Calcis

newsobserver.com | Luther Bible donated to college
The Bible Elfriede Wildes grandfather gave her was nearly destroyed half a dozen times. That it survived is a story much like those the Bible itself tells — a story of faith lost and found.

For as long as she can remember, Wilde has been schooled in the history of her familys Bible — a 1686 German edition translated by Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation whose much-admired translation is still heard today.

A native of Germany now living in Texas, Wilde recently donated the 322-year-old tome to Mars Hill College, a small Baptist school 16 miles north of Asheville.

There, she hopes, its turbulent journey will find a restful end, while enlightening future generations. They may never know about its World War II escape, its trans-Atlantic journey, and the personal upheavals of faith of those who owned it. But it will at least avoid the threat of destruction that had seemed a part of its fate.

The good books tale begins with Wildes grandfather, Adolf Ludwig, a proud Lutheran who lived in Stuttgart, Germany. Ludwig had a friend, whom Wilde knew as Herr Neff, with whom he studied the Bible. Neffs Bible, almost 2 feet long and weighing 22 pounds, was an heirloom he treasured.

How he got it is unknown. What Wilde does know is that her grandfather and Neff attended a Lutheran church together and, in their spare time, spent hours studying this Bible, its map of Jerusalem and its detailed drawings of the interior of Noahs Ark. The volume, which bears the name of a duke named Friedrich who financed the edition as well as a Nuremberg printer who dedicated it on Aug. 24, 1686, was bound in white leather pigskin, and contained a biography of Luther.

ABC News: Reporter Faces Financial Ruin for Not Naming Sources
A former USA Today reporter who now works as a university professor has one last chance at avoiding financial ruin unless she discloses the names of her confidential sources, which would be used in a lawsuit against the government.

Toni Locy has been charged with contempt and faces fines of up to $5,000 a day for refusing to release the names of anonymous sources she quoted in a 2003 article detailing the governments investigation into scientist Steven Hatfill, who then-Attorney General John Ashcroft had named as a person of interest in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

Hatfill, who has never been charged in the case, is suing the Department of Justice for leaking his name and information to the press, and his attorneys want Locy to testify in the case and reveal the names of her anonymous sources. Locy has refused to do so. A court declared her in contempt, and she is appealing that ruling.

Kids, mom lived with 90-year-olds corpse for weeks in Wis. - washingtonpost.com
MADISON, Wis. — Two children and their mother lived for about two months with the decaying body of a 90-year-old woman on the toilet of their homes only bathroom, on the advice of a religious “superior” who claimed the corpse would come back to life, authorities said Friday.

The children _ a 15-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy _ cried hysterically Wednesday after a deputy who came to their Necedah home looking for Magdeline Alvina Middlesworth ordered them out because of the stench from her body.

The children were in foster care Friday. Their mother, Tammy Lewis, and self-described “bishop” Alan Bushey remained in custody on felony counts of being a party to causing mental harm to a child.

“Its a sad case, and well continue to investigate it and try to ascertain just what occurred up there,” Juneau County Sheriff Brent Oleson said. He said he had no further information on Busheys religious affiliation.

Federal marriage-for-citizenship sting nets 83 Fla. arrests - washingtonpost.com
ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal sting of four companies accused of arranging fraudulent marriages for U.S. citizenships, complete with wedding photos of brides in gowns and elaborate fake cakes, has netted more than 80 arrests, authorities said Friday.

Immigrants, Americans and company officials were among the 83 arrested. The immigrants paid as much as $10,000, while the U.S. citizens were offered up to $2,500, U.S. Attorney Robert ONeill said.

The couples were coached on how to pass immigration checks with fake answers, even though in some cases they didnt speak the same language as their purported spouse, officials said. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials who review each citizenship-conferring marriage to ensure legitimacy tipped off federal agents in many cases.

