CCWS - New Year, New Chassis, New Venues, New Logo

Champ Car World Series Logo - Copyright © 2007 Champ Car World Series, LLC.

CCWS - New Year, New Chassis, New Venues, New Logo

Well, here we go!

The first offical time trials of the 2007 season are underway and the Champ Car World Series, North America's premiere open-wheel racing series is off to a blazing start.

Sporting a new chassis, a new logo, and having added six new venues (two of the venues in Europe) to a 17 race season, the Champ Car World Series (remnants of the old CART) looks to be set for one of the most exciting years yet.

Excerpts from two stories found at CCWS -

CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES UNVEILS NEW LOGO FOR 2007 SEASON

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Champ Car World Series enters a new era in 2007 with six new venues, a number of new drivers and the brand-new Panoz DP01 chassis.To go along with the new-look series, Champ Car today unveiled its new logo that will be featured prominently on the cars, the driver and official uniforms as well as the new-look television package.

The logo is a sleeker, racier design than that of the past, and features the new DP01 on the right side of the layout. The traditional Champ Car colors of orange, silver and black are featured, and the style of the logo includes a chicane-like quality that stylizes the road and street courses that make up the 2007 Champ Car schedule.

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“This new logo portrays many of the things that makes Champ Car special and unique and does it in an effective and stylish manner,” said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. “Having the DP01 in the logo is also a key for us, as it displays what Champ Car racing is all about.”The logo will begin to be displayed on the cars as early as tomorrow in the first of the year’s three open test session, which is taking place at Sebring International Raceway.

Further tests will take place at MSR Houston in February and at Laguna Seca in March as teams prepare for the 2007 season opener, April 6-8 in Las Vegas.
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CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES ANNOUNCES THE ADDITION OF TWO EUROPEAN EVENTS TO THE 2007 CALENDAR

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The Champ Car World Series today announced that it will return to Europe for the first time since 2003 with inaugural races in Holland and Belgium.

Events added to the Champ Car World Series calendar will take place September 2 at the TT Circuit in Assen, Holland and September 9 at the Zolder circuit in Belgium. It will be the first time that Champ Car has raced in either of the two European nations.

"2007 continues to shape up as one of the most exciting in recent memory for Champ Car and today's announcement raises the anticipation level even higher," said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. "We considered a number of options for our return to Europe and these two events will prove to be very successful for our teams, fans and sponsor partners.

"The Assen circuit, long fabled for hosting exciting Grand Prix motorcycle events, underwent major modifications for the 2006 season, resulting in a 4.5-kilometer track that will provide a stern challenge for the Champ Cars.

Zolder is a 3.977-kilometer circuit which also underwent safety renovations for the 2006 season, after hosting Formula 1 events in the 1970s and 80s. The track will carry the process a step farther for the 2007 Champ Car visit, making further improvement to ensure a safe and challenging event.

"We are excited to bring the American equivalent of Formula 1 racing to Europe," said event promoter Bart Rietbergen. "Champ Car provides close racing that is easy for European fans to understand, and they will be very impressed with the access that they will have in the Champ Car paddock.

"The addition of the two European events brings the number of races on the 2007 Champ Car schedule to 17, marking the most races on a Champ Car calendar since 2003. The last time that the series went to Europe served as the coming-out party for three-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, who took his first series victories by sweeping races in Brands Hatch and EuroSpeedway Lausitz.
Read All>>

UPDATE:

Actual European Event Dates -

Heusden-Zolder, Belgium - August 24 - 26, 2007

Assen, Holland - August 31 - September 2, 2007

CCWS Website Here>>

Bush’s Threat Of Surge Pays Early Dividends

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a speech during prayers in Kufa, Iraq, in this Nov. 24, 2006 file photo. Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc announced Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007, that it is lifting its nearly two-month political boycott of Iraqi parliament after reaching a compromise over its demands for a timetable for Iraqi forces to take over security and the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Image Credit: AP Photo/Alaa Al Marjani, File

Bush’s Threat Of Surge Pays Early Dividends

In Iraq, it’s the Crips and Bloods all over again. Baghdad is South Central LA and the ugliest elements of the wild, wild west all rolled into to one pot and power is the only currency that has favor.

It is good to see that a return to basics seems to be having an initial positive effect.

Excerpts from the Associated Press via Yahoo! News -

Iraqi leader drops protection of militia
By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer 1-21-07, 3:00 PM PST - BAGHDAD, Iraq

Iraq's prime minister has dropped his protection of an anti-American cleric's Shiite militia after U.S. intelligence convinced him the group was infiltrated by death squads, two officials said Sunday.

In a desperate bid to fend off an all-out American offensive, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr last Friday ordered the 30 lawmakers and six Cabinet ministers under his control to end their nearly two-month boycott of the government. They were back at their jobs Sunday.

Al-Sadr had already ordered his militia fighters not to display their weapons. They have not, however, ceded control of the formerly mixed neighborhoods they have captured, killing Sunnis or forcing them to abandon their homes and businesses.
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Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's turnaround on the Mahdi Army was puzzling because as late as Oct. 31, he had intervened to end a U.S. blockade of Sadr City, the northeast Shiite enclave in Baghdad that is headquarters to the militia. It is held responsible for much of the sectarian bloodshed that has turned the capital into a battle zone over the past year.

Shiite militias began taking revenge after more than two years of incessant bomb and shooting attacks by Sunni insurgents.

Sometime between then and Nov. 30, when the prime minister met President Bush, al-Maliki was convinced of the truth of American intelligence reports which contended, among other things, that his protection of al-Sadr's militia was isolating him in the Arab world and among moderates at home, the two government officials said.

"Al-Maliki realized he couldn't keep defending the Mahdi Army because of the information and evidence that the armed group was taking part in the killings, displacing people and violating the state's sovereignty," said one official. Both he and a second government official who confirmed the account refused to be identified by name because the information was confidential. Both officials are intimately aware of the prime minister's thinking.

"The Americans don't act on rumors but on accurate intelligence. There are many intelligence agencies acting on the ground, and they know what's going on," said the second official, confirming the Americans had given al-Maliki overwhelming evidence about the Mahdi Army's deep involvement in the sectarian slaughter.

Earlier this month, Bush and al-Maliki separately announced a new security drive to clamp off the sectarian violence that has riven the capital and surrounding regions.

