KZAP threatens the parties that they will not be certified without paying the fines

KZAP threatens the parties that they will not be certified without paying the fines

15 years ago

The Electoral Commission for Complaints and Submissions has warned political parties that they will not be able to enter the race for the extraordinary elections in the municipality of Istog, without paying the fines imposed on them during the last election process.

KZAP has imposed fines for violations on political parties during and after the campaign from 200 to 70.000 euros.

The head of the complaints body, Tahir Rrecaj, has warned of additional punishments for the parties that have not paid the fines. "No political entity that has not paid the fines imposed for violation will not be able to be certified for the municipal elections in Istog. Until now, no subject has paid the fine, and in addition to not being able to be certified, parties that have not respected the legal deadlines for payment will have additional penalties," Rrecaj told Radio Kosovo.

Also, officials of the Central Election Commission have asked the political parties to settle their legal obligations.

Of the imposed fines, the Democratic Party of Kosovo has 65 euros unpaid, the Democratic League 34 euros, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo close to 13 euros, the New Kosovo Alliance 10 euros and the Democratic League of Dardania 9 euros.

While the total debt of political parties according to KZAP reaches 200 thousand euros. /rtk/

https://telegrafi.com/en/kzap-threatens-parties-that-they-will-not-be-certified-without-paying-fines/

KZAP to return to radio on July 4 on 93.3

One radio station was at the front of the music explosion for a generation.It went away. Now it's back.

K-ZAP's new logo

Author: KXTV Staff

Published: 10:06 PM PDT June 11, 2015

Updated: 10:06 PM PDT June 11, 2015

Sacramento has deep rock and roll roots. All the big acts have played here, from the Rolling Stones to U2 to the Eagles.

One radio station was at the front of the music explosion for a generation.It went away.

Now it's back.

KZAP first started spinning free-form rock and roll in 1968. Free form meant the DJ's played what they wanted. A psychedelic rock tune was followed by classical, then jazz.

It was a wild ride.

For the next 20 years, especially the late 70s and early 80s, KZAP was a big part of regional radio rock right along with the rapid ascent of Tower Records.

By the early 90s, music formats changed. Radio had become heavily programmed by consultants And despite it's local popularity for a generation, in 1992, KZAP-FM 98.5 died.

Fast forward to now, 23 years later, it begins again.

Those who made KZAP a part of our lives are bringing it back to the FM dial on the 4th of July.

Dennis Newhall, a former DJ from the 70s, is part of a group breathing life back into K-ZAP.

"Several of us who spent time at K-ZAP have been frustrated in the last twenty or so years in that we don't feel the market has a station that plays, yes, classic rock, but none of the deeper tracks and new music, for example, if Tom Petty comes out with a new album and his last two were terrific, nobody plays the new tracks," said Newhall.

Newhall is front and center in this old staff photo and like the others, he couldn't let KZAP go. But what about the other what DJs? Are they also coming back?

Yes, and in numbers too, including: Jon Russell, Tim Bedore, Bob "The Godfather" Galli, Tom Cale nad Bruce Meier

K-ZAP will come back on at 93.3 on the FM dial, but as a low power station, which means it'll be heard throughout Metro Sacramento, but if you live outside that, you'll have to rely on the Internet.

"We're hoping that a lot of people are excited to hear that KZAP is back and we hope that we are close enough to the K-ZAP that you remember that you'll give us a chance," said Newhall.

The new call letters will be KZHP, but on the air it'll be referred to as "K-ZAP." It's a non-profit station so they'll be able to fund raise too. The new website for streaming is www.k-zap.org

KZAP's been silent in Sacramento for the last 23 years. Gone, but not forgotten. And now, the cat's back again.

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/kzap-to-return-to-radio-on-july-4-on-933/103-181918652

9. Interprovincial Works and Houses in Rome

304 §1. In the spirit of our fourth vow, the Society confirms its commitment to the interprovincial Roman works entrusted to it by the Holy See: the Pontifical Gregorian University and its associated institutes, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, as well as the Pontifical Russicum College, the Vatican Radio, and the Vatican Observatory, all of which are common works of the whole Society, placed directly under the superior general. Recognizing the very valuable service that these institutions have offered and continue to offer today, it calls upon major superiors who share Father General s responsibility for them to continue their help through subsidies and especially by training and offering professors and other personnel to them.

§2. Also recommended to the care of all the provinces are those other works or houses in Rome that render a service to the entire Society, such as the Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus and the international colleges of the Society in Rome.[142]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Kosovo War in Retrospect

James Goldgeier and Gorana Grgić

March 24, 2019

Commentary

Allied-Force-F16

As the campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president heats up, a key foreign policy question is whether and under what conditions candidates support the use of military force. Given the debacles in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya over the past 15 years, it is hard to imagine any Democrat who wants to secure the nomination being eager to talk about the need for military intervention except under extremely narrow circumstances.

Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton led NATO on a 78-day bombing campaign in southeastern Europe. He did so without U.N. Security Council authorization because he knew that Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council, would oppose a mission designed to protect a minority population — the Kosovar Albanians — from the threat posed by the government of Serbia, headed by Slobodan Milošević.

It was the height of America’s “unipolar moment,” a time when the United States had no doubt that its awesome military power could right wrongs in the world. Bombing from 15,000 feet, the United States suffered no military casualties. Russia was furious that the West was attacking a fellow Slavic nation. China grew apoplectic when its embassy in Belgrade was bombed due to what the Clinton administration claimed were faulty maps. However, the reactions of those two powers were largely irrelevant to U.S. decision-making.

Two decades later, it is hard to imagine a U.S. president, and certainly a Democratic president, using this level of force for humanitarian purposes, particularly without authorization from the United Nations. Nor would there be cries from Europeans to act, as there were in 2011 when the British and French pushed for the intervention in Libya. But the Kosovo War raises interesting questions for candidates running for president: Should the United States and its NATO allies have acted 20 years ago to prevent what may have been another act of genocide committed by Milošević? Would they simply stand by today under similar circumstances given current attitudes toward military intervention?

Assessing Operation Allied Force

The U.S.-led NATO operation, Allied Force, cannot be assessed in isolation from the wars that occurred on the territory of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, as well as the failures of the international community to act in preventing genocides in Srebrenica and Rwanda after the end of the Cold War. Just four years before the Kosovo intervention, the Clinton administration was jubilant after brokering a peace agreement in Dayton, Ohio, ending the nearly four-year war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This was by no means an easy feat, and it came only after the largest act of mass killing in Europe since World War II. However, while the Dayton Peace Agreement was successful in terminating the carnage in Bosnia, it failed in keeping a check on Milošević and his repression of Kosovar Albanians.

In recognizing the ethnically cleansed Republika Srpska (i.e. the Serb Republic in Bosnia), the Dayton Accords sent the wrong signal to many Albanians in Kosovo who had by that point been pursuing a campaign of non-violent resistance. Following Dayton, it seemed that an armed conflict would encourage the international community to intervene and resolve the situation sooner — creating what some have termed the moral hazard of humanitarian intervention. In addition, by the end of 1996, the West was in a partial rapprochement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led by Milošević, resulting in the normalization of diplomatic relations and lifting of trade sanctions. Yet, this was despite the fact that the government’s treatment of Kosovar Albanians continued to worsen, and there was no indication Kosovo’s autonomy, which Milošević revoked in 1989, would be re-established. In short, the stage was set for the intensification of the Serb-Albanian conflict. By February 1998, Kosovo was embroiled in a full-scale civil war.

For almost a year, the international community tried to deter Milošević’s regime from attacking the Albanian civilian population in Kosovo by imposing a range of trade and investment sanctions, asset freezes and arms and oil embargos. All of these were in vain and some even outright counterproductive, as in the case of an arms embargo on the significantly weaker Kosovar Albanian forces. As the human rights violations, large-scale displacement and death counts began to soar, and the international attempts at mediation failed, it became clear direct military intervention remained as the last resort. Yet, it was only after the first mass graves of Albanian civilians were uncovered and massacres continued in January 1999 that U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced that diplomacy combined with a credible threat of force would be the American strategy moving forward.

 

Become a Member

 

The International Contact Group, which included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, and Italy, made one final push to mediate the conflict in early February at the Rambouillet conference. The peace process ultimately failed as Milošević refused to concede to any of the terms that would see greater autonomy for Kosovo. As the Yugoslav military campaign appeared to target the civilian population in a manner reminiscent of the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina, NATO acted based on the doctrine of humanitarian intervention and launched its Operation Allied Force on March 24, 1999.

That same day, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, while arguing that the Security Council “should be involved in any decision to resort to the use of force,” also stated, “It is indeed tragic that diplomacy has failed, but there are times when the use of force may be legitimate in the pursuit of peace.” A month later, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking in Chicago, justified the war to his American audience by saying “those nations which have the power, have the responsibility.”

Was the Use of Force Necessary?

The debate over whether NATO was right to resort to the use of force after having failed to obtain a U.N. Security Council resolution which would authorize such action continues to provide plenty of fodder for international law scholars and students. Yet, given Milošević’s record until that point, the ineffectiveness of sanctions and the inability to reach a peace agreement through international mediation, there was little left on the menu of workable options. Kosovo was, in a way, the opportunity for the West to atone for its failure to prevent the genocides of the mid-1990s.

It set a precedent, however, for U.S. action regardless of support from the U.N. Security Council, and only four years later, the George W. Bush administration launched an attack with a “coalition of the willing” against Iraq for its alleged failure to give up weapons of mass destruction, in that instance ignoring not just Russian opposition but that from allies like France and Germany as well. And when Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine in 2014 and annex Crimea, he could point to the Kosovo intervention to argue he was simply acting on similar grounds to protect the Russian-speaking population next door.

Ten years ago, it would have been easier to make the case that the war was justified because Serbia looked to be on a surer path toward integration with Europe, and Kosovo was just celebrating its first anniversary as an independent state. The hope that existed then for both countries has largely evaporated. But the Kosovo War is also a reminder that post-conflict assistance is critical, and the European Union, which should have done much more to sanction corruption and democratic backsliding, as well as to offer a clearer pathway for the integration of the Western Balkans, instead largely turned a blind eye to the situation and kept its fingers crossed that everything would work out.

Back to the 2020 Presidential Race

In his Chicago speech in April 1999, Blair declared, “Twenty years ago we would not have been fighting in Kosovo. We would have turned our backs on it.” Is the same true twenty years later after America’s experiences with the use of force in the intervening years? It’s a question worth asking of candidates for whom criticism of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya comes easy. But a progressive foreign policy must have a place for the protection of human rights. And if the United States is going to be understandably more reluctant to use force than it was at the height of its power in 1999, what policies will it craft to help protect vulnerable populations, not just at home, but abroad?

Become a Member

 

Professor James Goldgeier is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and professor of international relations at the School of International Service at American University, where he served as dean from 2011 to 2017. He holds the 2018-19 Library of Congress U.S.-Russia Chair at the John W. Kluge Center. You can follow him on Twitter @JimGoldgeier.

Dr. Gorana Grgic is a jointly appointed Lecturer at the Department of Government and International Relations and the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Australia. She is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies. You can follow her on Twitter @GoranaGrgic.

A F-16 Fighting Falcon flies over Aviano Air Base, Italy, as it departs for an NATO Operation Allied Force mission in the Balkans March 27, 1999. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Mitch Fuqua)

https://warontherocks.com/2019/03/the-kosovo-war-in-retrospect/

It was while investigating the Little Rock integration incident in 1957 that I first learned of Pike’s rapid advance in Freemasonry, and knowing that Weishaupt, using Thomas Jefferson and Moses Holbrook, had infiltrated Illuminists into the Masonic Lodges of America, I decided I would find out if the fact that Pike’s mansion in Little Rock had thirteen rooms had any significance. “Thirteen’ figures prominently in Satanic, Luciferian and Cabalistic rituals, codes, and writings, etc. My investigations produced documentary evidence to show that, because of Pike’s exceptional mental ability, he came under the notice of professors in Harvard who were members of the Illuminati, who developed in his mind the ‘idea that a One World Government, a One World Religion and a One World financial and economic system was the ONLY solution to the world’s many and varied problems. I next discovered that his departure from Harvard was not due to lack of finances, or because of a misunderstanding with the faculty over tuition fees, but because of his ‘radical’ ideas and teachings. When he returned home determined that he would ‘fight’ his way to the top despite all opposition, he was in a suitable frame of mind to be recruited as a ‘Minerval’ or ‘apprentice’ into the lower degrees of the Illuminati."

Satan Prince of This World

by William Guy Carr

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hw94yTrcRzvZjNQOo8T5_w-jqL8v5IMu/view

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas. It is operated by the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission.

The largest commercial airport in Arkansas, it served more than 2.1 million passengers in the year spanning from March 2009 through to February 2010.[6] While Clinton National Airport does not have direct international passenger flights, more than 50 flights arrive or depart at Little Rock each day, with nonstop service to 14 cities.[7] The airport is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_National_Airport

The President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site is located in HOPE, Arkansas.[2] Built in 1917 by Dr. H. S. Garrett, in this house the 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton, spent the first four years of his life, having been born on August 19, 1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in HOPE, Arkansas.[3][4] The house was owned by Clinton's maternal grandparents, Edith Grisham and James Eldridge Cassidy, and they cared for him when his mother, Virginia, was away working as an anesthetist in New Orleans.[5]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_William_Jefferson_Clinton_Birthplace_Home_National_Historic_Site

Tragedy and HOPE: A History of the World in Our Time is a work of history written by former Georgetown University professor and historian Carroll Quigley. The book covers the period of roughly 1880 to 1963 and is multidisciplinary in nature though perhaps focusing on the economic problems brought about by the First World War and the impact these had on subsequent events. While global in scope, the book focuses on Western civilization."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_and_Hope

In his first year (1965) in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, Bill Clinton took Quigley's course, receiving a 'B' as his final grade in both semesters (an excellent grade in a course where nearly half the students received D or lower).[1]: 94, 96 In 1991, Clinton named Quigley as an important influence on his aspirations and political philosophy, when Clinton launched his presidential campaign in a speech at Georgetown.[1]: 96 He said he learned from Quigley that “The future can be better than the past, and that each of us has a personal, moral responsibility to make it so.” Bill Clinton told his audiences, “that is what the new choice is all about....We are not here to save the Democratic party. We are here to save the United States of America.” It was Clinton's most effective speech, and he repeated variations time and time again as the blueprint for his campaign message in winning the Democratic nomination and the general election for President of the United States in 1992.[21][22]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Quigley

Theorists also cite the inclusion of Bill Clinton at the meetings in 1991 before he was president and Tony Blair’s presence in 1993 before he became the British prime minister as examples of the group’s power. Past attendees have included former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (who will also be attending this year), former Chase Manhattan chief executive David Rockefeller, and British Prime Minister David Cameron."

Bilderberg Group: What To Know About the Secretive Meetings

https://time.com/4362872/bilderberg-group-meetings-2016-conspiracy-theories/

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner October 20, 2016 Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Henry Kissinger Gayle King Cardinal Dolan Katie Couric Chuck Schumer Mayor Bill de Blasio"

https://www.facebook.com/MariaBartiromo/posts/alfred-e-smith-memorial-foundation-dinner-october-20-2016-donald-trump-hillary-c/1353937201283479/

HOPE: all hope is to be placed in God, and with what degree of perfection [67]; eternal life alone is to be hoped for as a reward [82]; the extent to which this hope should be of assistance [288]; how hope should be shown by the dying | 595]; hope in the preservation and growth of the Society [812]. See also Faithfulness" The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms pg. 464

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Bill Clinton ‘Encouraged’ Trump to Run

SLICK WILLY

Updated Apr. 14, 2017 10:12AM EDT /

Published Aug. 05, 2015 3:33PM EDT

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/08/05/bill-clinton-encouraged-trump

I began by attending Fordham University in the Bronx, mostly because I wanted to be close to home. I got along very well with the Jesuits who ran the school, but after two years, I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best. I applied to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and I got in. At the time, if you were going to make a career in business, Wharton was the place to go. Harvard Business School may produce a lot of CEOs—guys who manage public companies— but the real entrepreneurs all seemed to go to Wharton: Saul Steinberg, Leonard Lauder, Ron Perelman—the list goes on and on."

Donald Trump The Art of the Deal

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DLcbnLrl6moQT7nGj1JitG6AiQ6qgK0y/view?usp=sharing

University of Scranton welcomes President Biden

The university has illuminated its Class of 2020 Gateway in red and blue lights.

Author: WNEP Web Staff

Published: 10:52 PM EDT October 19, 2021

Updated: 10:52 PM EDT October 19, 2021

SCRANTON, Pa. — In preparation for President Joe Biden's visit, a university lit up their lights in his honor.

The University of Scranton has illuminated its Class of 2020 Gateway in blue and red with the number 46 prominently displayed to welcome the 46th president."

University of Scranton welcomes President Biden | wnep.com

https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/university-of-scranton-welcomes-president-biden-gateway-lights/523-cdba68b1-822b-4747-94be-4cd7e4de9d67

"His son, Hunter Biden, 38, is a longtime federal lobbyist for the Jesuit university located in his father's hometown, Scranton PA. According to federal disclosures, Hunter Biden has been earning about $80,000 a year since 2006 to lobby for this university. Senator Biden himself has lectured at the Jesuit University of Scranton, and received an honorary degree from the same university, in 1976."

Codeword Barbelon

by P.D. Stuart

Trump and Harris neck-and-neck as she prepares to announce VP pick after meeting candidates Sunday: Live

Harris met with top running mate contenders Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro at her Washington DC residence

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kamala-harris-vp-pick-trump-polls-news-b2591106.html

San Francisco's 555 California St., co-owned by Trump, on lender watchlist

The beautiful, very great, big league skyscraper, still allegedly 30% owned by Donald Trump, is on a lender watchlist, according to Bloomberg

By Alex Shultz,

Politics editor, SFGATE

Updated Feb 23, 2023 3:40 p.m.

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/san-francisco-building-trump-stake-on-watchlist-17801816.php

Early life and education

Harris's childhood home at 1227 Bancroft Way in Berkeley, August 2020

Kamala Devi Harris[a] was born in Oakland, California,[3] on October 20, 1964.[4] Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan (1938–2009), was a biologist who arrived in the United States from India in 1958 to enroll in graduate school in endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley. A research career of over 40 years followed, during which her work on the progesterone receptor gene led to advances in breast cancer research.[5] Kamala's father, Donald J. Harris (1938–),[6] is an Afro-Jamaican who immigrated to the United States in 1961 and also enrolled in UC Berkeley, specializing in development economics. The first Black scholar to be granted tenure at Stanford University's economics department, he has emeritus status there.[7] Kamala's parents met in 1962 and married in 1963.[8]

The Harris family lived in Berkeley until they moved in 1966, around Kamala's second birthday. The Harrises lived for a few years in college towns in the MIDWEST where her parents held teaching or research positions:[9] Urbana, Illinois (where her sister Maya was born in 1966); Evanston, Illinois; and Madison, Wisconsin.[b][10][9][11] By 1970, the marriage had faltered, and Shyamala moved back to Berkeley with her two daughters;[12][13][9] the couple divorced when Kamala was seven.[8] In 1972, Donald Harris accepted a position at Stanford University; Kamala and Maya spent weekends at their father's house in Palo Alto and lived at their mother's house in Berkeley during the week.[14] Shyamala was friends with African-American intellectuals and activists in Oakland and Berkeley.[11] In 1976, she accepted a research position at the McGill University School of Medicine, and moved with her daughters to Montreal, Quebec.[15][16] Kamala graduated from Westmount High School on Montreal Island in 1981.[17]

Early career

In 1990, Harris was hired as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, where she was described as "an able prosecutor on the way up".[27] In 1994, Speaker of the California Assembly Willie BROWN, who was then dating Harris, appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and later to the California Medical Assistance Commission.[27] In February 1998, San Francisco district attorney Terence Hallinan recruited Harris as an assistant district attorney.[28] There, she became the chief of the Career Criminal Division, supervising five other attorneys, where she prosecuted homicide, burglary, robbery, and sexual assault cases—particularly three-strikes cases. In August 2000, Harris took a job at San Francisco City Hall, working for city attorney Louise Renne.[29] Harris ran the Family and Children's Services Division, representing child abuse and neglect cases. Renne endorsed Harris during her D.A. campaign.[30]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris

Danney Lee Williams Jr. (born December 7, 1985) is a man from Little Rock, Arkansas who claims to be the biological son of Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States.[1] Blood tests ruled out Clinton as the father.[1][2]

Background

Williams was born in 1985 to Danney Williams Sr. and Bobbie Ann Williams.

The story came to notice in the late 1990s when reporting by Newsmax led by celebrity tabloid magazine Star to commission a paternity test prove whether Williams is actually Clinton's biological son.[3] Time magazine cited Star on July 18, 1999 to say that there was no match.[4]

The story was revived in 2016 before the 2016 presidential election and pushed by a number of media outlets including Newsmax, the Drudge Report,[3] as well as WorldNetDaily,[1] and the New York Daily News.[1]

Due to some uncertainties with the original test by Star, Snopes concluded that the claim was unproven.[3] The Washington Post stated that, while the test could not prove Clinton was the father, it did conclusively rule him out as the father.[1]

On October 19, 2016, Williams' lawyers announced their intentions to file a paternity suit to prove that Clinton's DNA matched Williams'.[5] Williams wrote to Monica Lewinsky asking for her dress in order to obtain a sample of Clinton's DNA. However, Lewinsky never replied to Williams.[6] A partial analysis of Clinton's blood, and thus his DNA, was already part of the public record because of the Lewinsky affair investigation.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danney_Williams

Donald Jasper Harris, OM (born August 23, 1938) is a Jamaican-American economist and emeritus professor at Stanford University, known for applying post-Keynesian ideas to development economics.[2] He was a scholar granted tenure in the Stanford Department of Economics, and he is the father of Kamala Harris, the 49th vice president of the United States and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, and of Maya Harris, a lawyer, advocate and writer.

Harris was raised in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, earning a bachelor's degree from the University College of the West Indies and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He held professorships at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, and University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining Stanford University as professor of economics.

Harris's 1978 book Capital Accumulation and Income Distribution critiques mainstream economic theories, using mathematical modeling to propose an alternative model for thinking about the effects of capital accumulation on income inequality, economic growth, instability, and other phenomena. He has worked extensively on analysis and policy regarding the economy of Jamaica.[3] He served in Jamaica, at various times, as economic policy consultant to the government and as economic adviser to successive prime ministers.[4][5][6] In 2021, he was awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit, the country's third-highest national honor, for his "contribution to national development".[4][7]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_J._Harris

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

Born in New York City, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He became the president of his family's real estate business in 1971, renamed it the Trump Organization, and began acquiring and building skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He launched side ventures, many licensing the Trump name, and filed for six business bankruptcies in the 1990s and 2000s. From 2004 to 2015, he hosted the reality television show The Apprentice, bolstering his fame as a billionaire. As the Republican nominee, Trump won the 2016 presidential election against the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

During his first term, Trump imposed a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, expanded the U.S.–Mexico border wall, and enforced a family separation policy on the border. He rolled back environmental and business regulations, signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and appointed three Supreme Court justices. In foreign policy, Trump withdrew the U.S. from agreements on climate, trade, and Iran's nuclear program, and initiated a trade war with China. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020, he downplayed its severity, contradicted health officials, and signed the CARES Act. After losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Trump attempted to overturn the result, culminating in the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021. Trump was impeached in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and in 2021 for incitement of insurrection; the Senate acquitted him both times. After his first term, scholars and historians ranked him as one of the worst presidents in American history.

Trump is the central figure of Trumpism, and his faction is dominant within the Republican Party. Many of his comments and actions have been characterized as racist or misogynistic, and he has made false and misleading statements and promoted conspiracy theories to a degree unprecedented in American politics. Trump's actions, especially in his second term, have been described as authoritarian and contributing to democratic backsliding. In 2023, Trump was found liable in civil cases for sexual abuse and defamation and for business fraud, and in 2024, he was found guilty of falsifying business records, making him the first U.S. president convicted of a felony. After winning the 2024 presidential election against Kamala Harris, Trump was sentenced to a penalty-free discharge, and two felony indictments against him were dismissed.

Trump began his second term by pardoning around 1,500 January 6 rioters and initiating mass layoffs of federal workers. He imposed tariffs on nearly all countries and began trade wars with Canada, Mexico, and China. Many of his administration's actions, including his unprecedented use of executive orders, have drawn lawsuits challenging their legality. His defiance of court orders and a claimed right to disobey the courts raised fears among legal experts of a constitutional crisis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

Remarks by President Trump at the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning Ceremony

Issued on: November 26, 2019

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Rose Garden

2:22 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Please.  And it’s always nice to begin by saying: The stock market is up again.  We just set another record, so we should say that.  Very substantially up.  (Applause.)  And I think that’s 132 times that we’ve set a record from the time we got elected on that very great day.  But it’s — it’s good to know.  A lot of people are very happy.

We’re doing well.  Our country is doing very well.  And the First Lady and I are delighted to welcome you all to the White House on this magnificent autumn day.  On behalf of the entire Trump family, I wish each and every one of you a very happy Thanksgiving.  It’s going to be a great Thanksgiving.

We’re glad to be joined today by Representatives David Rouzer and Jason Smith and a man who has done an — and, I have to say, they are warriors.  They have all been great warriors.  Mark Meadows, thank you very much.  The three of you, please stand up.  They are warriors — (applause) — and great people.  And Deb, thank you very much for being here.  Thank you.

Thanks also to the President of the National Turkey Federation, Joel Brandenberger; and its Chairman, Kevrin [Kerry] Doughty, who is here with his family and his wife, Jan.  Where is Ker- — Jan, thank you very much.  Please, stand up for what you do.  He’s also the head of Butterball — the Chairman of Butterball.  (Applause.)  That’s the biggest there is.  Great job.  And we appreciate your involvement.  Thank you very much.

As we gather this week with loved ones across our beautiful land, we give thanks to God for the many gifts that he has bestowed upon us.  Today, we also come together to honor the beautiful, feathered friend — the noble turkey.  Now, that’s a beauty.

It’s said that Abraham Lincoln was the first President to spare a Thanksgiving turkey, at the request of his son.  In 1947, President Harry Truman accepted the first annual National Thanksgiving Turkey.  In the decades that followed, Presidents, from Kennedy to Reagan, would show mercy —

(The turkey gobbles.)

See?  (Laughter.)  Wow.  That’s a strong bird.

— to their birds, but it was George H.W. Bush who first issued an official pardon.

In keeping with that tradition, today I will issue a pardon to a pair of very handsome birds: Butter and his alternate, Bread.  (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s true.  Look at you.

Their names were chosen by the students of Harrells Christian Academy in North Carolina.  Great state.

Bread and Butter were raised in Tar Heel State by farmer Wellie Jackson, who’s here with us with his wife Tara and their lovely family.  And I want to thank you very much.  Great job.  Great job.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

Thankfully, Bread and Butter have been specially raised by the Jacksons to remain calm under any condition, which will be very important because they’ve already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff’s basement on Thursday.  (Laughter and applause.)  It’s true.   Hundreds of people have.  It seems the Democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey.  (Laughter.)

But, Bread and Butter, I should note that. unlike previous witnesses, you and I have actually met.  (Laughter.)  It’s very unusual.  (Applause.)  Very unusual.

In any event, I expect this pardon will be a very popular one with the media.  After all, turkeys are closely related to vultures.  I don’t know if I like that line, but there is a little truth to it.

But today, after, the birds will retire to “Gobbler’s Rest” at Virginia Tech — great college — where they will be cared for and enjoy a terrific life.

This Thanksgiving, we bow our heads in gratitude for the newfound prosperity and spirit that’s taking place all across America.  The country has never been more successful.  Our military has been rebuilt.  We captured the number-one terrorist in the world and killed the number-one terrorist in the world — al-Baghdadi.  And I want to thank our military because there’s nothing like our military.  (Applause.)

And I want to thank almighty God for the — shedding his grace on our nation.  Our nation is special and we especially send our love to members of the United States Armed Forces serving all around the world.  We are forever thankful for those who wear our nation’s uniform and the families who support them.  The families are so important.  They can never be the same without those great families.  Because of their selfless service, millions of our follow Americans are celebrating another wonderful Thanksgiving in safety and in peace.

And it’s just a very special country, a very special place — the Rose Garden at the White House.  If you’re looking back here, that’s the Oval Office.  Some of you haven’t been here before.  But every time we walk onto the grounds of the White House, we realize how special it is.

So now we reach the moment Bread and Butter have been waiting for so patiently — their presidential pardons.  Melania and I wish all Americans a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  We love you all.

Butter, let’s talk to you for a second because I’m going to do something that you’re going to be very happy about.  Uh oh, that looks like a dangerous bird.  (Laughter.)  It just escaped.

Wow.  Butter, I wish you a lot of luck.  But I hereby grant you a full and complete pardon.  (Applause.)  Good.  Full and complete.  (Applause.)

Thank you all very much.  That was great.  A lot of fun.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.

END                2:29 P.M. EST

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-national-thanksgiving-turkey-pardoning-ceremony-3/

FBI Attempts to Hold Sibel Edmonds' Book Hostage

Published on April 10, 2012

FBI Attempts to Hold Sibel Edmonds’ Book Hostage

Agency Used Contracts to Censor Whistleblowers

Washington, D.C. April 10, 2012. Today, the National Whistleblowers Center (NWC) revealed that the FBI required employees to sign employment contracts that are illegal under Federal law. The NWC launched the investigation in response to a nearly year long campaign by the FBI to prevent the publication of whistleblower Sibel Edmonds’ new book, Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story.

