Quakers On the News 1.15.2008

Dear Friend,

Welcome back to another edition of QIN. You’ve most likely seen Quakers in the News, (QiN) and Quakers Behind the News (QiNBHN). Now we present – QiNON, a new service extension of the QiN family. The new year of 2008 brings news of import to all Friends.

IFC (Instituto para el Futuro Cuáquero)

Topping this period’s news is the groundbreaking minute by the IFC (Instituto para el Futuro Cuáquero), or the Mexican branch of the North American ‘Quaker Institute for the Future’. See the minute coming from this historic summit in Veracruz, the bustling port on the Caribbean in 12^th Month 2007.
Please see: Instituto para el Futuro Cuáquero

New York Quarterly Meeting (New York City)

The minute - Peace with the Earth itself! makes reference to the above IFC minute. Most people know that anything under the 4^th floor in Manhattan within 50 years will be underwater. Read about NYQM’s latest minute.
Please see: New York Quarterly Meeting

FGC – Friends General Conference is now: QABC Witness

Now that the former FGC no longer relies on Friends for its financial support…
Please see: QABC Witness

FUM – What many don’t know about Friends United Meeting.
Please see: FUM

American Friends Service Committee

See how AFSC is in the business of changing the world…
Please see: AFSC

Friends Committee on National Legislation

It’s latest query - What are we supposed to do that everyone hasn’t already heard?
Please see: FCNL

Friends Journal – Church and State

Make sure also to link to the new edition of Friends Journal, where a Friend writes a featured essay….
Please see: FJ

In Friendship,

The Editor

IFC (Instituto para el Futuro Cuáquero)

Topping this period’s news is the groundbreaking minute by the IFC (Instituto para el Futuro Cuáquero), or the Mexican branch of the North American ‘Quaker Institute for the Future’. See the minute coming from this historic summit in Veracruz, the bustling port on the Caribbean in 12^th Month 2007.

The minute reminds Friends that it is not merely enough to issue minute after minute against global warming, but rather continue what Friends have been historically famous for – to stand for the most progressive action in the world – that other people should do.

Please see IFC’s dictum to force affordable housing construction in New Orleans, USA to be built as if it will be under water in the next 20 years. (Hint: It will be.)

Friends Journal

Friends Journal – Church and State

Make sure also to link to the new edition of Friends Journal, where a Friend writes a featured essay in a magazine of fewer and fewer subscribers as the boutique publication goes further and further out on a limb. You think your local Quaker meeting has lost its way? Check out this magazine for the ultimate in touchy-feely absurdity.

The newest feature is about the separation of conservative church and state. (Hint: It’s OK for liberal Quakers to lobby the federal government for a liberal agenda and get Democrats elected, but not for conservative Christians to do the opposite.)

Why does this publication continue to look for bequests and bequeaths instead of publishing material that speaks to the core of Quakerism? Hmmm..

New York Quarterly Meeting

New York Quarterly Meeting minute - Peace with the Earth itself!

Think New York YEARLY Meeting is screwed up? How about New York QUARTERLY Meeting – awash in more money than it knows what to do with. NYQM probably has as much money as Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Inevitably then, NYQM poseurs do a perennial soft shoe around the big pot o’ money that Harry Helmsley set up for them – before they disowned him in the 1970s. (So like Samuel Caldwell said, Quakers can inherit as much money as they want, but they're not allowed to actually make it.)

Of course New York YEARLY Meeting is also one of those constantly circling for a big handout – to continue its unattached, unaccountable existence. See how ludicrous New York Quarterly Meeting has become when it approved a minute brought forward by the East Village Radical – the once flagship group – the 15^th Street Monthly Meeting.

http://nyqm.org/docs/QM-MinutesJuly14-2007.pdf

New York Quarterly Meeting (New York City Friends) has issued another minute recently which says that Friends Seminary, the $30,000 per year, movie-star alma mater posh downtown elitist, formerly Quaker institution, will be divested from Friends’ ownership, as well as detached from its physical foundation and moved directly across town to a submerged footing under the East River.