Bush announced an additional 21,500 American soldiers would be sent to accomplish the task and al-Maliki has promised a similar number of forces, who will take the lead in the overall operation.
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The neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweep, expected to begin in earnest by the first of the month, will target Sunni insurgents, al-Qaida in Iraq and its allied militant bands equally with Shiite militias, both the Mahdi Army and the Badr Brigade.

The latter is the Iranian-trained military wing of Iraq's most power[ful] Shiite political group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

The first government official said al-Maliki's message was blunt.

"He told the sheik that the activities of both the Sadrist politicians and the militia have inflamed hatred among neighboring Sunni Arab states that have been complaining bitterly to the Americans," the official said.

Sunni Muslims are the majority sect in key Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, all of which have shunned al-Maliki. Shiites, long oppressed by Iraqi's Sunni minority, and vaulted to power with the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

Many of the leading Shiite figures in Iraq have deep historical ties to Iran, also a majority Shiite state, whose growing muscle in the Middle East is deeply threatening to the autocratic Sunni regimes in the region.
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Clinton Gauntlet Has Been Laid Down - Hillary In

Caption States - Question: What is your intention in 2008? Answer: Well ... That depends on what the definition of is ... is. Cartoon Credit: Stop Her Now (www.stophernow.com)

Clinton Gauntlet Has Been Laid Down – Hillary In

In her first statements she suggests that this isn’t just a campaign for the presidency, but the beginning of a conversation with the American people.

Excuse me, while we at MAXINE take time to tune out of the conversation … but seriously watch the manipulation of the American people.

Take this report for example (please note what is stated and when in the section about "Polls").

Excerpts from Bloomberg News -

Hillary Clinton Takes First Step in Bid Toward U.S. Presidency
By Kristin Jensen - Jan. 20 (Bloomberg)

New York Senator Hillary Clinton today took an initial step toward a bid to become the first female U.S. president, after months of speculation that she would enter the race.

Clinton, 59, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, said on her Web site that she is forming an exploratory committee to consider a White House run.

"I'm in. And I'm in to win,'' the senator said on her Web site. She's already the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, leading rivals such as former vice presidential candidate John Edwards and Illinois Senator Barack Obama by as much as 19 percentage points in surveys taken during the last two months.

While polls indicate that Clinton has the best shot yet for a woman to take the top job in the White House, she also faces a wall of opposition across the country. Her unfavorable ratings hover in the 40 percent range, well above Edwards or Obama. She also has to overcome what she calls "the scars'' from her failed health-care plan in the early 1990s.
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Clinton has already shown that she can compete in the big money race to the White House. She raised more than $50 million for last year's successful Senate reelection campaign even as she lacked any serious competition. By contrast, Edwards, 53, raised just under $34 million for his failed presidential run in 2004.

Hurdles
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Republican donor and Texas businessman Dick Collins last year set up a Web site called "Stop Her Now'' with a banner that says it's "rescuing America from the radical ideas of Hillary Clinton.'' The site features cartoons of Clinton, news on her activities and a joke of the week about her.

"It's not personal, it's political,'' Collins, 59, said in an interview. "She's a very ambitious, calculating, tough politician. I think she would be wrong for the country.''

Polls

A recent WNBC/Marist poll found that 33 percent of Democratic leaning voters support Clinton for president, compared with 14 percent for Edwards and 12 percent for Obama. The Nov. 27-Dec. 13 poll was taken before Edwards's official announcement.
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Yet in a survey of all 967 registered voters, 48 percent said they would like to see Clinton seek the presidency; 50 percent said they would not. Only Republicans John McCain, an Arizona senator, and Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, had more people saying they should run than they shouldn't.

``There's a cottage industry that has spent hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to define Hillary Clinton,'' said Terry McAuliffe, one of her advisers and the former head of the Democratic National Committee, in an interview before the announcement. "Republicans are scared of her -- rightfully so. They've spent a lot of money against her.''

Health Care

Clinton jumped into the national spotlight during the 1992 presidential race when she and her husband Bill proclaimed they were a "two-for-one'' package for the White House. After Bill Clinton took office, he put his wife in charge of overhauling the nation's health-care system and providing universal insurance.

"I have the scars from that debate,'' Clinton said in a December interview. "We still have a problem. It is the single issue that CEOs talk to me about on a continuing basis.''
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You see? It has already started ... the manipulation ... a poll that was reproted December 21, 2006 out of Iowa (caucus straw poll) had Hillary fourth behind third place (are you ready for this) Tom Vilsack - WHO? - Tom Vilsack! - WHO? - TOM VILSACK! (Political Experience: Governor, State of Iowa, 1998-present / Senator, Iowa State Senate, District 49, 1992-1998 / Mayor, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, 1987-1992.)

This from KCCI - DES MOINES, Iowa -

The poll asked Iowa Democrats which candidates they would vote for if the 2008 Democratic caucus were held today.

The top three candidates were Sen. John Edwards at 22 percent, Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama at 22 percent and Vilsack at 12 percent. U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York came in fourth at 10 percent.
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Brave, Former VP Mondale Should Just Sit Down And Shut Up

In this May 17, 2001, file photo, former president Jimmy Carter, right, claps for his former vice president Walter Mondale, left, at a ceremony held to dedicate a hall named in Mondale's honor at the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis. Mondale on Friday criticized Vice President Dick Cheney's role in the White House, and said Carter never would have tolerated Cheney's actions. Image Credit: AP Photo/Andy King

Brave, Former VP Mondale Should Just Sit Down And Shut Up

Where was this senior Democrat brainiac over the last six years? ... let alone the last year?

I just guess he feels he is in a strong position, now that he can peek out from behind Pelosi's pant suits!

This from AP via Yahoo! News -

Former VP Mondale criticizes Cheney
By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 19, 11:08 AM ET

ATHENS, Ga. - Former vice president Walter Mondale on Friday criticized Vice President
Dick Cheney's role in the White House, and said former president Jimmy Carter never would have tolerated Cheney's actions.

"I think that Cheney has stepped way over the line," Mondale said.

Mondale, who was vice president under Carter, made the comments at a three-day conference about Carter's presidency that opened Friday at the University of Georgia.

Mondale said Cheney and his assistants pressured federal agencies as they prepared information for President Bush.

"I think Cheney's been at the center of cooking up farcical estimates of national risks, weapons of mass destruction and the 9/11 connection to Iraq," he said. Mondale said that does not serve the president, because he needs facts.