On April 26, 2011, Ms. Edmonds followed official procedure and submitted her manuscript to the FBI for pre-publication clearance. Under the terms of her employment agreement and controlling regulations, the FBI was required to review and approve the submission within thirty (30) days. Instead of complying with the law, the FBI intentionally stalled the approval process for over 341 days and has still refused to “clear” the book for publication.

Ms. Edmonds will speak today for the first time about the FBI’s attempts to suppress her book. The interview will be aired live at 1:30pm ET on Honesty Without Fear, and the podcast will also be available for download.

The NWC is also releasing documentation confirming that the FBI required employees, including Ms. Edmonds, to sign the illegal contracts that allowed the FBI to censor issues of “public policy” it found embarrassing. According to Ms. Edmonds attorney, Stephen M. Kohn, “the controlling law strictly limits government’s ability to censor its employees. Agencies like the FBI may require pre-publication review of its employees’ writings, but may only censor classified or secret information. The government may not censor books or other writings on ‘policy’ grounds. The FBI’s employment contract with Ms. Edmonds is overreaching and illegal.”

Additional documents (linked below) demonstrate that the agency acted illegally to prevent Ms. Edmonds from publishing a manuscript that might embarrass the agency.

The book in question, Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story, discusses Ms. Edmonds’s experience as an FBI Language Specialist who discovered and blew the whistle on serious security breaches and cover-ups at the Washington Field Office. The FBI fired Ms. Edmonds for making protected disclosures about the misconduct she observed and later invoked the “state’s secret” privilege to suppress her story.

An independent investigation by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General confirmed her allegations and the illegality of her termination. However, the Bush administration invoked the state secrets privilege in 2002 in order to have Ms. Edmonds’ whistleblower claims dismissed and to protect the government from embarrassment.In recognition of her work to expose intelligence failures, Ms. Edmonds received the 2006 First Amendment Award, presented by the PEN American Center and Newman’s Own.

Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, also stated:

The FBI must stop harassing Sibel Edmonds. The law is crystal clear on the government’s ability to censor federal employees and contractors. When reviewing their writings, the government has the single ability to strike classified or secret information. The government may not censor a book based on “policy.” Here, the FBI has invented new powers for itself, violating the Constitution. Congress should investigate all employment agreements drafted by the FBI to ensure that they are legal and not designed to censor speech protected under the First Amendment.

https://www.whistleblowers.org/news/fbi-attempts-to-hold-sibel-edmonds-book-hostage/

Books: 1. In general: the extent to which they are to be allowed for the private use of Ours [372, 373]; specifically, in the colleges of Ours [372]. See also Library; Publishing books and other scholarly works 2. Administrative: in which are to be recorded: possessions brought by novices and certain of their declarations [57, 200]; the names of those who pronounce vows [530, 545] 3. To be read in the schools: see Authors 4. The writing thereof: see Writing of books;Writers 5. Publication thereof: see Publishing books and other scholarly works

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“Index of Forbidden Books”) was established by the Roman Catholic Church in 1559 in an attempt to combat the spread of some of the writings of the Protestant Reformation. The first printed Index included a prohibition against the “Bible in Castilian Romance or any other vulgar tongue,” a ban that remained in force until the 18th century. Many books deemed heretical or threatening to the faith were destroyed or hidden as a result of the Index and the inquisitions, and hundreds of printers took flight to Switzerland and Germany.

Some of the outcome, and much of the enforcement, of the Council of Trent was in the hands of newly established religious orders, above all the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, founded in 1534 by St. Ignatius of Loyola and officially established by the papacy in 1540. Unlike the Benedictine monks or the Franciscan and Dominican friars, the Jesuits swore special obedience to the pope and were specifically dedicated to the task of reconstructing church life and teaching in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation. They thus came to be called the “shock troops of the Counter-Reformation.”

Education was foremost in the minds of many of the leaders of the Counter-Reformation, Jesuit or otherwise, and seminaries multiplied to prepare the clergy for a more austere life in the service of the church. There was a flowering of utopian ideas; writings such as La città del sole (“The City of the Sun”) by Tommaso Campanella and La repubblica immaginaria (“The Imaginary Republic”) by Lodovico Agostini are examples of this new vision of the church and of the duties of Christians. Although the Jesuits were not specifically a teaching order, they were nevertheless very important in this field and became especially active in scholarship and education. The first Jesuit college was opened in Messina, Sicily, in 1548. By 1615 the Jesuits had 372 colleges, and by 1755—just 18 years before the suppression of the order—the number had risen to 728. (The society was not reestablished until 1814.) The Jesuits were also involved in the education of the nobility, and through their pupils they sometimes wielded as great an influence in affairs of state as they did in affairs of the church.

Another major emphasis of the Counter-Reformation was an ongoing missionary endeavour in parts of the world that had been colonized by predominantly Roman Catholic countries, such as Spain and Portugal. Although the Jesuits were by no means the only religious order in the foreign missions of the church, their responsibility for regaining outside Europe the power and territory that the church had lost within Europe as a result of the Protestant Reformation made them the leading force in the Christianization of newly discovered lands. The work of such men as St. Francis Xavier and others in Asia and of missionaries in the New World was rewarded with millions of baptisms, if not true conversions.

There were also attempts to reconvert areas of the world that had once been Roman Catholic—e.g., England and Sweden. Most of the “German lands” in which Luther had worked remained Protestant after his death in 1546, but major territories, above all Bavaria and Austria, were regained for Roman Catholicism by the end of the 16th century. The Wars of Religion between 1562 and 1598 regained France for the Roman Catholic cause, though the Edict of Nantes (1598) granted a limited toleration to the Protestants; it was revoked in 1685. Perhaps the most complete victory for the Counter-Reformation was the restoration of Roman Catholic domination in Poland and in Hussite Bohemia. In Italy, Spain, and the southern Netherlands (the future Belgium), Protestant influence was also largely destroyed."

https://www.britannica.com/event/Counter-Reformation/Inquisition

https://www.facebook.com/SibelNewsbud/posts/pfbid02TUhjY1ZDeZKxbu6otkrU3XEnFkrtnZ58bwiYEGzhYzYWKgkdhzZmvDZWfBEjj13Ql

At least some deities received daily offerings of bread or flour, as attested in Hattusa and Nuzi.[62] One well known type of Hurrian offerings was keldi, translated as "peace offering"[137] or "goodwill offering."[138] It is also assumed that many monthly or seasonal festivals were observed by Hurrians, but very few of them are well documented, one exception being the hišuwa festival from Kizzuwatna, possibly originally celebrated in Syria.[62] It was meant to guarantee good fortune for the royal couple.[139] Deities who received offering during it included "Teššub Manuzi," Lelluri, Allani, Išḫara, two manifestations of Nupatik (pibithi - "of Pibid(a)" and zalmathi - "of Zalman(a)/Zalmat") and the Anatolian goddess Maliya.[139] Another Kizzuwatnean festival, which was dedicated to Išḫara, took place in autumn.[140]

A Hurrian ritual calendar is attested in documents from Nuzi.[141] In the earliest sources from the third millennium BCE, when the city was known as Gasur, the local calendar was similar to these from Ebla, Mari, Abu Salabikh and Eshnunna, and the month names used at the time originate in Semitic languages.[142] However, after Hurrians settled in the city, they started to use one of their own, which in some cases could be combined with the old calendar, as evidenced by a document combining month names from both into a sequence.[141] The Hurrian month names in Nuzi were Impurtanni, Arkuzzi, Kurilli, Šeḫali ša dIM (the logogram stands for the name of the god Teššub, while šeḫali might mean "festival"), Šeḫali ša Nergal, Attanašwe, Šeḫlu (followed by a month whose name is not preserved), Ḫuru, Mitirunni (mitirunnu was a festival involving a parade of divine statues) and Ḫutalši.[143] Only the names of a few of the etymologically non-Hurrian months are preserved: Ḫiaru (second; the name refers to a festival also known from northern and western Mesopotamia), Ḫinzuru (third), Tamūzu (fourth), Ulūlu (sixth), Sabūtu (seventh, as indicated by the name), Kinūnu (ninth; the name refers to a festival focused on a ritual brazier), Ḫegalla, Qarrāti and Ḫamannu (position in the calendar unknown).[144] Some Hurrian month names, including a possible cognate of Attanašwe, Atanatim, are also known from Alalakh.[145]

It is possible that Attanašwe, "month of the fathers," was connected to the cult of deceased ancestors, which is well documented in Nuzi.[34] Families apparently owned figurines representing their spirits.[34] In the west, references to "gods of the fathers," enna attanewena, can be found,[146] but it is not clear if they refer to similar customs,[34] and it is possible this term instead referred to nebulously defined ancestors of deities.[147] Funerary rites and other burial practices are poorly represented in known sources.[148] It possible that the term karašk-, known from one of Tushratta's letters to the Egyptian pharaoh referred to a type of mausoleum meant to honor a deceased relative.[148] A single text from Ugarit alludes to the dead being led to their destination by Nupatik, seemingly acting as a psychopomp in this case.[149]

Ritual texts are commonly accompanied by instructions pertaining to music which was supposed to be performed during celebrations, both choral and instrumental.[150] While some contain what is most likely the oldest instance of written musical notation, its decipherment is difficult.[151] One well known example of such a Hurrian hymn comes from Ugarit and is dedicated to Nikkal.[152] A genre of Hurrian songs whose name, zinzabuššiya, is derived from that of an unidentified bird, was associated with the worship of Šauška according to Hittite documents.[96]

Divination is well attested as an element of Hurrian religious practice.[153] Its most commonly employed method combined an inquiry aimed at a specific deity with extispicy, the examination of an animal's entrails.[64] Hepatoscopy, or examination of the liver, is mentioned particularly often.[154] A similar practice is known from Mesopotamia, where the examination of a sheep's liver was commonly understood as a way to gain answers to questions directed as the gods Shamash and Adad.[64] A method of divination involving a specific type of bird, the mušen hurri (Akkadian: "the cave bird" or perhaps "the Hurrian bird," possibly a shelduck or rock partridge) is also known, but it remains uncertain what this procedure entailed.[154]

Hurrian incantations are also well known, though they are often difficult to interpret, and many known examples are unprovenanced.[155] They were imported into Mari and Babylonia as early as in the Old Babylonian period.[155] A well-preserved corpus of such texts is also known from Hattusa.[155] Kizzuwatna was most likely the source of many incantations and other similar formulas.[155] Two examples are the itkalzi ("mouth-washing"[156]) and itkahi series of purification rituals.[155] It has been argued that the former most likely reflect a Mitanni tradition.[157]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurrian_religion

Are you looking for a gift before the TRUMP INAUGURATION?

We’re very pleased to announce the release of the Official 2025 Trump Calendar!

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. >

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https://secure.winred.com/trump-national-committee-jfc/lp-hf-email-2025-trump-calendar-v2?utm_medium=email&utm_source=lp_lp_hf&utm_campaign=20241107_tnc_trumpcalendar-v2_hf_dtrump_lp&utm_content=donate&_nlid=VSsY9unVth&_nhids=dl0kiYzAZb

Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (27 April 1941 – 20 October 2024) was a Turkish Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement[8][9] who as of 2016 had millions of followers.[10] Gülen was an influential neo-Ottomanist,[11] Anatolian panethnicist,[clarification needed][12][13] Islamic poet, writer,[14] social critic, and activist–dissident developing a Nursian theological perspective[15] that embraces democratic modernity.[13] Gülen was a local state imam from 1959 to 1981[16][17] and he was a citizen of Turkey until his denaturalization by the Turkish government in 2017.[18] Over the years, Gülen became a centrist political figure in Turkey prior to his being there as a fugitive. From 21 March 1999 until his death on 20 October 2024, Gülen lived in self-exile in the United States near Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.[19][20][21]

Gülen said his social criticisms are focused upon individuals' faith and morality and a lesser extent toward political ends,[22] and self described as rejecting an Islamist political philosophy, advocating instead for full participation within professions, society, and political life by religious and secular individuals who profess high moral or ethical principles and who wholly support secular rule, within Muslim-majority countries and elsewhere.[23] Gülen was described in the English-language media as an imam "who promoted a tolerant Islam which emphasises altruism, hard work, and education" and as "one of the world's most important Muslim figures".[24][25]

In 2003, a number of Gülen movement participants allied with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's right wing Justice and Development Party (AKP), providing the AKP political and sorely-needed administrative support.[26][27][28] This political alliance worked together to weaken left-of-center Kemalist factions, but fractured in 2011. Turkish prosecutors accused Gülen of attempts to overthrow the government by allegedly directing politically motivated corruption investigations by Gülen-linked investigators then in the judiciary,[29][30] who illegally wiretapped the executive office of the Turkish president,[9] and Gülen's alleged instigations of the 2016 coup attempt.[31][32] Gülen denied the accusations.[33][34]

A Turkish criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Gülen in 2016,[35][36] and Turkey demanded his extradition from the United States.[37][38][39] U.S. government officials did not believe he was associated with any terrorist activity, and requested evidence to be provided by the Turkish government to substantiate the allegations in the warrant requesting extradition, frequently rejecting Turkish calls for his extradition.[40][41][42]

Gülen was wanted as a terrorist leader in Turkey[43] and Pakistan,[44] as well as by the OIC[45][46] and GCC.[47]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fethullah_G%C3%BClen

Page 1 of 1

Shelton James M Civ OO-ALC/CCD

From: Dunn Susan L Civ 309 EMXG/QPQC Thursday, May 11, 2006 11:15 AM

Sent:

To:

Shelton James M Clv OO-ALC/CCD Subject: Consideration for another remedy.

Mr. Shelton;

I've thought about the compensatory damages, I have done some research on the EEOC web and have read some law articles.

That doesn't make me an expert by a long shot, but considering that my heart problems and blood pressure has soared since

I was reassigned to this area, due to an overt hostile environment intentionally created on purpose by my management, and

I have had to have surgery and had quite a lot of tests run and the cost of the medications, with this in mind, I would request

that 200 hours of sick leave be restored to me, and $5,000 to $10,000 in damages for pain and suffering from the mental

anguish.

I heard your message this morning, and it took me awhile this morning to respond as I was pondering

this notion.

So an afternoon appointment like 1,2, 3 p.m. today would be ok with me to sign the paperwork again. Thank you for your messages this morning.

Susan Dunn

309 EMXG/QPQC Program Management Spee. USI/UCI/LSET/SAV/ Action Plans DSN. 777-6490 Com. 801-777-6490

5/11/2006

0019

[666] 6. 1On the side of the superior general, what will aid toward this union of hearts are the qualities of his person [G], to be treated in Part IX [723-25], with which he will perform his office, 2which is to be for all the members a head from which the influence required for the end sought by the Society ought to descend to them all. 3It is thus from the general as head that all authority of the provincials should flow, from the provincials that of the local superiors, and from the local superiors that of the individual members. 4And from this same head, or at least by his commission and approval, should likewise come the appointing of missions. And the same should apply to communicating the graces of the Society. 5For the more the subjects are dependent upon their superiors, the better will the love, obedience, and union among them be preserved."

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The union of minds and hearts: with respect to: performing the task of the head on behalf of the entire Society [666]; governing subjects well [667-69]; exempting Ours from obedience [663]; preparing for, summoning, and directing congregations [681, 682, 686, 689, 690, 691, 712, 716, 718, 755], 332. See also Formulas of congregations " page 512

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]"

page 416

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Revelation 13:16-18

New International Version

16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a] That number is 666.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Revelation 13:18 Or is humanity’s number

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A16-18&version=NIV

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Revelation 13:18 That is in this number of the beast consisteth that Popish wisdom, which unto them seemeth the greatest of all others. In these words S. John expoundeth that saying which went before of the number of the beast, what it hath above his mark or acconisance and his name. These things, saith S. John, the mark and the name of the beast, do easily happen unto any man: but to have the number of the beast, is wisdom: that is, only the wise and such as have understanding, can come by that number for they must be most illuminated doctors that attain thereunto, as the words following do declare.

Revelation 13:18 How great and of what denomination this number of the beast is, by which the beast accounted his wisdom, S. John declareth in these words. Dost thou demand how great it is? it is so great, that it occupieth the whole man: he is always learning, and never cometh to the knowledge thereof: he must be a man indeed that doth attain unto it. Askest thou of what denomination it is? verily it standeth of six throughout and perfectly ariseth of all the parts thereof in their several denominations (as they term them) it standeth of six by units, tens, hundreds, etc. so as there is no one part in the learning and order Pontifical, which is not either referred unto the head, and as it were the top thereof, or contained in the same: so fitly do all things in this hierarchy agree one with another, and with their head. Therefore that cruel beast Boniface the eighth doth commend by the number of six those Decretals which he perfected, in the proem of the sixth book. Which book (saith he) being to be added unto five other books of the same volume of Decretals, we thought good to name Sextum the sixth: that the same volume by addition thereof containing a senary, or the number of six books (which is a number perfect) may yield a perfect form of managing all things, and perfect discipline of behavior. Here therefore is the number of the beast, who poureth from himself all his parts and bringeth them all back again unto himself by his discipline in most wise and cunning manner. If any man desire more of this, let him read the gloss upon that place. I am not ignorant that other interpretations are brought upon this place: but I thought it my duty, with the good favor of all and without the offense of any, to propound mine opinion in this point. And for this cause especially, for that it seemed unto me neither profitable, nor like to be true, that the number of the beast, or of the name of the beast should be taken as the common sort of interpreters do take it. For this number of the beast teacheth, giveth out, imprinteth, as a public mark of such as be his, and esteemeth that mark above all others as the mark of those whom he loveth best. Now those other expositions seem rather to be far removed from this property and condition of that number: whether you respect the name Latinus or Titan, or another. For these the beast doth not teach, nor give forth nor imprint, but most diligently forbiddeth to be taught, and audaciously denieth: he approveth not these, but reproveth them: and hateth them that think so of this number, with an hatred, greater than that of Vatinius.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A18&version=GNV

Trump Pardons Iowa Turkey Named Corn

U.S. President Donald Trump looks at Corn, the National Thanksgiving Turkey, during the 73rd annual presentation (and pardoning) in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, November 24, 2020.

It’s official. At a ceremony Tuesday in the White House Rose Garden, a broad-breasted turkey named Corn received the annual presidential pardon ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

“Corn, I hereby give you a full pardon,” said President Donald Trump, who was flanked by first lady Melania Trump and other guests. “Thank you, Corn.”

His brother, Cob, wasn’t so lucky. The White House ran a poll on Twitter, asking those on the social media platform which one of the two turkeys Trump should pardon.

The turkeys, which are bred and fed for size, were raised by Ron Kardel, National Turkey Federation chairman and a sixth-generation turkey, corn and soybean farmer from Walcott, Iowa.

According to the White House website, Corn, whose favorite snack is sweet corn, was hatched on July 20, 2020, and weighs just over 19 kilograms. Cob, whose favorite food is soybeans, was hatched on the same day and weighs just over 18.5 kilograms.

As has been the case since 1947, the two were introduced to the public a day earlier at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C., where the birds had their own room.

The tradition of turkey farmers giving presidents the birds as gifts for Thanksgiving dates to the 1870s, but according to the White House site, so many turkeys were being sent that in 1923, then-President Calvin Coolidge discouraged farmers from sending them.

However, the tradition was already established, and by the 1940s, farmers were once again sending turkeys to the president.

The first official turkey pardoning was done in 1989 by President George H. W. Bush.

While you might think the unpardoned turkey will end up as the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving Day feast, all the turkeys end up on exhibit at various university veterinary schools. Trump said Corn and Cob would be heading to Iowa State University in Ames.

The two will be on display starting December 5.

“We are excited to welcome these national Thanksgiving icons onto our animal science farms. Iowa State University is invested in supporting the poultry and turkey industries through teaching and research as evidenced in our new state-of-the-art turkey production facility to be built in the spring of 2021. We welcome people to come view the newest arrivals at Iowa State,” Dan Thomson, professor and chair of the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University, said in a statement.

https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_trump-pardons-iowa-turkey-named-corn/6198774.html

First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of his Countrymen

Built to honor George Washington, the United States' first president, the 555-foot marble obelisk towers over Washington, D.C.

https://www.nps.gov/wamo/index.htm

Published February 11, 2014

Washington Was Originally Named Rome, Maryland

Discover the unique history of Rome in Maryland and its influence on Washington D.C., from Francis Pope's estate to Tiber Creek's origins.

Washington’s Hidden Roman Legacy

Nestled in Washington D.C.‘s history is a surprising connection to a little-known place: Rome, in Maryland. This discovery offers a unique glimpse into America’s past.

Rome in America: A 17th Century Vision

In the 17th century, a vast estate of 400 acres existed southeast of what is now Georgetown, in Maryland. Owned by an Italian culture enthusiast, this land was ambitiously named Rome. The owner’s passion for Italy didn’t just influence the name; it shaped his vision for the New World. This estate was more than land; it was a symbol of aspiration and connection to ancient civilizations.

Transitioning from European inspiration to American reality, the landowner renamed Goose Creek to Tiber Creek. This act mirrored Rome’s iconic River Tiber, creating a symbolic link across continents. His vision was to merge the grandeur of ancient Rome with the budding potential of America.

Francis Pope: The Mastermind Behind Rome, Maryland

The visionary behind this American Rome was Francis Pope, who acquired the land on June 5th, 1663. His story, detailed in an October 7th, 1883 Washington Post article, reflects a blend of ambition and whimsy. Pope took pride in his estate, often boasting about his Rome on the Tiber. His unique naming scheme wasn’t just a personal quirk; it was a statement of cultural identity and historical awareness.

Francis Pope’s legacy extends beyond mere land ownership. He imbued his estate with a sense of historical and cultural significance. His choice to name the creek Tiber was a deliberate effort to echo the greatness of ancient Rome in the new American landscape.

A Modern Twist: The Coincidence of Pope Francis

Adding to the narrative’s richness is the modern coincidence of Pope Francis, the first American pope, sharing a name with Francis Pope. This unexpected twist in the story connects the historical and contemporary worlds. It adds a layer of irony and depth, bridging centuries of history through a shared name.

This coincidence is more than just a curious fact; it symbolizes the enduring influence of history on the present. It illustrates how the past and present often intertwine in unexpected ways, adding new dimensions to our understanding of history.

Rediscovering Rome Before Washington

This exploration into the past reveals an often-overlooked chapter of American history. It uncovers how part of what is now Washington D.C. was once known as Rome, showing a connection between the old world and the new. This narrative not only highlights the forgotten stories of America’s past but also illustrates the rich tapestry of cultural and historical influences that shaped the nation.

In summary, the story of Rome, Maryland, is a reminder of the complex layers of history that underpin modern America. It showcases how historical narratives, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, can provide profound insights into the nation’s past. This tale of a forgotten Rome in America is a testament to the enduring legacy of those who shaped the early American landscape, reminding us of the intricate connections between history, culture, and identity.

https://ghostsofdc.org/2014/02/11/washington-originally-called-rome/

Capitol Hill is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both Northeast and Southeast D.C. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F Street NE, Southeast Boulevard SE, and South Capitol Street SE. Dominated by the United States Capitol, which sits on the highest point of Capitol Hill, it is one of the oldest historic districts in Washington. The neighborhood has a high concentration of rowhouses, largely dating from the 19th century. Home to around 35,000 people in just under 2 square miles (5 km2), Capitol Hill is also one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Washington.[1] The name Capitol Hill is frequently used as a metonym for the U.S. Congress.

Capitol Hill is famed as a center of the United States government, home to numerous important institutions including the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and more. Apart from government, the neighborhood is largely residential, but maintains notable commercial hubs along Pennsylvania Avenue, such as Eastern Market and Barracks Row.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill

The Old Man of the Mountain (Arabic: شيخ الجبل, romanized: Shaykh al-Jabal, Latin: Vetulus de Montanis),[1] is the expression used by Marco Polo in a passage from Book of the Marvels of the World, to indicate Muhammad III of Alamut,[2] the grand master of the Order of Assassins, who took refuge in Alamut Castle. It later became a common name used by the Crusaders.[3]

Subsequently, this nickname was given to various Isma'ili successors of Hassan, in Syria, particularly,[4] for example Rashid al-Din Sinan, the da'i (missionary)[5] and a leader of the Syrian branch of the Nizari Isma'ili state.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain_(Assassin)

Appointing a Successor and Eating Habits

SUMMARY: The hadith is about Umar bin al Khattab's speech on the importance of appointing a successor and his warning against eating onion and garlic.

It was narrated from Ma'dan bin Abi Talhah that 'Umar bin al Khattab delivered a khutbah on Friday, and he mentioned the Prophet of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه . He said: I saw a dream that I can only interpret as meaning that my death is near; I saw as if a rooster pecked me twice, and I was told that it was a red rooster. I told this dream to Asma’ bint 'Umais, the wife of Abu Bakr , and she said: You will be killed by a Persian man. The people are asking me to appoint a successor, but Allah will not cause His religion and His caliphate, with which He sent His Prophet ﷺ to be lost. If death comes to me soon, then the caliphate is to be decided by these six men with whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was pleased when he died. Whichever of them you swear allegiance to, then listen to him and obey. I know that some people will object to this matter. I have fought them with my own hands in the defense of Islam. They are the enemies of Allah and misguided Kafirs. By Allah, I am not leaving behind anything that my Lord instructed me to do and I came to the position of caliphate on that basis that is more important to me than kalalah. By Allah, the Prophet of Allah ﷺ never emphasised any issue to me since I accompanied him more than the issue of kalalah, until he poked me in the chest with his finger and said: 'Is not Ayatas-saif (the verse of summer, ie, it was revealed in summer), which appears at the end of Sooratan Nisa', sufficient for you?' If I live I will issue a decree that will be so clear that those who read the Qur'an and those who do not read it will be able to make decisions concerning it. I call upon Allah to bear witness over the governors of the regions, for I only sent them to be just and to teach the people their religion and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and to refer to me concerning any difficult matter. O people, you eat two plants which I find to be nothing but repugnant, this onion and garlic. I remember the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, if he noticed their smell coming from a man in the mosque, he would issue orders that he taken out from the mosque to al-Baqee'. Whoever must eat them, let him cook them to death". He said: He addressed the people on Friday and was attacked on Wednesday.

https://www.islamicity.org/hadith/search/index.php?q=33783&sss=1

Mythology

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In the Baal Cycle, Ba'al Hadad is challenged by and defeats Yam using two magical weapons (called "Driver" and "Chaser") made for him by Kothar-wa-Khasis. Afterward, with the help of Athirat and Anat, Ba'al persuades El to allow him a palace. El approves, and the palace is built by Kothar-wa-Khasis. After the palace is constructed, Ba'al gives forth a thunderous roar out of the palace window and challenges Mot. Mot enters through the window and swallows Ba'al, sending him to the underworld. With no one to give rain, there is a terrible drought in Ba'al's absence. The other deities, especially El and Anat, are distraught that Ba'al had been taken to the underworld. Anat goes to the underworld, attacks Mot with a knife, grinds him up into pieces, and scatters him far and wide. With Mot defeated, Ba'al is able to return and refresh the Earth with rain.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion

A shiv, also chiv, schiv, shivvie or shank,[1][2] is a handcrafted bladed weapon resembling a knife that is commonly associated with prison inmates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiv_(weapon)

There are multiple matches for Shiva, including a Hindu god and a Jewish mourning period.

Shiva (Hindu god)

Shiva is a major god in Hinduism, known as the god of destruction.

His name means "auspicious one".

He is also known as Mahadeva, which means "the great god".

Shiva is part of the Hindu trinity, the Trimurti, along with Brahma and Vishnu.

He is worshipped at many shrines in India and around the world.

Shiva is said to live in the Himalayas with his wife, Parvati.

Shiva (Jewish mourning period)

Shiva is a seven-day period of mourning that begins after the burial of a loved one.

The word "shiva" comes from the Hebrew word sheva, which means "seven".

During shiva, mourners traditionally stay home or at the home of the deceased.

They also wear torn clothing or a black ribbon pinned to their clothes.

Shiva is a time to remember, accept death, and return to life.

Generative AI is experimental.

On September 11, 2001, during the terrorist attacks on the United States, Shanksville received worldwide attention after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, 1.75 miles (2.82 km) north of the town of Shanksville, killing all 40 civilians and four al-Qaeda hijackers on board. The hijackers had intended to fly the plane to Washington, D.C. and crash it into either the Capitol or the White House. However, after learning from family members via airphone of the earlier attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, the passengers on board revolted against the hijackers and fought for control of the plane, causing it to crash. It was the only one of the four aircraft hijacked that day that never reached its intended target.[9]

There are two memorials to the event. The original, temporary Flight 93 National Memorial to the passengers and crew of Flight 93 was located on a hill, about 500 yards (460 m) from the crash site. On July 8, 2010, a new temporary entrance and memorial were opened at an area called "the Western Overlook". It is where the FBI set up their command center and where family members first saw the aftermath of the crash, bringing their own memorials, and where visitors can leave them today. The initial phase of permanent construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial, including the visitors' center, was completed by the 10th anniversary in 2011. The memorial is built around the crash site, following the plane's flight path, and protecting the area of impact, known as the "Sacred Ground", which remains protected and accessible only to family members of the passengers and crew.