At least one of the businesses kept a standing wedding showroom in its office, complete with a prop cake, an assortment of 10 to 15 wedding dresses and table settings never dirtied with dinner or drink.

Jacksonville News - Depot revitalization begins
05-07-2008

Wednesday afternoon, a crew from Southern Heart Pine Recovery removed the 100 -year-old flooring from the building. The old boards will be taken to SHPR’s Georgia facility where they will be planed and split in half. The usable boards will return to Jacksonville for installation at the depot.

“We were concerned about how we were going to be doing the flooring and then these guys from Southern Heart Pine volunteered to take it up, charge us no labor, they’re just going to charge us what it costs for them to transport it over to their plant in Georgia and re-plane it. So we’ll be spending about a dollar a square foot and we couldn’t go buy flooring for that,” said Mayor Johnny Smith.

Smith approached Scott Davis, President of Southern Heart Pine Recovery, about the project a few weeks ago. The city knew it would be too expensive to pay for refinishing the floors and had been looking into purchasing new flooring for the building. Davis’ help with the project will allow Jacksonville to keep an important part of the depot’s past.

“The mayor called me and asked me to come take a look at it to see what we could do about preserving the history here. So, we decided to volunteer our services and decided to just go ahead and make a commitment to Jacksonville. We’re just excited to be a part of it. We want to preserve the historical value in the building without having to do a lot of replacing,” said Davis.

Many of the boards in the old building are insect-ridden and will not be able to be re-used, but Davis has a solution for that as well.

“We’re going to be a little bit short of doing the whole thing, so we’re going to provide wood from the mill that will match this wood to finish out the flooring in here,” said Davis, whose company is also working on the demolition of the three-story building at the old Union Yarn Mill.

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Preservation AND Progress, finally

– Cathy
weavercat@gmail.com

Jacksonville News - Friends, family help Lovett celebrate 85th
A crowd of friends and family gathered at Jacksonville First United Methodist Church’s MacWhorter Activity Center on May 3 to wish happy birthday to Opal Lovett, who turned 85 years old on April 30.

As guests entered, they passed a photo of Lovett taken by his son O. Rufus then paused for a moment at Lovett’s side to say a few words or reminisce.

“He has been so excited,” said Lovett’s daughter Opal. “I don’t think I was this excited when I was five years old and going to have a birthday party.”

Lovett has truly enjoyed the many years he has lived in Jacksonville and the party was the perfect way for him to see and spend time with his many friends.

“I love the people here,” he said. “I had the opportunity to go to several other places, but I stayed here. I recommend this community to anyone.”

The Anniston Star » Country music superstar Eddy Arnold dies at 89

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like “Make the World Go Away” made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.

Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University and author of the biography “Eddy Arnold: Ill Hold You in My Heart.” His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March, and in the same month, Arnold fell outside his home, injuring his hip.

Arnolds vocals on songs like the 1965 “Make the World Go Away,” one of his many No. 1 country hits and a top 10 hit on the pop charts, made him one of the most successful country singers in history.

Albert Hofmann, the Father of LSD, Dies at 102 - New York Times
PARIS — Albert Hofmann, the mystical Swiss chemist who gave the world LSD, the most powerful psychotropic substance known, died Tuesday at his hilltop home near Basel, Switzerland. He was 102.
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Patrick Straub/European Pressphoto Agency

Albert Hofmann in 2006.
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Novartis, via A.F.P. — Getty Images

Dr. Hofmann, date unknown, with a chemical model of LSD.

The cause was a heart attack, said Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a California-based group that in 2005 republished Dr. Hofmann’s 1979 book “LSD: My Problem Child.”

Dr. Hofmann first synthesized the compound lysergic acid diethylamide in 1938 but did not discover its psychopharmacological effects until five years later, when he accidentally ingested the substance that became known to the 1960s counterculture as acid.

He then took LSD hundreds of times, but regarded it as a powerful and potentially dangerous psychotropic drug that demanded respect.