"If I had done as vice president what this vice president has done, Carter would have thrown me out of there," Mondale said. "I don't think he could have tolerated a vice president over there pressuring and pushing other agencies, ordering up different reports than they wanted to send us. I don't think he would have stood for it."

Academics credit Carter with expanding the role of the vice presidency during his administration.

As vice president, Mondale served as the president's senior adviser. He held an office in the West Wing of the White House, had private meetings with the president and spoke on behalf of the president before influential groups.
Reference Here>>

This criticism is from a party to a truly failed presidency (inflation and recession at the same time? come on!) - Many suggest Carter's weakness, while he was in office, had helped spawn Iran to be the nation state threat it is today.

We at MAXINE have a question - Where was Mondale's sage advice while our embassy staff remained hostage in Iran in the late 70's for over 400 days?

Hey, Wally! Sit down and shut up!

Tick, Tick, Tick - Fish Trump Birds In Cure For H5N1 Viruses

Thermal Vents - banner photo used for Iceland Review Online webzine - Image Credit: Iceland Review

Tick, Tick, Tick - Fish Trump Birds In Cure For H5N1 Viruses

It has been found that an enzyme from Icelandic Cod is very effective at killing the bird flu virus.

The enzyme discovery that comes to us through experiments originally intended for beauty products, may yield the ultimate product for beauty ... Life!

This from Iceland Review Online -

Cod enzyme kills H5N1 virus
Iceland Review - 01/17/2007 - 11:56

An Icelandic cod enzyme might be the cure for bird flu, a recent experiment, which the Icelandic company Ensímtaekni hf. took part in, indicates. In five minutes, the isolated fish enzyme killed 99 percent of H5N1 viruses.

The killer enzyme, called penzim, was extracted from the intestines of cod by Ensímtaekni and is currently being developed for beauty products and various types of medicine. The experiment on the H5N1 virus was conducted in London. Fréttabladid reports.

CEO of Ensímtaekni and biochemist Jón Bragi Bjarnason said he is very excited about the results of the bird flu experiment.

“People have feared that the bird flu virus will change into a human flu virus and now we have a likely cure in case that happens,” Bjarnason told Fréttabladid.

Bjarnason also believes that penzim might prove a cure for common flu and cold, eczema in children and arthritis.
Reference Here>>

Bill M and Mate Pauly with Big Cod Fish - Image Credit: SANDY B FISHING CHARTERS

More about Penzim enzyme from Ecobrands -

Resulting from 25 years of research by biochemists at the University of Iceland. Penzim is an enzyme product for the body that comes from pure Arctic marine sources.

Penzim offers a different approach to skin-care; because it is a natural enzyme it helps the body to help itself in quite wonderful ways. Penzim speeds up the body’s natural ability to nourish and moisturise the skin and soothe away damaged cells. It is the most advanced skin care product to enrich and maintain healthy skin and is used by many people to combat skin problems of a bacterial nature that arise. Because the enzyme function in Penzim naturally occurs in our body it is used by many people on muscles and joint maintenance.

Active penetrating enzymes are the essence of Penzim; they function by hastening the breakdown of unhealthy extracellular proteins, which speeds up the body’s own natural regeneration process.
Reference Here>>

Of E.coli, Foie Gras, Boomer Bellies, And 'Gastroporn' - 2007

It was a burger that was simple in concept but daring in use of ingredients. An almost dainty brioche bun barely holding together slices of Wagyu tataki, Bachi Otoro Sashimi, pan-seared foie gras and blue cheese. The otoro was unexpected initially because I did not read the menu and thought I was mistakenly served a fish sandwich, but soon enough the wagyu, the foie and the cheese asserted themselves and the result was one happy meaty party. Excessive? Maybe, but seriously, I could have eaten another ten pieces. Image Credit: Foie Gras Dinner by u m a m i via Casey

Of E.coli, Foie Gras, Boomer Bellies, And 'Gastroporn' - 2007. Oh, and did we happen to mention "reverse-dieting", Izakayas, mangosteen, and "fatty acid profile"?

It is never easy to predict trends in our cultural experience, especially when it comes to the gastronomic variety.

Some trends might be easy ... like, be careful around packaged vegetables such as Spinach or Lettuce.

Other trends might require a more tactile approach to detect - as in being a little more experimental while dining out.

Surfice it to say, be free to eat and experiment in 2007 for there are many areas in which to explore where food-creativity meets one's needs. Here are a few predictions for 2007 as to what one might run into while eating through the coming year!

Excerpts from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution –

PREDICTING 2007 TRENDS IN FOOD
Ethiopian bread will be popular this year. Check out what else will be on our plates.
By CHRIS ROSENBLOOM and SUSAN PUCKETT - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Published on: 01/04/07

"It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future," goes an often-quoted saying.

But that doesn't stop us from trying.

With last year's focus on the dangers of trans fats, will we see more interest in good and bad fats in 2007?

With sodium levels skyrocketing in convenience products and restaurant items, could salt be the next villain?
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How will food marketers take advantage of baby boomers' abundant disposable income as they go kicking and screaming into old age?

To answer these questions and others about what we can expect to see on our tables and in the marketplace in the coming year, we consulted experts across the country and perused the piles of magazines, press releases and new books that have already weighed in.

Here's what they were seeing in their crystal balls:

Anti-aging products for boomers

"Food products will be moving beyond liquid drinks like Ensure or Boost in marketing to older adults," says Dea Baxter, associate professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. Superfruits or their extracts like açaí, goji berry, coffee berry, guava and mangosteen will appear on a host of ingredient lists from drinks to desserts. They're loaded with disease-fighting anti-oxidants and especially appealing to older consumers. "Packaging innovations will also be implemented for older adults with arthritis or decreased grip strength," Baxter adds.

'Bellies are big'

So notes restaurant consulting firm Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. in its forecast for 2007. "Relentlessly searching for new things to serve, chefs are focusing on the nether regions of fish and animals," according to the report. Pork belly, better known as bacon, was big on menus everywhere last year, and costly tuna belly, also known as toro, was popular in upscale sushi restaurants. This year, they say, menus will feature veal, salmon, swordfish and lamb bellies — "all rich with fatty flavor, all (not coincidentally) cheap cuts that used to be trimmed away."

