instances, these judges are permitting the use of Shariah to adjudicate disputes on their dockets.
The appeal of the American Laws for American Courts model for preventing such intrusions of unconstitutional foreign laws is evident from the fact that it has been enacted to date in three states: Tennessee in April 2010, in Louisiana in June 2010 and in Arizona in May 2011. And ALAC’s fundamental constitutionality is evident in the fact that neither CAIR nor anyone else has filed a legal challenge to any of these three laws, let alone succeeded in getting ALAC struck down.
Knowing that a legal challenge to American Laws for American Courts is hopeless, CAIR has stooped to launching dishonest and misleading attacks against an initiative designed to preserve our freedoms.
How, one might ask, can an American organization oppose legislation that is crafted to form a reinforcing bulwark to protect our most fundamental freedoms against foreign laws that do not respect them? The answer lies, in part, with the nature of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
The Department of Justice has named CAIR as a front for the Muslim Brotherhood (and its Palestinian franchise: the officially designated terrorist group, Hamas). Evidence introduced in the Holy Land Foundation trial established that the Brotherhood’s mission in America is “a kind of civilization jihad…in destroying Western civilization from within” by our hands. Using our courts to undermine our liberties and Constitution “from within” is one of the most important and effective techniques for advancing this subversive civilization jihad. Two federal courts have refused to strike CAIR’s designation as a Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas co-conspirator and/or joint venturer.
Specifically:
• CAIR has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism finance trial in U.S. history, the 2008 United States vs. Holy Land Foundation case in Dallas, Texas.
• No fewer than four CAIR leaders have been convicted of felonies, including terrorism.
• CAIR has a memorandum of understanding with the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, the world’s most powerful multinational organization and, with 57 members, its largest — second only to the United Nations. The OIC is, like CAIR, dedicated to the imposition of Shariah doctrine and the criminalization of any “blasphemy” against Shariah law.
• The FBI has terminated relations with CAIR as a matter of policy.
• The IRS has reportedly revoked the non-profit status of CAIR’s national organization.
• CAIR is being sued for engaging in fraud against several of its members.
With this important background on the nature of the Council on American Islamic Relations, let’s analyze its critique of American Laws for American Courts by reviewing in the boxes below key passages from the legislation. (The entire model act can be found here: http://publicpolicyalliance.org/?page_id=38.)
Such a review prompts ten questions concerning CAIR’s opposition to this bill and we will address each, in turn.
ALAC: Purpose
“AN ACT to protect rights and privileges granted under the United
States or [State] Constitution.”
Questions for the Council on American Islamic Relations:
1. Why is CAIR opposing legislation designed to protect the rights and privileges granted under our U.S. and state constitutions? What is CAIR’s motivation? Do they think Muslims either don’t deserve or do not want to enjoy the same constitutional rights to which all citizens of this country are entitled? Or is CAIR trying to establish that Muslims are entitled to such rights (notably, freedom of religion and freedom of speech) but other people deemed inferior, for whatever reason (for example, for being “infidels”) may not be allowed the same rights as Muslims?
2. Exactly which constitutional rights protected by ALAC does CAIR find offensive or “Islamophobic”? (This made-up term is used by Shariah’s adherents to brand anything or anyone who “gives offense” to their doctrine or its enforcers.) The most important non-Brotherhood Muslim organization in this country, the American Islamic Leadership Coalition, has already endorsed American Laws for American Courts when it was introduced in Michigan. (http://publicpolicyalliance.org/?p=632) Does CAIR consider them “Islamophobic,” as well?
ALAC: Finding
“The [general assembly/legislature] finds that it shall be the public policy of this state to protect its citizens from the application of foreign laws when the application of a foreign law will result in the violation of a right guaranteed by the constitution of this state or of the United States, including but not limited to due process, freedom of religion, speech, or press, and any right of privacy or marriage as specifically defined by the constitution of this state.”
Questions for the Council on American Islamic Relations:
3. Does CAIR dispute that Article VI of the U.S. Constitution makes it “the supreme law of the land” and, therefore, that all other laws, including Shariah, must be subordinated to it where there is a conflict? There are, of course, myriad areas in which Shariah is at odds with constitutional rights (e.g., women’s ability to divorce, inherit property, enjoy custody of their children and engage or refuse to engage in sexual relations, homosexuality, freedom of expression, etc.) In such instances, would CAIR have the Constitution defer to Shariah?
