Jim Morrison’s stolen grave bust found after 37 years

Jim Morrison’s stolen grave bust found after 37 years

By Amarachi Orie, CNN

 3 minute read 

Updated 10:43 AM EDT, Tue May 20, 2025

A sculpture of the late American singer and poet Jim Morrison that went missing from his gravesite in Paris almost four decades ago has been found, according to French police.

“After 37 years of absence, the bust of Jim Morrison, stolen in 1988 from the Père Lachaise cemetery, has been found,” wrote the Paris Regional Judicial Police Directorate in an Instagram post on Friday.

It added that “this iconic symbol for the singer’s fans was recovered” during an investigation conducted by the Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade, under the authority of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office.

“This was a chance discovery made during a search ordered by an examining magistrate at the Paris court,” the prosecutor’s office told CNN in a statement Tuesday.

Jeff Jampol, manager of the Jim Morrison Estate, told CNN in a statement Tuesday that they were “happy to hear” of the statue’s rediscovery, adding: “Obviously it’s a piece of history, and one Jim’s family wanted there on his grave, so it’s gratifying to see that it’s been recovered.”

“Now we’ll have to see what kind of shape the bust is in,” he continued.

Morrison, the charismatic frontman of 1960s psychedelic rock band The Doors, died in 1971, aged just 27.

His grave in the French capital attracts many music fans.

Resting in the Père Lachaise cemetery, it is one of the most popular graves in Paris, according to the city’s official tourism website, with crowds gathering there on the anniversary of his death on July 3 every year.

Visitors look at the grave of Jim Morrison at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France, on July 1, 2021, two days before the 50th anniversary of the singer's death.

Visitors look at the grave of Jim Morrison at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France, on July 1, 2021, two days before the 50th anniversary of the singer's death. Yoan Valet/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The bust, created by Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin, was installed on his tombstone on the 10th anniversary of his death, according to the official city of Paris website. However, it disappeared in 1988.

The grave’s headstone, which was damaged in the 1980s, was replaced by his parents in 1990 with the epitaph “True to His Spirit” written on it in Greek.

On the 20th anniversary of Morrison’s death in 1991, police had to disperse fans from the cemetery with tear gas due to unruly behaviour.

By the 30th anniversary, alcohol and music had been banned, but thousands still turned up to his plot to lay wreaths and take photos.

“Every day, somewhere in the world, a Doors song is played,” said former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek at the time. “The energy of Jim Morrison is still with us, in the ether.”

What do you think?

Join 33 others in the comments

View Comments

Morrison, who was also known as “The Lizard King,” developed a reputation for his heavy alcohol drinking and shocking onstage antics.

Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands opens the exhibition "Queens by Andy Warhol" at another museum in the Netherlands in October 2024.

Related article

Dutch town hall says it may have accidentally thrown out Andy Warhol work

Morrison left the band in 1971 to focus on writing poetry and he moved to Paris with his girlfriend, Pamela Courson.

However, he died in their Paris apartment later that year.

Courson told authorities that she had found the singer dead in the bathtub.

His cause of death is officially recorded as being heart failure but no autopsy was conducted, prompting conspiracy theories.

CNN’s Jack Guy contributed reporting.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/style/jim-morrison-grave-bust-found-intl-scli

Asclepion of Pergamon

Pergamon Asclepion, the world's best and most versatile ancient hospital that served in the Hellenistic and Roman Empire periods, was built in Izmir's Bergama district in the 4th century BC and has been a treatment center for patients from various parts of the world for 900 years. Apart from the healing water, fresh air, and the treatment methods related to the spa; You can find historical information, treatment methods, places to see and many legends about Asclepion, where many physicians such as Galen, who have been tried in the history of medicine, were tried by suggestion and entertainment, and many legends.

God of Health "Asclepius"

Asclepius, the God of Health in Greek Mythology, was raised by Kheiron, who was half human-half horse. Since he grew in nature, he knew plants very well and he knew very well which plant was good for human health. Although his experience cures people's illnesses, his main goal was to revive dead people. He solved the secret of this by taking the clean blood flowing from the right side of the Gorgons (Euryale, Stheno and Medusa) after they were killed.

Asclepius's resurrection of the dead with the clean blood of the Gorgons disturbed the peace of the god Zeus and sent one of his lightning to Asclepius, destroying him. His father, Apollo, avenged his son by killing the Cyclops, who were the lightning source of Zeus. According to the story told in Anatolian lands, after the death of Asclepius, the prescription that Asclepius held was mixed with the soil, and with the rains, a panacea appeared here. Wild garlic, which is still used in the treatment of diseases today, is grown in Pergamon Asclepion and its surrounding.

Asclepion

The temples and healing centers built in the name of Asclepius, the god of health, in the Hellenistic Period are called "Asclepion". The caretaker and healing priests living in the houses built next to these places and believed to be descendants of Asclepius are called "Asclepiades". In this regard, while the most important healing center of the Classical World is Epidaurus in Greece, Pergamon Asclepion comes second.

What is the foundation legend of Pergamon Asclepion?

When Arkhias, son of Aristakhminos and the noble person of the period, fell and broke his leg while hunting on the slopes of Madra Mountain one day, he was taken to Epidauros and he was treated there. When he returned to Pergamon, he wanted to establish a more magnificent and multi-faceted healing center in Pergamon to express his gratitude to the God of Health (4th century BC). The new healing center, which was established outside the city, on the slope of the Geyikli Mountain, was moved further in time and took its final form during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 117-138). Especially in the Roman period, it became one of the best healing centers in the world, where many methods used to heal patients and still valid today were tried for the first time.

What are the treatment methods used in Asclepion?

The suggestion method used today to heal various diseases was the most effective treatment method applied in Asclepion of Pergamon for centuries. Orator Aelius Aristides stated the treatment methods used in Asclepion in his work named "Hieroi Logoi". These included suggestion therapy, hot, cold and mud baths for physical illnesses, medicinal herbs, diet cures, massages with vegetable oil or ointments, blood removal (hajemat), emptying the intestines, sunbathing therapies. If necessary, surgical interventions are also performed.

Father of Pharmacy "Galen (Claudius Galenus)"

Galen is a world-renowned medical doctor who was born in Pergamon in 129 AD. Thanks to his architect father, he had very good financial opportunities and he received medical education from Satyros in Pergamon Asclepion at the age of 16. After going to Corinth and then Alexandria to complete his education, he returned to Pergamon at the age of 28 and continued his studies in a gladiator school. Since he treated gladiators here, he developed his knowledge of anatomy and became the chief physician of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, first at a larger gladiator school in Rome.

Galen is both a physician and a chemist. His 83 treatment methods have survived until today. He was the first physician to make medicine by mixing herbs and a few active ingredients. Therefore, its nickname is "medicina", the Latin word meaning drug / curative. Today he is known as the "father of pharmacy".

What are the places to see in Asclepion?

In the holy area of Asclepion, you can see a courtyard with a gallery, a 3500-seat theater, a cult hall belonging to Emperor Hadrian, a library, the Temple of Asclepios, sleeping rooms, the holy spring and pools.

Viran Kapı (Ruined Gate)

The entrance to Asclepion during the Roman period was through the arched door, which has only a short wall today and is called the Viran Kapı by the people. However, due to the prestige and importance of the hospital, pregnant women and those with fatal diseases were never allowed inside. According to a rumor, "Death Is Forbidden In Asclepion For The Blessing Of All Gods" was written on the Ruined Gate. With this important suggestion, it must have been aimed to establish the belief that patients will definitely recover inside.

Via Tecta (Sacred Way)

The patients who entered the Ruined Gate walked the Via Tecta road, about 1 kilometer, and were greeted by the priest physicians (Asclepiades) at the end of the road. In order to protect the patients from adverse weather conditions, there were shops that were closed on the road and selling offerings and items that would help patients on the right and left to find healing.

Heroon

Heroon is the name given to the mausoleums built in ancient Greece to honor heroes or kings. The Heroon of Asclepius was built in the southern part of the Via Tecta road during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC - AD 14) for a respected person or a person likely to belong to a hero. It is not known to whom it belongs.

Entrance Courtyard

This monumental door (Propylon), where the patients walking the Via Tecta road were welcomed by the priests and was first diagnosed, is surrounded by galleries in Corinthian style on 3 sides and was built by the Roman consul Claudius Charax in the 2nd century AD. If the patient who came here cannot be treated, he would not be allowed in.

Sacred Fountain

Although the Pergamon Asclepion took its final form in the 2nd century AD, the history of the holy fountain and pool located here goes back to the 4th century BC. In other words, since the beginning of life in Pergamon, it has been believed that the water here is sacred.

Kryptoporiktus (Underground Passage)

The 70 meters long underground passage (Kryptoporiktus) connects the sleeping rooms and the treatment building in Asclepion. Since it was covered with vaults, it protected the patients from hot and cold weather. In addition, the mystical air formed here, together with the sound of the holy water dripping from the top of the tunnel, helped the patients recover.

Library

The square structure to the east of the north gallery served both as the emperor's hall and as a library.

The Ancient Theater

The Ancient Theater, estimated to have been built by a nobleman from Pergamon, has 3500 people capacity and 3 floors. At the bottom is a lodge for the emperors, and its stage has 3 floors. With this feature, it is the first among the ancient theaters built in Anatolia. In time, music and dance shows were organized here that would be good for the patients.

https://www.turkeytourorganizer.com/blog/asclepion-of-pergamon/

The Greeks had colonized coasts of Sicily and southern Italy, and the fertile land had made many new cities wealthy, with splendid temples and richly furnished houses. These Greeks colonies eventually came under Roman control, but brought with them their art, literature and learning.

page 6

"City-state to superpower"

Ancient Rome

by Eyewitness Books

When Attalus, the Pontiff and King of Pergamos, died in 133BC, he bequested the Headship of the "Babylonian Priesthood" to Rome. William B. Barker in his book "Lares and Penates cracks open the codeword Pergamos as used by St. John in Revelation 2:13. He writes: "The Chaldean Magi enjoyed a long period of prosperity at Babylon. A pontiff appointed by the sovereign ruled over a college of seventy-two hierophants.... [just as the popes have 70 Cardinals] the defeated Chaldeans fled to Asia Minor, and fixed their central college at Pergamos, and too the Palladium of Babylon, the CUBIC stone [believed to represent Cybele or Kybele, the mother goddess] with them. Here, independent of state control, they carried on the rites of their religion, and plotted against the peace of the Persian Empire, caballing with the Greeks for that purpose."

Thus we see that the Chaldeans continued to wield political and religious influence, injecting thier presence into the next world empire. When the city was later given to Rome (Rome acquired the city of Pergamos by decree of Attalus III, bequething his kingdom to the Roman Caesar), the priesthood of Pergamos moved to the new power center on the Italian peninsula."

Chapter 47 "Kingdom of God or Masterpiece of Satan?-The Secret Doctrine"

page 504-505 

Codeword Barbelon book One

by P.D. Stuart

Pontifex Maximus

Introduction

The head priest of the Roman state religion was the Pontifex Maximus, or the greatest of the college of pontifices. While an obviously important and prominent position within the ranks of the Roman system, the Pontifex Maximus was not considered a magistrate comparable to a Consul, Praetor, etc.

During the Republic, the Pontifex was elected by the Comitia Tributa and served for life, while during the Empire, the position was generally held by the Emperor himself.

AD

Originally, the Ponifices were Patrician only, but the social conditions and changes during the late Republic allowed for Plebeian election as well. These men were responsible for the oversight of the state religious cult as a whole and didn't really oversee particular godly cults, though they could if necessary.

By the Imperial period there were 16 pontifices under the high priest, 15 flamines, who were special priests of the main deities, and the Rex Sacrorum (king of the sacrifices) who performed the religious acts that the king had usually done. Perhaps most importantly, he was he was also responsible for the 18 Vestal Virgins.

The main duty of the pontifices was to provide the pax deorum, or the 'peace with the gods'. Interpreting omens, sometimes through augures, controlling and keeping the official calendar, and the oversight of funerals all fell under the domain of the Pontifex Maximus.

He was responsible for an enormous collection of omens (annales maximi); that would be recorded and collected on a nearly constant basis. These heavenly signs would be written down along with accompanying events, and used to determine the divine favor of the gods. Doing so allowed following generations of priests and magistrates to understand the historic will of the gods and interpret future events against past patterns.

AD

Today, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, is still called the Pontifex Maximus. It's a political or governing office that has been in existence and in perpetual use for nearly 3,000 years.

https://www.unrv.com/culture/pontifex-maximus.php

The period from the death of Alexander until about 30 B.C. is known as the Hellenistic Age, from the word "Hellene," meaning Greek. The Hellenistic kingdoms preserved many aspect of Greek life but were eventually overcome by the rising power of Rome."

page 62

"Alexander and the Hellenistic age"

Ancient Greece

by Eyewitness Books

The Holy See[7][8] (Latin: Sancta Sedes, lit. 'Holy Chair[9]', Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈsaŋkta ˈsedes]; Italian: Santa Sede [ˈsanta ˈsɛːde]), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See,[10] is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and the Vatican City State.[11] It encompasses the office of the pope as the bishop of the apostolic episcopal see of Rome, and serves as the spiritual and administrative authority of the worldwide Catholic Church and Vatican City.[12] Under international law, the Holy See holds the status of a sovereign juridical entity.[13]

According to Catholic tradition and historical records, the Holy See was founded in the first century by Saint Peter and Saint Paul. By virtue of the doctrines of Petrine and papal primacy, it is the focal point of full communion for Catholics around the world.[14] The Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises "exclusive dominion" over Vatican City, an independent city-state enclaved in Rome, and of which the pope is the head of state.[15]

The Holy See is administered by the Roman Curia, which is composed of central institutions assisting the pope and through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted.[16][17] The Roman Curia includes various dicasteries, comparable to ministries and executive departments, with the Cardinal Secretary of State as its chief administrator. Papal elections are carried out by members of the College of Cardinals.

Although the Holy See is often metonymically referred to as the "Vatican", the Vatican City State was distinctively established with the Lateran Treaty of 1929, agreed between the Holy See and Italy, to ensure the temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence of the papacy.[18] As such, papal nuncios, who are papal diplomats to states and international organizations, are recognized as representing the Holy See and not the Vatican City State, as prescribed in the Canon law of the Catholic Church. The Holy See is thus viewed as the central government of the Catholic Church and Vatican City.[17] The Catholic Church, in turn, is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world.[19]

The Holy See maintains bilateral diplomatic relations with 180 sovereign states, signs concordats and treaties, and performs multilateral diplomacy with multiple intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and its agencies, the Council of Europe, the European Communities, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Organization of American States.[20][21][22]

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

St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome is considered the mother church of all the Catholic churches in the Western world; inscribed on the church facade for all to see are the Latin words “omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et CAPUT,” meaning, “The mother and HEAD of all the churches of the city and of the world.”

https://www.simplycatholic.com/st-john-lateran-basilica/

The House of Capet (French: Maison capétienne) ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians and the Karlings.

The direct line of the House of Capet came to an end in 1328, when the three sons of Philip IV (reigned 1285–1314) all failed to produce surviving male heirs to the French throne. With the death of Charles IV (reigned 1322–1328), the throne passed to the House of Valois, descended from a younger brother of Philip IV.

Royal power would pass on, in 1589, to another Capetian branch, the House of Bourbon, descended from the youngest son of Louis IX (reigned 1226–1270). From 1830 on it would go to a Bourbon cadet branch, the House of Orléans, always remaining in the hands of agnatic descendants of Hugh Capet himself a descendant of Charlemagne, except for the 10-year reign of Emperor Napoleon.

Names

The House of Capet (French: Maison capétienne) were also called the Direct Capetians (Capétiens directs), the House of France (la maison de France), or simply the Capets. Historians in the 19th century came to apply the name "Capetian" to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet (c. 939 – 996). Contemporaries did not use the name "Capetian" (see House of France). The Capets were sometimes called "the Third Race of Kings" (following the Merovingians and the Carolingians). The name "Capet" derives from the nickname (of uncertain meaning) given to Hugh, the first Capetian king.[1]

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

Alan fitz Flaad (c. 1060 – after 1120) was a Breton knight, probably recruited as a mercenary by Henry I of England in his conflicts with his brothers.[1] After Henry became King of England, Alan became an assiduous courtier and obtained large estates in Norfolk, Sussex, Shropshire, and elsewhere in the Midlands, including the feudal barony and castle of Oswestry in Shropshire.[2][3][4] His duties included supervision of the Welsh border.[5] He is now noted as the progenitor of the FitzAlan family, the Earls of Arundel (1267–1580), and the House of Stuart,[6] although his family connections were long a matter of conjecture and controversy.

Arrival in England

Flaad and his son Alan had come to the favourable notice of King Henry I of England who, soon after his accession, brought Flaad and Alan to England. Eyton, consistently following the theory of the Scottish origins of the Stewarts, thought this was because he was part of the entourage of the Queen, Matilda of Scotland,[7] Round pointed out that Henry had been besieged in Mont-Saint-Michel during his struggle with his brothers,[1] an event which probably occurred in 1091. He is known to have recruited Breton troops at that time and, after his surrender, left the scene via the adjoining regions of Brittany, where Dol is situated. This is a likely explanation for the Bretons in the military retinue he brought to England after the death of William Rufus.

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

Stuart's Cape Audio CD – CD, May 1, 2013

Stuart's got problems...It's raining. He's bored.And worst of all, he's new in town.So he's got a lot to worry about.But what does a kid like Stuart need in order to have an adventure? A cape, of course.

https://www.amazon.com/Stuarts-Cape-Sara-Pennypacker/dp/1470886391

Elizabeth died childless. Her successor was her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots' son James VI of Scotland. The thrones of England and Scotland were joined in a dynastic union until 1707. The seven monarchs of this period continued to use the style King/Queen of France, though their claim was merely nominal. None of them was willing to engage in military campaigns for France against the actual Kings of France Henry IV, Louis XIII and Louis XIV of France. Indeed, Charles I married a sister of Louis XIII, and his son Charles II spent much of his exile during the Interregnum in France (at which time, even if not formally abandoning his claim for its throne, he certainly did not emphasise it).

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

The Capetians generally enjoyed a harmonious family relationship. By tradition, younger sons and brothers of the king of France were given appanages for them to maintain their rank and to dissuade them from claiming the French crown itself. When Capetian cadets did aspire for kingship, their ambitions were directed not at the French throne, but at foreign thrones. As a result, the Capetians have reigned at different times in the kingdoms of Portugal, Sicily and Naples, Navarre, Hungary and Croatia, Poland, Spain and Sardinia, grand dukedoms of Lithuania and Luxembourg, and in Latin and Brazilian empires.

In modern times, King Felipe VI of Spain is a member of this family, while Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg is related to the family by agnatic kinship; both through the Bourbon branch of the dynasty. Along with the House of Habsburg, arguably its greatest historic rival, it was one of the two oldest European royal dynasties. It was also one of the most powerful royal families in European history, having played a major role in its politics for much of its existence. According to Oxford University, 75% of all royal families in European history are related to the Capetian dynasty.[4][5][6]

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

When were the Jesuits restored?

August 7, 1814

Pressured by the royal courts of Portugal, France and Spain, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society, causing Jesuits throughout the world to renounce their vows and go into exile. Pope Pius VII, a Benedictine, restored the Society on August 7, 1814."

https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/video-resources/jesuit-values-videos/suppression-of-the-society-of-jesus

In the second prelude, for Chief- Gene ral read highest Leader, and for captain read leader. For the first Leader the Spanish Autograph has Captain General, and for the second (leader), caudillo ; the former title expressing, as Father Rothaan remarks, a Commander-in-Chief of lawful warfare, the latter designating rather the leader of a faction, and being often used in a bad sense, as of a captain of robbers or malefactors. In order to express in some measure this distinction, he has made use of the terms Dux Generalis (LeaderGeneral) and CAPUT (HEAD) in his literal Version. The Common Version makes no distinction ; and hence, in order to render this Version with strict faithfulness, must read, both here and in the next two paragraphs, leader instead of captain, although (as the reader will already have perceived) this latter is the term which erceived) this latter is the term which corresponds the more nearly with the Spanish original. In all three places Father Rothaan has caput : in the third prelude he has again Dux instead of Imperator : see above. In the first point, in order to be strictly with the Common Version, readier?/ and smoky chair in stead of chair offire and smoke ; although this latter is what the Autograph has, a certain great chair of fire and smoke, " in which", observes Father Rothaan, there is no solidity, no true glory, but mere agitation and perpetual disturbance joined with thick darkness"; And this image", he adds, " exhibits the evil spirit such as he is, but not such as he offers himself to men's minds."

The Spiritual Exercises of Loyola

https://ia801306.us.archive.org/8/items/a588350800loyouoft/a588350800loyouoft.pdf

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

1599 Geneva Bible

13 1 The beast with many heads is described 12 which draweth the most part of the world to idolatry. 13 The other beast rising out of the earth, 15 giveth power unto him.

1 And I [a]saw a beast rise [b]out of the sea, having seven heads, and [c]ten horns, and upon his horns were ten crowns, and [d]upon his head [e]the name of blasphemy.

2 And the beast which I saw was [f]like a leopard, and his feet like a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion: [g]and the dragon gave him his power and his throne, and great authority.

3 [h]And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, but his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered and followed the beast.

4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast! who is able to war with him!

5 [i]And there was given unto him a mouth, that spake great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him, [j]to do two and forty months.

6 And he opened his mouth unto blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his Name, [k]and his tabernacle, [l]and them that dwell in heaven.

7 And it was given unto him to make war with the Saints, and to overcome them, and power was given him over every kindred, and tongue, and nation.

8 Therefore all that dwell upon the earth, shall worship him, [m]whose names are not written in the book of life of that Lamb, which was slain from the beginning of the world.

9 [n]If any man have an ear let him hear.

10 If any lead into captivity, he shall go into captivity: if any kill with a sword, he must be killed by a sword: here is the patience and the faith of the Saints.

11 [o]And I beheld, another beast coming out of the earth, [p]which had two horns like the Lamb, but he spake like the dragon.

12 [q]And he did all that the first beast could do before him, and he caused the earth and them which dwell therein, [r]to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.

13 [s]And he did great wonders, so that he made fire to come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men.

14 And deceived them that dwell on the earth by the signs which were permitted to him to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make the [t]image of the [u]beast, which had the wound of a sword, and did live.

15 [v]And it was permitted to him to give a [w]spirit unto the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast should speak, and should cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16 [x]And he made all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive [y]a [z]mark in their right hand or in their foreheads.

17 And that no man might [aa]buy or sell, save he that had the [ab]mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18 [ac]Here is wisdom. Let him that hath wit, count the number of the beast: for it is the [ad]number of a man, and his number is six hundred threescore and six.

Footnotes

Revelation 13:1 The Apostle having declared the springing up of the Christian Church and the state of the Church from which ours taketh her beginning, doth now pass unto the story of the progress thereof, as I showed in the entrance of the former Chapter. And this history of the progress of the Church, and the battles thereof, is set down in this Chapter, but distinctly in two parts, one is of the civil Roman Empire, unto the tenth verse. Another of the body Ecclesiastical or prophetical, thence unto the end of the chapter. In the former part are showed these things: First the state of that Empire, in four verses: then the acts thereof in three verses: after the effect, which is exceeding great glory, verse 8. And last of all is commended the use: and the instruction of the godly against the evils that shall come from the same, verses 9, 10. The history of the state containeth a most ample description of the beast, first entire, verses 1, 2, and then restored after hurt, verses 3, 4.

Revelation 13:1 On the sand whereof stood the devil practicing new tempests against the Church, in the verse next beforegoing: what time the Empire of Rome was endangered by domestical dissensions, and was mightily tossed, having ever and anon new heads, and new Emperors. See in the seventeenth chapter and the eighth verse.

Revelation 13:1 Having the same instruments of power, providence, and most expert government which the Dragon is said to have had in Rev. 12:3.

Revelation 13:1 We read in chapter 12 and third verse, that the Dragon had seven crowns set upon seven heads: because the thief announceth himself to be proper Lord and Prince of the world: but this beast is said to have ten crowns set upon several, not heads, but horns: because the beast is beholden for all unto the Dragon, verse 2, and doth not otherwise reign them by law of subjection given by him, namely that he employ his horns against the Church of God. The speech is taken from the ancient custom and form of dealing in such case: by which they that were absolute kings did wear the diadem upon their heads: but their vassals and such as reigned by grace from them, wore the same upon their hoods: for so they might commodiously lay down their diadems when they came into the presence of their Sovereigns: as also their Elders are said, when they adored God which sat upon the throne, to have cast down their crowns before him, chap. 4, verse 10.

Revelation 13:1

Contrary to that which God of old commanded should be written in the head piece of the high Priest, that is, Sanctitas Jehova, Holiness unto the Lord. The name of blasphemy imposed by the Dragon, is (as I think) that which S. Paul saith in chapter 2 of his 2 Epistle to the Thessalonians, verse 4. He sitteth as God, and boasteth himself to be God. For this name of blasphemy both the Roman Emperors did then challenge unto themselves, as Suetonius and Dion do report of Caligula and Domitian: and after them the Popes of Rome did with full mouth profess the same of themselves, when they challenged unto themselves sovereignty in holy things: of which kind of sayings the sixth book of the Decretals, the Clementines, and the Extravagants, are very full. For these men were not content with that which Anglicus wrote in his Poetria (the beginning whereof is, Papa stupor mundi. The Pope is the wonder of the world. Nec Deus es, nec homo, sed neuter es inter utrunque. Thou art not God, nay art thou man, but neuter mixed of both: as the gloss witnesseth upon the sixth book: but they were bold to take unto themselves the very name of God, and to accept it given of other: according as almost an hundred and twenty years since, there was made for Sixtus the fourth, when he should first enter into Rome in his dignity Papal, a Pageant of triumph, and cunningly fixed upon the gate of the city he should enter at, having written upon it this blasphemous verse:

Oraclo vocis mundi moderaris habenas,

Et merito in terris crederis esse deus.

By oracle of thine own voice the world thou governest all,

And worthily a God on earth, men think, and do thee call.

These and six hundred the like who can impute unto that modesty whereby good men of old would have themselves called the servants of the servants of God, verily either this is a name of blasphemy, or there is none at all.

Revelation 13:2 Swift as the Leopard, easily clasping all things, as the bear doth with his foot, and tearing and devouring all things with the mouth as doth the Lion.

Revelation 13:2 That is, he lent the same unto the beast to use, when he perceived that himself could not escape, but must needs be taken by the hand of the Angel, and cast into the bottomless pit, Rev. 20, yet did not he abandon the same utterly from himself, but that he might use it as long as he could.

Revelation 13:3 This is the other place that pertaineth to the description of the beast of Rome: that besides that natural dignity and amplitude of the Roman Empire, which was shadowed in the two former verses, there was added this also as miraculous, that one head was wounded as it were unto death, and was healed again, as from heaven, in the sight of all men. This head was Nero the Emperor, in whom the race of the Caesars fell from imperial dignity, and the government of the Commonweal was translated unto others: in whose hands the Empire was so cured and recovered unto health, as he seemed unto all so much the more deeply rooted and grounded fast, than ever before. And hence followed those effects, which are next spoken of: First an admiration of certain power, as it were sacred and divine sustaining the Empire and governing it: Secondly the obedience and submission of the whole earth in this verse: Thirdly, the adoration of the Dragon, and most wicked worshipping of Devils, confirmed by the Roman Emperors: Lastly, the adoration of the beast himself, who grew into so great estimation, as that both the name and worship of a God was given unto him, the fourth verse. Now there were two causes which brought in the minds of men this religion: the show of excellency, which bringeth with it reverence: and the show of power invincible, which bringeth fear. Who is like (say they) unto the beast? Who shall be able to fight with him?

Revelation 13:5 The second member containing an history of the acts of the beast, as I said verse 1. The history of them is concluded in two points, the beginning and the manner of them. The beginning is the gift of the Dragon, who put and inspired into the beast both his impiety against God and his eminity and injustice against all men, especially against the godly and those that were of the household of faith, the fifth verse. The manner of the acts or actions done, is of two sorts both impious in mind, and blasphemous in speech against God, his Church and the godly, verse six, and also most cruel and injurious in deeds, even such as were done of most raging enemies and of most insolent and proud conquerors, the seventh verse.

Revelation 13:5 Namely his actions and manner of dealing. As concerning those two and forty months, I have spoken of them before in the twelfth Chapter and second verse.

Revelation 13:6 That is, the holy Church, the true house of the living God.

Revelation 13:6 That is, the godly in several who hid themselves from his cruelty. For this bloody beast surcharged those holy souls most falsely with innumerable accusations for the Name of Christ, as we read in Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Arnobius, Minutius, Eusebius, Augustine, and others: which example the latter times followed most diligently in destroying the flock of Christ and we in our own memory have found by experience to our incredible grief. Concerning heaven, see the eleventh Chapter and twelfth verse.

Revelation 13:8 That is, such as are not from everlasting elect in Christ Jesus. For this is that Lamb slain, of which the fifth Chapter, verse six. These words I do with Aretas distinguish in this manner: Whose names are not written even from the laying of the foundation of the world, in the book of life, of the Lamb slain. And this distinction is confirmed by a like place hereafter, Rev. 17:8.

Revelation 13:9 The conclusion of this speech of the first beast, consisting of two parts, An exhortation to attentive audience in this verse: and a foretelling, which partly containeth threatenings against the wicked, and partly comforts for those which in patience and faith shalt wait for that glorious coming of our Lord and Savior Christ, the tenth verse.

Revelation 13:11 The second member of the vision, concerning the ecclesiastical dominion, which in Rome succeeded that which was politic, and is in the power of the corporation of false Prophets, and of the forgers of false doctrine. Wherefore the same body or corporation is called of S. John by the name of false prophet, Rev. 6:13, 19 and 20. The form of this beast is first described in this verse, then his acts, in the verses following, and the whole speech is concluded in the last verse. This beast is by his breed a Son of the earth (as they say) obscurely born, and by little and little creeping up out of his abject estate.

Revelation 13:11 That is, in show he resembled the Lamb (for what is more mild or more humble than to be the servant of the servants of God) but in deed he played the part of the Dragon, and of the Wolf, Matt. 7:15. For even Satan changeth himself into an Angel of light, 2 Cor. 11:14, and what should his honest disciples and servants do?

Revelation 13:12 The history of the acts of this beast containeth in sum three things, hypocrisy, the witness of miracles and tyranny: of which the first is noted in this verse, the second in the 3 verses following: the third in the sixteenth and seventeenth verses. His hypocrisy is most full of leasing, whereby he abuseth both the former beast and the whole world: in that albeit he hath by his cunning, as it were by lime made of the former beast a most miserable … or anatomy, usurped all his authority unto himself and most impudently exerciseth the same in the sight and view of him: yet he carrieth himself so, as if he honored him with most high honor, and did in very truth cause him to be honored of all men.

Revelation 13:12

For unto this beast of Rome, which of civil Empire is made an Ecclesiastical hierarchy, are given divine honors, and divine authority so far as he is believed to be above the Scriptures, which the gloss upon the Decretals declareth by this devilish verse,

Articulos solvit, synodumque facit generalem,

That is,

He changeth the Articles of faith, and giveth authority to general Counsels.

Which is spoken of the Papal power. So the beast is by birth, foundation, feat, and finally substance, one: only the Pope hath altered the form and manner thereof being himself the head both of that tyrannical Empire, and also of the false Prophets, for the Empire hath he taken unto himself, and thereunto hath added this cunning device. Now these words, whose deadly wound was cured are put here for distinction sake, as also sometimes afterwards: that even at that time the godly readers of this prophecy might by this sign be brought to see the things as present: as if it were said, that they might adore this very Empire that now is, whose head we have seen in our own memory to have been cut off, and to be cured again.

Revelation 13:13 The second point of the things done by the beast, is the credit of great wonders or miracles, appertaining to the strength of this impiety: of which signs some were given from above, as it is said, that fire was sent down from heaven by false sorcery, in this verse. Others were showed here below in the sight of the beast to establish idolatry, and deceive souls, which part S. John setteth forth beginning (as they say) at that which is last, in this manner: First the effect is declared in these words, He deceiveth the inhabitants of the earth, Secondly the common manner of working in two sorts, one of miracles. For the signs that were given him to do in the presence of the beasts: the other of the words added to the signs, and teaching the idolatry confirmed by those signs, Saying unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they should make an image unto the beasts which, etc. Thirdly, a special manner is declared: That is given unto him to put life into the image of the beast: and that such a kind of quickening, that the same both speaketh by answer unto those that ask counsel of it, and also pronounceth death against all those that do not obey nor worship it: all which things oftentimes by false miracles through the procurement and inspiration of the Devil, have been effected and wrought in images. The histories of the Papists are full of examples of such miracles, the most of them feigned, many also done by the devil in images: as of old in the serpent, Gen. 3:1. By which examples is confirmed, not the authority of the beast, but the truth of God, and of these prophecies.

Revelation 13:14 That is, images by enallage or change of the number: for the worship of them ever since the second Council of Nice, hath been ordained in the Church by public credit, and authority contrary unto the Law of God.

Revelation 13:14 In the Greek the word is in the Dative case, as much to say, as unto the worship, honor and obeying of the beast: for by this maintenance of images this Pseudoprophetical beast doth mightily profit the beast of Rome, of whom long ago he received them. Wherefore the same is hereafter very fitly called the image of the beast, for that images have their beginning from the beast, and have their form or manner from the will of the beast, and have their end and use fixed in the profit and commodity of the beast.

Revelation 13:15 And of this miracle of the images of the beast (that is, which the beast hath ordained to establish idolatry) which miraculously speak and give judgment, or rather marvelously, by the fraud of the false prophets, the Papists books are full fraughted.

Revelation 13:15 To give life as Jannes and Jambres imitated the wonders that Moses wrought.

Revelation 13:16 The third place, is a most wicked and most insolent tyrrany as was said before, usurped over the persons of men in this verse: and over their goods and actions, in the next verse. For he is said, both to bring upon all persons a tyrannous servitude, that as bondslaves they might serve the beast: and also to exercise over all their goods and actions, a peddler-like abuse of indulgences and dispensations (as they term them) amongst their friends, and against others to use most violent interdictions, and to shoot out cursings, even in natural and civil, private and public contracts, wherein all good faith ought to have place.

Revelation 13:16 That is, their Chrism, by which in the Sacrament (as they call it) of Confirmation, they make servile unto themselves, the persons and doings of men, signing them in their forehead and hands: and as for the sign left by Christ (of which Rev. 7:3) and the holy Sacrament of Baptism they make as void. For whom Christ hath joined unto himself by Baptism, this beast maketh challenge unto them by her greasy Chrism, which he doubteth not to prefer over Baptism, both in authority and efficacy.

Revelation 13:16 The mark of the name of the beast.

Revelation 13:17 That is, have any traffic or intercourse with men, but they only those which have this anointing and consecration of Clearkely tonsure, as they call it. Read Gratian de Consecratione, distinct. s. c. omnes, cap. Spiritus, etc. of these matters.