A 2007 prediction list "Two-Fer" - Chocolate Caramel Tartlettes with Sea Salt. Image Credit: Nordljus

Chocolate - the darker, the better [goes without saying]

Chocolate is no longer a guilty pleasure as researchers identified that dark chocolate contains compounds called flavonols that provide heart-healthy benefits.
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We will see more chocolate products from Ecuador, Venezuela and the Ivory Coast as competition for the 'best' chocolate grows."

Downsized desserts

Simple carbs are still on the no-no list for many a calorie-conscious eater.
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Seasons 52, the health-oriented chain that opened two locations here last year, serves teeny portions of red velvet cake and Key lime pie; Rathbun's pastry chef Kirk Park offers mini samples of his entire dessert menu all on one plate - a trend in and of itself.

Exotica goes everyday

"Foods unfamiliar to everyday shoppers, like Greek yogurt, jicama from Mexico, Japanese sushi rice and Portuguese peri-peri sauces, will be front and center in the gourmet groceries that spring up in newly developed areas," according to "Next Now" (Palgrave Macmillan, $26.95). "Here, trendy shoppers will visit tasting bars and attend cooking classes." Asian flavors and African specialties such as injera, the soft Ethiopian bread that serves as an eating utensil, are likely to be big in such shops.

'Feel-good fish'

That's how Bon Appétit describes the fish that's in favor now in its January 2007 issue: environmentally sound, and low in toxins and PCBs. Among the eco-friendly varieties it recommends: United States- and Central American-farmed tilapia, wild mahi-mahi from Hawaii, the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; California-farmed sturgeon; American-farmed striped bass.

Mackerel is torched at the table at Musha in Santa Monica. Image Credit: Monica Almeida/The New York Times

'Gastroporn' invades the lexicon

Now that EVOO - Food Network icon Rachael Ray's catchword for extra-virgin olive oil - has made it into the Oxford American College Dictionary, could this term that's begun popping up everywhere be far behind?
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"The preparing, cooking, tasting and eating of food have become voyeuristic pleasures separated from physical reality."

Hamburgers and hot dogs go haute

Speaking of Ray, she is expanding her empire to include a hamburger restaurant, as is Mario Batali's partner Joe Bastianich, who's planning one serving sustainable beef, according to consulting firm Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. (Here in Atlanta, Shaun Doty uses super-high-end Japanese wagyu beef at Shaun's, Star Provisions continues to sell its foie gras burger to go, Jöel makes its lunch burger with Kobe beef and Midtown's Repast last year rolled out a foie gras hot dog.) "Perhaps they're inspired by Hubert Keller's Burger Bar in Las Vegas, where, in addition to a standard hamburger, you can blow your winnings on a $60 Rossini Burger of Kobe beef, foie gras and truffles," they say.

Izakayas as the next small-plate cuisine

The Japanese version of tapas bars is opening all over the world, notes Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. "These are homey places emphasizing modestly priced Japanese hors d'oeuvres washed down with oversize bottles of beer and overfilled glasses of sake," the consultants say.

"Musha" in Santa Monica, Calif., is an izakaya, or pub. The small dishes in izakayas typically come in traditional forms of tempura, simmered dishes called nimono and grilled dishes like yakitori skewers. Image Credit: Monica Almeida/The New York Times
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They note that the P.F. Chang's folks have opened a more Americanized version in Scottsdale, Ariz., that, if successful, could launch another chain. Look for the Kinjo brothers, creators of Midtown's MFSushibar and Nam, to open their version soon.

Junk food made over

Fiber-packed fruits and vegetables are being made into chips, ice cream is being enhanced with extra vitamins, whole grains and heart-healthy oils are replacing white flour and trans fats in cookies, and even Disney is putting a more nutritious spin on its theme-park snack foods.

Kid-aimed food advertising

Trend-spotter Salzman calls children the "masters of pester power" who are easily won over with sweet, colorful foods presented in fun formats, making them a much-sought-after target for advertisers across the globe.

Locally grown food

As concerns about food safety and the environment grow, so does the popularity of farmers markets and foods produced close to home. "Consumers want to know where and how food is being grown," says Patti Garrett, a nutrition instructor at Georgia State University. She points to the Atlanta Local Foods Initiative as an example. "This group helped in the distribution of a local foods guide published from Georgia Organics to promote local foods, decrease transportation costs, maintain and improve crop diversity in Georgia and support community gardens." A copy of the guide can be found online at www.buylocalgeorgia.org.

Mad science meets fine dining

Though the trend has yet to take off here, in a growing number of big-city kitchens, chefs are dismantling the molecular structure of fresh ingredients - "whirling them in laboratory equipment with frightening-sounding chemicals, dipping them in liquid nitrogen, inflating them with vacuum cleaners, fabricating cantaloupe caviar, deep-frying mayonnaise, turning sauces into powders, and spraying the air with flavors to suggest that what you're looking at isn't what you're about to eat," according to Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. Richard Blais began dabbling at it at his eponymous Blais here in Atlanta; now Hector Santiago of Pura Vida is planning to unleash his own experiments at his upcoming Bodega Gastronomica.

Newfangled steakhouses with name chefs

Wolfgang Puck, Bradley Ogden, Michael Mina and David Burke are among the celebrity chefs who have launched "newfangled beeferies that marry elements of serious cooking with simple but upscale grilling," according to Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. Locally, look for Kevin Rathbun's Steak to open soon.

Organic beyond the vegetable field

Expect to see the term "industrial organics" more often as giants like Wal-Mart continue to jump into the fray. Organic snack-food sales continue to flourish, while the foodie world is all abuzz about organic wines and chocolates.

Personalized diets

Forget Atkins. "There's a growing belief that there's no such thing as a diet that's right for everyone. Personalization - whether based on lifestyle, ethnicity, blood type or something else - will become an important component of diet programs," says trend-spotter Salzman.

Quick-service restaurants diversify their options

Many of these eateries, according to the National Restaurant Association's 2007 Restaurant Industry Forecast, are jumping on the wellness bandwagon, offering and promoting healthful choices. Among the fastest-growing menu items in quick service: espresso/specialty coffee, chicken sandwiches, energy drinks, deli-style sandwiches, wraps/pitas/tortillas, bottled water and entree salads.