4. Which rights does CAIR wish to have violated by or subordinated to foreign law? Does it favor unequal treatment for and/or brutalizing of women, homosexuals, apostates, Jews and others in accordance with Shariah?
[CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE HERE]
Special to WorldTribune.com
http://www.worldnewstribune.com/2012/03/22/ten-questions-for-the-council-on-american-islamic-relations/
By Brigitte Gabriel and Frank Gaffney
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has launched a propaganda campaign attacking a state legislative initiative that is designed to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, including Muslims.
That initiative is known as American Laws for American Courts (ALAC).
CAIR claims this bill would have the opposite effect — infringing upon Muslims’ and others’ right to freedom of religion. CAIR’s real motivation, however, is not to safeguard the U.S. Constitution, but rather to promote the insinuation here of Shariah, a totalitarian Islamic political-military-legal doctrine. Shariah requires and enforces discrimination against women, children, homosexuals, atheists, members of other religions such as Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, as well as Muslims who repudiate the dictates of that doctrine.
A review of the actual language of the American Laws for American Courts legislation shows that CAIR is deliberately and falsely characterizing it as anti-Shariah. As we shall see, ALAC is not targeted at either Shariah or Islam. Unlike a constitutional amendment to the State of Oklahoma’s constitution that was approved in 2010 by seventy percent of the voters, neither term is mentioned anywhere in ALAC’s bill language. (A complete comparison can be found here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/american_laws_for_american_courts.html .)
ALAC’s very different approach was vindicated when the Council on American Islamic Relations succeeded in challenging the Oklahoma amendment on the grounds that it singled out Shariah law and therefore was ruled unconstitutional. Instead, ALAC is crafted to prevent the infringement in our court system on individual liberties by any foreign laws or legal doctrines, a phenomenon known as “transnationalism.”
This is made necessary since America has unique values of liberty that do not exist in many foreign legal systems. Among those guaranteed rights and privileges are: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, due process and equal protection under the law, the right to privacy and the right to keep and bear arms.
Unfortunately, increasingly, foreign laws and legal doctrines that would restrict or deny these liberties are finding their way into U.S. court cases, thanks largely to the rulings of transnationalist judges. In some instances, these judges are permitting the use of Shariah to adjudicate disputes on their dockets.
The appeal of the American Laws for American Courts model for preventing such intrusions of unconstitutional foreign laws is evident from the fact that it has been enacted to date in three states: Tennessee in April 2010, in Louisiana in June 2010 and in Arizona in May 2011. And ALAC’s fundamental constitutionality is evident in the fact that neither CAIR nor anyone else has filed a legal challenge to any of these three laws, let alone succeeded in getting ALAC struck down.
Knowing that a legal challenge to American Laws for American Courts is hopeless, CAIR has stooped to launching dishonest and misleading attacks against an initiative designed to preserve our freedoms.
How, one might ask, can an American organization oppose legislation that is crafted to form a reinforcing bulwark to protect our most fundamental freedoms against foreign laws that do not respect them? The answer lies, in part, with the nature of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
The Department of Justice has named CAIR as a front for the Muslim Brotherhood (and its Palestinian franchise: the officially designated terrorist group, Hamas). Evidence introduced in the Holy Land Foundation trial established that the Brotherhood’s mission in America is “a kind of civilization jihad…in destroying Western civilization from within” by our hands. Using our courts to undermine our liberties and Constitution “from within” is one of the most important and effective techniques for advancing this subversive civilization jihad. Two federal courts have refused to strike CAIR’s designation as a Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas co-conspirator and/or joint venturer.
Specifically:
• CAIR has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism finance trial in U.S. history, the 2008 United States vs. Holy Land Foundation case in Dallas, Texas.
• No fewer than four CAIR leaders have been convicted of felonies, including terrorism.