Shanksville's volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel from the nearby towns of Central City, Somerset, and others rushed to the crash scene to search for survivors. Members of the New York City Fire Department donated to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department a cross-shaped piece of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center. Mounted atop a Pentagon-shaped base, it was installed outside the firehouse and dedicated on August 24, 2008.[10][11]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanksville,_Pennsylvania

AI Overview

Learn more

The name "Edmond" originates from Old English, derived from the elements "ēad" (meaning "prosperity" or "riches") and "mund" (meaning "protector").

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Old English Roots:

The name is a variant spelling of "Edmund" and traces back to the Old English language.

Meaning:

The name "Edmond" signifies "wealthy protector" or "rich protector".

Historical Significance:

The name has been used in England for centuries, particularly in East Anglia, and is sometimes associated with Saint Edmund the Martyr.

Modern Usage:

While not as common as in the past, "Edmond" continues to be used as a given name, often chosen to honor English heritage or to convey the qualities of strength, prosperity, and guardianship.

Generative AI is experimental.

Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (5 June 1341 – 1 August 1402) was the fifth son (fourth surviving) of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Like many medieval English princes, Edmund gained his nickname from his birthplace: Kings Langley Palace in Hertfordshire. He was the founder of the House of York, but it was through the marriage of his younger son, Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, to Anne de Mortimer, great-granddaughter of Edmund's elder brother Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, that the House of York made its claim to the English throne in the Wars of the Roses. The other party in the Wars of the Roses, the incumbent House of Lancaster, was formed from descendants of Edmund's elder brother John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Edward III's third son.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_of_Langley,_1st_Duke_of_York

50 Years in Langley:

Recollections of the Construction of CIA’s

Original Headquarters Building

In late 1961, CIA employees began relocating from a disparate collection of buildings in Washington,

DC, to a newly constructed headquarters complex in Langley, Virginia. The Original Headquarters Build

ing (OHB) was the first home designed specifically for Agency officers, and it still serves today as an iconic

symbol of CIA and its mission. As part of the commemoration of OHB’s 50 years of service, the Center for

the Study of Intelligence has compiled this collection of declassified articles and images that illustrate the

making of a key piece of CIA’s heritage.

Director, Center for the Study of Intelligence

https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/f4b6cf75ca9efcabacc393400eb01dd8/50-Years-in-Langley.pdf

Edmund the Martyr (also known as St Edmund or Edmund of East Anglia, died 20 November 869)[note 1] was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death.

Few historical facts about Edmund are known, as the kingdom of East Anglia was devastated by the Vikings, who destroyed any contemporary evidence of his reign. Coins minted by Edmund indicate that he succeeded Æthelweard of East Anglia, as they shared the same moneyers. He is thought to have been of East Anglian origin, but 12th century writers produced fictitious accounts of his family, succession and his rule as king. Edmund's death was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which relates that he was killed in 869 after the Great Heathen Army advanced into East Anglia. Medieval versions of Edmund's life and martyrdom differ as to whether he died in battle fighting the Great Heathen Army, or if he met his death after being captured and then refusing the Viking leaders' demand that he renounce Christ.

A popular cult emerged after Edmund's death, and he was canonised by the Church. A series of coins commemorating him was minted from around the time East Anglia was absorbed by the kingdom of Wessex in 918, and in about 986, the French monk Abbo wrote of his life and martyrdom.

During the 10th century, Edmund's remains were translated from an unidentified location in East Anglia to Beodricesworth (modern Bury St Edmunds); they were temporarily moved to London for safekeeping in 1010. Edmund's cult flourished during the Early and High Middle Ages, and he and Edward the Confessor were regarded as the patron saints of medieval England until they were replaced by Saint George in the 15th century.[2] Medieval manuscripts and works of art relating to Edmund include Abbo's Passio Sancti Eadmundi, John Lydgate's 15th-century Life, the Wilton Diptych, and a number of church wall paintings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_the_Martyr

Église St-Pierre de Montmartre

Montmartre & Northern Paris,Paris,France,Europe

Montmartre & Northern Paris

All that remains of the former Benedictine Abbey of Montmartre, this church dates back to the 12th century and is one of the oldest in Paris, though it has been much restored. Built atop a Roman temple to Mars, it was witness to the founding of the Jesuits in 1534, who met in the crypt under the guidance of Ignatius of Loyola.

Some say that the name Montmartre is derived from ‘Mons Martis’ (Latin for Mount of Mars); others prefer the Christian ‘Mont Martyr’ (Mount of the Martyr), a reference to the 3rd-century St Denis, who, according to legend, walked across Montmartre and on to the site of today’s Basilique de St-Denis after having been beheaded by Roman priests."

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/paris/montmartre-and-northern-paris/attractions/eglise-st-pierre-de-montmartre/a/poi-sig/1264286/1323143

Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 1540 – 1 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Anglican England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. Campion was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and canonised in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. His feast day is celebrated on 1 December.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Campion

Edmund Arrowsmith, SJ (c. 1585 – 28 August 1628) was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales of the Catholic Church. The main source of information on Arrowsmith is a contemporary account written by an eyewitness and published a short time after his death. This document, conforming to the ancient style of the "Acts of martyrs" includes the story of the execution of another 17th-century recusant martyr, Richard Herst.

Life

Edmund Arrowsmith was born at Haydock, Lancashire, England, in 1585, the eldest child of Robert Arrowsmith, a yeoman farmer, who had served in Sir William Stanley's regiment which fought for Spain in the Low Countries. His mother was Margery Gerard, a member of the Lancashire Gerard family. Among his mother's relations was the priest John Gerard, who wrote The Diary of an Elizabethan Priest, as well as another martyr, Miles Gerard. He was baptised Brian, but always used his confirmation name of Edmund, after an uncle who trained English priests in France.[1] The family was constantly harassed for its adherence to Roman Catholicism. One of his grandfathers died a confessor in prison. On one occasion, as a child, he was left shivering in his night-clothes by the pursuivants, who carried his parents off to Lancaster jail; he and his three siblings were cared for by neighbours.[2]

Education

In 1605, at the age of twenty, Arrowsmith left England and went to the English College, Douai, to study for the priesthood. He was soon forced to return to England due to ill health, but recovered and returned to Douai in 1607.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Arrowsmith

Aerosmith - Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (Official Music Video)

Aerosmith

Dec 24, 2009  #Aerosmith #DudeLooksLIkeALady

Official Music Video for “Dude (Looks LIke A Lady)” performed by Aerosmith, REMASTERED IN HD!

Listen to more from Aerosmith: https://stream.lnk.to/AerosmithYD

Subscribe to Aerosmith’s YouTube channel: https://aerosmith.lnk.to/YTSignupYD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0oXY4nDxE

FRENCH AND GERMAN FREEMASONRY UNITED

TO LAUNCH FRENCH REVOLUTION.

Through inner ties and collaboration, French and German

Freemasonry was brought together under one head; that head

seemingly,was Frederick the Great, and given the name, Ancient

and Accepted Scottish Rites. But Frederick the Great being head

of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rites Masonry was just

for show, regardless of how powerful and wealthy he might

have appeared. In reality, he was just a figurehead. The real

power came from the unseen hands of the ]esuits, those

mysterious "unknown superiors" ,who fully utilized that source

which was at their disposal; Rome's most awesome, nearly twothousand

years accumulation of wealth, experience, power, and

influence; by far, vastly more than any other organization on

earth. Being united, Freemasonry under the Ancient and

Accepted Scottish Rites surged forward to accomplish much

for the Catholic cause. Expanding from the Continent, it was

transported to Charleston, South Carolina, where it now rules

the rites of the world.ao

True to ]esuit form , to prepare for the evolution of minds,

so to carry public opinion in favor of arevolutionary movement,

a massive propaganda campaign was launched. While in France

philosophers and Encyclopedists Diderot, d'Alembert,

Helvetius, Grimm, d'Holback, Voltaire, and Condorcet

contributed to the efficiency of spreading revolution ary

doctrines for the final cataclysm by effectively using the stage,

publication of their Encyclopedia and joining forces with a host

of other revolutionary publications circulated all over France

- in Germarlrlr close to eight hundred irurocent looking readi.g

or Literary Societies were busily being established in every

residential center or diocese to incite and mold public thought.4l

The fermentation was astonishing, especially in France, where

crowds everywhere stared at papers pasted on walls, breaking

into little parties or companies whose conversations turned to

politics alone,with every second word it seemed was Morality,

Philanthropy, Toleration, Freedoh, and Equalization of property.

The joint propaganda efforts of French and German Masonic

leaders, urged on and guided by their ]esuit architects and

 superiors, resulted in the notorious French Revolution that was

 catapulted under the guise of a counterfeit Protestantism. It

 promised man supreme happiness through his enlightment and

 liberation of superstition, but instead, ended in a godless reign

 of terror where heads feII and blood flowed, which is the norm

 for any ]esuit inspired projecU that proudly hails the color red

 and guillotine as their symbols of revolution. In the form of a

 Mason Lodge, a Club met once a week and took the name

 "Propagand a" . lt consisted of persons of all nations and was

 under the direction of the Grand Master of France, the Duke of

 Orleans. The rnembers, charged with spreadi.g the propaganda

 of the subversive principles of the CIub, numbered fifty

thousand. In L790, it had twenty thousand livres at its disposal,

 but by the end of 179L, these had increased to thirty millions.

 The gold and the printing presses of Frederick the Great were

 added to those of the Orleanists for the circulation of seditious

 literature throughout the provinces.4 This was Propaganda Club

 number " one" .

 As an interesting sidelight, there is a Masonic Propaganda

 group, number two, for us today. It is known as the "P-zClub",

 with its headquarters being in Rome. It was caught up in a world

 wide banking scandal that involved the disappearance of one

 point two billion dollars, resulting in several murders, one man

 being h*g from the London Bridge. The main culprit of the

 affair was a Cardinal and Archbishop Marcinkus who took

 refuge and asylum at the Vatican to escape prosecution. The

 P-2 CIub is' a Propaganda society of the world's elite which

 includes high ranki^g Roman Catholic prelates, and of course,

 ]esuits. The September L3, L982 issue of Newsweek rrtagazine,

 pages 62-69, featured a lengthy article of the scandal.

 The propaganda program that was successful in Germany,

 and overwhelmingly successful in stirring the people of France

 into a fever pitched revolution, added one last ingredient as a

 finishi.g touch for the molding and supervising of enlightened

 minds. To be truly enlighten€d, from the elite's point of view, is

 to be politically correct or illumined. What better way to ensure

 that 'illumination' than to found an org aruzatton specifically

 for that purpose and what better name to identify that

 purpose - than the name, the "Illuminati".

It is common knowledge to anyone who has researched the

 deceptions of Freemasonry, to recognize that there are three

 distinct strata within its system or hierarchy. The first being the

 so called Blue Masonry, or their first three degrees, which serves

 as an introduction to Masonry, where none of the real secrets

 are revealed to the members. The second is the Upper Degrees,

 in which most of the members, while imagi.i.g themselves to

 have been initiated into the whole secret of the Order and

 "bursti.g with importance" over their imaginary role of leaders,

 are taken through steps of degrees which even then, are only

 admitted to a partial knowledge of Masonry's goal. The third

 are the "trlJe mastets", an Inner Circle of those who conceal

 themselves behind high-grade Masonry. Admission to this inner

 circle is not always a matter of degrees. While in practicing

 visible Freemasonry the adepts are obliged to pass through all

 the degrees of the established hierarchy, however, inner and

 invisible Freemasonry recruit not only among the thirty-three

 degrees and especially in the upper degree groups, but

 frequently in special cases outside of these. This inner and

 invisible Freemasonry is international in extent, and it is within

 this Inner Circle that the |esuits conceal themselves, work, and

 mastermind the projects that suits their goal. The atrocities of

 the French Revolution bore the tme marks of |esuit promptings.

 The ]esuit Order was dissolved in 1773. That became quite

 convenienU for how could anyone blame the butchery of the

 French Revolution on the ]esuits if they were no more. Howeve4

 even though all the ]esuits were supposedly deported out of

 the Europeeul Catholic countries, w€ are told in the 1908 Catholic

 Encyclopedia, volume 4, page 37, under the topic, Clement,

 "Two non-Catholic sovereigns, Frederick of

 Prussia and Catherine of Russia, took the ]esuits

 under their protection. Whatever may have been

 their motives, whether it was to spite the pope

 and Bourbon Courts or to please their Catholic

 subjects and preserve for them the services of

 the best educators, their intervention kept the

 order alive until its complete restoration in 1804".

 In volume XII, page 525, topic Prussia, it is recorded that

 Frederick the Great stated. . .

 his own fashion" . He provided for the religious

 and educational needs even of the Catholics, and

 showed favor to the ]esuits".

 In actual truth, the "brief" or document that dissolved the

 ]esuit Order, provided where possible, for Iesuits who had taken

 their final and absolute vows, to remain in their former houses

 provided they dressed like secular priests and submitted to the

 authority of the local bishop. Also Pope Pius VI, who a little

 more than a year succeeded Pope Clement XIV after Clement

 had dissolved the ]esuits and then died, arranged a peaceful

 agreement for the ]esuits with Frederick the Great.a3 These quiet

 undertakings supplied the perfect setting for the ]esuits to

 pursue their work unhampered and unseen.

 ADAM WEISHAUPT'S BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI

 It was in South Germany where this setting came fully into

 play.According to the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, volume VIII,

 page 8, the topic Ingolstadt, it says..."A movement was

 inaugurated in 1772 by Adam Weishaupt, professor of canon

 Iaw, with a view to securing the triumph of the rationalistic

 "enlightenment" in Church and State by means of the secret

 society of "Illuminati", which he founded". Now logically, every

 movement needs a leader, however, good sense should tell

 anyone that regardless how great a genius a man might be, it

 would be next to impossible for one man to launch a movement

 such as the "enlightenment" during those days, especially in

 the stronghold of Catholic Southern Germ arrf, unless - there

 was an august body in complete cooperation with, or actually

 instigating, the movement. It must be remembered that in 1772

 Adam Weishaupt was a very young man of only twenty-four

 who had, as a fact, received his complete education from the

 Iesuits. So where did he get his liberal inclinations, if it wasn't

 from his educators, the ]esuits?

 One must never lose sight of the specific purpose for which

 the ]esuit Order was raised up - which was to counter and

 eradicate all that Protestantism had ever accomplished. The

 ]esuits, the world over, were renown for their zeal, especially

 their extraordinary success in stopping Protestantism dead in

 its tracks in Europe and restori.g it back to Rome. But for forty-

five years as the "enlightenment" movement started and

 Progressed into the French Revolution, there is not hardly so

 much as a whimper in the ]esuit realm to condemn this blight

 that was allegedly again shaking up Rome. Even worse, the

 origin of the hard core element of the movement is found, of all

 places, in the two most model cities of |esuitism - I.golstadt

 and Munich. Now isn't this just a might bit suspicious?

 Adam Weishaupt was brilliant and well trained by the

 Jesuits in the conspiratorial methods of access to power. Adam's

 father, also a professor at Ingolstadt University, had died when

 Adam was only seven. The Curator of Ingolstadt University,

 Baron Joseph Adam of Ickstatt, a liberal member of the Privy

 Council of the Elector who had begun to liberahze the

 University, was named Adam's godfather who took him into

 his care after Adam's father had died. In 1774, when the chair

 of Canon Law became vacant at the University, Baron Ickstatt

 appointed to the chair his twenty-six year old godson.s These

 undisputed facts reveal not only the ]esuit but also the 'liberal'

 ]esuit surroundings that young Adam Weishaupt was raised

 and thrust into. Soon he is to be appointed again; as leader of

 the Bavarian Illuminati movement.

 The Order of the "Yery Perfectibles" - better known as

 Illuminati was founded on 'Mayd ay' of 1776 by Adam

 Weishaupt and five original members. His strictly hierarchical

 organization was the very pattern of the Society of Jesus, who

 regarded as essential in order to realize his plars, the "despotism

 of superiors" and the "blind, unconditional obedience of

 subordina tes" , which included the utmost secrecy and

 mysteriousness. It also peddled Freemasonry's alluring utopian

 golden age dream concerning the dilapidation of old things and

 the need of new. This was being vigorously agitated by the

 writings of Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and their fellows, who

 questioned, criticized, and undermined the social, political, and

 ecclesiastical fabric built by past centuries. Men were taught

 that unhampered by old decrepitude, by antique customs,

 superstitions and beliefs, would show themselves innocent,

 virtuous and capable, and build up a new society in which all

 men should be hup py. This romantic enthusiasm for a

 regenerated world, in which nature should supplant fashion,

 justice prevail, and men free and equal, would walk erect in

simple dignity, was the deceptive rallying call of Adam

 Weishaupt's illumination.

 In this society of the future everything, according to

 Weishaupt, was to be regulated by reason. By "enlightenment"

 men were to be liberated from their silly prejudices, to become

 "mature" or "rrroral" and thus to outgrow the religious and

 political tutelage of Church and State, of "priest and prince".

 Morals was the science which makes man "mature" ,and renders

 him conscious of his dignity, his destiny, and his power. The

 principal means for effecting the "redemption" of the world

 was found in unification, and this was to be brought about by

 "secret schools of wisdom". These "schools", he declares, "were

 always the archives of nature and of the rights of man. Through

 their agency, man will recover from his fall; princes and nations,

 without violence to force them, will vanish from the earth; the

 human race will become one family, and the world the

 habitation of rational beings. Moral science alone will effect

 these reforms 'imperceptibly'; every father will become, like

 Abraham and the patriarchs, the priest and absolute lord of his

 household, and reason will be man's only code of Law" .

 It was taught that this redemption of mankind by the

 restoration of the original "freedom and equality" through

 "illumination" and universal charity, fraternity, and tolerance,

 is likewise the true esoteric doctrine of Christ and his Apostles.

 Those in whom the "illuminating" grace of Christ is operative

 are the "Illuminati". The object of pure, that is illuminated,

 Freemasonry is none other than the propagation of the

 "enlightenment" whereby the seed of a new world will be so

 widely scattered that no efforts at extirpation, however violent,

 will avail to prevent the harvest. Weishaupt declared that

 Masonry was the school from which "these ideas" emanated.as

 The ultimate object of the Illuminati Order was kept secret.

 O^ly by degrees could the initiated learn of the true mysteries

 and purposes of the Order. The lower 'Nurs ery' degrees which

 included: Preparation, Novice, Minerval, and Illuminatus Minor

 were to serve for the selection, preparation, and concealment

 of the true "Illuminati". The higher 'Mysteries' degrees that

 included: Presbter, Priest, Prince, Regent, Magus, and Rex (the

 last degree being Weishaupt himselfl were to open the way for

 the social organization of the future, in which all distinction of

nations, creeds, etc., would disappear. Each step of the way of

 the initiate was very carefully plotted and planned by Weishaupt

 and his colleagues, so that the squeamish and gullible never

 rose higher than the lowest degrees, while the bold, ruthless,

 and cprical - those ready and willing to dispense with religion,

 morality, patriotism, and any other hindrances, rose to the top.

 The Illuminati also offered an even more attractive inducement

 than its long-range goal. It offered immediate and assured

 success. For through its connections and intrigues, the

 conspiracy was able to place its selected members in positions

 of influence and power where they could enjoy all the glories

 of worldly success, provided they used that success to work

 unceasingly for the advancement of the Order.

 Members were acquainted only with their immediate

 superiors, and only a selected few knew that Weishaupt was

 the founder and supreme head of the Order. Members were

 obliged to gather information on every person with whom they

 had dealings, and on all matters which could possibly affect

 either themselves or the Order they were to hand in sealed

 reports. These were opened by superiors unknown to the

 writers, and were in substance, referred to the General. A11

 illumunistic and official organs, the press, schools, seminaries,

 cathedral chapters, hence all appointments to sees, pulpits, and

 chairs were to be brought as far as possible under the influence

 of the organization. Princes themselves were to be surrounded

 by ^ legion of enlightened men, in order not only to disarm

 their opposition, but also to compel their energetic cooperation.

 A complete transformation would thus be effected. Public

 opinion would be controlled; "priest and princes" would find

 their hands tied; those who ventured to interfere would have

 to retreat from their reckless impulse; the Order would become

 an object of dread to all enemies. The architects drew up their

 blueprints; the French Revolution massacres revealed the

 results.

 THE IESUITS - ADAM WEISHAUPT'S

 MENTORS AND MOLDERS

 A great collusion was at work here. Not springi^g forth from

 young Adam Weishaupt's innovations, but instead, that

 powerful and influential cabal, who from a child up were his

irstructors. It is they who plant the 'new world' utopian seed

 into his brain, where they cultivate it, and as he grows, to

 nourish, prune, and train meticulously - then wait to reap the

 sweet fruits of their labor. These are Iesuit conrtivings, where

 the New Order only means one thing - 'Catholic' in scope;

 and with this " end" in view, will surely sanctify whatever

 "means". Weishaupt's mentors and molders were not long in

 producing results. As a base of operations and a front for their

 illuminated Freemasonry, in L775, the Lodge Theodore of Good

 Counsel, a lodge of Strict Observance, was erected at Mtrnich

 by uProfessor Baader of the University of Ingolstadt. It received

 its constitutional patent from the Royal York at Berlin. TWo years

 later in L777 and one year after Weishaupt had founded the

 Illuminati Order, he then became initiated into the Lodge

 Theodore. Within two years after that he was in control of the

 lodge.

 Are we to believe that just one genius of a man working

 nearly singlehande dly, or a dozen for that matter; could within

 a couple of years take control of a lodg 

unless it was pre

planned that way? In L780, to further expand his Illuminati

 membership, Freiherr von Knigge, a Masonic agent of wide

 experience and well known in all Masonic circles, joined forces

 with Adam Weishaupt. For the next two years, the marvelous

 accomplishments attained nearly go beyond words. Tlo better

 give support, aquotation from the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia,

 volume VII, page 66L, topic Illuminati, states that Krrigge, in

 company with Weishaupt...

 "wo-rked vigorously to extend the Order for

 which within two years he secured 500 members.

 When the great international convention of

 Freemasons was held at Wilhelmsbad (L6 Iuly

 to 29 August, 1,782) the "Illuminated

 Freemasonry", which Knigge and Weishaupt

 now proclaimed to be the only " pure"

 Freemasonry, had alre ady gained such a

 reputation that almost all the members of the

 convention clamoured for admission into the

 new institution. Particularly valuable for the

 Order was the accession of Bode, who

 commanded the highest respect in all Masonic

circles. Assisted by Bode, Knigge labored

 diligently to convert the whole Masonic body

 into "Illuminati Freemasons". Anumber of the

 most Prominent representatives of Freemasonry

 and "enlightenment" became Illuminati,

 including nL783, Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick,

 the foremost leader of European Freemasonry

 and the princely representative of the illuminism

 of his age. Other famous members were Goethe,

 Herder, and Nicolai. The Order was also

 propagated in Sweden, Russia, Poland,

 Denmark, Hungat!, Austria, and France. But in

 L783 dissensions arose between Knigge and

 Weishaupt, which resulted in the final

 withdrawal of the former on 1 ]uly, L794.Krrigge

 could no longer endure Weishaupt's pedantic

 domineering, which frequently assumed

 offensive forms. FIe accused Weishaupt of

 "]esuitism", and suspected him of bein g " alesuit

 in disguise".

 One of the most fascinating phenomenon when studying

 the histories of the American and French Revolutions is the

 consistent silence and omission of the role that Freemasonry

 had to play in them. Most all general histories never even

 mention it, and if at all, it is only alluded to. It is unbelievable

 when you consider that there were hundreds of thousands of

 members belonging to Freemasonry during those times: some,

 very prominent men of history, distinguished in their careers

 and professions of every kind. But go to any encyclopedia or

 history book and see if it mentions these men as being Masons.

 Rest assure d, if Freemasonry hides the truth of its goals from

 its own members, do you think it would do any less toward the

 general public? This knowledge is censored and covered up.

 The darkest secrecy is its breedi^g ground. So if the reader is

 skeptical of the i*plications here presented , it rnust be

 acknowledged that even the Roman Catholic Church, and in

 its own encyclopedia, must admit that the Illuminati Order

 existed, and somehow arose from one of its own Iesuit professors- 

whose goal was nothing less than to secure the 'triumph' of

 the "enlightenment" in Church and State. Rome is compelled

 disagree with the Movement. However, official and unofficial

 are two quite different animals.

 Another argument which is persistently used is that

 although the Illuminati Order became such a menace to the

 Bavarian government and Europe in its overwhelming

 subversive activities, causing it to be, 'offici ally' , suppressed

 and so therefore no longer active, is contradicted in the Catholic

 Encyclopedia r:nder the same topic of Illuminati where it states...

 "As the activity of the Illuminati still continued,

 four successive enactments were issued against

 them (22 ]une,1784; 2 March, and L6 August,

 L785; and L6 August, L787), in the last of which

 recruiting for the Order was forbidden under

 penalty of death. These measures put an end to

 the corporate existence of the Order in Bav aria,

 and as a result of the publication, in 1786, of its

 degrees and other documents conce*i.g it 

for the most part of arather comprornising nature

 its further extension outside Bavaria became- 

impossible. The spread of the spirit of the

 Illuminati, which coincided substantially with

 the general teachings of the "enlightenment",

 especially that of France, was rather accelerated

 than retarded by the persecution in Bav aria" .

 Now isn't that a rather interesting admission - first "its

 further extersion outside Bavaria became impossible", but after

 its suppression, "the spread of the 'spirit' of the llluminati"

 which especially coincided with the enlightenrnent of France

 was "rather accelerated than retarded". That seems similar to

 when the ]esuit Order was dissolved - supposedly, the ]esuit

 ceased to be. But being " officially" suppressed, yet allowing all

 members to be free to function, becomes more of a benefit than

 a hindrance. Th.y only burrow deeper underground and using

 keen precaution to conceal themselves, work their mischief

 quietly without the hazard of blame being placed on them.

 ADAM WEISHAUPT COMES HOME

 In 1835, the Carbonaro, Maleg ari,wrote to another member

 of the Carbonari; a secret society that accompanied the French

Revolution and was active in supporting the political principles

 that were proclaimed during that time, said: "We form an

 association of brothers in all points of the globe, we have desires

 and interests in common, we aim at the emancipation of

 humanity, we wish to break every kind of yoke, yet there is one

 that is unseen, that can hardly be felt, yet that weighs on lrs.

 Whence comes it? Where is it? No one knows, or at least no one

 tells. The association is secret, even for us, the veterans of secret

 societi es" .46

 Records show that Adam Weishaupt fled Ingolstad in

 February L785, going north to Regensburg. Later in L787 and

 going farther north, he settled in Gotha. The Catholic

 Encyclopedia, again under the topic Illuminati, page 662, states:

 " After L787 he renounced all active connection with secret

 societies, and again drew near to the Church, displaying

 remarkable zeal in building of the Catholic church at Gotha.

 He died on t8 November, L839, "reconciIed with the Catholic

 Church, which as a young professor, he had doomed to death

 and destruction" - as the chronicle of the Catholic parish in

 Gotha relates". How emotional. After serving well in his duties

 to become the leader of one of the most sinister movements in

 history, the erring child then returns home to be welcomed with

 open arms; just another typical example of Roman Catholic

 double-face.

 THE ILLUMINATI "SPIRIT" EPIDEMIC

 CONTAMINATES FTTANCE

 The "spirit" of the Illuminati settled over the nation of France

 like a heavy fog tainted with poison, and the whole country

 heaved from its effects. The first symptoms, which later erupted

 into the great French Revolution of 1789, were felt from the

 ground work that had been wonderfully prepared by the

 "Philosophi es" ; those French school of thinkers, writers,

 scientists and men of letters, who gradually altered the

 traditional thoughts of the people. From these, the altered

 expressions of thought spread and found safety and refuge in

 the secrecy of Freemasonic lodges, where they virtually littered

 the French communities and cities. It is from here that the germ

 of revolution spread like a disease. But understand, it was

 'illuminized' Freemasonry that produced the French upheaval,

 that actually made the Revolution, that created anarchy and

 sent the people into the streets in a frenzy and savage delirium.

 It was those principles introduced into the lodges of France in

 1787 by the disciples of Weishaupt - "patriarch of the ]acobins"

 that culminated into such butchery; that became known to

 history as the Reign of Terror. But these ferocious merciless

 indiscriminate massacres and mutilations always seem to

 accompany |esuit promptings; whether it is the St. Bartholomew

 or Irish Massacres, the 'Thirty Years' War or the French

 Revolution; and is akin to being Satanic. But who could ever

 blame the Jesuits for the French Revolution; they were banished.

 GREAT FREEMASONIC CONVENTION PRODUCES

 AMERICAN REVOLUTION

 The American and FrenchRevolutions were tied intimately

 together by the same conspiracy of Rome, well concealed behind

 the covers of the Illuminati Order and Freemasonry. This is not

 to say, that all those caught up in the Movement understood

 exactly where it was coming from or where it was headed. Yet

 names prominent in one Revolution were also involved in the

 other. For example, La Fayette who was introduced into

 Freemasonry at a very young age, married at eighteen a girl

child of only fourteen years, and after making her pregnant,

 felt such an obsession for fame and glory, spurred on by his

 intense hatred for anything English, left France secretly one year

 after his marriage, not even telling his young wife, to fight under

 George Washington in his cause for the American colonies

 independence. In his haste to leave France unnoticed with

 several of his adventurous friends, he could not find a ship

 departing. So as a young aristocrat with financial means, he

 just up and bought a ship of his own to serve his purpose. He

 sailed and landed, going straight to Charleston, South Carolina.

