Al Kresta's Blog, page 27

"I saw a scene of utter cruelty": Eyewitness account of Syrian jihadists beheading a foe

Warning: Hide the children; the photo at the end of this post is very graphic.

Jihadwatch.com

The idea that we would even be considering aiding these jihadis, and are already giving them weapons, is unconscionable. It will forever be a blot on the history of the United States. Even if Islamic supremacists write those histories, the theme of this chapter will be the spectacular success of their disinformation campaign in the U.S., and how they got the U.S. Government to come to the aid of al-Qaeda within twelve years of 9/11.

"Witness to a Syrian Execution: 'I Saw a Scene of Utter Cruelty,'" by Patrick Witty in Time, September 12 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

All wars are vicious, but the civil war in Syria seems every day to set new standards for brutality. As the fighting rages in its third year, increasing numbers of atrocities are committed by soldiers and fighters from forces loyal to the regime of President Bashar Assad, as well as armed rebels and Islamic militants from the numerous, loosely aligned groups opposing Assad. The violence is frequently sectarian in nature, with fighters claiming they act in defense of their faith, be it Sunni, Alawite, Shiite or any of the other sects that contribute to Syria’s religious landscape.The perpetrators of atrocities themselves often use digital cameras or smartphones to photograph or film their acts of torture and murder, uploading the images to the Internet. These images and videos are used for propaganda, and their authenticity is often impossible to verify. It is very rare that a group of fighters from either side gives a professional photojournalist from a country outside Syria full and unfettered access to chronicle an atrocity as it unfolds. The images above are products of that access.
What follows is a harrowing series of photographs of Islamic militants publicly executing, by decapitation, a young Syrian in the town of Keferghan, near Aleppo, on August 31, 2013.
Because of the danger in reporting inside Syria, it was not possible to confirm the identity or political affiliation of the victim. Nor are we certain about the motivation of his killers. One eyewitness who lives in the area and was contacted by TIME a week after the beheadings said that the executioners were from ISIS, an Al-Qaeda franchise operating in Syria and Iraq.

Yes, their motivation is an utter and absolute mystery.

TIME obtained the images exclusively from a photographer who was recently in Syria. This decapitation was the last of four executions he documented that day. TIME has agreed not to publish the photographer’s name, to protect him from repercussions when he returns to Syria. What follows is an edited account of his experience:

 Read the rest at http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/09/i-saw-a-scene-of-utter-cruelty-eyewitness-account-of-syrian-jihadists-beheading-a-foe.html

 

Posted by Robert on September 12, 2013 5:50 PM

Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - September 16, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on September 16

4:00 – Kresta Comments – Is the Pope Catholic? Two Columnists Say “No”

4:20 – Helping Disabled Catholics Access the Fullness of the Faith
The National Catholic Partnership on Disability is an organization that works collaboratively and effectively with the USCCB, dioceses and archdioceses and Catholic ministries across the country.  The mission is to help create access to faith for Catholics with disabilities.  This work is broad and deep, and includes creating specialized resources for faith formation and sacramental preparation, outreach to Hispanic families, as well as a vibrant program to support families facing an unexpected prenatal diagnosis, among many others.  NCPD estimates there are about 14 million Catholics with some kind of a disability that need more access to the faith. Executive Director Jan Benton joins us. 

5:00 – Tea Party Catholic: The Catholic Case for Limited Government, a Free Economy, and Human Flourishing
Over the past fifty years, increasing numbers of American Catholics have abandoned the economic positions associated with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and chosen to embrace the principles of economic freedom and limited government: ideals upheld by Ronald Reagan and the Tea Party movement but also deeply rooted in the American Founding. This shift, alongside America’s growing polarization around economic questions, has generated fierce debates among Catholic Americans in recent years. Can a believing Catholic support free markets? Does the Catholic social justice commitment translate directly into big government? Do limited government Catholic Americans have something unique to contribute to the Church’s thinking about the economic challenges confronting all Catholics around the globe? Samuel Gregg draws upon Catholic teaching, natural law theory, and the thought of the only Catholic Signer of America’s Declaration of Independence to develop a Catholic case for the values and institutions associated with the free economy, limited government, and America’s experiment in ordered liberty. 