• CAIR has a memorandum of understanding with the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, the world’s most powerful multinational organization and, with 57 members, its largest — second only to the United Nations. The OIC is, like CAIR, dedicated to the imposition of Shariah doctrine and the criminalization of any “blasphemy” against Shariah law.
• The FBI has terminated relations with CAIR as a matter of policy.
• The IRS has reportedly revoked the non-profit status of CAIR’s national organization.
• CAIR is being sued for engaging in fraud against several of its members.
With this important background on the nature of the Council on American Islamic Relations, let’s analyze its critique of American Laws for American Courts by reviewing in the boxes below key passages from the legislation. (The entire model act can be found here: http://publicpolicyalliance.org/?page_id=38.)
Such a review prompts ten questions concerning CAIR’s opposition to this bill and we will address each, in turn.
ALAC: Purpose
“AN ACT to protect rights and privileges granted under the United
States or [State] Constitution.”
Questions for the Council on American Islamic Relations:
1. Why is CAIR opposing legislation designed to protect the rights and privileges granted under our U.S. and state constitutions? What is CAIR’s motivation? Do they think Muslims either don’t deserve or do not want to enjoy the same constitutional rights to which all citizens of this country are entitled? Or is CAIR trying to establish that Muslims are entitled to such rights (notably, freedom of religion and freedom of speech) but other people deemed inferior, for whatever reason (for example, for being “infidels”) may not be allowed the same rights as Muslims?
2. Exactly which constitutional rights protected by ALAC does CAIR find offensive or “Islamophobic”? (This made-up term is used by Shariah’s adherents to brand anything or anyone who “gives offense” to their doctrine or its enforcers.) The most important non-Brotherhood Muslim organization in this country, the American Islamic Leadership Coalition, has already endorsed American Laws for American Courts when it was introduced in Michigan. (http://publicpolicyalliance.org/?p=632) Does CAIR consider them “Islamophobic,” as well?
ALAC: Finding
“The [general assembly/legislature] finds that it shall be the public policy of this state to protect its citizens from the application of foreign laws when the application of a foreign law will result in the violation of a right guaranteed by the constitution of this state or of the United States, including but not limited to due process, freedom of religion, speech, or press, and any right of privacy or marriage as specifically defined by the constitution of this state.”
Questions for the Council on American Islamic Relations:
3. Does CAIR dispute that Article VI of the U.S. Constitution makes it “the supreme law of the land” and, therefore, that all other laws, including Shariah, must be subordinated to it where there is a conflict? There are, of course, myriad areas in which Shariah is at odds with constitutional rights (e.g., women’s ability to divorce, inherit property, enjoy custody of their children and engage or refuse to engage in sexual relations, homosexuality, freedom of expression, etc.) In such instances, would CAIR have the Constitution defer to Shariah?
4. Which rights does CAIR wish to have violated by or subordinated to foreign law? Does it favor unequal treatment for and/or brutalizing of women, homosexuals, apostates, Jews and others in accordance with Shariah?
[CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE HERE]
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Lots More Great Christian Quotes - 5
"God is not looking for brilliant men, is not depending upon eloquent men, is not shut up to the use of talented men in sending His gospel out in the world. God is looking for broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves, but in God."
- H.A. Ironside
"When we become too glib in prayer we are most surely talking to ourselves."
- A. W. Tozer
"Some people read their Bible in Hebrew, some in Greek; I like to read mine in the Holy Ghost."
- Smith Wigglesworth
"I am convinced that many evangelicals are not truly and soundly converted. Among the evangelicals it is entirely possible to come into membership, to ooze in by osmosis, to leak through the cells of the church and never know what it means to be born of the Spirit and washed in the blood. A great deal that passes for the deeper life is nothing more or less than basic Christianity. There is nothing deeper about it, and it is where we should have been from the start. We should have been happy, joyous, victorious Christians walking in the Holy Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. Instead we have been chasing each other around the perpetual mountain.
What we need is what the old Methodists called a sound conversion. There is a difference between conversion and a sound conversion. People who have never been soundly converted do not have the Spirit to enlighten them. When they read the Sermon on the Mount or the teaching passages of the epistles that tell them how to live or the doctrinal passages that tell how they can live, they are unaffected. The Spirit who wrote them is not witnessing in their hearts because they have not been born of the Spirit. That often happens."
