In this episode, Fr. Anthony and Fr. Hans Jacobse (American Orthodox Institute) lament a culture that denigrates manliness and talk about how priests (and other manly men) can help boys of all ages tame their passions and become the Christian warriors they were called to be. Note: this conversation includes a frank (but not explicit) discussion about pornography.

"Saint Ephraim" and "Saint Spyridon" from Saints: Lives and Illuminations, written and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson, read with permission by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2007.

We continue our discussion of the famous Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian and his plea for God to remove from him the "lust for power" and "idle talk". As is made clear from the sayings of the Fathers cited here, these sins are so well-rooted in our normal, everyday lives that raising our self-awareness regarding how and how often we commit them is a significant Lenten undertaking.

We continue our discussion of Great Lent by reviewing, with many quotes from the Church Fathers, the famous Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian that is used during all the weekday services. Writing in the 4th century, St. Ephraim's hymnography captures the Spirit of the Lenten Season and has been a vital standard for the Orthodox Church ever since. In its simplicity and penetrating quality we learn that we are at once helpless and in need of God's grace to overcome our sinful nature, and yet must also pursue repentance and the virtues in faith continually, to be both emptied and filled.

We finish this Lenten series discussing the virtues of patience, love, and not judging our brother. Again, the Orthodox axiom of working out the virtues in the body is true, and we learn that patience is not merely a passive state, but also requires spiritual/bodily effort to restrain evil thoughts/actions, choosing to perform God's will instead. Love for God, neighbor, enemies and the whole of creation is our aim, cultivated with our growing awareness of God's pure and captivating eros coming down from heaven. Engulfed in this love we lose interest in the world and adopt the humble mind of Christ, whose words on the Cross, "forgive them for they know not what they do," are to become our own towards all men.

Following Chastity in the the list of virtues in St. Ephraim's prayer comes Humility. Reading from the Fathers, we find that humility is not merely a state of mind, but a mystery that comes about as the result of labors of the soul and body, mirroring the Incarnation itself, and so it is by nature incomprehensible. We look at humility and its opposite, pride and prelest. to try to gain even just a little more understanding of this virtue and why it is central to our life in Christ.

St. Ephraim begins the second half of his great prayer "Give rather a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant." Asking God to take our sinful passions away is followed by a petition to give us virtue, chastity being first in the order. In the Fathers, and especially St. John Climacus, we find that the virtues (which are in truth the energies of the Holy Spirit) act in our heart and are active through us through the deeds of the body surrendered to Christ. And chastity, rather than being limited to some quaint notion of sexual purity (true enough), is the virtue of wholeness in Christ which enables us to fight the passions fervently.

As as we journey through Great Lent, Fr. Lawrence Farley looks at the Prayer of St. Ephraim.

Over two millenia there have, of course, been many papal claims, many of which Orthodoxy has always accepted. The claim to be the Patriarch of the West has proved unobjectionable to the East. The claim to be the primate of the Church is also unobjectionable, though this one requires some historical context. It is the claims explicated in detail at the First Vatican Council of 1870 that have proved the sticking point. But let us proceed slowly and carefully.

Fr. Apostolos talks about the privilege and responsibility we have of knowing Christ personally.

All Saints of North America - Second Sunday after Pentecost

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn gives the sermon on the Woman at the Well.

Two remarkable evangelists who brought Christ to many people.

Bobby interviews Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon, the author of Reclaiming the Atonement: An Orthodox Theology of Redemption - Volume One: The Incarnation.

An interview with Dr. Bradley Nassif on Orthodoxy and the Gospel.

In this homily from Pentecost Sunday, Fr. Pat looks at three benefits given by the Holy Spirit to the people of God: proclaiming God as our Father, parsing the Scriptures correctly, and praying.

A homily on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, given on August 26, 2012.

Kevin's guest is Fr. John Parker, the Chair of the Department of Evangelization in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). How does the Orthodox Church "do" evangelism and what do we need to do better to introduce people to Christ and His Church?

Kevin's first guests were Fr. Hans Jacobse, President of the American Orthodox Institute, and Dr. John Mark Reynolds, philosopher, author, and newly appointed Provost of Houston Baptist University. The subject was The New Atheists and their claims against Christianity

England's Liz Young wins the Women's Indian Open by one shot to claim her second Ladies European Tour title.

England's Charley Hull shoots a six-under-par final round 66 to win the Aramco Team Series event in Riyadh and claim her first victory since 2022.

Anna Davies scores five tries as a rampant England side sweep aside Wales in a record 82-0 win at Headingley.

Watch highlights as Anna Davies scores five tries for England in a record 82-0 win against Wales at Headingley, their biggest ever margin of victory.

