Worshiping the Creature
Ganges and Yamuna rivers granted same legal rights as human beings theguardian
The court in the Himalayan resort town of Nainital appointed three officials to act as legal custodians responsible for conserving and protecting the rivers and their tributaries. It ordered that a management board be established within three months.
And those rivers weren't even the first. See also This New Zealand River Just Got the Legal Rights of a Person smithsonianmag
Society
It’s Time for Every Brand to Pick a Side time w!
Five weeks into Donald Trump's Administration, and at a time when expressing cultural values can end decades-long relationships in the time it takes to post 140 characters, consumers and employees are looking for new ways to be heard, represented and served. They’re increasingly voting with their voices, their choices and their wallets. Brands need to take heed, or pay the consequences.
Antisemitism
'Beware of Jews' sign appears in Stamford Hill bbc
The sign depicts the silhouette of an orthodox Jewish man wearing a traditional Fedora hat and was spotted on a lamppost in Stamford Hill on Tuesday.
Anti-Semitism
Jewish groups ask: Why won’t Trump denounce anti-Semitic attacks? mcclatchydc v
Not only did Trump not condemn the attacks, he also largely ignored the issue and at least once responded as if the accusations were directed at him, which they weren’t. The reaction has left Jewish groups confused and frustrated, especially following the visit this week of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.
Also see Jewish reporter who clashed with Trump is 'hopeful' for White House outreach in fighting anti-Semitism washingtonexaminer v
Society
Colorado Approves a ‘Right to Die’ for Terminally Ill Patients time
The state’s legislation is modeled after a similar law in Oregon, which became the first state to enact Death With Dignity legislation in 1997. Since then Washington, California and Vermont have passed similar laws while Montana’s courts have allowed the practice.
Also see Assisted suicide is now legal in Colorado theverge
Israel
Accept Palestine or face ‘sea of hatred,’ Jordanian king warns Israel timesofisrael
Mentioning only the Christian and Muslim connection to Jerusalem holy sites, Abdullah accused Israel of attempting to alter the identity of the city.
Israel
PM: World silent as Palestinians seek ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Jews in West Bank timesofisrael v
Speaking in English in a video message posted on his Facebook page, Netanyahu asked whether people in other parts of the world would accept such demands in their own countries.
See also Netanyahu 'ethnic cleansing' comment against Palestinians draws U.S. rebuke reuters
Society
Kerry terror solution: Media should cover less wnd v
“It’s easy to terrorize. Government and law enforcement have to be correct 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. But if you decide one day you’re going to be a terrorist and you’re willing to kill yourself, you can go out and kill some people. You can make some noise. Perhaps the media would do us all a service if they didn’t cover it quite as much. People wouldn’t know what’s going on.”
Religious Liberty
On David Gushee’s Dishonesty mereorthodoxy
I could quote multiple lines, but this one will suffice, to begin. In talking about those awful backwards bigots (that he used to hang out with), Gushee writes, “(Religious conservatives) are organizing legal defense efforts under the guise of religious liberty, and interpreting their plight as religious persecution.”
This is another response to Mr. Gushee, mentioned by Tim Challies today.
Religious Liberty
We Have Been Warned theamericanconservative
Last year, the Baptist ethicist David Gushee david-gushee.squarespace was quoted by gay New York Times columnist Frank Bruni as saying that “Conservative Christian religion is the last bulwark against full acceptance of L.G.B.T. people.” Gushee has fully embraced gay rights, and doesn’t simply tolerate gay relationships, but affirms their goodness. Now he has written an extraordinarily important column laying out the future for Christians who reject the Sexual Revolution in its latest form.
Society
Princeton begins to remove 'man' from official school material foxnews
As first reported Thursday by the conservative campus news outfit The College Fix, Princeton’s Human Resources and Office of Communications issued a four-page memo princeton.edu filled with examples of gender-neutral terminology that must now be used in official school documents...