- A W Tozer
"With all your getting get unction." - Leonard Ravenhill
- H.A. Ironside
"When we become too glib in prayer we are most surely talking to ourselves."
- A. W. Tozer
"Some people read their Bible in Hebrew, some in Greek; I like to read mine in the Holy Ghost."
- Smith Wigglesworth
"I am convinced that many evangelicals are not truly and soundly converted. Among the evangelicals it is entirely possible to come into membership, to ooze in by osmosis, to leak through the cells of the church and never know what it means to be born of the Spirit and washed in the blood. A great deal that passes for the deeper life is nothing more or less than basic Christianity. There is nothing deeper about it, and it is where we should have been from the start. We should have been happy, joyous, victorious Christians walking in the Holy Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. Instead we have been chasing each other around the perpetual mountain.
What we need is what the old Methodists called a sound conversion. There is a difference between conversion and a sound conversion. People who have never been soundly converted do not have the Spirit to enlighten them. When they read the Sermon on the Mount or the teaching passages of the epistles that tell them how to live or the doctrinal passages that tell how they can live, they are unaffected. The Spirit who wrote them is not witnessing in their hearts because they have not been born of the Spirit. That often happens."
- A W Tozer
"With all your getting get unction." - Leonard Ravenhill
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
ICNA’s disinformation campaign
Pro-Shariah Group Launches Disinformation Campaign
http://news.investors.com/Article.aspx?id=606641&ibdbot=1&p=2
The Islamic Circle of North America has launched a $3 million campaign to convince Americans that Shariah, the legal code of Islam, is no threat. ICNA is not exactly the best salesman.
The New York-based group, which was founded in 1968 by leaders of the Pakistani branch of the radical Muslim Brotherhood, is promoting Shariah law in a "25-city education tour" that features billboards, radio and TV ads, town hall forums and campus interfaith events.
"The plan is to clear up common misconceptions about Shariah and the Islamic faith," ICNA says. It's responding to legislative efforts to ban judges from recognizing Shariah law in Kansas, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arizona and South Dakota.
"Muslim-Americans are asking for the same fundamental rights to observe Shariah" as other faiths enjoy observing their tenets, ICNA asserts.
Of course, Shariah involves far more than just worship. It commands a separate political system. Unlike other religions, it seeks to substitute the U.S. Constitution with its own commandments, which discriminate against women and non-Muslims, restrict free speech, and prescribe cruel and unusual punishment, among other things.
Through groups such as ICNA, as well as the hundreds of mosques it controls, the Muslim Brotherhood teaches Muslim-Americans that Shariah is the law of the land. This is in direct contravention of the so-called supremacy clause, which states: "This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby."
Shariah has already crept into U.S. court cases, mostly involving family law. Some heavily Muslim areas of the U.S. have become "no-go zones," where domestic abuse cases, even honor killings, are covered up.
But then, ICNA knows all this. That's why it's trying to disarm the public through a massive propaganda campaign in the U.S.
The ICNA official behind the campaign, Sabeel Ahmed, has privately told Muslims: "We should use every opportunity presented or created to sensitize non-Muslim peers and school staff with Islam and establish an environment in which everywhere a non-Muslims (sic) turn, they notice Islam portrayed in a positive way and get influenced by it and eventually accept Islam with Allah's guidance, insha Allah."
It's plain that ICNA has an agenda other than protecting religious freedom. But it goes beyond conversion of non-Muslims. Here's what ICNA is really hiding:
• The secret archives of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, seized by FBI agents in 2004, list ICNA among "our organizations."
• The document, found in the basement of a terror suspect in Annandale, Va., and translated from Arabic, says "their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within, and sabotaging its miserable house, so that it is eliminated and Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions."
• The same Brotherhood charter calls for the creation one day of a "Central Islamic Court" in America, according to the best-seller "Muslim Mafia."
• ICNA recently merged with a sister group — the Muslim American Society — which the Justice Department says is the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
• ICNA's "Great Leaders of the last 100 Years" features the late Pakistani Brotherhood leader Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, who has said: "Islam wishes to do away with all states and governments anywhere."