Revelation 13:17 Here the false Prophets do require three things, which are set down in the order of their greatness, a character, a name and the number of the name. The meaning is, that man that hath not first their anointing and clerical tonsure or shaving: secondly holy orders, by reserving whereof is communicated the same of the beast: or finally hath not attained that high degree of Pontifical knowledge, and of the Law (as they call it) Canonical, and hath not as it were made up in account and cast the number of the mysteries thereof: for in these things consisteth the number of that name of the beast. And this is excellently set forth in the next verse.

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&version=GNV

Père Lachaise Cemetery (French: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, [simtjɛʁ dy pɛʁ laʃɛːz], formerly Cimetière de l'Est, lit. 'Cemetery of the East') is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at 44 hectares or 110 acres.[1] With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world.

Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the arts, including Miguel Ángel Asturias, Honoré de Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt, Georges Bizet, Frédéric Chopin, Colette, George Enescu, Max Ernst, Olivia de Havilland, Marcel Marceau, Georges Méliès, Amedeo Modigliani, Molière, Édith Piaf, Camille Pissarro, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Richard Wright, Jim Morrison, and Michel Petrucciani. Many famous philosophers, scientists, and historical figures are buried there as well, including Peter Abelard, Pierre Bourdieu, Jean-François Champollion, Auguste Comte, Georges Cuvier, Joseph Fourier, Manuel Godoy, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Jean-François Lyotard, Nestor Makhno, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean Moulin, Henri de Saint-Simon, Jean-Baptiste Say, Madho Rao Scindia I, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, J. R. D. Tata, Adolphe Thiers, and Rafael Trujillo.

The Père Lachaise is located in the 20th arrondissement and was the first garden cemetery, as well as the first municipal cemetery in Paris.[2] It is also the site of three World War I memorials. The cemetery is located on the Boulevard de Ménilmontant. The Paris Métro station Philippe Auguste on Line 2 is next to the main entrance, while the station Père Lachaise, on both Line 2 and Line 3, is 500 m (1,640 ft) away near a side entrance.

History and description

Origin

The cemetery of Père Lachaise opened in 1804[3] and takes its name from the confessor to Louis XIV, Père François de la Chaise (1624–1709), who lived in the Jesuit house rebuilt during 1682 on the site of the chapel. The property, situated on the hillside from which the king watched skirmishing between the armies of the Condé and Turenne during the Fronde, was bought by the city in 1804. Established as a cemetery by Napoleon during that year, plans were laid out by Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart; the property was later extended. Napoleon, who had been proclaimed Emperor by the Senate three days earlier, had declared during the Consulate that "Every citizen has the right to be buried regardless of race or religion".

The House of Père Lachaise, Mont-Louis, in the 17th century

After the closing of the Holy Innocents' Cemetery on 1 December 1780 and as the city graveyards of Paris filled, several new, large cemeteries, outside the precincts of the capital, replaced them: Montmartre Cemetery in the north, Père Lachaise in the east, and Montparnasse Cemetery in the south. Near the middle of the city is Passy Cemetery.[4]

The French officials approved the transformation of 17 hectares of Mont-Louis into the Cemetery of the East in 1803 and the work was given to neoclassical architect Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart. He used English-style gardens as inspiration,[5] designing the cemetery with uneven paths adorned with diverse trees and plants and lined with carved graves. He anticipated various funerary monuments but only one was finally built: the grave of the Greffulhe family, in a refined neo-Gothic style.

The cemetery in 1815, an English-style park, with the tomb of Héloïse and Abélard (top right)

At the time of its opening, the cemetery was considered to be situated too far from the city and attracted few funerals. Moreover, many Roman Catholics refused to have their graves in a place that had not been blessed by the Church. In 1804, the Père Lachaise contained only 13 graves. The next year there were 44 burials, with 49 during 1806, 62 during 1807 and 833 during 1812. Consequently, the administrators devised a marketing strategy to improve the cemetery's stature: in 1817, with great fanfare, they organized the transfer of the remains of Jean de La Fontaine and Molière to the new resting place. Then, in another great spectacle, the purported remains of Pierre Abélard and Héloïse d'Argenteuil were also transferred to the cemetery along with their monument's canopy made from fragments of the abbey of Nogent-sur-Seine. By tradition, lovers or lovelorn singles leave letters at the crypt in tribute to the couple or in hope of finding true love.

This strategy achieved its desired effect: people began clamoring to be buried among the famous citizens. Records show that the Père Lachaise contained more than 33,000 graves in 1830. Père Lachaise was expanded five times: in 1824, 1829, 1832, 1842 and 1850. At present, there are more than 1 million bodies buried there, and many more represented in the columbarium, which holds the remains of those who had requested cremation.[6]

The Communards' Wall (Mur des Fédérés), located within the cemetery, was the site where 147 Communards were executed by the French Army during the Semaine sanglante, "The Bloody Week", following the final battles between the Army and the Paris Commune.[7][8] The Commune soldiers had been captured in earlier battles by the French Army, were taken to the prisons of Mazas and la Roquette, where they were quickly tried by military courts and sentenced to death. They were then taken to Pere Lachaise, where they were lined up against the wall and shot, and buried in common graves.[9] The site is a traditional rallying point for members of the French political Left. Adolphe Thiers, the second elected President of France, and the first President of the French Third Republic, who led the suppression of the Commune, is also interred in the cemetery.

Crematorium and columbarium

A funerary chapel was erected in 1823 by Étienne-Hippolyte Godde at the exact place of the ancient Jesuit house. This same Neoclassical architect created the monumental entrance a few years later.

Crematorium and columbarium building

A columbarium and a crematorium of a Byzantine Revival architecture were designed in 1894 by Jean-Camille Formigé in one building. The roof consists of a large brick and sandstone dome, three small domes and two chimneys. In the 1920s, the main dome was decorated with stained glass windows by Carl Maumejean. The final columbarium is composed of four levels: two in the basement and two exterior levels, both can contain more than 40,800 cases.

The crematorium was the first built in France. The first cremation took place on 30 January 1889,[10] a little over a year after the law of 15 November 1887 proclaimed freedom of funerals and thus authorized cremations. Nonetheless, cremation remained uncommon until the end of the 20th century. With the work of anticlerical and free-thinkers (Charles-Ange Laisant, André Lorulot), the use of cremation became more popular after overturning of the ban by the Catholic Church in 1963. From 49 cremations in 1889, there were about 5,000 cremations at the beginning of the 21st century. In 2012, cremation represents 45% of funerals in Paris.[11]

Inside the columbarium rest the remains of numerous celebrities including the director Max Ophuls and the comedian Pierre Dac. The box inscribed with Maria Callas' name is only a cenotaph.

Religion

An 1804 law[12] put in place by Napoleon addressed the question of cemetery organization relating to religious beliefs. It was required that an entire cemetery be built, or at least a section of a large cemetery, should be dedicated to a specific religion. Another law in 1881 repealed the former law but by that time at Père Lachaise, a Jewish enclosure and a Muslim enclosure already existed.[citation needed]

The law of separation of church and state on 9 December 1905 had no impact on Père Lachaise because religious emblems were still allowed on private funeral monuments. The cemetery cross was removed in June 1883.[13]

Chapel

Where the former house of Père Lachaise stood, Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart envisioned an outstanding pyramid to be used by all Christian denominations. It was never constructed but the Parisian architect Etienne Hippolyte Godde began building a chapel in 1820. It was sanctified by the Catholic Church in 1834 and is supported by the basilique Notre-Dame du Perpetuel Secours [cs; de; fr; id; it; nl; pt; zh].

Jewish enclosure

In 1804, a law was passed which allowed the sharing of cemeteries between diverse religions. The Jewish enclosure in Père Lachaise opened on 18 February 1810 in the 7th division.[14] Enclosed by a wall, this part of the cemetery included a purification room and a pavilion for the caretaker.

From 1865 to 1887 the 87th division also served as the Jewish enclosure. After the revocation of segregation within cemeteries in 1881, the walls of the enclosure were destroyed, and the Jewish dead were buried in the 96th division.[14]

Some noteworthy individuals buried in the 19th century include the actress Rachel Felix, the first French rabbi, David Sintzheim, and Robles, Singer and Fould Rothschild.[15]

Muslim enclosure

In 1856, a Muslim enclosure was opened in the 85th division – part of this section of the cemetery was newly acquired in the last extension in 1850. Work on the mosque started in 1855 based on the plans created by Marie-Gabriel Jolivet. The monument included a waiting room, a lavatorium intended for the purification of Muslims, and a counter for religious effects.[14]

The Muslim enclosure opened on 1 January 1857, making it the first Muslim cemetery in France.[16] Between 1856 and 1870, there were only 44 burials – 6 perpetual concessions, 7 temporary and 31 free of charge. The enclosure was reduced multiple times and in 1871, an unused part was dedicated to the Jewish religion.

The law of 14 November 1881 made segregation in cemeteries illegal.[17] The fence of the enclosure was removed but the plant hedge was preserved. Despite the law, the mosque was conserved but the Ottoman Empire, responsible for maintenance, lapsed in their responsibility. Plans for reconstruction were made, but during World War I, when the Ottomans became an ally to Germany and an enemy to France, those plans were cancelled. The mosque was destroyed in 1914 and a plan for reconstruction was abandoned in 1923 in lieu of the project to build the Grand Mosque of Paris.[18]

Monuments

In 1899, the Monument aux Morts by Albert Bartholomé was erected in Père Lachaise as a memorial to unidentified deceased Parisians. The monument holds a communal ossuary.

Mauthausen Memorial

In addition to the elaborate tombs, there are various monuments dedicate to individuals or groups of people including:

Monuments for foreign soldiers who died for France during World War II

Monuments in the memory of victims of concentration and extermination camps

Monuments in homage to victims of catastrophic aerial accidents

Monuments in homage to victims of June 1848 (the suppression of the Paris working class uprising)

Monument for the genocide in Rwanda

Monument for the 228 people that died aboard Air France Flight 447

Aux Morts ossuary

Monument aux morts, behind lies the ossuary

Behind the Aux Morts (To the Dead) monument sculpted by Paul-Albert Bartholomé lies an ossuary of the bones of Parisians from cemeteries all over the city, a smaller kind of modern-day catacombs. Although the monument is well known, it is not general knowledge that it is also an ossuary, and its doors usually remain closed and locked to the public. When it became overcrowded recently[when?], the bones were removed for cremation and returned to the ossuary after the incineration process. In the Père Lachaise ossuary, efforts are made to store bones and ashes in separate boxes.[19]

Cemetery today

Map of the Père-Lachaise Cemetery

Grave of Jean de La Fontaine, Père Lachaise Cemetery

Père Lachaise is an operating cemetery and accept new burials. However, the rules to be buried in a Paris cemetery are that people may be buried in one of these cemeteries if they die in the French capital city or if they lived there. Being buried in Père Lachaise is even more difficult nowadays as there is a waiting list and very few plots are available.[20] The grave sites at Père Lachaise range from a simple, unadorned headstone to towering monuments and even elaborate mini chapels dedicated to the memory of a well-known person or family. Many of the tombs are about the size and shape of a telephone booth, with just enough space for a mourner to step inside, kneel to say a prayer, and leave some flowers.[citation needed]

The cemetery manages to squeeze an increasing number of bodies into a finite and already crowded space. One way it does this is by combining the remains of multiple family members in the same grave. At Père Lachaise, it is not uncommon to reopen a grave after a body has decomposed and inter another coffin. Some family mausoleums or multi-family tombs contain dozens of bodies, often in several separate but contiguous graves. Shelves are usually installed to accommodate their remains.[citation needed]

During relatively recent times, the Père Lachaise has adopted a standard practice of issuing 30-year leases on gravesites, so that if a lease is not renewed by a family, the remains can be removed, space made for a new grave, and the overall deterioration of the cemetery minimized. Abandoned remains are boxed, tagged and moved to Aux Morts ossuary, still in the Père Lachaise cemetery.[21]

Plots can be bought in perpetuity or for 50, 30 or 10 years, the last being the least expensive option. Even for the case of mausoleums and chapels, coffins are usually below ground.[citation needed]

Although some sources incorrectly estimate the number of interred as 300,000 in Père Lachaise, according to the official website of the city of Paris, one million people have been buried there as of 2012.[6] Along with the stored remains in the Aux Morts ossuary, the number of human remains exceeds 2–3 million.[citation needed]

Habitat

Flora of Père Lachaise

Like other cemeteries around the world,[22] Père Lachaise has become a miniature biodiversity preserve.[23] A change in management practices, including a prohibition on the use of pesticides and a sterilization program that reduced the cemetery's population of feral cats, set the stage for what is now described as a "rich ecosystem."[23] Flora now growing at the cemetery includes cyclamen and orchids. The cemetery also hosts a population of foxes and 100 species of birds, including flycatchers and tawny owls.[23]

In popular culture

Père Lachaise is often referenced in French culture and has been included in various films, literary works, video games and songs. A number of English-language works also make reference to the cemetery.

Films

1960: Oscar Wilde – 1960 film. The ending credits roll over a shot of the poet's tomb.

1979: French Postcards – Laura visits Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, Isadora Duncan, and Édith Piaf burial sites.

1991: The Doors by Oliver Stone – biographical film of Jim Morrison which includes various snapshots of the tombs of those buried in Père Lachaise, such as Georges Bizet, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust. Like Morrison, a poet and singer, the tombs shown are all people of the arts, mainly music, literature and poetry.

2001: Amélie by Jean-Pierre Jeunet – images of the burial of Sarah Bernhardt with music from Samuel Barber

2006: Paris, I Love You by Wes Craven – segment about the 20th arrondissement, a couple is strolling through the cemetery where the woman is trying to find Oscar Wilde's tomb

2007: Two Days in Paris by Julie Delpy – scene where Marion is leaning on Jim Morrison's tomb

2009: Oscar and Jim short film set entirely in the cemetery

2012: Holy Motors by Leos Carax – Monsieur Merde kidnaps Kay M, a model, from a photo shoot in the cemetery

2016: Elle by Paul Verhoeven – the final scene takes place at the columbarium of the cemetery where Michele is seen in front of her parents' urn

2018: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald by David Yates – Grindelwald convenes his followers at Père Lachaise towards the end of the film.[24]

2020: Dil Bechara – Kizie Basu proposes Manny before returning to India.

Television

2000: Relic Hunter – Season 1, Episode 22 "Memories of Montmartre" – A tiara known as the Heart of Europe, the relic being sought in the episode, is hidden in vault A317 in Père Lachaise.

2021: Emily in Paris – Season 2, Episode 3 "Bon Anniversaire!" – Luc takes Emily to the grave of Honore de Balzac to tell her a story.

2022: Family Guy – Season 21, Episode 7 "The Stewaway" – Stewie goes to look for the grave of Marcel Proust after getting lost in Paris at night.

2023: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – Season 1, episode 3 – Daryl Dixon traverses through the cemetery and points out Jim Morrison's grave.[25]

Literature

1833: Ferragus by Balzac – description of cemetery

1834: Le Père Goriot by Balzac – the Père Goriot is buried in Père Lachaise

1842:  Pere la Chaise., a poem by Lydia Huntley Sigourney recording her impressions of the cemetery on her visit to Europe in 1840.[26]

1844: Le comte de Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – M. de Villefort "...considered the cemetery of Père Lachaise alone worthy of receiving the mortal remains of a Parisian family..." and intended to bury his believed-deceased daughter Valentine there.

1862: Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – Jean Valjean is buried in Père Lachaise

1869: Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert – description of cemetery

1948: The Old Beauty by Willa Cather – Gabrielle de Coucy is buried in Père Lachaise

2004: The Enemy by Lee Child – Jack and Joe Reacher's mother gets buried there after passing from cancer due being part of the French Resistance during WWII. She went by the name Beatrice.

2023: Monument to the Dead by Spanish author Victoria Sánchez is based on this cemetery. The author uses her social media presence, notably her TikTok account "bluebardot" to tell stories about its graves.

Video games

2015: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by CD Projekt – in the expansion Blood and Wine, a cemetery by the name "Mère-Lachaiselongue" is used to pay homage to the Père Lachaise cemetery. The Blood and Wine expansion is set in Toussaint, a French-inspired region.

2009: The Saboteur by former developer Pandemic Studios features the Père Lachaise Cemetery on its depictions of Nazi occupied Paris. A couple of missions are set inside the cemetery itself.

Art works

2020: Mon Ami by David Eustace – Photographic portfolio created at Père Lachaise Cemetery with artist Douglas Gordon. Exhibited at The Signet Library in 2023.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise_Cemetery

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship (a spy ship), USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats, on 8 June 1967, during the Six-Day War.[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two marines, and one civilian NSA employee), wounded 171 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[3] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nautical miles (47.2 km; 29.3 mi) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][4]

Israel apologized for the attack, saying that USS Liberty had been attacked in error after being mistaken for an Egyptian ship.[5] Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the ship's identity.[6] Others, including survivors of the attack, have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.[7][8] Thomas Hinman Moorer, 7th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accused President Lyndon B. Johnson of having covered up that the attack was a deliberate act.[9]

In May 1968, the Israeli government paid US$3.32 million (equivalent to US$29.1 million in 2023) to the U.S. government in compensation for the families of the 34 men killed in the attack. In March 1969, Israel paid a further $3.57 million ($29.6 million in 2023) to the men who had been wounded. In December 1980, it agreed to pay $6 million ($22.2 million in 2023) as the final settlement for material damage to the ship plus 13 years of interest.[10]

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

Friday the 13th 

"Friday-the-13th" has since entered the culture as a "bad omen" day. The Priory of Sion did not in ignorance choose Friday-the-13th for their attack upon the Templars. Well aware of the significance the Templars placed on the esoteric value of this number (its Order contained 13 degrees), the Priory must have realized the debilitating effect an attack on this day would have. King Philip, on the other hand, was probably less discerning. All he wanted was the Templars' immense wealth, which eluded him. It was never found, which is strange indeed, for in Paris was the Templars' central bank for all Europe. The preceptory there would have stored the largest cache of gold, second only to that which was allegedly hidden at Rennes-le-Chateau. 

Another Double-Cross? 

Had the Priory of Sion double-crossed King Philip, too? Circumstantial evidence supports this conclusion. For instance, throughout the period of this intrigue, Guillaume Pidoye - one of the king's men and guardian and administrator of the Templar goods at the Paris preceptory after the arrest of the Templars - was also a colleague of Guillaume de Gisors, the Grand Master of Sion. If Pidoye was himself a Sionist, which seems to have been the case, he would certainly have been more loyal to his Grand Master than to the King. The Holy Blood authors also suggest that Pidoye acted as a "double agent," warning the Templars of their impending arrest at the Paris preceptory. This would appear to have been an act of treason against both the king and Sion. According to legend, sometime before Friday the- 13th, the treasury in the preceptory, together with almost all its documents and records, was transported to the Templar naval base at LaRochelle, and loaded into eighteen galleys, which were never heard of again. Why would Pidoye warn the Templars? It is unlikely he would warn the enemy of his Sionist Grand Master. He would more likely inform Guillaume de Gisors of the King's impending move against the Templars. 77 The authors of Holy Blood hint at another explanation when they suggest that the Grand Master of Sion "might have been partially responsible for.. .the unexplained disappearance of its treasure."57 Alerting the Templars would then be part of an intricately woven plan. Pidoye may not have been a "double agent" as has been suggested, but a "triple agent." Pidoye knew Sion had no means of transporting Templar gold to the coast. Nor had they any ships. Only the Knights Templar had means of transport, with a fleet at La Rochelle. If tipped off in advance, the Knights could reach the port city in time. Pidoye, as representative of the king, would feign sympathy toward the Templars, warning them of impending danger, suggesting they transport their wealth out of the country before Friday-the-13th. As a triple agent, he would then inform the Grand Master of Sion of the gold transport. The Priory in turn would instruct its protector, the English navy, to intercept and scuttle the ships after confiscating the gold. The gold would then be taken to England. 

English Complicity and New Power 

Although this hypothesis can never be proved, it is interesting to note that England, over the next century, rapidly became the dominant power in the old world. The wealth of the Templars could most certainly lie at the heart of what was eventually to become the British Empire. Another indication that the English may have assisted the Priory of Sion is the fact that the Knights Hospitaller of St. John, or the Hospitallers as they came to be known, acquired the holdings of the Templars after their 1314 persecution. The Hospitallers were the 12th century English competitors of the Knights Templars during the Crusades.58Mter the Saracens regained Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, one group of Hospitallers landed on the island of Rhodes, changing its name to the Temple of St. John of Jerusalem, and the other landed on the island of Malta, changing its name to the Knights of Malta. British journalist Stephen Knight, author of The Brotherhood (1984), states that both orders are today English Masonic Military Orders.59 Moreover, the authors of The Messianic Legacy state that the Knights of Malta are also today viewed as an ideal conduit for English Masonic intelligence gathering.60 A third indication that the British may have assisted the Priory of Sion at La Rochelle is the fact that the Templars fled to Scotland soon after their suppression and there fought alongside King Robert Bruce, who was at war with England. Why would the Templars travel to such a remote place and take arms against England, unless it was related to the disappearance of their galleys at La Rochelle and the confiscation of all their holdings by the English controlled Hospitallers?

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf

Did Jim Morrison’s father inadvertently start the Vietnam War?

Sam Kemp

@SamWKemp

Sun 3 April 2022 18:30, UK

The older I get, the more I think that the one thing that unites most countercultural icons is that they were all walking, talking paradoxes. Forgive me if I sound cynical, but it seems that every figurehead of the hippie age was talking out of their arse.

Consider George Harrison and John Lennon: men who were encouraging their followers to forsake worldly possessions while earning phenomenal sums and eyeing up million-dollar homes. Or what about Jack Kerouac, who pondered the meaning of freedom in the modern world while living with – and occasionally stealing money from – his house-bound mother. It’s a problem that’s equally if not more ubiquitous today. Think about the number of musicians, artists, writers, etcetera who like to slam ‘gentrification’ while continuing to pump their hard-earned cash into trendy bars selling craft beer and wood-smoked almonds. I mean, how the hell do you smoke an almond anyway? It’s practically made of wood as it is. Alas, I digress. I think if I was forced to name one of the most surprising examples of hippie hypocrisy it would have to be Jim Morrison: a notorious opponent of the Vietnam war, who was the son of a man who not only served in the conflict but played a hand in starting it.

Most fans of The Doors will know that Morrison’s father was a flag officer in the US Navy. Few are aware that he was also a member of the US Naval force at the time of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, a confrontation between the USS Madoxx and three Vietnam People’s Navy torpedo boats that gave the Jonhson Administration the justification they needed to declare war on Vietnam. Jim’s father, George Morrison, graduated with the US Naval Academy’s Class of 1941. His first posting was to Hawaii, where he joined the crew of the minelayer USS Pruitt just in time to witness the attack on Pearl Harbour. Following several deployments in an administrative capacity with the Navy, George decided to join flight school, earning his Wings of Gold in 1944, after which he embarked on combat missions in the Pacific in the final days of World War Two and, later, during the Korean War.

By summer 1964, Morrison found himself aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard, the flagship for Naval forces stationed off the coast of North Vietnam. On August 2nd, the ship was attacked by three torpedo boats while performing a signals intelligence patrol 28 miles from the coast. As the boats approached, the Maddox fired warning shots, which were returned by machine-gun fire. Four North Vietnamese sailors were killed, and six more were wounded. The Maddox, however, emerged unscathed save for a single bullet hole. Following the confrontation, Morrison and company were put on high alert. President Johnson subsequently ordered Maddox and the USS Turner Joy to sail close to the coast and show the flag in an act of intimidation. A few days later, during an evening of stormy weather, the ships picked up sonar and radio signals that they believed were signs of another attack from the North Vietnamese navy. Believing this was enough to warrant defensive action, the ships fired on enemy targets despite no physical signs of enemy activity and reports that both attacking torpedo boats had previously been sunk.

It’s believed that the details of the incident were intentionally distorted by Morrison and other commanding officers on board the ships under the orders of the Pentagon. That very night, President Johnson interrupted primetime TV for an emergency announcement. He informed the American public that two US Navy warships had been attacked off the coast of Vietnam and that he was asking for congress’ support in conducting military action in the area. Back in the choppy seas of North Vietnam, Morrison and his team contacted US Navy headquarters in Hawaii to tell them that the enemy targets they had fired on may not have actually existed in the first place and that they could have been false returns due to the stormy weather. HQ, in turn, contacted Defense Secretary Robert McNamara but never revealed this essential information. As a result, Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave the president the power to embark on military action in Southeast Asia. And thus the Vietnam War began.

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jim-morrison-father-started-vietnam-war/

The 27 Club: A Brief History

From Robert Johnson to Anton Yelchin, 20 stars who died at 27

By Rolling Stone

December 8, 2019

Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain 27 club

Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain 27 club

Aradlo Di Crollalanza/REX Shutterstock, Matt Dunham//AP/REX Shutterstock, Stephen Sweet/REX Shutterstock

The 27 Club has become one of the most elusive and remarkably tragic coincidences in rock & roll history. The term became widely known after Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994, with rock fans connecting his age to that of Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix – though it was notable to fans in the early 1970s when those four visionaries died within just two years of each other. When Amy Winehouse passed away at age 27 in 2011, it attracted even more attention to the significance of the age. While the club has been largely connected to musicians, it has expanded since, as many young actors and artists have lost their lives due to everything from addiction to suicide to freak accidents. Here are some of the unfortunate and untimely losses connected to the club.

 

Robert Johnson

Robert-Leroy-Johnson strumming guitar dead 27

Blues Legend Robert Johnson

One of the Delta blues' most celebrated and singular talents, Robert Johnson recorded chilling, folkloric songs about hellhounds, the Devil and general despair amid swinging, dissonant, sometimes off-kilter guitar lines – the likes of which have reverberated through rock & roll for decades. He recorded less than 50 songs – including ones later covered by Cream ("Cross Road Blues"), Captain Beefheart ("Terraplane Blues") and the Rolling Stones ("Love in Vain," "Stop Breaking Down") – and performed alongside the likes of Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and Memphis Slim as he rose to fame. "You want to know how good the blues can get?" Keith Richards once said. "Well, this is it." In August 1938, just a few months after his 27th birthday, Johnson made moves on the wife of the owner of a roadhouse where he was playing, drank from an open bottle of whiskey he was offered, and died three days later of strychnine poisoning and pneumonia. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Mississippi.

Brian Jones

Mark and Colleeen Hayward/Getty Images

Jones’ death at his country home in England in 1969 seems to be the result of his foolish behavior. To mix alcohol and drugs and then dive into the swimming pool was to swim directly into the arms of death. As clear as this seems, the death of Brian Jones has become one of the most persistent mysteries of rock & roll, with many people questioning the official version of what happened. Even members of the Rolling Stones have expressed doubts. “And still the mystery of his death hasn’t been solved,” Keith Richards has said. “I don’t know what happened, but there was some nasty business going on.”

Alan Wilson

Susie Macdonald/Redferns

Canned Heat enjoyed considerable artistic and commercial success, crowned by an appearance at Woodstock in 1969. But guitarist Al "Blind Owl" Wilson was a troubled man. Like many in the 27 Club, he was estranged from his family; he lacked confidence and suffered from depression. One of his eccentric habits was sleeping outdoors, as he did at vocalist Bob Hite's house in Los Angeles on the last night of his life. Wilson's body was found in Hite's yard on September 3rd, 1970. His hands were crossed over his chest and there was a bottle of the barbiturate Seconal by his side. Cause of death was officially given as an accidental overdose of barbiturates, but drummer Fito de la Parra has said he believes Wilson committed suicide.

Jimi Hendrix

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

In the early hours of Friday, September 18th, 1970, while staying with a girlfriend in London, Jimi took some sleeping pills. Nobody knows for sure how many pills he swallowed, or whether he understood what he was taking. The drug was Vesparax, a strong barbiturate. Half a tablet was enough to put a man to sleep for eight hours – Jimi may have swallowed as many as nine. He had also been drinking. This was foolish and reckless but it was in character. During his years on the road Jimi had got into the habit of using drugs indiscriminately. “Jimi would take a handful of shit, not even knowing what it was,” his friend Deering Howe has said.

Janis Joplin

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

It is certainly easy to imagine Janis feeling lonely as she returned to her hotel room in Hollywood after her last recording session. As she sang in "A Woman Left Lonely," one of the last songs she sang, she knew that her boyfriend was taking her for granted. At around one a.m. on October 4th, 1970, she got her heroin kit out and injected a vein in her left arm. Then she went to the cigarette machine in the hotel lobby, returning to her room with a pack. She closed the door, started to undress and reached to put her packet on the nightstand. As she did so she keeled over, hitting her face on the table as she fell to the floor, where she was found dead the next day.

Jim Morrison

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The cult of Jim Morrison grew posthumously, taking off in 1979 when Francis Ford Coppola used "The End" in the soundtrack for Apocalypse Now. Part of the cult of Jim was the coincidence of him dying at the same age as Brian, Jimi and Janis. The 27 link helped reinforce the idea that Jim had been special; that his death was fated; that there was something weird going on. The fact that Jim's girlfriend had died at the same age underlined the weirdness of the coincidence. This legend was familiar to everybody with an interest in popular music by 1994 when Kurt Cobain decided to join the club.

Ronald McKernan

Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan was a sensitive, somewhat unsightly character with a drinking problem. He got together with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir in 1964 to form a jug band that developed into the Grateful Dead. Pigpen started drinking when he was twelve and, by his mid-twenties, had cirrhosis of the liver, ulcers and other health problems. Pigpen was on his own at his apartment in Corte Madera, overlooking San Francisco Bay, when the end came on March 8th, 1973. He had been dead for up to two days when his landlady found him.

Dave Alexander

Dave Alexander Stooges Dead 27 Club

Leni Sinclair/Getty

The Stooges’ founding bassist Dave “Zander” Alexander had the reputation of being a loose cannon before the group even came together: He dropped out of high school 45 minutes into his senior year to win a bet, and he and Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton once traveled to England with hopes of running into the Beatles. He also contributed several outside-the-box ideas to the group, such as the Indian-inspired “We Will Fall” on their debut and clanging “Dirt” rave-up on 1970’s Fun House. But when Alexander took too many downers before a festival appearance and couldn’t play, a few days before Fun House came out, frontman Iggy Pop fired him. He’d spend the rest of his life battling addictions and health issues, according to the book The 27s. He began drinking so much that he developed pancreatitis and, after going to a hospital where his lungs filled with fluid, died of pulmonary edema in February 1975. “He was the catalyst for so much of the Stooges,” Ron once said. “He was so ahead of his time.”

Pete Ham

Fin Costello/Redferns

After Kurt Cobain, the most notable confirmed suicide is Peter Ham of Badfinger, one of the bands the Beatles signed to their Apple label in the 1960s. As is the case with suicides, Ham reached a point where death seemed to be the only solution to his problems. He met bandmate Tom Evans in a pub near his home in England on the evening of April 24th, 1975, three days before his 28th birthday, and told him: "Don't worry, I know a way out." Fortified with drink, Ham went back to his home, wrote a note in which he expressed his bitterness towards his manager and hanged himself in his garage. Evans hanged himself seven years later. 

Chris Bell

Chris Bell Dead 27 CLub

CIRCA 1972: The influential rock band Big Star L-R Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel and Alex Chilton pose for a portrait circa 1972. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Chris Bell's career was as tragic as his demise. The talented musician (left) was the driving force behind power pop heroes Big Star, co-writing much of #1 Record with singer Alex Chilton and playing the guitar. Upon release, however – even though critics praised the music and especially Chilton, who had fronted the popular Box Tops as a teenager – the album flopped. In the six years following its release, Bell quit Big Star, slinked lower into his clinical depression and drug addiction and later had to work at his family's restaurant after more failed attempts to re-launch his career. In December 1978, Bell crashed his Triumph TR-7 sports car into a pole while he drove home from band rehearsal, killing him instantly. Much of his solo work was released posthumously, reminding many of his significance in crafting Big Star's sound.

D. Boon

D. Boon Minutemen Dead 27 club

With the Minutemen, singer-guitarist D. Boon (left) helped expand punk and hardcore's vernaculars to include funk, jazz and improv while playing faster than a locomotive. And along with labelmates Black Flag, the Southern California foursome helped define the scene's D.I.Y. ethos in the Eighties. They put out four full-lengths – including the monumental double-LP Double Nickels on the Dime – as well as several singles and EPs throughout the early Eighties. They attracted some famous fans along the way, notably Michael Stipe who invited them to open for R.E.M on a three-week North American tour. A few days after they returned from the tour in December 1985, Boon grew ill with a fever. He nevertheless chose to visit his girlfriend's parents in Arizona for the holidays and decided to lie down in the back of the band's van so he could rest as she drove. On the way, she fell asleep at the wheel and, as the van flipped, the frontman flew out its back door, broke his neck and died. "That was the worst," bandmate Mike Watt said in the book Our Band Could Be Your Life. "No more of him. No more Minutemen…. I miss him."

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel-Basquiat Dead 27

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel BasquiatAP

The year Jean-Michel Basquiat turned 20, he became an art-world celebrity on the path to a pop-culture turning point. After dropping out of high school, the self-taught, Brooklyn-born, neo-expressionist artist spent the late Seventies painting graffiti around SoHo, tagged "SAMO," and in 1980, he allowed his paintings – which featured colorful, jagged renditions of people often juxtaposed with words – to be featured in a group show. In the years that followed, he collaborated with Andy Warhol on a series of paintings, dated Madonna, appeared in Blondie's "Rapture" video and cultivated the myth of the temperamental artist, destroying some paintings and pouring dried fruit and nuts on the head of an art dealer. Along the way, he developed a serious drug problem. In the months leading up to his death in 1988 of "acute mixed drug intoxication" – namely opioids and cocaine – he claimed to be shooting a hundred bags of heroin a day. He's since become one of the most celebrated artists of the past three decades, having been the subject of a biopic and uncountable references in Jay Z songs.

Mia Zapata

The GitsPhotograph by Jackie Ransier

The Gits Photograph by Jackie Ransier

As the lead singer of the Gits, Mia Zapata was a punk force and the foremost female voice in Seattle’s burgeoning, male-dominated grunge scene. The band’s debut album Frenching the Bully made them local favorites, but as they prepared their sophomore release, Zapata was brutally beaten, raped and strangled to death in July of 1993. Grunge luminaries like Nirvana and Pearl Jam helped raise thousands of dollars to hire a private investigator to look for her murderer, who was not found and convicted until 2003. In the aftermath, her friends launched Home Alive, a self-defense organization, and hosted a series of benefit concerts and released compilations featuring an assortment of Seattle-based bands. Zapata’s friends in 7 Year Bitch paid tribute to her with their 1994 album ¡Viva Zapata! while Joan Jett would go on to tour with the Gits under the name Evil Stig (which is Gits Live backwards) to benefit the investigation for her murderer as well as pay tribute to their friend.