Reverse dieting

Among the latest crop of diet books is "The Reverse Diet" by Tricia Cunningham (Wiley, $24.95). Cunningham is a young mother of two who got considerable attention on talk shows for losing more than 170 pounds by simply eating dinner for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner. The idea is to eat your heaviest meal early so you burn those calories throughout the day. Of course, she also ate healthier, too. Whether others will share her success remains to be seen, but those searching for yet another weight-loss method may well be inclined to give it a try.

Salt backlash

New York City chef and registered dietitian Kyle Shadix predicts an attack on salt in 2007, like the attack on trans fats in 2006. "The United Kingdom has taken a stand on salt with the Food Standards Agency Salt Awareness Campaign. Manufacturers have heard the call and are voluntarily reducing the amount of salt in a wide range of processed foods. "I expect to see the same thing in the U.S.," he says. "Some people are going so far as to argue that salt should be removed from the Generally Recognized as Safe list, since evidence seems to support that it is harmful."

Technology on the menu

Restaurants are finding new ways to use technology to improve efficiency and give customers more control over their dining experience, which is especially appealing to younger diners. According to the National Restaurant Association, 46 percent of Americans - and 71 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds - say they are likely to use customer-activated ordering and payment terminals if available in their favorite table-service restaurant. About half of all adults - and roughly two-thirds of those ages 18 to 34 - say they would use a self-serve order and payment terminal at a quick-service restaurant if it were available.

Upscale salt

Manufacturers may be pressed to lower the sodium in canned soups and other processed foods but - health concerns aside - the demand for gourmet salts is hotter than ever. "Not the powdery stuff in round cardboard boxes; we're talking instead about crunchy, flaky, tinted crystals from out-of-the-way places that have migrated from restaurant kitchens to dinner tables at home," says Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co.

Vegetable salads sans the bag

Sales of bagged salad greens continue to wane as consumers remain skeptical about their safety following last year's outbreaks of E. coli linked to bagged spinach. It's prompted creative cooks to experiment with other cool ways to toss veggies - a topic that's been turning up in the latest food mags, including January's Bon Appétit, which includes a feature on no-lettuce salads that call for fennel, cabbage, cauliflower and artichokes.

"Ice Rocks" - The water for Ice Rocks is drawn from the heart of the Vendée region in west central France after flowing through a granite massif formed more than 300 million years ago. The water is drawn from the 100 meters deep natural source which is protected by a clay soil surface resulting in nitrate free water with Total Dissolved Solids of 300mg/l. Image Credit: Finewaters

Waters with pedigrees

Bottled water has become a $9 billion-a-year industry, according to Michael Mascha, founder of www.finewaters.com, described as "the definitive voice for water connoisseurs and their lifestyle." And consumers are becoming increasingly picky about them. Consider his just-released "Fine Waters: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Most Distinctive Bottled Waters" (Quirk, $24.95), which not only rates the "virginality" (the degree a water is protected from its surroundings) and "minerality" of 100 brands but offers food pairing suggestions and advice on what stemware to serve it in.

X-rated cocktails take a back seat to restrained classics

Saveur magazine notes in its January issue, look for the return of classic cocktails - perhaps made with artisanal distilled spirits, and possibly served in a retro bar. "Instead of vodka, think gin; instead of 'Sex and the City's' Carrie Bradshaw, think William Powell in 'The Thin Man." (The bar at Trois, one of 2006's biggest Atlanta restaurant openings, is one spot to experience the trend locally.)

Yogurt and beyond

Probiotics, which help populate the gut with good bacteria that help strengthen our ability to fight infection and disease, will be a major buzzword in the nutrition world. San Francisco-based nutrition consultant Jo Ann Hattner says she's "added probiotic therapies to my practice using dairy foods with natural cultures," and predicts we will see more probiotic foods competing for space in the dairy case. Yogurt is the best-known source, but look for others - like Dannon's Activia and Kashi Vive Cereal.

Zero trans fats

Already, many food companies have removed these heart-damaging, chemically altered fats.
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And as New York City implements its war on these "bad" fats by phasing them out of restaurants and other food establishments, we may see other cities follow that lead. As a result, "I predict we will see more emphasis on including healthy fats such as omega-3 fats into balanced diets vs. focusing just on what not to eat," says Lisa Carlson, registered dietitian and director of professional education for Quaker/Tropicana Foods. Neva Cochran, a nutrition consultant in Dallas, adds that this will give rise to more "designer fats," or the reformulation of traditional vegetable oils to improve their fatty acid profile to make them more healthful.
Reference Here (free subscription) >>

... So What?

The grave of Gunnery Sgt. John D. Fry, 28, in Waco, Tex. He leaves a wife and three children. Image Credit: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

At MAXINE, we believe that every life is precious and should not be wasted senselessly.

But MAXINE has a problem with the Mainstream Media (MSM) and the template it uses on the reporting of many of the events that surround our military effort in Iraq.

AP wire service news item -

3,000 deaths: U.S. military hits grim milestone
From The Associated Press - Published Sunday, December 31, 2006

Spc. Dustin R. Donica will be remembered as the 3,000th U.S. military death in Iraq.

The 22-year-old specialist from Spring, Texas, was killed Thursday by small arms fire in Baghdad, the Defense Department said. That raises the death toll to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

The grim milestone was crossed on the final day of 2006 and at the end of the deadliest month for the American military in Iraq in the past 12 months. At least 111 U.S. service members were reported to have died in December.
Reference Here>>

So What?

This is NOT a milestone.

It is only a meaningless "point of order". The figure is not relevant - it is not tied to any other measurement and/or effort that is associated with the mission to which the troops are engaged. Also, this figure is only a snapshot, not a full picture.

This reporting approach is the best example of what defines MSM bias. The information is cloaked as honoring those who have paid the highest price to maintain our freedoms without mentioning what they may have done to actually keep us all free at home.

A “grim”, "tragic", and "dark" milestone (as the reporting template ... heralds) indeed.

So I ask the MSM, again ... So What?

U.S. Army soldiers salute during a memorial service for Sgt. Robert Tucker at a military base in Dujail, Iraq. Image Credit: JOHN MOORE / GETTY

Gateway Pundit gives us the service of research on the perspective of U.S. Military losses - information that will not be found at any MSM information outlet (the MSM hates perspective and research). This information is eye-opening.

