Breaking News: Taliban says two South Korean hostages freed

BBC News and Agence France-Presse are reporting that the Taliban has freed two women among 21 South Korean hostages held in Afghanistan as a “gesture of goodwill”, a spokesman for the militia said.

“Our leadership council decided to free unconditionally and as a gesture of goodwill two women hostages who are sick,” spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said.

A second spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed, confirmed the two women had been released.

No officials, from either the South Korean embassy in Kabul or the Afghani Government, were able to confirm that any hostages had been freed.

If the women had not yet arrived at an agreed handover point, “transportation difficulty” would be the reason, Mr Ahmadi said.

“But what I can tell you is the leadership council has said they must be freed, so they’re freed,” he said.

The decision came hours after Taliban representatives concluded the first face-to-face talks with a South Korean delegation in the town of Ghazni, 140km south of Kabul.

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Minnesota Pastor Post: Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed

Thank you Phoenix Preacher for this gem from another site, Desiring God. Why is it that tragedy sometimes makes things so crystal clear?

Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed
What Do Tragedies Like This Mean for Us?

By JOHN PIPER
DesiringGod.org

At about 6 PM tonight the bridge of Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. I am writing this about three hours after the bridge fell. The bridge is located within sight of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Most of us who minister at the church cross this bridge several times a week. At this point I don’t know if any staff was on the bridge. Desiring God offices are about a mile from the bridge…

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1-800-FLOWERS Lawsuit: Texas Man’s Dirty Laundry Aired in Public…World!

This Week’s Top Scrooge – August 11, 2007   

By ALEXANDER
TheScroogeReport.com  

This one is short and sweet. Commit adultery? Don’t expect to shoot the messenger!

Apparently, Leroy Greer may not want to kill anyone from 1-800-Flowers, but he is suing the florist company for $1 million for revealing that he was cheating on his wife.

Greer said in a lawsuit filed this week in a federal court in Texas that he bought flowers for his girlfriend through 1-800-Flowers. He asked to keep his purchase private.

Greer said he was referred to the company’s privacy policy, which states that customers can ask 1-800-Flowers not to share personal information with “third parties.”

But, the lawsuit says, 1-800-Flowers sent a thank-you note to his house and his wife saw it. When she called the company, 1-800-Flowers faxed her a copy of the receipt from Greer’s secret purchase.

The receipt revealed that Greer had sent another woman a dozen long-stemmed red roses, along with a note that read, “Just wanted to say that I love you and you mean the world to me!” according to court documents.

Doht!

I don’t care that 1-800-FLOWERS may have blown their assignment. Greer’s adultery needed to be addressed sooner, but now the married couple’s wake-up call is global. Pity. Talk about airing out dirty laundry in public!

So, Mr. Leroy “Lance Romance” you are definitely This Week’s Top Scrooge. You’ll find no sympathy here, especially after filing a lawsuit.

Hmmm, biblically speaking, it seems there are consequences to our actions.

Carry on!

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Past Scrooges:

Sean Penn Takes ‘Love Thy Enemy’ to Another Level

Note to Lindsay Lohan: ‘Denial’ is Not a River in Egypt

Wrong Turn: Pope Benedict XVI Detours Salvation Through Catholic Church

More…  

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Emergency room care is no longer an issue at King-Harbor Hospital

No longer will an emergency at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital take a back seat. It will have to go elsewhere…and hopefully, grab priority care.

The emergency room of this Los Angeles hospital closed Friday and most of the rest is scheduled to shut down in two weeks as well. This as a result of a federal decision to revoke $200 million in annual funding because of ongoing lapses in care.

That’s the official statement, but I am sure the death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez on May 9th in the King-Harbor emergency room after writhing in pain on the floor for 45 minutes was the final blow.

Rodriguez may just have turned out to be a footnote in the chronicles of King-Harbor’s troubled service record, but in this corner, she is not forgotten…and the death of ignorance is still pending.

- Alexander, TheScroogeReport.com

King-Harbor fails final check, will close soon
The ER is shut down, and the rest will follow within two weeks. Reactions range from grief to relief.

Los Angeles Times

Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital shut down its emergency room Friday night and will close entirely within two weeks, a startlingly swift reaction to a federal decision to revoke $200 million in annual funding because of ongoing lapses in care.

The extraordinary developments mark an end to nearly four years of failed attempts to reform the historic institution, treasured by many African Americans as a symbol of hope and progress after the 1965 Watts riots.

Los Angeles County health services director Dr. Bruce Chernof announced the closure plan Friday afternoon, hours after the hospital learned that it had failed its final test, a top-to-bottom review by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The hospital, formerly known as King/Drew, has shown itself unable to meet minimum standards for patient care since January 2004, according to the regulators.

Effective noon Friday, the hospital declared an “internal disaster” and redirected each ambulance to one any of nine surrounding hospitals. At around About 5 p.m., staff members posted notices saying the emergency room was closed to walk-in patients.

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Related:

Emergency at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital Takes a Back Seat

Oslo police not so happy with the ‘Good News’

Fined for preaching from the Bible on the streets of Oslo, pastor takes his battle to Norway and European court system. File this under “Spiritual Battle – Europe”.

WorldNetDaily reports:

Preaching in public gets minister fined
Police tell European pastor biblical message ‘is not good’

The conviction and $1,500 fine for a street preacher who feels his calling is to share the gospel on the streets of Oslo, Norway, has been upheld by an intermediate court, and an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights is likely, according to the International Human Rights Group.

IHRG President Joel Thornton told WND in an e-mail from Norway that he’d been advised the court ruling, to be released soon, will affirm the discipline against Petar Keseljevic, who describes himself as the first street preacher in Norway.

He was in the city’s downtown area on June 29 and 30, and on the second day was arrested for delivering a gospel message, even though he’d been told by city officials he could exercise his free speech rights on the public sidewalks without a permit, Thornton told WND.

He was released after a few hours, and fined 9,000 Kroners, about $1,500, then appealed, and the IHRG got involved.

“He is a strong Christian brother who has a very definite calling to preach the gospel on the streets of Oslo – his hometown,” Thornton said. “He preaches a very sound biblical message about the sin of man and the need to repent and turn to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I found Petar’s enthusiasm to be infectious.”

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