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Recently my site has been visited with questions about Scripture, in particular (to start with) the Orthodox use of the title "Father" when Christ said, "Call no man on earth your father." Actually I thought the response posted by William amply demonstrated how this verse should be understood. But there is a larger question – that of the use of Scripture and how it may be interpreted. The questioner claimed only be guided by God and the "clear sense" of Scripture. There was no recognition of any tradition (though he clearly interpreted things in a particular protestant tradition). There was also a denigration of all organized Churches as having somehow diminished the gospel, which could only be corrected by "true believers." I have chosen not to use this site as a place to debate the various questions. There are too many and not enough common ground for a genuine conversation. Debate has ultimately not been the purpose of this blog.
I reprint here an earlier article on the Orthodox reading of Scripture and hope it is useful reading. For me, it explains why no individual alone can interpret the Scripture and why the Orthodox ultimately do not need to defend what has been received by the Church. There are some brave souls out there who truly have a ministry of apologetics (defense of the faith). I may do a little of it, but it is not my primary ministry. I pray for all who read or post here. May God save us all!
The following quote is from the Christian history website maintained by Christianity Today (an evangelical source). It describes the crucial teaching role of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, an early Bishop of the Church and later a martyr, and perhaps the most articulate spokesman of Orthodox theology in the 2nd century. The article discusses Irenaeus' refutation of the Gnostic heretics, particularly their misuse of Scripture. It sheds light on how the Church rightly divides the Word of Truth.
As he wrote these words, Irenaeus had in mind Jesus' warning in Matthew 7:15 about false prophets who come in sheep's clothing but are inwardly ravenous wolves. The Gnostics sounded, and frequently acted, just like orthodox Christians. They read the Bible, used the Bible, and cited the Bible. But the way they understood the Bible, the way they put its pieces together, differed dramatically from the perspectives of Irenaeus, Pothinus, Polycarp, and John.
Irenaeus believed there was an unbroken line of tradition from the apostles, to those they mentored, and eventually down to himself and other Christian leaders. The Gnostics interpreted the Scriptures according to their own tradition. "In doing so, however," Irenaeus warned, "they disregard the order and connection of the Scriptures and … dismember and destroy the truth." So while their biblical theology may at first appear to be the precious jewel of orthodoxy, it was actually an imitation in glass. Put together properly, Irenaeus said, the parts of Scripture were like a mosaic in which the gems or tiles form the portrait of a king. But the Gnostics rearranged the tiles into the form of a dog or fox.
As a pastor, then, Irenaeus wrote Against Heresies in order to describe the heresies that were threatening his congregation and to present the apostolic interpretation of the Scriptures. He revealed the cloaked deception for what it was and displayed the apostolic tradition as a saving reminder to the faithful.
What is clear in Irenaeus' teaching is that there was what he called the "Apostolic Hypothesis," a framework of basic doctrine by which Scripture (first the Old Testament, later the New) should be interpreted. This consensus fidelium, or rule of faith, guided the Church century after century into its life, continually enlivened by the Holy Spirit. Though expressed in different ways at different times, the central goal was always the same: that the Church would teach the same Christ as it had received, and proclaim the same salvation it had always known.
Now Irenaeus' description of the process of interpretation is deeply insightful. He recognizes that Scripture can easily be broken into pieces (we do it all the time when we pull verses here and there). By itself this is not a problem. It's how you put them back together that matters. Do you reassemble the portrait of a king? or do you make it look like a fox or a dog?
The answer goes to the heart of the matter. What is the matrix by which you seek to interpret Scripture and by what authority do you use it? Anyone who says he just reads the Scripture and that there is no matrix by which he interprets is deceiving himself and his listeners and not admitting that he has already accepted a matrix and on its basis he selects Scripture to fit his point. There really is no other way to read.
Orthodoxy has never denied this. Instead, like Irenaeus, it points to that which it has received. Irenaeus called it the "Apostolic Hypothesis." It has also been called the "rule of faith," and various other names. But if you have not accepted this "matrix" you cannot interpret Scripture in the form of the Apostles or their successors or the Church that Christ founded.
Others accept as their matrix a statement of faith written 1500 years later, constructed on a matrix invented by medieval scholastics who sought to reform the Church. They had no command from God, no conversation with the Apostles, nothing but their own ideas and rationality from which to construct new matrixes. From Germany Luther gave us his "salvation by grace through faith," and read the Scriptures accordingly. Calvin gave us his matrix of the sovereignty of God. Neither could speak with authority or true assurance and neither would have succeeded in their reform had the state not conveniently enforced it with the sword (read the history). The Reformation never succeeded without the state's cooperation and frequently suceeded by drastically destroying property and torturing its opposition. Not that this was not followed by a war from Catholic authorities. All of these things happened apart from Holy Orthodoxy. But the myth of a popular uprising cleansing the Church of false doctrine, fostered for years by Protestant historians is simply a fabrication.
More to the point of this post – the matrix of Protestant interpretation, though frequently seeking for something like the Apostolic Hyposthesis, in many places failed to adhere to that primitive standard.
The doctrine of predestination to damnation, discussed in the previous article on the Pontificator Writes Again, is an excellent example of a modern (i.e. Reformation) doctrine that had never been accepted by the Orthodox Church as a proper reading of Scripture. Verses assembled to support this teaching are like the verses of Gnostics, gathered from a shattered mosaic. Instead of a king, they assemble the picture of a wolf.
God has not created any man and preordained him to perdition. To say that He has is heretical. This is not the faith of the Church. It is contrary to the Apostolic Hypothesis and how we have received the understanding of salvation. If a man is lost he has resisted the will of God, "For God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance…" (2 Peter 3:9). At the end of almost every Orthodox service, the words of dismissal affirm, "For He is a good God and loves mankind."
This is fundamental to the Christian faith. Any other presentation of God, whether under the cloak of sovereignty or the like, is a distortion and falsification of the Christian religion. There is no God who wills the damnation of human beings. To proclaim otherwise is to proclaim another gospel.
The difficulty in proclaiming this, of course, is the number of well-meaning Christians of various sorts who will want to quote Scriptures affirming otherwise. Arius quoted Scripture as did the Gnostics. Either you stand with the Apostles or you do not. If you use the Scriptures in a manner that the Church has not used them, then you stand against the Apostles.
Christian doctrine is not a battle over the Scriptures. Sola Scriptura has not worked and never did. Such an approach simply leads to endless argument and confusion. Either we embrace the faith of the Apostles, once and for all delivered to the saints, or else we exile ourselves to confusion or, worse yet, to the false guidance of those who never sat in the seat of the Apostles.
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Father Stephen,
Well written and good points. Do not become discouraged if not all agree and wish to disrupt. Christ himself had to deal with that too.
I am yet a protestant. But when I look at everyone insisting that the Bible is enough with prayer and God's leading to arrive at Truth I see irony. All protestants agree with the previous statement of how Truth is arrived at whole heartedly. Yet they do not agree on what the truth is. They are all over the map. The logical resolution to the dilemma is invariably to conclude that everyone who doesn't interpret things the way you see them is not really studying right or is not listening to God. Anyone can come up with any interpretation to anything and as long as they can muster enough people to rally around them a new church is started, with its own new traditions of interpretation. This is clearly the case of people with itching ears cautioned about.
In my experience some of the most heinous modern heresies and cults all have one thing in common. They all have someone who has decided to reinterpret scripture on their own in a new way, often claiming divine guidance in a literal sense.
In my study of scripture it becomes clear that the apostles cautioned against new doctrines. Lest we be blown about is the allusion used. New converts must not teach or preach until they have been trained in the faith, that was the council to Timothy. We are told to continue in everything that the church was told by the apostle or written by the apostle to the church. Questions of doctrine, even in apostolic times, were put to church council for clarification and the conclusions of the councils were authoritative.
The concept of a church body defining how scripture is to be interpreted is clearly commanded in scripture. And it would be easily accepted by any protestant if they didn't already have a traditional view that prevented that conclusion from being reached.
Wonderful, insightful post. Thank you, Fr. Stephen!
Thank you father. I agree wholeheartedly (of course as does the whole Church past, present, and future). On my journey towards Orthodoxy I spent some time trying to sort out where the original authentic expression of Christian faith was at and I eventually have found it in the Orthodox.
Near the beginning of this journey I delved into the new, "emerging churches" thinking that there I would find the true church by the thinking that it was like a new reformation, but all I found was universalism, hype, and shady doctrines.
I also had a friend who tried to persuade me towards Calvinism. I'll admit many of their answers made sense, but they didn't sound quite right. Some of their logic which they claimed "scriptural" took a quantum physicist to decode and it really didn't seem much like the historic faith that I read so much about in Irenaeus and the like.
Needless to say, I have sided with the Orthodox on this one. Though the bible is good to read, it should only be interpreted with the Church who wrote it. Any other way, as we have seen in the last few centuries, leads to heinous and subtle heresies that cripple the soul.