 After receiving his Masonic instructions, he traveled north to

 join George Washington.aT

 There were over twenty-seven thousand Frenchmen who

 fought in the American war for independence; that were

 involved in the decidingbattle of Yorktown. Fifteen miles from

 where the author was born and raised, the French General

 Rochambeau and a soldier named Alexandre Berthier,later to

 become general under Napolean Bonaparte, who invaded Rome

and took Pope Pius VI prisone4 camped in the area known as

 White Marsh, Maryland. These men later; were both active in

 the French Revolution. After La Fayette returned to France to

 become one of the leading members of the French Revolution,

 there were numerous letters exchanged between him and

 George Washington. And in like manneD American statesmen

 Benjamin Franklin and Thomas ]efferson were active members

 of the French Masonic Lodge of the Nine Sisters.

 The vigorous Freemasonry activity exercised during the

 revolt of England's North American colonies had a much greater

 significance attached to it than what is seen on the surface.

 Separating the colonies from England became more a subtle

 victory for Rome over England, rather than the colonies victory

 over England for their independence. Practicing Catholicism

 publicly in the colonies under England's rule was stringently

 forbidden. Now with America declared as a Republic, offering

 religious freedom to all, Catholicism became free to practice its

 own religion uninhibited. And regardless of all the hype and

 glorious propaganda that each of us have been taught about

 the American Revolution, freeing Romanism in the North

 American colonies was the concealed and true motive. The

 product of the first Great Freemasonic Convention held in 1768

 was the American Revolution. But the 'Grand Desig.' of Rome

 had far greater plans for Ameri ca; amuch more grandiose future

 than just being liberated from England; plans made even before

 its birth. And should anyone care to catch a glimpse of the

 strange work Rome has planrted for America, what her strategy

 and tactics will be, actually, what's in store for all humanity

 when Rome makes her final thrust for world dominion - then

 make a study of the French Revolution

CHAPTER 11

 ARCHITECTS OF THE

 GRAND DESIGN

The Grand Design Exposed

by John Daniel

https://archive.org/details/the-grand-design-exposed

Autumn Larrick

November 6, 2024

Intro

I'm a radio DJ and an artist and a comedian

Profile · Digital creator

K-zap.org

Featured Section  

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10160501164390994&set=a.420081170993

Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an autumn splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.

Nuclear fission was discovered by chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann and physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch. Hahn and Strassmann proved that a fission reaction had taken place on 19 December 1938, and Meitner and her nephew Frisch explained it theoretically in January 1939. Frisch named the process "fission" by analogy with biological fission of living cells. In their second publication on nuclear fission in February 1939, Hahn and Strassmann predicted the existence and liberation of additional neutrons during the fission process, opening up the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction.

For heavy nuclides, it is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material where fission takes place). Like nuclear fusion, for fission to produce energy, the total binding energy of the resulting elements must be greater than that of the starting element.

Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation because the resulting fragments (or daughter adams) are not the same element as the original parent autumn. The two (or more) nuclei produced are most often of comparable but slightly different sizes, typically with a mass ratio of products of about 3 to 2, for common fissile isotopes.[1][2] Most fissions are binary fissions (producing two charged fragments), but occasionally (2 to 4 times per 1000 events), three positively charged fragments are produced, in a ternary fission. The smallest of these fragments in ternary processes ranges in size from a proton to an argon nucleus.

Apart from fission induced by an exogenous neutron, harnessed and exploited by humans, a natural form of spontaneous radioactive decay (not requiring an exogenous neutron, because the nucleus already has an overabundance of neutrons) is also referred to as fission, and occurs especially in very high-mass-number isotopes. Spontaneous fission was discovered in 1940 by Flyorov, Petrzhak, and Kurchatov[3] in Moscow, in an experiment intended to confirm that, without bombardment by neutrons, the fission rate of uranium was negligible, as predicted by Niels Bohr. But it was not negligible.[3] Despite the possibility of spontaneous fission, it does not play any role for energy production of stars. In contrast to nuclear fusion, which drives the formation of stars and their development, one can consider nuclear fission as negligible for the evolution of the universe. Accordingly, all elements (with a few exceptions, see "spontaneous fission") which are important for the formation of solar systems, planets and also for all forms of life are not fission products, but rather the results of fusion processes.

The unpredictable composition of the products (which vary in a broad probabilistic and somewhat chaotic manner) distinguishes fission from purely quantum tunneling processes such as proton emission, alpha decay, and cluster decay, which give the same products each time. Nuclear fission produces energy for nuclear power and drives the explosion of nuclear weapons. Both uses are possible because certain substances called nuclear fuels undergo fission when struck by fission neutrons, and in turn emit neutrons when they break apart. This makes a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction possible, releasing energy at a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or at a very rapid, uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon.

The amount of free energy released in the fission of an equivalent amount of 235

U is a million times more than that released in the combustion of methane or from hydrogen fuel cells.[4]

The products of nuclear fission, however, are on average far more radioactive than the heavy elements which are normally fissioned as fuel, and remain so for significant amounts of time, giving rise to a nuclear waste problem. However, the seven long-lived fission products make up only a small fraction of fission products. Neutron absorption which does not lead to fission produces plutonium (from 238

U) and minor actinides (from both 235

U and 238

U) whose radiotoxicity is far higher than that of the long lived fission products. Concerns over nuclear waste accumulation and the destructive potential of nuclear weapons are a counterbalance to the peaceful desire to use fission as an energy source. The thorium fuel cycle produces virtually no plutonium and much less minor actinides, but 232

U - or rather its decay products - are a major gamma ray emitter. All actinides are fertile or fissile and fast breeder reactors can fission them all albeit only in certain configurations. Nuclear reprocessing aims to recover usable material from spent nuclear fuel to both enable uranium (and thorium) supplies to last longer and to reduce the amount of "waste". The industry term for a process that fissions all or nearly all actinides is a "closed fuel cycle".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid02PDtwfT1UV92ax4VymaKdZqLg3Lvdpoer8fedqGWRsnA3FzV9EDNmURyHsfwCiChEl

sarcasm(n.)

1570s, sarcasmus, "a biting taunt or gibe, a satirical remark or expression," from Late Latin sarcasmus, from late Greek sarkasmos "a sneer, jest, taunt, mockery," from sarkazein "to speak bitterly, sneer," literally "to strip off the flesh" (like dogs), from sarx (genitive sarkos) "flesh," properly "piece of meat" (see sarco-). The modern form of the English word is from 1610s. "Now usually in a generalized sense: sarcastic language; sarcastic meaning or purpose" [OED]. Also see humor (n.).

The essential thing about sarcasm is its cutting edge ; it therefore is intensely concentrated, lying in a sentence or a phrase ; it is used to scourge the follies or foibles or vices of men, but has little of reformatory purpose. Satire is more elaborate than sarcasm, is not necessarily bitter, and has, presumably, some aim at the reformation of that which is satirized. [Century Dictionary]

https://www.etymonline.com/word/sarcasm

THE "ZIG-ZAG Man" of rolling papers fame is based on the story of a French North African soldier (Zouave) whose smoking pipe was shattered by a stray bullet during the battle of Sevastopol so he rolled his tobacco using a piece of paper torn from a musket cartridge.

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/9oojd9/til_zigzag_man_of_rolling_papers_fame_is_based_on/?rdt=47114

Thomas Trace Beatie (born 1974[1]) is an American public speaker, author, and advocate of transgender rights and sexuality issues, with a focus on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.[2]

Beatie came out as a trans man in early 1997. Beatie had gender-affirming surgery in March 2002 and became known as "the pregnant man" after he became pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007.[3] Beatie chose to be pregnant, with donated sperm,[4][5] because his wife Nancy was sterile.

The couple filed for divorce in 2012. The Beatie case is the first of its kind on record, where a documented legal male gave birth within a marriage to a woman, and for the first time, a court challenged a marriage where the husband gave birth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beatie

Tracing boards are painted or printed illustrations depicting the various emblems and symbols of Freemasonry. They can be used as teaching aids during the lectures that follow each of the Masonic Degrees, when an experienced member explains the various concepts of Freemasonry to new members. They can also be used by experienced members as reminders of the concepts they learned as they went through the ceremonies of the different masonic degrees.[1]

History and development

Floor and table designs

In the eighteenth century Masonic lodges met chiefly in private rooms above taverns, and the symbolic designs used in catechesis were chalked on the table or floor in the centre of the hired room, usually by the Tyler or the Worshipful Master.[2] Evidence suggests that a simple boundary was drawn (usually a square or rectangle, or sometimes a cross) within which various Masonic symbols were added, often of a geometric type (such as a circle or pentagram). In many lodges the boundary shape may have been drawn by the Tyler, with the Master adding the symbolic detail. Later various symbolic objects were incorporated, examples including a ladder, a beehive, and an hourglass, and sometimes drawings were interchangeable with physical objects.[3] At the end of the work a new member was often required to erase the drawing with a mop, as a practical demonstration of his obligation of secrecy.

Though the various Grand Lodges were then generally hostile to the creation of any physical representations of the ritual and symbols of the Craft, the time-consuming business of redrawing the symbols at every meeting was gradually replaced by keeping a removable "floor cloth" on which the various symbols were painted. Different portions might be exposed according to the work being executed.[4] By the second half of the eighteenth century the Masonic symbols were being painted on a variety of removable materials ranging from small marble slabs to canvas, to give a more decorative and elaborate symbolic display.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracing_board

Exoteric Masonry, which is only the husks of the Mystic Order formed by the Sons of Cain has in modern times attracted the masculine element with its positively polarized physical vehicles, and educated them in industry and statecraft, thus controlling the material development of the world. The sons of Seth, constituting themselves the Priestcraft have worked their spell over the positive vital bodies of the feminine element to dominate the spiritual development. And whereas, the sons of Cain working through Freemasonry and kindred movements, have openly fought for the temporal power, the Priestcraft has fought as strenuously and perhaps more effectively, by stealth, to retain their monopoly upon the spiritual development of the feminine element. To the casual onlooker it would seem as if there were no decided antagonism between these two movements at the present time, but though Freemasonry of today is but a shell of its true ancient mystic self, and though Catholicism has been terribly tarnished by the touch of time, in that one thing there is no difference, the war is as keen as ever, the efforts of the Church are not concentrated upon the masses however as much as upon those who are seeking to live the higher life, so that they may gain admission to the Mystery Temple and learn how to make the Philosophers’ Stone. As mankind advances in evolution, the vital body becomes more permanently positively polarized giving to both sexes a greater desire for spirituality, and though we change from the masculine to feminine in alternate embodiment, positive polarity of the vital body is becoming more pronounced regardless of sex, and this accounts for the growing tendency towards Altruism which is even being brought out by the suffering entailed by the great war we are now fighting, for all agree that they are seeking to obtain a lasting peace where the swords may be made into plowshares, and the spears into pruning hooks. In the past humanity has been claiming universal brotherhood as a great ideal, but we must come closer than that to be in full accord with the Christ. He said to his Disciples “ye are my friends.” Among brothers and sisters hate and enmity may exist, but friendship is the expression of love and cannot exist apart from that. This is therefore the magic word which will eventually level all distinctions, bring peace upon earth and goodwill among men. This is the great Ideal proclaimed by the Rosicrucian Fellowship, an Ideal which points the shortest way to the New Heaven and the New Earth, where the sons of Cain and the sons of Seth will eventually be united.

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM

by MAX HEINDEL

https://dn720206.ca.archive.org/0/items/freemasonryandca017137mbp/freemasonryandca017137mbp.pdf

The Sega 32X, codenamed Mars during development, is a hardware add-on to the Sega Mega Drive created by Sega. It is the second of two major add-ons for the system, the other being the Sega Mega-CD, and was released worldwide in late 1994.

The 32X was designed to extend the Mega Drive's lifespan by giving it significantly more powerful 32-bit processing and texture-mapped 3D polygon capabilities. It was thus seen as a logical upgrade to the 16-bit processing and 2D capabilities of the Mega Drive and its main rival, the Super NES. The 32X was succeeded by the Sega Saturn (except in Japan, where the Saturn arrived first).

In the interests of simplicity, Sega Retro uses a simplified "Sega 32X" name for the unit, though the official name differs depending on regions of the world. In Japan and Korea, it was distributed under the name Super 32X (スーパー32X), in North America, the Genesis 32X, in Europe, Australia and Asia, the Sega Mega Drive 32X and in Brazil, the Mega 32X.

https://segaretro.org/Sega_32X

MISSIONS FROM THE SUPREME PONTIFF

252 §1. To be truly Christian, our service to the Church must be anchored in fidelity to Christ, who makes all things new; to be proper to the Society, it must be done in union with the successors of Peter[32]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

32 Let Christ the king of Israel now come down from the cross, that we may see, and believe. They also that were crucified with him, reviled him.

Mark 15:32

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%2015&version=GNV

PART X THE PRESERVATION AND INCREASE OF THE SOCIETY

410 §1. As a sign of gratitude and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let that feast be solemnly celebrated; and on that day is to be renewed the consecration by which the Society on January 1, 1872, dedicated and consecrated itself totally and perpetually.

§2. The consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to be renewed each year on the feast of the Immaculate Heart.[1]

411 The sense of belonging and responsibility that each individual one of Ours has toward the whole Society should be manifested in a knowledge of our spirituality, our history, our saints, our apostolic labors, and our men, especially of those who are suffering difficulties for the sake of Christ; it is to be manifested as well by maintaining Ignatian mobility and flexibility with a view to helping any region of the Society whatsoever.[2]

412 §1. All our members should have at heart a shared concern for attracting new members to the Society, especially by prayer and the example of their lives as individuals and in community.[3]

§2. Therefore, we must do everything possible actively to present the Society in such a way that those whom God calls will know and appreciate who and what we are and what is our distinctive way of proceeding in the following of Christ.[4]

§3. We must also promote vocations as widely as possible, in order to reflect the culture and experience of those we seek to serve, including minority cultures, immigrants, and indigenous people.[5]

413 The Society should always show itself bound to its benefactors in charity and gratitude. Superiors should ensure that prayers are offered for them and other appropriate signs of our gratitude are shown them.[6]

414 In the perfect observance of all the Constitutions and in the particular fulfillment of our Institute, our formed members should excel, setting a good example and spreading the good odor of Christ, keeping before their eyes the serious obligation they have of giving edification especially to our younger members.[ 7]

415 All by earnest reading and meditation (in particular, at the time of the annual Spiritual Exercises, renewal of vows, monthly recollection, beginning of the year, and so forth) should strive ever to know, esteem, and love better our Constitutions and the special nature of our Institute,[ 8] which are to be faithfully observed, and which for each and all of us are the one, true, and safe way that surely leads to the perfection to which our Lord calls and invites all sons of the Society.[9] §2. Major superiors, especially at the time of the annual visitation, should see that this is faithfully observed.

416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]

L. D. S.

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

PART VI 1THE PERSONAL LIFE OF THOSE ALREADY ADMITTED AND INCORPORATED INTO THE BODY OF THE SOCIETY

SECTION 1: THE APOSTOLIC CHARACTER OF OUR VOWS IN GENERAL

143 §1. Our consecration by profession of the evangelical counsels, by which we respond to a divine vocation, is at one and the same time the following of Christ poor, virginal, and obedient and a rejection of those idols that the world is always prepared to adore, especially wealth, pleasure, prestige, and power. Hence, our poverty, chastity, and obedience ought visibly and efficaciously to bear witness to this attitude, whereby we proclaim the evangelical possibility of a certain communion among men and women that is a foretaste of the future kingdom of God.[1]

§2. Our religious vows, while binding us, also set us FREE:

FREE, by our vow of poverty, to share the life of the poor and to use whatever resources we may have, not for our own security and comfort, but for service;

FREE, by our vow of chastity, to be men for others, in friendship and communion with all, but especially with those who share our mission of service;

FREE, by our vow of obedience, to respond to the call of Christ as made known to us by him whom the Spirit has placed over the Church, and to follow the lead of all our superiors.[2] [1] See GC 32, d. 4, no. 16; see GC 31, d. 16, no. 4; d. 17, no. 2; d. 18, no. 3. [2] GC 32, d. 2, no. 20. 215

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Valley of Traverse City

ANCIENT ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE

The History and Legend of Scottish Rite Origins

The Story Unfolds…

Like much of early Masonic history, the origins of the Scottish Rite are uncertain. This is primarily due to the lack of historic documentation prior to the early 1700’s and not to any great veiled mystery. The few records kept were subject to loss, fire, weather and aging. So we can at best only speculate on many of our origins by looking at the few documents, historical references and legends that remain.

What We Know

n 1754, near Paris, Chevalier de Bonneville established the Chapter of Clermont. The Chapter resided in the College of Jesuits of Clermont, hence the name. It is said to have been created to honor the Duc de Clermont, then Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge of France.

The Chapter of Clermont was a “Chapter of the Advanced Degrees” and initially entailed six degrees and was later extended to 25 known degrees. The six initial degrees were 1˚, 2˚ and 3˚ St John’s Masonry, 4˚ Knight of the Eagle, 5˚ Illustrious Knight or Templar, 6˚ Sublime Illustrious Knight.

Interestingly enough historically, prior to the time of the Rite’s creation, James II had been in residence at Clermont in exile from Britain from 1688 to his death in 1701. As noted by German Masonic historian, Lenning… “whilst in exile, James II residing at the Jesuit College of Clermont in France, allowed his closest associates to fabricate certain degrees in order to extend their political views.” Lenning believed this to have been an attempt on the part of James and his associates to regain control of the British throne for the House of Stuart. If Lenning is right, this places the origins of the “Rite of Perfection” in the hands of James II and the Jacobite (Stuart) Freemasons who at the time were in exile from Great Britain throughout France and Italy. Lenning also contends that these degrees were introduced into French Freemasonry under the name of the Clermont System.

James II died in exile in 1701. His son James III is said to have continued his father’s Masonic legacy and later created further higher degrees.

Perhaps James II saw in the Jesuit morality plays of the College of Clermont a vessel for passing on a set of moral lessons. Some of the world’s greatest playwrights had emerged from Clermont. Jesuit tutelage had previously produced great writers such as Lope de Vega, Moliere, Racine, and the Corneille brothers. Ensconced in exile, I believe James II did find the inspiration and the training to help produce what would later become the first six degrees. From out of the darkness… comes light.

To be continued… (Author’s note… An in depth look at the Templar influence in Scottish Rite masonry’s origins can be found by visiting the Rosslyn Templars’ website.)"

https://web.archive.org/web/20190615041607/http://www.traversecityscottishrite.com/scottish-rite-history.html

Note 370.—"Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. The 32nd degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite, and for many years, or until the institution of the 33d degree, this was the highest degree, or ne plus ultra of Masonry. The body is styled a Consistory, and should be held in a building of two stories. The officers are, a Thrice Illustrious Commander, First and Second Lieutenants, a Minister of State, a Grand Chancellor, a Grand Treasurer, a Grand Secretary, and a Grand Captain of the Guard. In the East a throne, elevated on seven steps, which is the seat of the Thrice Illustrious Commander, who wears a robe of royal purple, and he and the Lieutenants, wear swords. The collar of this degree is black, lined with scarlet, and in the center, at the point, a double-headed eagle, of silver or gold, on a red Teutonic cross. The apron is of white satin, with a border of gold lace, one inch wide, lined with scarlet; on the flap is a double-headed eagle, on each side of which is the flag of the country in which the body is located, the flag of Prussia and the Beause- -ant of the Kadosh degree; on the apron is the camp of the Crusaders, , which is thus explained; it is composed of an enneagon, within which is ' inscribed a heptagon, within that a pentagon, and in the center an equilateral triangle, within which is a circle. Between the heptagon and pentagon are placed five standards, in the designs of whigjl are five letters, which form a particular word. The first standard is purple, on which is emblazoned the ark of the covenant, with a palm, tree on each side; the ark has the motto Laus Deo. The second is blue, on which is a lion, of gold, couchant, holding in his mouth a golden key, with a collar of the same metal on his neck, and on it is the device, Ad majorem Dei gloriam. The third is white, and displays a heart in flames, with two wings; it is surmounted by a crown of laurels. The fourth is green, and bears a double-headed black eagle, crowned, holding a sword in his right claw, and a bleeding heart in his left. The fifth bears a black ox. on a field of gold. On the sides of the enneagon are nine tents, with flags, representing the divisions of the Masonic army; on the angles are nine pinions, of the same color as the flag of the tent that precedes it. The hall of the Consistory is hung with black, strewed with tears of silver. The jewel is a double-headed white and black eagle, resting on a Teutonic cross, of gold, worn attached to the collar or ribbon. ^The members are called Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. The moral of the degree teaches opposition to bigotry, superstition, and all the passions and vices which disgrace human nature."

—Macoy's Encyclopaedia and Pictionary of Freemasonry, Article Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret

Saddam Hussein[c] (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until his overthrow in 2003. He previously served as the vice president from 1968 to 1979 and also as the prime minister from 1979 to 1991 and later from 1994 to 2003. A leading member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, he espoused Ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, while the policies and political ideas he championed are collectively known as Saddamism.

Born near Tikrit to a Sunni Arab family, Saddam joined the revolutionary Ba'ath Party in 1957. He played a key role in the 17 July Revolution that brought the Ba'athists to power and made him vice president under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. During his tenure as vice president, Saddam nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company, diversifying the economy, and introduced free healthcare and education. Saddam attempted to ease tensions among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups. He presided over the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War, crushing the Kurdish insurgency, and signed the Algiers Agreement with Iran in 1975, settling territorial disputes along the Iran–Iraq border. Following al-Bakr's resignation in 1979, Saddam formally took power. During his presidency, positions of power in the country were mostly filled with Sunni Arabs, a minority that made up only about a fifth of the Iraqi population.

Upon taking office as president in 1979, Saddam purged rivals within his party. In 1980, he ordered the invasion of Iran, purportedly to capture Iran's Arab-majority Khuzestan province, and end Iranian attempts to export its Islamic Revolution to the Arab world. In 1988, as the war with Iran ended in a stalemate, he ordered the Anfal campaign against Kurdish rebels who had sided with Iran. Later, he accused his former ally Kuwait of slant-drilling Iraq's oil reserves and subsequently invaded the country in 1990. This ultimately led to the Gulf War in 1991, which ended in Iraq's defeat by a United States-led coalition. In the war's aftermath, Saddam's forces suppressed the 1991 Iraqi uprisings launched by Kurds and Shias seeking regime change, as well as further uprisings in 1999. After reconsolidating his hold on power, Saddam pursued an Islamist agenda for Iraq through the Faith Campaign. In 2003, a US-led coalition invaded Iraq, falsely accusing him of developing weapons of mass destruction and of having ties with al-Qaeda. Coalition forces quickly toppled Saddam's regime and captured him. During his trial, Saddam was convicted by the Iraqi High Tribunal of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed on 30 December 2006.

A highly polarizing and controversial figure, Saddam dominated Iraqi politics for 35 years and was the subject of a cult of personality. Many Arabs regard Saddam as a resolute leader who challenged Western imperialism, opposed the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and resisted foreign intervention in the region. Conversely, many Iraqis, particularly Shias and Kurds, perceive him negatively as a tyrant responsible for numerous acts of repression, mass killing and other injustices. Human Rights Watch estimated that Saddam's regime was responsible for the murder or disappearance of 250,000 to 290,000 Iraqis. Saddam's government has been described by several analysts as authoritarian and totalitarian, and by some as fascist, although the applicability of those labels has been contested.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?

Answer

The biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah is recorded in Genesis. Genesis 18 records the Lord and two angels coming to speak with Abraham. The Lord informed Abraham that “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous” (Genesis 18:20). Verses 22–33 record Abraham pleading with the Lord to have mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah because of the righteous people who might be there. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family lived in Sodom.

Genesis 19 records the two angels, disguised as human men, visiting Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot met the angels in the city square and urged them to stay at his house. The angels agreed. The Bible then reveals the sin lurking in the Sodomites’ hearts: “Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them’” (Genesis 19:4–5). The angels proceeded to blind the men surrounding the house and urge Lot and his family to flee the city. The wrath of God was about to fall. Lot and his family fled the city, and then “the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities” (Genesis 19:24).

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? According to Genesis 19, the sin involved homosexuality. The very name of that ancient city has given us the term sodomy, in the sense of “copulation between two men, whether consensual or forced.” Clearly, homosexuality was part of why God destroyed the two cities. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to perform homosexual acts on what they thought were two men.

This is not to say that homosexuality was the only reason why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Ezekiel 16:49–50 gives some more insight: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.” So, the sins of Sodom included pride, apathy, complacency, idleness, and unconcern for the underprivileged.

Ezekiel 16:50 adds that a sin of Sodom was that they did “detestable things.” The Hebrew word translated “detestable” refers to something that is morally disgusting. It is the same word used in Leviticus 18:22, where homosexuality is an “abomination.” Jude 1:7 also weighs in: “Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.” So, again, while homosexuality was not the only sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, it does appear to be the primary reason for the destruction of those cities.

Those who attempt to explain away the biblical condemnations of homosexuality claim that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was inhospitality. That’s one of the sins—the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were certainly being inhospitable. There is probably nothing more inhospitable than homosexual gang rape. But to say God destroyed two cities and all their inhabitants simply for being inhospitable ignores some obvious details of the story.

Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of many other sins, but homosexuality was the principal reason God poured fiery sulfur on the cities, completely destroying them and all of their inhabitants. To this day, the area where Sodom and Gomorrah were located remains a desolate wasteland. Sodom and Gomorrah serve as a powerful example of how God feels about sin in general and homosexuality specifically.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Sodom-and-Gomorrah.html

The ratlines (German: Rattenlinien) were systems of escape routes for German Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe from 1945 onwards in the aftermath of World War II. These escape routes mainly led toward havens in the Americas, particularly in Argentina, though also in Paraguay, Colombia,[1] Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Bolivia, as well as the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, and Switzerland.

There were two primary routes: the first went from Germany to Spain, then Argentina; the second from Germany to Rome, then Genoa, then South America. The two routes developed independently but eventually came together.[2] The ratlines were supported by rogue elements in the Vatican, particularly an Austrian bishop and four Croatian clergy of the Catholic Church who sympathized with the Ustaše.[3][4][5] Starting in 1947, U.S. Intelligence used existing ratlines to move certain Nazi strategists and scientists.[6]

While consensus among Western scholars is that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler died by suicide in 1945, in the late 1940s and 1950s the U.S. investigated claims that he survived and fled to South America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II)

The Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from former Nazi Germany to the US for government employment after the end of World War II in Europe, between 1945 and 1959; several were confirmed to be former members of the Nazi Party, including the SS or the SA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created under the National Security Act of 1947, which President Truman signed on July 26, 1947. The CIA officially came into existence on September 18th that same year, which is when we celebrate our birthday.

With the passage of the 1947 Act, Truman achieved his goals of modernizing and unifying America’s armed services, and, by creating a centralized intelligence agency, reformed our intelligence capabilities. To protect American’s civil liberties, he made sure to clearly divide intelligence roles between domestic and foreign: FBI would handle anything domestic, while CIA was limited to foreign intelligence only. Furthermore, the Act specified that CIA would have no police, subpoena, or law enforcement powers.

President Truman appointed Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter as the first CIA director, known as the Director of Central Intelligence. He had been the Director of one of our immediate “ancestors,” called the Central Intelligence Group. The CIG was a bureaucratic anomaly with no independent budget, no statutory mandate, and staffers assigned from other departments of the government. America needed a peacetime, centralized intelligence agency with its own budget and mandate. That’s why Truman replaced the CIG and created the CIA.

The 1947 Act loosely defined CIA’s mission into four broad tasks:

The 1947 Act was relatively unchanged until 2004. President Bush, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, made major updates to the 1947 act, including the creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

If you’re interested, you can find out more about what is called “the National Security Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of December 2004” on the DNI’s website.

The importance of the 1947 National Security Act cannot be overstated. It created our Nation’s first peacetime intelligence agency, reflected America’s acceptance of its position as a world leader, and it remained a cornerstone of our national security policy for 75 years… and counting.

~ Molly

https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/ask-molly-the-national-security-act-of-1947/

Molly

fem. proper name, a diminutive of Moll, which is a familiar form of Mary.

molly (n.1)

a common 18c. colloquial term for "homosexual man" or "man who is deemed effeminate, a sissy," by 1707, perhaps 1690s. The fem. proper name Molly or Moll served as a type-name of a low-class girl or prostitute in old songs and ballads (perhaps in part for the sake of the easy rhymes).