Turkey-EU
Give us EU visa freedom in October or abandon migrant deal, Turkey says whbl
[Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu] comments in Bild's Monday edition coincide with rising tensions between Ankara and the West that have been exacerbated by the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15. Turkey is incensed by what it sees as an insensitive response from Western allies to the failed putsch, in which 240 people were killed.
Also see Greek Migration Minister: Refugee Flows from Turkey Manageable greece.greekreporter
Society
California Lawmaker Drops Controversial Proposal to Regulate Religious Colleges christianitytoday
Earlier versions of Senate Bill 1146 would have prevented colleges that received state funds from enforcing codes of student conduct reflecting a college’s religious beliefs about sexual identity, including teaching that marriage is between a man and woman and limiting bathrooms to biological gender. Traditionally, California’s religious schools have received a religious exemption from non-discrimination laws. This bill would have limited it to students who were preparing for a religious career, such as ministry.
also see State senator drops proposal that angered religious universities in California
Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) is removing a provision of his bill that sought to take away the exemption of religious schools to anti-discrimination laws. Instead, he will press forward with the amended bill that would still require such schools to disclose if they have an exemption and report to the state when students are expelled for violating morality codes.
China
China building aircraft hangars on disputed islands in South China Sea, says US think tank scmp
Satellite photographs taken in late July show the construction of hangars on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly chain of islands and some have already been completed, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Temple Mount
King David’s Descendents Making Case to Reclaim Ownership of Temple Mount breakingisraelnews
While their claim is legally sound and verifiable, it faces significant political hurdles. One of the suit’s beneficiaries, who claims descent from the Davidic Dynasty, is ready for the legal battle but cautiously pragmatic.
Olympics
More Than 1,000 U.S. Spies in Brazil Protecting Rio Olympics nbcnews
In addition, more than a dozen highly trained Navy and Marine Corps commandos from the U.S. Special Operations Command are in Brazil, working with the Brazilian Federal Police and the Brazilian Navy, according to senior military officials.
Venezuela
Where flour, pasta and milk can cost a month's pay cnn
There's hardly ever fresh milk on the shelves. The same for powdered milk, which can sell on the black market for 100 times its official price. We found milk being sold for 7,000 bolivares -- more than $700 at the official currency exchange rate, though if you have U.S. dollars you can exchange them on the black market at vastly more favorable rates, perhaps getting 1,000 bolivares to the dollar.
This story reminded me a bit of the third seal (famine) describes in Revelation 6:6 NIV
Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "Two pounds of wheat for a day's wages, and six pounds of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
False Unity
Pope to young on Poland trip: Believe ‘in a new humanity’ washingtonpost
Pope Francis told young people who flocked by the hundreds of thousands to his words Sunday that they need to “believe in a new humanity” stronger than evil, and cautioned against concluding that one religion is more violent than others.
If you remember, Imagine was played quite a bit last year by various so-called 'globalists'. Sounds like P.J., himself, took a page from Lennon this week:
“People may judge you to be dreamers, because you believe in a new humanity, one that rejects hatred between peoples, one that refuses to see borders as barriers and can cherish its own traditions without being self-centered or small-minded,” Francis told his flock.
Tech
Royal Academy of Arts offers visitors an ultra high-res 3D digital sculpture in four seconds 3ders.org v
The Royal Academy of Arts royalacademy.org.uk in London has recently begun experimenting with a photogrammetry system that takes 96 photos in rapid succession via an eight camera system. These images can then be processed into a digital 3D model, replicating every feature of the face in intricate detail. The results are something some of history's greatest artists would be jealous of no doubt.
See the RAA's website for more images/info: The Veronica Scanner royalacademy.org.uk
Censorship
Google, Facebook quietly move toward automatic blocking of extremist videos reuters
The move is a major step forward for internet companies that are eager to eradicate violent propaganda from their sites and are under pressure to do so from governments around the world as attacks by extremists proliferate, from Syria to Belgium and the United States.
The technology was originally developed to identify and remove copyright-protected content on video sites. It looks for "hashes," a type of unique digital fingerprint that internet companies automatically assign to specific videos, allowing all content with matching fingerprints to be removed rapidly.