This distinction in how the Orthodox read scripture can be quite a barrier to fruitful dialogue. There are actually a fair number of convert books that seem to retain the Protestant way of looking at scripture even while they argue for the Orthodox position. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. I know that a big issue for my wife (who was far less enthusiastic about conversion at the beginning) was how to make sense of the 6th chapter of the gospel of John when the traditions we were raised in framed the "Lord's Supper" as merely symbolic. Orthodoxy made more sense of the whole of scripture to me even when I was still reading with Protestant eyes. So I guess some of those books can have a useful place so long as the convert eventually moves on in his or her understanding of how to read scripture within the Church. I would probably list my stages of thought like this:
1. Look at Orthodox teaching and compare it to scripture.
2. Concede that scripture has almost as many interpretations as there are interpreters, so the interpreting authority becomes the focus rather than the scriptures themselves. This means dispatching with the notion that any individual is qualified to read the scriptures on her or his own or that the Bible as a whole is self-interpreting.
3. Move on to seeing scriptures as part of the larger Tradition of the Church and not a source for "proof texts" to bludgeon the heterodox with. Recognize that many scripture interpretation battles are fruitless if not destructive and besides the point anyway.
Once again a brilliant post Father Stephen.
Holy Orthodoxy's position as guardian of the unbroken tradition of the Apostles is secure, in my view. Heaven forbid that one word spoken here, by any of us, imparts "spin" to the truth that is found in Jesus Christ alone.
Ultimately as some of your readers have postulated, we come to the truth from wholly divergent backgrounds. Naturally, this accounts for much of the divergent opinion within Christianity today and while the danger of false teaching is real, ultimately, who truly is a worthy vessel to carry the oil that lights our lamps?
Holy Orthodoxy need not fear incursion by any of hell's earthly agents, though indeed, these be legion. Jesus' promise to Simon who later became Peter, was that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church built on the Rock.
But Jesus exhorted even the Apostles, and mostly for lack of faith. When this lack becomes institutionalised, the Lord's anger is inflamed — but even then, it is a call to deeper repentance, for this is where the mystery of God is concealed!
As we know, St. Paul teaches that whatever is not of faith is, by default, sin. God honours the pure of heart.
God it seems, has retained the "copyright" to eternal salvation, and I at least, can thank Him for that, for this means that He is able to work through the Holy Church He founded.
Fr. Stephen,
Thank you for the post and for your wonderful, faithful, and thought provoking blog. I always look forward to your posts.
However, as a Lutheran, I feel I ought to defend what I believe to be William's misunderstanding and mischaracterization of the blessed Brother Martin and the purpose of his reformation movement (if movement is the correct phrase). More specifically I take exception to a number of statements. First:
"Others accept as their matrix a statement of faith written 1500 years later, constructed on a matrix invented by medieval scholastics who sought to reform the Church. They had no command from God, no conversation with the Apostles, nothing but their own ideas and rationality from which to construct new matrixes. From Germany Luther gave us his "salvation by grace through faith," and read the Scriptures accordingly. Calvin gave us his matrix of the sovereignty of God. Neither could speak with authority or true assurance and neither would have succeeded in their reform had the state not conveniently enforced it with the sword (read the history)."
I can't speak for Calvinists but I can say with utmost certainty that Luther
did speak with authority and assurance: authority of holy scripture via St. Paul and of the church fathers as well and assurance that Christs' atoning work on the Cross is sufficient for salvation for those who believe by his overabundant grace. To say otherwise is false. Also, to say the the doctrine of justification by grace through faith would not succeed if not by threat is not only manifestly false but also a bit repugnant considering that is taken directly from scripture. Putting aside the fact that the Thirty Years War was a military response by the Holy Roman emperor against Protestant states, Luther was sincere in his belief that the practice of indulgences was un-scriptural. We aren't able in this lifetime to know the intentions of God vis-a-vis the Reformation. However, to the extent that it refocused and stressed this critical doctrine from St. Paul over against what was certainly false doctrine was all for the good.
And again:
"The Reformation never succeeded without the state's cooperation and frequently suceeded [sic] by drastically destroying property and torturing its opposition. Not that this was not followed by a war from Catholic authorities. All of these things happened apart from Holy Orthodoxy. But the myth of a popular uprising cleansing the Church of false doctrine, fostered for years by Protestant historians is simply a fabrication."
One scarcely knows how to answer such statements because of the patent misunderstanding of the circumstance that prompted the Reformation.
The Catholic Church never had State cooperation? The selling of indulgences was Orthodoxy? There wasn't a popular uprising in Germany to cleans the church of the false doctrine of indulgences?
My only suggestion for William is to re-acquaint himself with the history of the Reformation before he makes statements such as this. At the very least these type of statements make ecumenical dialog so much harder and does nothing to to add light to his more correct statement on scriptural interpretation.
Insofar as the idea of interpretive "matrix" is concerned I offer no disagreement. All Christians read and interpret scripture using what is commonly called a hermeneutic lense. This should come as no surprise to anyone who studies theology. Luther's hermeneutic was that of a Western theologian. Yet Luther consulted not *only* Holy Scripture but also the church fathers as well. And not just Luther, but a great many other Lutherans have and continue to the practice today. I happen to be among them and know a few who consider the holy fathers to be some of the first they turn to for understanding scripture. I would also add that Sola Scriptura is commonly misunderstood — not the least by Protestants themselves . But this misunderstanding doesn't make the principle unsound or unorthodox. It just means that the original intent and purpose of "Sola Scriptura" has been lost and replaced with a principle that I will admit is incorrect.
Please forgive me if I sound harsh. My purpose here is not to be belligerent but to correct what I think are incorrect understandings of Luther and Luther's part in the Reformation. I'm under no delusion as to the problems that later Protestants (including Lutherans) caused for themselves regarding this issue and feel that Orthodoxy is a welcome corrective to these problems. However, if Orthodoxy is to be such a corrective then it should strive to do so in Christian humility and not in a type of supercilious triumphalism.
Hello Father Stephen,
You said, "God has not created any man and preordained him to perdition." I absolutely agree, but I wonder if you could speak to how the fathers dealt with the key text in Romans 9 which seems to support such a notion – the idea of God (when speaking of Pharaoh) "desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory."
Steve's post has pretty much demonstrated what I wrote about. The authority of the scriptures gets blended with the authority of interpreters such that questioning the interpreters or interpretation winds up seeming like an attack on scripture itself. Until the interpreters are treated apart from the scriptures dialogue becomes nearly impossible.
I agree with Isaac that Steve's post is a good demonstration of what he wrote about. Until a Protestant (and I was one for forty years) recognizes his identification, unintentional though it may be, of Scripture with a given interpretation of Scripture, dialogue is extremely difficult. The following quote, though aimed at liberal theology and not conservative Protestantism, underlines the importance of reading the Bible with the eyes of the Fathers:
"All theology of the liberal type involves at some point – and often involves throughout – the claim that the real behaviour and purpose and teaching of Christ came very rapidly to be misunderstood and misrepresented by his followers, and has been recovered or exhumed only by modern scholars. … The idea that any man or writer should be opaque to those who lived in the same culture, spoke the same language, shared the same habitual imagery and unconscious assumptions, and yet be transparent to those who have none of these advantages, is in my opinion preposterous. There is an a priori improbability in it which almost no argument and no evidence could counterbalance." — C.S. Lewis
Sounds like something from "Reflections on the Psalms."
I don't think it was William, but me, Fr. Stephen whose quotes you are using. It's very late in Eastern time (I've just arrived in California) so I cannot write at length. However, I do not think I mischaracterize the politics of the Reformation as being from the top down rather than from the bottom up. When it became bottom up in Germany with the Peasants' Revolt, Luther had to side with the authorities and bless a bloodbath.
My point in this is not to attack, but to correct what I think is a common misstatement and myth of Reformation history. In England the Reformation was certainly at the point of a sword.
I do not defend the corruption of the Medieval Catholic Church – as an Orthodox Christian I would find it deeply disturbing, of course.
But we have all been witnesses to the combined power of an academic elite supported by denominational bureaucracies in our time and have watched them destroy church after church. That experience and reading a bit of Eamon Duffy gave me a greater insight into the mythology of Protestant beginnings.
Of course there is justification by faith taught in the Scriptures, but Luther misused and misunderstood in some ways and could use a balance.
My point, however, is the utter necessity of the living Tradition, not simply of interpretation, but of the Church as the Living Interpretation of Scripture.
I hope to write more tomorrow evening. Thank you all for your patience.
Just need to clear something up. I did not write this article. It's a reposting of past piece written by Fr. Stephen. The reference to my name at the top is a reference to a comment I made in a previous post ("Healing the Heart") a few days ago.
For what it's worth, however, I think Fr. Stephen makes solid points in the very matters you take issue with, and none of those statements need be seen as direct challenges to Martin Luther's sincere convictions regarding scripture, his confidence in his reading of scripture or the fact that he did turn toward the Church Fathers. But the fact is that Luther tried to breathe the fresh air of scripture and the fathers in an environment that was quite polluted, so to speak. He and his followers came to conclusions about the scriptures that diverged from the understanding of the Eastern Church, which had been breathing the air of scripture and the fathers in an continuous environment unpolluted or undisrupted by medieval scholasticism and its developments.
I very much agree with Isaac of Syria and Alyosha's take on this discussion. God's blessing upon you.
Please forgive my inadvertent wink.
William, you are forgiven!
Fr. Stephen,
Thanks for your reply and I hope the baptism when well.