But the colloquial word also resembles Latin mollis "soft," which also had been used classically in a specific pejorative sense in reference to men, "soft, effeminate, unmanly, weak," in Cicero, Livy, etc. A 1629 publication from the Catholic-Protestant theological disputes, "Truth's triumph ouer Trent," written in English with swerves into Latin, at one point describes the denizens of Hell as fideles fornicarios, adulteros, molles, and so forth, and molles is translated parenthetically in the text as "effeminate." Molly House as a term for a brothel frequented by gay men is attested in a court case from 1726.

also from 18c.

molly (n.2)

seabird, 1857, short for mollymawk, mallemuck, from Dutch mallemok, from mal "foolish" + mok "gull."

also from 1857

https://www.etymonline.com/word/molly

Operation Mockingbird is an alleged large-scale program of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that began in the early years of the Cold War and attempted to manipulate domestic American news media organizations for propaganda purposes. According to author Deborah Davis, Operation Mockingbird recruited leading American journalists into a propaganda network and influenced the operations of front groups. CIA support of front groups was exposed when an April 1967 Ramparts article reported that the National Student Association received funding from the CIA.[1] In 1975, Church Committee Congressional investigations revealed Agency connections with journalists and civic groups.

In 1973, a document referred to as the "Family Jewels"[2] was published by the CIA containing a reference to "Project Mockingbird", which was the name of an operation in 1963 which wiretapped two journalists who had published articles based on classified material.[3] The document does not contain references to "Operation Mockingbird".[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird

Kodashim (Hebrew: קׇדָשִׁים‎, romanized: Qoḏāšim, lit. 'holy things') is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jerusalem, its maintenance and design, the korbanot, or sacrificial offerings that were offered there, and other subjects related to these topics, as well as, notably, the topic of kosher slaughter.

Topics

This Seder (order, or division) of the Mishnah is known as Kodashim (“sacred things” or “sanctities”), because it deals with subjects connected with Temple service and ritual slaughter of animals (shehitah). The term kodashim, in the Biblical context, applies to the sacrifices, the Temple and its furnishings, as well as the priests who carried out the duties and ceremonies of its service; and it is with these holy things, places and people that Kodashim is mainly concerned. The title Kodashim is apparently an abbreviation of Shehitat Kodashim ("the slaughter of sacred animals") since the main, although not the only subject of this order is sacrifices.[1][2][3]

The topics of this Seder are primarily the sacrifices of animals, BIRDS, and meal offerings, the laws of bringing a sacrifice, such as the sin offering and the guilt offering, and the laws of misappropriation of sacred property. In addition, the order contains a description of the Second Temple (tractate Middot), and a description and rules about the daily sacrifice service in the Temple (tractate Tamid). The order also includes tractate Hullin, which concerns the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial use, as well as other dietary laws applying to meat and animal products. Although Hullin is about the slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial, and therefore unsanctified purposes, because the rules about the proper slaughter of animals and birds, and their ritual fitness for use were considered to be an integral part of the concept of holiness in Judaism, they were also included in the order regarding “holy things”.[2][3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodashim

Zevachim (“Sacrifices”), with FOURTEEN chapters, and originally called Shehitat Kodashim ("slaughtering of the holy animals") deals with the sacrificial system of the Temple period, namely the laws for animal and bird offerings, and the conditions which make them acceptable or not, as specified in the Torah, primarily in the book of Leviticus (Lev 1:2 and on).[1][2][4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodashim

Lunar Day

The duration of a single day on the Moon, from sunrise to sunrise, is approximately 29.5 Earth days. However, this is broken down into roughly 14.75 days of daylight followed by 14.75 days of nighttime, due to the Moon's synchronous rotation with Earth.

When we refer to the "life of one lunar day" in the context of a moon mission, it usually pertains to the duration of sunlight (daytime) that the mission equipment can operate within. This is because most moon missions, including rovers and landers, rely on solar panels for power. During the lunar night, temperatures can drop drastically (to below minus 200 degrees Celsius), and without sunlight, there's no power generation from solar panels. This extreme cold can also be damaging to equipment.

So, when a mission states its operational life as "one lunar day," it typically means it is designed to function during the approximately 14 Earth days of sunlight on the Moon, after which it may go into a dormant state during the lunar night, or it might cease operations altogether due to the harsh conditions.

https://www.sriramsias.com/upsc-daily-current-affairs/lunar-day/

Osiris, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The origin of Osiris is obscure; he was a local god of Busiris, in Lower Egypt, and may have been a personification of chthonic (underworld) fertility. By about 2400 bce, however, Osiris clearly played a double role: he was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king. This dual role was in turn combined with the Egyptian concept of divine kingship: the king at death became Osiris, god of the underworld; and the dead king’s son, the living king, was identified with Horus, a god of the sky. Osiris and Horus were thus father and son. The goddess Isis was the mother of the king and was thus the mother of Horus and consort of Osiris. The god Seth was considered the murderer of Osiris and adversary of Horus.

According to the form of the myth reported by the Greek author Plutarch, Osiris was slain or drowned by Seth, who tore the corpse into 14 pieces and flung them over Egypt. Eventually, Isis and her sister Nephthys found and buried all the pieces, except the phallus, thereby giving new life to Osiris, who thenceforth remained in the underworld as ruler and judge. His son Horus successfully fought against Seth, avenging Osiris and becoming the new king of Egypt.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Osiris-Egyptian-god

Genesis in the Land of the Pharaohs

Isis ("Aset" in the native language) had her start as a comparatively minor deity of Egypt. She was a protector of the throne of Egypt, perhaps in some ways the personification of Royal Power. But she had been subordinate in the official Egyptian pantheon to deities more intimately connected with the great king, like Ra and Horus.

AD

The collapse of the Old Kingdom brought about several sweeping changes in Egyptian religion. Eternal life, which had once been viewed as the sole province of the King, came to be seen as the reward for all those willing to submit to the proper cults.

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In this new paradigm, Isis took center stage and became the central goddess in the popular religion of the Egyptian people.

Myth tells how Osiris, the first god-king of Egypt, introduced laws and agriculture to humankind. He was then deceived and murdered by his scheming brother Seth, god of chaos. Seth hacked Osiris' body into pieces and scattered them across Egypt, intending to rule Egypt himself.

Isis collected the pieces and magically revived her brother-husband Osiris, who became King of the Underworld. She also magically conceived a son, Horus. Isis and her supporters warred against Seth for the throne of Egypt. A council of gods eventually decided that Horus, as son of Osiris, was the rightful ruler, and Seth was demoted to fighting nocturnal demons.

A new paradigm emerged in which Osiris ruled the underworld, Horus ruled Egypt (and the Pharaohs were considered the incarnation of Horus) and Ra the sun god ruled the heavens.

But Isis as mistress of magic resurrected Osiris, and thus was superior to him. She conceived her son Horus magically and was superior to him. With her magic, she even had power over Ra the sun god.

In short, she was the real power behind the universe, which lead her cult adherents to proclaim her as Mistress of Heaven. More importantly, she had the power over life and death and could resurrect her followers in the same manner that saved her husband from oblivion.

As the myth of Isis and Osiris grew, Isis began displacing other deities in the loyalties of the Egyptian population.

The Hellenes Conquer and are Conquered by Egypt

The conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great opened a new era for the cult. In trying to find a religious cult that would unite both Egyptian and Hellenic subjects, Ptolemy Soter crafted the Isis cult as it would be introduced into Greco-Roman society.

AD

Osiris was renamed Serapis and identified with a variety of Egyptian and Hellenic gods (Osiris, Apis, Dionysus, Hades). He became a god of healing and the underworld.

Isis was identified with Hellenic deities such as Demeter or Aphrodite.

Greek iconography was introduced to the cult which made it visually appealing to the Hellenes. In those days when the provincial city-states of the Hellenic world fell to Alexander's universal empire, the traditional gods of the city-state no longer sufficed. Gods like Isis and Serapis were not connected with any specific town and were truly universal in scope.

More importantly, the exotic Egyptian mysticism could offer the Greeks of the Hellenistic age something their own gods could not: a way to cheat fate and death.

Isis and Osiris were honored by the Greeks and by Egyptian emigrants as a kind of holy trinity, but always it was Isis who was the dominant member of the trio.

Isis became the protector of family (especially women), the protector of newborns, the goddess of fertility and good fortune, and the goddess whose magic could cheat fate and death.

She was also thought to be a protector of sailors, and sailors sailing from the great port of Alexandria took her cult all over the Mediterranean.

Backed by the Ptolemaic regime, the new cult spread throughout the Hellenistic Kingdoms.

The Nile Flows into the Tiber

The Roman Senate was not amused with Ptolemy's attempt to craft a universal religion.

When the cult of Isis swept into Rome via Hellenistic sailors and Egyptian emigrants, it became extremely popular with women and the lower classes, including slaves.

AD

Fearing a religious unification of the lower strata of Roman society, and fearing the loss of piety in the traditional Roman gods of the state, the Senate repeatedly placed restrictions on the new cult.

Private chapels dedicated to Isis were ordered destroyed. When a Roman Consul found that the demolition team assigned to him were all members or sympathizers of the cult and refused to destroy their chapel, he had to remove his toga of state and do the deed himself.

How Did Different Roman Emperors View the Cult of Isis?

Augustus found the cult "pornographic," though the cult was known to proscribe periods of sexual abstinence to its adherents.

The real reason for Augustus' wrath was that the cult was linked to Egypt and thus the power base of his rival, Mark Antony. Cleopatra had even gone so far to declare herself Isis reincarnated.

Nonetheless, Augustus' scorn did little to stem popular opinion. Officials and servants of the imperial household were members of the cult. It seems even his own infamous daughter was a member; whether her belief was genuine or merely another aspect of her defiance against her father cannot be determined.

https://www.unrv.com/culture/isis.php

The Islamic State (IS),[a][b] is a transnational Salafi jihadist group and unrecognized quasi-state. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and many countries around the world, including Muslim countries.[162]

IS gained global prominence in 2014, when its militants conquered large territories in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the ongoing civil war in Syria and the disintegrating local military forces of Iraq. By the end of 2015, its self-declared caliphate ruled an area with a population of about 12 million,[117][118][163] where they enforced their extremist interpretation of Islamic law, managed an annual budget exceeding US$1 billion, and commanded more than 30,000 fighters.[164] After a grinding conflict with American, Iraqi, and Kurdish forces, IS lost control of all its Middle Eastern territories by 2019, subsequently reverting to insurgency from remote hideouts while continuing its propaganda efforts. These efforts have garnered a significant following in northern and Sahelian Africa,[165][166] where IS still controls a significant territory.[167][168]

Originating in the Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004, the organisation (primarily under the Islamic State of Iraq name) affiliated itself with al-Qaeda in Iraq and fought alongside them during the 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency. The group later changed their name to Islamic State of Iraq and Levant for about a year,[169][170] before declaring itself to be a worldwide caliphate,[171][172] called simply the Islamic State (الدولة الإسلامية, ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyya).[173]

As a caliphate, IS demanded the religious, political, and military obedience of Muslims worldwide,[174] despite the rejection of its legitimacy by mainstream Muslims and its statehood by the United Nations and most governments.[175] During its rule in Syria and Iraq, the group "became notorious for its brutality".[173] Under its rule of these regions, IS launched genocides against Yazidis and Iraqi Turkmen; engaged in persecution of Christians, Shia Muslims, and Mandaeans; publicised videos of beheadings of soldiers, journalists, and aid workers; and destroyed several cultural sites. The group has perpetrated terrorist massacres in territories outside of its control, such as the November 2015 Paris attacks, the 2024 Kerman bombings in Iran, and the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Russia. Lone wolf attacks inspired by the group have also taken place.

After 2015, the Iraqi Armed Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces pushed back IS and degraded its financial and military infrastructure,[176] assisted by advisors, weapons, training, supplies, and airstrikes by the American-led coalition,[177] and later by Russian airstrikes, bombings, cruise missile attacks, and scorched-earth tactics across Syria, which focused mostly on razing Syrian opposition strongholds rather than IS bases.[178] By March 2019, IS lost the last of its territories in West Asia, although its affiliates maintained a significant territorial presence in Africa as of 2024.[167][168]

Name

Main article: Names of the Islamic State

See also: Name changes due to the Islamic State

The Islamic State, abbreviated IS,[179] is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /ˈaɪsɪl/ EYE-sil), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS /ˈaɪsɪs/ EYE-siss),[180][181] and by its Arabic acronym Da'ish[182][183] or Daesh (داعش, Dāʿish, IPA: [ˈdaːʕɪʃ]),[184] and also as Dawlat al-Islām (دولة الإسلام).[185] In April 2013, having expanded into Syria, the group adopted the name ad-Dawla al-Islāmiyya fī l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām (الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام). As al-Shām is a region often compared with the Levant or the region of Syria, the group's name has been variously translated as "Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham",[186] "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (both abbreviated as ISIS),[187] or "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (abbreviated as ISIL).[181] In 2014, Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah dubbed ISIS as QSIS for "al-Qaeda Separatists in Iraq and Syria", arguing that ISIL does not represent the vast majority of Muslims.[188]

While the use of either one or the other acronym has been the subject of debate,[181] the distinction between the two and its relevance has been considered less important.[181] Of greater relevance is the name Daesh, which is an acronym of ISIL's Arabic name ad-Dawla al-Islamiyya fī l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām, or Daesh. This name has been widely used by ISIL's Arabic-speaking detractors,[186][189] for example when referring to the group whilst speaking amongst themselves, although—and to a certain extent because⁠—it is considered derogatory, as it resembles the Arabic words Daes ("one who crushes, or tramples down, something underfoot") and Dāhis (loosely translated as "one who sows discord").[184][190] Within areas under its control, ISIL considers use of the name Daesh punishable by flogging.[191]

In late June 2014, the group renamed itself ad-Dawla al-Islāmiyya (lit. 'Islamic State' or IS), declaring itself a worldwide caliphate.[172] The name "Islamic State" and the group's claim to be a caliphate have been widely rejected, with the UN, various governments, and mainstream Muslim groups refusing to use the new name.[192] The group's declaration of a new caliphate in June 2014 and its adoption of the name "Islamic State" have been criticised and ridiculed by Muslim scholars and rival Islamists both inside and outside the territory it controls.[193]

In a speech in September 2014, United States President Barack Obama said that ISIL was neither Islamic (on the basis that no religion condones the killing of innocents) nor a state (in that no government recognises the group as a state),[194] while many object to using the name Islamic State owing to the far-reaching religious and political claims to authority which that name implies. The United Nations Security Council,[195] the United States,[194] Canada,[196] Turkey,[197] Australia,[198] the United Kingdom,[199] and other countries generally call the group ISIL, while much of the Arab world uses the Arabic acronym Dāʻish or Daesh. France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: "This is a terrorist group and not a state. I do not recommend using the term Islamic State because it blurs the lines between Islam, Muslims, and Islamists. The Arabs call it 'Daesh' and I will be calling them the 'Daesh cutthroats'."[200] Retired general John Allen, the U.S. envoy appointed to co-ordinate the coalition; U.S. Army Lieutenant General James Terry, head of operations against the group; and Secretary of State John Kerry had all shifted towards use of the term Daesh by December 2014,[201] which nonetheless remained a pejorative in 2021.[202]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State

Ignatius of Loyola: Apostle to the Muslims

Posted on: 26th July 2016  |Author: Damian Howard SJ

Category: The Jesuits

Tags: Feast of St Ignatius, Ignatius, Islam, interreligious, Jesuit history

To educate the youth of Europe? To fight the spread of Protestantism? While many people would guess that one or both of these ambitions drove Ignatius of Loyola to found the Jesuits, he actually had something else in mind: a mission to the Muslim world. For the feast of St Ignatius, Damian Howard SJ considers how ‘Islam haunted Ignatius’s understanding of his calling’ and celebrates the fruitful work of the many Jesuits who have tried to realise Ignatius’s vision in their engagement with Muslims.

Ask the average Catholic why St Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus and they will likely say one of two things. First, remembering the Jesuits as bastions of the Counter-Reformation they might assume that Ignatius, militant Catholic that he was, had set out with a dream of a new religious order capable of defeating Protestantism. But whilst it was the case that the Jesuits would be active in efforts to reform the Catholic Church from within and to take on the growing power of Protestant theology and culture as it spread across Europe, this was never Ignatius’s underlying vision. Second, they might suppose that Ignatius had planned from the start a vast network of new schools which would revolutionise education throughout the continent. It’s true that this is indeed what Jesuit schools ended up doing, earning the order’s members the epithet of the ‘schoolmasters of Europe’, but this huge and innovative project came about as the result of a proposal made to Ignatius after he had already become Superior General of the new order; it was never education per se that he saw as its prime mission.

So the following claim may be unexpected: Ignatius’s original apostolic orientation was actually defined in relation to the Muslim world.

This shouldn’t be entirely surprising given the state of Europe at that time in history. Ignatius was born in the Basque country in 1491. Just one year later, the Reconquista reached its conclusion with the Catholic Kings finally ousting the last Muslim rulers from their vestigial Andalusian states, giving Christian princes possession of the whole Iberian Peninsula. The year 1492 was also notable for another major geopolitical event involving Spain: the European discovery of the New World. It was all but impossible to avoid the thought that America was the reward for Spanish triumph against the Moors. Now, the energy which had propelled the Spanish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula would be released outwards; the colonial age of conquest and exploitation was dawning for a new Catholic Spain and it was to be a golden age for Spanish Catholicism. We may rightly harbour ambiguous feelings about this aggressively Christian state but this was a moment when Spanish Catholics must have felt like masters of the world.

But Spain was the exception in Europe. The rest of the continent cowered under the threat of imminent Muslim invasion, not from the South but from the Ottoman Turks in the East. The sixteenth century was to see the high-water mark of Ottoman interest in Central and Eastern Europe. Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan from 1520-1566, would personally lead the push all the way into Hungary as well as taking control of Mediterranean islands like Rhodes and swathes of North Africa. With Turkish armies besieging Vienna, no-one on the continental mainland could feel confident that Christianity would retain indefinitely its hegemonic grip. It’s worth remembering that part of the urgency of the Reformation itself lay in its apocalyptic fear of the Turkish menace. Luther thought that the Muslim invaders were to be God’s chastisement for a Europe mired in the ‘horrible abomination of the papal darkness and idolatry’.[i] He wanted his Protestant Christians to die martyrs of the true faith rather than fighting in some allegedly holy war blasphemously prosecuted in Christ’s name.

The Reformation can be better understood within the context of this much larger clash, dare I say, of civilisations. And Ignatius wanted to play his part in it. How can one be confident of such a claim? Because, right from the start, Ignatius’s stated apostolic impulse was towards the Muslim world.

You can see it most obviously in the account given in his Autobiography of the conversion experience he went through as he was convalescing in his ancestral home in Loyola. He had suffered a severe cannon wound in the leg during military action in Pamplona. His moment of conversion came about when he noticed the subtlest of differences between the after-effects of two daydreams:

When he thought of worldly things it gave him great pleasure, but afterward he found himself dry and sad. But when he thought of journeying to Jerusalem, and of living only on herbs, and practising austerities, he found pleasure not only while thinking of them, but also when he had ceased.

He took that difference between his affective responses to be indicative of the way God was leading him on his life journey. Judging that the enduring good feelings associated with the journey to Jerusalem showed it to be God’s will for him, he undertook to follow the second programme, going on pilgrimage and living the ascetical, penitential life of a mendicant. The journey to Jerusalem, then, was what he presented to the outside world as his earliest apostolic desire. Its association with his conversion experience also makes it, surely, something of a touchstone of his on-going spiritual discernment.[ii]

But what exactly did pilgrimage to Jerusalem signify? Pilgrimage to the Holy Land had been the most potent form of devotion available to medieval Christians and, for Ignatius, it is clear that proximity to the site of the incarnation was a central attraction; at one stage, he would go to extravagant lengths to work out the precise direction in which the Lord must have been looking at the moment of his Ascension. But at the time, the Holy City was also under the rule of the Ottoman Turks, the Crusades having failed to win back for Christian Europe the territory once held by the Roman Empire. To visit Jerusalem was, thus, to enter the House of Islam.

If we look at the Spiritual Exercises, especially the ‘Call of the Eternal King’ (93), we might surmise that the trip had a crusading flavour to it. But Ignatius wasn’t planning to travel as a soldier. Instead, in addition to visiting the holy places, he intended to stay in Jerusalem permanently, if the Lord was pleased to allow him, so as to preach Christian doctrine to the infidel (probably Jews as well as Muslims), this, even though European Christians had long found such missionary work to be not particularly fruitful.[iii] There is clearly a penitential streak to Ignatius’s intentions at this stage and so perhaps we should also allow for the possible presence of a darker scenario: a veiled desire here to win martyrdom. We are reminded of the martyrs of Córdoba, a group consisting principally of Franciscan friars who, in spite of St Francis’ directive to live as silent witness among the Muslims, had sought to goad their Muslim governors into executing them by making overtly blasphemous statements about Muhammad. It’s a repeated trope in the early Middle Ages and it is possible that Ignatius felt himself drawn to act after their example.

Whatever Ignatius was up to, this pilgrimage project came to encapsulate his self-understanding, certainly for the first few years after his conversion and, arguably, for the rest of his life; moreover, it gave him the epithet of ‘the Pilgrim’ which he uses in his Autobiography to designate himself in the third person. When he finally made it to the Holy Land in 1523, he desired to remain there but the Provincial of the Franciscans told him that others in the past who had had the same idea had either died or ended up in a Turkish prison. Ignatius was stubborn. The Franciscan, knowing trouble when he saw it, threatened him with excommunication and so the Basque Pilgrim finally relented. But the longing to return to and remain in Jerusalem was strong enough in Ignatius’s heart that it survived fifteen years of studies and apostolic activities; for when as late as 1538 he finally managed to assemble the group of Companions who would go on to form the core of the new Society of Jesus, he was still intent on their heading back to the Holy Land. It was only the impossibility of travelling that year, thanks to the activity of the Turks themselves, which led him finally to give up on Jerusalem and turn his sights to Rome.

It was a fateful shift. Gradually, the dream of Jerusalem would be side-lined and a new apostolic orientation would move centre stage. Italy, as Pope Paul III put it, would be Ignatius’s Jerusalem. And so it was that the young Jesuit order placed itself at the disposal of the universal Church directly under the Roman Pontiff where it would be best placed to meet the various needs that would present themselves. ‘The infidel’ still manages an appearance in the ‘Formula of the Institute’ which founds the Society of Jesus but it looks like an afterthought.  So much, you might think, for Ignatius’s apostolate to the Muslims…

There are good reasons, nevertheless, for believing that Islam continued to haunt Ignatius’s understanding of his calling. A curious incident early on in the pilgrimage narrative gives us a clue. It is an encounter between the Pilgrim and a Moor whom he meets as he makes his way through the Spanish countryside. Here is how he tells the story with hindsight in his Autobiography:

As he continued on his way a Moor riding on a mule caught up with him, and in their conversation they began to speak about our Lady. The Moor said that it certainly seemed to him that the Virgin had conceived without the aid of man, but he could not believe that in giving birth she remained a virgin. To substantiate his opinion, he offered the natural reasons that occurred to him. Though the pilgrim countered with many arguments he could not alter the Moor’s opinion. The Moor then went on ahead in great haste so that he lost sight of him; being left behind, he reflected on what took place between him and the Moor. Various emotions welled up in him and he became disturbed in soul, thinking that he had failed to do what he should have done. Filled with anger against the Moor and thinking that he had done wrong in allowing the Moor to utter such things about our Lady, he concluded that he was obliged to restore her honour. He now desired to search out the Moor and strike him with his dagger for all that he had said. This conflict in his desires remained with him for some time, but in the end he was still uncertain for he did not know what was required of him.

As well as giving a precious insight into Christian-Muslim relations in the early sixteenth century, this cameo tells us much about how Ignatius looked back in later life over the winding journey that had brought him to Rome. He wants his readers to be shocked by the spiritual ineptitude which characterised his early years. His confusion is resolved in rather a worrying manner: he leaves it to his mule to decide whether or not to take a human life. The sage beast, seemingly much more attuned to the promptings of the Spirit than the saint-to-be, rejects the path of violence and the rest, as they say, is history. What is significant for our purposes is that Ignatius’s story suggests an association in his mind between startling spiritual immaturity and a violent, confrontational approach to Muslims. He may not have drawn any solid conclusions about what a more mature response might look like but the doubt must have niggled.

Ignatius definitely did not give up on his ideas of a mission to Muslims, even if they take a back seat: during his tenure as General he set up a Casa dei catechumeni in Rome for Jews and Muslims wanting to convert to Christianity, an Arabic-speaking house in Messina, a college for the study of Arabic in Monreale and a study programme in Islamics in Malta. He had further plans for projects aimed at the mission to Muslims in Beirut, Cyprus and Djerba in modern Tunisia.

We also have two letters, written in August 1552 by his secretary, Juan de Polanco, to Jerónimo Nadal, in which Ignatius advocates the raising of a European fleet to fight off the Ottoman Turks. As Philip Endean points out, even if the older Ignatius had learned to be suspicious of his earlier, irascible impulses towards a Muslim, still, when it comes to thinking of the Turks, it is purely as an

enemy to be conquered, the enemy menacing Christendom. Any full statement of mission at the frontiers had to include them, but in immediate practice they were simply an unknown and destabilising threat, one perhaps that it was often impolite to name.[iv]

A Challenging Legacy

Ignatius’s Islamic itinerary leaves us with bewildering questions rather than a coherent vision and it may or may not be significant that all these grand endeavours vis-à-vis the Muslims either did not get off the ground in the first place or did not last. If there is, indeed, a palpable sense of unresolved business here, Islam had, nevertheless, lodged itself as a constituent part of the Jesuits’ DNA, as we can see with the benefit of hindsight. For Ignatius’s sons (along with members of other religious orders, not least the Franciscans, the Dominicans and the White Fathers) have demonstrated consistent and persistent interest in the Muslim world.

Jesuits were present in Istanbul by 1582 and by 1650 had set up a presence in Izmir, Aleppo, Damascus, Sidon and Lebanese Tripoli. Their most iconic engagement with the Muslim world was the series of missions sent to the court of the Mogul Emperor Akbar in late sixteenth century India. Fr Jerome Xavier (1549-1617), the great-nephew of St Francis Xavier, was to be the principal protagonist in a bold engagement with Persian-speaking Islam. His most significant literary work was an explanation of Christianity aimed at the Emperor and other Muslims, the so-called Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-Quds) (1602).

Actually meeting Muslims in their own countries may not instantly have changed the way Jesuits thought theologically about Islam but it did help them slowly to develop an accurate understanding of the religion rather than rely on the polemics and distortions which had been the medieval default position. And that did bear fruit quite quickly: back in the Jesuit colleges of Europe, lessons on Islam were an integral part of Antonio Possevino’s great Ratio Studiorum (1593), a standard text which deals with Islam at some length and in a surprisingly sympathetic manner.

For most of their history, Jesuits were not allowed to converse about matters religious with Muslims in Muslim-majority countries for fear that in doing so they might jeopardise their freedom to act in those territories. This did not prevent them from chatting to them on their holidays. Tirso González (1624-1705), a future Jesuit General himself, wrote his Manductio ad conversionem mahumetanorum out of his personal experience preaching to Muslims in the coastal towns of Spain during his vacation. A huge volume at nearly 900 pages, it shows a surprisingly accurate knowledge of Islam, of typical Muslim objections to Christianity, of tafsir (Qur’anic commentaries) and hadith. For a polemical text it is also disarmingly sympathetic to Islamic beliefs and practices.

A French Jesuit, Michel Nau (1633-1683) had travelled to the Holy Land and engaged in conversation with Muslims there. His Religio christiana contra Alcoranum per Alcoranum pacifiche defensa ac probate stands out from similar texts as a refreshing defence of respectful interreligious encounter. Written as a fictional dialogue, it assumes a startlingly modern mood of respect, humility and friendship. Perhaps such openness is down to the fact that he was operating outside Europe and knew he could not proselytise openly. More likely, it is part of that Jesuit tradition of generous engagement with the religious other that can be found in a number of early Jesuits, including Ignatius’s Letters, the ministry of St Pierre Favre to European Protestants, and the approach advocated at various times by Jerónimo Nadal and Diego Laínez. The denouement of Nau’s dialogue must have been shocking at a time when Christianity thought of itself as being in the ascendant: the Muslim protagonist agrees that Christianity is a legitimate expression of monotheism (no mean concession given traditional Muslim hostility to the doctrine of the Trinity) but he does not accept Christianity as the only way to salvation and refuses to convert.

A moment of great significance in the evolution of the Jesuit mission to Muslims occurs in 1937 when Fr General Ledochowski sends a letter to Jesuits around the globe appealing for a new generation of missionaries to be trained with the explicit task of converting the Muslim world. Ledochowski was a strong personality of markedly right wing views and his letter is far from betokening an enlightened vision; during his time as General, he seems to have been behind a move to bolster anti-Semitic sentiment in Rome. Behind his letter can be traced the influence of an energetic Frenchman, Christophe de Bonneville, regional superior in Egypt at a time when the domination of that great Muslim country by European powers seemed to open up new missionary possibilities. The idea of Jesuits explicitly setting out to convert Muslims in Muslim-majority lands represented a fundamental break with previous practice.

This opportunistic ploy, which relied on raw European power, never took off in the way Ledochowski had intended, thwarted by the outbreak of war. By the time the dust had settled, the world had moved on. Newly independent Muslim-majority nations, having flung off the yoke of their former colonial masters, would make such blatant missionary work all but impossible; already in the offing was a freshly assertive Islam. As things turned out, the one practical outcome of the General’s letter was the establishment of a course in Islamics at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.