5:40 – Kresta Comments – Is the Pope Catholic? Two Columnists Say “No”

 
 

Dad Wears Short Shorts to Teach Daughter a Lesson, Becomes Online Celeb

By Beth Greenfield, Shine Staff | Parenting
Yahoo
 
A Utah dad got so fed up with his teen daughter’s too-short shorts that he taught her a fashion lesson she'll never forget. Scott Mackintosh publicly modeled his own version of his daughter's Daisy Dukes and, in the process, became an Internet hero.

“I simply did this in hopes that my daughter would know of my great love for her and that she knows of her great worth,” Scott Mackintosh told the Deseret News about the photo of himself in cutoffs, which has since become a Tumblr sensation.  “Now that it has gone viral, I hope that young women everywhere understand their great worth. I will look like an idiot any day if that point gets across."

The story behind the trail of Mackintosh's short-shorts photo is as old as the Internet, beginning when his daughter posted it on Tumblr; and as of Thursday it has received over 130,000 notes from fans of the image.

“My mom told me to change my ‘slutty’ shorts before we went to dinner,” was how daughter Myley described the photo. “I said no. So my dad cut his jeans to fit in. We went to dinner and then mini golf like this.”

Then Mackintosh, a father of seven, published his side of the story on his wife's blog, Becky Mack’s Blog of Mild Chaos. He wrote:

“I know the world has varying degrees of what is modest and what is not when it comes to clothing. In our family we have pretty definite modesty guidelines; No mid-drift or low-cut shirts, no short-shorts, short skirts and we even go as far as saying no sleeveless shirts unless playing sports or on the beach. Having raised four daughters and three sons, I’m a bit protective. Some may call me old fashion, but I call it “A Dad who loves his daughters” (and sons too) I know some of you may be rolling your eyes and that’s okay, my daughter does it all the time. I’m a firm believer that the way we dress sends messages about us, and it influences the way we and others act.”

Continue reading here...   
Video below

 

Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - September 13, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on September 13

4:00 – 6:00 – Direct to My Desk
Today we open the phone lines and let you set the agenda with your questions and comments. As always, we have topics we will bring up for discussion but the show only works with your input. We look at the latest way the mainstream media is butchering a story about a papal statement and why the mainstream media can’t get how to report on the Church and Pope Francis, we answer a listener’s response on the yoga discussion we had earlier this week, and more. Be ready to call 877-573-7825.

Helium balloons lift aviator Jonathan Trappe Up for transatlantic trip

American who has used the method to cross the Channel and the Alps takes off from Maine suspended by 370 balloon    Staff and agencies The Guardian, Thursday 12 September 2013 14.46 EDT                 
Jonathan Trappe soars in his bid to become the first man to cross the Atlantic in a balloon cluster system. Photograph: Paul Cyr / Barcroft USAAn American aviator has begun the first attempt to cross the Atlantic suspended by hundreds of coloured balloons. Jonathan Trappe took off from Caribou, Maine, on Thursday morning as his capsule was lifted by 370 helium-filled balloons in heavy fog and he headed east from the US.
The concept may sound like the story from the Disney film Up but Trappe, 39, specialises in cluster ballooning and was the first person to cross the Channel and the Alps using the method.

The transatlantic trip could be as long as 2,500 miles (4,000km) and take between three and five days. Depending on the weather, he could land anywhere between Iceland and Morocco.
Trappe is relying on state of the art weather data from the meteorologist who advised Felix Baumgartner on his record-breaking skydive from the stratosphere last year. The latest weather reports suggested winds would take Trappe to western Europe.

"Weather is absolutely the most dangerous factor," said Trappe, speaking immediately before launch. " It's the only thing that will carry me across, but bad conditions could also ruin the attempt or endanger my life."

Read the rest here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/12/helium-balloons-jonathan-trappe-up-transatlantic

Pope Francis tells atheists to abide by their own consciences

God's mercy has no limits, says pope in 2,500-word letter to Italian newspaper answering questions from non-believer    Lizzy Davies in Rome theguardian.com, Wednesday 11 September 2013 14.19 EDT Pope Francis, who called for Christians to engage in 'sincere and rigorous dialogue'
with atheists. Photograph: Zuma/Rex FeaturesAs letters to the editor go, it was certainly out of the ordinary, stretching to more than 2,500 words and not one of them veering on the irate or indignant. But the missive received by Eugenio Scalfari, co-founder and former editor of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, nonetheless made it into print on Wednesday – on the front page and under the impressively brief byline of "Francesco".
Responding to a series of questions asked in the summer by Scalfari, who describes himself as an interested "non-believer", Pope Francis used his trademark conciliatory tone to discuss the Catholic church's attitude to atheists, urging those who do not share his faith to "abide by their own conscience" and reminding them God's mercy "has no limits".