I think we are all getting close to wandering off the ranch, so to speak, and I want to steer us back a bit. The purpose of my post was, again, to correct a misconception about Luther's place and purpose in the Reformation. As you admit the Catholic church at that time was run by men who were corrupt for money and Germany was their bank. They sold indulgences using a doctrine contrary to even a plain reading of scripture. Luther saw this as an abomination of the role the church is to play in the lives of the faithful. His 95 thesis was a theologian and believers rejection of that doctrine and of the environment in which that doctrine allowed to be created. Insofar as Luther was concerned, if Pope Leo would have seen the error of his ways I think Luther might have been satisfied. But we know how that story ends. This is all I was intending to correct.
As to whether the Reformation was top down or "grassroots" as we say these days depends, as my Dad use to say, on who's ox is being gored. But since the Catholic church has a hierarchy, a defined top, I would say that the Reformation was, empirically, from the bottom up.
Regarding the Peasants revolt: Imagine your church Father being ransacked by peasants inflamed with feelings of *political* revolt
and you'll get a sense of what Luther felt. I don't de an This is not to say that Luther didn't ask or receive help from the State. We know that he did regarding the Peasants revolt. But that didn't make the Reformation "state sponsored" any more than the Catholic church from which is sprang.
Whoops. Accidentally clicked "submit"
…I don't defend Luther's handling of the peasants nor his disdain for them. It seems repugnant to my 21st century ears. But he was up against the destruction of churches so I can see why he did what he did even if I don't agree. Like I said, asking for help from the state doesn't make the German reformation "state sponsored" any more that the Catholic church was state sponsored.
One last comment: it seems all too easy for non Protestants to conflate all parts of the Reformation and its associated ills to Luther. This is incorrect. Luther was only trying to correct gross misconduct by the church of his day. This is all. It was only when the Church resisted time after time to correct this misconduct and then threatened Luther's life did he become more strident. But the "evangelicals" still held out for communion when they wrote the Augsburg Confession. So it's not as though they didn't try.
Just to be clear, I have no issue with either scriptural interpretation via the living Tradition of the church or of the Church as the living interpretation of the Gospels as long as neither contradicts scripture. I also agree that Protestant denominations have done themselves a real disservice when they don't fully grasp this understanding of the church. As a Lutheran I see this time and time again.
Anyway, I hope that you don't think less of me for my diatribe. We may disagree on history but not on the Love that passes all understanding. And for that I have hope.
Christ is in our midst!
You said, "God has not created any man and preordained him to perdition." I absolutely agree, but I wonder if you could speak to how the fathers dealt with the key text in Romans 9 which seems to support such a notion – the idea of God (when speaking of Pharaoh) "desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory."
I think that when you realize that Paul was not writing about individuals but people groups (Jews vs Gentiles), Romans 9 makes a lot more sense.
Actually I could have written much kinder of Luther. Among Church historical figures, he is in my top five that I'd like to have lunch with and a beer. He was in a frightful situation and as he said, "Ich kann nicht anders." This I understand.
There is much room for fruitful conversation between classical Luther and Orthodoxy – in many ways he was among the most orthodox of his generation.
The Reformation indeed was a mixed bag, decidedly different from place to place. But the political powers certainly used it to their own devices. Such shenanigans have plagued Orthodoxy from time to time as well and mark some of the worst and most difficult periods of our history. As my Archbishop says, "On the whole, the Orthodox experience as a state church has not been entirely pleasant." I agree. God's peace.
My best suggestion is to read St. John Chrysostom's homily on Romans 9 – it's in the 38 volume series of the Church Fathers (which I think is available online). He is quite clear and helpful on the subject. But also illustrates precisely how the fathers handled that passage.
Here is some of the most relevant part:
Ver. 20, 2l. "Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus? Hath not the potter (Read Jer. xviii. 1–10) power, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?"
Here it is not to do away with free-will that he says this, but to show, up to what point we ought to obey God. For in respect of calling God to account, we ought to be as little disposed to it as the clay is. For we ought to abstain not from gainsaying or questioning only, but even from speaking or thinking of it at all, and to become like that lifeless matter, which followeth the potter's hands, and lets itself be drawn about anywhere he may please. And this is the only point he applied the illustration to, not, that is, to any enunciation of the rule of life, but to the complete obedience and silence enforced upon us. And this we ought to observe in all cases, that we are not to take the illustrations quite entire, but after selecting the good of them, and that for which they were introduced, to let the rest alone. As, for instance, when he says, "He couched, he lay down as a lion;" (Numb. xxiv. 9) let us take out the indomitable and fearful part, not the brutality, nor any other of the things belonging to a lion. And again, when He says, "I will meet them as a bereaved bear" (Hos. xiii. 8), let us take the vindictiveness. And when he says, "our God is a consuming fire" (Deut. iv. 24; and Heb. xii. 29), the wasting power exerted in punishing. So also here must we single out the clay, the potter, and the vessels. And when he does go on to say, "Hath not the 468potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" do not suppose that this is said by Paul as an account of the creation, nor as implying a necessity over the will, but to illustrate the sovereignty and difference of dispensations; for if we do not take it in this way, divers incongruities will follow, for if here he were speaking about the will, and those who are good and those not so, He will be Himself the Maker of these, and man will be free from all responsibility. And at this rate, Paul will also be shown to be at variance with himself, as he always bestows chief honor upon free choice. There is nothing else then which he here wishes to do, save to persuade the hearer to yield entirely to God, and at no time to call Him to account for anything whatever. For as the potter (he says) of the same lump makes what he pleaseth, and no one forbids it; thus also when God, of the same race of men, punisheth some, and honoreth others, be not thou curious nor meddlesome herein, but worship only, and imitate the clay. And as it followeth the hands of the potter, so do thou also the mind of Him that so ordereth things. For He worketh nothing at random, or mere hazard, though thou be ignorant of the secret of His Wisdom. Yet thou allowest the other of the same lump to make divers things, and findest no fault: but of Him you demand an account of His punishments and honors, and will not allow Him to know who is worthy and who is not so; but since the same14791479 Such is plainly the sense, but most mss. have τὸ αὐτο φύραμα τῆς οὐσίας ἐστὶ, it is the same lump in regard of the substance. lump is of the same substance, you assert that there are the same dispositions. And, how monstrous this is! And yet not even is it on the potter that the honor and the dishonor of the things made of the lump depends, but upon the use made by those that handle them, so here also it depends on the free choice. Still, as I said before, one must take this illustration to have one bearing only, which is that one should not contravene God, but yield to His incomprehensible Wisdom. For the examples ought to be greater than the subject, and than the things on account of which they are brought forward, so as to draw on the hearer better. Since if they were not greater and did not mount far above it, he could not attack as he ought, and shame the objectors. However, their ill-timed obstinacy he silenced in this way with becoming superiority. And then he introduces his answer. Now what is the answer?
The political might needed to enforce the Reformation is indeed a story that is not often told. The Reformation churches were state churches every bit as much as the Catholic state churches, and still are in places like Germany, where certain provinces are officially Catholic or officially Lutheran.
The role of the state is more blatantly apparent in England, where there was a sustained, systematic, parish-to-parish, violent suppression of Catholicism. Fr. Stephen recommended Eamon Duffy, and his books are well worth a read- The Stripping of the Altars and the smaller case study, The Voices of Morebath.
The fact is that historiography since that time, up until our own generations, has favored the sort of historical narrative you suggest here, that it was the big Catholic states versus the common people fighting heresy and injustice. This narrative has so entrenched itself into popular understanding that it hardly ever goes questioned. Queen Elizabeth burned as many Catholics as Mary did Protestants, but she is "good Queen Bess" and her sister is "Bloody Mary." In England it eventually became illegal to even BE a Catholic priest. This is to say nothing of what was perpetrated upon Ireland. This is all not to deny that the Reformation was a "mixed bag," but that in our popular and even academic understanding of the era, the deck has been firmly stacked in one direction. Not to mix my metaphors.
The other side of failing to embrace the Tradition of the Church, of which scripture is a key part, is that a number of people whose faith was rooted in what they perceived to be the integrity of scripture lost their faith when they discovered that the way the scriptures came together was not as tidy as they imagined.
Dear Father,
Thank you for this wonderful blog. Your summary on Protestantism is correct – but there is one point you missed mentioning. Their doctrine of justification by faith alone – as they understood it – was a complete novelty. The first – and largest – obstacle is the contradiction from the 'universal consent of the Fathers.' As far as I can ascertain, the vast majority of the Fathers taught that faith alone was NOT sufficient for salvation. Are we to believe that the fathers were universally ignorant of the Gospel? Even allowing for some of the early fathers like Clement of Rome (which I'll discuss below) and St. Augustine (whose writings I'm sure the Reformers twisted), the universal consensus is against the Reformers. Secondly, even allowing for this insuperable obstacle, the doctrine of sola fide AS PROTESTANTS DEFINE IT cannot be found anywhere, even allowing for a few cherry-picked statements from the Fathers.