But Ledochowski’s idea of training a generation of Jesuits as specialists in Islam lingered on, even if the style of their engagement would turn out not to be polemically confrontational but dialogical. A group of inspiring Catholics would now come to the fore whose example instilled into this new generation a genuine desire to study the Islamic tradition in depth: the Cistercian Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916), the great French Islamicist, Louis Massignon (1883 – 1962) and the Spanish priest and expert in Islamic spirituality, Miguel Asín Palacios (1871-1944).

By the latter half of the twentieth century, the fruits of this new engagement were already palpable. Some Jesuits had studied Sufism. Paul Nwyia’s work on the mystic Ibn Abbād of Ronda stands out as a fine example, consummated in a remarkable book on Qur’anic exegesis and the language of mysticism, published in 1969. Still very much alive is an Australian Jesuit, Paul Jackson, who has spent the latter half of his life in India working on the letters of a Sufi saint, Sharfuddin Ahmed Yahya Maneri, whose splendid shrine can be seen in Biharsharif.

Others have explored the question of the reform of modern Islam. The German scholar, Christian Troll, was inspired by a plea from a Dutch Jesuit, J.J. Houben, calling for Islamic renewal and suggesting that Catholics were in a position to help. His experience of the Second Vatican Council’s inner tensions between conservatives and reformers led him to look at the inner dynamics at work in the Muslim world. Troll’s book on the Indian reformer, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, remains the standard text on his theology. Alongside him is an Egyptian Jesuit, Samir Khalil Samir, who has worked for decades on the patrimony of Eastern Christianity and so finds himself regularly writing about Islam with a particular concern for its engagement with modern values.

There are experts, too, in dialogue with Muslims. I think of Thomas Michel, an American Jesuit who worked for many years in Indonesia before being sent to work at the Curia of Pope St John Paul II, the Pontiff who did more than any other to build bonds of friendship between the Church and Muslims. Then there is Daniel Madigan, another Australian, whose interest in Islam started during his time in Pakistan. He pursued an interest in Qur’anic studies and taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome for some time, and now teaches at Georgetown University in the States. From there, he directs a uniquely fruitful dialogue: an annual series of encounters between Muslim and Christian scholars called ‘Building Bridges’. Felix Körner, a German Jesuit, took over Madigan’s work with Muslims at the Gregorian and has published books on Qur’anic exegesis and Christian approaches to Islam.

Finally, and with particular gratitude, I want to mention a remarkable Italian Jesuit, Paolo Dall’Oglio. Un unabashed admirer of Islam, he took the highly unusual step for a Jesuit of founding a monastery, Deir Mar Musa in Syria, as a place to live out a radical vision of hospitality at the service of Christian-Muslim encounter in the Middle East. Paolo was profoundly involved in the life of that latterly tormented country to the point that, during the outbreak of its civil war, he tried to negotiate with a then little-known group of Islamist extremists, ISIL. He was taken prisoner by them on 29 July 2013 and his fate is still unknown. Whether he is dead or alive, his story, I am convinced, is not yet over.

Today, there are some thirty or forty Jesuits around the world with advanced training of one sort or another in Islamics. Ignatius would surely be pleased, recognising that, after some 500 years, we are now rather better equipped than he was to accomplish a task that moved and inspired him. Where is the journey taking us? Who knows? We are no more able than Ignatius was in his day to escape the horizons of our time and to glimpse the possibilities that history will surely unfold. No matter; like him we try to discern the promptings of the Spirit day by day and follow them faithfully.

And the Spirit is key here at another level. Had he been around to celebrate his half millennium, I feel sure Ignatius would have sensed in Pope St John Paul II’s Redemptoris Missio (1990) a supremely Ignatian intuition but applied in a way Ignatius’s age would never have allowed:

The Spirit manifests himself in a special way in the Church and in her members. Nevertheless, his presence and activity are universal, limited neither by space nor time. […] The Spirit's presence and activity affect not only the individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. Indeed, the Spirit is at the origin of the noble ideals and undertakings which benefit humanity on its journey through history.[v]

This is a profoundly healthy point of departure for the encounter with Islam he always sought but never achieved. Let’s hope that on this, his feast day, gratified to find his sons applying their hearts and minds to his great dream, he continues to support them with the prayers of a great and holy founder.

Damian Howard SJ is a lecturer at Heythrop College, University of London and a member of the editorial board of Thinking Faith.

Author’s note: I am grateful to Philip Endean SJ for advice and material for this article.

[i] See his “Admonition to prayer against the Turks” of October 1541. For more on Luther and Islam, see Mark U. Edwards, Luther’s Last Battles: politics and polemics 1531-46, Leiden: Brill, 1983, pp.97-114.

[ii] Another source suggests that the idea came to him later on in Barcelona. See Antonio Albuquerque, Diego Laínez S.J. Primer Biógrafo de San Ignacio, Bilbao: Mensajero/Sal Terrae, 2005, p.150.

[iii] This is not stated in the official Autobiography but in sketches made by Laínez and Polanco. See Albuquerque, pp.151-2.

[iv] “Ignatius and the Turks. Two Letters from 1552”, The Way, 211 (July 2006): 363-78. Available online at  http://www.theway.org.uk/Back/453Ignatius.pdf [consulted 2nd June 2016]

[v] Redemptoris Missio 28. Emphasis added.

https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/ignatius-loyola-apostle-muslims

Ignatius Loyola, a Catholic Priest, theologian and founder of the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church in the 16th Century, said, among his many inspiring sayings, “Go forth and set the world on fire."

Inferno (Italian: [iɱˈfɛrno]; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno describes Dante's journey through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the Earth; it is the "realm ... of those who have rejected spiritual values by yielding to bestial appetites or violence, or by perverting their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen".[1] As an allegory, the Divine Comedy represents the journey of the soul toward God, with the Inferno describing the recognition and rejection of sin.[2]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)

Fire as the agent of Truth

Asha Vahishta is closely associated with fire. Fire is "grandly conceived as a force informing all the other Amesha Spentas, giving them warmth and the spark of life."[27] In Yasht 17.20, Angra Mainyu clamours that Zoroaster burns him with Asha Vahishta. In Vendidad 4.54-55, speaking against the truth and violating the sanctity of promise is detected by the consumption of "water, blazing, of golden color, having the power to detect guilt."

This analogy of truth that burns and detecting truth through fire is already attested in the very earliest texts, that is, in the Gathas and in the Yasna Haptanghaiti. In Yasna 43–44, Ahura Mazda dispenses justice through radiance of His fire and the strength of aṣ̌a. Fire "detects" sinners "by hand-grasping" (Yasna 34.4). An individual who has passed the fiery test (garmo-varah, ordeal by heat), has attained physical and spiritual strength, wisdom, truth and love with serenity (Yasna 30.7). Altogether, "there are said to have been some 30 kinds of fiery tests in all."[28] According to the post-Sassanid Dadestan i denig (I.31.10), at the final judgement a river of molten metal will cover the earth. The righteous, as they wade through this river, will perceive the molten metal as a bath of warm milk. The wicked will be scorched. For details on aṣ̌a's role in personal and final judgement, see aṣ̌a in eschatology, below.

Fire is moreover the "auxiliary of the truth," "and not only, as in the ordeal, of justice and of truth at the same time."[11] In Yasna 31.19, "the man who thinks of aṣ̌a, [...] who uses his tongue in order to speak correctly, [does so] with the aid of brilliant fire". In Yasna 34-44 devotees "ardently desire [Mazda's] mighty fire, through aṣ̌a." In Yasna 43–44, Ahura Mazda "shall come to [Zoroaster] through the splendour of [Mazda's] fire, possessing the strength of (through) aṣ̌a and good mind (=Vohu Manah)." That fire "possesses strength through aṣ̌a" is repeated again in Yasna 43.4. In Yasna 43.9, Zoroaster, wishing to serve fire, gives his attention to aṣ̌a. In Yasna 37.1, in a list of what are otherwise all physical creations, aṣ̌a takes the place of fire.

Asha Vahishta's association with atar is carried forward in the post-Gathic texts, and they are often mentioned together. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, each of the Amesha Spentas represents one aspect of creation and one of seven primordial elements that in Zoroastrian tradition are the basis of that creation. In this matrix, aṣ̌a/arta is the origin of fire, Avestan atar, which permeates through all Creation. The correspondence then is that aṣ̌a/arta "penetrates all ethical life, as fire penetrates all physical being."[12]

In the liturgy Asha Vahishta is frequently invoked together with fire. (Yasna l.4, 2.4, 3.6, 4.9, 6.3, 7.6, 17.3, 22.6, 59.3, 62.3 etc.). In one passage, fire is a protector of aṣ̌a: "when the Evil Spirit assailed the creation of Good Truth, Good Thought and Fire intervened" (Yasht 13.77)

In later Zoroastrian tradition, Asha Vahishta is still at times identified with the fire of the household hearth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha

The Knight’s Templar was expelled from the Papacy in 1312 by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France. The few Templars who escaped went to the powerful kingdom of Aragon and became known as the Order of the Calatrava, who would later align with the the Montessa. In 1534, a Spanish nobleman by the name of Ignatius Loyola would revive the Templars and call them the "Society of Jesus." Loyola was a Templar, and a member of a secret society called the "Alumbrados."  The third Superior General and co-founder of the order was Francis Borgia. The Borgia bloodline is part of the notorious "Black Nobility" which dates back to the ancient Ptolemaic period in history."

Exposing the Jesuits and the Papacy: The Jesuits are the revived Knights Templar (jesuitinquisition.blogspot.com)

http://jesuitinquisition.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-jesuits-are-revived-knights-templar.html

"The Order of Calatrava (Spanish: Orden de Calatrava, Portuguese: Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164. Most of the political and military power of the order had dissipated by the end of the 15th century, but the last dissolution of the order's property did not occur until 1838.'

"Modern Times

In 1931, once again unilaterally, the Second Spanish Republic suppressed the Spanish Orders. To survive, they had to resort to the Ley de Asociaciones Civiles ("Law of Civil Associations"), leading a precarious existence until the Concordat of 1953 recognized the Priory. Afterward, by the papal bull Constat militarium, the Priory was reduced to a mere title of the Bishop of Ciudad Real.In 1980, upon request by his august father, who was appointed Dean President of the Council, King Juan Carlos I by royal initiative caused the rebirth of the Orders. Under the Apostolic Pastoral Tertio millennio adveniente, the Spanish Orders began their renewal in 1996.Today, the aim of the Spanish Orders is basically the same as they had when founded: the defense of the Catholic faith. The sword has been put aside, but their doctrine, example, self-sanctification, and divine worship remain active, aside from their cultural and social activities.Their two hundred and fifty members guard the spirit and life of the Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara, and Montesa under their Grand Master, King Felipe VI, and the Real Consejo de las Órdenes (Royal Council of the Orders) presided over by his Royal Highness Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria.[4]The Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe took the cross of the order in 1887 and established it as its company logo as a tribute to the knights, which remains until today.[5][6]""

Order of Calatrava - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Calatrava

The Oculus was positioned as part of the World Trade Center masterplan by Daniel Libeskind and designed by SANTIAGO CALATRAVA. The structure’s white metal-clad steel ribs reach up and out in a monumental move symbolic of a hand releasing a dove.The structure's orientation serves as a lasting reminder of the attacks of September 11, 2001. It is in alignment with the sun’s solar angles on each September 11, from 8:46 am, when the first plane struck, until 10:28 am, when the second tower collapsed. Its central skylight fits this alignment and washes the Oculus floor with a beam of light."

World Trade Center Oculus

50 Church Street New York, NY 10007

Oculus Transportation Hub | World Trade Center (officialworldtradecenter.com)

https://www.officialworldtradecenter.com/en/local/learn-about-wtc/oculus-transportation-hub.html

Eataly NYC Downtown - Italian restaurant

101 Liberty St

New York, NY 10007

Bread-themed branch of the famed Italian market, offering counters, restaurants & cooking demos.

(212) 897-2895

Closed ⋅ Opens 7 AM Sat

Eataly: authentic Italian products, restaurants, cooking classes | Eataly https://www.eataly.com/us_en

Todd Morgan Beamer was an American passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked and crashed as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was one of the passengers who attempted to regain control of the aircraft from the hijackers."

"Following this, the passengers and flight crew decided to act.[1] According to accounts of cell phone conversations, Beamer, along with Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, and Jeremy Glick, formed a plan to take the plane back from the hijackers.[10] They were joined by other passengers, including Lou Nacke, Rich Guadagno, Alan Beaven, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Linda Gronlund, and William Cashman, along with flight attendants Sandra Bradshaw and CeeCee Lyles, in discussing their options and voting on a course of action, ultimately deciding to storm the cockpit and take over the plane.[1] Beamer told Jefferson that the group was planning to "jump on" the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground before the hijackers' plan could be followed through.[7][8] Beamer recited the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm with Jefferson, prompting others to join in. Beamer requested of Jefferson, "If I don't make it, please call my family and let them know how much I love them." After this, Jefferson heard muffled voices and Beamer clearly answering, "Are you ready? Okay. Let's ROLL." These were the last words spoken by Beamer heard by Lisa Jefferson.[1][8][9]"

Todd Beamer - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Beamer

Jefferson Airplane - House at Pooneil Corners - Manhattan Rooftop Concert (1968) - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuwMEiNg3B8

Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams" is an assertion made by September 11th, 2001 attack conspiracy theorists that the burning fuel from crashed planes would not have been able to melt the supporting beams of the World Trade Center. The claim is widely mocked online for being based on flawed evidence."

Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams | Know Your Meme

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/jet-fuel-cant-melt-steel-beams

Six months after the Twin Towers fell, they returned in the form of two blue beams of light illuminating the Manhattan skyline. Since then, they have lit the sky annually as a Sept. 11 commemoration known as Tribute in Light. The tradition will continue this year to remember the 14th anniversary of the attacks."

A Look at Tribute in Light | National September 11 Memorial & Museum (911memorial.org)

https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/look-tribute-light

A Blue Mass is a Mass celebrated annually throughout the United States[1] in the Catholic Church for those employed in the "public safety field" (i.e. police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, 911 operators and EMS personnel).[2] The color blue relates to the blue-colored uniforms predominantly used by these services.[3] Similar to the Red Mass, the service honors those who have died in the line of duty and those currently serving as first responders.[4] The Mass is an opportunity for the community to show gratitude to first responders and their families.[5]"

Blue Mass - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mass

The story behind this image of slain Davis police officer Natalie CORONA

By Lisa Fernandez and KTVU Published January 12, 2019 Updated December 28, 2020 California KTVU FOX 2

DAVIS, Calif. (KTVU) - In the image, she's wearing a royal BLUE gown, carrying a black-striped American flag with a thin blue line streaked across it.

Her heels are high. Her hair is done. Her smile is beaming. And she's standing in the middle of Leesville Grade Road next to a field in Williams, Colusa County, population 21,000, in California's Central Valley, where her father was a sheriff's deputy and now a county supervisor.

It's this compelling photograph of slain Davis police officer Natalie Corona that circulated throughout the country on Friday, hours after the 22-year-old was shot to death by a suspect identified on Saturday as Kevin Douglas Limbaugh, 48. A note found on his bed inside his home, where he later killed himself, stated that he believed Davis police bombarded him with ultrasonic waves."

The story behind this image of slain Davis police officer Natalie Corona (ktvu.com)

https://www.ktvu.com/news/the-story-behind-this-image-of-slain-davis-police-officer-natalie-corona

Serge Monast (1945 – 5 or 6 December 1996[1][2]) was a Canadian investigative journalist, poet, essayist and conspiracy theorist. He is known to English-speaking readers mainly for the originating the conspiracy theory Project BLUE BEAM, which concerns an alleged plot to facilitate a totalitarian world government by destroying traditional religions and replacing them with a new-age belief system using NASA technology.[3][unreliable source?]"

Serge Monast - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Monast

SEPTEMBER 11, 1990 | CLIP OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS ON PERSIAN GULF

George H.W. Bush describes the New World Order in his address to the US Congress on the Crisis in the Persian Gulf.

User Clip: George Bush defines the New World Order | C-SPAN.org

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4528359/user-clip-george-bush-defines-world-order

ROLLback of governments hostile to the U.S. took place during World War II (against Fascist Italy in 1943, Nazi Germany in 1945, and Imperial Japan in 1945), Afghanistan (against the Taliban in 2001), and Iraq (against Saddam Hussein in 2003). When directed against an established government, rollback is sometimes called "regime change".[2]"

Rollback - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollback 

In 1917, the Virgin appeared in Fatima. "The Mother of God" was a smashing success, playing to overflow crowds. As a result, the Socialists of Portugal suffered a major defeat. "Roman Catholics world-wide began praying for the conversion of Russia and the Jesuits invented the Novenas to Fatima which they could perform throughout North Africa, spreading good public relations to the Muslim world. The Arabs thought they were honoring the daughter of Muhammad, which is what the Jesuits wanted them to believe. "As a result of the vision of Fatima, Pope Pius XII ordered his Nazi army to crush Russia and the Orthodox religion and make Russia Roman Catholic." A few years after he lost World war II, Pope Pius XII startled the world with his phoney dancing sun vision to keep Fatima in the news. It was great religious show biz and the world swallowed it. "Not surprisingly, Pope Pius was the only one to see this vision. As a result, a group of followers has grown into a BLUE Army world-wide, totaling millions of faithful Roman Catholics ready to die for the blessed virgin. "But we haven't seen anything yet. The Jesuits have their Virgin Mary scheduled to appear four or five times in China, Russia, and major appearance in the U.S.

"What has this got to do with Islam?

Note Bishop Sheen's statement: "Our Lady's appearances at Fatima marked the turning point in the history of the world's 350 million Muslims. After the death of his daughter, Muhammad wrote that she "is the most holy of all women in Paradise, next to Mary."

"He believed that the Virgin Mary chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a sign and a pledge that the Muslims who believe in Christ's virgin birth, will come to believe in His divinity.

"Bishop Sheen pointed out that the pilgrim virgin statues of Our Lady of Fatima were enthusiastically received by Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere, and that many Muslims are now coming into the Roman Catholic Church."

How the Vatican created Islam (remnantofgod.org)

http://www.remnantofgod.org/books/docs/how-the-vatican-created-islam.pdf

Pope Francis at 9/11 memorial: ‘We can never forget them’

Catherine E. Shoichet

By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN

4 minute read

Updated 7:42 PM EDT, Fri September 25, 2015

New York

CNN

—

He calls his church a field hospital for the spiritually wounded. And on Friday, Pope Francis spoke to hundreds who are still trying to heal.

Praying with families of victims of the September 11 attacks at a ground zero memorial and speaking at an interfaith service, Francis offered a message of hope at a place of horror.

“The name of so many loved ones are written around the towers’ footprints. We can see them, we can touch them, and we can never forget them,” Francis said.

“Here, amid pain and grief, we also have a palpable sense of the heroic goodness which people are capable of. … Hands reached out, lives were given.

“This place of death became a place of life, too, a place of saved lives, a hymn to the triumph of life over the prophets of destruction and death, to goodness over evil, to reconciliation and unity over hatred and division,” Francis said.

On Friday, his first full day in New York and his fourth day in the United States, Francis spoke at the UN General Assembly, sang with children at a school in Harlem, rumbled through Central Park in his Popemobile and celebrated a Mass with thousands of Catholics at Madison Square Garden.

His visit to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum was billed as a moment to pause and reflect in a day packed with large events in the public eye.

‘This really is the beginning’

At a place that’s often the site of somber memorials, the arrival of Pope Francis brought a chorus of cheers and chants.

Outside the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, about 1,000 family members of victims of the 2001 terror attack greeted the Pope.

Standing steps away from where their relatives perished, they lined up along guard railings to catch a glimpse of Francis.

Some got the chance to talk with him one-on-one. Others watched from behind barriers, trying to catch his attention.

A man shouted: “Francisco! Our whole family’s here! A blessing, please!”

It wasn’t long before the crowd joined him: “Our blessing, please! Francisco! Francisco! Francisco!”

Nixia Mena-Alexis held a bouquet of yellow roses in one hand and wore a photograph of her sister pinned to her shirt.

The flowers, she said, symbolize the Catholic Church – and hope. She said she hoped to give some to the Pope and place some beside her sister’s name – one of thousands surrounding the reflecting pools at the memorial.

Diarelia Mena worked in IT for Cantor Fitzgerald. She had just turned 30 and had a 2-year-old daughter when she was killed on September 11.

“She was full of life and her laughter was contagious,” her sister said as her eyes filled with tears.

The lifelong Catholic said coming here fills her with a mix of emotions. But Mena-Alexis knew she wanted to be here when the Pope came.

“To me, he symbolizes peace, and that’s part of what we’re striving for after what happened here,” she said. “This is sacred ground, so I wanted to be present when he came.”

Jean Colaio, 50, lost her two brothers on 9/11. Both worked at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Being in the Pope’s presence, she said, will help heal her family.

“We were here on that day and witnessed everything and evacuated. We had our horrible experience here,” Colaio said. “And this really is the beginning. We’ve been working on our healing. But I think this really has propelled it.

“I feel close and connected to my brothers because he’s here.”

Marjorie Kane, whose father was killed on 9/11, said she felt differently after seeing the Pope than she ever had at the site.

“It’s honestly the first time I can recall being on this ground and feeling this peace and calm,” she said. “I’m usually full of such sorrow and such sadness coming here.”

Papal power

It wasn’t just Catholics who said they were inspired by the Pope’s message.

Dr. Gunisha Kaur, who offered a Sikh prayer onstage at the ceremony, is pregnant and asked the Pope to bless her baby.

Onstage, before the crowd, he placed his hand on her belly.

“That is the power of this pope, that he means something to all religions,” her husband, Simran Jeet Singh, said after the service.

Kaur said she was moved by Francis – and all the faiths that were part of the program.

“During prayers that were in languages that I don’t know, I I found myself singing along,” she said. “It really felt like we were all there praying together.”

https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/25/us/pope-francis-united-nations-friday/index.html

Can. 666 In the use of means of social communication, necessary discretion is to be observed and those things are to be avoided which are harmful to one’s vocation and dangerous to the chastity of a consecrated person."

TITLE II. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES (Cann. 607 - 709)

CODE OF CANON LAW

https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann607-709_en.html

Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]"

page 463

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Revelation 13:18

New International Version

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a] That number is 666.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Revelation 13:18 Or is humanity’s number

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A18&version=NIV

Civil Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.  Therefore morning civil twilight begins when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, and ends at sunrise.  Evening civil twilight begins at sunset, and ends when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.  Under these conditions absent fog or other restrictions, the brightest stars and planets can be seen, the horizon and terrestrial objects can be discerned, and in many cases, artificial lighting is not needed. Civil Twilight is also known as Civil Dawn and Civil Dusk.

Nautical Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.  In general, the term nautical twilight refers to sailors being able to take reliable readings via well known stars because the horizon is still visible, even under moonless conditions.  Absent fog or other restrictions, outlines of terrestrial objects may still be discernible, but detailed outdoor activities are likely curtailed without artificial illumination. Nautical Twilight is also known as Nautical Dawn and Nautical Dusk.

Astronomical Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon.  In astronomical twilight, sky illumination is so faint that most casual observers would regard the sky as fully dark, especially under urban or suburban light pollution.  Under astronomical twilight, the horizon is not discernible and moderately faint stars or planets can be observed with the naked eye under a non light polluted sky.  But to test the limits of naked eye observations, the sun needs to be more than 18 degrees below the horizon.  Point light sources such as stars and planets can be readily studied by astronomers under astronomical twilight.  But diffuse light sources such as galaxies, nebula, and globular clusters need to be observed under a totally dark sky, again when the sun is more than 18 degrees below the horizon.

https://www.weather.gov/fsd/twilight

BULL of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302

For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order of the universe, all things are not led back to order equally and immediately, but the lowest by the intermediary, and the inferior by the superior. Hence we must recognize the more clearly that spiritual power surpasses in dignity and in nobility any temporal power whatever, as spiritual things surpass the temporal. This we see very clearly also by the payment, benediction, and consecration of the tithes, but the acceptance of power itself and by the government even of things. For with truth as our witness, it belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial power and to pass judgement if it has not been good. Thus is accomplished the prophecy of Jeremias concerning the Church and the ecclesiastical power: ‘Behold to-day I have placed you over nations, and over kingdoms‘ and the rest. Therefore, if the terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual power; but if a minor spiritual power err, it will be judged by a superior spiritual power; but if the highest power of all err, it can be judged only by God, and not by man, according to the testimony of the Apostle: ‘The spiritual man judgeth of all things and he himself is judged by no man‘ [1 Cor 2:15]. This authority, however, (though it has been given to man and is exercised by man), is not human but rather divine, granted to Peter by a divine word and reaffirmed to him (Peter) and his successors by the One Whom Peter confessed, the Lord saying to Peter himself, ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in Heaven‘ etc., [Mt 16:19]. Therefore whoever resists this power thus ordained by God, resists the ordinance of God [Rom 13:2], unless he invent like Manicheus two beginnings, which is false and judged by us heretical, since according to the testimony of Moses, it is not in the beginnings but in the beginning that God created heaven and earth [Gen 1:1]. Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff."

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/bon08/b8unam.htm

The Visions and Circles of Power

Transcript of audio tape from Betty J. Mills

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/bettymillsvisonsandcirclesofpowerjan1991.shtml

January 1991

The Visions and Circles of Power by Betty Mills (Jan. 1991)

http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/hoax/circlesofpower.htm

This is a transcript of a tape made by Betty J. Mills in January, 1991.   Also see the transcript of Betty’s tape, that illustrates the influence wielded by leaders of the Conservative - Christian/Conservative "New Right" which, Betty asserts, has held the door open for the liberal agenda. An Open Letter to Members of Eagle Forum and Serge Monast's transcript on Project BlueBeam

The Visions and Circles of Power

by Betty J. Mills

My name is Betty J. Mills . It is January 1991. The title of this tape is The Vision and Circles of Power.  This tape is undoubtedly the most difficult tape I have ever made and some of you may say it is also the most unbelievable.     First, let me say, as I have said in my tape and booklets, when I discuss the Catholic Church, the Vatican, the Pope and the all-Catholic SMOM (Sovereign Military Order of Malta). I am not condemning Catholics and their faith.  The Catholics' faith is their business.  I only enter when it is political and a threat to the freedom of my grandchildren and all other children - and also when it is a threat to the restoration of the sovereignty of the United States of America and its Constitutional Republic.  

Also, when I discuss the world policy makers or President George Bush [Sr.] and his administration and the war in the Gulf, I am in no way in opposition to our service men and service women.  I honor and respect them.  However, I am not behind the policy of president George Bush and his administration.  I am not behind their policy which is the policy of the World Policymakers, whose dream was - and is - the New World Order.... and the war in the Gulf is a vitally important part of this plan.  

Here is a question as part of a scenario.  What would you believe or think?... what would you say and what would you do if ?... tomorrow your children came into the house screaming, "Mommy! Daddy! Come look at the sky!"     You run outside and looking up at the sky you see a VISION.  THE VISION could be the Virgin Mary.  It could be Christ. It could be both or it could be some other [religious figure].     At this time you also hear a voice telling you that you will be receiving a message and that you must carry out the instructions you are given.  Then other members of the family come out of the house and they inform you that they have seen the same VISION on television.     You listen to the radio and you hear the message about THE VISION and other instructions that you are to follow.  You try to call relatives and friends but you find that the phone lines are busy.  Perhaps a recording will be giving some information.  You learn from television and radio that THE VISION is being seen all over the world and the messages are being heard in the language of their country or area

The Struggle for World Dominion Between Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the Capitalist West

Now... let us return to the present and reality. It will lead us to a book written by Malachi Martin considered by many as the voice for Pope John Paul II.  As I discuss Malachi Martin's book, it will lead us back to THE VISION.  From August the 2nd, 1990 until the present ... January 1991 - it is less than a six-month period of time, but it certainly is a most historical time.  During this short period of time, president George Bush implemented a vital part of the U.S. State Department plan 7277.

This is one of the final steps leading into the New World Order. President George Bush accomplished this when he placed the U.S. military into an International Military Force under the United Nations. We have nearly one-half million service men and women over in the sand, and they are functioning under United Nations' resolutions. President George Bush then announced the NEW WORLD ORDER. Following this came a startling book by Malachi Martin entitled Keys of This Blood. The jacket of this book tells us what the book is about. It says it is the "struggle for world dominion between Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Capitalist West". I challenge that statement and will detail it later.

Simon & Schuster, the publishers of this book, call it "explosive" - and indeed it is.  If the book had been written by just somebody, it would not have meant too much.  However, the author of this book is Malachi Martin who is an eminent theologian and expert on the Catholic Church.  He is a former Jesuit and a former professor at the Vatican Pontifical Biblical Institute.  He served in Rome from 1958 to 1964.... and one thing to remember is that Malachi Martin made it very clear that Pope John Paul II has offered no objection to what he, Malachi Martin, has written. This fact certainly makes the book, Keys of This Blood "explosive" - as it was called by its publishers.

