Church on Congo violence: ?9/11 every day?

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Source: http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5723427&ct=13233155&notoc=1

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A Southern California Nursery Tour

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Source: thebenjamin.wordpress.com --- Saturday, August 10, 2013
I spent a large portion of this week touring nurseries in the San Diego area and talking to growers. I saw many production systems, heard stories of innovation and entrepreneurship, and added to my understanding of the California ornamental plant industry. I won?t bore you with all the details. Instead of talking about the things that I learned about the industry I?ll focus on some of the other things I gleaned from this trip. I saw some great old trucks. The mild climate helps vehicles age gracefully with little care. I was reminded numerous times while walking through production fields that it was ?snake season.? I did not see one snake. But lizards were plentiful. The largest lizards were very elusive; I only saw the blur as they disappeared. I suspect this paranoia is what allows big lizards to reach their full size before becoming lunch. The only lizards I could photograph were similar to the SLO lizards. By the time this trip wrapped up I was seriously considering bringing my beard back. Or dying some gray into my hair. Or wearing glasses. Or wearing the customized shirt on the right. I say this in a joking fashion, but there is a grain of truth here. Age provides some credibility in research and industry. In addition to looking young I guess I must also look or sound trustworthy. Several growers told me secrets?things that are secret for good reason, admitting them could result in legal trouble. These confessions were very ...

Source: http://thebenjamin.wordpress.com/2013/08/10/a-southern-california-nursery-tour/

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?Mother F***er Racist Sons of B**ches From Hell?: Wedding Venue Gets Threats, Fears Shut Down After Refusing Gay Couple?s Nuptials

Another business is facing retribution for declining service to a same-sex couple. Betty and Dick Odgaard, owners of G?rtz Haus Gallery in Grimes, Iowa, are catching the ire of gay rights advocates after they declined offering their venue to Lee Stafford and his fiance Jared.

Now the owners, who are Christians, are receiving vicious and threatening emails and phone calls ? and they fear that their business could shut down because of the fierce reaction.

It was less than one week ago that the Lee and Jared entered G?rtz Haus looking for additional information about holding their wedding there. After Dick realized that it would be a gay ceremony, he told the couple that they would not be able to hold their nuptials at the establishment ? and that?s when the controversy erupted.

?It started with emails and we noticed the emails were from a person with a name that looked like a man?s name. We?re a little suspicious about it and ? two fellows walked in and that?s where it all began,? Dick told TheBlaze on Friday. ?It was obvious what the situation was. I had to confirm it. I asked if this was a gay marriage celebration and I said we can?t take your money for this.?

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

From there, news spread that the Odgaards turned the couple away. Before long, phone calls and emails came streaming in. Betty said that some people have promised that the furor won?t stop until the business, which is a bistro, flower shop and a wedding destination, shuts down. Detractors have called Betty and Dick ?haters.?

?I wish all people well. I have love for all people,? Betty, who was visibly distraught on the phone, told TheBlaze.

The family shared some of the e-mail responses they?ve received with TheBlaze. And the contents weren?t pretty.

One angry e-mail said that the family is ?finished? and ?doomed.? ?You are mean, rude, selfish, mother f***er racist sons of b**ches from hell,? it read, with the writer later adding, ?F**k you, f**k your God, f**k your religion.? Another person who goes by the name ?Micky? wrote, ?Betty, you?re very old and almost dead.? How do you both feel, knowing that America, and the world, will be a better place without you??

Further, someone claiming to be with the Westboro Baptist Church, a virulent anti-gay group, wrote to the owners claiming that members would soon be in the area to support the business. In sum, Betty and Dick report getting between 50 and 60 emails and about 20 to 30 phone calls per day about the incident, although a majority of these are actually positive. But while verbal support has been great, there hasn?t been an influx of people coming in, the couple said.

On the legal side of things, Lee and Jared, who believe they were unfairly discriminated against, have apparently filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Betty and Dick have consulted with their lawyer, who believes that they are within their religious rights to decline the wedding. On the flip side, Lee and Jared claim that the law is on their side.

Iowa law does prohibit service refusals based on sexual orientation, but religious sentiment often makes these scenarios more complicated.

The business has already experienced the impact of its decision. Betty said that two weddings are canceled for next summer and that some people want their down payments back. Additionally, an artist has pulled out from working with G?rtz Haus Gallery.

?We will lose considerable money ? it will impact us though, no doubt,? she told TheBlaze.

As far as their reasoning for the refusal, the couple is candid and wants to ensure that people understand their views on the matter ? reasoning that they feel has not been adequately conveyed through media coverage. Betty called it ?totally a faith-based issue? that is rooted in the family?s Christian religious convictions.

?We believe a marriage is between a man and woman,? she said, with Dick adding, ?To us, it?s a sacrament.?

Credit: AP

The couple noted that they have business associates, former staff members and friends who are gay and that they have nothing against them. There is no hate, they claim, as media and activists have charged. They simply disagree with the lifestyle, but respect the personal decisions that people make.

?I would serve them in every other way ? we simply don?t want to take part ? it just comes down to that final line of taking their vows in our facility,? the wife added, noting that she would have gladly provided flowers or cake (something more detached from the actual nuptials). ?I do not hate these people and they have the right to do what they want to do under the law and in humanity.?

If the law requires the couple to comply and marry gay couples, they said that they will stay true to their convictions and will simply stop performing ceremonies at the location all together.