• It also lionizes the late Egyptian Brotherhood leader Sayyid Qutb, who stated: "Wherever an Islamic community exists, it has a God-given right to step forward and take control of the political authority so that it may establish the divine system (Shariah) on earth."
• ICNA has featured in its magazine, "The Message," the writings of the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has stated the following: "What we seek is that legislations and codes be within the limits of the flawless texts and the overall objectives of the Shariah and the Islamic message." Qaradawi, banned from U.S. entry since 1999, has also declared: "We will conquer America."
Those running ICNA's ads and plastering highways (including New York's Lincoln Tunnel) with billboards should know what they're dealing with — a subversive group running a disinformation campaign.
http://news.investors.com/Article.aspx?id=606641&ibdbot=1&p=2
The Islamic Circle of North America has launched a $3 million campaign to convince Americans that Shariah, the legal code of Islam, is no threat. ICNA is not exactly the best salesman.
The New York-based group, which was founded in 1968 by leaders of the Pakistani branch of the radical Muslim Brotherhood, is promoting Shariah law in a "25-city education tour" that features billboards, radio and TV ads, town hall forums and campus interfaith events.
"The plan is to clear up common misconceptions about Shariah and the Islamic faith," ICNA says. It's responding to legislative efforts to ban judges from recognizing Shariah law in Kansas, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arizona and South Dakota.
"Muslim-Americans are asking for the same fundamental rights to observe Shariah" as other faiths enjoy observing their tenets, ICNA asserts.
Of course, Shariah involves far more than just worship. It commands a separate political system. Unlike other religions, it seeks to substitute the U.S. Constitution with its own commandments, which discriminate against women and non-Muslims, restrict free speech, and prescribe cruel and unusual punishment, among other things.
Through groups such as ICNA, as well as the hundreds of mosques it controls, the Muslim Brotherhood teaches Muslim-Americans that Shariah is the law of the land. This is in direct contravention of the so-called supremacy clause, which states: "This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby."
Shariah has already crept into U.S. court cases, mostly involving family law. Some heavily Muslim areas of the U.S. have become "no-go zones," where domestic abuse cases, even honor killings, are covered up.
But then, ICNA knows all this. That's why it's trying to disarm the public through a massive propaganda campaign in the U.S.
The ICNA official behind the campaign, Sabeel Ahmed, has privately told Muslims: "We should use every opportunity presented or created to sensitize non-Muslim peers and school staff with Islam and establish an environment in which everywhere a non-Muslims (sic) turn, they notice Islam portrayed in a positive way and get influenced by it and eventually accept Islam with Allah's guidance, insha Allah."
It's plain that ICNA has an agenda other than protecting religious freedom. But it goes beyond conversion of non-Muslims. Here's what ICNA is really hiding:
• The secret archives of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, seized by FBI agents in 2004, list ICNA among "our organizations."
• The document, found in the basement of a terror suspect in Annandale, Va., and translated from Arabic, says "their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within, and sabotaging its miserable house, so that it is eliminated and Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions."
• The same Brotherhood charter calls for the creation one day of a "Central Islamic Court" in America, according to the best-seller "Muslim Mafia."
• ICNA recently merged with a sister group — the Muslim American Society — which the Justice Department says is the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
• ICNA's "Great Leaders of the last 100 Years" features the late Pakistani Brotherhood leader Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, who has said: "Islam wishes to do away with all states and governments anywhere."
• It also lionizes the late Egyptian Brotherhood leader Sayyid Qutb, who stated: "Wherever an Islamic community exists, it has a God-given right to step forward and take control of the political authority so that it may establish the divine system (Shariah) on earth."
• ICNA has featured in its magazine, "The Message," the writings of the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has stated the following: "What we seek is that legislations and codes be within the limits of the flawless texts and the overall objectives of the Shariah and the Islamic message." Qaradawi, banned from U.S. entry since 1999, has also declared: "We will conquer America."
Those running ICNA's ads and plastering highways (including New York's Lincoln Tunnel) with billboards should know what they're dealing with — a subversive group running a disinformation campaign.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Pasg hapus! : Happy Easter!