In other words, it will be built as if it were Atlantis (see above article on IFC) – because no matter how many minutes we approve on Global Warming – and all the hours and hours of meaningless wordsmithing we accomplish in our 6 hour Quarterly Meetings about the need to escape the dangerous Alpha rays – these feel-good-for-the-16-same-old-same-olds-attending, wastes-of-time, won’t change what is going to happen anyway. Most people know that anything under the 4th floor in Manhattan within 50 years will be underwater anyway.

Friends also heard and approved a proposal and plan to utilize the moon’s tides (4+ knots at maximum ebb or flood) to drive reversible underwater turbines for electricity, and for water and air purification. The turbines would also power the pods bringing children, teachers, administrators and Chinese food deliveries to the school – which should enter a very Quietest inward-looking period once submerged.

Friends General Conference

FGC – Friends General Conference now is: QABC Witness

Now that the former FGC no longer relies on Friends for its financial support, and it probably is not a ‘religious government’ in the spirit of decentralized decision-making and financial support – why the heck does it even exist other than to pay rent or taxes in a nice loft in downtown Philadelphia?

To divert from that nagging question, and in the continuing subterfuge to distance east coast un-programmed Friends from ‘those Christians’ out west an in other countries – FGC is now: QABC Witness. What is A.B.C. you ask? Just like the television network – Anything But Christian - of course.

As in FUM below, let’s ask formerly FGC to publish their detailed financial statements and show us where their income comes from and where their expenses go?

Friends United Meeting

FUM – Many don’t know that Friends United Meeting somewhat ineptly floated the ‘gay’ directive to try and distract from the basic integrity issues and non-transparent religious government and ridiculous paid positions both at home and abroad, that it has maintained for years. And you Americans think I mean the Africans? No chance.

Wanna fix the world – start at home. Where does FUM publish its financial statements? Let’s start there, Friends. Let’s give the operating budget and balance sheet a good combing over like some might still be doing at New York Yearly Meeting. (a member of FGC and FUM)

American Friends Service Committee

American Friends Service Committee – our new Initiative!

Read: A.F.S.C – Why we need to maintain our six-figure salary jobs and labor union no matter what it is we’re doing! http://afsc.org/pull-the-wool-over-your-eyes-wide-open (even when there is nothing left of Friends’ financial or human support)

See how AFSC is in the business of changing the world – or what’s left of it. This, as long as they can keep polarizing the country, calling themselves ‘Quakers’ when they get in a tight spot politically, increasing the budget and maintaining jobs - year after year after year.

The $45MM AFSC annual budget includes adding a special frequency to the local area network in 2008 at 1515 Cherry Street, to boost the signal from the free Philadelphia Wireless Internet initiative, making any human who comes into contact with the boosted LAN frequency – a political liberal, and a non-Christian.

A special wireless mind-control adapter with the same capability is planned to be supplied also to 1216 Arch Street a few blocks away. (The home of Friends General Conference and Friends Journal).

Swarthmore and Haverford Colleges on the outskirts of town are also considering their own wireless booster adapters at some unknown future date - although some have said that these were in fact – invented and the prototypes produced – in the technology department at ultra-liberal Swarthmore.

Think Philadelphia is a backward hell-hole living in the shadow of New York? Guess again.

Friends Committee on National Legislation

What are we supposed to say that everyone hasn’t already heard?

The FCNL, as the AFSC’s younger brother, for years is stuck in the front seat next to the driver, while his big sister is in the back of the liberal limousine partying it up with all the big money. Maybe the next president and congress will do us a favor and get rid of Washington lobbying groups.

The $3.5MM annual budget for 2008 includes an appropriation for new and exciting bumper stickers and lawn placards in hot pink, saying – War: What is it good for? Nuthin’ Good God Y’All - and the computer automated changing of voice mail messages to make it seem like employees actually had to change the outgoing messages themselves - during their ‘busy’ schedules writing position papers.

We've all heard of the FCNL's 'green' initiative - what many Friends don't know is that they've also come to consensus to actually turn out the lights when no one is home.