UPDATE: Time steps up with some perspective and research ... but, then again, one will not see this or hear this reported in the overall mainstream of information.
ht: Pajamas Media

Tick, Tick, Tick - 10th Human H5N1 Death In Egypt

Egypt - A country that is geographically located to be a major route for migratory birds and one of the nation states worst hit by the virus outside Asia. Image Credit: BBC NEWS

In another case of Cluck-N-Quack [A Mole], ducks are the source of the infection.

This represents the third country to report bird flu attacks this season. Further, this H5N1 attributed death is the third human death since Sunday, December 24th, 2006.

Excerpts from BBC NEWS -

Egypt reports 10th bird flu death
BBC News - Wednesday, 27 December 2006, 15:08 GMT

A 26-year-old man has died in Egypt of bird flu after testing positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus.

Reda Abdel Halim Farid is the 10th person to die of bird flu in Egypt - and the third to die since Sunday.
----
A girl aged 15 died on Monday and a 30-year-old woman on Sunday. All three were from an extended family living in the Nile Delta province of Gharbiya.

They are said to have shared one house with 30 other family members, raising poultry in the town of Zifta, about 80km (50 miles) north of Cairo.
----
A World Health Organization (WHO) official said the family raised ducks, and that members had become infected after slaughtering the flock in an effort to stem the spread of the H5N1 virus.

Three of the family's ducks had died of the virus, WHO confirmed.

Government officials had hoped an initial outbreak of H5N1 among poultry in February had been contained and would not further affect the country's food supply.
----
"When we had a period of calm between May and October, people started thinking the disease was over, but we insisted on creating more awareness among the people," Abdel Rahman Shaheen [Egypt's health ministry advisor] said.

"We are still expecting more cases but the idea is to keep them to the smallest possible number."

In the Middle East, the disease is also known to be present in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
Reference Here>>

Judging from the list of infected countries above, we at MAXINE don't know what to fear most from the Middle East ... Nuclear Proliferation or Bird Flu ... Islamo-Terrorism will just have to take a seat!

Tick, Tick, Tick - Viet Cluck-N-Quack [A-Mole]

Birds of a feather, hopefully, stick together. Image Credit: AlaskaReport News

Tick, Tick, Tick - Viet Cluck-N-Quack [A-Mole] ... As in Whack-A-Mole ...

... and the clock keeps on a tickin'.

First South Korea, and now Viet Nam.

This from the AlaskaReport News -

Avian Flu Outbreak in Vietnam
AlaskaReport News - December 23rd, 2006

Bird flu has popped up again in chickens and ducks in Vietnam and Asian countries are scrambling to limit its spread.

"The situation is alarming," said Hoang Van Nam, director of the Epidemic Unit under Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Thousands of chickens and ducks in the affected areas have been slaughtered as authorities try to limit the spread of the virus, which has killed hundreds of millions of chickens and at least 42 people in Vietnam since 2004.

"Our assessment is that bird flu is likely to spread far outside the outbreak confirmed localities," Nam said. "Once the virus spread to the environment, other provinces will be affected."

The H5N1 strain of bird flu is not easily contagious among humans, but people can be infected through close contact with infected poultry.

The virus has raised fears among scientists because up to 60% of people known to have been infected have died.
Reference Here>>

If Islamo-Fascism doesn't knock us off, this will.

Broadly Used Consumer Technologies Driving IT?

"Stuff" from another world - Image Credit: The Economist

Broadly Used Consumer Technologies Driving IT?

"Off the shelf/over the portal" applications made easy ... too easy.

A contributor to SlashDot - fiannaFailMan writes to point out The Economist's reporting on the way consumer-driven software products are increasingly making their presence felt in the corporate world. Some CIOs are embracing the influx while others continue to resist it.

Excerpts from an article in The Economist -

Work-life balance
From The Economist print edition - Dec 19th 2006 SAN FRANCISCO

IN OCTOBER, shortly after taking over as head of information technology (IT) at Arizona State University, Adrian Sannier gave the nod to his contact at Google, the internet giant known for its search engine, and with one flick of the proverbial switch 65,000 students had new e-mail accounts. Unlike the university's old system, which stores e-mails on its own server computers, the new accounts reside on Gmail, Google's free web-based service. Mr Sannier is not forcing anybody to change but has found that the students, many of whom were already using Gmail for their private e-mail, have been voluntarily migrating to the new service at a rate of 300 an hour. Crucially, they can take their "asu.edu" e-mail addresses with them.
----
For Mr Sannier, however, a bigger reason than money for switching from traditional software to web-based alternatives has to do with the pace and trajectory of technological change. Using the new Google service, for instance, students can share calendars, which they could not easily do before. Soon Google will integrate its online word processor and spreadsheet software into the service, so that students and teachers can share coursework. Eventually, Google may add blogs and wikis - it has bought firms with these technologies. Mr Sannier says it is "absolutely inconceivable" that he and his staff could roll out improvements at this speed in the traditional way - by buying software and installing it on the university's own computers.

In the past, innovation was driven by the military or corporate markets. But now the consumer market, with its vast economies of scale and appetite for novelty, leads the way. Compared with the staid corporate-software industry, using these services is like "receiving technology from an advanced civilisation", says Mr Sannier. He is now looking at other consumer technologies for ideas. He is already using Apple's iTunes, a popular online-music service, to store the university's podcasts.

Mr Sannier is ahead of his time because most IT bosses, especially at large organizations, tend to be skeptical of consumer technologies and often ban them outright. Employees, in return, tend to ignore their IT departments. Many young people, for instance, use services such as Skype to send instant messages or make free calls while in the office. FaceTime, a Californian firm that specialises in making such consumer applications safe for companies, found in a recent survey that more than half of employees in their 20s and 30s admitted to installing such software over the objections of IT staff.

Executive toys
Consumer technologies such as IM usually make employees more productive, says Kailash Ambwani, FaceTime's boss, so IT bosses should concentrate not on stopping them but on making them secure. In the case of IM and some kinds of file-sharing, the risks are that viruses or spyware could come into the corporate network from the outside, or that employees could ship vital information outward.