Expressing the belief that it was important for Christians to engage in "a sincere and rigorous dialogue" with atheists, Francis recalled Scalfari had asked him whether God forgave those "who do not believe and do not seek to believe".

"Given – and this is the fundamental thing – that God's mercy has no limits, if He is approached with a sincere and repentant heart," the pope wrote, "the question for those who do not believe in God is to abide by their own conscience. There is sin, also for those who have no faith, in going against one's conscience. Listening to it and abiding by it means making up one's mind about what is good and evil."

Now in his sixth month as pontiff, Francis has made a conciliatory style and pragmatic openness to dialogue with groups on the margins of the church's traditional activities one of his trademarks.
In May, however, relaxed remarks during a homily, which appeared to imply that non-believers could be "saved" if they did good, prompted a swift clarification from the Vatican that he meant nothing of the kind.

Read the rest here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/pope-francis-atheists-abide-consciences

Judge’s Ruling Makes North Dakota First to Ban Abortions Based on Down Syndrome

 by Steven Ertelt | Bismarck, ND | LifeNews.com | 9/12/13 12:37 PM

A judge’s ruling dismissing part of an abortion center’s lawsuit against a North Dakota law that bans abortions on disabled unborn children on the basis that they are disabled makes the state the first to have such a ban in place.

With the governor’s signature on the ban earlier this year, North Dakota has become the first state to ban abortions based on genetic “defects” like Down Syndrome. When diagnosed before birth, such genetic abnormalities prompt couples to have abortions 90 percent of the time.

The state legislature approved the measure and Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed it in March.
The measure would also ban abortion based on gender selection, an issue of increasing concern in the United States has people from nations like China and India migrate to the United States and bring their cultural preference for boys with them.

Now, a judge has dismissed the legal challenge to a portion of the law the state’s lone abortion business challenged in its lawsuit. IN an AP report, the abortion center claims that’s okay with it since it reportedly doesn’t do abortions for those reasons anyway. However, it provided no proof that it asks abortion clients if they are having an abortion because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome or another condition.

Read the rest at: http://www.lifenews.com/2013/09/12/judges-ruling-makes-north-dakota-first-to-ban-abortions-based-on-down-syndrome/

Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - September 12, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on September 12

4:00 – Six Month Anniversary of Pope Francis Election: An Analysis
Tomorrow we celebrate the 6-month anniversary of the Papacy of Francis. Matthew Bunsonand Phil Lawler join us to look at his impact, his personality, his style, his reforms, his reception and the prospects for his future actions.    

4:40 – Healing Hurts and Solving Problems – Where We Analyze the Sins, Illnesses, and Obstacles That Keep Us From Becoming All God Created Us to Be
A Deeper Look at Predictors of DivorceIn our Healing Hurts and Solving Problems segment we look at predictors of divorce and how to avoid them. Lisa Duffy knows first-hand as a divorced woman who has reconciled with the Church and remarried. She joins us today. 5:00 – Kresta Comments 5:20 - The Last Public Teaching of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: The Transforming Power of Faith"Having faith in the Lord is not something that involves solely our intelligence, the area of intellectual knowledge; rather, it is a change that involves our life, our whole self: feelings, heart, intelligence, will, corporeity, emotions, and human relationships. With faith everything truly changes." So Pope Benedict XVI introduced his catecheses for the Year of Faith, a series of sixteen talks given at his weekly audience from October 2012 to the end of his papacy in February 2013. These talks explore how and why faith is relevant in the contemporary world. How can we come to certainty about things that cannot be calculated or scientifically confirmed? What does God's revelation mean for our daily lives? How can the hunger of the human heart be fulfilled? Offering the guidance of biblical exegesis, pastoral exhortation, and brotherly encouragement, Pope Benedict seeks to answer these questions and many others. His former student, Fr. Joseph Fessio, joins us to look at some of the final teachings of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. 5:40 – Improvement and Growth SegmentYelling Makes Parenting Harder, Study Says. (+5 Things To Do Instead.)Last week, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan released the results of a study that showed that yelling at teens actually aggravated problematic behavior rather than extinguishing it.  Likewise, teens who were consistently yelled at had higher incidences of depression, school problems, lying, stealing and fighting than kids who did not experience “harsh verbal punishment.” We look at the study and 5 things to do instead with Dr. Greg Popcak  