Here's an example of a passage Protestants use to say that sola fide was used taught by the early church (before the Gospel was lost to all men till 1517??):
"And we…are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Clement of Rome)
Look closely at this passage. Clement says we are only saved by faith – BUT WHAT FAITH DOES HE MEAN? Faith in Christ alone? Or faith in 'faith-in-the-doctrine-of-justification-by-faith-alone', the position of Protestants? There's a big difference between the two! Protestants – and I should know because I am one – hold that anyone who does not hold to the latter is a heretic and is not saved. And it isn't enough to say 'Yes, I believe in salvation by faith alone but I also believe that anyone who adds works and genuine faith can be saved.' No; one must ascribe to the DOCTRINE OF FAITH ALONE TO THE EXCLUSION OF ALL WORKS FOR SALVATION. Anything less is a damnable heresy. As Jacob Burckhardt notes in 'Judments on History and Historians', Luther's doctrine of sola fide was a complete novelty in the history of the church. Clement's statement does not necessarily anathematise anyone who holds to a soteriology of faith plus works (although only his faith would save him). The former does appear in Clement – the latter does not, and to insist on this reading is an a priori eisegesis. And what is 'saving faith'? Even Proestants can't agree on this; just witness the controversy over Lordship Salvation. So was Clement 1. preaching Lordship Salvation; 2. Easy-believism (just 'believe that Jesus can save you, with no commitment to a life of discipleship); or 3. A faith that did not exclude someone who added other things to faith? These are all possibilities – assuming I haven't read Clement in isolation.
And here I have demonstrated the Achilles Heel of Protestantism: the inability to obtain a clear reading of Scripture through REASON ALONE TO THE EXCLUSION OF TRADITION. I have demonstrated three possible readings of Clement; any one of these could be true.
By the way father you were right about the State using the Reformation for its own ends. As Jacob Burckhardt noted, this was a golden opportunity for states to loot church property and gain total domination over their territories. The intolerance of the Reformers – who were often fond of invoking the wrath of God and labelling as 'scorners' anyone opposed their 'Gospel' – was unnecessary to encourage the princes to kill and torture Catholics. For they already saw Catholics as threats to their power and traitors to their authority (wide-scale confiscations can only be maintained by horrific violence). Most of the Protestant princes were not fanatics, yet many of them made Catholicism a capital crime. Why? Because the states had defined themselves against Roman power, and all Catholics were potential fifth columns. So much for Proetestant 'tolerance'!
Final point: LUTHER HIMSELF DID NOT BELIEVE HIS OWN DOCTRINE OF SOLA FIDE! Arricle IX of the Augsberg Confession states that water baptism is necessary for salvation! Whatever happened to justification by faith alone? (N. B. This doctrine technically means that an orthodox view of the Trinity is unnecessary for salvation. All one would have to do is believe that Jesus Christ was God. But this does nothing about the heresies of Modalism or Semi-Arianism. To even suggest such a thing is blasphemy, and to believe is heresy and apostasy – which is what consistent Protestants would be required to do!)


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Woodworker's Journal
"I'm with you. Everything in my shop is on casters. Except my sawhorses. That gives me an idea." - Ken Erlenbusch
"My shop is a bit undersized (25' X 25'), and most of my shop is on casters. I use 3- and 4-inch casters to insure that I can roll over typical debris without too much trouble." - Jeff Winders
"If it wasn't for everything on wheels, I wouldn't be able to create anything. I just don't have the luxury of a lot of room, much to my dismay." - Bob Trachta
"Absolutely anything I can put on casters, rollers or wheels (depending on size and weight) I do, unless it is light enough to break down and store away." - Dan Robinson
Some felt it was the shop location -- or configuration -- that determined the need for casters. - Editor
"When I received permission to add six used stationary tools to the garage, the only requirement from the better half was that both cars had to be in the garage at night. Rockler happened to have a special sale on their rolling bases so I ordered enough sets for all the heavyweight tools.When the cars are out, it's a shop. While admittedly, cleanup and put away takes a bit of time, it is well worth it to have a full shop when I need one. I had to develop special driving skills to get both cars in the garage very close to all the machines, but I haven't dented either the cars or the machines. Rolling bases are wonderful!" - Ed Amsbury
"If your shop were as small as mine, just half of a garage, you would have used casters a lot sooner. All my major tools have casters on the rear of the cabinets. On the front, I've installed a 2" X 2" piece of angle iron so I can use a 'J' bar that I built to move the tools around. The 'J' bar has the other pair of wheels with a pin on the tip of the J. I just put the pin in a hole in the angle iron and away we go." - Robert Hoyle
"I, too, am an avid woodworker who enjoys transportation in my shop. I have a lathe that is on the light side, but does what it is supposed to. My lathe is a Nova 1624. I have it on wheels and I made a shelf at the bottom of it. I normally don't turn heavy off-center pieces of wood on it, but when I do, I install heavy ballast on the shelf. I know you're not supposed to put a lathe on wheels, but I did. Everything in my shop is on wheels 'cause my shop is also my garage." - Wayne St. Amand
"I'm still setting up my shop, but I think I'm going to have to put everything on wheels. The space isn't bad -- about 18' by 18' -- but there's a set of Laly columns down the center, and I expect I'm going to have to dance around those, and/or rotate machines, to get reasonable working lines." - Joseph Kesselman
Or the configuration of the shop user. - Editor
"I had to put all my shop equipment and worktops on casters after I became a wheelchair user. My workshop is relatively small, so the caster platforms make it easier to arrange the items on a need-to-use basis. I built all the caster platforms so the equipment and worktops are all at the sitting height. I really enjoy your newsletter and the valuable information it provides." - Dave
"The only things not on casters in my shop are my benches. I have a rolling cabinet for my planer with storage underneath; a rolling power hand tool crib; wheels on my table saw (SawStop), jointer, band saw, router table and scrap lumber bin. My drill press and spindle sander are both on one of my benches. Funny thing is, though, I hardly ever move them around . . . but when I do, hey I'm rolling." - Carlos J. Dominguez
Some readers are just really big fans of wheels. - Editor
"Wheels are the greatest thing since, er, the invention of the wheel. I have a 20 x 28 shop which might be big enough for me except for the fact that our vehicle has to come inside each night. Consequently, only one tool in the shop is stationary, the table saw. I might have considered having wheels on that, too, but it's too heavy and there's the ceiling-mounted blade guard/dust collection unit and then there's the uneven floor. Once I had it set I didn't want to move it. Everything else is on wheels. The 28-year-old ShopSmith, the miter saw, CarveWright, FlatMaster, scroll saw, the huge Legacy Ornamental Mill, planer and if I'm building anything too heavy or bulky to manage, I put it on wheels too. Caster wheels are wonderful in my shop. I even made a roller stand with caster wheels. It's good because it doesn't 'steer' the work, especially important when infeeding on the table saw. I don't need my roller stand to fight my efforts to keep the workpiece against the fence! I have extra wheels on hand in various sizes and types for any occasion. What would I do without wheels? Keep on rollin'!" - Don Butler
"My husband, Jim, is a believer in casters. We bought our house almost three years ago. We have spent all that time fixing, organizing, etc., but my dear hubby has finally found some time to start organizing his shop, aka (per me) "man cave." He, too, is putting all things possible on casters. I am waiting for him to finish up his shop and move on over to the shed. That will be a great feat. Thank you so much for your input on casters. I thought Jim was the only one like that. He has storage containers full of different sizes and says. 'Well, you never know when you may need some.'" - Teresa Dowdle
And then there's this guy, whose shop mobility method is a little bit ... different. - Editor
"I am more of an 'anchor it to the ground' type of guy. I do not want machinery to move when I apply pressure on them. When I need to move something, I have a fold-up engine hoist. I have a bridle arrangement that will allow me to hook to any of my power tools and raise it off the floor and move it wherever I need in my shop. I tell people that the engine hoist is one of the best things I have bought as an accessory for my shop. They can be had at the local big box made in China store for less than the $200 mark and will pick up 2 tons on a short pick-up arm. I have a portable generator that is stored in my shop on a shelf to get it out of the way. When I need it, I roll the engine hoist over to it, hook to the bridle and pick it up and set in the back of the truck or on a trailer or on the concrete drive. When I need to change blades on the riding lawnmower, I use my engine hoist to lift the front of the mower so I can put some jack stands under the mower and change the blades. 'In my younger days,' I used to manhandle things but I am to the point I need to save all my energy for more important things." - Charles Buster
Gun Stock Bedding
We also heard from a reader who agreed that it was a good idea to let a gunsmith repair a particular gunstock. - Editor
"The question from Nancy about repairing a gun stock brought good advice from both Chris Marshall and Tim Inman. I would only like to add another reason to have the repair done by a gunsmith: The "bedding" of a rifle barrel into the stock has a major effect on accuracy and consistency of the rifle. Any repair of the stock could have an adverse effect on this critical component, and should therefore be done only by a competent gunsmith." - George Worthington
Dust Collection Hope
And this reader had some additional ideas for the questioner in last issue's Q&A who wanted to retrofit an old table saw to modern dust collection standards. He began with a quote from the Woodworker's Journal experts' answers. - Editor
"Just a comment:
"So -- retrofitting an old (but good) saw to comply with today's workplace standards and practices is what you're up against. Or, just learn to live with it and get a broom ..."
"Give this guy some hope!
"I have a 1985 vintage Delta Contractor's saw (bought it new) that most likely had – or didn't have – the same dust control features as P.L. Cannan's. Over the years, I have customized the saw to meet my changing needs by upgrading to a Biesemeyer fence and custom building extension wings to accommodate a router table and large crosscut sled. However, the most significant changes I made were to increase the dust collection efficiency on the saw AND in my workshop. These modifications were the least expensive and the least complicated of any I made to that old relic of a saw.