Following are my remarks and highlights of the book review of Simon & Schuster.  If there is any doubt as to the New World Order meaning a One World Government, I would say that Malachi Martin's book and the book review verify the statement that the New World Order and a One World Government are one and the same. The book review states that before the end of the 1990's we will see the first One World Government that has ever existed in the society of nations.    The Simon & Schuster book review shows that Malachi Martin's statements are startling and that he, Malachi Martin - for the first time - reveals the ongoing plans and policies of a reigning pope who is of course, at this time, Pope John Paul II. Malachi Martin exposes coveted Vatican intelligence data concerning the competition among these three major powers - as stated... the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev, the Capitalist West and Pope John Paul II with his world-wide Roman Catholic church.     It is with the intent to set up and maintain the New World Order which Pope John Paul II expects to be in place before the end of the 1990's

"...Pope John Paul II as the Servant of Heaven's Grand Design"

Malachi Martin says the battle between the pope, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Capitalist West will be a "winner-take-all" battle. He says that it:

"will end in a global government being a New Economic and Political World Order that is so vast that it will have to be presided over by a super bureaucracy superior to all individual nations".

We must surely understand from those statements that this would mean the absolute end of any attempt of restoring the sovereignty of the United States of America and its Constitutional Republic with its freedom and independence - a freedom never before enjoyed by any country. Malachi Martin says that, outside of his rivals, few people see Pope John Paul II as he sees himself. He said that the Pope sees himself as a contender with the power and the determination to establish and maintain the New World Order. Malachi Martin says that Mikhail Gorbachev and the Capitalist West do not have what it takes to make them the winners. Malachi Martin says:

    "the world at large must reckon with Pope John Paul II as the servant of Heaven's Grand Design."

I would say that sounds very "New Age". And... throughout the book Malachi Martin makes it a point to tell us that Pope John Paul II is a slave to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Also, after Pope John Paul II was shot he said he had a personal communication from heaven. After this communication from heaven, Pope John Paul II concluded that the Fatima message linked with his One World Government plans. I would agree with that statement. In fact, that is what I feared and wrote about five years ago. Malachi Martin says the other two contenders feel that their present moves are in the last stages on the road to a New World Order which is already in view. AND... he said that Pope John Paul II is waiting for an event that will separate human history and that the event is THE VISION. I believe he is absolutely correct in his thinking, although I do not believe that "the vision" comes from whence Malachi Martin says.

The Message of Fatima

At the time the people view THE VISION in the sky it is very possible that they will receive the third message of Fatima. For those of you who are not familiar with this third message of Fatima, I will give just a small sketch of the story. Space does not allow the telling of the story in detail. I would suggest that any who are not familiar with the story of Fatima... get the booklet and read the story. It should be available in most Catholic book stores.The third message of Fatima could well be one of the most important messages ever heard by the people on this earth because it can be used by the world policymakers to their advantage in implementing the New World Order. It was nearly five years ago that I became very concerned about the third message of Fatima being used by the world policy-makers. I wrote a bit on it.  Yes... with the Pope being totally committed to the Virgin Mary (who is the lady of Fatima), with the Pope being the powerful religious partner of the world policy-makers and with the third message - being what the world policy-makers want it to be - the third message of Fatima could be absolutely overwhelming in their New World Order plan.

I labeled the Pope as a partner of the other two that Malachi Martin calls "adversaries" of the Pope. The Capitalist West, Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union and the Pope may be one another's adversaries at times. In a sense, while they may be adverse to one another at times, they are also at times one and the same. Now I will go back to the story of the Lady of Fatima. Fatima is a village in the center of the country of Portugal. It was near Fatima that three children saw "an angel" and later said they saw the blessed mother - the Virgin Mary. She gave them messages. Two of the messages were published. During this period of time when she was appearing before the children it was said that thousands of people viewed the sun zig-zagging in the sky. The one child, Lucia, grew to adulthood and became a nun. Lucia scribed a third message from the Virgin Mary which was eventually given to the Pope. It was to be revealed in 1960. It has not yet been revealed

When the Vision appears the Pope..."will control the Will and minds of men"

I believe now as I did before - that this message will be used by the world policymakers in helping to implement their New World Order and that the message will be what they want it to be. Remember, this could be a powerful tool in bringing about their New World Order plan.     Malachi Martin tells us that a VISION will appear and at that time the Pope's authority must be accepted and that "he will control the will and minds of men". If THE VISION and the third message of Fatima are used together it will be a most powerful means for the Pope's implementation of the New World Order along with the world policymakers. These statements are in no way intended to desecrate or defile the Virgin Mary. Our concern in this respect has been that the world policymakers will use her to further their global plan.

Malachi Martin says that the Pope will be on one of his trips when the VISION appears. I would advise that everyone take the third message of Fatima and the VISION - very seriously.      I truly believe that the world policymakers will decide what the message will be... and, that they'll also contrive the VISION by using the advanced science, technology and holography which is available today.     As I have said, this is in no way a reflection on the dedicated people who have worked diligently on the space program and in our science and technology. Also, keep in mind the irony of the fact that the Pope was supposedly in opposition to Communism.     The Capitalist West was also supposedly in opposition to Communism. Yet, one of the key members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) - William Casey - who is totally committed to the Pope and who is also part of the Capitalist West, helped build Communist Russia into a mighty military complex.      That is just one example of the Circles of Power being partly one-and-the-same. Also, there's the Vatican-Moscow Agreement which shows that at all times they could not have been totally adverse to Communism. The United States is of course a great power of the Capitalist West.     If the United States Capitalist West is an adversary of the Pope why, then, did the U.S. develop an ambassadorship with the Vatican? And... why have they always filled the post with a member of the Knights of Malta (Sovereign Military Order of Malta) who is totally committed to the Pope?      Consider the Knights of Malta (SMOM) members who are tied to the "New Right" Leadership, who in turn have numerous organizations, the membership of which is made up of people who should be opposing the New World Order.      To every true American I say...

"There is a web being woven about us from which we can never escape unless we demand a return to our Sovereignty and Constitutional Republic."

    Consider what a power structure Malachi Martin is promulgating. He is speaking to audiences which are said to be mostly Catholic. His speeches about the Pope taking control is applauded by these audiences. It is frightening when people applaud the loss of U.S. sovereignty while we send a half-million American service men and women to possibly die to "restore" sovereignty to Kuwait... which has never been sovereign.

The Papal Plan

Now... we will go to the scenario in the back of the book by Malachi Martin. Malachi Martin tells of the organizations which the Pope will approve when he takes control with his New World Order. One of the groups is Opus Dei - a powerful Catholic group.    Another - Malachi Martin says - is a group which exists on a world-wide basis and has remained in total secret. Malachi Martin does not tell us the name of this group. Malachi Martin also, when discussing the Pope's plan, notes the Knights of Malta (SMOM) as playing an important and impressive role. At this point Malachi Martin calls it the "Papal Plan".      Again, I say, remember... take this VISION seriously because this Pope would surely never allow his reputation to be placed in a position like this except that he knows this VISION is to take place. And also remember... with our science, technology, space program and advanced holography it is possible to create a VISION in the sky which every person in this world would be able to see.

U.S. State Department Plan - 7277

I would hope you would not believe THE VISION is of God. I myself definitely believe it will be of man. For those who might say that in the end times a VISION may well appear, please note that Malachi Martin does not associate this with the end times. He describes this VISION to appear in a time of peace prior to the end time.     Also, two other important points to remember. Please take note... for the New World Order to be set in cement it is necessary to totally eliminate the sovereignty of the United States of America with its Constitutional Republic and block our efforts to regain the vast part which we have already lost.      And.. as previously stated, the U.S. State Department 7277 plan must be completed with its International Military Force. Also, for the New World Order to be complete it is necessary to make sure that any part of the world with its own strong religion, strong culture, or strong economic stability is convinced of the overwhelming, invincible power of the International Military Force.      Through the war in the Gulf I am sure the middle east and other countries have been convinced.     That leaves the second part of 7277 to be implemented - that part being the transfer of all arms of all nations and all individuals into the U.N. International Military Force. Yes... 7277 is the plan for General and Complete Disarmament, meaning disarming all nations and transferring all arms to the International Military Force.      Pope John Paul II sanctioned the Five-Continent Initiative. Much of its leadership was New Age. A key issue of this initiative was "general and complete disarmament". Those were the very words of the 7277 plan.      You may ask, "Am I implying that this is an all-Catholic planned takeover?"  No. I am not. As we show in our Colonel North, William Casey, and the Knights of Malta booklet... it is more than that. The world policymakers who intend to rule this world are made up of the billionaire cartel of banking, business, industry, oil, agriculture, minerals, gems and all else. The world policymakers are made up of Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Humanists, Atheists and others.      The world policymakers were wise enough to know they needed a religious head with great charisma. You see, there is no political power that is all powerful without the connection of religion. These world policymakers have strived for years to build their New World Order - One World Government and they have used the United Nations since its inception as a powerful international tool.     The U.S. State Department plan 7277 was their dream for an International Military Force, and the second part of the 7277 plan is an extremely important part. We question, "When will president Bush or another implementor drop the other shoe and implement the second part?" That is the total disarmament of every nation and every individual by the means of transfer of all arms to an International Military Force.      Former Congressman, John Ashbrook, of Ohio warned of 7277 in no uncertain terms. He warned us of the deadly internationalists with their New World Order plans. He warned us of Global Perspectives in Education, Incorporated.     It was amazing the things that this man saw that we had to know were going to take us into the New World Order. But, we had to face Congressman Ashbrook’s untimely death. His death was viewed with suspicion by many. His voice was the kind that many members of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate could not tolerate... and indeed the world policymakers could not tolerate John Ashbrook.

Circles of Power = World Policymakers

Who are the world policymakers?  They are the Circles of Power which Malachi Martin talks about in his book, Keys of This Blood... and far more than that. We know they include the Rockefellers, Rothschilds and other powerful groups – the Bilderbergers, the Bohemian Club, Club of Rome and the Order of Skull and Bones at Yale University.     These groups are in turn interconnected with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Economic Development and the Trilateral Commission. The powerful Sovereign Military Order of Malta also comes into play as a very important part in all of it. Within the Knights of Malta (SMOM) there is Louis Lehrman who was formerly Jewish, Bowie Kuhn, William Buckley, Alexander Haig, J.Peter Grace... and thousands more. This network is massive and it all interconnects.      The world policy-makers needed the right man as an implementor. What better man than President George Bush, a member of the Order of Skull and Bones? They needed a powerful religious head with great charisma to make the New World Order a powerful Order. Pope John Paul II is the powerful religious head who can make their political power - all-powerful.      In March of 1988 I wrote a paper, The Conservative Interlock - As I See It. After years of research, and finding no one indicating otherwise, I have reached the following conclusions.    Those listed below are part of the powerful conservative right leadership: Pope John Paul II, the Vatican, the Knights of Malta (SMOM), president Ronald Reagan and the "New Right" Leadership [Phony Conservatives; Controlled Opposition].     The New Right leadership includes Paul Weyrich [Jesuit-trained], Phyllis Schlafly [Dame of Malta-female counterpart to SMOM], Richard Viguerie, Louis Lehrman [Zionist Jew?], Jerry Falwell [Judeo-Christian] and numerous others including powerful Protestant clergy.      This entire conservative right leadership from Pope John Paul II down to the New Right leadership and their associates - both Catholic and Protestant - must be fully understood or... As I see it, what is remaining of our Republic, our sovereignty and our freedom in the United States of America will be lost forever - as well as any hope for the rest of the world.      A vast amount of money is given to various people within this powerful conservative and New Right Leadership. Contributors include those in large corporations and companies. They are also aided by tax-exempt foundations. Membership dues and contributions undoubtedly make up a considerable sum. Many people were amazed to find that some of the powerful conservative and New Right Leadership are funded by the United States Government - our tax dollars [i.e., Phyllis Schlafly]

 

Conservative Right Leadership

The key element that must be understood about the Conservative Right Leadership is the fact that the Conservative Right Leadership functions as internationalists and socialists. There are many organizations which were always considered those that we should be opposing and we found the New Right Leadership functioning right along with them. Frightening? Indeed it is. Who would ever have believed it? ==Liberals and Conservatives promoting the same One World Government actions for the New World Order.      Conservatives and New Agers working together.      Conservatives and Reverend Moon joining together.      The world policymakers must be stunned at how well their plans have worked. The top leadership of the internationalist socialists are part of the world policymakers. Yes, they are the billionaire cartel of business, banking, etc., plus religion... and they do heavily influence nearly every government in the world.      Keep in mind the Revolutionary War has never really ended. We fought to be free of tyranny under a king and we insisted on living in freedom under a government of we, the people. One group of people came to America to enjoy political and religious freedom and insisted that others should enjoy the same.      But note... there was another group that came to America. They came to impose their political and religious beliefs on everyone. They were already world policymakers made up of the internationalist socialists and other European political and religious leaders.      The Revolutionary War was thought to be ended, but the group who wanted to impose their religious and political beliefs on us all had a foreign allegiance and they were still here. They were well embedded in America.      Now, generations later their off-spring continue in high places, working with European leaders and are still determined to impose their political and religious beliefs on us all. They are determined to abolish sovereign America and develop their own One World Government - New World Order with a One World Religion.      Remember... religion makes it easier to control [the masses - people] and far more powerful.     Then, following this, we were faced with further proof that the New Right leadership were functioning in a manner to silence all out-cry to the New World Order and that they were indeed functioning as internationalists and socialists.      It was only a few months ago that a full page ad appeared in our local paper in Indiana. This paper has a vast readership. On a full page in large, bold letters it advertised a meeting concerning the New World Order to be held here in Fort Wayne, Indiana.      Fifteen years ago, in 1976, this bold statement on the New World Order would have had hundreds of people on their feet waiting to go to the meeting and being infuriated at the idea of the pursuit of the New World Order. But, it is now fifteen years later and there was barely a sound. One organization had their spokesman come to Fort Wayne and voice their objections. A very few from here, who cared, attended.      How could it be that many of these things, including the New World Order could be met with near silence? The answer is tragic and simple. The answer is... it is because of the New Right Leadership. Fifteen years ago individuals who were considered dedicated Americans began to join the organizations of the New Right Leadership.      It is amazing how the New Right Leadership has been able to take people under the umbrella of their organizations and somehow convince them to absolutely oppose nothing but what they – the New Right Leadership – tell them to oppose. It is a sad day. I would never have believed this could all happen in so short amount of time... and it has happened.     The New Right Leadership and associates has millions of members and followers. They have had millions of dollars at their disposal. Why, then, do we continuously lose? Our justice system, our educational system - our entire government is a disaster. What is the New Right Leadership all about?  I repeat my question from previous papers: "Are the New Right Leaders [alleged Christian-Conservatives] one-worlders or are they unqualified?"      President George Bush was called all kinds of names a few years ago, but once the party accepted him the people fell silent and now today he is their king. Many religious leaders are totally behind him... not all, but many. Some of the very prominent are behind him all the way.      President George Bush lied to the people, but it doesn't matter. Isn't that amazing? It just doesn't matter.      Now, I wonder, how can we ever answer to the souls from those thousands and thousands of caskets from the previous terrible wars and those who will lose their lives in this one? How can we ever explain what all these caskets were about? How is it possible, as I have asked previously, that the sovereignty of Kuwait could be so important that we give away the sovereignty of our own nation by going into the International Military Force and declaring a New World Order?      We have been given a lot of reasons for our being in Kuwait. I would like the administration to tell us what we're really there for. Remember, we are told that our State Department led Saddam to believe that we were not interested in the border dispute between Iraq and Kuwai

The Gadhafi Fiasco (often pronounced Kadhafi)  

I cannot forget the Gadhafi fiasco that our State Department is still keeping hidden. Knight of Malta (SMOM), William Wilson, was chosen by President Ronald Reagan to be the first Ambassador to the Vatican. Our efforts, along with others, in opposing this Ambassadorship was totally ignored. William Wilson, the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, made an unauthorized trip to Libya. He traveled to Libya and met privately with Libyan officials. Following Ambassador Wilson's visit, Gadhafi stated that an American diplomat had been sent to reduce tensions with Libya. The U.S. State Department said they were unaware of Ambassador William Wilson's trip to Libya and the State Department flatly denied Gadhafi's statement. To the embarrassment of the United States, it was then discovered that Gadhafi was telling the truth and that the U.S. Government was not and Ambassador Wilson would not affirm or deny anything of substance about this trip.

When this first happened columnist William Sapphire said that if this was true of Ambassador Wilson he had made a liar of the United States, a mockery of our stern pronouncements and had made the U.S. a laughing stock in the eyes of our allies. Bernard Kalb, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs resigned as a result of this disinformation in relation to Ambassador Wilson's unauthorized trip to Libya. There is another important factor to consider about Gadhafi and Libya. President Ronald Reagan had called Gadhafi a mad dog and had made some very strong threats. The U.S. Government had been affirmative about bombing Libya and it resulted in killing civilians and at least one of our American pilots. Libya was considered so undesirable that we killed their civilians without any hesitation in the face of the possibility of losing our American servicemen's lives without any hesitation.

There was no outcry against five big oil companies filling their pockets while dealing with Gadhafi and while taking lives of civilians and our servicemen with absolutely no concern.  Again, we find a company headed by a Knight of Malta (SMOM) involved. It is J. Peter Grace, president of W. R. Grace. Eight members of the W. R. Grace company are said to be members of the Knights of Malta (SMOM) who are beholden to the Pope. During this period of time, Secretary of State, George Schultz [Zionist Jew] and his wife attended mass with Pope John Paul II [World Christian Leader], and Ambassador Wilson [SMOM] and his wife stood next to them. At this time Secretary of State George Schultz acknowledged that Ambassador Wilson had met with Gadhafi's Libyan officials even though the Reagan Administration had a ban against travel by U.S. citizens to Libya and of having contact with its leaders. Surely Ambassador Wilson should have been fired. But... all we heard was Secretary of State George Schultz stating, "Obviously it's an embarrassment".

Apparently even the powerful George Schultz felt he could not challenge Knight of Malta (SMOM), William Wilson. But, of course, we must remember, George Schultz is a member of the CFR - Council on Foreign Relations, the Bohemian Club and the powerful Bechtel CorporationThe CFR and the Bohemian Club has ties with the Knights of Malta (SMOM) as well as with the Order of Skull and Bones of which president George Bush is a member.      That is just a minute example of the interlock of individual organizations and corporations with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Our booklet, Colonel North, William Casey and the Knights of Malta details this, but this is also only the tip of the iceberg. Our booklet also shows the Vatican-Moscow Agreement. As I have stated, the Circles of Power that Malachi Martin mentions are actually intertwined even though at times they may "appear" as adversaries.

The power of the Knights of Malta (SMOM), who are beholden to the Pope, became very clear to me when I spent months trying to get a bit of information on the unauthorized actions of Knight of Malta, Ambassador Wilson. The State Department just continued to stall us as the letter in our booklet on the Knights of Malta shows. The Pope's Knights of Malta (SMOM) appear to have near unlimited power. They can make history as it is proven by their influencing of U.S. domestic and foreign policy and this is also stated in a Catholic paper. They can also un-make history as our Knight of Malta booklet shows. In the 1930's Knight of Malta, John J. Raskob was involved in a plot to seize the White House. Major-General Butler exposed it after they had approached him to take part in their take-over plan. Congressional hearings were held. I have copies of the hearings. All of General Butler's testimony was accepted as truth, but Knight of Malta (SMOM), John J. Raskob, and other top people involved were never called to testify... and they were never brought to account. Just the same old story - just as with Knight of Malta Ambassador Wilson and the Libyan-Gadhafi affair and... just as with Knight of Malta William Casey and the Iran Contra affair. Check your history books. Check your library. We did. And we found no record of this plot to seize the White House.

This was certainly a very important historic event but it seems it went down the black hole. Sounds like George Orwell's 1984. We consider our tape and booklet entitled Colonel North, William Casey and the Knights of Malta serving as a forerunner to this paper which we call The Vision and Circles of Power.      Going back to THE VISION we do again want to make it clear that we are in no way condemning our space program or our science, technology and holography. We just want people to stop and think about what the world policymakers may do with the accomplishments of these people in the space program and with science and technology such as we feel they will use in THE VISION.  

We of course have been aware of the New World Order plans of the world policymakers but we were also stunned at the fast moves that have been made from August 2nd of 1990 to the present time, January of 1991.  Just a five month period and yet enough happenings for many lifetimes. We've had the war in the Gulf; the implementation of the International Military Force; president George Bush announcing the New World Order; Malachi Martin's book announcing the New World Order - One World Government with Pope John Paul II in control; then continuing on with the mind-boggling event being THE VISION.... It is absolutely unbelievable

Pope John Paul II as Servant of the Grand Design

As I was reading Malachi Martin's book I told a friend that it was like everything we had researched and opposed was suddenly the absolute past and that we were stepping into a totally new era. How ironic that was because when I reached page 639 of Keys of this Blood, the words seemed to jump out at me... Malachi Martin was saying the very same thing. Malachi Martin told how THE VISION would be an absolute separation of the past and the immediate future. He further stated how all designs of all nations would be null and void. Think about that.      And he said that God's design would be introduced at the time of THE VISION and that the Pope would then become THE SERVANT OF THE GRAND DESIGN and that would be when the Pope's ministry would begin. That is certainly New Age. Malachi Martin inferred that after THE VISION there would be an era of peace and he mentions throughout the book the importance of the time until the year 2000

World Policymaker, Member of Skull & Bones - President George HW Bush - Echos Malachi Martin's Words

I finished reading the incredible book by Malachi Martin and I then read the speech that President George Bush delivered at the 45th Session of the United Nations' General Assembly in New York City on October the first, 1990. It was amazing.      Following are just certain statements he made during his speech. You may get a copy from your Congressman or Congresswoman: President George Bush said that the last two months of cooperation made him feel that he has never been more proud to serve in the ranks of the United Nations and that never had he been more proud that the United States is the host country for the United Nations.      You know, some years ago – and this is my statement – there was an effort to get the United Nations out of the United States and the United States out of the United Nations. Supposedly that is what conservatives and strong Americans sought and wanted and now the United Nations is considered a great thing.      I will go on with President Bush. He mentions "...pressing forward toward a New World Order and a long era of peace".      One has to stop and think about who they are reading and listening to... Malachi Martin or president George Bush. President George Bush goes on to mention, "... the dream of the New International Order and the separate past from the whole new beginning".      Again, he sounds just like Malachi Martin.      Isn't it odd that all of this happened at the same time?... Malachi Martin's book, President George Bush's speeches?... It makes one wonder. But then... as we've said, the world policymakers have been working together for the very same thing for years.      President George Bush then made a very disturbing statement in his speech to the United Nations when he said, "I see a world of open borders... open trade".      He went on to say, "... a world that celebrates the common heritage that belongs to all the world's people, taking pride, not just in home-town or home-land but in humanity itself".      More New Age. President George Bush was saying the very things that those today, who are standing behind him, had at one time vigorously opposed. Yes, fifteen years ago all of this would have been opposed by these conservatives - great pro-Americans - who are now part of the New Right and their organizations. President Bush said:

     "The world must know and understand, from this hour, from this day, from this hall we step forth with a new sense of purpose, a new sense of possibilities. We stand together prepared to swim upstream, to march up hill, to tackle the tough challenges as they come."

     And he made it clear that it wasn't as just our nation, which it should be, but he said, "...as nations of the world united. And so let it be said of the 20th Century, that this was a time when human kind came into its own".      His New Age statements are certainly unbelievable.

"... when we emerged from the grit and the dust of the industrial age, to bring about a revolution of the spirit and the mind and began a journey into a new day, a new age and a new partnership of nations".

"The United Nations is now fulfilling its promise as the world's parliament of peace. I congratulate you, I support you. I wish you God's speed in the challenge ahead."

What About our American Sovereignty?

 My questions are, Mr. President, "What about our sovereignty? What about our Constitutional Republic?"  But no, President George Bush was too busy giving all honor to the United Nations. I repeat. Think about that. That again is my statement. We would hope that enough people will become informed about THE VISION so that most would not believe it is of God or hopefully enough could be exposed so that the world policymakers would not have it appear.      But regardless of what happens we must have our people of America become informed. I will go back to Malachi Martin and his appearance before the audiences. It is very difficult to understand how all of these people - Americans - can be clapping and be so taken with Malachi Martin and what he is saying. Not only because of the fact of giving up our sovereignty and going into a World Government, but the fact that this Pope is a New Age Pope and the majority of these people, as I understand it, are traditional Catholics.      I've worked with many Catholics who have studied and understand and they said they cannot reach their fellow Catholics. Somehow or another they have been totally taken by all of this and... As I see it, Malachi Martin and George Bush are both leading the sheep into the deadly jaws of the wolves in sheep's clothing.

Auguste Comte

I refer here to a booklet that I read by Erica Carle where she tells about August Comte who was a philosopher with a master plan who wanted to direct the spiritual reorganization of the civilized world. Now let us place ourselves at beginning in 1820. This master planner, Auguste Comte was 22 years old at that time and he had already set his goal. He wanted nothing less than to reconstruct the entire religious, moral, scientific and political structure of the world. He believed his goal to be so worthy that he dedicated his entire adult intellectual life to outlining his plan. His name was not God, it was August Comte and August Comte said that in his plans you divided people into two basic types - those who did not believe in God and those who did believe. Those who did not believe in God, he decided, would become immediate followers of the religion of humanity. [New Age, humanism].  

Those who did believe in God would be subjected to a long period of training and change. As generations pass, both Christian and non-Christian religions could be brought closer and closer together until eventually all believers in God would be willing to become Catholic in a Catholic church which had been taken over by Comte ideology. There would then be only Catholics and humanitarians and these two major religions, now almost alike, would eventually emerge into one great, world-wide, sociologically controlled religion of humanity. I would say, it has near happened.  May God help us regain and retain our American sovereignty and our Constitutional Republic.

 How can we give such precious things away when so many of our service men and women have died to save them?  I have watched the Protestants go the same New Age road as the Catholics, but when I saw the conservative Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod being impressed with Jean Houston, a follower of Teilhard de Chardon, the Catholic humanist priest; and then hear Catholics applaud New Age Pope John Paul II, who honored Teilhard de Chardon, the humanist priest... there wasn't much left to say except.... "Welcome to the New Age - New World Order". Betty J. Mills

bibliography: Auguste Comte - Give us the Young - by Erica Carle (pg 11-15) Teilhard de Chardon - the article, Vatican Notes Teilhard de Chardon Centenary from the Vatican City Special to The Wanderer Jean Houston - Director, The Foundation for Mind Research - New York; Chairman of the Temple of Understanding - United Nations Conference ["ONE is the Human Spirit"] from the article Lutheran Brotherhood Colloquium on the Church in Future Society - the Woodland's Inn, Houston, Texas - January 29 - February 2, 1979 Paul Weyrich - from Capital Research Center titled Organization Trends, Feb., 1987; Heritage Foundation; an article titled A Conservative's Lament by Paul Weyrich, The Washington Post, Sunday March 8, 1987; Distant Drums - editor, Ron S. Miller - Volume V, Num. II, May, 1983 Knights of Malta (SMOM) Sovereign Military Order of Malta - The Keys of this Blood by Malachi Martin pg 687 - Simon & Schuster (still in print); magazine article from Harpers and Queen, April, 1990 - c/o Mercury Airfreight International Limited Incorporated, 2323 Randolph Avenue, AVENEL, NJ 07001; People of God by Penny Lernoux, by Viking (still in print) pgs 283-301; Averting Armageddon, by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, Doubleday (still in print); The Catholic Reporter - Catholic Newspaper - [John J. Raskob] Opus Dei - In God's Name, by A. Yallop, Bantom Books (still in print) pgs 265-266; Averting Armageddon pgs 131 and 278; People of God pgs 35, 36, 42 46, 99, 106, 255, 302-324, 326, 327, 346 and 350; The Keys of this Blood pg 692;

"He is waiting, rather, for an event that will fission human history, splitting the immediate past from the oncoming future.  It will be an event on public view in the skies in the ocean, and on the continental landmasses of this planet  It will particularly involve our human sun, which every day lights up and shines upon the valleys, the mountains and the plains of this earth for our eyes.  But on the day of this event, it will not appear mere.y as the master star of our so-called solar system. Rather, it will be seen as the circumambient glory of the Woman whom the apostle describes as "clothed with the sun" and giving birth to "a child who will rule the nations with a scepter of iron."

New York Times, March 24, 1994 Section A, pg 13, special to the New York Times by Alan Cowell - article regarding death of Opus Dei leader, Alvaro del Portillo Colonel North, William Casey and the Knights of Malta, booklet by Betty J. Mills, August, 1989 (should be read as a forerunner to THE VISION and Circles of Power) General Smedley Butler Hearings - (ask your Library to get it from inter-loan) Public Hearings before the Special Committee on unAmerican Activities - House of Representatives, 73rd Congress, 2nd Session at Washington, D.C., December 29, 1934 Hearings No.73-D. C.- 6 Part I

https://educate-yourself.org/cn/bettymillsvisonsandcirclesofpowerjan1991.shtml

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While exploring the hotel, Danny (Danny Lloyd) encounters the ghosts of the murdered Grady twins.

FILM DESCRIPTION:

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" -- or, rather, a homicidal boy in Stanley Kubrick's eerie 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel. With wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and psychic son Danny (Danny Lloyd) in tow, frustrated writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the winter caretaker at the opulently ominous, mountain-locked Overlook Hotel so that he can write in peace. Before the Overlook is vacated for the Torrances, the manager (Barry Nelson) informs Jack that a previous caretaker went crazy and slaughtered his family; Jack thinks it's no problem, but Danny's "shining" hints otherwise. Settling into their routine, Danny cruises through the empty corridors on his Big Wheel and plays in the topiary maze with Wendy, while Jack sets up shop in a cavernous lounge with strict orders not to be disturbed. Danny's alter ego, "Tony," however, starts warning of "redrum" as Danny is plagued by more blood-soaked visions of the past, and a blocked Jack starts visiting the hotel bar for a few visions of his own. Frightened by her husband's behavior and Danny's visit to the forbidding Room 237, Wendy soon discovers what Jack has really been doing in his study all day, and what the hotel has done to Jack.