Kurt Cobain

Michel Linssen/Redferns

Kurt Cobain's body was discovered by an electrician on Friday, April 8th, 1994. The answer to the question posed by the authors of Who Killed Kurt Cobain? is simple: Kurt Cobain killed himself. He did so with sudden, self-inflicted violence, leaving written evidence of his state of mind. Kurt's substance abuse counselor remembered how worried the musician had been about losing his home in a lawsuit: "Suicidal people tend to want to make a statement," Nial Stimson said. "I just kind of felt he killed himself in his house [as if to say], "You're not going to take my house, no matter what. . .'"

Kristen Pfaff

Erica Echenberg/Redferns

One of the mourners at Kurt's Seattle memorial was Kristen Pfaff, a member of Courtney Love's band, Hole, and a former girlfriend of fellow member Eric Erlandson. Two months after Kurt's death, in 1994, Pfaff died of a heroin overdose in the bath at her Seattle apartment, just like Jim Morrison. She was also 27, the third member of the Seattle music community to die at that age within a year.

Randy “Stretch” Walker

Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain 27 club

At the height of his popularity, Tupac Shakur’s power was such that a person could become famous simply by existing in his direct vicinity. That may be how Randy “Stretch” Walker rose to prominence, but he possessed far too much raw talent to be written off as another hanger-on. A skilled producer and strong rapper in his own right, Stretch was a regular guest on Pac’s studio records after a run with his own group, Live Squad. Whether behind the boards or on the mic, Stretch exuded the original-gangsta authenticity that sold records during the ‘90s. That same realness eventually made him the target of a November 1995 assassination in Queens – less than a year before Tupac himself would be fatally shot. Now, they’re both clinking glasses of O.E. in the kingdom.

Jeremy Michael Ward

Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain 27 club

When Jeremy Michael Ward was found dead of a heroin overdose in his L.A. home in May 2003, it was less than a month before the debut album of his band, the Mars Volta, was set to be released. Despite De-Loused at the Comatorium being the band’s first LP, it was one of the most hotly anticipated records of the year: At the Drive-In founding members Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala had disbanded the El Paso post-hardcore outfit in 2001, just as they were cresting into mainstream fame, abandoning their place as the next Rage Against the Machine in favor of weirder pastures. They teamed up with childhood friend and longtime collaborator Ward, who, as the band’s “sound manipulator,” was able to realize their left-field ideas. De-Loused was a Rick-Rubin produced prog-punk opera set in the mind of a drug-induced coma patient, which semi-factually told the story of their friend Julio Venegas, an artist who had leapt to his death off a Texas freeway overpass in 1996. But despite Ward’s rambunctious demeanor and avant-garde talent, when performing with the band, he sat off stage, manipulating the music with an elaborate pedal setup and a Korg Kaoss pad. After his death, the band continued to release albums, though none would equal the success of the first.

Jonathan Brandis

Editorial use only. No book cover usage.Mandatory Credit: Photo by Warner Brothers/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5875245c)Jonathan BrandisThe Neverending Story II - 1990Director: George MillerWarner BrothersGERMANYScene Still

Warner Brothers/Kobal/REX Shutterstock

Jonathan Brandis’ 2003 suicide is a dark reflection of the too-frequent downfall of former child stars. Brandis began acting at age six, holding down bit parts in soap operas and sitcoms before graduating to films like Stephen King’s It. But it wasn’t until 1993, at the age of 17, when he got his big break in the popular series SeaQuest DSV. He became an instant heartthrob, receiving thousands of fan letters and causing levels of public pandemonium that neared Beatlemania. But the show was cancelled in 1996, and Brandis struggled to maintain his fame and career. In 2002, he was set to appear in Hart’s War starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell – a film he saw as his opportunity for a comeback – but all of his scenes were cut. A year later, he hanged himself in his Los Angeles apartment and later died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

Amy Winehouse

WINEHOUSE British singer Amy Winehouse poses for photographs after being interviewed by the Associated Press at a studio in north London, . Winehouse is not your average suburban London girl. First off, there's the diminutive singer's larger-than-life look _ black beehive of hair, mascara-drenched eyes, old-school sailor tattoos. It's part Dusty Springfield, part Morticia Addams. Then, there's the 23-year-old's extraordinary voice, like Billie Holiday channeling the Shangri-LasBRITAIN AMY WINEHOUSE, LONDON, United Kingdom England

Matt Dunham/AP/REX Shutterstock

What Amy’s state of mind was when she took her last gulps of vodka at home in London in July 2011 is impossible to know. She had said there were things she still wanted to do with her life, but she seemed unable to take action. Despite being a remarkably honest and open person in many respects, she had always been cagey about her inner life. Observing Amy as we have, there is a strong sense that she was sick of her career. Like Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, she had become a prisoner of her image. And, as with Janis Joplin, her man was glaringly absent at the end. So were other people Amy had depended upon and, in many cases, exhausted.

Anton Yelchin

Anton yelchin Dead age 27

Getty Images

Anton Yelchin did a lot of work in his 27 years – from 2011 to 2015 alone, he appeared in 18 films, not including various voiceover gigs – and yet not nearly enough. A sensitive actor with a penchant for visionary auteurs such as Jim Jarmusch, Drake Doremus, and Jeremy Saulnier, his best years had barely begun when he died in a freak accident, pinned against a brick pillar by his own car. But he leaves behind a versatile, stellar filmography jumping from blockbusters (he made for an excitable Chekov in the Star Trek reboots) to horror homage (he was the spine of 2011’s Fright Night remake) to small-scale romance (he courted Felicity Jones in Like Crazy). There’s no telling what he could’ve done, but now, all we can do is be grateful for what we’ve got.

Entries 2-7, 9, 14, 15 and 19 adapted from 27: A History of the 27 Club through the Lives of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse by Howard Sounes. Reprinted courtesy of Da Capo Press.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/the-27-club-a-brief-history-17853/pete-ham-239801/

Regimini militantis Ecclesiae (Latin for To the Government of the Church Militant) was the papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on September 27, 1540, which gave a first approval to the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, but limited the number of its members to sixty.

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

Daniel 9:27

1599 Geneva Bible

27 And he [a]shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to [b]cease, [c]and for the overspreading of the abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Daniel 9:27 By the preaching of the Gospel he confirmed his promise, first to the Jews, and after to the Gentiles.

Daniel 9:27 Christ accomplished this by his death and resurrection.

Daniel 9:27 Meaning, that Jerusalem and the Sanctuary should be utterly destroyed for their rebellion against God, and their idolatry: or as some read, that the plague shall be so great, that they shall be all astonied at them.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%209%3A27&version=GNV

The Origin of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Doctrine

June 11, 2022

By Mark Williams.

How did the pretribulation doctrine come about? A brief rundown would go something like this:

In 1591 a Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera wrote a 500-page commentary on the grand points of Babylon and the antichrist, the object being to set aside the Protestant teaching that the Papacy is the antichrist. In his commentary, he assigned the first chapters of Revelation to the first century. The rest he restricted to a literal three and a half years at the end of time, BEFORE the resurrection. He taught that the Jewish temple would be rebuilt by a single individual antichrist that would abolish the Christian religion, deny Christ, pretend to be God, and conquer the world. Thus was laid the foundation for Dispensationalism.

In 1812 another Jesuit priest, named Emmanuel Lacunza, started teaching that there would be a 45-day tribulation period, AFTER Christ’s coming.

In 1826 Edward Irving translated Lacunza’s book and published it in 1827. Sometime after that, Irving started to teach a three-and-a-half-year tribulation after Christ’s coming.

In 1830, a man named John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren started teaching a seven-year tribulation period. He came to America seven times to promote his teaching. When George Muller of Bristol came up against the Dispensationalist doctrines of the Brethren movement, he severed all connection with it. “The time came,” he said, “when I had to either part from my Bible or part from John Darby. I chose to keep my precious Bible.”

So in 1812, we see the teaching of a 45-day tribulation after the rapture.

Around 1827 Edward Irving taught a three and a-half-year tribulation after the rapture. Then in 1830, the final turn to a seven-year tribulation after the rapture. Others picked up on this new doctrine and added to it.

In 1909, C. I. Scofield published the Scofield Reference Bible. His dispensational notes were mixed in with the verses of the Bible so well that if you didn’t know better, you would think they were part of the Holy Scriptures. Over two million copies of his Bible were sold with this new dispensational teaching. Scofield, although not a Plymouth Brethren, was a devoted disciple of John Darby.

After that, W. E. Blackstone wrote a book titled Jesus Is Coming Again. A millionaire financed sending several hundred thousand copies of this book to missionaries throughout the world.

After Israel became a nation in 1948, prophecy teachers sprung up like wildfire, teaching that the Second Coming would happen approximately forty years after Israel became a nation. They got this belief from misinterpreting the word “generation” in Matthew 24. Hundreds of books were written on this subject. People learned about this new doctrine, not from the Bible, but from these so-called prophecy books.

Today Dispensationalism has become the generally accepted belief of the Fundamentalist wing of popular Protestantism.

In his tract, “Who is the Antichrist?” a former Catholic priest, Joseph Zacchello, says: “The Jesuits were the first ones to introduce a new theory in order to divert men’s minds from perceiving the fulfillment of the prophecies of the antichrist in the papal church. The Jesuit Ribera brought out the futuristic system, which asserts that the antichrist is yet to appear.” And to this statement, he adds: “Protestants who advocate the futuristic system are pleasing the pope and are playing into the hands of Rome.”

The teaching that the Church is to be raptured to heaven just prior to a time called the great tribulation was not known prior to the 1800s. It’s amazing with all the writings left to us from early Christians on the rapture, all agreed that if there is going to be a tribulation at the end of time, the Church would go through it. Since no voice spoke out in favor of a pre-tribulation rapture, the only conclusion possible is that the Church did not teach this in the beginning and that it should not be teaching it now.

Conclusion

This material was condensed down from hundreds of pages of notes just to give you a quick insight into the problem we are facing today. If we continue to curl up into a ball and keep our mouths shut because somebody might get their feelings hurt, the original truth that was taught by Jesus and his apostles, will one day vanish.

I’m not saying that we should go out and create war with those who disagree, but we should, in a loving manner, spread the whole truth of the Gospel. And if it were only on the last days, it would be easier for me to keep my mouth shut. But Satan has caused Christians to pervert his truth in dozens of chapters throughout the Bible.

It’s sad to think that a large part of God’s Church teaches that the Abrahamic covenant is yet to be fulfilled and yet the Bible teaches it has been fulfilled to the very letter. It’s sad to see Christians teaching that Jesus Christ isn’t reigning now when a simple study of the Bible shows he is and that Jesus is reigning from David’s throne now just as the Scriptures foretold. It’s sad to see Christians misleading the world into believing that after Christ comes back, there will still be a chance for salvation, and again, the Bible says no such thing. Friends, the Bible warns against believing in false doctrine, and yet to many, it’s not a problem. I believe that Christians can come together with a more unified understanding of the Scriptures, but only if we take the time to study amongst ourselves and not be afraid to ask questions or get our feelings hurt. Our goal should be stamping out false doctrine and becoming unified in Christ Jesus. Remember, we are commanded to study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Now if you still disagree with my notes, I would love to hear what you have to say and I promise to keep an open and honest heart. I for one do not want to stand face to face with Jesus only to find out that I’ve been deceived my whole life and neither should you.

Download a PDF file of this article.

https://www.jamesjpn.net/basic-bible/the-origin-of-the-pre-tribulation-rapture-doctrine/?print=pdf

https://www.jamesjpn.net/basic-bible/the-origin-of-the-pre-tribulation-rapture-doctrine/

https://www.facebook.com/HisHolyChurchofAnonymous/posts/pfbid02GwNNQCsMhAmgdZcTYWSFPx2TYYgSJsJS8e4iMkv7XkTfgGRoVKthEfdzXtyNmgS7l

The Sacrifice Controversy

Why is it so important for a reestablished Israel to

build a Third Temple in Jerusalem? Do they desire to

fulfill some sense of national pride? Or reconnect to

long severed roots of ancient history?  

These questions can only be answered by a few

zealous individuals on the ground. I would assert that

the primary source for this desire is the book of their

faith, The Torah, to the Christian, the Old Testament.

To appreciate the importance of restoring the Temple

Sacrifice System for Judaism it may be necessary to

understand the history and significance of the Sacrifice

from its beginning. Therefore the Genesis Chapter Three

sacrifice, being the very first recorded sacrifice in the

Bible itself is where we must begin.

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God

make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Gen 3:21)

Adam and Eve stood before their High Priest having

just received their death sentence, thou shalt surely

die,62 accompanied with the several curses that would be

upon them and their offspring after being forced from

the Garden of Eden.  But this High Priest did not leave

them without hope, their redemption and that available

to all mankind would come through the Seed of the

Woman.63 Though not explicitly stated, but rather

62 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for

in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:17)

63 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed

and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Gen 3:15)

94 APPENDIX

demonstrated by the animal skins that were given to

them, in place of the inadequate covering of fig leaves

which they had covered themselves with, a sacrifice was

necessary to provide those animal skins. Without the

shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.64 The

blood of the animals was only a type, a temporary

covering, looking forward to the seed of the woman who

would Himself allow His own blood to be shed,

acceptable to God and a permanent sacrifice, once for

all by their Redeemer and the Messiah of Israel.

It is further demonstrated by the story of Cain and

Abel that the sacrifice was not only done for Adam and

Eve at the first event but that it was taught to them by

their High Priest and subsequently passed down to their

children.  Abel was a keeper of sheep65 for the purpose

of the commanded sacrifice, because the sacrifice was

not only a departure, but also an exception to the

vegetarian diet prescribed for mankind on the sixth day

of the creation account.66  If indeed the sacrifice was not

instructed, how could it be that Cain was disobedient by

offering vegetables instead?  Fig leaves or animal skins,

like vegetable or animal, the parallel is evident. The

inference is again clear, without the shedding of blood

there is no remission of sin.

Also not explicitly stated in the Genesis record but

clearly inferred by Eve’s proclamation at the birth of

Seth (which name means substitute), For God, said she,

64 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without

shedding of blood is no remission. (Heb 9:22)

65 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but

Cain was a tiller of the ground. (Gen 4:2)

66 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is

upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree

yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (Gen 1:29)

95

hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom

Cain slew:67 They were looking forward to the promised

redemption which they believed was or would come

through Abel, but now hoped to come by Seth.  These

discerning parents absolutely knew that the promised

seed would not be of Cain.  The scripture also confirms

of the linage of Seth, then began men to call upon the

name of the LORD.68 So the righteous seed line of Seth

continued to the Messiah.

The next allusion to the sacrifice is the differentiation

between clean and unclean of the animals when Noah

was commanded to load the Ark.69 Then Noah shortly

after the flood built an alter and there offered a sacrifice

of only the animals that were declared clean, and yes the

sacrifice was eaten.  Thereafter, God speaking to Noah,

authorized the eating of that same clean meat as a

regular part of their diet “even as the green herb,” so no

longer exclusively for the sacrifice.70 But a warning

followed against the wanton shedding of the blood of

animals which God himself said he would personally

hold to account, but the death statute for the wanton

shedding of the blood of man (murder) God would

require at the hand of his fellow man.

Further demonstrated by the sacrifice or burnt

offerings made by several of the patriarchs on the

67 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name

Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom

Cain slew. (Gen 4:25)

68 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos:

then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. (Gen 4:26)

69 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every

thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into

the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. (Gen 7:8-9)

70 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb

have I given you all things. (Gen 9:3)

96 APPENDIX

scriptural record, we understand that some form of the

sacrificial system was part of an oral tradition before it

was codified in the Exodus by Moses. In the Exodus

God gave Moses instructions for a portable tabernacle

for the priest tabernacle sacrifice system that served

National Israel until Solomon built the temple

envisioned by his father David about 830 BCE, to which

the sacrificial services were transferred. The first

Temple stood until about 586 BCE when it was

destroyed by the Babylonians.

Israel went seventy years in exile without a temple to

pay a Sabbath debt to their God. The Second Temple

was built as prophesied and stood for about 500 years,

beyond the seventy weeks determined for the people and

the holy city.71 Yes, the temple stood until forty years

after Jesus was crucified, and the desolation determined

was poured out upon the desolate.72  

The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy

the city and the sanctuary:73  

With this prophecy being fulfilled to the letter about

70 CE, the Jewish people lost their Temple again, and

the words of Jesus remain true until this very day:  

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall

be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem

shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of

71Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to

finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation

for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision

and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. (Dan 9:24)

72And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst

of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the

overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the con

summation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.(Dan 9:27)

73(Dan 9:26)

97

the Gentiles be fulfilled.74

Now it’s the Roman Year 2017, and there are Jews

back in the land of Israel, but we will not here retell the

events which brought this about. We also know that

Israel won back the territory which encompassed

Jerusalem during the aggressive act of several

surrounding nations during the six day war in 1967.

However Israel did not act to immediately seize the

Temple Mount nor destroy the several Islamic edifices

extant, so that the prophetic words of Jesus still stand

true. The Gentiles (other nations) continue to trod down

Jerusalem and specifically the Temple Mount creating

the most difficult roadblock to building a Third Temple.

I believe this times of the Gentiles will only be fulfilled

with the destruction of the Mystery Babylon Image of

Daniel chapter 2 and Revelation chapter 18.

The Abraham Accord

Harbinger of  

the Temple Mount Play  

about to Begin

by

Nicklas Arthur

https://www.nicklasarthur.info/The-Abraham-Accord-Rapture.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid022B4LV9JpG9zHmZtBUorfoZbVJNn4chp7pfw7o9AuvN633tpJL2KBpgn8cBCCTAg2l

Myki Angeline is a Broadcaster & Podcast Producer

 

Award-winning MXL Microphones Artist Myki Angeline is a broadcaster at 98 Rock, and Podcast Producer for Audacy, Inc. in Sacramento. She is the creator of The Bad Filipino podcast and blog (on Medium). She enjoys working with the youth as well, volunteering her time for the Stairway To Stardom program, and Girls Rock Sacramento Music Camp. As a respected journalist, with a passion for philanthropy and music, Myki has interviewed some of the largest, influential, pioneers in the music industry. in June 2022 she was the recipient of the She Rocks "Warrior" Award during the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. 

Endorsed by: MXL Microphones:

http://www.mxlmics.com/artists/mykiangeline.php

On Air Talent at 98 Rock:

https://www.audacy.com/krxq/hosts/myki

Blogger on Medium:

https://medium.com/@mykiangeline

Podcast on Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/myk-angeline

Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/MykiAngeline

Instragram:

https://www.instagram.com/myki.angeline/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykiangeline

PRESS:

Contributor for 'Writing and Reporting the News for the 21st Century: The Speed at Which We Travel by Yumi Wilson, Gina Baleria, and Grace M. Provenzano, First Edition', San Francisco State University

https://titles.cognella.com/writing-and-reporting-the-news-for-the-21st-century-9781516526789

Lady Boss Blogger Feb 2017:

http://ladybossblogger.com/myki-angeline-mentors-upcoming-media-personalities/

Be The Change by Myki | NOH8 Campaign 2015:

http://www.noh8campaign.com/article/be-the-change-by-myki

The WiMN Front and Center: http://www.thewimn.com/front-center-m-n-founder-myki-angeline/ 

Interview with IndieBlush May 2015:

https://issuu.com/christinamarie49/docs/may2015_magcloud/21?e=11214268%2F12604778

MY WORK:

Blogger on Medium:

https://medium.com/@mykiangeline

The WiMN:

http://www.thewimn.com/

Soapbox! TV:

Sept 9, 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BovVXB-K_Go&t=9s

August 22, 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUz90WIJZw&t=7s

July 4, 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfcExCefJyw&t=1050s

June 27, 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2G-rRYkI5Q&t=591s

June 20, 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qJzqDbaRGQ&t=1340s

She Rocks Awards Red Carpet 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNWUWz2Qepc 

Big AMP Sacramento and NAMM 2015 video interviews: http://www.esm7.org/namm-2015/

CMS NAMM 2015 video interviews: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8rkKsMDnx52UG1Evz6vQqQ

She Rocks Awards 2016, Part 1:

https://youtu.be/P_IentSok_M

She Rocks Awards 2016, Part 2:

https://youtu.be/LYw_5Q5z2Ic

"Today Angeline is a champion for local artists in the Sacramento, CA area, and a true ambassador of the city’s music scene. " ~ The Women's International Music Network, L.A. Nov 2014

"Nowadays I use my gift of networking and compassion to stand up for equality and encourage people to follow their hearts, chase their dreams, and love unconditionally. It's time for everyone to 'be the change'." ~ Official NOH8 Campaign July 2015

"...the feeling of 'Ohana' I get whenever I'm around her. Her interests are just as diverse as her heritage, and her easy way of speaking had me at 'Hello'" ~ Indie Blush Magazine May 2015

https://www.facebook.com/mykiangeline/about_details 

Michael,[a] also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch[6] is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.[7] The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second-century BC Jewish works, often but not always apocalyptic, where he is the chief of the angels and archangels, and he is the guardian prince of Israel and is responsible for the care of the people of Israel.[8][9][10][11] Christianity conserved nearly all the Jewish traditions concerning him,[12] and he is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7–12,[13] where he does battle with Satan,[14] and in the Epistle of Jude, where the archangel and the devil dispute over the body of Moses.[15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_(archangel)

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.

Painted boards

During the nineteenth century there was a rapid expansion of the use of permanent painted tracing boards, usually painted on canvas and framed in wood. Many artists produced competing designs, and most lodges commissioned sets of bespoke boards which were therefore of a unique design, despite following common themes. Some designs became particularly popular, leading to some repetition of favoured design features. Boards by John Cole and Josiah Bowring were examples of popularly recurring designs.[5]

The English artist John Harris was initiated in 1818 and produced many different series of tracing boards, including a miniature set of 1823 which became popular after Harris dedicated the design to Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).[6] Eventually the Emulation Lodge of Improvement sought to bring a measure of standardisation in tracing board design, and organised a competition in 1845, to which many different designs were submitted. Harris himself submitted at least two different sets to the competition, but one of his designs was the winner. Harris revised the designs in 1849, and these "Emulation" tracing boards are today considered a definitive design within British and Commonwealth Freemasonry.[7]

Contemporary use

In lodges under the UGLE, and many jurisdictions derived from English Freemasonry, tracing boards are an essential part of lodge furniture, sometimes displayed flat on the floor, and sometimes vertically against a pedestal or on the wall. Sets of three boards, usually of older designs, may often be found in special cases for storage and display within lodge rooms. There are sometimes tracing boards in other degrees.[8] The Royal Arch tracing board has fallen into disuse in most places, and examples are now rare. In the Mark Master Mason and Royal Ark Mariner degrees as administered from London, the tracing boards have experienced a great revival in popularity from the end of the twentieth century, and official rituals for the explanations of these tracing boards are again in regular use in English lodges.

As different Masonic jurisdictions established official, or standard, degree rituals the creation of new tracing boards by artists waned, and has since largely disappeared in favour of standard designs. Nonetheless, some masonic artists have experimented with very modern designs for the twenty-first century.[9]

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

Early Female Transgender Identity after Prenatal Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol: Report from a French National Diethylstilbestrol (DES) Cohort

by Laura Gaspari 1,2,3,†,Marie-Odile Soyer-Gobillard 4,5,†ORCID,Scott Kerlin 6,Françoise Paris 1,2,3 andCharles Sultan 1,*

1

Unité d’Endocrinologie-Gynécologie Pédiatrique, CHU Montpellier, University Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France

2

INSERM 1203, Développement Embryonnaire Fertilité Environnement, University of Montpellier, 34295 Montpellier, France

3

CHU Montpellier, University Montpellier, Centre de Référence Maladies Rares du Développement Génital, Constitutif Sud, Hôpital Lapeyronie, 34295 Montpellier, France

4

Laboratoire Arago, Observatoire Océanologique, Sorbonne University, CNRS, 75016 Paris, France

5

Association HHORAGES-France, 66100 Perpignan, France

6

DES International Information and Research Network, Livermore, CA 94551, USA

*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

J. Xenobiot. 2024, 14(1), 166-175; https://doi.org/10.3390/jox14010010

Submission received: 28 November 2023 / Revised: 8 January 2024 / Accepted: 10 January 2024 / Published: 12 January 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the Human Health)

Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figure Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Diagnostic of transsexualism and gender incongruence are terms to describe individuals whose self-identity does not match their sex assignment at birth. A transgender woman is an individual assigned male at birth (AMAB) on the basis of the external or internal genitalia who identifies and lives as a woman. In recent decades, a significant increase in the number of transgender people has been reported. Although, its etiology is unknown, biological, anatomical, genetic, environmental and cultural factors have been suggested to contribute to gender variation. In XY animals, it has been shown that environmental endocrine disruptors, through their anti-androgenic activity, induce a female identity. In this work, we described four XY individuals who were exposed in utero to the xenoestrogen diethylstilbesterol (DES) and were part of the French HHORAGES cohort. They all reported a female transgender identity starting from childhood and adolescence. This high prevalence of male to female transgenderism (1.58%) in our cohort of 253 DES sons suggests that exposure to chemicals with xenoestrogen activity during fetal life may affect the male sex identity and behavior.

Keywords: sexual identity; diethylstilbestrol (DES); prenatal exposure

1. Introduction

Gender identity defines each individual’s deeply held personal sense of their own gender as male or female or something else [1]. Moreover, gender diversity and variance are umbrella terms used to describe the wide range of gender identifications outside the conventional gender categories [2]. Gender dysphoria [3] relates to the distress and unease experienced by individuals who are discontent with their assigned gender and identify with a gender other than the one associated with their birth sex [4]. A transgender man or woman is a person born phenotypically female or male, assigned female or male at birth on the basis of their external or internal genitalia, who identifies and lives as a male or a female. Actually, for many experts [5] this definition should be enlarged to Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) individuals, people with disorders of sex development (DSDs) and people assigned male (AMAB) or female at birth (AFAB) [6].

All studies on secular trends have reported a dramatic increase in the number of transgender people in recent decades [7]. A temporal change in the age of presentation is another notable phenomenon [8]. Quoting Hassler et al. [8] in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5), signs of transgender in children include: “A repeated desire to be the other sex or an assertion that they are the other sex; a belief that their assigned sex will change on its own (e.g., thinking they will grow a penis or that their penis will come off when they get older); wanting to change their name to a name typically associated with another gender, or a gender-neutral name; a preference for presenting as another gender (e.g., a child assigned male at birth who prefers long hair and wearing dresses, or a child assigned female at birth who prefers short hair and wearing gender-neutral clothing); resistance or distress when made to present as a gender they do not identify with (such as a ‘girl’ throwing a tantrum over having to wear a dress or a ‘boy’ crying after having to get a haircut); assuming the role of another gender in fantasy games or make-believe; an intense desire to participate in the games and activities typical of the other gender (such as an assigned-male child playing with Barbie and an assigned-female child playing contact sports); a preference for playmates of another gender”.

Hassler et al. also wrote [8]: “In adolescence, signs of transgender includes: feelings of panic or severe discomfort concerning puberty and body changes (e.g., refusing to acknowledge or admit that changes are occurring, refusing to look at their body, or becoming distressed or uncomfortable with body development, menstruation, or ejaculation); discomfort or distress with certain forms of gender presentation, such as disliking long hair or certain types of clothing; increased bullying at school due to differences in acting out one’s perceived gender or lack of self-confidence; isolation from peers due to lack of connection or fear of bullying; depression and/or anxiety as a result of confusion over gender identity or not fitting in with peers; be aware that some adolescents may try to repress their true gender due to outside pressure, such as from family and peers, even if they previously expressed their true gender as a child”.

The literature on the prevalence of transgender people is heterogeneous, depending on the geographic area, inclusion criteria and age at presentation [9]. Specialized centers that manage transgender people estimate a prevalence between 17 and 33/100,000 individuals [10]. Actually, people who identify as transgender represent a sizable proportion of the general population, from 0.1% to 2% [11,12].

Although the biological basis of transgenderism/incongruence is unknown, biological, anatomical, genetic and environmental factors have been suggested to contribute to gender identity [13,14]. The role of sex hormones and genetics in sexual development was described by studies published between 1948 and 2019, and the implication of endogenous steroids in brain sexual differentiation has been widely studied [14,15,16,17,18]. According to the accepted dogma, high levels of fetal testosterone organize the brain towards a male phenotype [19]. Any exogenous chemical that can reduce testosterone action during fetal life can affect the differentiation of genitalia and sex behavior.

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a molecule that has strengthened the concepts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and the fetal basis of adult diseases [20]. It is well known that in utero exposure to DES, a compound with estrogenic and anti-androgenic activity, induces a wide range of reproductive tract/function abnormalities in the so-called ‘DES daughters’, e.g., alterations to Müllerian duct development, fertility problems, ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, premature births and cancers, especially clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA) of the vagina and cervix in girls and young women [21]. In ‘DES sons’, epididymal cysts, hypospadias, cryptorchidism, hypoplastic testes and micropenises have been observed [22,23,24,25,26]. In addition, although less studied, in utero exposure to synthetic sex hormones, particularly DES, can cause psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, eating disorders and suicidal behavior [27]. Interestingly, some studies in patients exposed in utero to DES with psychotic disorders identified methylome changes that affect the expression of ZFP57 and ADAMTS9, two genes implicated in neurodevelopment regulation [28], with potential multigenerational and transgenerational effects [29,30].

In this work, we first describe four transgender women identified among the 253 sons exposed in utero to DES included in the HHORAGES-France cohort (a French National patient association). This high prevalence of male-to-female transgender individuals among DES sons (1.58%) strongly suggests that exposure of male fetuses to this xenoestrogen during fetal life may affect future male sex identity and behavior.

2. Patients and Methods

This study was based on a French national retrospective cohort of DES-treated women (HHORAGES-France Association) (n = 1200) and their families. Detailed standard questionnaires were obtained from all DES mothers when they joined the HHORAGES-France Association and all DES children were already adults at this time. The answers to this online questionnaire were used to select women who met the following inclusion criteria: (1) at least two pregnancies with two viable male babies (same father) among whom the first child was not exposed in utero to DES (pre-DES), followed by one or more children with fetal exposure to DES (DES); (2) confirmed data on the total DES dose (health record or physician’s observation). The cumulative dose D administered to the French pregnant mothers was 4050 mg < D < 7300 mg. This is considered a medium-low-dose cohort, in accordance with the observations by Tournaire et al. [31] and compared with the higher doses administered in the United States (7550 mg < D < 12,742 mg). The answers to the questionnaires were also used to identify women with a DES son who presented female gender variance. We then contacted all DES sons with female gender variance and we carried out an individual interview with them.

The local university hospital ethics committee approved this study (ID IRB No. 202301531), and all patients gave their informed consent through the HHORAGES-France Association (CNIL: J B/EM/DC042793, N° 1006460).

All DES sons who identified as transgender women underwent karyotyping at their local hospital at the moment of transition.

https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4713/14/1/10

Shawn Michaels' Bare Assed Elbow Drop From The Ladder

Michaels batters Razor with the ladder and is the first to attempt the climb, but he gets cut off and his entire ass is pulled down, which he leaves out while dropping an elbow from the middle of the ladder. “You might say that Shawn Michaels has made a you-know-what of himself,” Vince observes. But it’s Michaels in control.

https://tapemachinesarerolling.wordpress.com/2021/09/16/razor-ramon-vs-shawn-michaels-wwf-3-20-1994/

The Order of Assassins (Arabic: حَشّاشِین, romanized: Ḥaššāšīyīn; Persian: حشاشين, romanized: Ḥaššāšīn) were a Nizari Isma'ili order that existed between 1090 and 1275 AD, founded by Hasan al-Sabbah.

During that time, they lived in the mountains of Persia and the Levant, and held a strict subterfuge policy throughout the Middle East, posing a substantial strategic threat to Fatimid, Abbasid, and Seljuk authority, and killing several Christian leaders. Over the course of nearly 200 years, they killed hundreds who were considered enemies of the Nizari Isma'ili state. The modern term assassination is believed to stem from the tactics used by the Assassins.[1]

Contemporaneous historians include ibn al-Qalanisi, Ali ibn al-Athir, and Ata-Malik Juvayni. The former two referred to the Assassins as batiniyya, an epithet widely accepted by Isma'ilis themselves.[2][3]

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

Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأَنْدَلُس, romanized: al-ʾAndalus)[a] was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim[1][2] states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most of the peninsula[3][4][5] as well as Septimania under Umayyad rule. These boundaries changed through a series of conquests Western historiography has traditionally characterized as the Reconquista,[1][2][6][7][8] eventually shrinking to the south and finally to the Emirate of Granada.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus

1236

June 29 – Siege of Córdoba: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III (the Saint) capture Muslim Córdoba from Emir Ibn Hud, as part of the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula.[2]

July – At a diet (princely convention) in Piacenza, Emperor Frederick II proclaims his wish to recover all Italy for the Holy Roman Empire.[3]

Pope Gregory IX condemned the links that both the Knights Templer and Knights Hospitaller have with the Assassin fighters in the Middle East. He issues a bull, a formal proclamation issued by the pope, preventing further contact with the Assassins.

May 6 – Roger of Wendover, English Benedictine monk and chronicler, dies at St. Albans Abbey. His chronicle is continued by Matthew of Paris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1236

Atheism: resisting it with all our forces is a special mission given to the Society by the supreme pontiff, 253 2°; a mission which should permeate all forms of our apostolate, 254; our efforts are to be directed toward nonbelievers, ibid.; toward that end, an experience of God must be fostered in ourselves, 223 §§3-4, 224, 247

1° 2° 3° 6°;

and also in others, by means of the Spiritual Exercises, 271

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

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

The idea of uniting the Templars with the Hospitallers was first argued publicly in a book published in 1305 by Raimon Llull, a renowned illuminatus from Majorca. Llull’s book, Libre de Fine, (“Free At Last”) appeared in the midst of a raging controversy between the French monarchy and the Roman papacy over who held jurisdiction over the Templars. That is the subject of our next chapter.

Rulers of Evil

by F. Tupper Saussy

https://dn790006.ca.archive.org/0/items/rulers-of-evil-f.-tupper-saussy/Rulers%20of%20Evil%20-%20F.%20Tupper%20Saussy.pdf

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The alumbrados of Castile were a movement that caused much trouble during the first three decades of the sixteenth century. Their ideas were represented by the “Big Three” beatas who, under noble patronage, for at least a decade previous to the arrest in 1524 of the “mother” of the movement (Isabel de la Cruz) had successfully proselytized and spread their ideas throughout Old and New Castile.1

The alumbrados certainly were a charismatic bunch; they enjoyed success with the elites of Castilian society, comuneros, but above all with women and conversos. As a religious movement led by women the alumbrados were part of a growing trend of individual, charismatic female piety. By the time of Cardinal Cisneros’s death in 1517, however, the era of the alumbrados and their grassroots converso spirituality was nearing its end. While the actual heyday of their movement was short-lived the alumbrados made a huge impact upon the minds Prospering in the environment of Catholic spiritual exploration fostered by the personal theological interests of the Archbishop of Toledo Cardinal Ximenez de Cisneros the alumbrados presented an interiorized approach to Christianity. Equipped with the meditational practice of dejamiento the alumbrados stressed the importance of an individual, pseudo-mystical “abandonment” to God and His will. They also emphasized the insignificance of external rituals and works, calling them ataduras or “shackles” to the material world, ties that only served to hinder one’s abandonment to God.

of the Inquisitors who prosecuted them and upon the Spanish religious imagination, an impact that would last across seas and time."