The future, considering the threatening e-mails and calls and the outrage, is uncertain. Betty said she?s looking for advice and guidance on how she can keep the business open.

?We don?t want to shut our doors. But financially it could shut it down,? she said. ?We?ve never had anything like this happen.?

Betty and Dick aren?t alone. Other businesses have faced similar problems in the past, which TheBlaze has covered extensively.

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Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/08/09/mother-fer-racist-sons-of-bches-from-hell-wedding-venue-gets-threats-fears-shut-down-after-refusing-gay-couples-nuptials/

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Usher & Ex-Wife Tameka Raymond Update Fans On Son?s Health!

Usher’s oldest son, five-year-old Usher Raymond V, is currently in the ICU after nearly drowning at Usher’s home. Usher has spoken out after the scary incident, thanking the two men that saved his young son’s life. The singer said, “I would especially like to thank the two men who saved my son’s life, Eugene Stachurski ...

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/08/usher-ex-wife-tameka-raymond-update-fans-on-sons-health/

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Hungry Monk's Beer & Bacon Night: Best food & drink pairing ever?

Posted by Jess Harter on August 8, 2013

Tonight, The Hungry Monk?in Chandler combines two of my favorite things ? beer and bacon ? in a fundraiser for the Children?s Home Project.

A special menu will offer pork belly sliders with jalapeno slaw and siracha mayo (three for $8), a BLT made with extra-thick bacon and slathered with a beer-bacon aioli ($8) on Texas toast, and, for purists, a plate with slices of hickory, applewood, and sugar-cured bacon ($5).

Featured beers: Port Older Viscosity imperial stout ($7), Ballast Point Sculpin IPA?($6), Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout?($6), Mother Road Lost Highway imperial black IPA?($5), and North Coast PranQster Belgian-style strong pale ale?($5).

The Monk also will be selling raffle tickets for a bunch of great swag. The event runs 5-9 p.m.

In other craft beer events today:

? World of Beer?in Tempe kicks off its four-day anniversary celebration with a?Firestone Walker Party featuring Union Jack, Double Jack, Wookey Jack, Pale 31, Pivo Pils, and unfiltered DBA on tap all day. Some special beers, such as Parabola, Double DBA, Sucuba, and Sixteen, will be tapped between 7-9 p.m.

? Sleepy Dog Pub in Gilbert hosts a Widmer tasting with?Brrrbon winter warmer, Marionberry hibiscus gose, Old Embalmer barley wine, Kill Devil barrel-aged brown, KGB- imperial stout, and Black IPA from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Source: http://mouthbysouthwest.com/2013/08/08/hungry-monks-beer-bacon-night-best-food-drink-pairing-ever/

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Swap Desktops with Each Other with Our Reader Wallpaper Pack 8.0

Some of the best wallpapers we find come from you. You're finding awesome stuff on the web or making it yourself. These wallpapers don't always fit into a category, and so the reader wallpaper pack was created. This is our eighth. Come check out some great images from your fellow readers.

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Home for Hermit

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Just Another City

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Holland Beach

Download this wallpaper | Christopher Hunt 1600x1200

Sand

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Botanic Garden

Download this wallpaper | Marc Gutowski 3840x1200

Fisheries Field Big Top

Download this wallpaper | Demot Canniffe 2901x1608

Orchid

Download this wallpaper | Dermot Canniffe 1500x994

Starcrossed

Download this wallpaper | John Carimando 3604x2340

Graviton Well

Download this wallpaper | John Carimando 4484x2490

For more great wallpapers, check out our previous Wallpaper Wednesdays. Got any great wallpapers you'd like to share? Email me a link with "Wallpaper Wednesday" in the subject line. Submitting your own work is highly encouraged!

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/JbnyH_pQebY/swap-desktops-with-each-other-with-our-reader-wallpaper-1030786723

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Apple Wins Appeal with ITC Reinstating Case against Motorola

Apple Wins Appeal with ITC Reinstating Case against Motorola

Published on 08-07-2013 08:33 PM

The U.S. court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Apple recently, reinstating the company?s complaint against Google-owned Motorola Mobility. The ruling overturns a decision from the U.S. International Trade Commission from March 2012, when the commission dismissed Apple?s complaint against Motorola. Apple appealed the ruling and with the recent decision, the case will proceed as reported by Florian Mueller.

Apple?s original case involved three patents. The appeals court reprimanded the ITC, and reversed its decision on two of the original patents in question, including U.S. Patent No. 7,663,607: "Multipoint touchscreen" and U.S. Patent No. 7,812,828: "Ellipse fitting for multi-touch surfaces.? According to Mueller:

Today's remand decision gives Apple another opportunity to win a U.S. import ban against the Google subsidiary's Android-based devices, which would have the Android ecosystem at large concerned. The appeal granted in Apple?s favor does however officially remove one of the original three patents from the case: U.S. Patent No. 5,379,430, entitled "Object-oriented system locator system." Apple ended up not pursuing its claims on this patent in its appeal.

For those of you who didn?t already know, Apple first filed the ITC complaint in October 2010 in response to a Motorola patent attack, alleging that the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X and other smartphones infringed on existing multitouch patents. The subsequent investigation concluded in January when an ALJ found that Motorola were not in violation of the asserted Apple patents.

We?ll have to see what decision the case will lead to and how it will affect the two companies.

Source: FOSS Patents

Source: http://modmyi.com/content/11781-apple-wins-appeal-itc-reinstating-case-against-motorola.html

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