Real Trekkie tricorder detects ailments - LiveScience- msnbc.com
New handheld medical scanners coupled with regular cell phones resemble “Star Trek” tricorders and could see what ails you with a push of a button.

The invention, using off-the-shelf cell phone technology, would allow medical scanners to boldly go where none have gone before — to the aid of the roughly three-quarters of the worlds population currently without access to ultrasounds, X-rays and other imagers used for everything from detecting tumors to monitoring fetuses.

Old Henry Farms restaurant in Jacksonville has a new owner, and a new purpose, after a deal closed on the property earlier this month.

First Baptist Church of Jacksonville purchased the historic barn in a deal with Don James Construction of Anniston about two weeks ago, said Cliff Wood, an employee with the company.

The church plans to use the property for a contemporary worship service and ministry organization named EaglePoint, said church administrator Jerry Medlin. EaglePoint will target young couples and families.

About | Birmingham Record Collectors
The Birmingham Record Collectors is a club based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, but with international membership, devoted to the collecting of music, its preservation, and lasting friendship.
Membership

The Birmingham Record Collectors is the fastest growing organization of its kind in the world. There are numerous reasons for joining the club

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Looks interesting…will have to investigate their site further.

– Cathy

The Truth About Cherokee Citizenship
The Facts on Cherokee Citizenship

MYTH: You need to have a large degree of Cherokee blood to be eligible for citizenship.
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FACT: The Cherokee Nation requires no blood quantum. To be considered a Cherokee citizen, you need one Indian ancestor listed on the 1906 federal census of our people, known as the Dawes Rolls. With that one Indian ancestor, a person is part of our Cherokee family regardless of what other heritage he or she might have. For eligibility information, please visit http://www.cherokee.org/Services/Registration/146/Default.aspx.

Catoosa County News
Members of the Col. Joseph T. McConnell Camp Sons of Confederate Veterans and representatives of the Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans were on hand at the Catoosa County Courthouse Friday, April 25, as the Southern Legal Resource Center filed suit against the Ringgold City Council.

Roger McCreddie, SLRC executive director, and attorney Kirk Lyons, along with Georgia counsel Daniel A. Coleman filed the suit with the Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans and the local camp as plaintiffs. McCreddie and Lyons spoke to the media on the courthouse steps following the filing in Catoosa County Superior Court.

“Our question to the legal system is, does this law mean anything?” McCredie said, referring to state law OCGA 50-3-1, which protects monuments honoring military personnel. “We are asking the court to make them put the flag back.”

The plaintiffs contend that the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag is a violation of that state law.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Snipes sentenced to three years
Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes has received a three year prison sentence for tax offences.

A federal judge handed down the maximum term requested by prosecutors - one year for each of Snipes convictions of wilfully failing to file a tax return.

Snipes lawyers had called for leniency, arguing that the offences were misdemeanours and that the star was of good character.

But prosecutors said an example should be set because of Snipes fame.

In February, Snipes was found guilty of deliberately failing to file tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001, but was cleared of more serious fraud and conspiracy charges.

BBC NEWS | Americas | US blocks genetic discrimination
The United States Senate has unanimously passed legislation banning discrimination on the basis of peoples genetic details.

The proposal, which passed 95-0, still needs approval from the House of Representatives before it becomes law.

It would allow only patients and their doctors to access data obtained through genetic testing.

Employers, unions and health insurance companies would be forbidden from discrimination via genetic information.

The Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy called it the “the first new civil rights bill of the new century”.

He added: “Discrimination based on a persons genetic identity is just as unacceptable as discrimination on the basis of race or religion.”

The bill would forbid health insurers from refusing coverage, or raising premiums, for healthy people based on genetic information.

Insurers would also not be allowed to require people to take tests which might show a predisposition to a disease.

And employers would be prohibited from using genetic information in decisions over hiring, firing, promoting or compensating employees.