EL SABOR DE HEREJIA: THE EDICT OF 1525, THE ALUMBRADOS

AND THE INQUISITORS’ USAGE OF LOCURA

By

JAVIER A. MONTOYA

http://etd.fcla.edu/UF/UFE0041385/montoya_j.pdf

Alumbrado, (Spanish: “Enlightened”, ) Italian Illuminato, plural Illuminati, a follower of a mystical movement in Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries. Its adherents claimed that the human soul, having attained a certain degree of perfection, was permitted a vision of the divine and entered into direct communication with the Holy Spirit. From this state the soul could neither advance nor retrogress. Consequently, participation in the liturgy, good works, and observance of the exterior forms of religious life were unnecessary for those who had received the “light.” The Alumbrados came primarily from among the reformed Franciscans and the Jesuits, but their doctrines seem to have influenced all classes of people. The extravagant claims made for their visions and revelations caused them to be relentlessly persecuted. The Inquisition issued edicts against them on three occasions (1568, 1574, and 1623)."

https://www.britannica.com/event/Alumbrado

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Pali Buddha (“the Awakened One, the Enlightened One”), from buddha (“awakened, enlightened”), from Sanskrit बुद्ध (buddha, “awakened, enlightened”), past participle of बोधति (bodhati, “to wake, to awaken”). Distantly related to English bid and bede. Also cognate with Russian будить (buditʹ, “to wake up”)."

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Buddha

Gautama

surname of the Buddha, from Sanskrit Gotamah, properly a patronymic, literally "descendant of the greatest ox," from superlative of gauh "ox, bull, cow."

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

Unam Sanctam

One God, One Faith, One Spiritual Authority

Pope Boniface VIII - 1302

Bull of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302

Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, as the Spouse in the Canticles [Sgs 6:8] proclaims: ‘One is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only one, the chosen of her who bore her,‘ and she represents one sole mystical body whose Head is Christ and the head of Christ is God [1 Cor 11:3]. In her then is one Lord, one faith, one baptism [Eph 4:5]. There had been at the time of the deluge only one ark of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, which ark, having been finished to a single cubit, had only one pilot and guide, i.e., Noah, and we read that, outside of this ark, all that subsisted on the earth was destroyed.

We venerate this Church as one, the Lord having said by the mouth of the prophet: ‘Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword and my only one from the hand of the dog.’ [Ps 21:20] He has prayed for his soul, that is for himself, heart and body; and this body, that is to say, the Church, He has called one because of the unity of the Spouse, of the faith, of the sacraments, and of the charity of the Church. This is the tunic of the Lord, the seamless tunic, which was not rent but which was cast by lot [Jn 19:23- 24]. Therefore, of the one and only Church there is one body and one head, not two heads like a monster; that is, Christ and the Vicar of Christ, Peter and the successor of Peter, since the Lord speaking to Peter Himself said: ‘Feed my sheep‘ [Jn 21:17], meaning, my sheep in general, not these, nor those in particular, whence we understand that He entrusted all to him [Peter]. Therefore, if the Greeks or others should say that they are not confided to Peter and to his successors, they must confess not being the sheep of Christ, since Our Lord says in John ‘there is one sheepfold and one shepherd.’ We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. For when the Apostles say: ‘Behold, here are two swords‘ [Lk 22:38] that is to say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to the word of the Lord commanding: ‘Put up thy sword into thy scabbard‘ [Mt 26:52]. Therefore, both are in the power of the Church, namely, the spiritual sword and the material. But indeed, the latter is to be exercised on behalf of the Church; and truly, the former is to be exercised by the Church. The former is of the priest; the latter is by the hand of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.

However, one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. For since the Apostle said: ‘There is no power except from God and the things that are, are ordained of God‘ [Rom 13:1-2], but they would not be ordained if one sword were not subordinated to the other and if the inferior one, as it were, were not led upwards by the other.

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

They Live is a 1988 American science fiction action horror film[b] written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, the film follows a drifter[c] who discovers through special sunglasses that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to consume, breed, and conform to the status quo via subliminal messages in mass media.

Having acquired the film rights to the Nelson-penned short story prior to the production of They Live, Carpenter used the story as the basis for the screenplay's structure, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Frank Armitage". Carpenter has stated that the themes of They Live stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the economic policies of then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan, as well as what Carpenter saw as increasing commercialization in both popular culture and politics.[8]

They Live was a minor success upon release, debuting at number 1 at the North American box office. It initially received negative reviews from critics, who lambasted its social commentary, writing, and acting; however, it later gained a cult following and experienced a significantly more favorable critical reception. It is now regarded by many as one of Carpenter's best films.[9][2] The film has also entered the pop culture lexicon, notably having a lasting effect on street art (particularly that of Shepard Fairey).

Plot

Nada, a homeless man, comes to Los Angeles, California in pursuit of a job, where he spots a preacher warning that "they" have recruited the rich and powerful to control humanity. He finds employment at a construction site and befriends his coworker Frank, who invites him to live in a shantytown near a church and meets their community leader Gilbert.

A hacker takes over TV broadcasts, alerting that humanity is "their cattle" and the only way to unfold the truth is to shut off the signal at its source. Those watching the broadcast complain of headaches. Nada follows Gilbert and the preacher into the church, discovering a recording of gospel music playing that unbeknownst to Nada obscures a meeting with a group including the hacker. Nada also uncovers equipment and boxes inside, but escapes when he bumps into the preacher. The shantytown and church are destroyed in a police raid, and the hacker and preacher are brutalized by law enforcement officers.

Nada retrieves one of the boxes from the church and takes a pair of sunglasses from it, concealing the box in a trash pile. He finds out they make the world appear monochrome, but also reveal subliminal messages in the media to consume and conform. The most puzzling reveal, however, is they also disclose that many people are actually ghoulish, bug-eyed aliens hiding under human facades. Additionally, the creatures have wristwatch communicators that allow them to teleport, along with surveillance drones. When a group of aliens at a supermarket realize Nada can detect them, he is confronted by two alien police officers. He kills them, steals their guns, and enters a bank, where he sees that multiple employees and customers are aliens. He kills several and escapes by taking a human, Holly Thompson, hostage. Nada attempts to persuade her to put on the glasses, but she throws him out of a window and down a hill.

While Nada retrieves another pair of sunglasses from the trash pile, Frank comes to give Nada his paycheck and orders him to stay away following Nada's killing spree becoming widespread news. When Nada tries to put the glasses on him, Frank resists and a lengthy brawl ensues. After subduing him, Nada places the glasses on Frank, who sees the aliens for himself and goes into hiding with Nada. The two run into Gilbert, who introduces them to the human resistance. They are given contact lenses to replace the sunglasses, and learn about the aliens using global warming to make Earth's atmosphere similar to their homeworld, while depleting its resources for their own gain. They also learn that the aliens have been bribing human collaborators in exchange for wealth. Holly joins the meeting, bringing information about where the signal may be coming from. She apologizes to Nada for striking him, claiming she hadn't known what was occurring. Soon afterwards, the meeting is raided by police, with the majority of those present killed and the survivors scattered. Nada and Frank are cornered in an alley, but Frank activates an alien wristwatch, opening a portal to the alien's spaceport on Earth under Cable 54, an alien-run news network.

Coming across a meeting of aliens and collaborators celebrating the defeat of the human resistance, they are approached by a drifter from the shantytown, now a collaborator. Mistaking them for new recruits, he gives the pair a tour of the facility, where the aliens broadcast a signal that prevents humans from identifying them and their hidden messages. Nada and Frank locate Holly and fight their way to the transmitter on the roof, but Holly, herself a collaborator responsible for the raid, murders Frank. Nada kills Holly and destroys the transmitter, but is mortally wounded by a police helicopter. With the signal shut down, Nada gives them the middle finger as he dies.

Meanwhile, humans all over the world discover aliens hiding among them.

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

Masonic Hoodwink

The Candidate's Blindfold

Man wearing hoodwink

A Masonic hoodwink is a type of blindfold used in Masonic rituals of initiation.

The image, above is of a man in a Masonic hoodwink which dates from the early 1800's to the early 1900s and were sold by DeMoulin, a Masonic lodge supplies manufacturer, as well as other purveyors (sellers) of lodge supplies.

Freemasonry is not the originator of the hoodwink.

Religious rites and initiations of civilizations and tribes dating back centuries before the believed or known origins of Freemasonry used blindfolds to represent going from darkness (ignorance) to light (knowledge).

Hood:  The word, “hood,” in old German and Anglo Saxon refers to a head covering, as in a hat, or helmet.  A hood might also be of cloth. To "hood" is to cover.  Hooded garments have been worn throughout history.

Wink:  The word, “wink,” in old German and Anglo Saxon refers to a closing of the eyes.  The word, “wince,” , is similarly derived from the word "wink".  The word "wink" pertains to the eye.

Therefore, a hood (to cover) wink (eyes) was a head covering designed to cover the eyes.

Misconception:  While Freemasonry has many secrets, the term "hoodwink" is not one of them.

The word is often misconstrued by non-Freemasons as having negative overtones due to our more modern-day definition of the word which defines it as meaning to be deceived or tricked rather than its actual meaning which is to cover the eyes.

A Masonic hoodwink is not used as a method of deception.

It is simply a symbolic and visual method of covering the eyes which is used in the initiation of the candidate into acquiring new knowledge, hence the term, "from darkness to light".

The Masonic symbolism of the hoodwink is not about placing the candidate into the darkness, which is symbolic of ignorance, but about the removal of the darkness to let in the light, which is symbolic of knowledge.

Albert Mackey, Masonic scholar, historian and author described it as:

"A symbol of the secrecy, silence, and darkness in which the mysteries of our art should be preserved from the unhallowed gaze of the profane.

It has been supposed to have a symbolic reference to the passage in Saint John's Gospel (I, 5), "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."

But it is more certain that there is in the hoodwink a representation of the mystical darkness which always preceded the rites of the ancient initiations."

Source:  Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, 1929, Volume 1, Page 464

Somewhat resembling aviator goggles of this same era, this antique Masonic hoodwink is made of metal, leather, cloth and velvet.

Size:  8-1/2 inches long, 3 inches wide and 2 inches in depth.

Front:  The front of this hoodwink is made of metal, painted black.  The nose covering is made of fabric which has been hand-stitched into place. 

Eye "wink":  The round metal circles which cover each eye are welded to a cross-piece rod with cones on each end.  This entire unit is of one-piece construction.

Masonic hoodwink

It is spring-loaded and can be raised or flipped upward toward the forehead by grasping either of the 2 decorative, cone-shaped metal pieces located on either side of the eyes.

hoodwink open

Back/Interior:  The interior, which fits against the face, is made of velvet (original color, unknown), as are the insides of each round eye piece.  A leather strap fits around the back of the head.

hoodwink inside

Like other fraternities, such as college fraternities, most Masonic lodges, today, simply use modern-day blindfolds.

The antique Masonic hoodwink, above, would most likely be found in a Masonic museum or owned by a collector of Masonic memorabilia.

https://www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com/masonic-hoodwink.html

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0QGe6bufKxE7S7NHQmvwMegekFw5vUx7AecSaf4zRUJbDL9ufxsWzmAgU75eNVrqnl

Sinister Sites: IRS Headquarters, Maryland

The IRS headquarters in New Carrollton, Maryland is a government building that, despite being constructed with public funds, contains art referring to elite secret societies. More importantly, the art conveys a strange message about the U.S. Constitution and the American people in general. We’ll look at the symbolic meaning of the art found in front of the IRS headquarters in Maryland.

Published 12 years ago on November 28, 2012

By Vigilant Citizen 

The IRS was originally created as a “temporary measure” during wartime but there is nothing temporary about it now. The gigantic IRS complex in New Carrollton, Maryland was built in 1997 and is still growing today, indicating that this institution is indeed here to stay. This modern building has all of the state-of-the-art amenities one can think of, but it is the odd public art in front of it that is the most noteworthy. While these sculptures might be merely “decorative” to most people, they conceal a meaning that is infinitely profound to those who are versed in occultism. In fact, fully understanding the origins and the meaning of the symbols in front of the IRS building means understanding who is truly in power in America (and around the world). It also provides the key to understanding what they believe in and how they perceive the masses.

The IRS is not known to be a very artistic institution and there is not much art present at its headquarters in Maryland. However, the few pieces that are on display manage to convey everything that needs to be known about those who built the complex.

General Layout

The entrance to the IRS headquarters is guarded by two black and white pillars made of the highest quality marble, topped with white hands. Between the two pillars is a dark pyramid with a metallic capstone on which is written “We the People”.

The art in front of the IRS Headquarters features a pyramid with a capstone between two pillars. The black and white stripes refer to the Hermetic concept of duality.

What does all of this represent? Here’s an “official” description:

“The most striking elements are the huge, white marble hands atop each column. Each hand points skyward, one with the forefinger extended; the other is an open hand, the fingers ever so slightly cupped.

The 1997 work is called “Vox Populi,” which is Latin for “the voice of the people.” The hand with the raised index finger represents deliberation, argument, the gesticulation of a speaker giving his or her opinion. The hand with an open palm represents the act of voting or taking an oath.”

– The Washington Post, “The Big Hands of the Law”

That is all well and good, but what does “Vox Populi” have to do with the IRS? Can citizens weigh in or vote on anything about the IRS? Why are the pillars black and white? Why is there a pyramid with a capstone in the middle? As it is the case for most occult symbols, there’s as basic (and unsatisfactory) interpretation given to the masses and a “real” meaning for those in the know. For those in the know, the art is a nod to the highest degrees of Freemasonry.

This Masonic monument in Israel contains exactly the same elements: A pyramid with a capstone between two pillars. The stripes on the ground represent duality.

Let’s look at each element of this (not so) public art.

Twin Pillars

The symbolism of the twin pillars is ancient and profound. It refers to the core of hermetism which is the basis of secret society teachings. The pillars represent duality and the union of opposites. In Freemasonry, the twin pillars are called Jachin and Boaz.

” These two pillars respectively connote also the active and the passive expressions of Divine Energy, the sun and the moon, sulphur and salt, good and bad, light and darkness. Between them is the door leading into the House of God, and standing thus at the gates of Sanctuary they are a reminder that Jehovah is both an androgynous and an anthropomorphic deity.”

– Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages

Two pillars guard the entrance of the IRS building the same way pillars guard the entrance of Masonic temples.

 

Masonic art depicting the twin pillars named guarding the entrance of a Masonic temple.

While not all pillars are necessarily Masonic, those in front of the IRS building contain other features that leave no doubt regarding their secret society connection.

The IRS pillars feature exactly 13 black and white stripes and a very significant hand sign.

Sharply contrasting with the rest of the building, the pillars are stripped in black and white, a pattern evoking duality. This concept visually represented on the Masonic mosaic pavement.

The black and white checkerboard floor is probably the most important feature in Masonic lodges.

To make things even more explicitly Masonic (for those in the know) each pillar is comprised of exactly 13 stripes, a number that is of the utmost importance in Masonic lore. Considering the constant attention to occult numerology in Masonic art, this fact alone should be very telling.

Above each pillar are white marble hands. It is interesting to note that formal Masonic attire requires white gloves. One of the hands points upwards, towards the sky. While the official meaning claims that it refers to the act of public discussion, this hand sign, placed in the esoteric context of the artwork, takes on a much more ancient and mystical meaning.

Named the “hand to god”, the “sign of Preservation” or the “hand of the Mysteries”, the sign of the hand pointing upwards can be found in many works of art that bear an esoteric meaning. It is nearly always associated with figures that are seen to possess “knowledge from the gods”.

The classic depiction of Hermes always depicts him pointing towards the heavens. Known as the “messenger of God”, Hermes is a central figure in Masonic lore. He is considered to be the teacher of theurgic sciences, therefore helping humanity ascend towards godhood (the word Hermetism derives from Hermes).

“Plato, an initiate of one of these sacred orders, was severely criticized because in his writings he revealed to the public many of the secret philosophic principles of the Mysteries.” – Manly P. Hall. In this classic depiction of Plato by Raphael, he is pointing upwards.

This Masonic item for sale features the same hand sign as found in front of the IRS building.

In the context of esoteric teachings, a human pointing towards God represents the ultimate goal of the Mysteries: Ascending from the state of a mere mortal to achieve godhood.

The hand above the other pillar does not point towards the sky but is rather opened. While pointing towards somewhere means moving in that direction, an opened palm is traditionally associated with “stop” or “halt”.  In Masonic symbolism, the twin pillars are often topped with contrasting symbols (the sun and the moon or globes representing earth and heavens). Could the white hands above the pillars represent the same opposite notions of godhood (pointing towards god) and earthly materiality (halt sign)?

On these Masonic pillars are etched various quotes regarding the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Some of them are quite odd in such this one by Barbara Jordan:

“The Bill of Rights was not ordained by Nature or God.”

Considering the fact that a bunch of laws blatantly violating the Bill of Rights (notably the First and Fourth Amendment) were enacted shortly after this building was erected, one can ask if this quote wasn’t some kind of a warning. As we see new police-state-style laws violating privacy, free speech and encouraging oppression, we can definitely conclude that the elite views the Bill of Rights as something “very human, very fragile” that can easily be violated. While the above quote can be interpreted as a reminder to not take the Bill of Rights for granted, in the context of its location, it conveys an unsettling message about how it can easily be tampered with.

The Pyramid

Between the two pillars is the most recognizable symbol representing the occult elite: A pyramid with a shiny capstone. On the pyramid is written the US Constitution, which famously starts with “We the People”. A close look at the sculpture leads to several questions.

First, why is the U.S. Constitution etched on a symbol that is associated with occult secret societies whose highest degrees are restricted to “elite men”? Isn’t there a contradiction here? Second, in occult elite symbolism, the base of the pyramid represents the masses, while the capstone represents the “illuminated”. Conveniently enough, the words “We the People” is written on the charcoal-colored based. Does the capstone (which is placed above the pyramid and the U.S. Constitution) mean that the elite is above the law?

In Conclusion

Far from being decorative, the art in front of the IRS building in Maryland describes the true source of power behind the American government, its spiritual and political philosophy, and its perception of the masses.

While the IRS doesn’t shy away from collecting money from every single American worker in the United States, the occult symbolism in front of its headquarters is definitely not meant for every single American worker. It is meant to be understood by a very few “select” ones. The fact that a public building is adorned with symbols of an elite secret society is abhorrent.

Contrarily to the “official” meaning of the pointing hand, no citizen has a say on the policies of these institutions or even what they display in front of their building. It is rather those in the capstone who dictate what will happen to “We the People”. As the official IRS motto goes: Service plus Enforcement equals Compliance. Maybe the finger that is pointing upwards should be the middle one.

https://vigilantcitizen.com/sinistersites/sinister-sites-irs-headquarters-maryland/

History of New Carrollton

The Beginning: Colonial Era

During Colonial times, the area now known as New Carrollton was called Terrapin Thicket, named for the abundance of turtles that roamed its marshy land. The first recorded landowner was Ninian Beall, a Scottish immigrant who arrived in the colonies as an indentured servant. Upon gaining his freedom in 1677, Beall was granted a parcel of land in the thicket. By the time of his passing in 1717 at the age of 92, he had amassed 13,000 acres stretching from Upper Marlboro to Georgetown. As the Beall family grew, they built several homes throughout the region.

Civil War Era & the Origin of Familiar Citywide Names

During the Civil War, local families held divided loyalties. The Becket family, who owned the farm where Beltway Exit 20 is now located, joined the Union forces, while the Lanham family supported the Confederacy.

At just 16 years old, Benjamin Lewis Lanham enlisted in the Confederate Army. While home on furlough, he sat down to dinner with his family when a squad of Union soldiers suddenly emerged from the woods. The Lanham men quickly grabbed their guns from the walls, prepared to defend Ben. As the Union soldiers approached, the family realized they had only come to ask for water. However, when one of the Lanham's guns accidentally discharged, the startled Union soldiers retreated toward what is now the swimming pool on Westbrook Drive.

A New Era & Clear Vision

In the mid-1920s, Edward L. Mahoney purchased 300 acres of land and built his house in 1927. After settling in, Mahoney established stables and a training track for his prize-winning horses. In 1939, he transformed the track into a midget and stock car oval, known as the Old Lanham Raceway, where car races took place until 1954.

Following Mahoney's death in 1957, New Carrollton's developer, Albert W. Turner, purchased his estate and incorporated it into the City. Turner used the Mahoney house as his office during the construction of the City, but later, the house was razed and burned.

Albert Turner envisioned a fully planned suburban city. He wanted his new city to blend seamlessly with the existing towns and communities in Prince George's County. Realizing the city's name needed to reflect Maryland's heritage, through Turner’s research, he discovered the name of one of the most notable figures in Maryland’s history—Charles Carroll of Carrollton.

In the early 1950s, a bill was sponsored, and in the final hours of the 1953 General Assembly, Senate Bill 475 passed on April 11, 1953. This declared City of Carrollton as an incorporated community with a charter under Maryland’s laws. Its government vested in five councilmen at large, the first of whom were appointed by the General Assembly. Two councilmen served until the election on the first Monday in May 1954, and three served until the biennial election on the first Monday in May 1956. The first councilmen appointed to serve until their successors were elected were Albert H. Turner, Edward Lammers, Herndon G. Kilby, W. Carroll Beatty, and Albert W. Turner, who his colleagues selected as Mayor Pro Tem. They were the only candidates and voters in the first City election in 1954. None of these men actually resided in the City.

A Bright Future

In 1970, Mayor King appointed a task force on city government, led by Dr. Frank B. Pesci, to review and recommend changes to the City Charter. The task force submitted its report, proposing a shift from a commission form of government to a Mayor-City council structure. In 1971, voters approved lowering the minimum voting age for city elections from 21 to 18, making New Carrollton the first city in Prince George's County to take this step. The Council also voted to remove the “freeholder” requirement from the City Charter, which previously required elected officials be property owners. This change allowed tenants to run for office, marking another first for New Carrollton in the county.

In the early 1990's, the City partnered with the General Services Administration and the Internal Revenue Service to design three new 10-story office buildings across from the New Carrollton Metro station on Harkins Road. Over 4,000 IRS employees occupy these buildings.

The City welcomed the redesigned Four Points by Sheraton hotel at the intersection of Annapolis Road and 85th Avenue. Recently, the City celebrated the opening of a redesigned Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at the intersection of Annapolis Road and 85th Avenue. This upscale hotel offers luxury accommodations, a restaurant, meeting and event spaces. Additionally, the new shops at the hotel introduce more dining options for visitors and residents, along with office space and fitness facilities.

Why the City of “New” Carrollton

Three areas in the State of Maryland called themselves “Carrollton,” causing confusion over mailing addresses and lost revenues. To resolve this issue, the City Council introduced a resolution to change the city's name to “New Carrollton.” The Council held a public hearing on the name change, and on April 7, 1965, they voted to approve it. The name change was then brought to a referendum, and voters approved it on May 2, 1966.

About Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Charles Carroll (JPG) was born on September 19, 1737 in Annapolis. He was the grandson of Charles Carroll the Settler, who arrived in Maryland in 1688 and became the Attorney General of the Maryland colony. 

The younger Carroll was educated in Jesuit schools in France and studied law in London. However, when he returned to Maryland, he could not practice law due to his religion. He became deeply involved in public affairs but did not run for public office until the Revolution because he was a Roman Catholic.

At age 27, Carroll’s father gave him a 10,000-acre estate in southern Frederick County called “Carrollton Manor.” From that point on, he adopted the name Charles Carroll of Carrollton to distinguish himself from other Charles Carrolls in Maryland.

Carroll became a prominent spokesman for Maryland colonists who wanted to declare their independence from the British crown. From March to June in 1776, he joined his cousin, Reverend John Carroll, the first United States Roman Catholic Archbishop and Georgetown University founder, along with Benjamin Franklin and Judge Samuel Chase, on a mission to Canada to seek assistance for the colonies during the Revolutionary War.

In June of 1776, the State of Maryland sent Carroll, along with Samuel Chase, William Paca, and Thomas Stone, to represent the state at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He became one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1789, Charles Carroll became the first United States Senator from Maryland, alongside John Henry. He served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and helped draft the “Bill of Rights.” He also drafted a bill in 1789 for the gradual abolition of slavery in Maryland.

In 1821, he moved permanently to Baltimore from Annapolis. On July 4, 1828, as the Director of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, he laid the “first stone” for the railroad. Charles Carroll of Carrollton died on November 14, 1832, at the age of 96, as the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence.

https://www.newcarrolltonmd.gov/1172/History-of-New-Carrollton

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792)

The main influence on the education and early reign of George III, John Stuart, Earl of Bute, was briefly prime minister in the 1760s and quickly became one of the most vilified men in the British world. Burned in effigy (often represented by a jackboot) from London to Virginia, the Scottish Lord Bute was a powerful symbol of pervasive fears that hidden forces behind the throne were bent on corrupting the British constitution.

Bute was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 25, 1713, the oldest son of James, 2nd Earl of Bute, and Lady Anne Campbell, the daughter of the 1st Duke of Argyll. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Leiden. In 1737 Bute was elected one of the 16 Scottish representative peers in the House of Lords, but he rarely attended its sessions. He left Scotland for London in 1745 shortly after the outbreak of the Jacobite rebellion. There he became close to Frederick, the Prince of Wales, who was at the center of the political opposition to George II (Frederick's father). After Frederick's death in 1751, Bute became principal tutor to his oldest son, who would become George III.

It would be difficult to overstate Bute's influence on George III. Bute designed the curriculum that shaped the future king's thoughts on history, law, and politics, relying heavily on works such as a manuscript version of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (not published until 1765) and Henry St. John Bolingbroke's The Idea of the Patriot King (1740). Bolingbroke's idealistic and highly flawed work largely ignores the practical challenges posed by the British constitution and its recent history, but it framed George III's perspective on his broader role as king. Bolingbroke stressed that a king's decisions should be guided by the interests of the nation, without regard to the politics of the day, and a king should choose ministers for their moral virtue rather than more mundane characteristics such as their ability to maintain a majority in the House of Commons. Bute's education plan for the future king led to an unsuccessful attempt in 1752 by Horace Walpole and other Whig leaders to have him removed from the position.

Walpole's fears proved well-founded when George III became king on October 25, 1760, and enacted ideas which resulted in an almost complete transformation — and destabilization — of British politics. It took only two days for George III to appoint Bute to the Privy Council; five months later Bute was named Secretary of State for the Northern Department. His rapid elevation caused confusion in the Cabinet, especially among William Pitt and his ministerial colleagues, who were focused on vigorously prosecuting the Seven Years War against France. The growing divide between Pitt and Bute reached a crisis point over strategy against Spain and over the terms of peace with France (the King and Bute wanted a quick end to the conflict, rather than a comprehensive one). Pitt consequently lost his hold over the Cabinet and resigned his office on October 5, 1761. Pitt's successor, the Duke of Newcastle, followed suit on May 26, 1762, over a dispute with the King and the isolationist Bute about whether to continue a subsidy to Prussia. The very next day, the King seized this opportunity and appointed Bute as First Lord of the Treasury and prime minister. Bute's 317 days at the head of the government would be among the most tumultuous of the century and lay much of the groundwork for the constitutional disputes which culminated in the American War for Independence.

Bute was immediately blasted by the London press as a conniving Scot and a Jacobite-leaning Tory who cared nothing for protecting the British constitution and its hard-won victories in the costly war. The Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years War was largely Bute's handiwork — and however skillfully negotiated and advantageous it was to Britain in hindsight, at the time it was derided by leaders such as Pitt and quickly turned into a political disaster for Bute. With the enormously popular Pitt now in opposition, the treaty became rich fodder for political writers such as John Wilkes. Wilkes' North Briton was launched specifically to attack Bute and the peace, and its writings helped establish the theme of constitutional corruption that fueled the political fears of radical Whigs in America and Britain. By the spring of 1763, Bute was the most hated man on both sides of the Atlantic and was attacked — often physically — almost everywhere he went. His decision to impose a cider tax in England led to widespread rioting. He also wanted to tax Americans to raise further revenue to pay for a permanent British army presence in the colonies (the Sugar Act and Stamp Act were eventually put forward by Bute's protégé and successor as Prime Minister, George Grenville).

Recognizing that his continuation in office would only make matters worse for the government, Bute resigned on April 8, 1763, and claimed to withdraw from political life. Rumors soon circulated that he remained George III's chief advisor, perhaps more influential out of office than he was in it. Considerable damage was done to British political culture when the rumors turned out to be true. Grenville demanded Bute's removal from the King's court, and the situation sparked rampant speculation that ministerial policies were the product of an unconstitutional conspiracy surrounding the throne. Pitt's return to office in 1766 effectively ended Bute's relationship with the King, although the myth that the constitution was being actively undermined by secret forces would taint transatlantic politics throughout the American Revolution, and Bute would remain a symbol of that corruption in satirical prints through the 1780s.

Except for a trip to Italy, Bute spent his long retirement from public life at his estate in Hampshire and used his considerable wealth to support Scotland's universities, including several endowed chairs at the University of Edinburgh. He also wrote a number of works on botany. One of his sons, Charles Stuart, fought for Britain in the American War for Independence from 1775 to 1779, eventually commanding the 26th Regiment of Foot. Bute died in London on March 10, 1792, and is buried in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.

https://www.ouramericanrevolution.org/index.cfm/people/view/pp0049

The Crowns of America

So often one hears politicians quoting the British Constitution as if it actually exists by way of adocumentary privilege — but it does not. It is simply an accumulation of old customs and precedents concerning parliamentary sanctions, together with a number of specific laws defining certain aspects. Since Scotland's 1320 Declaration of Arbroath was nullified by England's Treaty of Union in 1707, the oldest Written Constitution now in force is that of the United States of America. It was adopted in 1787, ratified in 1788, and effected in 1789. In that same year began the French Revolution, which abolished feudalism and ‘absolute’ monarchy in France, thereby influencing politics in much of Europe. In close to 200 years since the Revolution, France and other European States (with Britain as a noticeable exception) have adopted Written Constitutions to protect the rights and liberties of individuals — but who champions these Constitutions on behalf of the people? A popular alternative to absolute monarchy or dictatorship has been found in Republicanism. The Republic of the United States was created primarily to free the emergent nation from the despotism of Britain’s House of Hanover. Yet its citizens tend still to be fascinated by the concept of monarchy. No matter how Republican the spirit, the need for a central symbol remains. Neither a flag nor a president can fulfil this unifying role, for by virtue of the ‘party system’ presidents are always politically motivated. Republicanism was devised on the principle of fraternal status, yet an ideally classless society can never exist in an environment that promotes displays of eminence and superiority by degrees of wealth and possession. For the most part, those responsible for the United States’ morally inspired Constitution were Rosicrucians and Freemasons, notable characters such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Charles Thompson. The last, who designed the Great Seal of the United States of America, was a member of Franklin’s American Philosophical Society — a counterpart of Britain’s Invisible College. The imagery of the Seal is directly related to alchemical tradition, inherited from the allegory of the ancient Egyptian Therapeutate. The eagle, the olive branch, the arrows, and the pentagrams are all occult symbols of opposites: good and evil, male and female, war and peace, darkness and light. On the reverse (as repeated on the dollar bill) is the truncated pyramid, indicating the loss of the Old Wisdom, severed and forced underground by the Church establishment. But above this are the rays of ever-hopeful light, incorporating the ‘all-seeing eye’, used as a symbol during the French Revolution.