With Google Apps for Your Domain and other software services that are accessed through a web browser, the security issues are more subtle. Since the software and the data reside on the service provider's machines, the danger is of losing control of sensitive data, which is now in somebody else's hands. Most IT bosses find this scary. Not so Mr Sannier. He remembers a picture that Google showed him of one of its data centres burning to the ground; it looked awful. The point, however, was that no users of Google services anywhere even noticed, because Google's systems are built to be so robust that even the loss of an entire data centre does not compromise anybody's data.
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This trend could cause problems for traditional software firms such as Microsoft, Oracle and SAP. Already, start-ups such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite provide "software as a service", supplying sales-force automation, accounting, payroll and other features via the web. (Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce.com, had the idea for his firm while browsing on Amazon's online store one day. Why, he wondered, could business software not be delivered the same way?) Other firms, including Google, provide web-based e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets and databases.

Big companies will probably keep "mission critical" systems in-house. But as everything else migrates to web-based services, software will increasingly resemble the web technologies of the consumer market, says Mr Benioff. Those enterprise firms, such as his own, that follow the lead of consumer-oriented websites will do well in this environment, he argues.

Security concerns, Mr Benioff implies with a wink, are red herrings thrown by ageing IT bosses trying to justify their salaries.
Read All>>

This comment found in reaction to the Slashdot posting -

I can see many companies might have issues with the security of their documents or data being held by 3rd party companies but once that hurdle has been jumped it seems to me to make sense so long as you (the company) can still have the same control you would were you hosting the service yourself.

Really, this is just outsourcing particular aspects of your business to specialists which is something a lot of companies now have a lot of experience in.

For example, the company I'm currently working for - develop software for their own warehouses and distribution network because the success of this directly affects their ability to compete in the market - but they also have a team of people managing their mail servers and providing support for office applications which they could certainly benefit in not doing themselves provided the alternative was cheaper and as effective.

Long Slow Slide To the Bottom Nets New Growth

Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, heads an orthodox Episcopalian organization that two Virginia churches joined when they decided to leave the Episcopal Church to form a new Anglican tradition in North America. Image Credit: Richard Drew/AP

Long Slow Slide To The Bottom Nets New Growth In A Recognizable Direction (UPDATED)

In a move to re-affirm tradition, two churches become the cornerstone of a new American Anglican church effort.

This breakaway, which was prompted in reaction to recent events in The Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of global Anglicanism, will be called the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

We at MAXINE trust that this will become a growth of tradition throughout the Americas. This is NOT a vote against women and/or gays in positions of leadership within an organized religion … more, it IS a vote for a centuries old tradition to be upheld in the face of cultural changes in North America which Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria has called a "satanic attack" on the church.

This from Associated Press via Forbes -

2 Episcopal Parishes in Va. Break Away
By MATTHEW BARAKAT - Associated Press - 12.17.06, 1:21 PM ET

Two of the largest Episcopal parishes in Virginia voted overwhelmingly Sunday to break from The Episcopal Church and join fellow Anglican conservatives forming a rival U.S. denomination.

Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church plan to place themselves under the leadership of Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who has called the growing acceptance of gay relationships a "satanic attack" on the church.

The archbishop hopes to create a U.S. alliance of disaffected parishes called the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Truro rector Martyn Minns was consecrated a bishop in the Church of Nigeria earlier this year to lead Akinola's American outreach.

Ninety percent of Falls Church parishioners and 92 percent of Truro members who cast ballots in the last week supported cutting ties with The Episcopal Church, parish leaders said Sunday.

Six other Virginia parishes are voting this month whether to leave.

The Truro and Falls Church break is likely to spark a lengthy, expensive legal fight over the historic properties, which are worth millions of dollars.

The Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of global Anglicanism, has been under pressure from traditionalists at home and abroad since the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Reference Here>>

Additional background from The Washington Post -

Episcopal Churches To Vote on Departure
Fairfax Congregations Dismayed by Direction
By Michelle Boorstein - Washington Post Staff Writer (Staff writer Alan Cooperman, staff researcher Karl Evanzz and graphics editor April Umminger contributed to this report) - Monday, December 4, 2006; Page A01

Two of the country's largest and most historic Episcopal congregations -- both in Fairfax County -- will vote next week on whether to leave the U.S. church on ideological grounds and affiliate instead with a controversial Nigerian archbishop. The decision could lead to a bitter court battle and the loss of $25 million in property.

Many members of The Falls Church and Truro Church, as well as some conservative leaders around the country, hope a split will establish a legal structure that would make it easier for dozens more like-minded congregations to also depart the national denomination.

Some conservatives in the Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of the worldwide Anglican Communion, believe the church abandoned Scripture by installing a gay bishop in New Hampshire in 2003, among other things. Those feelings of alienation were strengthened when Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori -- who supports the New Hampshire bishop -- was elected this summer to lead the national church.

Three other churches in the 193-congregation Virginia diocese -- the nation's largest -- are also voting this month. And Saturday, the Associated Press reported that leaders of the San Joaquin, Calif., diocese voted to affirm their membership within the Anglican Communion, a slap to the U.S. church that some see as a first step toward a later vote to separate. That would be the first entire diocese to leave the mother church.

Although some orthodox congregations have been leaving since 2003 -- as some did in the 1970s, when ordinations of women began -- advocates think they are getting closer to creating a new, U.S.-based umbrella organization that would essentially compete with the Episcopal Church. And the two Fairfax churches are on the vanguard of the movement, which could lead to massive changes in the 226-year-old denomination, years of painful litigation or both.

"In one sense there is a sadness because this feels like a death," said Mary Springmann, a soft-spoken stay-at-home mother who worships at Truro and plans to vote to split when a week of voting begins Sunday. "Like someone who has been gravely ill for a long time, you keep hoping there's going to be a recovery. And at some point you realize it's not going to happen. Right now . . . there is a feeling of hope and expectancy about where God is going to lead us next. It's kind of exciting."

If the votes at The Falls Church and Truro succeed, as their leaders predict, the 3,000 active members of the two churches would join a new, Fairfax-based organization that answers to Nigerian Archbishop Peter J. Akinola, leader of the 17 million-member Nigerian church and an advocate of jailing gays. The new group hopes to become a U.S.-based denomination for orthodox Episcopalians.

How many congregations will take this route is unknown, with the likelihood of costly litigation over historic, valuable properties and bitterness infecting a holy space. Even church centrists estimate that 15 percent of U.S. Episcopalians would leave the national church if their congregations could keep their church buildings and remain in the Communion.
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Since the Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who is openly gay, was made a bishop in 2003, dozens of conservative U.S. congregations have dissolved, lost many members or gone to court with their dioceses over property as the congregations sought to leave the national church. But many traditionalists see a new phase since Jefferts Schori was elected national bishop.
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Some members of the two Fairfax churches say they are comfortable with the arrangement because Minns is their "missionary bishop." However, they know there are questions about a suburban Washington congregation technically under the leadership of Akinola, who has supported a new Nigerian law that penalizes gay activity, whether private or "a public show of same sex amorous relationship," with jail time.