"Diagnosed with leukemia in 2002, I spent a long time away from the shop, and a whole lot of other places as well. When I recovered enough to regain my woodworking interests, I had to make some changes to my shop environment to accommodate my 'new normal.' Improving air quality became my primary objective. First, I closed the bottom of the saw base with an aftermarket 4" plastic dust port/collector sold at Rockler, put a 2-1/2" reducer which connects to my large Ridgid shop vac equipped with a near-HEPPA filter through a Vortex separator, bought from Rockler. I cut a baffle that attaches to the steel saw housing on the back of the saw with magnetic tape from ¼" plywood scrap. The baffle is cut to accommodate the passage of the drive belt from the motor to the saw arbor. The baffle fits close enough that it must be removed to cut any kind of bevel. After I did these things, I discovered a number of holes in the saw case housing that I taped over with pieces of duct tape. Dust also escaped through the spaces created where the cast-iron table bears on the steel saw case housing, so I used a small part of a can of spray foam insulation to seal those spaces. Use this stuff sparingly! These modifications do not impede the saw operation and greatly decrease free dust in my shop.
"Other shop operations contribute more to the dust problem than my saw, and I, like you, use a dust mask. However, I use a 20" box fan with two furnace filters taped to the intake side of the fan that runs constantly when I'm in the shop. I use a coarse filter on the outside to catch the big stuff and a fine filter nearest the fan to get the smaller stuff. I change the outside filter when I see it getting dirty, and the inside filter less frequently (filters are cheap!). Because the fan is so light and portable, I can move it close to whatever dust producing operation that requires it. Since I have made these changes, I have noticed a significant reduction in the amount of dust collecting on various surfaces in my shop." - Rick Ross

subset: commoncrawl


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KENNEWICK, WA - The Tri-City Water Follies is right around the corner and as always NBC Right Now is your home for complete coverage.
Lots of excitement is building for this year's 49th Annual Water Follies, the weekend down at Columbia Park starts Friday July, 25th.
Kathy Powell, Tri-City Water Follies Event Coordinator said "this is a very exciting time, all the paper we've been pushing around is finally turning into something."
The official T-shirts are in, the programs are stacked and people are already getting their admission tickets and reserving a space to witness the 49th running of the Columbia Cup, a whole two weeks in advance but the planning began back in September!
"That's why it's really fun right now because everything that we've been doing has turned into something fun, it's turned into a T-shirt, it's turned into a booster button, it's turned into a group coming in to celebrate and have a great party down at the Water Follies during the weekend and it's just a lot of fun," Powell said.
She also added that there are lots of great things happening this year, like new improvements to the kids area to attract more families, including exhibits from the new REACH center.
Plus even better racing out on the river than ever before.
"Oh my gosh this year I think we're going to have some quality racing out on the boats, the teams have been mixing it up, drivers swapping to other teams, crew chiefs going to other teams, the boats have been overhauled and refurbished and they're ready to go," Powell said.
While the last minute preparations are falling into place, next year's event is already on organizers' minds.
"So not only are we planning for our 49th we're also trying to get ready for the 50th so this is going to be a spectacular year and gosh 50 will be even better," Powell explained.
Also new this year are free tickets for kids ages 6 to 12, you can pick those up at local Jack In The Box restaurants. You can buy general admission tickets right now at local Albertsons stores and at the Tri-Cities Water Follies office.


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4th - 12th Grade
Earth Sciences, Investigation and Experimentation
Available with Chinese Worksheets, Available with Spanish Worksheets, Geologic Processes, Rock Cycle, Types of Rock
20 min Prep + 45 min Activity
In this activity, students will learn how the three types of rock are formed as part of the rock cycle and that the same forces that produce/change rocks also produce/change landforms.
In this activity, students will:
Teacher's Note: This activity requires some prior knowledge of the three types of rocks involved in the rock cycle: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. If students are not familiar with how these rock types are formed, review the information presented in the Teacher Background. If possible, show students specimens of each rock type.
The Rock Cycle; Prentice Hall & Pearson, May 2010 http://www.phschool.com/atschool/phsciexp/active_art/rock_cycle/index.html
California Plate Tectonics and Sea Level Changes; Educational Multimedia Visualization Studio, UC Santa Barbara, http://emvc.geol.ucsb.edu/downloads.php#RegionalTectGeolHist
Blobaum, C. 1999. Geology Rocks!: 50 Hands-On Activities to Explore the Earth. Charlotte, VT, Williamson Publishing Co.
Parker, S. (1997) Rocks and Minerals (Eyewitness Books). New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc.
Skinner, B. 2004. Dynamic Earth. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc: UK.
Von Noordon, D. (ed.) 1997. Rocks and Minerals (Eye Wonder ). New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc.
Rosinsky, N.M. (2003) Las Rocas, Duras, Blandas, Lisas, y Ásperas. Mankato, MN, Picture Window Books
Symes, R. (1997) Rocas y Minerales (Eyewitness Series in Spanish). New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc.
The Earth, our rocky planet, is very active. As you are reading this volcanoes are erupting and earthquakes are shaking, mountains are being pushed up and are being worn down, rivers are carrying sand and mud to the sea and huge sections of the Earth's crust called tectonic plates are slowly moving - about as fast as your fingernails grow.
Rocks are made out of minerals. The building blocks of minerals are elements and compounds. When the minerals on Earth combine together we get rocks (just like when you combine ingredients you get cookies). The process by which rocks are formed is called "The Rock Cycle." The Rock cycle is driven by plate tectonics. Due to the driving forces of plate tectonics rocks do not remain in equilibrium and are forced to change as they encounter new environments.
Different rocks can be made by the same minerals and so geologists classify rocks is based on how they form. As with the water cycle and other natural cycles, the rock cycle does not occur only in one direction. Instead, depending on what conditions a rock is subjected to, it can transform into any of the other rock types. A rock can even re-form as the same type of rock. Below is an explanation of the different alterations that each rock type can undergo.
Igneous rocks form from hot molten rock produced by volcanic activity on Earth. Geologists classify igneous rocks according to the types of minerals that they contain, and according to the size, shape, arrangement, and distribution of the minerals. Within the igneous rock formation category, two important subtypes exist. Extrusive igneous rocks are formed through cooling and hardening on the Earth's surface. Some examples of extrusive igneous rocks are obsidian and basalt. Intrusive igneous rocks then are formed through a slower cooling that takes place underneath the surface of the Earth's crust. An example of intrusive igneous rocks is granite.
Igneous rocks can either be weathered (broken down into smaller pieces) and compacted into sedimentary rocks or they can be subjected to heat and pressure causing them to become metamorphic rocks.
Sedimentary rocks are formed by mineral and rock fragments that settle out of water, glaciers, or that collects through the action of wind. The weight of the collected fragments along with the mineral-laden water creates a way for these fragments to cement together to create one solid rock body. There are three important types of sedimentary rock formations. Clastic rocks are those like conglomerates, breccia, shale, and sandstone that are made up of pre-existing rock fragments smashed together, creating new rock types. Organic rocks were once living organisms that decomposed after their death and created rocks through their remains. Some organic rocks are limestones and coal. Chemical rocks are created from the minerals in water that are left behind after water evaporates. Chemical rocks include halite (salt) and gypsum.
Sedimentary rocks can be subjected to heat and/or pressure causing them to change form and become metamorphic rocks or causing them to melt and erupt as igneous rocks.
Metamorphic rocks are any type of rock that has been transformed by heat and pressure. Therefore, a metamorphic rock could have once been either an igneous or sedimentary rock, but through heat and pressure has been changed into a completely different type of rock. For example, shale, a sedimentary rock, becomes shale as a metamorphic rock. Granite becomes gneiss, and chalk becomes marble. Metamorphic rocks may be transformed again into different metamorphic rocks.
Metamorphic rocks can be weathered (broken down into smaller pieces) and compacted into sedimentary rocks or they can be subjected to heat and/or pressure causing them to melt and erupt as igneous rocks.
Some places in the world, more igneous rocks are formed, while in others more metamorphic rocks are formed, while still others will have more sedimentary formation. The same processes that change rocks also produce geographic formations like mountains, valleys, plains, etc. This variation affects other aspects of ecology and enhances the world's biodiversity. So not only does the rock cycle provide us with lots of different rocks it also helps to produce different environments. In one part of the world, such as the Ring of Fire, there might be lots of igneous activity, resulting in faults, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc. In another part of the world the forces that produce metamorphic rocks may also produce uplifted mountain ranges. And in other parts, sedimentary rocks may indicate the presence of great bodies of water nearby.
The simplest way to understand the rock cycle is to follow one rock through the various transformations. First, imagine lava from a volcano cooling into an igneous rock. Over time this igneous rock can be weathered from wind and rain, which transform the igneous rock into small bits of rock. These weathered pieces of rock (sediments) are carried away by wind and water and then deposited. After deposition, they can be compacted and consolidated into sedimentary rock. Over time, tectonic activity can cause the sedimentary rock to be buried deep in the earth. The pressure and heat from within the earth can change the composition of the rock, turning it into a metamorphic rock. This metamorphic rock can continue to be buried even deeper and eventually can become so hot that it melts into magma. The magma can then erupt as lava from a volcano and cool as an igneous rock. The cycle begins again.
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Seven Jewish Children, ADC Larkum Studio, 5th March 2009.