In establishing their Republic, the Americans could still not escape the ideal of a parallel monarchy — a central focus of non-political, patriotic attachment. George Washington was actually offered kingship, but declined because he had no immediately qualifying heritage. Instead he turned to the Royal House of Stuart. In November 1782 four Americans arrived at the San Clemente Palazzo in Florence, the residence of Charles III Stuart in exile. They were Mr Galloway of Maryland, two brothers named Sylvester from Pennsylvania, and Mr Fish, a lawyer from New York. They were taken to Charles Edward by his secretary, John Stewart. Also present was the Hon Charles Hervey-Townshend (later Britain’s ambassador to The Hague) and the Prince's future wife, Marguerite, Comtesse de Massillan. The interview — which revolved around the contemporary transatlantic dilemma — is doctimented in the US Senate archives and in the Manorwater Papers. Writers such as Sir Compton Mackenzie and Sir Charles Petrie have also described the occasion when Charles Edward Stuart was invited to become ‘King of the Americans’. Some years earlier, Charles had been similarly approached by the men of Boston, but once the War of Independence was over George Washington sent his own envoys. It would have been a great irony for the House of Hanover to lose the North American colonies to the Stuarts. But Charles declined the offer for a number of reasons, not the least of which was his lack of a legitimate male heir at the time. He knew that without a due successor the United States could easily fall to Hanover again at his death, thereby defeating the whole Independence effort. Since those days, many other radical events have taken place: the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, two major World Wars, and a host of changes as countries have swapped one style of government for another. Meanwhile, civil and international disputes continue just as they did in the Middle Ages. They are motivated by trade, politics, religion, and whatever other banners are flown to justify the constant struggle for territorial and economic control. The Holy Roman Empire has disappeared, the German Reichs have failed, and the British Empire has collapsed. The Russian Empire fell to Communism, which has itself been disgraced and crumbled to ruin, while Capitalism teeters on the very brink of acceptability. With the Cold War now ended, America faces a new threat to her superpower status from the Pacific countries. In the meantime, the nations of Europe band together in what was once a seemingly well conceived economic community, but which is already suffering from the same pressures of individual custom and national sovereignty that beset the Holy Roman Empire. Whether nations are governed by military-style regimes or elected parliaments, by autocrats or democrats, and whether formally described as monarchist, socialist or republican, the net product is always the same: the few control the fate of the many. In situations of dictatorship this is a natural experience — but it should not be the case in a democratic institution based on the principle of majority vote. True democracy is government by the people for the people, in either direct or representative form, ignoring class distinctions and tolerating minority views. The American Constitution sets out an ideal for this form of democracy ... but, in line with other nations, there is always a large sector of the community that is not represented by the party in power. Because presidents and prime ministers are politically tied, and because political parties take their respective turns at individual helms, the inevitable result is a lack of continuity for the nations concerned. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is no reliable ongoing institution to champion the civil rights and liberties of people in such conditions of ever-changing leadership. Britain does, at least, retain a monarchy, but it is a politically constrained monarchy, and as such is ineffectual in performing its role as guardian of the nation. The United States, unlike Britain, has a Written Constitution — but has no one with the power to uphold its principles against successive governments who determinedly pursue their own politically vested interests. Is there an answer to the anomaly — an answer that could bring not just a ray of hope but a shining light for the future? There certainly is, but its energy relies on those in governmental service appreciating their roles as ‘representatives’ of society rather than presuming to stand at the head of society. Alongside the political administration, an appointed Constitutional champion would be empowered to keep check on any potential disparities and infringements of the Constitution that might occur. This can be achieved in the manner first envisaged by George Washington and the American Fathers. Their original plan was for a democratic Parliament combined with a working Constitutional Monarchy bound not to Parliament or the Church but to the people and their Written Constitution. In such an environment, sovereignty would ultimately rest with the people, while the monarch (as an operative Guardian of the Realm) would pledge an ‘Oath of Fealty to the Nation’ — not the reverse, as in Britain’s case, whereby the nation pays homage to the sovereignty of Parliament and the monarchy. The unfulfilled ambition of the American Fathers was that government ministers should be elected by the majority vote of the people, but that their actions be directed within the boundaries of the Constitution. Because that Constitution belongs to the people, its champion — as George Washington perceived — should be a monarch whose obligation is not to politics or religion but to the sovereign nation. Through the natural system of heredity (being born and bred to the task), such a Constitutional guardian would provide an ‘ongoing continuity’ of public representation through successive governments. In this regard both monarchs and ministers would be servants of the Constitution on behalf of the Community of the Realm. Such a concept of moral government lies at the very heart of the Grail Code, and it remains within the bounds of possibility for every civilized Nation State. A leading British politician recently claimed that it was not his job to be popular! Not so—a popular minister is a trusted minister, and holding a deserved electoral trust facilitates the democratic process. No minister can honestly expound an ideal of equality in society when that minister is deemed to possess some form of prior lordship over society. Class structure is always decided from above, never from below. It is therefore for those on self-made pedestals to be seen to kick them aside in the interests of harmony and unity. Jesus was not in the least humbled when he washed his Apostles’ feet; he was raised to the realm of a true Grail King — the realm of equality and princely service. This is the eternal ‘Precept of the Sangréal’, and it is expressed in Grail lore with the utmost clarity: only by asking ‘Whom does the Grail serve?’ will the wound of the Fisher King be healed, and the Wasteland returned to fertility.

pages 438-443

"The Sangreal Today"

Bloodline of the Holy Grail

by Laurence Gardner

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zsH4O_ls0IgWEYXLXWCo7I3IUi32FJhq/view?usp=sharing

The Monument to the Royal Stuarts is a memorial in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City State. It commemorates the last three members of the Royal House of Stuart: James Francis Edward Stuart ("the Old Pretender", d. 1766), his elder son Charles Edward Stuart ("the Young Pretender" or "Bonnie Prince Charlie", d. 1788), and his younger son, Henry Benedict Stuart ("the Cardinal Duke of York", d. 1807). The Jacobites recognised these three as kings of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The marble monument is by Antonio Canova (1757–1822), the most celebrated Italian sculptor of his day. It was erected in 1819.

Description

The monument takes the form of a truncated obelisk. It carries bas relief profile portraits of the three exiled princes, and the following inscription:

IACOBO·III

IACOBI·II·MAGNAE·BRIT·REGIS·FILIO

KAROLO·EDVARDO

ET·HENRICO·DECANO·PATRVM·CARDINALIVM

IACOBI·III·FILIIS

REGIAE·STIRPIS·STVARDIAE·POSTREMIS

ANNO·M·DCCC·XIX

("To James III, son of King James II of Great Britain, to Charles Edward and to Henry, Dean of the Cardinal Fathers, sons of James III, the last of the Royal House of Stuart. 1819")

Below the inscription are two weeping angels, symbolising the lost hopes of the exiled Stuarts.

The monument to the Royal Stuarts was originally commissioned by Monsignor Angelo Cesarini, executor of the estate of Henry Benedict Stuart. Among the subscribers, curiously, was King George IV, who (once the Jacobite threat to his throne had ended with the death of Cardinal Stuart in 1807) was an admirer of the Stuart legend.[1]

The monument stands towards the back of the basilica in the left aisle opposite the door from which people coming down the spiral staircase from the dome and roof exit. It is frequently adorned with flowers by Jacobite romantics.

Burials

The monument is, strictly speaking, a cenotaph, not a tomb. The three Stuarts are buried in the crypt below the basilica. James Francis Edward Stuart was buried here at his death in 1766. When Charles Edward Stuart died in 1788, he was buried in the Basilica of St Peter Apostle in Frascati. When his brother Henry Benedict Stuart died in 1807, both brothers were laid to rest next to their father in the crypt of St. Peter's. Three separate tombstones were erected on the site.

Until 1938 the bodies of the three Stuarts were buried where the tomb of Pius XI now stands. In that year the bodies were moved slightly further east on the left side of the crypt, to make room for Pius's tomb. In 1939 a single sarcophagus was erected over the three graves. On top of the sarcophagus is a bronze pillow on which is placed a bronze crown. On the front of the sarcophagus is the same inscription quoted above.

Other monuments

Opposite the monument to the Royal Stuarts in St. Peter's Basilica is a monument to Maria Clementina Sobieska, wife of James Francis Edward Stuart and mother of Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart. Its inscription reads:

MARIA CLEMENTINA M. BRITANN.

FRANC. ET HIBERN. REGINA

("Maria Clementina, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland"[a])

Queen Christina of Sweden, the only other monarch with a memorial in the church, also lies entombed in the crypt below the basilica, with the Royal Stuarts. She abdicated her throne in 1654 to convert to Catholicism.

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

The first member of the family who was known to use the name "Rothschild" was Isaak Elchanan Rothschild, born in 1577. The name is derived from the German zum rothen Schild (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "at the red shield", in reference to the house where the family lived for many generations (in those days, houses were designated not by numbers, but by signs displaying different symbols or colours). A red shield can still be seen at the centre of the Rothschild coat of arms. The family's ascent to international prominence began in 1744, with the birth of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was the son of Amschel Moses Rothschild (born circa 1710),[13] a money changer who had traded with the Prince of Hesse. Born in the "Judengasse", the ghetto of Frankfurt, Mayer developed a finance house and spread his empire by installing each of his five sons in the five main European financial centres to conduct business. The Rothschild coat of arms contains a clenched fist with five arrows symbolising the five dynasties established by the five sons of Mayer Rothschild, in a reference to Psalm 127: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth." The family motto appears below the shield: Concordia, Integritas, Industria (Unity, Integrity, Industry).[14]

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

When his grandson, Naftali Hirz left the "House at the Red Shield" in 1664 and moved to the Hinterpfann (a tenement in the back of a house at the northern end of the Judengasse), he took the name Rothschild with him."

The Family ‹ Rothschild Name & Arms :: The Rothschild Archive

https://www.rothschildarchive.org/family/the_rothschild_name_and_arms/any_questions

From Middle High German hirz, from Old High German hiruz, from Proto-West Germanic *herut, from Proto-Germanic *herutaz. Compare Dutch hert, English hart."

Hirsch - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hirsch#:~:text=German-,Etymology,Compare%20Dutch%20hert%2C%20English%20hart.

The word “Hirz” has its origins in Arabic and is often used to refer to a fortified or protected place. In its broader sense, it represents a location or space that is enclosed and fortified, offering a sense of safety and protection to those inside."

What is Islamic Hirz and Amulet? - MyRings Boutique

https://www.myrings.co/blog/what-is-islamic-hirz-and-amulet/#:~:text=The%20word%20%E2%80%9CHirz%E2%80%9D%20has%20its,and%20protection%20to%20those%20inside.

Herzl is a beautiful boy's name of Yiddish origin. Borrowed from the name Hirsh, Herzl means “deer,” making it a special way to dote on your little one's delicate nature."

Herzl - Baby Name Meaning, Origin and Popularity (thebump.com)

https://www.thebump.com/b/herzl-baby-name

The ancestral home of the Herzl family is in the German province of Bavaria. Herzl is a German nickname surname. Such names came from eke-names, or added names, that described their initial bearer through reference to a physical characteristic or other attribute. It is a name for a kindhearted or stalwart individual, and is derived from the German word herz, which means heart."

Herzl Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms (houseofnames.com)

https://www.houseofnames.com/herzl-family-crest

Old English heorte "heart (hollow muscular organ that circulates blood); breast, soul, spirit, will, desire; courage; mind, intellect," from Proto-Germanic *hertan- (source also of Old Saxon herta, Old Frisian herte, Old Norse hjarta, Dutch hart, Old High German herza, German Herz, Gothic hairto), from PIE root *kerd- "heart.""

heart | Etymology, origin and meaning of heart by etymonline

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

[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 Complementary Norms

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

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17:9-10

6. The delegates commit to working with the schools to enhance the way parents and families are invited into our education and formation." The Rio Papers International Congress for Jesuit Education Delegates Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 2017

The Rio Papers (googleusercontent.com)

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ce18dDJhSfoJ:https://jesuitinstitute.org/Resources/Rio%2520Papers.pdf&cd=51&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Administration/administrators of temporal goods: 1. Of the Society in general: those who are administrators [326, 327, 419-21, 740-745, 759, 815]; the powers they have [743-745]; in what spirit and with what care and dedication the temporal goods of the Society are to be administered [305], 216 §§1, 2-4; social justice is to be safeguarded and fostered in the investment of money, 217; nothing is to be changed in or derogated from norms and instructions without permission, 216 §3; an account of one s administration is to be rendered [326, 741, 759], 167; especially so at the end of the t e rm s o f o f f i c e o f l o c a l superiors and treasurers, 222; negligent or wasteful superiors are to be corrected, 216 §4 2. Of one s own goods: is to be yielded from the beginning of novitiate and after first vows, 57 3. Of the goods of others: not to be undertaken without permission of the general, 166; administration of deposits of money from externs, whether in cash or in negotiable paper, should not be undertaken, 219. See also Buildings; Contracts in general, and in particular: Alienation of goods; Debts; Deposits; Gifts; Investment of money; Legacy; Rentals; Revenues"

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

The Union Générale.

Meanwhile the Nationalist and Reactionary parties in France desired to counterbalance the "Semitic" influence of the Rothschilds by establishing a banking concern which should be essentially Catholic. Accordingly in 1876 the Union Générale was founded with a capital of 4,000,000 francs, increased to 25,000, 000 fraces in 1878 under the direction of a certain Bontoux. After various vicissitudes, graphically described by Zola in his novel "L'Argent," the Union failed, and brought many of the Catholic nobility of France to ruin, leaving the Rothschilds still more absolutely the undisputed leaders of French finance, but leaving also a legacy of hatred which had much influence on the growth of the anti-Semitic movement in France. Something analogous occurred in England when the century-long competition of the Barings and the Rothschilds culminated in the failure of the former in 1893; but in this case the Rothschilds came to the rescue of their rivals and prevented a universal financial catastrophe. It is a somewhat curious sequel to the attempt to set up a Catholic competitor to the Roths-childs that at the present time the latter are the guardians of the papal treasure.

Of recent years the Rothschilds have consistently refused to have anything to do with loans to Russia, owing to the anti-Jewish legislation of that empire, though on one occasion the members of the Paris house joined in a loan to demonstrate their patriotism as Frenchmen."

ROTHSCHILD - JewishEncyclopedia.com

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12909

Jacob Rothschild, Banker Who Broke From His Fabled Family, Dies at 87

The fourth Baron Rothschild, he left the family banking dynasty to start his own company, becoming a powerful financier, patron of the arts and philanthropist.

Mr. Rothschild retired as head of RIT Capital Partners in 2019. That year, his personal wealth was estimated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index to be more than $1 billion.

Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild was born in Berkshire, England, on April 29, 1936, to Victor Rothschild, the third Baron Rothschild, and his first wife, Barbara Judith (Hutchinson) Rothschild.

Mr. Rothschild studied history at Oxford before joining the family bank. After he resigned to head RIT, he became involved in a series of ventures, including an unsuccessful bid in 1989 with other investors to take over British American Tobacco for $21 billion.

He maintained a wide network of international connections, acting as deputy chairman of Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB Television, and as an adviser to then-Prince Charles. He was a member of the International Advisory Board of the Blackstone Group, a leading private equity group, and co-founded the J. Rothschild Assurance Group in 1991, a wealth management company now known as St. James’s Place.

Not all his maneuvers were free of controversy. In 2003, British media reports said he had struck a trusteeship deal with Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, a Russian oil tycoon and Putin foe, to transfer Mr. Khodorkovsky’s stake in the Yukos oil company to Mr. Rothschild in the event of his arrest. Mr. Khodorkovsky was arrested in October 2003 and later exiled. Mr. Rothschild did not confirm the reports.

Alongside his career as a high-powered financier, Mr. Rothschild played an energetic if sometimes secretive role in Israel, overseeing his family’s long-running philanthropic activities there as head of the Yad Hanadiv foundation.

Over the decades, the Rothschilds quietly sponsored major projects, including the construction of Israel’s Parliament, Supreme Court and National Library, none of which bear the family’s name. “We’ve tried not to be in the headlines,” Mr. Rothschild told The Jerusalem Report in 2012, adding, “Our tradition has been that we don’t shout from the rooftops what we are doing.”

He took over Yad Hanadiv after the death in 1988 of Dorothy de Rothschild, the foundation’s chairwoman and an aunt of his. She bequeathed him estates in Buckinghamshire, England.

Image

An aerial view of sprawling stone manor house built in the ornate style of a French chateau. A highly manicured garden the length of the house can be seen in the background.

Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild built Waddesdon Manor in the 1880s. It is now overseen by Britain’s National Trust, but Mr. Rothschild struck a deal in which the building would house the family’s enormous collection of art.Credit...David Goddard/Getty Images

The ownership of one of the properties, Waddesdon Manor, built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the 1880s in the style of a French chateau, had already been transferred to the nonprofit National Trust in 1957. But Mr. Rothschild struck an unusual deal with the trust to administer the manor as a home for the Rothschilds’ collection of an estimated 15,000 works of art and objects, and for his personal collection of Rothschild wines, mainly from the Bordeaux region of France.

Mr. Rothschild was a principal benefactor of the manor’s restoration and played a part in other ambitious projects, including the regeneration of Somerset House, an 18th-century building overlooking the River Thames in London. Among many arts-related positions in Britain and elsewhere, he chaired the trustees of London’s National Gallery from 1985 to 1991.

Mr. Rothschild married Serena Dunn, a racehorse owner, in 1961; she died in 2019. He had four children, Hannah, Beth, Emily and Nathaniel, and a number of grandchildren. Complete information on his survivors was not immediately available.

For all his standing among the world’s wealthy elite, Mr. Rothschild was openly critical of some of his peers in the international financial system. In 2012, four years after the economic crisis of 2008, he told The Jerusalem Report that he had “a lot of sympathy with people who protested about some of the excesses in the world of finance.”

“After all, here are characters who have made great fortunes, who have been in charge of a system which has been very damaging to many interests in the last five to 10 years,” he said. “They have had enormous benefits, but the banking system as a whole has had a crippling effect in a number of areas throughout the world.”

Victor Mather contributed reporting.

After a long career as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times based in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, Alan Cowell became a freelance contributor in 2015, based in London.

  More about Alan Cowell

See more on: Rothschild Family

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/business/jacob-rothschild-dead.html  

This is Me Paperback – Illustrated, May 7, 2014

by Edward M. Dunn Jr. (Author)

5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars    2 ratings

See all formats and editions

The surname Dunn comes from the Gaelic word donn, which means "brown" The Gaelic form O'Duinn (the descendant of donn) is most commonly anglicized as Dunn, but is also written as Dunne. The Dunn family is of the same Celtic stock as the O'Connors and O'Dempseys-clans who trace their descendants from Rossa Failgeach, eldest son of Cathaoir Mor, king of Ireland in the second century. The Dunn sept stems from Riagan, tenth in lineal descent from Failgeach, the district ruled over by Riagan, located in County Leix, which became the ancestral home of the Dunns. In later times, their chieftains were known as Lords of Iregan. Irish bards praise the martial prowess and commanding stature of the Dunn warriors. They were undoubtedly conspicuous in history for their doughty resistance to the encroachment of Anglo-Norman invaders who held lands in the pale boarding their territory. The Dunns were in the forefront of every battle for Irish nationalism. They suffered heavily in the bitter and prolonged struggle against Cromwell. In the next generation, they espoused the Stuart cause, and the head of the family was killed in the Battle of Aughrim. With the fall of the Stuarts, the lands of the Dunns were confiscated, and their fighting men who survived followed Sarsfield and the "wild geese" to fight in the ranks of the Irish Brigade in France. Many of them served with distinction in the regiments of O'Donnell, Lord Clare, and Walsh up to the days of the French Revolution. The name Dunn is twenty-seventh in the list of commonest surnames in Ireland. It is widespread in the United States also. Representatives of the family have achieved prominence in the literary, political, and religious life of our country.

https://www.amazon.com/This-Me-Edward-Dunn-Jr/dp/1493179608

Mary D. Stifflemire

January 31, 1921 - August 11, 2015

Mary D. Stifflemire, of 43 West McKinsey Rd. in Severna Park, MD, died August 10th of natural causes. She was 94.

Born in New Bern, NC, January 31, 1921, to William F and May H Dunn, Mary had four brothers: William, John, Robert and Roger Dunn. She was 10 years old when her family relocated from New Bern to Washington, DC. The family resided on Clifton St. in NW Washington, DC, and Mary graduated from Central High School. Mary later lived on Quincy Street and on Eastern Avenue in NE Washington, DC, from 1954 to 1980, when she relocated to Fort Lauderdale, FL. She was married to Kenneth H. Ramey in 1941. They later divorced, and she remarried, to Paul F. Stifflemire in 1950. They were also divorced. Mary lived in Pompano Beach, FL with her longtime companion, Arvis “Bill” Lyman from 1984 until his death in 2004. She relocated to Maryland in 2009.

Mary’s professional career included positions as secretary to then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, followed by several years as secretary to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces. She was secretary to Brent Skowcroft, National Security Advisor to President Richard Nixon. She also served as secretary to Alexander Haig, then the Military Assistant to the Presidential Assistant for National Security Affairs, Henry Kissinger. She accompanied President Nixon and Mr. Kissinger on several important foreign missions, including the 1972 talks in Beijing that began the normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China, and the signing in January 1973 of the Paris Peace Accords that formally ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Mary was an active synchronized swimmer, performing with the Aqua Gems at the Ambassador Hotel in Washington, DC. She was a certified Red Cross swimming instructor and won numerous swimming medals in the Florida Senior Games.

Mary is survived by two sons, Kenneth Ramey, 73, of Bunker Hill, WV, and Paul Stifflemire, 64, of Arnold, MD. She leaves behind six granddaughters: Talia Ramey of College Park, MD; Victoria Ramey of Germantown, MD; Holly Stifflemire of Pepperell, MA; Heidi Crone of Cincinnati, OH; Heather Stifflemire of Framingham, MA; and, Grace Stifflemire of Arnold, MD. Mary also leaves two great-granddaughters, Ella and Cassidy Crone, and two great-grandsons, Anthony and Dominic Ramey.

A wake will be held at the Barranco & Sons, P.A. Funeral Home in Severna Park Maryland on Friday August 14, 2015 from 4:00PM to 8:00PM. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. John the Evangelist Church, Saturday August 15 at 10:00AM. Mary will be buried with her father and mother at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, DC.

Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Audubon Society.

https://www.barrancofuneralhome.com/obituary/3271963

Knight of Malta Prescott Bush, Jr.; 33º George H. W. Bush, 1990s #719

Sons of Skull and Bonesman/Knight of Malta/Nazi-financier Prescott Bush, Sr., with strong familial ties to the Jesuits ruling England’s Stonyhurst College, both men have been two of the Black Pope’s most powerful nobles ruling over the Vatican’s CFR-controlled 14th Amendment America since the 1960s. Enjoying intimate ties to the high Jesuits and Knights of Malta of Georgetown University, both frequenters of the Order’s Northern California Bohemian Grove are closely associated with brother Knight and the Vatican’s world press lord, Fox News’ Rupert Murdoch, while overseeing Rome’s unified International Intelligence Community including the NSA/CIA, the FSB/SVR, the BND, MI5/MI6 and the Israeli Mossad. George, a CIA asset in the 1960s, was involved in the Bay of Pigs betrayal, the JFK assassination and subsequent CFR/CIA-enforced Great Jesuit Cover-up. He was also a power behind the CIA’s removal of President Nixon via SMOM’s Alexander M. Haig, Jr.’s, Watergate Scandal, SMOM/DCI William J. Casey’s Iran-Contra Affair, and the arming of Iran and Iraq* in preparation for the Company’s 21st Century Crusade against Islam and the US. Indeed, the men who killed Kennedy murdered thousands on 911! Within the Bush family are members of every significant secret society ruled by Rome: Skull and Bones; Knights of Malta; Knights of Columbus; and high-level P2 Freemasonry.

All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings, George H. W. Bush, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999). *George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, Webster G. Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin, (Washington, D.C.: Executive Intelligence Review, 1992).

Vatican Assassins Wounded In The House of My Friends

Third Edition

by Eric Jon Phelps

https://dn790006.ca.archive.org/0/items/eric-jon-phelps-vatican-assassins-3rd-edition_202101/Eric%20Jon%20Phelps%20-%20Vatican%20Assassins%203rd%20Edition.pdf

Money Inc. was a heel professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from February 1992 to August 1993 consisting of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster (I.R.S.).

History

Formation (1991)

Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster were paired by the WWF creative team, who believed that DiBiase's egotistical millionaire persona would pair well with Schyster's tax collector persona. DiBiase & Schyster made their first appearance as a team on June 22, 1991, defeating Roddy Piper & Virgil. The pair then made their first television appearance on the November 17, 1991 episode of Wrestling Challenge in another victory, this time over The Bushwhackers (Butch Miller & Luke Williams).

First Tag Team Championship reign (1992)

DiBiase & Schyster got their first shot at the WWF Tag Team Championship in February after The Natural Disasters's (Earthquake & Typhoon) manager, Jimmy Hart, turned on his team and, in exchange for a bribe, gave DiBiase & Schyster a contract for a title opportunity. Making their debut as Money Inc., DiBiase & Schyster defeated The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) on February 7, 1992 to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. After winning the championship, DiBiase forfeited his Million Dollar Championship to the WWF so he could focus on the tag team championship.

Money Inc. then began a feud with The Natural Disasters, who were furious about Jimmy Hart's betrayal, which lead to a match at WrestleMania VIII. At WrestleMania, Money Inc. were defeated by count out, allowing them to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship. Money Inc. would go on to retain the championship against the likes of The Bushwhackers, The Natural Disasters, and High Energy (Koko B. Ware & Owen Hart) in the build-up to SummerSlam 1992. Money Inc. were scheduled to face The Legion of Doom in a rematch for the title at SummerSlam, however, DiBiase & Schyster were defeated in a dark match by The Natural Disasters on the August 8, 1992 episode of WWF Superstars, ending their 164 day reign.

Second Tag Team Championship reign (1992-1993)

Money Inc. still faced The Legion of Doom at SummerSlam 1992, in a bout without any titles involved, but were defeated. DiBiase & Schyster eventually got their rematch against The Natural Disasters on the November 1, 1992 episode of Wrestling Challenge. Money Inc. were attacked before the match by The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags), another team managed by Jimmy Hart, who were originally scheduled to face The Natural Disasters but were replaced with DiBiase & Schyster by Hart. During the match, The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu) interfered to help Money Inc. win the match and the title for a second time.

Money Inc. defended the WWF Tag Team Championship against The Ultimate Maniacs (Randy Savage & The Ultimate Warrior) at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, retaining the title again after losing by count out, before teaming with The Beverly Brothers (Beau Beverly & Blake Beverly) in a Survivor Series match against The Nasty Boys and The Natural Disasters at Survivor Series 1992. Money Inc. & The Beverly Brothers were defeated after Sags pinned Schyster while he was celebrating eliminating The Natural Disasters.

On the February 15, 1993 episode of Raw, DiBiase faced Brutus Beefcake, but was disqualified after he and Schyster attacked Beefcake. DiBiase then held Beefcake, urging Schyster to hit him with his briefcase, however, Jimmy Hart tried to intervene, turing face in the process. Hart was eventually thrown out of the ring by Schyster, before he hit Beefcake with the briefcase. When Hulk Hogan made his return, he joined forces with Brutus Beefcake and Jimmy Hart to form The Mega-Maniacs, beginning a feud with Money Inc.

At WrestleMania IX, Money Inc. defended the WWF Tag Team Championship against The Mega-Maniacs, winning after Danny Davis disqualified Hulk Hogan for using Beefcake's face protector as a weapon. Money Inc. then began a feud with The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner), who ended Money Inc.'s 244 day reign as champions on June 14, 1993.

AD

Third Tag Team Championship Reign and Break-up (1993)

Just two days after losing the WWF Tag Team Championship, Money Inc. won them back from The Steiner Brothers on June 16, 1993. However, three days later on June 19, 1993, The Steiner Brothers won the championship back from Money Inc., cutting their third reign short. After losing the championship, Money Inc. had a number of rematches against The Steiner Brothers, including a Steel Cage match at WWF SummerSlam Spectacular 1993, but were unsuccessful in winning the title.

Money Inc. eventually began a feud with Razor Ramon, after DiBiase offered a job as his servant to Ramon following his loss to The 1-2-3 Kid. During the feud, Ramon became a fan favourite and cost DiBiase a match against The 1-2-3 Kid. The feud culminated at SummerSlam 1993, where Ramon defeated DiBiase, and Schyster defeated The 1-2-3 Kid. DiBiase would then be absent for months, eventually retiring from wrestling, effectively breaking up the team.

Reunions

Mike Rotunda, who portrayed Schyster, and Ted DiBiase continue to be close friends in real life, and they have reunited on several occasions following the disbanding of Money Inc. In 1994, DiBiase formed the Million Dollar Corporation, a stable of heel wrestlers. Schyster was one of the first wrestlers to join the group and remained in the stable until leaving the WWF in 1995. In 1996, DiBiase and Rotunda (the latter as V.K. Wallstreet) were briefly together again in World Championship Wrestling as members of the New World Order.

Money Inc. made a surprise one-night return at Raw Family Reunion on October 9, 2006. Ric Flair had a match against Mitch of the Spirit Squad. All five members of the Spirit Squad were present, so Flair brought out Rowdy Roddy Piper, Money Inc., and Arn Anderson as his backup. Flair's allies kept the Squad in check, enabling Flair to win the match.

At the 15th Anniversary special edition of Monday Night Raw on December 10, 2007, Money Inc. had a brief reunion during a 15-man over-the-top-rope Battle royal. After I.R.S. was the last man standing out of the 14 wrestlers that made it to the ring, DiBiase came out as the 15th entrant and paid I.R.S. to eliminate himself. As a result, DiBiase was named the winner of the match. They were also reunited on an episode of RAW in 2010 where they fought with fellow legends after a match between DiBiase's son Ted DiBiase and Christian.

https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Money_Inc.

Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023.

Rotunda was a third-generation wrestler, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda, and his uncles Barry and Kendall Windham. His younger brother Taylor is also a wrestler under the ring name Bo Dallas. Alongside his brother, he held the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice while in WWE's then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He wrestled under various ring names between 2008 and 2012 in FCW, and wrestled on WWE's main roster from 2010 to 2011 as a member of The Nexus under the ring name Husky Harris.

After returning to WWE's developmental territory, which had been rebranded as NXT, Rotunda was repackaged as Bray Wyatt. Portrayed as the villainous leader of a bayou-dwelling cult called The Wyatt Family, he returned to the main roster alongside Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in 2013. He subsequently became a one-time WWE Champion, two-time WWE Universal Champion, one-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion (alongside Harper and brief Wyatt Family member Randy Orton under the Freebird Rule), and one-time Raw Tag Team Champion (with Matt Hardy).

After a hiatus from August 2018 to April 2019, Wyatt returned with a new split personality gimmick, which saw him switch between the two characters of a Mr. Rogers-esque children's TV host named Bray Wyatt and a grotesque monster resembling an evil clown called The Fiend. He was released from WWE in July 2021, but returned in October 2022 with a new character that claimed to be his "real-life" self, though he gradually reincorporated his previous personalities in addition to new ones. In what would become his only televised match during this return, he defeated LA Knight in January 2023; he took a medical hiatus in February due to a COVID-19 infection that exacerbated a pre-existing heart condition, and died of a heart attack in August at the age of 36.

Death

Rotunda died in his sleep at his home in Clermont, Florida, on August 24, 2023 at the age of 36. The cause of death was a heart attack.[270][271] His death was announced by WWE's chief content officer Triple H, following a phone call he had received from Rotunda's father Mike Rotunda.[272] Rotunda had been dealing with an undisclosed illness since February, which was reportedly life-threatening. Just days before his death, reports were published stating that he was making progress in his recovery. Shortly after his death, it was revealed that the illness was due to an earlier COVID-19 infection, which had exacerbated a pre-existing heart condition.[270] He had been hospitalized for a heart issue one week before his death, and was advised to wear a specialized vest containing a self-activating defibrillator; at the time of his death, he was not wearing the vest, which police found in his car.[271][273]

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

Almost two millennia later, even though Pier Luigi Nervi and Annibale Vitellozzi created a closed ROTUNDA with a LANTERN for their Palazzetto dello Sport (1956-1958) the dome rebuilds the sky here as well. The central circle represents the sun and grants a floating lightness to the lantern. The constructive engineering is elegantly transformed into a sophisticated shell of sun rays enclosing all spectators." A Brief History of Rome's Luminous Rotundas | ArchDaily

A Brief History of Rome's Luminous Rotundas | ArchDaily

https://www.archdaily.com/775844/a-brief-history-of-romes-luminous-rotundas

A rotunda (from Latin rotundus) is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (a famous example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). The Pantheon, Rome is the most famous and influential rotunda. A band rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome."

Rotunda (architecture) - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotunda_(architecture)#:~:text=A%20rotunda%20(from%20Latin%20rotundus,Capitol%20in%20Washington%2C%20D.C.).

Rotunda died of a HEART attack on August 24, 2023, at the age of 36.[281] His death was announced by WWE chief content creator and former wrestler Triple H on X.[282]"

Bray Wyatt - Wikipedia

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

On September 10, 2012 during Raw at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, not long after defeating Punk and Dolph Ziggler in a tag-team match with Randy Orton, Lawler legitimately collapsed at the announcers table while Kane and Daniel Bryan competed against Titus O'Neil and Darren Young.[52][53] Cole continued to call that match alone, as well as the next match, before WWE (through Cole) announced the medical situation with Lawler. The remaining matches on the show went ahead as scheduled but without commentary and updates on Lawler's condition were provided by Cole. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that he had received CPR, but was breathing independently and reacting to stimulation. Doctors said that Lawler was clinically dead for almost 30 minutes.[54] It was later confirmed on WWE.com that Lawler had suffered a heart attack.[55] On September 11, 2012, he underwent an angioplasty to improve blood flow to his heart.[56] On September 12, 2012, Lawler was reported to be slowly being eased off sedation, his ventilator removed. He was able to blink, nod, and squeeze with his hands,[57] and that same day, the results of several CT scans showed no signs of brain damage.[58] By September 17, Lawler had returned to his home in Memphis.

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

On September 25, 2020, Paul was hospitalized after slurring his words while speaking during a livestream event. Paul later posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed to his Twitter page, along with the statement "I am doing fine. Thank you for your concern."[252] In April 2021, following Paul's absence from his daily show, the Ron Paul Liberty Report, his co-host Daniel McAdams revealed Paul's daughter, Lori Pyeatt, had recently died.[253]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul

During the Cold War, science was the focus of intense super-power rivalry. Even areas like mind control were explored,  amid fears of the other side getting an edge - and this included microwaves.

Prof Lin was shown the Soviet approach at a centre of scientific research in the town of Pushchino, near Moscow. "They had a very elaborate, very well-equipped laboratory," Prof Lin recalls. But their experiment was cruder than his. The subject would sit in a drum of salty seawater with their head sticking out. Then microwaves would be fired at their brain. The scientists thought the microwaves interacted with the nervous system and wanted to question Prof Lin on his alternative view.

Curiosity cut both ways, and US spies kept close track on Soviet research. A 1976 report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, unearthed by the BBC, says it could find no proof of Communist-bloc microwave weapons, but says it had learnt of experiments where microwaves were pulsed at the throat of frogs until their hearts stopped.

The report also reveals that the US was concerned Soviet microwaves could be used to impair brain function or induce sounds for psychological effect. "Their internal sound perception research has great potential for development into a system for disorienting or disrupting the behaviour patterns of military or diplomatic personnel."

‘Havana syndrome ’ and the mystery of the microwaves - BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58396698

Razor Ramon: Taking His Piece of America”

by Keith Elliot Greenberg - WWF Magazine [October 1992]

“The crowd on the Havana dock surged toward the rickety fishing boat. The vessel rocked back and forth perilously as people rushed onto the deck, clutching bundles of their belongings and squealing children. In the distance, a siren was heard. The army was coming to try to force the refugees to remain on Cuban shores, so it was imperative to leave immediately."

https://droptoehold-blog.tumblr.com/post/49522530268/razor-ramon-taking-his-piece-of-america-by

Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022)

Fourteenth Rule. Although there is much truth in the assertion that no one can save himself without being predestined and without having faith and grace; we must be very cautious in the manner of speaking and communicating with others about all these things.

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing

14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

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

was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring name Razor Ramon.

Born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, Hall began his career in 1984. He rose to prominence after signing with the WWF in May 1992, assuming the name Razor Ramon. While within the company, he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship four times. He departed the company in May 1996, and subsequently signed with rival promotion WCW, where he became a founding member of the New World Order (nWo) faction, along with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. In the company, he became a two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WCW World Television Champion, and a seven-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. He left WCW in February 2000, returning to the WWF (later renamed WWE) for a brief stint in 2002.

He spent the rest of his career wrestling for various promotions, such as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he held the TNA World Tag Team Championship once, with Kevin Nash and Eric Young. He wrestled his final match in June 2016. Although he never won a world championship in a major promotion, Hall held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship once for the Puerto Rico-based promotion World Wrestling Council. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a singles competitor in 2014, and as a member of the nWo in 2020. Hall struggled with alcoholism and substance abuse for much of his career and later life, and died in March 2022, at the age of 63.