Jim Pierobon, a member of The Falls Church serving as a spokesman for both Fairfax churches, said he believes Akinola is trying to ease tensions between Nigerian Anglicans and Muslims by supporting the law. That doesn't mean the leadership issue doesn't weigh on Pierobon's conscience.
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Other religious denominations have been roiled in recent years by the issue of homosexuality, but a major schism would be unprecedented in the Episcopal Church, which remained united even through the Civil War.

"The difference between the Episcopal Church and the others is that Episcopalians are really loath to split about anything," said Diana Butler Bass, a U.S. church historian who believes politics, not theology, has been driving divisions in the Episcopal Church since the 1980s. "What will win now? This politicized culture, or that old Anglican, spiritual way of being in the world?"

The size of the division in the U.S. church is hotly debated on blogs across the spectrum. About 140 dissident churches have joined a splinter group called the Anglican Mission in America, said the Rev. David C. Anderson, an orthodox advocate. After Jefferts Schori's election this summer, seven of the 111 U.S. dioceses rejected her authority. Since 2003, the U.S. church estimates that it lost nearly 115,000 members. Its membership is now about 2.3 million.

As the San Joaquin vote approached, Jefferts Schori announced Thursday she would formalize the creation of a high-ranking position to oversee the seven dissenting dioceses -- a move some saw as conciliatory, others as a last-ditch effort.

"This isn't a fun thing," said Ward LeHardy, 71, whose Northern Neck church, St. Stephens of Heathsville, plans to vote this Sunday whether to join CANA. LeHardy's family has been in the Episcopal Church for 150 years. "But it's our belief that if you believe in the Lord and you believe in what the Bible says, then you better do something. Otherwise, you're complicit."
Read All>>

UPDATE from Beliefnet, Inc.:

Truro Church rector Martyn Minns, right, addresses fellow clergymen, parishioners and members of the media Sunday, Dec 17, 2006 at the Truro Church in Fairfax, Va. Two of the largest Episcopal parishes in Virginia voted overwhelmingly Sunday to break from The Episcopal Church and join fellow Anglican conservatives forming a rival U.S. denomination. Image Credit: AP Photo/Chris Greenberg

Episcopal Split Accelerates as Va. Parishes Vote to Leave
By Daniel Burke - Religion News Service

Conservative Episcopalians' steady exodus from the Episcopal Church accelerated Sunday (Dec. 17) as eight Virginia congregations -- including two large, historic parishes -- voted to leave the national body.

The Diocese of Virginia has lost 12 congregations and about 18 percent of its average Sunday worship attendance in recent battles over homosexuality and the authority of Scripture, according to figures provided by the diocese.

The size of the breakaway parishes, their historical importance and their success at "planting" new congregations all make tremors of Sunday's split shiver through the Episcopal Church, said the Rev. Kendall Harmon.

"This is terribly significant," said Harmon, an influential conservative theologian from South Carolina. "When you lose large churches, you don't just lose an individual parish, you lose a great big part of the family."

The fight in Virginia will be closely watched by both sides -- by conservatives, to see how hard it is to cut ties with the national church; and by church lawyers, who will fight aggressively to maintain control of property.

Eight Virginia congregations announced their decision to leave Sunday. Three more are considering similar action. A looming legal scrap will determine if the diocese loses more than $27 million in property as well.

A "saddened" Virginia Bishop Peter Lee promised a fight.

"As stewards of this historic trust, we fully intend to assert the Church's canonical and legal rights over these properties," he said in a statement.

The Virginia congregations have thrust themselves to the front line of a conservative movement, in which U.S. parishes are aligning with theological allies in the wider Anglican Communion.

While conservatives make up a minority of the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church, a majority of the world's 37 other Anglican provinces agree with their belief that the Bible trumps cultural accommodations on issues like homosexuality.

Tensions in the U.S. church, mounting since the decision to ordain women three decades ago, exploded after an openly gay man was elected bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.

Since Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports the consecration of gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions, was elected in June, seven dioceses have rejected her authority. One diocese—San Joaquin, Calif.—has taken preliminary steps to leave the Episcopal Church.

Two of the breakaway Virginia parishes—The Falls Church in Falls Church and Truro Church in Fairfax City—have American roots that stretch back to the 18th century. George Washington was on the governing board, or vestry, of the Falls Church.

Now, however, they are both members of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. That church is headed by Archbishop Peter Akinola, an outspoken and powerful conservative who has publicly supported Nigeria's strict anti-gay laws.

The U.S. convocation will be headed by the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, rector of Truro Church, whom Akinola has appointed a "missionary bishop."

"(The Episcopal Church) has been our spiritual home and separating from it is very hard," Minns said in a statement. "But there is also the promise of a new day. A burden is being lifted. There are new possibilities breaking through."

The Virginia situation had been closely watched in the U.S. for several reasons, among them that Bishop Lee is known as a centrist and adept at forging consensus. His failure to do so bodes ill for the Episcopal Church, said Harmon, "If he is not able to find his way through this, it doesn't speak well for the rest of the (U.S. church)," Harmon said.

Lee took a hard line with Truro Church and Falls Church, however, which he said "have created Nigerian congregations occupying Episcopal churches."

Harmon said, "We're really dealing with what negotiators call a 'level-5' conflict.

"You have family debating whether or not you believe the family. When that happens, there's no way through it, you can't just say we'll keep eating dinner together," Harmon said.
Reference Here>>

OVERRIDING QUOTE:

"While conservatives make up a minority of the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church, a majority of the world's 37 other Anglican provinces agree with their belief that the Bible trumps cultural accommodations ..."

One wonders just how much of a "minority" actually remains throughout the Episcopal Church when the voting public here in the U.S. consistantly votes against the establishment of same-sex marriage by close to 70% vs. 30%. The mainstream media and liberal educators in our culture really want to believe that the Episcopal Church is the most "reflective" of their evolved cultural values.

MAXINE believes that the Bible "trumps" cultural accommodation.