Churchill has drawn some pretty clear battle lines, not only through the title of the play, but also through its epigraph: a play for Gaza. Not about Gaza, for Gaza. I'm not going to get into a pro/anti-Israel debate, but I think there needs to be a clear distinction between being anti-Israel, anti-violence, anti-militarism, or anti-Semitic. 'Seven Jewish Children' is firmly in the first three camps, but emphatically not in the last. More to the point, even if it were (and I am speaking as a Jew, here), it should still be given theatrical space.
However, for all the furore surrounding the premiere of Caryl Churchill's new play at the Royal Court, this was more storm in a teacup than full-blown hurricane. Not only was it not anti-Semitic, it was also not much more than an angry first draft. The small ensemble cast were mixed, with some excellent, serious actors mixed in with some over-enthusiastic thesps taking themselves and their subject matter too seriously. The joy of Churchill's play is that the lines are unattributed, giving unusual directorial freedom. In this instance, the director had made some interesting decisions about how to divide up the lines effectively, creating several small family units. The whole play discusses what to tell or not tell an unnamed 'her' who, it is implied, is a young Jewish child. I would suggest that the direction here was a little self-righteous, and although the play had some important things to say it was effectively a glorified first draft. I am all for power of immediacy, but I cannot get away from the fact that this play would have been hugely improved by a period of reflection and re-writing by Churchill before she released it to the world. It was an interesting, intense and often uncomfortable 10 minutes, which is presumably what she was going for, but with the benefit of time it could have been so much more.
Given the torrent of stuff written about this play, here are the links to some other people's thoughts: Andrew Haydon, Charlotte Higgins, Martin Beckford, Terri Judd, Lyn Gardner, Michael Billington, Dominic Maxwell, and the ever delightful Melanie Phillips.


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We have extended the deadline for applications for the 2014 Marge Estilow Memorial Scholarship until 15 June! Select the button below for details.
Check out our lineup for the 2014 Society for Women and the Civil War Conference to be held in Nashville, TN.
Welcome! To the Society for Women and the Civil War
A membership organization dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of women's lives and roles in the American Civil War
Registration for our 2014 Conference 25 -27 July in Nashville, TN is now open!!!


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Brooks PureCadence Women's Running Shoes
The Brooks PureCadence women's running shoes offer lean construction mixed with a responsive fit. This lightweight shoe offers superior support through smart, streamlined features such as a wider Nav Band that's locked in to the medial strike pod. A reinforced heel counter provides great security for your foot, and the internal PDRB helps prevent overpronation. The PureCadence gives runners who need more stability the opportunity to experience what a natural foot strike feels like.
- Shop for Brooks PureCadence women's running shoes from Finish Line. The lightweight shoes offer lean construction, responsive fit, and a Nav Band for support.
- A wider Nav Band is locked in to the medial strike pod that gives you superior support.
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Tropical Storm Chantal developed late Sunday night in the Atlantic ocean and became the third-named storm of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season.
Latest Information
The system is currently a weak tropical storm with winds of 45 mph. Tropical systems are classified as a tropical storm when winds reach 39 mph.
A Tropical Storm Watch is currently in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands. A watch means that tropical storm conditions are expected within 48 hours.
Forecast and U.S. Impact
Chantal is forecast to move into the Caribbean on Tuesday and near southeast Florida by Friday afternoon, bringing rain to the Florida panhandle. As the storm moves closer to Florida, it is expected to weaken to a tropical depression.
The storm is not currently forecast to impact Atlanta.
2013 Hurricane Outlook
The 2013 hurricane season is expected to be above average in the Atlantic with 13-20 named storms, 7-11 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes forecast.
Hurricane season ends on November 30.
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(WMC-TV) - A man is in custody, being questioned by the FBI, after he tried to open an emergency exit on an AirTran flight Monday evening.
The plane, which was heading to Austin from Baltimore, made an emergency landing around 6:30 p.m. at Memphis International Airport.
There were 120 passengers on board the plane and five crew members. The passengers were removed in order for the FBI to interview the unruly passenger.
The passenger was turned over to the custody of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Memphis. At this point, he has not been charged with a crime.
The man was taken into custody in Memphis. The flight then continued on to Austin, where it safely arrived 2.5 hours late.
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Hollywood Stars With Bad Teeth (Photos)
Everyone loves a pretty smile, but in Hollywood there are so many "perfect teeth" with blinding white veneers that celebrities with imperfect teeth do set themselves apart. Most people in the entertainment industry have million dollar smiles. Let's check out a few stars that have the moolah to have perfect teeth but are happy with …
Hollywood Stars With Bad Teeth (Photos) Weld AM FM Gossip
Weld AM FM Gossip News
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DB Exc Personalized Key To My Heart Charm Bracelet Style BR3689
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The love of your life always holds the key to your heart. This elegantly designed charm bracelet is crafted with exquisite details, such as clear crystals and high polished finishes, accentuating the intricate metal work and sparkling bling. Charms on this bracelet include a variety of hearts, a vintage style key heart padlock, and a stunning crystal ball. Select one jeweled letter charm to complete and personalize this charm bracelet. This gift arrives in a box ready to wrap. Share your gift of love with this wonderful keepsake that will bring joy to you and your bridal party as it continues to hold the memory of your wedding day throughout the year.
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Product Recall: We are voluntarily recalling fewer than 8,000 cases of regular Kraft American Singles Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Productlimited to 4 SKUs on two "Best When Used By" dates of February 20, 2015 and February 21, 2015. Click Here.
HEAT oven to 450°F.
SPREAD wings onto rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
BAKE 35 min.; drain.
BRUSH with sauce; bake 10 min. or until wings are done.


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Into the beautiful North : a novel
Urrea, Luis Alberto.
Adult Fiction URREA
Urrea, Luis Alberto.
Adult Fiction URREA
Summary: Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to theUS to find work. Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village--they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men--her own "Siete MagnÃficos"--to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over. Filled with unforgettable characters and prose as radiant as the Sinaloan sun, INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH is the story of an irresistible young woman's quest to find herself on both sides of the fence.
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Major changes are occurring in the mortgage industry with new proposals arising from the CFPB. These rules could become enacted this January and could have a significant impact on your credit union. To help you prepare, NAFCU's compliance experts have developed a CFPB webcast series to help you understand these proposals and the impact on your current mortgage lending practices.
This 3-hour webcast is available on-demand until September 5, 2013.
Topics covered:
NCCOs receive 3 continuing education units for participation.
This 1.5 hour webcast is available on-demand until November 7, 2013
NCCOs receive 1.5 continuing education units for participation.
Your registration provides your credit union unlimited access to the webcast for one full year. View them at your convenience, 24/7 live, on-demand or with a supplemental CD upon request.
Hear from NAFCU's top-rated Compliance team!
Steven Van Beek, Esq., NCCO
Director of Regulatory Compliance, NAFCU
Steve Van Beek is responsible for all aspects of NAFCU's compliance assistance program and compliance-related products and services. He previously served as regulatory compliance counsel at NAFCU, where he assisted credit unions with a variety of compliance issues, addressed regulatory topics at NAFCU events and authored compliance articles for NAFCU publications, including the popular NAFCU Compliance Blog.
Michael Coleman, Esq., NCCO
Regulatory Compliance Counsel, NAFCU
Mike Coleman's main responsibilities include assisting with NAFCU member compliance issues, writing articles for NAFCU publications, as well as drafting blog posts for the NAFCU Compliance Blog. Prior to joining NAFCU, Coleman worked as legal counsel and tax advisor for the Federated States of Micronesia Department of Finance and Administration.
Bernadette Clair, Esq., NCCO, CAMS
Regulatory Compliance Counsel, NAFCU
Bernadette Clair assists credit unions with a variety of compliance issues, authors compliance articles for NAFCU publications such as the Compliance Monitor and NAFCU Compliance Blog and addresses regulatory topics at NAFCU events. Prior to joining NAFCU, she was a compliance specialist and BSA and regulatory compliance manager at Congressional Federal Credit Union.


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- Gabriela Nogueira
- Santos - Sp
- Brazil
This conversation is closed.
Do you think that animals are completely free?
I've been thinking a lot about this and, personally, I think that animals are free. They have no obligations or judgments. They only follow their instinct, different from us human beings, that follow reason. So, that's the point: Do they know that they are free? And what worth the animal's freedom if they don't know that they are free? Is the idea of freedom exclusive of the rational beings?
I really would like to know your opinions, they are very important.
Thank you!
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Apr 15 2013: An animal was created for the purpose of serving man in any way it could. I do not believe that animals have a conscious understanding of freedom because animal instinct goes against the reasonable philosophical concept that you exist and know you can die. Animals are not aware of death, or more or less worried about their life, other than staying alive by eating. We human beings have the mental capacity to understand our existence and accept the fact that we are mortal. We can develop complex thinking processes that the animal mind cannot comprehend, such as philosophy, intimacy, existence and other complex thoughts and theories.
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Boehringer Ingelheim
Media & PR
Dr Reinhard Malin
Binger Strasse 173
55216 Ingelheim am Rhein
For Media outside the U.S. and Canada
Ingelheim, Germany, January 21, 2011 - The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan today approved dabigatran etexilate,1 Boehringer Ingelheim's novel, oral direct thrombin inhibitor2 under the brand name Prazaxa®* for the prevention of ischemic stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) marking the first approval of a novel oral anticoagulant in the Asia-Pacific region and specifically Japan in nearly 50 years.