Death

In March 2022, Hall was hospitalized after falling and breaking his hip.[166] He was immobile on the floor for days before being discovered during a wellness check by his friend Diamond Dallas Page, who took him to the hospital.[167] After Hall underwent hip replacement surgery, a blood clot was dislodged, and resulted in Hall having three heart attacks on March 12, 2022, after which he was put on life support at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia.[168] He was taken off life support on March 14, 2022, after his family had traveled to the hospital to see him and be with him at his bedside. He died about 4 or 6 hours later at the age of 63.[169][170][171] WWE announced his death later during that day's Raw episode with a tribute video.[172]

Four days after Hall's death, Sean Waltman revealed to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Hall had relapsed back into alcohol abuse when the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns rendered him unable to have social interactions, and at one point he had dropped weight down to 210 pounds (95 kg) from his usual 287 pounds (130 kg). Waltman also revealed that Hall was in particularly bad shape the night before the 2021 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and even passed out at a bar.[167] Waltman also stated Hall's condition worsened throughout the two years prior to his death and that he had offered to move in with Hall in February 2022 to help with his health issues.[167] Page also returned to help with Hall's alcoholism.[167]

Hall was buried on April 8, 2022, at Trinity Church Cemetery at St. Mary's, Maryland, his hometown, and the service was attended by fellow wrestlers Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Page.[1]

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

Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023.

Rotunda was a third-generation wrestler, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda, and his uncles Barry and Kendall Windham. His younger brother Taylor is also a wrestler under the ring name Bo Dallas. Alongside his brother, he held the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice while in WWE's then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He wrestled under various ring names between 2008 and 2012 in FCW, and wrestled on WWE's main roster from 2010 to 2011 as a member of The Nexus under the ring name Husky Harris.

After returning to WWE's developmental territory, which had been rebranded as NXT, Rotunda was repackaged as Bray Wyatt. Portrayed as the villainous leader of a bayou-dwelling cult called The Wyatt Family, he returned to the main roster alongside Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in 2013. He subsequently became a one-time WWE Champion, two-time WWE Universal Champion, one-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion (alongside Harper and brief Wyatt Family member Randy Orton under the Freebird Rule), and one-time Raw Tag Team Champion (with Matt Hardy).

After a hiatus from August 2018 to April 2019, Wyatt returned with a new split personality gimmick, which saw him switch between the two characters of a Mr. Rogers-esque children's TV host named Bray Wyatt and a grotesque monster resembling an evil clown called The Fiend. He was released from WWE in July 2021, but returned in October 2022 with a new character that claimed to be his "real-life" self, though he gradually reincorporated his previous personalities in addition to new ones. In what would become his only televised match during this return, he defeated LA Knight in January 2023; he took a medical hiatus in February due to a COVID-19 infection that exacerbated a pre-existing heart condition, and died of a heart attack in August at the age of 36.

Death

Rotunda died in his sleep at his home in Clermont, Florida, on August 24, 2023 at the age of 36. The cause of death was a heart attack.[270][271] His death was announced by WWE's chief content officer Triple H, following a phone call he had received from Rotunda's father Mike Rotunda.[272] Rotunda had been dealing with an undisclosed illness since February, which was reportedly life-threatening. Just days before his death, reports were published stating that he was making progress in his recovery. Shortly after his death, it was revealed that the illness was due to an earlier COVID-19 infection, which had exacerbated a pre-existing heart condition.[270] He had been hospitalized for a heart issue one week before his death, and was advised to wear a specialized vest containing a self-activating defibrillator; at the time of his death, he was not wearing the vest, which police found in his car.[271][273]

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

Lyon County Sheriff's Office - Nevada

February 26, 2020  ·

Sixteen years ago today, the Serenko family lost a loved one and the Lyon County Sheriff's Office lost one of our brothers.

Deputy Mick Serenko was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey but lived most of his life in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The day after he graduated high school Mick joined the Navy and he always said it was the best move he ever made. The Navy gave him stability and focus in his life, it enabled him to see much of the world, and it helped him gain an education (majoring in Criminal Justice).

When Mick talked about retiring from the Navy it was always with the idea of becoming a law enforcement officer. He and his lovely wife, Sharon, checked out several areas around the country (including Texas and Washington State) but ultimately decided on Nevada as the place to plant their roots.

Mick went to work for the Lyon County Sheriff's Office and served there until the night he suffered a major heart attack on the job. He was hospitalized and passed away a couple days later on February 26, 2004.

Deputy Mick Serenko loved being a cop and he is sorely missed.

https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=1234461393427621&id=100064937010102

Alameda County Sheriff's Office

February 14, 2022  ·

DEATH OF ALAMEDA COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF AUBREY PHILLIPS

For Immediate Release:

It is with tremendous sadness we report the sudden and unexpected death of Deputy Sheriff Aubrey Phillips.

On Saturday, February 12, 2022, Deputy Phillips was assigned as a patrol officer to the City of Dublin, California a contract police service of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. About 1:46 am, Deputy Phillips conducted a traffic enforcement stop in which she arrested the driver of the vehicle. During the process of that arrest, while seated in her patrol vehicle, Deputy Phillips suffered a severe and acute medical emergency. Another officer noticed Deputy Phillips in distress and immediately began life saving efforts and called for emergency medical services. Deputy Phillips was rushed to Stanford Valley Care Hospital in Pleasanton, California and was listed in critical condition. She was transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek for life saving intervention. Tragically, medical professionals were unable to save her life and she passed away.

Deputy Phillips was a registered organ donor and she will donate her organs to others as a result of her death. Sheriff Gregory Ahern stated, “This tragic event has touched each member of this agency. Aubrey’s short life will live on even after her passing. Aubrey will continue to serve her community by giving the gift of life to others in need. She was truly a remarkable person and served this agency and Alameda County with dignity and honor.”

Deputy Phillips was 36 years old. She was a five year veteran of the Agency and assigned as a midnight shift patrol officer in the City of Dublin. Deputy Phillips is the daughter of an honorably retired Alameda County Deputy Sheriff and her husband is a current Deputy Sheriff for Alameda County. Deputy Phillips and her husband have three young children.

Our Agency is heartbroken over the sudden death of Deputy Phillips. We are providing counseling and peer support to our members impacted by her loss.

Further information regarding funeral services will be provided at a later date.

*Photographs of Aubrey Phillips are attached for media use.

Lt. Ray Kelly

Chief of Staff

Public Information officer

Alameda County Sheriff’s Office

1401 Lakeside Dr. 12th Floor

Oakland, CA 94612

https://www.facebook.com/ACSOSheriffs/posts/pfbid03FbGAv9eFcNaheypozH59kCLJkzHLwrL7qgUHbStiV9MtbcBU9pUt7KpTPk8Hbngl

Salvador Miranda (October 18, 1939 – June 1, 2024) was an American bibliographer, librarian and church historian.[1][2]

Biography

Miranda was born on October 18, 1939, in Havana, Cuba.[2] In 1958, he graduated from the Jesuit-run Colegio de Belén in Havana after which he attended the law school at the University of Havana.[2] After the Cuban Revolution in 1963, he moved to Puerto Rico to study humanities at the University of Puerto Rico.[2] As a young Cuban exile, he was a member of the Cuban-American expeditionary force in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.[1] He then returned to school graduating with a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Biscayne College; an M.A. in Modern European History in 1974 from Villanova University; and an M.S. in Library and Information Science in 1976 from Florida State University.[2] After graduating from Florida State, he accepted a position as the Latin American and Caribbean Bibliographer at the University of Florida Libraries in Gainesville.[2] In 1986, he served as assistant director for Collection Management at Florida International University Libraries in Miami.[2] On June 30, 2001, he retired.[2]

The title of his 319-page master's thesis in history was The Sacred College of Cardinals in the Twentieth Century (1903-1973): Developments, Documents and Biographies[2] which he expanded to include earlier cardinals and then digitized, making it available as an online resource.[1] In appreciation of his research, Bishop Cipriano Calderón Polo, the founding director of the Spanish edition of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano and the vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, whom he corresponded with for years over the history of the episcopacy, invited him to present at the first continental meeting of bishops from Latin America in 1999.[1][3]

His research and expertise has been used as a resource by various publications including The New York Times,[4] The Cleveland Plain Dealer,[5] Religion News Service,[6] La Stampa,[7] and The Wall Street Journal.[8]

On 28 June 2023, Miranda posted on The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church's main page that he had been hospitalized with cardiac issues.[9] He died on June 1, 2024, at the age of 84.[10][11]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Miranda_(historian)

Terry Brunk, Professional Wrestler and ‘Hardcore’ Pioneer Known as Sabu, Dies

Mr. Brunk rose to fame with the Extreme Championship Wrestling Circuit, pioneering a wrestling style that made use of props like tables and chairs.

Terry Brunk, also known as Sabu, at LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in New York City in 2017.Credit...George Napolitano/MediaPunch, via INSTARimages

By Ali Watkins

Published May 12, 2025

Updated May 13, 2025

Terry Brunk, a professional wrestler known to fans as Sabu, who pioneered the so-called hardcore style that became a touchstone of wrestling in the 1990s and 2000s, has died, World Wrestling Entertainment said.

He was 61, according to court documents, though some organizations, including W.W.E., listed his age as 60.

It was not immediately clear when Brunk died, and the company’s statement announcing his death did not give a cause. His family could not immediately be reached for comment.

Known for using tables and chairs in the ring, Brunk rose to national prominence in the U.S. with Extreme Championship Wrestling, a smaller and grittier circuit compared to the more mainstream World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling companies.

“Sabu became a national star as part of E.C.W., where he was a pioneer of hardcore wrestling, leaping from chairs and driving his opponents through tables and even barbed wire,” W.W.E. said in its statement.

Brunk later joined the W.W.E. in 2006, with which he performed for a year, including at WrestleMania 23 in Detroit, his hometown.

As recently as last month, Brunk was slinging chairs around a barbed-wire ring, returning once again as Sabu in an event with the wrestler Joey Janela that was billed as Sabu’s retirement match.

Although widely remembered for his use of props and tables in the ring, Sabu was wary of professional wrestling’s spectacle. He would go on to criticize the larger-than-life stunts that would come to define later iterations of the W.W.E. and other wrestling promotion companies.

“In an Olympic match, you cannot stack a couple tables and then climb something and jump off. That’s a stunt,” he told an interviewer with Covalent TV at Wrestlecade in 2024. “I’m not a stuntman or an actor.”

Terrance Michael Brunk was born on Staten Island, N.Y. He was trained by his uncle Edward George Farhart, a W.W.E. Hall of Fame wrestler known as “The Sheikh.”

“I went over all the basics every day,” Brunk recalled in his Covalent TV interview. His uncle, he said, made him set up and tear down the training ring for months before ever giving him a chance inside it.

For many fans, Brunk represented an era of professional wrestling when storytelling took priority over spectacle. He said in his 2024 interview that even his use of a single table could keep an audience engaged — there was a narrative arc, a setup, a tease. Not so in modern professional wrestling, he said.

“When they break a table,” he said, “they’re just doing it for the crash.”

Ali Watkins covers international news and is based in London.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/sabu-terry-brunk-wwe-wrestler-dead.html

REMOTE CONTROL HEART ATTACK WEAPONS

"The brain is on the verge of becoming the next battlefield with weapons currently being designed to hack directly into your nervous system.

"Controlled Personnel Effects"

(see image, right) is one of the Air Force’s ambitious long-term challenges. It starts with better and more accurate bombs, but moves on to discuss devices that "make selected adversaries think or act according to our needs… By studying and modeling the human brain and nervous system, the ability to mentally influence or confuse personnel is also possible."

The first stage is technology to “remotely create physical sensations.”

They give the example of the Active Denial System "people zapper" which uses a high-frequency radiation similar to microwaves as a non-lethal means of crowd control.

Other weapons can affect the nervous system directly. The Pulsed Energy Projectile fires a short intense pulse of laser energy. This vaporizes the outer layer of the target, creating a rapidly-expanding expanding ball of plasma. At different power levels, those expanding plasmas could deliver a harmless warning, stun the target, or disable them –  all with pinpoint laser precision from a mile away.

Early reports on the effects of PEPs mentioned temporary paralysis, then thought to be related to ultrasonic shockwaves. It later became apparent that the electromagnetic pulse caused by the expanding plasma was triggering nerve cells

Details of this emerged in a heavily-censored document released to Ed Hammond of the Sunshine Project under the Freedom if Information Act. Called “Sensory consequence of electromagnetic pulsed emitted by laser induced plasmas,” it described research on activating the nerve cells responsible for sensing unpleasant stimuli: heat, damage, pressure, cold. By selectively stimulating a particular nociceptor, a finely tuned PEP might sensations of say, being burned, frozen or dipped in acid — all without doing the slightest actual harm.

The skin is the easiest target for such stimulation. But, in principle, any sensory nerves could be triggered. The Controlled Effects document suggests “it may be possible to create synthetic images…to confuse an individual’ s visual sense or, in a similar manner, confuse his senses of sound, taste, touch, or smell.”

In other words, it may be possible to use electromagnetic means to create overwhelming ‘sound’ or ‘light’, or indeed ‘intolerable smell’ which would exist only in the brain of the person perceiving them.

There is another side as well. The “sensory consequences” document also notes that the nervous system which controls muscles could be influenced to cause what they call “Taser-like motor effects.” The stun gun’s ability to shock the muscles into malfunction is relatively crude; we might now be looking at are much more targeted effects.

The American military may want to attack the nervous system, with pain rays and laser plasma pulses. But they’re not the only ones.

The Russians have long studied such systems, too — including one weapon that could, in theory, remotely trigger heart attacks.

In 2003, at the 2nd European Symposium on Non-Lethal Weapons, Anatoly Korolev and his colleagues from Moscow State University presented a paper with the snappy title "Bioelectrodynamic Criterion of the NLW Effectiveness Estimation and the Interaction mechanisms of the multilayer Skin Tissues with electromagnetic Radiation." This is a study of how radio-frequency weapons — like the American Active Denial System — affect the skin. After wading through a mass of technical data showing how complex the interactions are we reach the punch line:

The sensations modality (pricking, touch, pressure, gooseflesh, touch, burning pain etc) depends on the field parameters and individual concrete human being factors. As a matter of fact, we can really choose the non-lethal bioeffect.

The effects include sensations similar to those discussed previously, and more besides. The paper discusses effects on cell membranes and affecting the body’s normal function, including "information transfer to the organs of control."

At the same conference, V Makukhin of the Trymas Engineering Center in Moscow described "Electronic equipment for complex influence on biological objects." And when he says "biological objects," he means you and me.

His laboratory apparatus uses a modulated beam of radio waves to produce what he terms "disorder of autonomic nervous system," put forward as a possible non-lethal weapon. Makhunin notes that there is no general agreement on how EM waves disrupt nerves – he mentions ion channels similar to those in the plasma paper – but he certainly seems to be seeing the same effects as American researchers.

But it need not be a non-lethal weapon. Makhunin also mentions the effects of "change of electrocardiogram" and what he calls "function break of heart muscle."

The vulnerability of the heart to electrical stimulation (including that produced by EM waves) is well documented.

A lethal device would interfere with the electrical potentials that keep the chambers of the heart synchronized, producing fibrillation and rapid death. A death ray doesn’t need to be a truck-sized laser that

reduces the target to smoking heap; a small device that stops the heart will do the job.

Little has been openly published in this area in the public domain, but this may be the tip of the iceberg. We are likely to be hearing more in future – especially if the Russians manage to find funding.

I don’t think we need tinfoil hats just yet. But a layer of conducting mesh built into body armor might save a lot of heartache in years to come."

REMOTE CONTROL HEART ATTACK WEAPONS

https://www.impactlab.com/2006/02/15/remote-control-heart-attack-weapons/

Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025

In 2025, US aerospace forces can own the weather by capitalizing on emerging technologies and focusing development of those technologies to war fighting applications. Such a capability offers the war fighter tools to shape the battlespace in ways never before possible. It provides opportunities to impact operations across the full spectrum of conflict and is pertinent to all possible futures. The purpose of this paper is to outline a strategy for the use of a future weather modification system to achieve military objectives rather than to provide a detailed technical road map. A high risk, high reward endeavor, weather modification offers a dilemma not unlike the splitting of the atom While some segments of society will always be reluctant to examine controversial issues such as weather modification, the tremendous military capabilities that could result from this field are ignored at our own peril. From enhancing friendly operations or disrupting those of the enemy via small scale tailoring of natural weather patterns to complete dominance of global communications and counterspace control, weather modification offers the war fighter a wide range of possible options to defeat or coerce an adversary. Some of the potential capabilities a weather modification system could provide to a war fighting commander in chief CINC are listed in table 1. Technology advancements in five major areas are necessary for an integrated weather modification capability 1 advanced nonlinear modeling techniques, 2 computational capability, 3 information gathering and transmission, 4 a global sensor array, and 5 weather intervention techniques. Some intervention tools exist today and others may be developed and refined in the future."

Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025 (dtic.mil)

As early as 1990, weather force specialists at the U.S. Air Force Academy were hard at work studying how to chemically mix and lay “aerial obscuration” they called “chemtrails.” Project Cloverleaf began quietly enough (as all classified projects do) with the 1994 Hughes Aircraft patent for Welsbach Seeding For Reduction of Global Warming. Welsbach seeding called for spreading highly reflective materials in the atmosphere to reflect back into space 1–2 percent of incoming sunlight and thus slow down “global warming.” However, it was also about beginning to create a more conductive atmosphere in preparation for Bernard Eastlund’s High-frequency Active Auroral Research Project (HAARP) already under construction in Alaska. The reflective material (~10 microns) to be added to jet auxiliary fuel tanks was the highly conductive compound aluminum oxide (Al2O3). The jet’s main tanks would be reserved for takeoff and landing, and the auxiliary loaded with Al2O3 for cruising altitude. Lawrence Livermore National Labs priced the program at US$1 billion per annum (in 1994 dollars). By the late 1990s, aerial grids were being laid over chosen regions and cities of the U.S. and other NATO nations. In 1996, the military went public with two documents that obliquely referenced what Cloverleaf was up to: the Pentagon paper “Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025” in Air Force 2025,1 which called the chemical whitening effect “cirrus shielding”; and U.S. Space Command’s Vision for 2020 calling for full spectrum dominance of space, land, sea, and air.2 Air traffic controllers (ATC) at major airports were coached to re-route commercial air traffic around military craft engaged in “classified aerial operations” at 37,000–40,000 feet. ATC radar revealed a haze of aluminum and barium—Al2O3 for solar radiation management (SRM) geoengineering, barium stearate Ba(C18H35O2)2 for lubrication, radar imaging, and highpowered RF-microwave beam weapons.

A wide range of particles could be released into the stratosphere to achieve the SRM objective of scattering sunlight back to space. Sulfates and nanoparticles currently favored for SRM include sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, black carbon, and specially engineered discs composed of metallic aluminum, aluminum oxide and barium titanate. In particular, engineered nanoparticles are considered very promising. The particles would utilize photophoretic and electromagnetic forces to self-levitate above the stratosphere. These nanoparticles would remain suspended longer than sulfate particles, would not interfere with stratospheric chemistry, and would not produce acid rain. However, while promising, the self-levitating nanodisc has not been tested to verify efficacy, may increase ocean acidification due to atmospheric CO2 entrapment, has uncharacterized human health and environmental impacts, and may be prohibitively expensive.3

The truth is that the 10 billion SRM discs 10 micrometers across and 50 nanometers thick are engineered with a core of aluminum, a top layer of aluminum oxide, and a bottom layer of barium titanate—aluminum to reflect heat up, heavier barium purportedly to push the discs up (photophoresis). Introduce a magnetic component, then spray, and the nanoparticles will follow the Earth’s magnetic field into the upper atmosphere. By 1998, the Ontario Ministry of Environment (Canada) found 7X the safe limit for aluminum in rainwater samples. More and more citizens complained of sudden headaches, joint pains, dizziness, fatigue, acute asthma, gastrointestinal pain, coughs, and feverless flu symptoms. In 2000, Cloverleaf went public in an offhand way with a comment from an anonymous airline executive to independent scientist Clifford Carnicom, then the most visible scientist collecting data on the aerosol fallout over northern New Mexico. According to this “Deep Throat,” the purpose of Cloverleaf was “to allow commercial airlines to assist in releasing these chemicals into the atmosphere.”4 Military jets simply could not keep up with the “global dimming” now called solar radiation management (SRM), so the entire airline industry was being drafted in the name of national security."

Under An Ionized Sky: From Chemtrails To Space Fence Lockdown

by Elana Freeland

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oneu_kEMMH5AeAffiWOR_7NJ0HptHJrC/view?usp=sharing

I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on.........

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019

Space Fence surveillance radar site declared operational

The $1.5 billion Space Fence can track tiny objects in low Earth orbit as small as a marble.

Sandra Erwin

March 28, 2020

WASHINGTON — The space surveillance radar site known as the Space Fence is ready for use after five years in construction, the U.S. Space Force announced March 27.

The $1.5 billion Space Fence — located on Kwajalein Island in the Republic of the Marshall Islands — is a ground-based radar system that tracks satellites and space debris primarily in low Earth orbit. Lockheed Martin was selected as the prime contractor in 2014.

The Space Fence can track tiny objects as small as a marble. It also provides a search capability for objects at higher orbits. Data from the Space Fence will feed into the military’s Space Surveillance Network.

The Space Surveillance Network tracks about 26,000 objects. The addition of the Space Fence will increase the catalog size significantly over time, the Space Force said in a news release.

The Space Fence is operated by the 20th Space Control Squadron based in Huntsville, Alabama. The squadron provides data to the 18th Space Control Squadron located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, the unit responsible for maintaining the space object catalog.

“Space Fence is revolutionizing the way we view space by providing timely, precise orbital data on objects that threaten both manned and unmanned military and commercial space assets,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond.

The solid-state S-band radar will detect closely spaced objects, breakups, maneuvers, launches, conjunction assessments and depleted rocket boosters.

https://spacenews.com/space-fence-surveillance-radar-site-declared-operational/

Trump's Golden Dome plan could launch new era of weapons in space

By Joey Roulette

May 22, 202511:41 AM PDT Updated 11 hours ago

Summary

Companies

US missile defense shield part of growing space-military trend

Golden Dome would cost $175 billion, Trump says

US companies eager to help build the system

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defense concept revives a controversial, decades-old initiative whose ambitious construction could upend norms in outer space and reshape relations between the world's top space powers.

The announcement of Golden Dome, a vast network of satellites and weapons in Earth's orbit set to cost $175 billion, could sharply escalate the militarization of space, a trend that has intensified over the last decade, space analysts say.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/trumps-golden-dome-plan-could-launch-new-era-weapons-space-2025-05-22/

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

Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojty?a (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), known as Blessed John Paul II since his beatification on May 1, 2011, reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of The Holy See from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at 84 years and 319 days of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted 26 years and 168 days; only Pope Pius IX (1846–1878) who served 31 years, has reigned longer. Pope John Paul II is the only Slavic or Polish pope to date, and was the first non-Italian Pope since Dutch Pope Adrian VI (1522–1523).

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

On March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major explosive eruption took place on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am. The eruption, which had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5, was the most significant to occur in the contiguous United States since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California.[2] It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens

On 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck twice and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately and later sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court."

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

It's hard to see how the fishing industry will pick itself up again. Takeshi is moving away from the coast as is his neighbor and fellow fisherman. His wife has refused to return here since the tsunami hit. At the age of 77, he is unlikely to be able to start from scratch. But he picks up any remnants of his fishing gear he can find, just in case. What is left intact barely fills one small basket. His neighbor finds his clock. It has stopped at 3:22pm -- the exact moment his life changed and countless others ended." Misplaced trust: 30-foot tsunami wall didn't save Japanese village by Paul Hancocks

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/31/japan.tsunami.village/index.html

Skull and Bones, The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut."

There is a secret that binds the two men who would be the next leader of the free world. President George W Bush and Senator John Kerry both spent a portion of their youth laying bare their sex lives in Gothic rituals presided over by a human skull and the skeletal remains of various other animal species in a windowless building known as the Tomb. They also formed an unusual attachment to the number 322, which holds a special resonance for the club's members." Skeletons in the closet

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/20/usa.internationaleducationnews

It is perhaps worth noting, in light of George W.'s controversial episode at Bob Jones University and the specter of anti-Catholicism, that at one point in the proceedings every initiate kisses the slippered toe of the "Pope." At last the initiate is formally dubbed a Knight of Eulogia. Amid more raucous ritual he is cast from the room into the waiting arms of the patriarchs."

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/05/george-w-knight-of-eulogia/304686/

A major landslide occurred 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22, 2014 (3/22/2014), at 10:37 a.m. local time. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, engulfing a rural neighborhood, and covering an area of approximately 1 square mile (2.6 km2). Forty-three people were killed and 49 homes and other structures destroyed."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Oso_mudslide

Published: 10 October 1996

Russian documents Set out 'tectonic weapon' research

Carl Levitin

Moscow. The first official details have emerged in Moscow of ambitious research into 'tectonic warfare' carried out by the former Soviet Union and subsequently by the government of Russia, and involving atte mpts to stimulate 'artificial' earthquakes as weapons of destruction. According to documents obtained by the newspaper Moscow News, two research programmes, the first known as ' Mercury ' and the second as ' Volcano', were aimed at creating new earthquake epicentres by using underground nuclear explosions . Geophysicists are aware that impending earthquakes may be triggered by underground nuclear explosions . But Western geophysicists remain sceptical about tectonic warfare and have all but abandoned research after two unsuccessful phases of activity in the 1960s and 1980s, says Roger Clark, a lecturer in geophysics at the University of Leeds. Clark is not at all surprised that th e Russians tried to create earthquakes and control their location electromagnetically, however. "This sort of science is very much part of their heritage. We don't think it is impossible, or wrong , but past experience suggests it is very, very unlikely. "

The programme , which was secretly launched by the Communist rulers of the former Soviet Union in 1987, and has been unofficially known to Western geophysicists for several years, is now believed to have been abandoned. It would certainly contravene the terms of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which Russia signe d at the United Nations in Geneva last month . The Mercury project was launched in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, but came to a halt when the republic became independent. It was superseded by the Volcano project. Three underground nuclear tests are believed to have taken place at sites in Kyrgyzstan.

According to the documents, the Mercury project was launched by a secret decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. The objective was to "develop a methodology for remote operation on an earthquake epicentre by using weak seismic fields and research possibilities of transferring the seismic energy of an explosion ".

The documents say that the Mercury project involved 22 scientific and industrial organizations, including the Geological Institute of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences in Baku. The remit extended to developing the electronic equipment to be installed aboard space satellites that would control the tectonic weapon. The scientists were given three years to complete research, with testing planned for 1990.

During the research phase, Azerbaijani scientists grew increasingly confident and, according to the documents, were sure that " after [a] nuclear explosion, subterranean energy may accumulate at huge distances from the epicentre and reach massive capacity, after which the next directed explosion can release it all ".

Underground testing began at the town of Batken in Kyrgyzstan, and was directed by lkram Ke rimov , of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. The documents say that scientists detonated an underground nuclear charge and tried to control the direction of seismic energy release d using British-built equipment known as 'system 9690 ' .

A report prepared by the Mozhaisky Military Engineering Institute concluded that the test had been a success. But progress slowed considerably following Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union. At about this time , Russia embarked on a more comprehensive tectonic warfare programme known as the Volcano project. The Earth Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) became the project headquarters .

Research was scheduled to be completed in 1992, with underground testing beginning the following year. The final test was carried out at a place code-named S36NZ-0Kh; Moscow News believes the letters 'NZ' refer to Novaya Zemlya, where Soviet nuclear testing began in the 1950s."

https://www.nature.com/articles/383471a0

Very few historians seem to realized that early in the 1700’s, long before Weishaupt was retained, by the newly formed House of Rothschild, to revise and modernize the age old conspiracy to bring about a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT, the so-called “Internationalists” had infiltrated into America. The works of those historians who do mention this fact have been suppressed. There is documentary evidence which proves these subversives were active as early as 1746. They celebrated May 1, 1776 as the day on which Weishaupt finished the revision of the age old conspiracy and gave the name “Illuminati” to those selected to direct the conspiracy, and put his revised plans into effect. Millions upon millions of people have celebrated May Day ever since, thinking it the anniversary of the day America and Labour gained independence. The Masses (Goyim) never dreamed May 1, 1776 was an epoch making day in the history of the Luciferian conspiracy which we refer to as the World Revolutionary Movement. It was the day Illuminati stabbed Britain in the back as part of their program to ultimately destroy the British Empire together with ALL other remaining governments and religions. May Day had been celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries as the feast day of the mother of Jesus Christ. It was for this reason that Weishaupt, a renegade Jesuit, picked it to announce to his fellow Satanists and Luciferians his revised plan to destroy Christianity and bring about what Nietzche afterwards referred to as “The death of God.” But to get back to our story. As the Illuminati’s courier rode through the town of Ratisbon, on his way to Paris to deliver Mirabeau his copy of Weishaupt’s revised plans, the courier was killed by a stroke of lightning. This event occurred in 1784. The police turned the documents found on the body over to Bavarian government authorities. Examination revealed them to be the “Protocols” of the order and sect of the Illuminati. The word “Protocol” means: “A copy of the original draft of a plan to achieve a definite purpose and reach a clearly defined goal”.

Satan Prince of This World

by William Guy Carr

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

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid02du6rSMtpDZDw8diRSU6at62BkVZPTFqcGzWJLLrCWu6wtKzvEbcmzwFqg5TJwqTil

Kim Kardashian testifies about being bound and held at gunpoint during Paris robbery

By  THOMAS ADAMSON, JOHN LEICESTER and NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY

Updated 12:23 PM PDT, May 13, 2025

Share

PARIS (AP) — Kim Kardashian said a silent prayer — for her sister, her best friend, her family — as a masked man pulled her toward him in a Paris hotel room during the 2016 jewelry heist that changed her life. She wore a bathrobe. Her hands were zip-tied. Her mouth was taped. She thought she wouldn’t survive.

“I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me,” she told a Paris court Tuesday. “I absolutely did think I was going to die.”

She said she was getting ready for bed when she heard stomping on the stairs. At first, she thought it was her sister Kourtney and a friend returning drunk from a night out at Paris Fashion Week.

In this artist sketch, Kim Kardashian testifies regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentin Pasquier)

In this artist sketch, Kim Kardashian testifies regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentin Pasquier)

“Hello? Hello? Who is it?” she called out. Then masked men stormed the room.

She grabbed her phone but didn’t know the French emergency number. She tried to call her sister and bodyguard, but one man stopped her. The men threw her on the bed, zip-tied her hands and pressed a gun to her.

0:00 / 55

AP AUDIO: Kim Kardashian testifies about being bound and held at gunpoint during Paris robbery

AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on emotional testimony from Kim Kardashian.

“I have babies,” Kardashian said, according to her testimony. “I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”

She was carried into the bathroom. One man taped her mouth. She was told she’d be OK if she stayed quiet.

Related Stories

Kim Kardashian testifies about trauma of Paris jewelry robbery

Kim Kardashian testifies about trauma of Paris jewelry robbery

The Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian changed how celebrities think about exposure

The Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian changed how celebrities think about exposure

Kardashian jewel heist case: Suspect plans to admit role at Paris trial

Kardashian jewel heist case: Suspect plans to admit role at Paris trial

The last time Kardashian saw the men that police say robbed her, she was locked in the marble bathroom while masked assailants stole more than $6 million in jewelry. On Tuesday, nearly a decade later, she faced them again — this time, from the witness stand.

Her testimony marked the emotional climax of a trial that has gripped France and reignited debates about the cost of fame and what it means to live in public.

AD

Kim Kardashian, center, arrives to testify regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Kim Kardashian, center, arrives to testify regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Following digital breadcrumbs

At the time of the robbery, Kardashian was one of the most recognized women on the planet. A fashion icon. A reality star. A billionaire business mogul. She had mastered a new kind of celebrity — one broadcast in real time, post by post, to millions of followers.

But in the early hours of Oct. 3, 2016, that visibility became a weapon against her. The robbery marked a turning point for Kardashian, and for how the world understood vulnerability in the digital age.

Investigators believe the attackers followed Kardashian’s digital breadcrumbs — images, timestamps, geotags — and exploited them with old-school criminal methods.

AD

Dressed in black with defiant sparkling diamonds, Kardashian on Tuesday stood across from her mother, Kris Jenner, in the heavily secured courtroom. Her voice trembled as she thanked French authorities for “allowing me to share my truth.”

She described how the attackers arrived at her hotel disguised as police officers, dragging the concierge upstairs in handcuffs. “I thought it was some sort of terrorist attack,” she said.

One attacker demanded she turn over her diamond ring valued at $4 million on the bedside table. “He said, ‘Ring! Ring!’ and he pointed to his hand,” she recalled.

French prosecutors say the assailants — most in their 60s and 70s — were part of a seasoned criminal ring. Two defendants have admitted being at the scene. One claims he didn’t know who she was.

Twelve suspects were originally charged. One has since died. Another was excused due to illness. The French press dubbed them les papys braqueurs — “the grandpa robbers” — but prosecutors insist they were no harmless retirees.

They face charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and membership in a criminal gang, offenses that carry the potential for life imprisonment.

Kim Kardashian, center left, accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner, center right, leaves the justice palace after testifying, regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Kim Kardashian, center left, accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner, center right, leaves the justice palace after testifying, regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

‘Take everything. I need to live’

After the men fled, Kardashian rubbed the tape against the bathroom sink to free her hands. She hopped downstairs, still bound, to find her friend and stylist, Simone Harouche. Fearing the robbers might return, they went onto the balcony and hid in bushes. While lying there, Kardashian called her mother.

Earlier in the trial, Harouche recalled hearing Kardashian scream from upstairs: “‘I need to live.’ That is what she kept on saying, ‘Take everything. I need to live.’”

Harouche locked herself in a bathroom and texted Kardashian’s sister and bodyguard: “Something is very wrong.”

She described how her friend was “beside herself ... she just was screaming.”

Judge David de Pas asked whether Kardashian had made herself a target by posting images of herself with “jewels of great value.” Harouche rejected the premise. “Just because a woman wears jewelry, that doesn’t make her a target,” she said. “That’s like saying that because a woman wears a short skirt that she deserves to be raped.”

After the robbery, critics slammed Kardashian for flaunting her wealth, including designer Karl Lagerfeld who told the Associated Press she was “too public” with her jewelry. But as details of the heist emerged, public opinion grew sympathetic.

The heist triggered a cultural shift, prompting publicists and managers to urge clients to delay social media posts, remove location tags and think twice before flashing luxury online. Yet Kardashian’s own image, some say, continues to complicate that narrative. As she testified Tuesday about her trauma, journalists received a press release touting her Paris courthouse appearance: “Kim Kardashian stuns …wearing a show-stopping $1.5 million diamond necklace by Samer Halimeh New York, featuring 80 flawless diamonds.” Visibility, it seemed, remains currency.

She told the court her house in Los Angeles was robbed shortly afterward in what appeared to be a copycat attack. Without security guards, she said, “I can’t even sleep at night.” She now keeps between four and six guards at home.

“I started to get this phobia of going out,” Kardashian said. “This experience really changed everything for us.”

At the time of the 2016 robbery, she said, her bodyguard was staying in a separate hotel: “We assumed that if we were in a hotel it was safe, it was secure.”

