The prophet Jeremiah helps us to consider, along with this Sunday’s gospels and epistle, the different ways in which God makes himself intimately known to each of us, and to all of us together, in the Church. (Luke 8:26-39; Gal 1:11-19; Luke 16:19-31; Jeremiah 31:31-34)

In this edition Kevin and Fr Ted Pulcini talk frankly about Orthodox Christian - Muslim dialogue and how Orthodoxy can best communicate its ineffable Truth to Muslims in a way that will resonate. Fr Ted's recently published booklet is titled Face to Face: A Guide for Orthodox Christians Encountering Muslims.

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.

According to Fr. Lawrence Farley, if the Muslim has no real exposure to or understanding of the Christian message, he might still be spared on the last day if his heart was in ignorance seeking the true God.

In a broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect on two hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian and a portion of a homily by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the glory of the night of Christ's full revelation.

In a broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect on two hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian and a portion of a homily by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the glory of the night of Christ’s full revelation.

Bobby Maddex interviews Dan Christopulos, the U.S. Country Representative for International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). Dan is in New York City this week coordinating the delivery of food, water, and blankets to those victimized by Hurricane Sandy.

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

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.

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

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

A full-time fraud financial advocate will support victims in pursing compensation.

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.

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.

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.

“Spoofing” is when someone disguises an email address, sender name, phone number or website URL, or uniform resource locator.

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.

Several other shops, 12 motorcycles reduced to ashes

Vienna-based Figlmüller topped the list for its century-long specialisation in the Schnitzel Wiener Art

Prince Andrew has realised genuine concerns amongst stake holders as he resists on giving up the Royal Lodge.

The Duke of York, who insists he will be able to manage the staggering maintenance cost of the Windsor abode, is questioned ‘where is the money...

Leonardo DiCaprio treats himself with Mexican getaway on 50th birthday

Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, recently jetted off to Mexico to celebrate his milestone 50th birthday.

The Oscar-winning actor was spotted boarding a private jet in Los Angeles with...

Police officers throw stones towards the demonstrators during a protest against a government demolition drive, in Haldwani in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, February 8, 2024. — Reuters Pleas were filed after demolitions in BJP-ruled states. Rights groups,...

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When opponents of Idaho's strict abortion law said it was forcing women to be emergency-airlifted out of state to have their pregnancies terminated, it shocked the Supreme Court. Now Idaho says the claim is not true.

The FP7 CLIMSAVE project ("Climate Change Integrated Assessment Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe") finished at the end of 2013. The project developed the CLIMSAVE Integrated Assessment Platform which is a unique user-friendly, interactive web-based tool that enables stakeholders to interactively explore the complex multi-sectoral issues surrounding impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate and socio-economic change within the agriculture, forest, biodiversity, coast, water and urban sectors.  Two versions of the tool have been developed: one for Europe and one for Scotland.

"They’re definitely planning on being very active in the free agent market."

The post MLB agent Scott Boras claims Red Sox are ‘wanting to secure high-level players’ this offseason appeared first on Boston.com.

Ortiz takes "pride" in what his father accomplished in Boston. But as he begins his career with the Red Sox' organization, the younger Ortiz is hoping to build a name for himself.

The post D’Angelo Ortiz aims to create his own legacy with Red Sox appeared first on Boston.com.

Anipo, a French-based network of musicians, has launched an initiative aimed at cracking down on stolen instruments. Anipo encourages musicians to install a chip on ... Read more

The post Musicians’ network aims to clamp down on instrument thefts appeared first on CMUSE.

'A Miracle from God': Lives and Livelihoods Restored as Operation Blessing Helps Brazil Flood Victims

Barricade Building Products announced its partnership with BIMsmith, which will enable architects, engineers and designers to access Barricade’s extensive product information and seamlessly integrate it into their projects.

Save time with Plastic Components’ non-rusting continuous insulation trims. They improve job quality and deliver a better finish.

The defunct charity's former digital director wants to set up its digital volunteer recruitment network as a social enterprise

Manchester, England — Walking speed is the strongest predictor of a stoke victim’s ability to return to work, with about 3 feet per second the “critical threshold,” say researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Washington — The full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the nation’s workforce will likely remain unclear because of the lack of a comprehensive national system to gather such information, according to the AFL-CIO’s annual report on the state of safety and health protections for U.S. workers.

Olympia, WA – Temporary workers file lost-workday claims about twice as often as permanent workers, according to a recent study from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

Washington — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a final rule intended to protect drivers and passengers on motorcoaches and large buses during rollovers by enhancing the structural integrity of the vehicles.

Boston — Injury and illness prevention efforts are most needed in Massachusetts’ transportation and warehousing industry, results of a recent analysis of workers’ compensation claims show.

Cambridge, MA — Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, 7% of people who submitted workers’ compensation claims for the disease developed long COVID, according to a recent study.

Hartford, CT — More than a third of work-related injuries occur during people’s first year on the job – resulting in more than 6 million missed workdays, according to a new report.