I wish all of my readers a very happy and peaceful Easter from the beauty of North Wales! I hope that you all have a great holiday, but most of all I hope that you draw closer to the Lord Jesus Christ whose sacrifice we remember at this time, and whose promise of eternal life is the gift that none of us deserve and yet all of us can claim.
Friday, April 6, 2012
I'm Not Ashamed of The Cross!
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Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Scorpions - 'Send Me An Angel' : Grace Bawden, Gabriel & Abigail Stahlschmidt
Here is a great song for you to enjoy, written by Andrew Lewis/Smyth Taylor/Sabina and sung by Gabriel Stahlschmidt and her sister Abigail and Grace Bawden. I think that this is a beautiful song, well sung, especially the harmonies, and one that deserves the widest audience. Well done to all concerned!
Monday, April 2, 2012
How do you find a good electric toaster?
How frustrating it is to try to find a good toaster! So many are unfit for purpose it makes you wonder what planet the manufacturers are on. Some won't take an average slice of bread, some won't toast thick bread, some toast on one side of the bread but hardly toast on the other. For goodness sake! How difficult can it be to manufacturer a toaster that actually does the job that it's supposed to?
Years ago, when obsolescence was not automatically built-in to electrical goods, you could get a toaster like the Swan brand, all shiny chrome and two-slice efficiency, and it cost about a fiver for a toaster that lasted for years and years.
I expect, (although there's no guarantee), that if you buy one of the very expensive toasters then it might do the job that it's supposed to. But we are like the millions of other folk who have to buy what we can afford, which is the averagely priced toasters around the £50 mark.
And they say that the world has progressed!
Years ago, when obsolescence was not automatically built-in to electrical goods, you could get a toaster like the Swan brand, all shiny chrome and two-slice efficiency, and it cost about a fiver for a toaster that lasted for years and years.
I expect, (although there's no guarantee), that if you buy one of the very expensive toasters then it might do the job that it's supposed to. But we are like the millions of other folk who have to buy what we can afford, which is the averagely priced toasters around the £50 mark.
And they say that the world has progressed!
Lots More Great Christian Quotes - 4
"Prayer can do anything that God can do."
- E.M. Bounds.
"Why do so many Christians pray such tiny prayers when their God is so big?"
- Watchman Nee
Be a planter of seeds. Remember that the greatest trees start off as the smallest seeds.
- Colin Gordon-Farleigh
"It is far better to drive men away by faithful preaching than to drive the Holy Spirit away by unfaithful preaching!"
- Al Whittinghill
"We fear men so much because we fear God so little. One fear cures another."
- William Gurnall.
"The church used to confess its sin, now it confesses its right."
- David Wilkerson
"I've seen more Christians destroyed by ambition than any other sin - discontent in the heart, always pushing and jockeying - moving for some new thing, some new position . . . It's not what we do, it's that we do what we're called to do and that in it we glorify God."
- Carter Conlon
"If rich men only knew when they died, how . . . their relatives would scramble for their money, the worms for their bodies, and the devil for their souls, they would not be so anxious to save money!"
- William Tiptaft
- E.M. Bounds.
"Why do so many Christians pray such tiny prayers when their God is so big?"
- Watchman Nee
Be a planter of seeds. Remember that the greatest trees start off as the smallest seeds.
- Colin Gordon-Farleigh
"It is far better to drive men away by faithful preaching than to drive the Holy Spirit away by unfaithful preaching!"
- Al Whittinghill
"We fear men so much because we fear God so little. One fear cures another."
- William Gurnall.
"The church used to confess its sin, now it confesses its right."
- David Wilkerson
"I've seen more Christians destroyed by ambition than any other sin - discontent in the heart, always pushing and jockeying - moving for some new thing, some new position . . . It's not what we do, it's that we do what we're called to do and that in it we glorify God."
- Carter Conlon
"If rich men only knew when they died, how . . . their relatives would scramble for their money, the worms for their bodies, and the devil for their souls, they would not be so anxious to save money!"
- William Tiptaft
Joanne Lowe's Meditations: 'Day and Night'
DAY AND NIGHT
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
1 Peter 5:8,9 (King James Version)
Joanne Lowe
April 1, 2012
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