Steve Grand On Catholicism: The Side You Haven't Seen Of 'The First Openly Gay Male Country Star'

       
Posted: 09/08/2013 10:20 am EDT | Updated: 09/08/2013 5:21 pm EDT
Huffpost Steve Grand, seen here at Hilton Chicago to kick off North Halsted Market Days on Aug. 9, 2013, in Chicago, Ill. The event was sponsored by Hilton Hotels & Resorts to raise funds for LGBT youth programs. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images for Hilton Hotels & Resorts) .badges_v2 .badge_v2_facebook_ipad_app:after { content:'Share'; padding-left: 14px; text-align: center; width: 41px; } .badges_v2 .badge_v2_email_ipad_app:after { content:'Email'; padding-left: 22px; } .badges_v2 .badge_v2_comments_ipad_app:after { content:'Comment'; padding-left: 11px; } .badges_v2 .badge_v2_retweet_ipad_app:after { content:'Tweet'; padding-left: 20px; }   As a member of a tight-knit Catholic community in Lemont, Ill., Steve Grand could often be found making money in recent years by singing Christian songs at his local church. But Grand, now a rising Internet pop star who has been described as "the first openly gay male country star," says he didn't always believe his priest's claim that the church was open to all people. Throughout his life, he says he never saw an openly gay person perform there.

His feelings changed dramatically after his song "All-American Boy" became a YouTube sensation this summer, racking up more than a million views in a little over a week. It shows Grand mooning over a cute (and straight) boy at a campfire, kissing him in the lake, and then watching, sad-eyed, as he returns to his girlfriend. Many church members have commended Grand for his courage to openly sing about his sexuality, and his priest has held him up as a model Catholic.

As Grand prepared this week for the Friday release of another video, called "Stay," which shows him with a new love interest, he said he maintains that his Catholic upbringing and close relationship with a Catholic community are compatible with his life as a gay man.

"I think with 'All-American Boy,' people saw my four minutes of angst," Grand said, the night before the new video was set to be uploaded to YouTube. "This time, I wanted people to see me happy because there are definitely times in my life I'm rejoicing and feeling good."

Father Kurt Boras, the priest at Grand's church, said that Grand has greatly impacted the community.
"I think he's changing our community, he's changing us," Boras said in an interview with The Huffington Post a few weeks after the release of "All-American Boy." Boras watched the video with some of the church staff, and any concerns were about the whiskey and beer consumption in the video, not Grand's sexuality, he said.

Read the rest at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/08/steve-grand-catholicism_n_3881383.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Batwoman lesbian marriage nixed! Writers quit!

Pop culture just keeps getting uglier, sillier and gayer

Sep 10, 2013
The Christians             
Batwoman: Her wedding to the policewoman has been permanently called off.
Even though their audience consists mainly of aging but not maturing males, comic book superheroes have a way of reflecting cultural shifts. News broke last week that on very short notice DC Comics had cancelled Batwoman’s imminent nuptials to an NYPD policewoman – a much anticipated lesbian first in the world of publishing for the illiterate.

The two DC writers who had seen her through her engagement both quit in anger. So is DC Comics now renouncing the gay agenda? Not at all. DC says it made the call because superheroes and heroines are supposed to live tortured and lonely personal lives, not happy and contented ones. Not that lesbian relationships are a bed of roses, but most people don’t know that.

But hold on – in 1996, after half a century, didn’t DC finally let Superman marry Lois Lane? Why the hetero-normative double standard? Who knows? Both DC and its arch-nemesis Marvel comics had been broadly hinting for many years that several of their heroes were closet sodomites, and in the mid-1990s, as the gay agenda crested, they began coming out. Batwoman is the best known.

See more at: http://thechristians.com/?q=node/617&...