She said Paris had once been a sanctuary, a place where she would walk at 3 or 4 a.m., window shopping, sometimes stopping for hot chocolate. It “always felt really safe,” she said. “It was always a magical place.”

Kardashian, who is studying to become a lawyer herself, said she was grateful for the opportunity “to tell my truth” in the packed Paris courtroom.

“This is my closure,” she said. “This is me putting this, hopefully, to rest.”

https://apnews.com/article/kim-kardashian-trial-paris-fashion-week-b06a96edfa5271de2d92870dcafe2796

Operation Warp Speed (OWS) was a public–private partnership initiated by the United States government to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.[1][2] The first news report of Operation Warp Speed was on April 29, 2020,[3][4][5] and the program was officially announced on May 15, 2020.[1] It was headed by Moncef Slaoui from May 2020 to January 2021 and by David A. Kessler from January to February 2021.[6] At the end of February 2021, Operation Warp Speed was transferred into the responsibilities of the White House COVID-19 Response Team.[7]

The program promoted mass production of multiple vaccines, and different types of vaccine technologies, based on preliminary evidence, allowing for faster distribution if clinical trials confirm one of the vaccines is safe and effective.[citation needed] The plan anticipated that some of these vaccines will not prove safe or effective, making the program more costly than typical vaccine development, but potentially leading to the availability of a viable vaccine several months earlier than typical timelines.[8]

Operation Warp Speed, initially funded with about $10 billion from the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) passed by the United States Congress on March 27, 2020,[1] was an interagency program that includes components of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA); the Department of Defense; private firms; and other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.[1]

History

President Donald Trump formally announced Operation Warp Speed on May 15, 2020, in the White House Rose Garden.

On May 15, 2020, President Donald Trump officially announced the public-private partnership.[4][1][9] The purpose of Operation Warp Speed was to coordinate Health and Human Services-wide efforts, including the NIH ACTIV partnership for vaccine and therapeutic development, the NIH RADx initiative for diagnostic development, and work by BARDA.[1]

Operation Warp Speed was formed to encourage private and public partnerships to enable faster approval and production of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The name was inspired by terminology for faster-than-light travel used in the Star Trek fictional universe, evoking a sense of rapid progress.[10][11]

The Food and Drug Administration announced on June 30, 2020, that a vaccine would need to be at least 50% effective for diminishing the severity of COVID-19 symptoms to obtain regulatory and marketing approval.[12]

In January 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that the program was expected to undergo a restructure and renaming under the Biden administration.[13][14] Also in January 2021, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, former Operation Warp Speed lead, was told not to use the name Operation Warp Speed anymore.[15] At the end of February 2021, responsibilities of Operation Warp Speed were transferred into the White House COVID-19 Response Team.[7][16]

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

Lieutenant Harry S.L. Kim was a Human Starfleet officer who served as the operations officer aboard the starship USS Voyager during the seven years it was lost in the Delta Quadrant and, in the 2380s, he served as a tactical officer aboard the USS Dauntless. (VOY: "Caretaker", "Non Sequitur", "The Disease", "Warhead", "Nightingale": PRO: "Supernova, Part 1")

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Harry_Kim

Ensign Harry S. L. Kim is a fictional character who appeared in each of the seven seasons of the American television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Garrett Wang, he is the Operations Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager.

The character first appeared in the pilot episode of the series, "Caretaker". The character continued to appear throughout the series in a main cast role, with his final appearance in the finale, "Endgame". In that episode, an alternative future version of the character is seen as a Starfleet Captain. He is typically shown as being naive, especially in romantic situations, but gifted. The character finds the ship's first possible route home, and in one alternative future, he manages to develop a transwarp drive which allows him and Chakotay to travel home in a matter of hours but kills the rest of the crew. The producers had considered whether or not to kill off Kim during the third season. Wang subsequently reprised the role of Harry Kim for the fan-made Star Trek: Renegades. In 2024, Wang reprised the role as several alternate reality versions of Harry Kim in Star Trek: Lower Decks penultimate episode "Fissure Quest."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Kim_(Star_Trek)

Kim Jong Un[d] (born 8 January 1982, 1983 or 1984)[b] is a North Korean politician and dictator who has been the third supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012.[e] He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, who was the second supreme leader of North Korea, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder and first supreme leader of the country.

From late 2010, Kim was viewed as the successor to the North Korean leadership. Following his father's death in December 2011, state television announced Kim as the "great successor to the revolutionary cause". Kim holds the titles of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs. He is also a member of the Presidium of the WPK Politburo, the highest decision-making body in the country. In July 2012, Kim was promoted to the highest rank of marshal in the Korean People's Army, consolidating his positions as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. North Korean state media often refer to him as "Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un" or "Marshal Kim Jong Un". He has promoted the policy of byungjin, similar to Kim Il Sung's policy from the 1960s, referring to the simultaneous development of both the economy and the country's nuclear weapons program. He has also revived the structures of the WPK, expanding the party's power at the expense of the military leadership.

Kim Jong Un rules North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship, and his leadership has followed the same cult of personality as his father and grandfather. In 2014, a United Nations Human Rights Council report suggested that Kim could be put on trial for crimes against humanity. According to reports, he has ordered the purge and execution of several North Korean officials including his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, in 2013. He is also widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia in 2017. He has presided over an expansion of the consumer economy, construction projects and tourist attractions in North Korea.

Kim expanded the country's nuclear weapons program, which led to heightened tensions with the United States and South Korea, as well as China. In 2018 and 2019, Kim took part in summits with South Korean president Moon Jae-in and U.S. president Donald Trump, leading to a brief thaw between North Korea and the two countries, though the negotiations ultimately broke down without progress on reunification of Korea or nuclear disarmament. He has claimed success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea, as the country did not report any confirmed cases until May 2022, although several independent observers have questioned this claim. Under his rule, North Korean soldiers have been deployed under Russian command in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Early life

North Korean authorities and state-run media have stated that Kim Jong Un was born on 8 January 1982,[4] but South Korean intelligence officials believe that the actual date is a year later, in 1983.[5] The US government lists his birth year as 1984, based on the passport he used while studying in Switzerland.[6] Ko Yong Suk, Kim's aunt who defected to the United States in 1997 also confirmed the 1984 birthdate, claiming that Kim was the same age as her own son who was a playmate from a young age.[7] It is thought that Kim's official birth year was changed for symbolic reasons; 1982 marked the seventieth birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, and forty years after the official birth of his father Kim Jong Il.[8]

Kim Jong Un is the second of three children of Ko Yong Hui and Kim Jong Il; his elder brother, Kim Jong Chul, was born in 1981, while his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, is believed to have been born in 1987.[9][10] He is a grandson of Kim Il Sung, who was the founder of and led North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994.[11] Kim is the first leader of North Korea to have been born a North Korean citizen, his father having been born in the Soviet Union and his grandfather having been born during the Japanese colonial period.

All of Kim Jong Il's children are said to have lived in Switzerland, as well as the mother of the two youngest sons, who lived in Geneva for some time.[12] First reports said that Kim Jong Un attended the private International School of Berne in Gümligen in Switzerland under the name "Chol-pak" or "Pak-chol" from 1993 to 1998.[13][14] He was described as shy, a good student who got along well with his classmates, and was a basketball fan.[15] He was chaperoned by an older student, thought to be his bodyguard.[16] His elder brother Kim Jong Chul also attended the school with him.[17]

The Liebefeld-Steinhölzli public school in Köniz, Switzerland, reportedly attended by Kim Jong Un

Later, it was reported that Kim Jong Un attended the Liebefeld Steinhölzli state school in Köniz, near Bern, under the name "Pak-un" or "Un-pak" from 1998 until 2000 as the son of an employee of the North Korean embassy in Bern. Authorities confirmed that a North Korean student attended the school during that period. Kim first attended a special class for foreign-language children and later attended the regular classes of the 6th, 7th, 8th and part of the final 9th year, leaving the school abruptly in the autumn of 2000. He was described as a well-integrated and ambitious student who liked to play basketball.[18] However, his grades and attendance rating are reported to have been poor.[19][20] The ambassador of North Korea in Switzerland, Ri Chol, had a close relationship with him and acted as a mentor.[12] One of Kim's classmates told reporters that he had told him that he was the son of the leader of North Korea.[21][22] According to some reports, Kim was described by classmates as a shy child who was awkward with girls and indifferent to political issues, but who distinguished himself in sports and had a fascination with the American National Basketball Association and Michael Jordan. One friend claimed that he had been shown pictures of Kim with Kobe Bryant and Toni Kukoč.[23]

In April 2012, new documents came to light indicating that Kim Jong Un had lived in Switzerland since 1991 or 1992, earlier than previously thought.[24]

The Laboratory of Anatomic Anthropology at the University of Lyon, France, compared the picture of Kim taken at the Liebefeld Steinhölzli school in 1999 with a picture of Kim Jong Un from 2012 and concluded that the faces show a conformity of 95%, suggesting that it is most likely that they are the same person.[25]

The Washington Post reported in 2009 that Kim Jong Un's school friends recalled he "spent hours doing meticulous pencil drawings of Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan".[26] He was obsessed with basketball and computer games,[23][27][28] and was a fan of Jackie Chan action movies.[29]

Most analysts agree that Kim Jong Un attended Kim Il Sung University, a leading officer-training school in Pyongyang, from 2002 to 2007.[30] Kim obtained two degrees, one in physics at Kim Il Sung University and another as an Army officer at the Kim Il Sung Military University.[31][32]

In late February 2018, Reuters reported that Kim and his father had used forged passports—supposedly issued by Brazil and dated 26 February 1996—to apply for visas in various countries. Both 10-year passports carry a stamp saying "Embassy of Brazil in Prague". Kim Jong Un's passport records the name "Josef Pwag" and a date of birth of 1 February 1983.[33]

For many years, only one confirmed photograph of him was known to exist outside North Korea, apparently taken in the mid-1990s, when he was eleven.[34] Occasionally, other supposed images of him surfaced but were often disputed.[35][36] It was only in June 2010, shortly before he was given official posts and publicly introduced to the North Korean people, that more pictures were released of Kim, taken when he was attending school in Switzerland.[37][38] The first official image of him as an adult was a group photograph released on 30 September 2010, at the end of the party conference that effectively anointed him, in which he is seated in the front row, two places from his father. This was followed by newsreel footage of him attending the conference.[39]

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

Switzerland - The Oligarchy Strongbox

During the course of nine months, from September 1814 to June 1815, the crowned heads and their renowned diplomats had redrawn the map of Europe. They were not, however, secure in what they had accomplished. Although they scorned the theories of democratic government and opposed the doctrines of national self-determination, they feared the principles of the French Revolution. Not only had the Revolution endangered their sovereignty, it had compromised their wealth as well. The final agenda at the Congress was to remedy that problem.

The House of Rothschild had in the past played a significant role in the transport and protection of royalty's wealth, but in 1815 their banks were not in neutral nations. A nonpartisan location was needed to satisfy all parties. Austria was not acceptable. Moreover, the Merovingians were insecure in their remote headquarters in Vienna. Should the Templar Republicans revive, territory closer to the French border was more desirable for intelligence gathering. Switzerland had proven its strategic worth earlier. When the Big Four were closing in on Napoleon, Metternich had shifted Austrian imperial headquarters from Vienna to Freiburg, Switzerland, to better organize at close range his defense against the Corsican.66 Hence, the decision was made at the Congress of Vienna to create Switzerland as a bank with an army attached.67 Should the revolutions ever again regain momentum, and royalty be exiled from their respective lands, neutral Switzerland would protect them, as well as supply them with ample funds to live several lifetimes in luxury.

England, not hampered by the fears of the Venetian oligarchy and determined to safeguard her commercial and colonial interests, was fully agreed to ratify the neutrality of Switzerland. Before any financial moves were made, however, London required Swiss Grand Orients closed and replaced with Swiss Grand Lodges with English obedience. Only then would England cooperate.

In Paris on November 20, 1815, Switzerland's neutrality was guaranteed by France, Austria, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia. A century later, in 1919, at the Treaty of Versailles, neutrality was again confirmed. In 1920 the League of Nations acknowledged Switzerland as "conditioned by a centuries-old tradition explicitly incorporated in international law."68 The tradition of Swiss neutrality was again upheld from 1935 to 1945 - even while war raged around its borders.

The Congress of Vienna adjourned on June 18, 1815. Two days earlier Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo. Over the next few decades the oligarchy's Grail bloodline moved their financial headquarters from Vienna to Zurich, Switzerland. Immediately they went to work absorbing the French Grand Orient Lodges, placing them under English Masonic obedience. Thirty-second degree Mason A.E. Waite, in A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, gives us a century of history concerning the Masonic maneuvers in Switzerland. He reports that Swiss Freemasonry was founded by the British as early as 1736. In 1775 the Swiss lodges transferred their allegiance from English Masonry to the German Strict Observance. Under Napoleon the French Grand Orient invaded Switzerland, and a certain number of existing lodges came under its obedience. Geneva was ceded to France during the wars of Napoleon, and Swiss Masonry then became an appendage of the French Grand Orient. In 1818, as demanded by London, English Masonic obedience began to replace the Grand Orients, except in Geneva where the aristocracy permitted one Grand Orient Lodge to function.69

By 1844 fourteen lodges in Switzerland had united under English obedience, agreed to a Grand Lodge Constitution, and organized the Grand Lodge Alpina in Zurich.70 Within a few decades Alpina headquarters moved to Geneva, next to its Grand Orient rival. From these two lodges, both within a neutral nation, both headquartered in the same city, Scarlet and the Beast would continue to plot their separate intrigues to dominate the world. From Geneva both the right wing and the left wing revolutions would spread over the face of the earth. In Geneva both would unite a century later.

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf

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]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Final Coup

Can anyone doubt that Freemasonry, specifically English Freemasonry, is behind the recent

break-up of the Soviet Union? From the moment Kerensky's democratic government was ousted

by the Bolsheviks, London backed the White Russian counterrevolution. When the atrocities of

the Red Terror were exposed, London was strengthened in her resolve to topple the Soviet

Union.

The seriousness of the situation in the Soviet Union was brought to light by Admiral "Blinker"

Hall, head of British naval intelligence. Hall informed his colleagues at the end of World War I

427

that the "most durable monster Western intelligence has ever faced had surfaced in Moscow....

Therefore, it was not only necessary to discover the other side's secrets but to protect our own

from disciples of communism, one of whom could well be the colleague beside you."135

In the early 1920s, the British Special Intelligence Service (SIS) made its first attempt to break

up the Soviet Union. They nearly succeeded. The plot called for an uprising of the bodyguards of

the communist leaders, who would seize Lenin and Trotsky. (The plot also included the

assassination of Lenin if the occasion arose, which it did, but failed.)

British agents would then establish a provisional anti-communist government. However, agents

loyal to the communists penetrated the operation, and the whole plot fell apart. Phillip Knightley,

author of The Master Spy (1989), said that the CHEKA, realizing a formidable foe in the SIS,

from that moment planned "the long-term.. .Soviet penetration of Western intelligence... "136

When Hitler rose to power, London made a second attempt to destroy the Soviet Union by

pushing Nazi Germany east to war with Russia (see chapter 22). Having failed to topple the

Soviet Union with Hitler, London continued her objective. "The Final Coup" was well thought

out and took 59 years to perfect.

The most brilliant intelligence operation to topple a nation involved English Freemasonry, the

KGB and a man named Kim Philby, one of England's senior intelligence officers in MI-6

(Mission Impossible, department 6). As a young man, Philby was groomed for the task by his

father, Freemason St.-John Philby. The senior Philby was the British intelligence specialist in the

Arabian peninsula for forty years following the Bolshevik Revolution. He assisted in setting up

Masonic Lodges throughout Arabic speaking nations.137 Although there is no record that young

Philby joined Freemasonry (and he stated he had not), his father taught him free-thinking.

Moreover, he was educated at Cam-bridge, a college rife with secret societies, including

Freemasonry. There he learned the politics of the intellectual Left and became a communist

during the Third International, but never joined the Party. When he graduated in June 1933, he

went to Vienna under orders from the French Communist Party, which was headquartered in the

Grand Orient at Paris.138

When Philby knew all there was to know about the enemy, he was hired by British intelligence

as a correspondent and in 1939 sent to Spain to observe the communist revolution in progress

there. No one knows for sure when, or if, he was "recruited" by the KGB, but he did give away

secrets. The secrets he gave to his controller, however, were miniscule compared to those he

never revealed, such as operation "Ultra" during World War II. (Ultra was the code name given

to information gathered through deciphering German signal traffic produced by the radio

enciphering machine known as "Enigma.")139

After the War, Philby was given permission by British intelligence to try the "full double." He

was so instructed: "If an opportunity arises to convince the Russian intelligence service that you

are willing to betray your own service and work for the other side, then you have permission to

428

seize it."140

In 1949 Philby was sent to Washington as Great Britain's SIS representative in the United States,

working in liaison with the CIA and the FBI. By the time he left Washington to return to

London, no other British intelligence officer was as well equipped to perform "The Final Coup"

on Soviet Russia.

When he returned to London, Philby began to develop his cover that would make the KGB

believe he was a Soviet double agent. In 1952 two British SIS agents, Donald Maclean and Guy

Burgess, defected to Russia. Philby was suspected of helping them. In 1955, 33rd degree

Freemason J. Edgar Hoover cleared Philby ofinvolvement.141 After this reprieve, Philby was sent

to the Middle East as a correspondent for the London Observer and The Economist. The real

reason for this transfer was to debrief his father. The senior Philby introduced his son to the

entire range of his Middle East contacts. Together, Philby and Philby traveled the Middle East

from 1955 until September 1960, when SL John Philby died.142 The time had come for Kim

Philby's defection.

In January 1963, Philby disappeared while on his way to a diplomatic party in Beirut. In April he

surfaced in Moscow. Shortly thereafter, Khrushchev fell from power. After 1963 the West heard

nothing of Philby, until 1979. That year Western intelligence discovered that Philby had just

been promoted to the rank of General of the KGB. Then in 1980, shocking news came from

London that Kim Philby had never had a KGB controller, that Sir Anthony Blunt had all along

been Philby's intelligence controller for Britain's Royal Court. Translated, this meant that Philby

was a triple-agent, a British intelligence operative disguised as a Soviet double-agent. 143

In the next few years Brezhnev died and each of the next two Soviet leaders, Yuri Andropov and

Konstantin Chernenko, died suddenly and under mysterious circumstances.

When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, Kim Philby granted an unprecedented interview to

Phillip Knightley, author of The Master Spy. Knightley's conclusion was that "the British had let

him [Philby] go."144 In "The Final Coup," the last chapter of his book, Knightley records Philby's

statement: "In Gorbachev I have a leader who has justified my years of faith."145

What did Philby mean? The policies implemented by Gorbachev dismantled the Soviet Union.

Was Philby involved in this process? Was this his assignment? Did he have something to do with

bringing Gorbachev to power?

In 1984, one year before Gorbachev took office, he travelled to the two Masonic headquarters in

London and Paris, to make a "report." Subsequent events suggest that while on that trip he was

initiated into French Freemasonry. The next year, in 1985, Gorbachev was at the helm of the

Soviet Union. A major Paris daily newspaper, Le Figaro, reported on Gorbachev's intense

interest in Freemasonry. By 1989 reports were coming out of France that Gorbachev was

planning to reopen Masonic lodges inside the Soviet Union and its satellite states. According to

429

Floshpoint (September 1990), a monthly newsletter published by Texe Marrs exposing the most

current developments in the conspiracy, "Both of the top masonic [sic] organizations in France,

the Grand Orient.. .and the Grand Lodge.. .are now working on this high priority project."146

When Freemasonry is permitted to operate within a nation, there will be revolution. The peaceful

demise of the Soviet Union in December 1991 can only be attributed to the activity of these new

lodges established inside Russian borders since 1989. We may never know what intrigue took

place to topple communism, but on December 26, 1991, when Gorbachev voluntarily stepped

down from power, he said in true Masonic terminology, "I hereby discontinue my activities at

the post of president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. We're now living in a New

World!" 147

In Conclusion

The Russian Revolution occurred in cooperation with English Masonic Socialists, funded by the

House of Rothschild, and in conflict with Grand Orient Communists, funded by the House of

Warburg. English Masonry wanted the Zionists out of Russia in order to establish a Jewish

homeland in Palestine, while French Grand Orient Masonry desired to keep the Zionists within

Russia. Russian Jews, although covertly manipulated by both Gentile Freemasonries, played a

significant role in the two Russian Revolutions of 1917. Even the wealthy Rothschilds and

Warburgs were pawns in the hands of the Priory of Sion and the Gentile Templars. Jews were

used, then abused as scapegoats. Freemasonry went unscathed.

Indeed, the Russian Revolution, the secret conflict it provoked between English and French

Freemasonry, and the financial competition it generated between the Rothschilds and the

Warburgs, was, and still is, only a manifestation of the thousand-year-old struggle between the

Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar.

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf

THE PERESTROIKA DECEPTION

FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR

XVII

This collection ofmy Memoranda to the CentralIntelligence Agency is about Soviet

grandstrategyand thenewdimensions of the threatto the Western democracies.

Thereis a markeddifference betweenthe American and the Communistuse

of the term 'strategy'. Americans tend to think of strategy in short-range terms in

relation to presidential election campaigns, in football or baseball gamesor in such

instances as the 'strategyof stone-walling' during the Watergate investigations. For

Russian Communists on the other hand, strategyis a grand design or generalParty

linewhichgoverns the Party's actions over a long period and contains one or more

special manoeuvres designed to help the Party achieve its ultimate objectives - the

seizure of power in Russia in 1917, the subsequent expansion of the Communist

campand thefinal world-wide victory ofCommunism.

This book shows that the essence of the special manoeuvre in the present

grand strategyforCommunism lies, internally, in the creation and use of controlled

'political opposition' to effect a transition to new 'democratic', 'non-Communist',

'nationalist' power structures whichremainin reality Communist-controlled. Internationally,

the essence of the manoeuvre lies in the use of the political potentialof

these new power structures to develop contacts and promote solidarity with the

Western democracies as a meanstowards theachievement ofworldCommunistvictorythroughtheconvergence

oftheCommunistand non-Communist systems.

The main purpose of my defection at the end of 1961 was (a) to warn the

American Government about the adoption of the current grand strategy for Communismand

the political role of the KGB and the use of disinformation and controlled

political opposition which the strategy entailed, and (b) to help the West

neutralise KGB penetration of theirgovernments.

Onarrivalin Washington, Iaskedto be received by PresidentKennedy. I was

assuredby General Taylor, the President's security adviser, that the President would

see my appropriate contributions. Mr Robert Kennedy, the AttorneyGeneral, told

methat in due timea meeting with the President would bearranged.

General Taylor wrotetomein thefollowing terms:

THE WHITE HOUSEWASHINGTON,21December1961

DearMr. Golitsyn,

I have your letter of December 19, 1961, addressed to the President of the United

States. Thesubjectmatter is one of considerable interest to this governmentand your request

has received careful consideration.

I wishto assureyou that the officials withwhom you are now in contacthave the full

authority and responsibility for handling matters of this nature, and I therefore request that

you givethemyour completecooperation.

I have asked that I be kept informedof developmentsin this matter,and you may be

confident that information concerning your contributionwill be brought to the attentionof the

Presidentif and whenappropriate.

MAxwELL D. TAYLOR

While waiting for the meeting, I limitedmy cooperation with the CIA, FBI

and allied services to the problems ofKGB penetration of the American, British and

French governmental institutions. AfterPresidentKennedy'sassassination, I briefed

the head of the CIA and the head of that agency's counterintelligence staff about

Communistlong-range strategy, the creation of the disinforrnation department and

Shelepin'sreorganisation of theKGB into a political ann ofthe Party.

On many subsequent occasions, I had opportunities to brief other leading

Western services on the subject of Soviet long-range strategyand the new roleof the

KGB, recommending a reassessment ofthe Communistproblem. Afewcounterintelligence

officials in the CIAand the British and French services began to understand

and acceptthe validityofmyviews. Forme,the mostencouraging development was

the understanding I received fromCountde Marenches, theChiefofthe French intelligence

serviceunder the late PresidentPompidou. Count de Marenches provided

me with opportunities to work with his service on the reassessment of Communist

developments in termsofSoviet strategy. In the presence ofa dozenseniorofficials of

his service, Count de Marenches stated that he was in agreement with myviewson

the existence of the strategy and of disinformation but I was unable to explainmy

ideasin detailbecausemy project with his service was terminated.

This growing awareness about disinformation and the political role of the

KGB in implementingthe strategywas interruptedby the Watergate hearings(which

weakenedthe Americanservices) and by the unfortunatedeath of President Pompidou

(whichweakenedthe positionof the French service).

Despiteadverse circumstances, I have made a consistent attempt to analyse

important developments in the USSR and other Communistcountries through the

prism of Communist long-range strategy, strategic disinformation and the political

role of the KGB. I continued to submit my Memorandato the CIAabout significant

Communistdevelopments and made suggestions on how to improvethe Agency's

understandingof Communiststrategy.

In 1984, I published a book, 'New Lies for Old', about Communiststrategic

political disinformation. In the book and in my Memoranda, I made severalsignificant

predictions about future developments in the Communist world. I predicted

that the Communiststrategistswouldgo beyond Marx and Lenin and would introduce

economic and political reforms in the USSR and Eastern Europe. I predicted the

legalisation ofSolidarity in Poland,the return to 'democratisation' in Czechoslovakia

and the removalof the Berlin Wall. I warned about a political offensive to promotea

neutral socialist Europewhich would work to Soviet advantage. I alsowarned that

the West was acutelyvulnerableto thecomingmajorshiftin Communisttactics.

It is axiomatic that political ideas should be tested out in practice. And it is a

factthat many ofmy predictions, particularlyabout the coming economic and political

reformsin the USSR and EasternEurope, passed the test and wereconfirmed by

subsequentevents,particularlyin Polandand Czechoslovakia.

It remainsalso a factthat leadingSoviet expertslikeMrZbigniew Brzezinski

failed to make accurate predictions about these developments. This failure on the

part of Mr Brzezinski and other expertsin Washington was noticed by an 'independent

observer' in 'The New York Times' of12September 1989.

Since then, I have submittednew Memorandato theCIAand American policymakers

in whichI explainedSovietgrand strategyand its strategic designsagainst

the West, the essence of 'perestroika' (the final phase of the strategy), the new use of

the Bloc's political and security potential for introducingnew deceptive controlled

'democratic', 'nationalist' and 'non-Communist' structuresin the Communistcountries,

and the deployment of the political and security potential of the renewed

'democratic' regimes for theexecution of the strategic designagainstthe West.

In the Memoranda, I provided seven keys for understanding 'pereslroika',

explained the danger of Western support for it and proposed a reassessment of the

situationand a re-thinking of that support as priority items of business. I suggested

alsohow theWest should respond to thechallenge of 'pereslroika' and itsdestabilising

effect on the Western democracies.

Since the Central Intelligence Agency did not react to my Memoranda, I

decidedto publishthem and asked theCIAto declassify them for the purpose. The

Agency agreed. Several considerations forced meto takemydecision.

First, the democracies of the United Statesand Western Europe are facing a

dangeroussituationand are vulnerablebecausetheir governments, the Vatican, the

elite, the media,the industrialists, the financiers, the trade unions and, most important,

the general public are blind to the dangers of the strategy of 'pereslroika' and

have failed to perceive the deployment of the Communist political potential of the

renewed'democratic' regimes againstthe West. Thedemocracies couldperish unless

theyareinformed about theaggressive designof 'pereslroika' againstthem.

Secondly, I could not imaginethat Americanpolicymakers, and particularly

the conservatives in both the Republican and Democratic parties, despite their long

experience withCommunisttreachery, would not be able to grasp the new manoeuvres

of the Communiststrategists and would rush to commit the West to helping

'pereslroika' whichisso contraryto theirinterests.

It hasbeensad to observethejubilation of American and West Europeanconservatives

who havebeencheering'pereslroika' without realising that it is intended to

bring about theirown political and physical demise. Liberal support for 'pereslroika'

isunderstandable, but conservative support cameas a surprise to me.

Thirdly, I was appalled that 'perestroika' was embracedand supported by the

UnitedStates withoutany seriousdebateon the subject.

In the fourth place,Iam appalledby the failure of American scholars to point

out the relevance of Lenin's New Economic Policy to understanding the aggressive,

anti-Western design of 'peresiroika' or to provide appropriatewarning to poIicymakers,

and their failure to distinguish between America's true friends and its Leninist

foes precisely because thesefoes arewearingthenew 'democratic' uniform. Giventhe

pressures theyface, policymakers have no time to study the history of the period of

Lenin's NewEconomic Policy, or toremind themselves ofMarxist-Leninist dialectics.

But how could such learned and distinguished scholarsas S. Bialer and Z.

Brzezinskihave failed to warn them about the successes of the New Economic Policy,

the mistakes made by the West in accepting it and Corbachev's repetition of

Lenin's strategyand its dangers for the West? What happened to their credentials as

great scholars? Whywas it left to Professor Norman Stoneof OxfordUniversity to

detect and make the parallel in his article in the London 'Daily Telegraph' of 11th

November 1989, and to express concern at the euphoria over Corbachev? In his

book, 'The Grand Failure', Brzezinski limited his description of Lenin's New Econ

omic Policy to three brief phrases. He described the New Economic Policy as

amounting to a reliance on the marketmechanism and privateinitiative to stimulate

economic recovery. In his words, it was probably 'the most open and intellectually

innovativephase' in Soviethistory.

ForBrzezinski, theNEPis 'a shorthand term fora period of experimentation,

flexibility and moderation' [see'The Grand Failure', CharlesScribner and Sons, New

York, 1989, pages 18-19]. I am appalled by Brzezinski's failure to explain the relevanceof

Lenin'sNewEconomic Policy to 'perestroika'.

Thisfailure is further illustratedby thefollowing:

(a) S. Bialer, a formerdefector from the CentralCommittee apparatus of the

PolishCommunist Party, wrote a foreword to Corbachev'sbook, 'Perestroika', introducing

it to theUSpublicwithout insertingany warning about the parallel with the

NewEconomic Policy and its dangersfor the Western democracies.

(b) During his recent visit to Moscow, Z. Brzezinski, the former National

Security Adviserin the Carter Administration, met leadingSovietstrategists includingYakovlev,

an experton themanipulationof the Western media,and advised them

on how to proceedwith 'perestroika'. Furthermore, Brzezinski delivered a lecture on

thesamesubject to theSovietdiplomatsat the HighDiplomatic Academy!

In the fifth place,I am disappointed that Gordievsky, a recent KGB defector,

did not helpmuch to explain 'perestroika' as the final phaseofSoviet long-range strategy,

to describe its essence or to point out the deceptive natureof the changes and the

strategic danger for the West. Gordievsky's articles in 'The Times' ofLondon of 27-28

February and 1March 1990, contained a ratheroptimistic, if not laudatory, description

of the 'reforms' initiatedunder Corbachev and Yakovlev. I am puzzledthathe should

writesoenthusiastically about themin theLondon'Times'. Hemightas wellhavepublished

his comments in the Party newspaper 'Pravda' or in Korotich's 'Ogonek'. His

assessment of 'perestroika' and itsmeaningfor the West is in complete contradiction to

that set out in my Memoranda to the CentralIntelligence Agency. Furthercomment

would besuperfluous. I leaveit to thereadertomakehisownjudgment.

In the sixth place, misguided Western support for 'perestroika' at all levels,

and especially among the Western media, is destabilising Western societies, their

defence, their political processes and their alliances. It is immensely accelerating the

successful execution of the Soviet strategic design againstthe West. In 1984 I thought

that, in the event of Western resistance to Sovietstrategy, thescenario of convergence

between the twosystemsmight take the next halfcenturyto unroll [see'New Lies for

Old', pages365-6).

Now,however, becausethe West has committed itselfto the support of 'perestroika'

and becauseof the impactof the misguidedand euphoricsupport forit in the

Western media, convergence might take lessthan a decade. Thesword of Damocles

is hanging over the Western democracies, yet they are oblivious to it. I believe in

truth and the power of ideas to conveythe truth.

Therefore, I presentmy Memorandato the public- convinced that they will

help them to see the 'perestroika' changes, and their sequels, in the Communistworld

and beyond,in a morerealistic light,and to recover fromtheirblindness.•

ANATOLIY GOLITSYN, UNITED STATES, 1995.

https://dn790003.ca.archive.org/0/items/AnatoliyGolitsyn/Golitsyn-ThePerestroikaDeception-TheWorldsSlideTowardsTheSecondOctoberRevolution1995.pdf

17 November and the Strategy of Deception: Was Golitsyn Right?

Author

Romana Hlouskova

Date of Graduation

Spring 2005

Degree

Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies

Department

Defense and Strategic Studies

Committee Chair

William Van Cleave

Abstract

In his 1984 book entitled, New Lies for Old, Committee for State Security (KGB) defector Anatoliy Golitsyn predicted a forthcoming fake democratization of communist bloc countries for the ultimate goal of deceiving and defeating the West. According to Golitsyn, Czechoslovakia played a significant role in the deception. The Prague Spring of 1968 was a communist provoked uprising that was to be replicated on a larger scale in the future. On 17 November 1989, Czechoslovak secret police provocateurs led an official communist student demonstration away from its approved course of march in Prague. When the police surrounded and viciously attacked the crowd of protestors, one of the secret police agents posed as a dead student. In only a few days the news of the alleged student killing led to a general uprising. It appears that some members of the Czechoslovak Communist Party and the Czechoslovak secret services, in cooperation with the Soviet secret service, planned, organized, and initiated the events of 17 November 1989, which marked the start of the Velvet Revolution. The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia was not a genuine revolt of the Czech and Slovak people against the communist regime. Rather, it is the hypothesis of this paper that, as foreseen by Golitsyn, the revolution was a communist planned handing of power to new cadres as part of a long-term deception strategy designed to transform and unify Europe into a neutral socialist continent.