Guernsey squash player Chris Simpson sets his sights on a match with world number one Nick Matthew at the British Championships.

A 38-year-old man was arrested and two Ghanaian men were removed from the vessel as part of the operation.

Alan Sutherland stood down last year after a report revealed lavish spending at the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.

The law could force health staff to be open with patients and their families when mistakes are made.

A police force formally rejects 72 complaints against officers by patients' relatives.

The cost of broadband and devices can be a barrier to getting online, the Doncaster charity says.

The Gloucester centre is eager to emulate the exploits and travel of idol Jamie Roberts.

World sidecar champion Harry Payne plans to also compete in the British Championship next year to help boost his profile.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust wants to help bats with improved habitats on six of its reserves.

Wall art and technology inside custody cells is not a "soft approach on crime", say police.

The development and rising popularity of AI is not only impacting the tech we use, but also the career paths the next generation are taking. A recent study by laptop and tech […]

The post AI university course uptake increased by 453% over 5 years, claims study appeared first on Tech Digest.

Via Lori Smith, I was alerted to this claim last week by police in Cornwall that a lap dance venue license application should be rejected because such clubs 'might' cause sexual violence. As Lori points out over on BitchBuzz, this is territory I've covered before: the widely-publicised claims that lap dance clubs in Camden caused more rape turned out to be false.

Of course the statistics for a specific area of London over a certain number of years are only that: specific to London and those years. It's dangerous to take a trend for one area, at one point in time, and generalise it to all places at all times. In order to claim that "Factor X causes Outcome Y" you need a lot more data. In the book I set out some comparisons, then, with London and other locations summarising what we know from the scientific literature, national statistics, and so on.

So what's interesting is that The Sex Myth discusses not only the situation in cities like London but also specifically, as coincidence would have it, Newquay.

Guess what? The link between lap dance and sexual violence that the police claim 'might' exist? Not only does it not exist, local media in the Southwest have already reported on this.

In 2010, the Newquay Voice obtained Devon and Cornwall Constabulary’s figures of sexual assaults. They found that the total number of recorded sexual assaults (including rapes) in and around Newquay peaked at 71 in 2005, the year before Newquay's first lap dance club opened. In 2006 however,  following its opening, the number fell to 51.

In 2007, when the town’s second lap dancing venue opened, the total number of recorded sexual assaults fell again to 41, then dropped to 27 in 2008 when a third lap dancing club opened. In 2009 the number rose slightly, but with a total of 33 offences, it is still less than half the total than before the clubs appeared.

Using publically available population data, I took these figures and calculated the incidence rate (since population varies from year to year as crime stats do, if you don't calculate a rate, the numbers are not very informative). Here are the incidence rate calculations using midyear population levels for the council of Restormel where Newquay is located:

Looking at these numbers, you'd be tempted to think that lap dancing actually reduces sexual assault. In other words the opposite of what the BBC article claims.

This like the Camden data is only a single example. Making such a broad conclusion would be rash – to conclusively demonstrate that an increase in lap dancing corresponds with a decrease in rape and sexual assault, there would have to many more such results, over longer time periods, from many places. What it does do is reinforce the same thing the statistics from Camden show: lap dancing does not correlate with higher occurrence of rape. And if there is no rise in rape, then it is impossible to claim that lap dancing “causes” rape.

Unfortunately, the myth that sex work causes violence has become so deeply embedded in media and criminology storytelling that one only needs to raise that dread spectre for the city council to take such claims seriously. In spite of the fact that the real data are easy to find and analyse, and the local papers in Cornwall have already suggested the opposite to what the police claim is true, the BBC and other media outlets don't seem to notice or care.

In the end it looks as if the council rejected the application. St Austell  and Cornwall MP Stephen Gilbert tweeted that this was "a victory for people power". And indeed if the rejection was made because the majority of residents decided they did not want it, then so be it. Nothing wrong with not liking things for the simple reason that you don't like them.

But consider that the information put about by police and reported by the BBC is misleading and poorly researched. What if, instead of the council's main criterion being what residents preferred, the decision was made because of police and media scaring people with potential crimes that turn out not to be true at all?  I don't know about the good folks of Cornwall, but where I come from, that's called lying.

TRIBUNE. Des experts saluent la creation de ce collectif pro-business, tout en exprimant le souhait qu'il s'attaque egalement au dirigisme de l'Etat.

Ghislaine Maxwell, condamnée en juin à vingt ans de prison pour trafic sexuel de mineures, a affirmé dans une interview diffusée lundi qu'elle aurait aimé "ne jamais avoir rencontré" Jeffrey Epstein, dont elle se dit convaincue "qu'il a été assassiné".