Prazaxa® will be available to the approximately 830,000 AF patients at risk of stroke in Japan,3 with 150 mg bid (given as 2 capsules of 75 mg) recommended as the standard dose and 110 mg bid available for specific patient types considered to be at a higher risk of bleeding. The approval is based on findings from RE-LY®, the largest AF trial completed to date. In RE-LY®, dabigatran etexilate 150 mg bid significantly reduced the risk of stroke and systemic embolism by 35 percent beyond the reduction achieved with well controlled warfarin (median TTR 67 %),4 the long-time standard of care, in addition to reductions in life-threatening and intracranial bleeding.5,6 Dabigatran etexilate is the only novel oral anticoagulant proven to be superior to warfarin and was recently approved in the U.S. and Canada.7,8
Dr. Stuart Connolly, co-principal investigator of RE-LY®, Director, Division of Cardiology at McMaster University and member of The Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, Ontario said, "Until today, physicians in Japan have had little choice but to use warfarin, which imposes challenging restrictions on people's quality of life. Besides being a safe and more effective alternative to warfarin, dabigatran etexilate does not require monitoring, dose adjustments and is not affected by food, which truly is a huge shift in the treatment of stroke prevention in AF."
The approval of Prazaxa® is one of the fastest ever undertaken by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare with authorisation of the novel agent gained 10 months after the filing of a new drug application. The speed of the approval underlines the current unmet need in stroke prevention in AF in Japan and the strength of data supporting dabigatran etexilate in this indication.
Professor Klaus Dugi, Corporate Senior Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim said, "The approval of dabigatran etexilate for stroke prevention in AF in Japan is a very important step towards our goal to make this treatment available to all patients with AF at risk of stroke. It is a milestone as it marks the first approval of a novel oral anticoagulant in the Asia-Pacific region in nearly 50 years. We look forward to working with regulatory authorities worldwide regarding the approval of this breakthrough therapy."
About dabigatran etexilate
Dabigatran etexilate is at the forefront of a new generation of oral anticoagulants/direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs)2 targeting a high unmet medical need in the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic thromboembolic diseases.
Potent antithrombotic effects are achieved with direct thrombin inhibitors by specifically blocking the activity of thrombin (both free and clot-bound), the central enzyme in the process responsible for clot (thrombus) formation. In contrast to vitamin-K antagonists, which variably act via different coagulation factors, dabigatran etexilate provides effective, predictable and consistent anticoagulation with a low potential for drug-drug interactions and no drug-food interactions, without the need for routine coagulation monitoring or dose adjustment.
Dabigatran etexilate has already been approved in 75 countries under the trademark Pradaxa® (in Canada: Pradax®) for the primary prevention of venous thromboembolic events (blood clots) in adults who have undergone elective total hip or elective total knee replacement surgery.
Dabigatran etexilate is only approved for clinical use in stroke risk reduction in non-valvular atrial fibrillation prevention in the US and the prevention of stroke, and systemic embolism in adults with atrial fibrillation in Canada. This information is provided for medical education purposes only.
About the dabigatran etexilate clinical trial programme
Boehringer Ingelheim's clinical trial program to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dabigatran etexilate encompasses studies in:
About RE-LY®
RE-LY® (Randomized Evaluation of Long term anticoagulant therapY) was a global, phase III, randomised trial of 18,113 patients enrolled in over 900 centres in 44 countries, investigating whether dabigatran etexilate (2 blinded doses) is as effective as well controlled warfarin with target INR of 2.0-3.0 for stroke prevention. Patients were followed-up in the study for a median of 2 years with a minimum of 1 year follow-up.5,6
The primary endpoint of the trial was incidence of stroke (including haemorrhagic) or systemic embolism. Secondary outcome measures included all-cause death, incidence of stroke (including haemorrhagic), systemic embolism, pulmonary embolism, acute myocardial infarction, and vascular death (including death from bleeding).
Compared to well controlled warfarin, dabigatran etexilate showed in the trial.5,6
About AF and stroke
AF is the most common heart rhythm condition,9 affecting nearly one in four people over the age of 4010 and 1 % of the total population, rising to 10 % in people over the age of 80.11 People with AF are more likely to experience blood clots, which increases the risk of stroke by five-fold.12,13 Up to three million people worldwide suffer strokes related to AF each year,14-17 which are typically severe and disabling, with one half of this population dying within one year.17 Strokes due to AF tend to be severe, with an increased likelihood of death (20 %), and disability (60 %). Many AF-related strokes can be prevented with appropriate antithrombotic therapy.18
Boehringer Ingelheim - The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 142 affiliates in 50 countries and more than 41,500 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed for 125 Years to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
In 2009, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 12.7 billion euro while spending 21% of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.
Please be advised
This release is from Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Headquarters in Germany. Please be aware that there may be national differences between countries regarding specific medical information, including licensed uses. Please take account of this when referring to the information provided in this document. This press release is not intended for distribution within the USA or Canada.
|01 June 2012 1 Mission 1 Million
|01 November 2011 Dabigatran
|01 September 2014 Dabigatran etexilate
1Prazaxa® product information, January 2011
2Di Nisio M, et al. Direct Thrombin Inhibitors. N Engl J Med 2005; 353:1028-40
3Inoue H, et al. Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the general population of Japan: An analysis based on periodic health examination. International Journal of Cardiology 2009; 137:102–107.
4FDA Advisory Committee Briefing Document, September 2010, http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/Drugs/CardiovascularandRenalDrugsAdvisoryCommittee/UCM226009.pdf
5Connolly SJ, et al. Dabigatran versus Warfarin in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2009; 361:1139-51.
6Connolly SJ, Ezekowitz MD, Yusuf S, Reilly PA, Wallentin L: Newly identified events in the RE-LY® trial. N Engl J Med 2010; 363(19): 1875-1876 (November 4th, 2010)
7U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Pradaxa® Prescribing Information. Oct 19th, 2010
8Health Canada – PRADAX™ Prescribing Information. Oct 26th, 2010.
9Stewart S, Murphy N, Walker A, et al. Cost of an emerging epidemic: an economic analysis of atrial fibrillation in the UK. Heart 2004; 90:286-92
10Lloyd-Jones DM, Wang TJ, Leip EP, et al. Lifetime risk for development of atrial fibrillation. Circulation 2004;110:1042-6
11Stewart S, Murphy N, Walker A, et al. Cost of an Emerging Epidemic: an Economic Analysis of Atrial Fibrillation in the UK. Heart 2004; 90:286-92.
12Fuster V, Rydn LE, Cannom DS, et al. ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation – executive summary. Circulation 2006; 114:700-52.
13Kannel WB, et al. Final Draft Status of the Epidemiology of Atrial Fibrillation. Med Clin North Am. 2008; 92(1): 17–ix.
14Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke, World Health Organization, September 2004. Viewed July 2009 at http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/en/cvd_atlas_15_burden_stroke.pdf.
15Wolf PA, Abbott RD, Kannel WB. Atrial fibrillation as an independent risk factor for stroke: the Framingham Study. Stroke 1991: 22(8);983-8.
16Marini C, De Santis F, Sacco S, et al. Contribution of atrial fibrillation to incidence and outcome of ischaemic stroke: results from a population-based study. Stroke 2005; 36:1115-9.
17Lin HJ, Wolf PA, Kelly-Hayes M, et al. Stroke severity in atrial fibrillation: the Framingham study. Stroke 1996; 27:1760-4.
18Hart RG, Benavente O, McBride R, Pearce LA. Antithrombotic therapy to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med 1999; 131:492-501
*Approved under the brand name Pradaxa® in Europe for the primary prevention of venous thromboembolic events in adults who have undergone elective total hip or elective total knee replacement surgery and in the USA for for stroke risk reduction in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.


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The richest man in Babylon
Clason, George S. 1874-1957.
Adult Nonfiction HG179 .C586 1988b
Clason, George S. 1874-1957.
Adult Nonfiction HG179 .C586 1988b
|The Man Who Desired Gold
|The Richest Man in Babylon
|Seven Cures for a Lean Purse
|Meet the Goddess of Good Luck
|The Five Laws of Gold
|The Gold Lender of Babylon
|The Walls of Babylon
|The Camel Trader of Babylon
|The Clay Tablets from Babylon
|The Luckiest Man in Babylon
|An Historical Sketch of Babylon
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For any fans of podcasts out there, I recommend the Verity podcast.
It's a panel of six women who look at Doctor Who, old, new and all things in-between.
They just did a nice interview with Louise Jamison.
Cool to hear that she is writing a script for a 4th Doctor story for BIg Finish.


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LANSING (WKZO) -- Governor Snyder is apparently open to running for re-election in 2014.
When he was first elected, the Ann Arbor Republican said he might only serve one term if he accomplished all he wanted to do, but he's told the "Detroit Free Press" editorial board he's not to that point. Snyder said "we could fall back into the old Michigan," adding he didn't want his term viewed as an upward tick in a 44-year decline.
Among the Democrats whose names are being tossed about to challenge Snyder are Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, former Congressman Mark Schauer and Congressman Gary Peters.


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'Death by 1,000 cuts' for RBS investment bank
21 Feb 2014
Royal Bank of Scotland's investment bank is likely to bow out after a "death by 1,000 cuts" and reform as a corporate banking operation.
