Notices by Ji Fu (fu@libranet.de), page 2

$22 million city property tax referendum will go to Madison voters in November

!Wisconsin Wisconsin State Journal Local News: $22 million city property tax referendum will go to Madison voters in November#referendums #psephology #elections #politicalevents #democracy #government #accountability #voting #groupdecision-making #politics #directdemocracy #parliamentaryprocedure #satyarhodes-conway #referendum #politicallaw #politicsoftheunitedstates #unitedstates #tax #governmentfinances #economy #publicfinance #payments
$22 million city property tax referendum will go to Madison voters in November madison.com/news/local/governm…

♲ @robin1@diaspora.psyco.fr: ♲ squeet.me/display/962c3e10-739… @danie10@squeet.me:

Proton VPN adds ‘Discreet Icons’ to hide app on Android devices and adds more servers for countries with lack of freedoms

gadgeteer.co.za/proton-vpn-add…
One of the stand-out features is ‘Discreet Icon,’ a new setting allowing users to disguise the Proton VPN app icon and make it appear as a weather, notes, or calculator app.

In countries governed by oppressive authoritarian regimes where many VPN tools, including Proton VPN, are banned, random physical checks performed by law enforcement on people’s devices could get them into trouble if a VPN app is found on their apps list.

The second highlighted feature is the addition of the ‘Stealth’ anti-censorship protocol to Proton VPN’s Windows client. This protocol allows users to disguise VPN traffic as regular internet traffic. Previously, the protocol was available on iOS, macOS, and Android.

Proton VPN will start providing new servers in the twelve countries at the bottom of the Freedom House Index and Democracy Index lists, where people need a trustworthy VPN more urgently. These countries are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.

Interestingly, the servers are not situated inside these countries, but in neighbouring countries, and simulates an IP address of the target country.

It’s clear that Proton’s philosophy is quite divergent from Google’s philosophy. Google may provide services for “free” but it is using its users’ information to serve adverts and working with advertisers. Proton takes the opposite path by charging users for the services, but then providing them with privacy and not working with advertisers. It is good to see, though, that Proton is still providing a pretty robust free VPN service to users (whilst I think Google just recently discontinued their VPN service).

The thing to remember is that privacy does not go hand in hand with free services, as someone has to pay the bills or donate the time/resources.

See bleepingcomputer.com/news/secu… bleepingcomputer.com/news/secu…
#Blog libranet.de/search?tag=Blog

What Did the Early Christians Believe About Baptism?

What Did the Early Christians Believe About Baptism?

libranet.de/photos/fu/image/33…

Everett Ferguson, a Protestant elder, biblical scholar, and Church historian, has written what’s perhaps the definitive work on the subject, Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. Ferguson spends hundreds of pages carefully combing through the evidence to expose the first five hundred years’ worth of Christians thought about baptism.

His findings are neatly summarized on page 854:

Although in developing the doctrine of baptism different authors had their particular favorite descriptions, there is a remarkable agreement on the benefits received in baptism. And these are present already in the New Testament texts. Two fundamental blessings are often repeated: the person baptized received forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The two fundamental doctrinal interpretations of baptism are sharing in the death and resurrection of Christ, with the attendant benefits and responsibilities (Rom. 6:3-4), and regeneration from above (John 3:5), with its related ideas.

Recall that St. Paul seems to treat the theology of baptism as a basic doctrine upon which the early Church (which could otherwise be so divided) was one. Ferguson’s point is that throughout the first five hundred years of the Church, we find that same unity on baptism. But what the early Christians are united around is this idea of regenerative baptism. A modern time traveler, holding to a standard Baptist or Reformed vision of baptism, would find himself at odds with all Christians everywhere on this basic doctrine during these early years.

Can this really be true?

Let’s take a closer look, particularly at those living and teaching prior to the year 200. In fact, let’s start with a question: why was Jesus baptized (Matt. 3:13-17)? This is a difficult question to answer if baptism is merely a symbolic gesture of our turning away from sin.

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Jonathan Pennington claims that it’s because “Jesus is fulfilling his role as the obedient Son of God by practicing the required righteousness of submitting to God’s will to repent.” But Pennington is aware that this view sounds obviously wrong (“how does a sinless man repent?”), so he explains: “Jesus repents not in the sense of turning from sin (our repentance necessarily includes this where his does not), but in the sense of dedicating himself to follow God’s will fully on earth.”

But that’s not how the earliest Christians understood this event. Their understanding was that this was about not a change in Jesus (either a turning from sin or a dedication to follow God’s will), but a change in baptism.

But a change from what, and to what?

Michigan disqualifies Cornel West from November ballot

!Michigan

Republicans and Democrats qualify for the ballot automatically. The West campaign did the hard work by collecting over 25,000 signatures of Michigan voters attesting they think their neighbors should have a right to vote for him, but the SOS denies that because an official in Colorado didn't dot her i's correctly. freep.com/story/news/politics/…

#bunny

♲ @HerNaneIsLola@universeodon.com: I’ve undergone a growth spurt in recent weeks but I’m told I will likely stay this size. Boo. I want to grow to giant Stay Puft marshmallows man size

WTF is the Monitor promoting this capitalist freedom denying non-free closed source SaaS as if it were a key to freedom for oppressed people? Are even they bought and paid for now?

♲ @csmonitor@press.coop: Why Russians want YouTube back

A ban on the highly popular video site evokes outcry, revealing a desire for sources of truth about the Ukraine war along with other services found on YouTube – and in free societies. #press

csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-m…

Documents Confirm Netanyahu Sabotaged Ceasefire Talks With New Demands

"nothing to see here folks"
Documents Confirm Netanyahu Sabotaged Ceasefire Talks With New Demands - News From Antiwar.com news.antiwar.com/2024/08/13/do…

No governments have legitmate rights. ground.news/article/iran-has-l… only individuals have rights.

Killing people who had nothing to do with killing people is no way to show thta killing people is wrong.

Police believe he may have been influenced by computer games

John McCain, is that you?

♲ @NewsBot@assortedflotsam.com: Teenager stabs five at outdoor cafe in Turkey bbc.com/news/articles/c24p7mgp…

#bunny

♲ @OBDsity@mastodon.thirring.org: Fini says "Who the thump left on the oven today 🥵"
Time to hide under the cool cool stairs 🫠