L'ex-mondaine britannique a été condamnée en juin à New York pour trafic sexuel de mineures pour le compte du financier américain décédé, accusé d'exploitation sexuelle de dizaines de mineures. "J'aimerais honnêtement ne l'avoir jamais rencontré", a-t-elle affirmé à propos de son ancien compagnon, dans l'entretien accordé depuis sa prison aux Etats-Unis à la chaîne britannique TalkTV. 

"Clairement (...) le fait que je travaille avec lui et que je passe du temps avec lui et que je le connaisse a détruit ma vie et blessé énormément de gens qui me sont chers et que j'aime", a-t-elle affirmé. Elle a souligné qu'elle ne "savait pas" qu'Epstein était "aussi horrible" même si "évidemment maintenant, quand on regarde en arrière, bien sûr que oui".

Le financier américain, accusé d'avoir, entre 2002 et 2005 au moins, fait venir des mineures dans ses résidences "pour se livrer à des actes sexuels avec lui", a été retrouvé pendu dans sa cellule le 10 août 2019. Si l'autopsie confirme un suicide par pendaison, Mme Maxwell se dit elle convaincue "qu'il a été assassiné".

Déjà dimanche, des extraits de l'interview avaient été publiés et Mme Maxwell y prenait la défense du prince Andrew, affirmant qu'une photo montrant le frère du roi Charles III avec une jeune fille qui l'a ensuite accusé d'agressions sexuelles était "un faux". 

L'Américaine Virginia Giuffre, aujourd'hui âgée de 39 ans, accuse le prince de l'avoir agressée sexuellement à trois reprises en 2001, quand elle avait 17 ans. Elle a affirmé l'avoir rencontré par l'entremise d'Epstein.

Andrew, ami de Ghislaine Maxwell et Jeffrey Epstein, a scellé avec elle en février 2022 un accord à l'amiable, en payant des millions de dollars, ce qui lui a permis d'éviter un procès au civil à New York, qui aurait été extrêmement embarrassant pour la famille royale britannique.

Le prince de 62 ans, tombé en disgrâce après ces accusations, a toutefois toujours contesté les accusations. Selon des journaux britanniques, il étudie désormais les options légales pour tenter d'annuler l'accord avec Virginia Giuffre.

 

Drawing on expectancy violation theory, we explore the effects of anticipatory impression management in the context of acquisitions. We introduce impression offsetting, an anticipatory impression management technique organizational leaders employ when they expect a focal event will negatively violate the expectations of external stakeholders. Accordingly, in these situations, organizational leaders will announce the focal event contemporaneously with positive, but unrelated information. We predict impression offsetting will generally occur in the context of acquisitions, but also more frequently for specific acquiring firms and acquisitions that are more likely to lead to an expectancy violation. We also posit that offsetting will effectively inhibit observers' perceptions of events as negative expectancy violations by positively influencing shareholder reactions to acquisition announcements. Consistent with our hypotheses, in a sample of publicly traded acquisition targets, we find evidence for impression offsetting, in which characteristics of both acquirers and their announced acquisitions predict its frequency of use. We also find evidence that impression offsetting is efficacious; on average, it reduces the negative market reaction to acquisition announcements by over 40 percent, which translates into approximately $246 million in market capitalization.

CLOSE to one million youths have successfully claimed their eBelia credit via ShopeePay. As of June 7, the programme has succeeded in generating sales amounting to 120% of the total amount disbursed by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) through ShopeePay. Additionally, some 140,000 sellers and traders that accept ShopeePay have already benefited from the eBelia programme.

Head of ShopeePay Malaysia Alain Yee said: ”As one of the newest mobile wallets to enter a crowded space, it is indeed humbling to receive the resounding support from eligible eBelia participants. When compared against MOF’s announcement, the bulk of the 1.7 million successful applicants have chosen ShopeePay. This is possibly because our e-wallet can be used both online and offline nationwide, with a reach as far and wide as Semporna, Sabah; Miri, Sarawak; Kemaman and Gong Badak in Terengganu and Bachok, Kelantan.”

Yee added that based on the preliminary data from June 1 till 7, user behaviour amongst eBelia recipients suggest that the programme has driven adoption of e-wallets and is likely going to lead to long term usage.

“Of the total successful eBelia applicants via our mobile wallet, about 40% are new ShopeePay users that activated their e-wallet just for eBelia. Additionally, we are positive that customer retention rate amongst these new users will be high as over 20% have already topped up their e-wallet at least once within the first week of using ShopeePay,” he explained.