CREDITS:

TM & © Warner Bros. (1980)

Cast: Danny Lloyd, Lisa Burns, Louise Burns

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Producers: Robert Fryer, Jan Harlan, Mary Lea Johnson, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Richards

Screenwriters: Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMbI7DmLCNI

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0or31TYjqAnA53SUMhvc8JNymVX3xCk2mwePpoSnBiE1igivVp1JbSq5UCxhKwdFSl

Half-Life: Blue Shift is an expansion pack for the first-person shooter video game Half-Life (1998). It was developed by Gearbox Software and published by Sierra On-Line. Blue Shift was the second expansion for Half-Life, originally intended as part of a Dreamcast port of Half-Life. Although the Dreamcast port was cancelled, the Windows version was released as a standalone product on June 12, 2001. It was released on Steam on August 24, 2005.

As with Gearbox's previous expansion pack, Opposing Force (1999), Blue Shift returns to the setting and events of Half-Life, but portrays the story through the eyes of another character. Players control security guard Barney Calhoun, employed by the Black Mesa Research Facility, who must fight his way to safety during an alien invasion. Blue Shift also includes a graphics pack that upgrades the Half-Life models and textures.

Blue Shift received mixed reviews. Many reviewers were critical of the short length and lack of new content, although the new graphics were praised.

Gameplay

As an expansion pack for Half-Life, Blue Shift is a first-person shooter. The overall gameplay of Blue Shift does not significantly differ from that of Half-Life: players are required to navigate through the game's levels, fight hostile non-player characters and solve a variety of puzzles to advance.[1] The game continues Half-Life's methods of an unbroken narrative. The player sees everything through the first-person perspective of the protagonist, and remains in control of the player character for almost all the game. Story events are conveyed through the use of scripted sequences rather than cut scenes. Progress through the game's world is continuous; although the game is divided up into chapters, the only significant pauses are when the game needs to load the next part of an environment.[1]

The player battles through the game alone, but is occasionally assisted by friendly non-player characters. Security guards and scientists will occasionally help the player in reaching new areas and convey relevant plot information. Blue Shift also includes a substantial section dedicated to keeping a major character in the story safe from enemy characters, and escorting him to a specific location.[2] A selection of enemies from Half-Life populate the game, including alien creatures such as headcrabs and Vortigaunts. The player also encounters human opponents in the form of a detachment of US Marines who have been sent to eliminate the alien threat and silence any witnesses.[3] Blue Shift does not elaborate on the storyline in Opposing Force, the preceding expansion pack, and no enemy characters or weapons introduced in it appear in the game. The player is instead given access to a limited selection of Half-Life's original weaponry.[2]

Synopsis

Setting

Blue Shift is set in the same location and time frame as that of Half-Life, taking place at a remote New Mexico laboratory called the Black Mesa Research Facility. In Half-Life, the player takes on the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist involved in an accident that opens an interdimensional portal to the borderworld of Xen, allowing the alien creatures of Xen to attack the facility. The player guides Freeman in an attempt to escape the facility and close the portal, ultimately traveling to Xen to do so.[4] As in Opposing Force, Blue Shift shows the events of Half-Life from the perspective of a different protagonist. The player assumes the role of Barney Calhoun, a security guard working near the labs where the accident takes place. Calhoun is responsible for the preservation of equipment and materials and the welfare of research personnel, and after the accident turns Black Mesa into a warzone, he must work with Dr. Rosenberg, a high-ranking scientist involved in the experiment, to evacuate the facility.[5]

Plot

Blue Shift begins similarly to Half-Life, as Barney Calhoun rides a train through the Black Mesa research facility to reach his place of work. After reporting for duty, Calhoun is instructed to assist in maintenance on a malfunctioning elevator.[6] As Calhoun finishes repairs, however, Freeman's experiment takes place and results in a "resonance cascade", causing massive damage to the facility and teleporting alien creatures into the base. The elevator is badly damaged and fails, sending Calhoun plummeting into the depths of Black Mesa.

Calhoun regains consciousness at the bottom of the shaft and begins to fight his way to the surface to escape. Emerging near Black Mesa's classification yards, Calhoun learns that Dr. Rosenberg and his colleagues plan to escape the facility using teleportation technology.[7] After freeing Rosenberg from the captivity of the US Marines detachment sent to silence the facility, Calhoun escorts him to a decommissioned prototype teleportation laboratory, where several Black Mesa employees have already gathered. Rosenberg then teleports Calhoun to the Xen borderworld to calibrate research equipment needed to pinpoint a teleport destination outside of Black Mesa.[8] Upon his return, Rosenberg informs Calhoun that the teleporter's battery power has been exhausted, and contact has been lost with a team sent to acquire a new power cell.

Calhoun travels to the power generators on a lower level to find a fresh power cell while firefights rage between the Marines and the forces of Xen. After returning with a new power cell, Calhoun assists Rosenberg in evacuating the few surviving personnel through the teleporter. Calhoun is the last to enter the portal and as he does so, Marines breach the laboratory and fire on him, causing the teleporter to explode. As a result of the teleporter's destruction, Calhoun enters a "harmonic reflux", causing him to be rapidly teleported to a variety of locations in Xen and Black Mesa. At one location, he witnesses Freeman's capture by Marines midway through Half-Life, before eventually stabilizing at the intended teleport location with Rosenberg at the outskirts of Black Mesa, where they then escape the facility in a company SUV.[9]

Development

Blue Shift was announced in the second quarter of 2000 as part of an upcoming Dreamcast port of Half-Life.[10] While the port was developed by Captivation Digital Laboratories, Blue Shift was developed by Gearbox Software, who also developed the first Half-Life expansion, Opposing Force.[11] The game had the working title Half-Life: Guard Duty; publisher Sierra Entertainment announced the name Blue Shift on August 30, 2000. As with Opposing Force, the title has a double meaning, referring to both the blue shift light phenomenon and the name of Barney's shift.[12] The Dreamcast port would include higher detail models and textures[13] that were double the polygon count of Valve's original Half-Life models.[14]

At the European Computer Trade Show in September 2000, information about Blue Shift's story and development direction was revealed, along with a release date of November 1, 2000, for the Dreamcast version of Half-Life.[14] The port was delayed by Sierra to ensure the "high expectations of consumers" were met, anticipating release by the end of the year.[15]

On March 29, 2001, Sierra announced that Blue Shift would also be released for Windows[16] as a standalone game that would not require the original Half-Life to run.[17] The new models developed for the Dreamcast version would also be included in the PC version as the Half-Life High Definition pack, and could be applied to Half-Life and Opposing Force.[18] At the E3 2001, Gearbox announced that Blue Shift was complete[19] and exhibited a playable version.[20] It was released on June 12, 2001, in North America,[21][22] and on June 15 in Europe.[23][24] On June 16, 2001, Sierra canceled the Dreamcast port of Half-Life, citing "changing market conditions".[25] A late build of the Dreamcast version eventually leaked online, featuring complete versions of Half-Life and Blue Shift.[26]

Blue Shift and the High Definition pack were initially absent from the launch of Valve's content delivery system Steam in September 2003, despite the presence of both Half-Life and Opposing Force on the system.[27] The game was released on Steam on August 29, 2005, along with the High Definition Pack.[28] Blue Shift was also published as part of Sierra's Half-Life: Generation compilation in 2002,[29] and as part of Valve and Electronic Arts' Half Life 1: Anthology on September 26, 2005.[30]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life:_Blue_Shift

RFK Jr.’s HHS cuts include a slap in the face to 9/11 heroes

Recent dismissals leave in doubt the future of a program that administers health care support for those who developed 9/11-related medical issues.

'Bloodbath': Protesters meet Trump at every step as he butchers U.S. government agencies

05:52

April 8, 2025, 11:12 AM PDT

By Frank Figliuzzi, MSNBC Columnist

Given the sheer volume of indiscriminate firings and funding cuts under the Trump administration, it’s understandable that one such outrage would slip by us with little media attention. Yet, if the number of messages I’ve received from members of the first responder community are any indication, one particularly callous cut last week did not escape the attention of police officers, firefighters and federal agents who worked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

The Trump administration recently fired the head of the World Trade Center Health Program, and dismissed two-thirds of the entire staff at the program’s parent agency, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The dismissals leave in doubt the future of the initiative that administers health care support for those who developed 9/11-related cancers, respiratory ailments and other medical issues.

First responders and investigators continue to die because of their exposure to the toxic air and materials of the 9/11 sites.

Under the direction of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. John Howard, administrator of the WTC Health Program, was let go. So too were more than 800 doctors, epidemiologists and staffers throughout NIOSH whom the WTC team relies on to research, identify and address the myriad health issues related to the rescue, recovery and evidence collection efforts at the toxic 9/11 sites. When law enforcement and rescue workers develop cancers that may stem from those efforts, the WTC unit must first certify that the illness is 9/11-related before those patients can start to receive care under the program. While the 86 members of the WTC unit appear to remain employed, their essential support network at NIOSH is mostly gone, and officials and advocates assert these cuts will cripple the program.

John Feal, a 9/11 first responder who helped lobby for passage of the James Zadroga Act that created the WTC Health Program, blasted the gutting of the program. He told the New York Daily News the cuts were “the most reckless, careless, unconscionable, disgusting, and vile act against those in the 9/11 community that has been committed since Sept. 11, 2001.”

Benjamin Chevat, executive director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, who successfully fought for renewal of the act, was similarly scalding in his assessment. “These cuts to NIOSH will be devastating to the World Trade Center Health Program and must be stopped. The first step must be restoring Dr. Howard as NIOSH Director immediately,” Chevat said in a statement. He called the move “another example of chainsaw incompetence.”

Trump fired the man who likely saved his life: Former medical official

10:36

The potential loss or minimization of the WTC Health Program is no small thing. As I wrote in 2023, first responders and investigators continue to die because of their exposure to the toxic air and materials of the 9/11 sites. At least 10 times as many New York police officers (241) have died of 9/11-related illnesses than the number of officers (23) who were killed the day of the attack. Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro, whose union represents FDNY rank-and-file firefighters, said in 2022 that he expected the number of firefighters dying of illnesses related to 9/11 to soon surpass the 343 FDNY personnel killed that day.

A similar phenomenon holds true for those who were deployed to the other crash sites. A 2021 report from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund said “more people are now believed to have died of 9/11-related illnesses than were lost on September 11, 2001.”

The impact of the HHS cuts on the health of first responders is not limited to the WTC Health Program.

The impact of the HHS cuts on the health of first responders is not limited to the WTC Health Program. NIOSH also runs a larger Center for Firefighter Safety, Health, and Well-being, which examines issues such as cancers developed by firefighters and whether firefighters’ personal protective equipment adequately safeguards them. Beyond the first responder community, NIOSH’s mission is to help protect the safety of the working public, particularly those at greatest risk such as coal miners.

The potentially devastating hit to the WTC Health Program is particularly shocking, though, not just for its lack of compassion, but also because it will most impact a voting block believed to strongly support Trump. Police unions and organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, publicly announced their backing for Trump in the last election. The international Association of Fire Fighters, for its part, declined to endorse a candidate after backing Joe Biden in 2020, and some individual local firefighter unions have supported Trump.

More from MSNBC Daily

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Jessica Calarco

The president and his axe-wielding Cabinet members seem either blind to the impact of the WTC health program cuts on their own voters or they don’t care. Either way, it’s likely that many 9/11 heroes and their families will never forget that Trump abandoned them.

Frank Figliuzzi is an MSNBC columnist and Senior National Security and Intelligence Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He was the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, where he served 25 years as a special agent and directed all espionage investigations across the government. He is the author of "The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau's Code of Excellence."

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/rfk-jr-trump-hhs-cuts-9-11-wtc-trump-newsletter-rcna200067

Sibel Edmonds is a former contract translator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the founder and editor-in-chief of the independent news website NewsBud.

The FBI hired her as a translator shortly after 9/11 but fired her after less than seven months. She identified herself as a whistleblower and challenged her termination; however, the courts dismissed her lawsuit for wrongful termination because the FBI would need to disclose privileged information. She accused a colleague of covering up illicit activity involving Turkish nationals, alleged serious security breaches and cover-ups and that intelligence had been deliberately suppressed, endangering national security. [1][2][3] Following her accusations, the US attorney-general imposed a state secrets privilege order on her, which prevents her from revealing more information about the FBI.[4] The PEN American Center awarded her the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award in 2006.[5] She published a memoir in March 2012, titled Classified Woman – The Sibel Edmonds Story.[6]

In 2004, Sibel Edmonds founded and published the Boiling Frogs Post, an online media site that states it offers nonpartisan investigative journalism.[7] In 2016 as editor-in-chief Sibel expanded and founded NewsBud independent news media with associates, partnered with BFP.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibel_Edmonds

Sibel Edmonds

March 23 at 8:49 AM 

Billy, you have 180 days to take action.

 

Hi Billy,

Your Facebook account has been suspended. This is because your account, or activity on it, doesn't follow our Community Standards.

If you think we suspended your account by mistake, you have 180 days to appeal our decision. If you miss this deadline your account will be permanently disabled.

Controlled opposition

Controlled opposition is the use of black propaganda and saboteurs who claim to oppose a particular faction but are in fact working for the faction.

One alleged example is the Serbian Party Oathkeepers (SSZ), led under their president Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, who claim to be opposed to the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). [citation needed] Similar claims have also been made about the Democratic Party regarding their weakness to oppose the second Trump administration. [6]

Controlled opposition can also mean a party or group that stands as a placeholder for the opposition, but who are ultimately completely ineffective and therefore everything is "controlled" by the ruling parties, without necessarily a direct conspiracy taking place. [7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_(politics)#Controlled_opposition

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10221077527766953&set=a.10221077528126962

St. John Paul II Taught Me How to Die

I met a man with Parkinson’s’ Disease last week. He lay sunken into his hospital bed, face blank as he watched the tiny television screen in the corner. Slowly, he was helped to his feet. His hands shook, as is expected in patients with Parkinson’s. As he walked, his foot dragged, his hospital stocks resisting against the tile floor.

At first, I noticed his smell. He was recovering from surgery and couldn’t shower or get to the restroom by himself. I was tempted to turn away. But then, a few minutes later, his blank expression began to seem more human. Emotion flooded his face as he asked me a few questions. The conversation wasn’t life shattering or incredibly profound, but it reminded me: this man was more than his sickness.

This man would one day be unable to feed or dress himself because of his tremors. He would face dementia and immobility. He was a man suffering, a man dying.

But, then again, aren’t we all?

ST. JOHN PAUL II

In class the next day, we talked about the substantia nigra, a region of the brain in which deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine leads to Parkinson’s. The professor turned our attention to various pictures on the screen of famous people who have suffered from the disease. The last picture, I noticed excitedly, was St. John Paul II.

I was in 3rd grade when he died. I remember hearing the news. To me, at the time, Pope John Paul II was an old, holy man. He was sick, just like our old grandparents get sick. I pictured him tired, hunched atop his seat.

As I grew up and learned more about him, I began to remember the JP2 that existed before my time: a secret force against Nazi occupation, a preserver of Polish arts and culture, an avid sportsman, and, of course, the patron saint of hipsters. I thought back to pictures of him plastered everywhere at his canonization: energetic, inspired, active.

jpii-hipster-glasses-300x263

But there, in that lecture hall, I remembered the old, holy man once again. I remembered the Pope hunched in his chair, face blank. I remembered that he would drool unintentionally, that his hands would shake as he blessed the masses. He was a man suffering. A man dying.

As Mark Hart described it, “Watching (now) St. John Paul the Great in those final months was like watching a soul drag a body behind it.”

pope-john-paul_2594311b

JP2 was indeed a man suffering and a man dying. But we remember him now not because of his sickness or his gradual decline. We remember him a saint, a man who embraced life—and death—with dignity.

He was given a mighty cross in the last years of his life. Imagine his thoughts as trips to the doctor replaced trips to the mountains, as the hands entrusted with the Church on earth trembled violently. Someone had to help the mighty ruler eat, dress, and live. And still, he led us. Still, he blessed us. He gave his life—spiritually, emotionally, and physically—to the vocation the Lord had called him to. With radical abandon, he entrusted his suffering to God.

As he once said, “man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self.”

EMBRACING SUFFERING

I think we can learn a lot from St. JP2 today. In a world where physician-assisted suicide is considered brave, where killing oneself in place of facing a terminal disease is deemed “dying with dignity,” St. JP2’s example speaks volumes.

What if he had had given up? What if he had woken up one day and realized that he would die from this, that he would be unable to function by himself, that he could no longer do the things he loved to do? What if this realization had led him to believe it wasn’t worth it, that he would be less of a person, that he might as well die now, before it took his body away from him?

If St. John Paul II had killed himself at the news of his diagnosis, think of how many people it would have affected. The people inspired by his outreach in the years before his passing. The people who had seen him emanate light amid suffering. The people like me who look back on his suffering and view that as his most daring act of love, even above his secret escapades against the Nazis or his global impact and influence.

We would remember not a “gentle lion,” but a poor man dealt a sad hand.

But what bravery we, instead, reflect on. What bravery it took for JP2 to realize that his physical ability did not determine his personhood. What profound wisdom it took for him to realize the gift of the body, and to accept the fact that it would one day decline. In this humble submission to God’s will, JP2 turned tragedy and suffering into a total gift of self.

He poured himself out even more in the face of his own mortality. He gave and gave and gave until there was nothing left of him.

And where did it get him? The grave… and then heaven.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

We, too, will end up in the grave. That’s out of our control.

We will die. We will suffer. We will face a time when we can’t do the things we once loved, when our minds aren’t as sharp as they once were. Soon we will look in the mirror and see one suffering, one dying.

But that second part, the heaven part, that is completely within our control.

We don’t have to be dragged into our final days. Instead, we can die with dignity, emulating the example of St. John Paul the Great as we run wholeheartedly toward God’s plan for us without hesitation. Only then can we see that our demise can be inspiring and beautiful. It can convert souls, incite joy, and lead us closer to the embrace of Christ Himself.

Amid suffering and pain, let us embrace our cross. Because, for every painful step we take toward our own personal crucifixion, we grow one step closer to the chance of eternal union with the Lord.

“The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons.” (St. JP2)

https://lifeteen.com/st-john-paul-ii-taught-me-how-to-die/

Thinner (1996) - Die Clean Scene (8/10) | Movieclips

Movieclips

Aug 5, 2019

Thinner - Die Clean: Tadzu (Michael Constantine) tells Billy (Robert John Burke) that in order to lift the curse, he must transfer it to someone else.

BUY THE MOVIE: https://www.fandangonow.com/details/m...

Watch the best Stephen King's Thinner scenes & clips:

   • Stephen King's Thinner (1996) | Movie...  

FILM DESCRIPTION:

Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) is an obese lawyer who accidentally hits a Gypsy with his car after his wife distracts him. Given Halleck's influence in town and a general prejudice against Gypsies, he manages to brush the incident under the rug with some unethical legal help from his associates. However, the victim's father, Tadzu Lempke (Michael Constantine), places a curse on the heavyset man, and he starts to lose weight at an alarming rate, which is followed by other macabre events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCG1EiqEAEg

Why did David ask God to “create in me a clean heart” in Psalm 51:10?

Answer

When David prays, “Create in me a clean heart,” he is asking God for forgiveness. The subtitle to Psalm 51 clarifies the situation: “A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.”

Second Samuel 11 tells the sordid tale. King David saw Bathsheba, a married woman, and lusted after her. He summoned her to fulfill his desires. Some time later, she notified him that she was pregnant with his child. David first tried a cover up, and, when that did not work, he arranged for the murder of Bathsheba’s husband. David then married her.

Obviously, David did not have a clean heart after this. He had committed adultery and possibly rape, as the language used in this case is also used of rape; his summoning of and sleeping with Bathsheba was certainly an abuse of royal authority. He then engaged in deception and finally in murder, corrupting others in the process. When it was all done, he thought he had succeeded in covering it up and destroying all the evidence. The last sentence of 2 Samuel 11 tells us, “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord” (verse 27).

In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan confronts David. He does so using a parable that David could relate to. He told of a rich man who took advantage of a poor man by stealing his only lamb, a pet, which he killed to feed to his guests. David was overcome with anger and exclaimed, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity” (2 Samuel 12:5–6).

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7). Although David had tried to hide his sin, it was eating away at him inside, as he records in Psalm 32:3–4: “When I kept silent [about my sin], my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” David admitted to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). He knew he needed a clean heart.

When David was through trying to hide his sin, he confessed it freely. Psalm 51 is that confession and plea for forgiveness. His request “create in me a clean heart” is simply another way of asking for forgiveness and spiritual cleansing. Psalm 51:1–10 is filled with poetic descriptions of forgiveness and cleansing, identified in italics below:

“Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

“For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight;

so you are right in your verdict

and justified when you judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;

you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Even though David suffered consequences for his sin, which are outlined in 2 Samuel 12, he was forgiven and restored to spiritual fellowship with God. Psalm 32 tells of the great relief that David felt when he confessed, and in this psalm he encourages others to confess their sins as well:

“Blessed is the one

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one

whose sin the LORD does not count against them

and in whose spirit is no deceit.

“When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

For day and night

your hand was heavy on me;

my strength was sapped

as in the heat of summer.

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, ‘I will confess

my transgressions to the LORD.’

And you forgave

the guilt of my sin.

“Therefore let all the faithful pray to you

while you may be found;

surely the rising of the mighty waters

will not reach them.

You are my hiding place;

you will protect me from trouble

and surround me with songs of deliverance.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Do not be like the horse or the mule,

which have no understanding

but must be controlled by bit and bridle

or they will not come to you.

Many are the woes of the wicked,

but the LORD’s unfailing love

surrounds the one who trusts in him.

“Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;

sing, all you who are upright in heart!”

Paul uses Psalm 32 as an example of salvation apart from works (Romans 4:6–8). David was forgiven not because of any works he did to earn forgiveness, but simply because he asked in faith. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, any sinner can ask God for forgiveness, that is, for a clean heart, and he will receive it. The apostle John also tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1: 8–9). In spite of all that David did, and all that we do, God is willing to forgive because Jesus paid the penalty that we deserve. No matter how dirty we are, God can create in us a clean heart.

https://www.gotquestions.org/create-in-me-a-clean-heart.html

Romans 4

1599 Geneva Bible

4 1 He proveth that which he said before of faith, by the example of Abraham, 3, 6 and the testimony of the Scripture: and ten times in the Chapter he beateth upon this word, Imputation.

1 What [a]shall we say then, that Abraham our father hath found concerning the [b]flesh?

2 [c]For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath wherein to rejoice, but not with God.

3 [d]For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

4 [e]Now to him that [f]worketh, the wages is not [g]counted by favor, but by debt:

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth in him that [h]justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

6 [i]Even as David declareth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying,

7 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sin.

9 [j]Came this [k]blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say, that faith was imputed unto Abraham for righteousness.

10 [l]How was it then imputed? when he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? not when he was circumcised, but when he was uncircumcised.

11 [m]After, he received the [n]sign of circumcision, as the [o]seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had, when he was uncircumcised, [p]that he should be the father of all them that believe, not being circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also.

12 [q]And the father of circumcision, not unto them only which are of the circumcision, but unto them also that walk in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had when he was uncircumcised.

13 [r]For the promise that he should be the [s]heir of the world, was not given to Abraham, or to his seed, through the [t]Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 [u]For if they which are of the [v]Law, be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect.

15 [w]For the Law causeth wrath: for where no Law is, there is no transgression.

16 [x]Therefore it is by faith, that it might come by grace, and the promise might be sure to all the [y]seed, [z]not to that only which is of the Law: but also to that which is of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all,

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a [aa]father of many nations) even before [ab]God whom he believed, who [ac]quickeneth the dead, and [ad]calleth those things which be not, as though they were.

18 [ae]Which Abraham above hope, believed under hope, that he should be the father of many nations: according to that which was spoken to him, So shall thy seed be.

19 And he [af]not weak in the faith, considered not his own body, which was now [ag]dead, being almost an hundred years old, neither the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

20 Neither did he doubt of the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in the faith, and gave [ah]glory to God,

21 Being [ai]fully assured that he which had promised, was also able to do it.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 [aj]Now is it not written for him only, that it was imputed to him for righteousness,

24 But also for us, to whom it shall be imputed for righteousness, which believe in him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

25 Who was delivered to death for our [ak]sins, and is risen again for our justification.

Footnotes

Romans 4:1 A new argument of great weight, taken from the example of Abraham the father of all believers: And this is the proposition: if Abraham be considered in himself by his works, he hath deserved nothing wherein to rejoice with God.

Romans 4:1 By works, as appeareth in the next verse.

Romans 4:2 A preventing of an objection: Abraham may well rejoice and extol himself amongst men, but not with God.

Romans 4:3 A confirmation of the proposition: Abraham was justified by imputation of faith, therefore freely without any respect of his works.

Romans 4:4 The first proof of the confirmation, taken of contraries: to him that deserveth anything by his labor, the wages is not counted by favor, but by debt: but to him that hath done nothing, but believeth in him which promiseth freely, faith is imputed.

Romans 4:4 To him that hath deserved anything by his work.

Romans 4:4 Is not reckoned nor given him.

Romans 4:5 That maketh him which is wicked in himself, just in Christ.

Romans 4:6 Another proof of the same confirmation: David putteth blessedness in free pardon of sins, therefore justification also.

Romans 4:9 A new proposition: that this manner of justification belongeth both to uncircumcised, and also to the circumcised, as is declared in the person of Abraham.

Romans 4:9 This saying of David, wherein he pronounceth them blessed.

Romans 4:10 He proveth that it belongeth to the uncircumcised (for there was no doubt of the circumcised) in this sort: Abraham was justified in uncircumcision, therefore this justification belongeth also to the uncircumcised. Nay, it does not appertain to the circumcised in respect of the circumcision, much less are the uncircumcised shut out for their uncircumcision.

Romans 4:11 A preventing of an objection: why then was Abraham circumcised, if he were already justified? That the gift of righteousness (saith he) might be confirmed in him.

Romans 4:11 Circumcision, which is a sign: as we say, the Sacrament of Baptism, for Baptism which is a Sacrament.

Romans 4:11 Circumcision was called before a sign, in respect of the outward ceremony: now Paul showeth the force and substance of that sign, that is, to what end it is used, to wit, not only to signify, but also to seal up the righteousness of faith, whereby we come to possess Christ himself: for the holy Ghost worketh that inwardly indeed, which the Sacraments being joined with the word, do represent.

Romans 4:11 An applying of the example of Abraham to the uncircumcised believers, whose father also he maketh Abraham.

Romans 4:12 An applying of the same example, to the circumcised believers, whose father Abraham is, but yet by faith.

Romans 4:13 A reason why the seed of Abraham is to be esteemed by faith, because that Abraham himself through faith was made partaker of that promise, whereby he was made the father of all nations.

Romans 4:13 That all the nations of the world should be his children: or by the world may be understood the land of Canaan.

Romans 4:13 For works that he had done, or upon this condition that he should fulfill the Law.

Romans 4:14 A double confirmation of that reason: the one is, that the promise cannot be apprehended by the Law, and therefore it should be frustrated: the other, that the condition of faith should be joined in vain to that promise which should be apprehended by works.

Romans 4:14 If they be heirs which have fulfilled the Law.

Romans 4:15 A reason of the first confirmation, why the promise cannot be apprehended by the Law: because that the Law doth not reconcile God and us, but rather denounceth his anger against us, forsomuch as no man can observe it.

Romans 4:16 The conclusion of this argument. The salvation and justification of all the posterity of Abraham (that is, of the Church which is gathered together of all people) proceedeth of faith, which layeth hold on the promise made unto Abraham, and which promise Abraham himself first of all laid hold on.

Romans 4:16 To all the believers.

Romans 4:16 That is to say, not only of them which believe and are also circumcised according to the Law, but of them also which without circumcision, and in respect of faith only, are counted amongst the children of Abraham.

Romans 4:17 This fatherhood is spiritual, depending only upon the virtue of God, who made the promise.

Romans 4:17 Before God, that is, by a spiritual kindred, which had place before God, and maketh us acceptable to God.

Romans 4:17 Who restored to life.

Romans 4:17 With whom these things are already, which as yet are not in deed, as he that can with a word make what he will of nothing.

Romans 4:18 A description of true faith, wholly resting in the power of God, and his good will, set forth in the example of Abraham.

Romans 4:19 Very strong and constant.

Romans 4:19 Void of strength, and unmeet to get children.

Romans 4:20 Acknowledged and praised God, as most gracious and true.

Romans 4:21 A description of true faith.

Romans 4:23 The rule of justification is always one, both in Abraham and in all the faithful: that is to say, faith in God, who after that there was made a full satisfaction for our sins in Christ our mediator, raised him from the dead, that we also being justified, might be saved in him.

Romans 4:25 To pay the ransom for our sins.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%204&version=GNV