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Fed walks the expectations line
The Federal Reserve doesn't plan on getting back to normal anytime soon
From The Wall Street Journal


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The vast area covered by this chapter is some of the most travelled, yet least visited, country in Spain. Once south of Toledo, most tourists thunder nonstop across the plains of Castilla-La Mancha to Valencia and Andalucía, or follow the great rivers through Extremadura into Portugal. At first sight this is understandable. Castilla-La Mancha, in particular, is Spain at its least welcoming: a huge, bare plain – the name La Mancha comes from the Arab manxa, meaning steppe – burning hot in summer, chillingly exposed in winter. But this impression is not an entirely fair one – away from the main highways the villages are as friendly as any in the country, and in the northeast, where the mountains start, are the extraordinary cliff-hanging city of Cuenca and the historic cathedral town of Sigüenza. Castilla-La Mancha is also the agricultural and wine-growing heartland of Spain and the country through which Don Quixote cut his despairing swathe.
It is in Extremadura, though, that there is most to be missed by just passing through. This harsh environment was the cradle of the conquistadores, men who opened up a new world for the Spanish empire. Remote before and forgotten since, Extremadura enjoyed a brief golden age when its heroes returned with their gold to live in splendour. Trujillo, the birthplace of Pizarro, and Cáceres were built with conquistador wealth, the streets crowded with an array of perfectly preserved and very ornate mansions of returning empire builders. Then there is Mérida, the most completely preserved Roman city in Spain, and the monasteries of Guadalupe and Yuste, the one fabulously wealthy, the other rich in imperial memories. Finally, for some wild scenery and superb fauna, northern Extremadura has the Parque Natural de Monfragüe, where even the most casual birdwatcher can look up to see eagles and vultures circling the cliffs.Read More
First weekend: La Endiablada ancient festival in Almonacid Marquesado (near Cuenca) All the boys dress up as devils and parade through the streets.
Week before Lent Carnaval everywhere.
Easter: Semana Santa (Holy Week) major fiestas in Cáceres and Trujillo Valverde de la Vera has the tradition of Los Empalaos, men who re-enact Jesus' journey to the Cross by roping their outstretched arms to huge wooden bars as they walk the streets of town at night. Magnificent celebrations (floats, penitents) in Cuenca.
April 23: San Jorge Enthusiastic celebrations continue for several days in Cáceres.
First half of May: WOMAD At Cáceres. Renowned world music festival set against the wonderful backdrop of the historic core.
23–27: San Juan Manic in Coria A bull is let loose for a few hours a day, with people dancing and drinking in the streets and running for their lives when it appears.
Throughout July: Spanish Classical Drama Festival at Almagro Golden-age drama takes the stage at this prestigious festival.
Throughout July and August: Drama Festival in Mérida
Classical works performed in the atmospheric setting of the original Roman theatre.
First week: Vendimia celebrations at Valdepeñas
Week leading up to third Sunday Festivals in Jarandilla and Madrigal de la Vera with bulls running in front of cows – which are served up on the final day's feast.
Castilla-La Mancha cuisine
Castilla-La Mancha cuisine
La Mancha is renowned for its simple, down-to-earth cuisine based on local ingredients and traditional recipes made famous in Cervantes' classic Don Quixote. Dishes such as gazpacho manchego (a stew usually made from rabbit mixed with pieces of unleavened bread), atascaburras (puréed potato with salted cod and garlic) and pisto manchego (a selection of fried vegetables in a tomato sauce and often topped with a fried egg) are among the staples. The region is famed for its garlic and saffron, but perhaps the most celebrated of all foods from the region is Manchego cheese of which there is a bewildering array, though it can be divided into two main types: semi-curado (semi-cured) and curado (cured) – both must come from the local Manchegan breed of sheep, though the latter is stronger and more expensive. To accompany the cheese, there is nothing better than a glass of wine: the Valdepeñas vineyards which have traditionally been known more for the quantity than the quality of their product have improved significantly in recent years.
Don Quixote
Don Quixote
Not a novel in the modern sense, Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote de La Mancha (published in 1604) is a sequence of episodes following the adventures of a country gentleman in his fifties, whose mind has been addled by romantic tales of chivalry. In a noble gesture, he changes his name to Don Quixote de La Mancha, and sets out on horseback, in rusty armour, to right the wrongs of the world. At his side throughout is Sancho Panza, a shrewd, pot-bellied rustic given to quoting proverbs at every opportunity. During the course of the book, Quixote, an instantly sympathetic hero, charges at windmills and sheep (mistaking them for giants and armies), makes ill-judged attempts to help others and is mocked by all for his efforts. Broken-hearted but wiser, he returns home and, on his deathbed, pronounces: "Let everyone learn from my example … look at the world with common sense and learn to see what is really there."
Cervantes' life was almost as colourful as his hero's. The son of a poor doctor, he fought as a soldier in the sea battle of Lepanto, where he permanently maimed his left hand and was captured by pirates and put to work as a slave in Algiers. Ransomed and sent back to Spain, he spent the rest of his days writing novels and plays in relative poverty, dying ten years after the publication of Don Quixote, "old, a soldier, a gentleman and poor".
Spanish academics have spent as much time dissecting the work of Cervantes as their English counterparts have Shakespeare's. Most see Don Quixote as a satire on the popular romances of the day, with the central characters representing two forces in Spain: Quixote the dreaming, impractical nobility, and Sancho the wise and down-to-earth peasantry. There are also those who read in it an ironic tale of a visionary or martyr frustrated in a materialistic world, while others see it as an attack on the Church and establishment. Debates aside, this highly entertaining adventure story is certainly one of the most influential works to have emerged from Spain.
National parks and reserves in La Mancha
National parks and reserves in La Mancha
A respite from the arid monotony of the Castilian landscape, and a treat for bird watchers, is provided by the oasis of La Mancha Húmeda ("Wet La Mancha"). This is an area of lagoons and marshes, both brackish and fresh, along the high-level basin of the Río Cigüela and Río Guadiana. Drainage for agriculture has severely reduced the amount of water in recent years, so that the lakes effectively dry up in the summer, but there is still a good variety of interesting plant and bird life. You're best off visiting from April to July when the water birds are breeding, or from September to midwinter when migrating birds pass through.
Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel
Major parks between Ciudad Real and Albacete include the Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel, 11km north of Daimiel itself, which is renowned for its birdlife (over 200 species visit the park over the course of the year). There's an information centre (daily: summer 8.30am–8pm; winter 8am–6.30pm; t926 693 118) alongside the marshes. The park is accessible only by car or taxi, and Daimiel has little accommodation on offer.
Parque Natural de las Lagunas de Ruidera
More traveller-friendly, but crowded in the summer months, is the Parque Natural de las Lagunas de Ruidera, northeast of Valdepeñas (frequent buses from Albacete). You'll find an information centre (July & Aug daily 10am–9pm; Sept–June Wed–Sun 10am–2pm & 4–6pm; t926 528 116) on the roadside, as you enter Ruidera from Manzanares, and several nature trails inside the park, as well as swimming and boating opportunities.
Extremeño cuisine
Extremeño cuisine
Given that Extremadura remains a largely agricultural region, it is hardly surprising its cuisine is renowned for high-quality local ingredients, whether it be the trout from the streams in the Gredos mountains, the pimentón (paprika) from the Vera, the goats' cheese from Cáceres or the succulent cherries from the Valle de Jerte. Signature dishes include the humble migas (bread crumbs, paprika, ham, garlic and olive oil) and patatas revolconas (delicious paprika-flavoured potatoes), but to most Spaniards ham is the gastronomic product they most associate with Extremadura.
Together with the Sierra Morena in Andalucía, the Extremaduran sierra is the only place in the country that supports the pure-bred Iberian pig, source of the best jamón. For its ham to be as flavoursome as possible, the pig, a subspecies of the European wild boar exclusive to the Iberian Peninsula, is allowed to roam wild and eat acorns for several months of the year. The undisputed kings of hams in this area, praised at length by Richard Ford in his Handbook for Travellers, are those that come from Montánchez, in the south of the region. The village is midway between Cáceres and Mérida, so if you're in the area try some in a bar, washed down with local red wine – but be warned that the authentic product is extremely expensive, a few thinly cut slices often costing as much as an entire meal. The local wine, pitarra, is an ideal accompaniment.
Land of the conquistadores
Land of the conquistadores
Extremadura is a tough country that bred tough people, if we are to believe the names of places like Valle de Matamoros (Valley of the Moorslayers), and one can easily understand the attraction that the New World and the promise of the lush Indies must have held for its inhabitants.
Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru, and Francisco de Orellano, the explorer of the Amazon, both came from Trujillo, while the ruthless Hernán Cortés, who led the destruction of the Aztec empire, hailed from Medellín in Badajoz. Jerez de los Caballeros also produced its crop of conquistadores. The two most celebrated are Vasco Núñez de Balboa, discoverer of the Pacific, and Hernando de Soto (also known as the Conqueror of Florida), who in exploring the Mississippi became one of the first Europeans to set foot in North America.


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John Burkoff Weighs in on a Rather Unusual Dispute
A DUI case that involved a bike rider has resulted in an unsual court hearing in which two officers ended up testifying against each other. Pitt Law Professor John Burkoff offered his thoughts on the dispute to the Pittsburgh City Paper. Read the full article here.