On what the recipients have been spending on, Yee shared that many were seen to be using the eBelia credit on very practical purchases: daily necessities, food and beverages, books, as well as home and living items, among others. A closer look into the spending pattern of these eBelia youths for the past week reveals the following (Observations are made based on top 100 merchants by transactions recorded offline, online (merchants’ webstores and Apps), and on Shopee.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery 1 at 6.07 pm today.

The hearse carrying his remains arrived at the burial site at 5.16 pm.

Approximately 200 family members and friends were present for the burial, which took place under overcast skies following the rain.

Daim, 86, died at 8.21 am today while receiving treatment at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya.

His remains were brought to his residence in Persiaran Bukit Tunku at 11.30 am, before being taken to the Federal Territory Mosque in Jalan Duta, where the funeral prayer was performed led by the mosque’s grand imam Jamal Abdul Halim.

Among the prominent figures who paid their last respects at Daim’s residence were former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, former Senate president Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

Daim, whose full name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, served as Finance Minister twice. His first term was from 1984 to 1991 under Dr Mahathir’s administration, where he played a key role in managing Malaysia’s economy and implementing structural adjustments.

He returned to the role of Finance Minister for a second term from 1999 to 2001, once again under Dr Mahathir, to tackle the economic challenges resulting from the Asian financial crisis.

Born on April 29, 1938, in Kedah, Daim served as a Member of Parliament for five terms between 1982 and 2004.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Daim Zainuddin’s passing has not only drawn condolences from federal leaders but also from state leaders who expressed their heartfelt sympathies to his family.

Among those offering their condolences were the Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, Perlis Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.

In posts shared on their respective Facebook pages, they prayed for Daim, who served as Finance Minister from 1984 to 1991 and again from 1999 to 2001, to be placed among the righteous.

Also offering condolences was Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Mohamed Fadzli Hassan, who referred to the passing of the former minister as a significant loss due to his many contributions to the nation.

“On behalf of the state, we extend our deepest condolences to the family of Tun Daim. We have lost a figure who made remarkable contributions to the country,” he told reporters in Kota Bahru today.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang also expressed condolences on Facebook, praying that Daim’s soul will be blessed with mercy and divine grace from Allah SWT.

Daim, whose full name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, 86, passed away at 8.21 am today at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya, where he was receiving treatment.

KUALA LUMPUR: The late Tun Daim Zainuddin made numerous contributions to the country, especially during the financial crisis in the 1980s, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said.

He said as Finance Minister at the time, Daim successfully steered Malaysia back onto a stable economic path.

“At that time, I was still young and unaware of politics, but we cannot deny that during the 1980s and the ‘Asian Financial Crisis’, the late Daim, as Finance Minister, played a vital role in helping the government and his efforts contributed to Malaysia’s recovery,” he said after performing the funeral prayers for Daim at the Federal Territory Mosque here today.

Daim served as Finance Minister from 1984 to 1991, and again from 1999 to 2001.

Fahmi, who is also Lembah Pantai MP, expressed his gratitude to Daim, recalling how he had come forward to offer support during his campaign in the 14th General Election in 2018.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob expressed his condolences to Daim’s family, acknowledging the loss of a significant figure who had made numerous contributions to the country.

“The loss is not only felt by his family and friends but by the nation. We pray that his soul is blessed and placed among the righteous,” said the Bera MP.

Earlier, the vehicle carrying Daim’s remains arrived at the Federal Territory Mosque at 3.43 pm for the funeral prayers before being taken to the Raudhatul Sakinah Cemetery at Bukit Kiara 1 at 4.48 pm for burial.

Also present were former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Opposition Leader and Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin and former Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.

Daim, whose full name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, 86, passed away at 8.21 am today at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya, where he was receiving treatment.

...

If you’ve got comprehensive coverage on your auto insurance policy, then there’s a good chance that your insurer will cover the cost of windshield repair or replacement. And insurance companies make it hard to resist! If you live in in Florida, Kentucky or South Carolina, for example, then your insurance can’t charge a deductible on […]

The post Should I Make a Claim on My Car Windshield? appeared first on Clark Howard.

If you recently signed up to receive cash compensation from the Equifax breach settlement, you must do this now to validate your claim.

The post Your Equifax claim will be denied if you don’t take this additional step appeared first on Clark Howard.

Your Yahoo account may make you eligible for a settlement check. Here's what to know about the Yahoo data breach settlement.

The post Yahoo Data Breach Settlement: How to File a Claim & Get Paid appeared first on Clark Howard.

A second place at Suzuka meant a first ever podium in the famous 8 Hours for YART Yamaha, as well as important championship points.

The post YART Yamaha Claims First Ever Suzuka 8 Hours Podium appeared first on BikeSport News.