Keywords

Golitsyn, Angleton, Dubcek, Gorbachev, Mlynar, Havel, dissidents, Velvet Revolution, Communist, deception, strategy, Czechoslovakia, Charter 77, Prague Spring, provocation, KGB, secret police, trust, disarmament, New Economic Policy, perestroika

Subject Categories

Defense and Security Studies

Copyright

© Romana Hlouskova

Recommended Citation

Hlouskova, Romana, "17 November and the Strategy of Deception: Was Golitsyn Right?" (2005). MSU Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 1386.

https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1386

November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 43 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

Pre-1600

326 – The old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated by Pope Sylvester I.[1]

401 – The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy.[2]

1095 – The Council of Clermont begins: called by Pope Urban II, it led to the First Crusade to the Holy Land.[3]

1105 – Maginulfo is elected Antipope Sylvester IV in opposition to Pope Paschal II.[4]

1210 – Pope Innocent III excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV for invading the Kingdom of Sicily after promising to recognize papal control over it.[5]

1302 – Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Unam sanctam, claiming spiritual supremacy for the papacy.[6]

1421 – St Elizabeth's flood: A dike in the Grote Hollandse Waard in the Netherlands breaks, killing about 10,000 people.[7]

1493 – Christopher Columbus first sights the island now known as Puerto Rico.[8]

1601–1900

1601 – Tiryaki Hasan Pasha, an Ottoman provincial governor, routs the Habsburg forces commanded by Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria who were besieging Nagykanizsa.[9]

1626 – The new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is consecrated.[10]

1730 – The future Frederick the Great of Prussia is granted a pardon by his father and is released from confinement.[11]

1760 – The rebuilt debtors' prison, at the Castellania in Valletta, receives the first prisoners.[12]

1803 – The Battle of Vertières, the last major battle of the Haitian Revolution, is fought, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Haiti, the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere.[13]

1809 – In a naval action during the Napoleonic Wars, French frigates defeat British East Indiamen in the Bay of Bengal.[14]

1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Krasnoi ends in French defeat, but Marshal of France Michel Ney's leadership leads to him becoming known as "the bravest of the brave".

1863 – King Christian IX of Denmark signs the November constitution that declares Schleswig to be part of Denmark. This is seen by the German Confederation as a violation of the London Protocol and leads to the German–Danish war of 1864.

1867 – An earthquake strikes the Virgin Islands, triggering the largest tsunami witnessed in the Caribbean and killing dozens.[15]

1872 – Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women are arrested for voting illegally in the United States presidential election of 1872.

1883 – In the "day of two noons," American and Canadian railroad companies institute four standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.[16]

1901–present

1901 – Britain and the United States sign the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty, which nullifies the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty and withdraws British objections to an American-controlled canal in Panama.

1903 – The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the United States exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.

1905 – Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway.

1909 – Two United States warships are sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) are executed by order of José Santos Zelaya.

1910 – In their campaign for women's voting rights, hundreds of suffragettes march to the British Parliament in London. Several are beaten by police, newspaper attention embarrasses the authorities, and the march is dubbed Black Friday.[17]

1916 – World War I: First Battle of the Somme: In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle which started on July 1, 1916.

1918 – Latvia declares its independence from Russia.

1928 – Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon.

1929 – Grand Banks earthquake: Off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, a Richter magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake, centered on the Grand Banks, breaks 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and triggers a tsunami that destroys many south coast communities in the Burin Peninsula.

1940 – World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini's disastrous Italian invasion of Greece.

1943 – World War II: Battle of Berlin: Four hundred and forty Royal Air Force planes bomb Berlin causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses nine aircraft and 53 air crew.

1944 – The Popular Socialist Youth is founded in Cuba.

1947 – The Ballantyne's Department Store fire in Christchurch, New Zealand, kills 41; it is the worst fire disaster in the history of New Zealand.

1949 – The Iva Valley Shooting occurs after the coal miners of Enugu in Nigeria go on strike over withheld wages; 21 miners are shot dead and 51 are wounded by police under the supervision of the British colonial administration of Nigeria.

1961 – United States President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.[18][19]

1963 – The first push-button telephone goes into service.

1970 – U.S. President Richard Nixon asks the U.S. Congress for $155 million in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government.

1971 – Oman declares its independence from the United Kingdom.

1978 – The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet makes its first flight, at the Naval Air Test Center in Maryland, United States.[20]

1978 – In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple to a mass murder–suicide that claimed 918 lives in all, 909 of them in Jonestown itself, including over 270 children.

1983 – Aeroflot Flight 6833 is hijacked en route from Tbilisi to Leningrad. After returning to Tbilisi, the aircraft is subsequentially raided on the ground, resulting in seven deaths.[21]

1985 – The first comic of Calvin and Hobbes is published in ten newspapers.[22]

1987 – King's Cross fire: In London, 31 people die in a fire at the city's busiest underground station, King's Cross St Pancras.

1991 – Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon release Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland.

1991 – After an 87-day siege, the Croatian city of Vukovar capitulates to the besieging Yugoslav People's Army and allied Serb paramilitary forces.

1991 – The autonomous Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, which would in 1993 become a republic, was established in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[23]

1993 – In the United States, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is approved by the House of Representatives.

1993 – In South Africa, 21 political parties approve a new constitution, expanding voting rights and ending white minority rule.

1996 – A fire occurs on a train traveling through the Channel Tunnel from France to England causing several injuries and damaging approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) of tunnel.

1999 – At Texas A&M University, the Aggie Bonfire collapses killing 12 students and injuring 27 others.

2002 – Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.

2003 – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules 4–3 in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and gives the state legislature 180 days to change the law making Massachusetts the first state in the United States to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples.

2012 – Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria becomes the 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

2013 – NASA launches the MAVEN probe to Mars.

2020 – The Utah monolith, built sometime in 2016 is discovered by state biologists of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_18

Unam Sanctam

One God, One Faith, One Spiritual Authority

Pope Boniface VIII - 1302

Bull of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302

Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, as the Spouse in the Canticles [Sgs 6:8] proclaims: ‘One is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only one, the chosen of her who bore her,‘ and she represents one sole mystical body whose Head is Christ and the head of Christ is God [1 Cor 11:3]. In her then is one Lord, one faith, one baptism [Eph 4:5]. There had been at the time of the deluge only one ark of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, which ark, having been finished to a single cubit, had only one pilot and guide, i.e., Noah, and we read that, outside of this ark, all that subsisted on the earth was destroyed.

We venerate this Church as one, the Lord having said by the mouth of the prophet: ‘Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword and my only one from the hand of the dog.’ [Ps 21:20] He has prayed for his soul, that is for himself, heart and body; and this body, that is to say, the Church, He has called one because of the unity of the Spouse, of the faith, of the sacraments, and of the charity of the Church. This is the tunic of the Lord, the seamless tunic, which was not rent but which was cast by lot [Jn 19:23- 24]. Therefore, of the one and only Church there is one body and one head, not two heads like a monster; that is, Christ and the Vicar of Christ, Peter and the successor of Peter, since the Lord speaking to Peter Himself said: ‘Feed my sheep‘ [Jn 21:17], meaning, my sheep in general, not these, nor those in particular, whence we understand that He entrusted all to him [Peter]. Therefore, if the Greeks or others should say that they are not confided to Peter and to his successors, they must confess not being the sheep of Christ, since Our Lord says in John ‘there is one sheepfold and one shepherd.’ We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. For when the Apostles say: ‘Behold, here are two swords‘ [Lk 22:38] that is to say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to the word of the Lord commanding: ‘Put up thy sword into thy scabbard‘ [Mt 26:52]. Therefore, both are in the power of the Church, namely, the spiritual sword and the material. But indeed, the latter is to be exercised on behalf of the Church; and truly, the former is to be exercised by the Church. The former is of the priest; the latter is by the hand of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.

However, one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. For since the Apostle said: ‘There is no power except from God and the things that are, are ordained of God‘ [Rom 13:1-2], but they would not be ordained if one sword were not subordinated to the other and if the inferior one, as it were, were not led upwards by the other.

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 Servant of the

 Grand Design

 Willing or not, ready or not, we are all involved in an all-out, no-holds

barred, three-way global competition. Most of us are not competitors,

 however. We are the stakes. For the competition is about who will establish

 the first one-world system of government that has ever existed in the

 society of nations. It is about who will hold and wield the dual power of

 authority and control over each of us as individuals and over all of us

 together as a community; over the entire six billion people expected by

 demographers to inhabit the earth by early in the third millennium.

 The competition is all-out because, now that it has started, there is no

 way it can be reversed or called off.

 No holds are barred because, once the competition has been decided, the

 world and all that’s in it—our way of life as individuals and as citizens of

 the nations; our families and our jobs; our trade and commerce and money;

 our educational systems and our religions and our cultures; even the badges

 of our national identity, which most of us have always taken for granted—

 all will have been powerfully and radically altered forever. No one can be

 exempted from its effects. No sector of our lives will remain untouched.

 The competition began and continues as a three-way affair because that

 is the number of rivals with sufficient resources to establish and maintain a

 new world order.

 Nobody who is acquainted with the plans of these three rivals has any

 doubt but that only one of them can win. Each expects the other two to be

 overwhelmed and swallowed up in the coming maelstrom of change. That

 being the case, it would appear inescapable that their competition will end

 up as a confrontation.

 As to the time factor involved, those of us who are under seventy will

 see at least the basic structures of the new world government installed.

Those of us under forty will surely live under its legislative, executive and

 judiciary authority and control. Indeed, the three rivals themselves—and

 many more besides as time goes on—speak about this new world order not

 as something around a distant corner of time, but as something that is

 imminent. As a system that will be introduced and installed in our midst by

 the end of this final decade of the second millennium.

 What these competitors are talking about, then, is the most profound and

 widespread modification of international, national and local life that the

 world has seen in a thousand years. And the competition they are engaged

 in can be described simply enough as the millennium endgame.

 Ten years before this competition became manifest to the world at large,

 the man who was destined to become the first, the most unexpected and, for

 some at least, the most unwelcome competitor of all in this millennium

 endgame spoke openly about what he saw down the road even then.

 Toward the end of an extended visit to America in 1976, an obscure

 Polish archbishop from Krakow by the name of Karol Wojtyla stood before

 an audience in New York City and made one of the most prophetic speeches

 ever given.

 “We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation

 humanity has gone through,” he said, “… a test of two thousand years of

 culture and Christian civilization, with all of its consequences for human

 dignity, individual rights and the rights of nations.” But, he chided his

 listeners on that September day, “wide circles of American society and wide

 circles of the Christian community do not realize this fully….”

 Perhaps the world was still too immersed in the old system of nation

states, and in all the old international balance-of-power arrangements, to

 hear what Wojtyla was saying. Or perhaps Wojtyla himself was reckoned as

 no more than an isolated figure hailing from an isolated country that had

 long since been pointedly written out of the global power equation. Or

 perhaps, after the industrial slaughter of millions of human beings in two

 world wars and in 180 local wars, and after the endless terrors of nuclear

 brinksmanship that have marked the progress of the twentieth century, the

 feeling was simply that one confrontation more or less wasn’t going to

 make much difference.

 Whatever the reason, it would seem that no one who heard or later read

 what Karol Wojtyla said that day had any idea that he was pointing to a

 competition he already saw on the horizon: a competition between the

world’s only three internationally based power structures for truly global

 hegemony.

 ·   ·   ·

 An isolated figure Karol Wojtyla may have been in the fall of 1976—at

 least for many Westerners. But two years later, in October of 1978, when he

 emerged from the Sistine Chapel in Rome as Pope John Paul II, the 263rd

 successor to Peter the Apostle, he was himself the head of the most

 extensive and deeply experienced of the three global powers that would,

 within a short time, set about ending the nation system of world politics that

 has defined human society for over a thousand years.

 It is not too much to say, in fact, that the chosen purpose of John Paul’s

 pontificate—the engine that drives his papal grand policy and that

 determines his day-to-day, year-by-year strategies—is to be the victor in

 that competition, now well under way. For the fact is that the stakes John

 Paul has placed in the arena of geopolitical contention include everything—

 himself; his papal persona; the age-old Petrine Office he now embodies;

 and his entire Church Universal, both as an institutional organization

 unparalleled in the world and as a body of believers united by a bond of

 mystical communion.

 The other two contenders in the arena of this “greatest historical

 confrontation humanity has gone through” are no mean adversaries. Rather,

 they are the leaders of the two most deeply entrenched secular powers, who

 stand, in a collective sense, on their record as the authors and the primary

 actors in the period of history that has been so much the worst of times that

 the best face we can put on it is to say that we were not swallowed up in the

 apocalypse of World War III—as if that were the best man could do for his

 fellowman.

 The first of those two powers, the Soviet Union, is now led by John

 Paul’s most interesting adversary and a fellow Slav. Mikhail Sergeyevich

 Gorbachev was as unexpected and unpredicted a leader in the new world

 arena as Karol Wojtyla himself. A husky man still in his prime, hailing from

 the obscure industrial town of Privolnoye in the southwest of Russia,

 Gorbachev is now what he was groomed to be: Master of the Leninist

Marxist Party-State whose power and standing in the community of nations

 was built upon seventy years of physical and spiritual fratricide carried out

 in the name of a purely sociopolitical vision and a thoroughly this-worldly

 ideology.

The final contender in the competition for the new world order is not a

 single individual leader of a single institution or territory. It is a group of

 men who are united as one in power, mind and will for the purpose of

 achieving a single common goal: to be victorious in the competition for the

 new global hegemony.

 While the acknowledged public leader and spokesman for this group is

 the current American president, the contenders who compose this

 assemblage of individuals are Americans and Europeans who, taken

 together, represent every nation of the Western democratic alliance.

 Unremittingly globalist in their vision and their activities, these

 individuals operate from two principal bases of power. The first is the

 power base of finance, industry and technology. Entrepreneurial in their

 occupations, the men in this phalanx qualify themselves, and are often

 referred to by others, as Transnationalist in their outlook. What they mean

 by the term “Transnationalist” is that they intend to, and increasingly do,

 exercise their entrepreneurship on a worldwide basis. Leaping over all the

 barriers of language, race, ideology, creed, color and nationalism, they view

 the world with some justification as their oyster; and the twin pearls of great

 price that they seek are global development and the good life for all.

 Members of the second phalanx of this group of globalist contenders—

 Internationalists, as they are frequently called—bring with them invaluable

 experience in government, in intergovernmental relationships, and in the

 rarefied art of international politics. Their bent is toward the development

 of new and ever wider interrelationships between the governments of the

 world. Their aim is to foster increasing cooperation on an international

 basis—and to do that by maintaining the peace, at the same time they

 accomplish what war has rarely achieved: the breakdown of all the old

 natural and artificial barriers between nations.

 In the current competition to establish and head a one-world

 government, Transnationalists and Internationalists can be said for all

 practical purposes to act as one; to constitute one main contender. The

 Genuine Globalists of the West. Both groups are products par excellence of

 the system of democratic capitalism. Both are so closely intertwined in their

 membership that individuals move easily and with great effect from an

 Internationalist to a Transnationalist role and back again. And not least

 important in the all-encompassing confrontation that is under way, both

 groups share the same philosophy about human life and its ultimate

meaning—a philosophy that appears, in the surprised view of some

 observers, to be closer to Mikhail Gorbachev’s than to Pope John Paul’s.

 There is one great similarity shared by all three of these geopolitical

 competitors. Each one has in mind a particular grand design for one-world

 governance. In fact, each of them talks now in nearly the same terms Karol

 Wojtyla used in his American visit in 1976. They all give speeches about an

 end to the nation system of our passing civilization. Their geopolitical

 competition is about which of the three will form, dominate and run the

 world system that will replace the decaying nation system.

 There is at least one other similarity among these groups that is worthy

 of note, primarily because it leads to misunderstanding and confusion. And

 that is the language each group uses to present its case to the world.

 All three contenders use more or less the same agreeable terms when

 propagandizing their individual designs for the new world order. All three

 declare that man and his needs are to be the measure of what those

 individual designs will accomplish. All three speak of individual freedom

 and man’s liberation from want and hunger; of his natural dignity; of his

 individual, social, political and cultural rights; of the good life to which

 each individual has a fundamental right.

 Beneath the similarity of language, however, there lies a vast difference

 in meaning and intent; and greatly dissimilar track records of

 accomplishment.

 The individual in Gorbachev’s new world order will be someone whose

 needs and rights are determined by the monopolar government of Leninist

 Marxism. Indeed, all individual rights and freedom and dignity are to be

 measured by the needs of the Party to remain supreme and permanent.

 In the new world order of the Wise Men of the West—the most powerful

 of the Genuine Globalists—the rights and freedoms of the individual would

 be based on positive law: that is, on laws passed by a majority of those who

 will be entitled to vote on the various levels of the new system of

 governmental administration and local organization. Ultimate rule,

 however, will be far removed from the ordinary individual.

 The primary difficulty for Pope John Paul II in both of these models for

 the new world order is that neither of them is rooted in the moral laws of

 human behavior revealed by God through the teaching of Christ, as

 proposed by Christ’s Church. He is adamant on one capital point: No

 system will ensure and guarantee the rights and freedoms of the individual

if it is not based on those laws. This is the backbone principle of the new

 world order envisaged by the Pontiff.

 Similarities of public rhetoric, therefore, do more to mask than clarify

 the profound differences between the contenders, and the profoundly

 different consequences for us all of the grand design each one proposes for

 the arrangement of our human affairs.

 The three are contenders for the same prize; but they are not working in

 the vacuum of a never-never land. No one of them expects the others to

 change. Mr. Gorbachev knows that his Western competitors will not

 renounce their fundamental democratic egalitarianism or cease to be

 capitalists.

 The capitalists, meanwhile, know Gorbachev is a hard-core, convinced

 Leninist; his goal is the Marxist “Workers’ Paradise”—however he may

 now configure that fearsome Utopia.

 Similarly, neither of these contenders expects Pope John Paul to

 renounce his Christian optic on the world of man or cease to be Roman

 Catholic in his geopolitical strategy.

 Indeed, so definitive is the cleavage and distinction among the three that

 each realizes only one of them can ultimately be the victor in the

 millennium endgame.

 When he spoke in 1976 of “a test of two thousand years of culture and

 Christian civilization,” Karol Wojtyla was as aware as any human being

 could be that the pre-Gorbachev Soviets of the East and the Globalists of

 the West remained frozen in their political, economic and military

 stalemate.

 Never mind that the Leninist-Marxist empire of the East was slowly

 deteriorating to the point of falling in on itself in shattered ruins.

 Never mind that the West was bound to its treadmill of democratic

 egalitarianism, hard put to maintain its position but without any forward

 movement possible.

 Never mind that countless nations were caught in the grinding maw of

 the East-West stalemate. Some countries in the West, and most in the Third

 World, paid the price of helpless pawns. They found themselves caught up

 in surrogate wars; in hopeless famine and want; in plots to destabilize the

 governments and economies of countries and of entire regions. Even

 imprisonment of whole nations was not too much to bear.

In the teeth of all that, leaders of East and West remained stubbornly

 engaged in the ancient exercise of international politics reduced to its

 grossest terms—the maintenance of the status quo through constant

 interplay between the threat and the use of raw power.

 That unacceptable and untenable world condition was one that Karol

 Wojtyla knew intimately. By the time he was elected Pope, he had worked

 for nearly thirty years beside the tough and canny Cardinal Stefan

 Wyszynski of Warsaw, a man who earned his stripes as the “Fox of Europe”

 by planning and executing the only geopolitical strategy—the only

 successful strategy—ever carried out by an Eastern satellite nation against

 the Soviet Union.

 All during those years, the two Churchmen—the Cardinal and the future

 Pope—already thought and worked in terms of what Wyszynski called the

 “three Internationales.” That was the classical term he used to talk about

 geopolitical contenders for true world power.

 There exist on this earth, Wyszynski used to say, only three

 Internationales. The “Golden Internationale” was his shorthand term for

 the financial powers of the world—the Transnationalist and Internationalist

 globalist leaders of the West.

 The “Red Internationale” was, of course, the Leninist-Marxist Party

State of the Soviet Union, with which he and Wojtyla and their compatriots

 had such long and painfully intimate experience.

 The third geopolitical contender—the Roman Catholic Church; the

 “Black Internationale”—was destined in Wyszynski’s view to be the

 ultimate victor in any contention with those rivals.

 Surely such a thought seemed outlandish to much of the world—

 including much of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the Vatican and

 elsewhere. Nonetheless, it was a view that Karol Wojtyla not only shared. It

 was one that he had helped to prove against the Soviets and that he now

 carried into the papacy itself.

 According to the outlook Wojtyla brought to the office and the role of

 Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Church, it was unthinkable that the Marxist

 East and the capitalist West should continue to determine the international

 scheme of things. It was intolerable that the world should be frozen in the

 humanly unprofitable and largely dehumanizing stalemate of ideological

 contention, coupled with permissive connivance that marked all the

 dealings between those two forces, with no exit in sight.

In a move that was so totally unexpected at that moment in time that it

 was misread by most of the world—but a move that was characteristic in its

 display of his independence of both East and West—Pope John Paul

 embarked without delay on his papal gamble to force the hand of

 geopolitical change.

 In the late spring of 1979, he made an official visit as newly elected

 Roman Pope to his Soviet-run homeland of Poland. There, he demonstrated

 for the masters of Leninism and capitalism alike that the national situations

 that obtained in the Soviet satellites, and the international status quo that

 obtained in the world as a whole, were outclassed and transcended by

 certain issues of a truly geopolitical nature. Issues that he defined again and

 again in terms based solely and solidly on Roman Catholic principles, while

 Soviet tanks and arms rumbled and rattled helplessly all around him.

 It is a measure of the frozen mentalities of that time that few in the West

 understood the enormous leap John Paul accomplished in that first of his

 many papal travels. Most observers took it as the return of a religious leader

 to his beloved Poland; as an emotional but otherwise unremarkable

 apostolic visit, complete with sermons and ceremonies and excited,

 weeping throngs.

 One commentator, however, writing in the German newspaper

 Frankfurter Zeitung, not only read the papal achievement accurately but

 read the papal intent as well: “A new factor has been added to the presently

 accepted formula of international contention. It is a Slavic Pope. The

 imbalance in our thinking has been unobtrusively but decisively and, as it

 were, overnight corrected by the emergence of John Paul. For his persona

 has refocused international attention away from the two extremes, East and

 West, and on the actual center of change, Mitteleuropa, the central bloc of

 Europe’s nations.”

 Presciently as well as by planned design, the Pontiff’s first step into the

 geopolitical arena was eastward into Poland, the underbelly of the Soviet

 Union. In John Paul’s geopolitical analysis, Europe from the Atlantic to the

 Urals is a giant seesaw of power. Europe from the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea

 is the center of that power. The Holy Father’s battle was to control that

 center.

 World commentary and opinion aside, therefore, the point of John Paul’s

 foray into Poland was not merely that he was a religious leader. The point

 was that he was more. He was a geopolitical pope. He was a Slav who had

come from a nation that had always viewed its own role and its fate within a

 geopolitical framework—within the large picture of world forces. Now he

 had served notice that he intended to take up and effectively exercise once

 more the international role that had been central to the tradition of Rome,

 and to the very mandate Catholics maintain was conferred by Christ upon

 Peter and upon each of his successors.

 For fifteen hundred years and more, Rome had kept as strong a hand as

 possible in each local community around the wide world. Still, because

 what might be advantageous for one locale might be detrimental for

 another, it had always been an essential practice for Rome to make its major

 decisions on the premise that the good of the geocommunity must take

 precedence over all local advantages. International politics might be driven

 and regulated according to the benefit to be derived by certain groups or

 nations at the cost of others. But geopolitics properly conducted must serve

 the absolute needs of the whole society of nations.

 By and large, and admitting some exceptions, that had been the Roman

 view until two hundred years of inactivity had been imposed on the papacy

 by the major secular powers of the world. By and large, that had been the

 Polish view, as well, until some two hundred years of official nonexistence

 had been imposed on the Poles as a nation by those same powers.

 It was the first distinguishing mark of John Paul’s career as Pontiff that

 he had thrown off the straitjacket of papal inactivity in major world affairs.

 On his trip to Poland in 1979, barely eight months after his election, he

 signaled the opening of the millennium endgame. He became the first of the

 three players to enter the new geopolitical arena.

 Karol Wojtyla’s mentor, Cardinal Wyszynski of Warsaw, used to say that

 “certain historical developments are willed by the Lord of History, and they

 shall take place. About many other—mostly minor—developments, that

 same Lord is willing.” He allows men the free will to choose between

 various options, and he will go along with those choices; for, in the end, all

 human choices will be co-opted as grist into God’s mill, which grinds

 slowly but always grinds exceedingly fine.”

 From that unfashionable point of view, it was not to be wondered that

 suddenly, and without any of the laborious worldwide politicking that

 normally attends such matters, Karol Wojtyla was placed at the head of the

 world’s only existing and fully operating georeligious institution: the

 universal organization of his Roman Catholic Church.

From that point of view, in fact, it was Karol Wojtyla’s destiny, as Pope

 John Paul 11, to be the first world leader to take up a central position in the

 geopolitical arena of the society of nations in the twentieth century. For not

 only did his unexpected supremacy of leadership of the Roman Church

 immediately put him within the machinery of geopolitics. His bent of mind,

 his training as a priest in Nazi Poland and in Rome, and his work as a

 member of the Catholic hierarchy in Stalinist Poland all provided him with

 the noblest weapons tested against the most abject sociopolitical systems

 the world had yet devised. He was one of a relatively few individuals in a

 position of great power in the world who had already been prepared for

 what was to come.

 Though in one sense his new life as Roman Pontiff was a very public

 one, another dimension of that life gave John Paul a certain invaluable

 immunity from suspicious and prying eyes. That white robe and skullcap,

 that Fisherman’s Ring on his index finger, the panoply of papal liturgy, the

 appanage of pontifical life, all meant that the rank and file of world leaders,

 as well as most observers and commentators, would see him almost

 exclusively as a religious leader.

 There were some early advantages for John Paul in that immunity. For

 one thing, his remarkable new vantage point was like a one-way

 geopolitical window at which he could stand, at least for a time, relatively

 unobserved himself and essentially undisturbed. With all the incomparable

 information of the papal office at his disposal, he could suddenly train his

 vision with extraordinary accuracy on the whole human scene. He could sift

 through all of those historical developments Wyszynski had mused about.

 He could examine them in terms of what would work geopolitically, and

 what would be pointless. He could form an accurate picture of the few—the

 very few—inevitable trends and forces in the world that were slowly and

 surely, if still covertly, affecting the lives and fortunes of nations as the

 world headed into the 1980s.

 More, he could clearly discern all the players—the champions of those

 inevitable forces—as they emerged and came to the fore in the

 confrontation of the millennium endgame. Even before the competition had

 begun, he could predict from where the true competitors would have to

 come. In general terms, he could outline where they would stand and in

 what direction they would plan to move. Finally, once all of the individuals

 who would be in true and serious contention were in place—once all the

players had names and faces, as well as ideologies and agendas that were

 clear—he thought he could simply put the final pieces together.

 By examining the vision each contender held concerning the supreme

 realities governing human life, and by paying careful attention to the

 designs they fashioned and pursued in the practical world, he did form a

 clear enough idea of the brand of geopolitics they would attempt to

 command, and of the new world order they would attempt to create.

 All in all, then, Karol Wojtyla was in a privileged position, from which

 he could form the most accurate advance picture possible of the millennium

 endgame arena. He could assess the lay of the land; sort out the primary

 forces of history likely to be at work in the competition; look in the right

 direction to find the likely champions of those major forces; and reckon

 what might be their chances for success.

 A second advantage for Pope John Paul in the peculiar papal immunity

 he enjoyed was that the champions he expected to enter the endgame arena

 did not expect him to be a contender. They failed to read him in the same

 geopolitical terms he applied to them. He was not seen as a threat even in

 those political, cultural and financial circles outside the Roman Church

 where there has always been an abiding fear of “caesaropapism.” A fear

 that implied an ugly suspicion of totalitarian and antidemocratic ambition in

 any pope, whoever he might be. The ancient but still entertained fear that if

 any Roman pope had his way, he would damage or abolish democratic

 freedoms—above all, the freedom to think, to experiment and to develop

 politically. There seemed to be no fear of John Paul as a potential Caesar.

 In point of fact, however, John Paul’s ambition went very far. As far as

 his view of himself as the servant of God who would slowly prepare all

 men and women, in their earthly condition, for eternal salvation in the

 Heaven of God’s glory. For many minds, the combination of such

 transcendent aims with the worldly-wise discernment of a canny

 geopolitician would have been an unacceptable shock.

 As it was, however—and well before globalism was even added to the

 lexicon of high government officials and powerful corporate CEOs around

 the world; well before the world was treated to the spectacle of Mikhail

 Gorbachev as supreme public impresario of dazzling changes in the world’s

 political landscape; well before the globalist trends now taken for granted

 were apparent to most of the world’s leaders—this Slavic Pope had a

 certain leisure to scan the society of nations, with a new eye toward a

purpose that is as old as the papacy itself. With an eye that was not merely

 international, but truly global. And with a purpose to lay his papal plans in

 concert with those few and very certain developments Cardinal Wyszynski

 had spoken of as “willed by the Lord of History.” In concert with those

 trends that were already moving the whole society of mankind the way the

 stars move across the heavens—according to the awesome inevitability of

 the unbreakable will of God.

 As clearly as if they had been color-keyed features marked on a contour

 map, Pope John Paul recognized the inevitabilities of late-twentieth-century

 geopolitics already flowing like irresistible rivers across the world’s

 landscape in the fall of 1978.

 The inability of the United States to maintain its former world hegemony

 was undeniable in its clarity. Just as clear was the similar inability of the

 Soviet Union to hold all the unnatural members of its ungainly body in its

 close embrace. Those two factors alone made it necessary to take a fresh

 reading of the efforts to form a new “Europe.” A different alignment of

 power would inevitably supersede the old Western alliance that had been

 put together for the purpose of offsetting the Soviet threat.

 Then there was the question of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

 Neither the Soviet East nor the democratic West could afford to ignore

 China’s importance; but neither had found the key to unlock its door.

 True, the Soviet Union was engaged with the PRC in a carefully planned

 and executed international tango—the Soviet Union’s Leonid Brezhnev

 showed the softer face of negotiation toward democratic egalitarianism,

 while China stood as the threatening giant of hard-line Leninist Marxism to

 stampede the West into Brezhnev’s corral.

 The democratic alliance was interested in Brezhnev’s dance of détente,

 all right. To some degree, it was gulled; and to some degree, it found its

 own interests were served in cooperating with some of Brezhnev’s

 proposals—the Helsinki Accords of 1975, for example, and the START

 negotiations.

 However, the West was not heating a defensive path to Moscow’s door.

 On the contrary, the Western democracies seemed more interested in

 beating their own path to Beijing. Using its best weapon—entrepreneurship

 —the West embarked on a campaign to alter the ideology of the East and

 Far East with a flood of managerial and technological know-how, and with

the vision if not the reality of a rising tide of the good things of capitalist

 life.

 Interestingly enough from the point of view of fomenting geopolitical

 change in the near term, all this activity focused on China had a greater

 effect on the relationship between the USSR and the West nations, than on

 the leadership of the PRC. For if China intended to remain essentially

 closed, then, at least in the opening phases of the millennium endgame,

 central Europe would remain what it had always been—the indispensable

 springboard for geopolitical power.

 There was one more geopolitical inevitability that John Paul faced as he

 entered on his pontificate in 1978. And while it directly affected all of

 Europe and all of the Americas, as well as the whole of the Soviet empire, it

 was of no deep concern to any geopolitical contender except the Polish

 Pope. The reality in all the territories of the world that were once

 thoroughly Christian was that even the last vestiges of Christianity’s moral

 rules for human living and behavior were being drowned by the increasing

 prevalence of a “human ethic” or “value system” in the management and

 direction of all public and most individual matters. For all his adult life,

 Karol Wojtyla had lived in a world dominated by such ethics and value

 systems. Poland had been buried alive for two hundred years by such ethics

 and value systems. There was not a doubt in Pope John Paul’s mind about

 what lay in store for the world in such an un-Godly climate.

 In the broadest outlines, that was essentially the state of affairs when

 John Paul made his decision to travel to Poland in 1979. If God was with

 him, he would use his own homeland—the historical plaque tournante of

 Central Europe—to disrupt the unacceptable status quo of the postwar

 years. That much accomplished, trickles of innovation and experimentation

 would be the first sign that the floodgates of geopolitical change would

 crank slowly open.

 Though certain Western leaders—Jean Monnet was but one among many

 —had for some decades been keen on a rather restricted idea of a

 commercially united Europe, it was in fact the Soviet Union that was the

 first and most deeply impressed by John Paul’s 1979 challenge in Poland.

 Given the internal conditions of the USSR, that was not altogether

 surprising.

 The following year, the Kremlin masters of Leninist Marxism responded

 to the papal challenge by giving the green light to the accords between

Poland’s shipyard workers in Gdansk and the Stalinist government in

 Warsaw. From those accords came the birth of the urban Solidarity trade

 union, followed shortly by the rural Solidarity union. It was the first trickle

 of innovation; the first experimental breach of the Iron Curtain.

 Though that experiment failed—less, it must be said, from Soviet

 recalcitrance than from Western connivance and fear at the loss of a cheap

 labor source—John Paul knew that the issue of geopolitical innovation was

 joined now in the minds of Moscow. The matter only awaited a wider

 application by a Soviet leadership increasingly desperate for a new

 alignment of forces.

 The motive impelling Moscow’s interest in John Paul’s challenge was

 not innovation for its own sake, of course. The engine driving their interest

 was their dilemma—becoming more urgent month by month—of how to

 relieve the tensions threatening the USSR with economic implosion,

 without destroying the Soviet drive toward ultimate proletarian victory

 throughout the world.

 In one of those interesting coincidences that often attend the great forces

 of history, Mikhail Gorbachev ascended to the Soviet central hierarchy of

 power in the same year that Karol Wojtyla became Pope. In 1978, under the

 personal direction of Moscow’s baleful General Secretary, former KGB

 chief Yuri Andropov, Gorbachev was named Secretary of Soviet

 Agriculture and Secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist

 Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).

 As the intimate and most trusted protégé of two supreme Soviet leaders

 —Andropov and his immediate successor, Konstantin Chernenko—the

 young Gorbachev dealt directly and from the highest vantage of power with

 the USSR’s economic stagnation, its industrial ineptitude, its sociopolitical

 backwardness and its technological deficiency. By the time a fully seasoned

 Gorbachev emerged in 1985 as General Secretary of the CPSU and supreme

 leader of the Soviet apparatus and empire, he had a clear understanding of

 the internal ills plaguing the Soviet Union and threatening the Leninist

Marxist world revolution.

 For Pope John Paul, the most interesting thing about Mikhail Gorbachev

 as General Secretary was that he did not respond to those potentially lethal

 ills of the USSR as any of his predecessors had done. He did not ignore the

 problems, for example, as Khrushchev had done in his unimaginative and

 doctrinaire confidence that the West was on its last legs and would collapse

under the weight of its own corruption. Nor did he continue Moscow’s

 economically insane buildup of military superiority, as Brezhnev had done,

 preparing to take the West by storm if desperation led in that direction.

 Instead, Gorbachev began to make the kinds of moves that marked him

 at once in John Paul’s power ledger as the geopolitical champion of the

 East: the kinds of moves one geopolitician would expect of another. For in

 entirely new ways, the new Soviet leader began to activate the true and so

 far untapped geopolitical potential of the Soviet Party-State—the only other

 global apparatus that was already in place worldwide and that could be got

 up and running with relative ease as a rival to John Paul’s Roman Catholic

 georeligious institution.

 It quickly became apparent to Vatican analysts that Gorbachev read the

 problems of the Soviet Union as intimately related to the three areas outside

 the USSR that were already the object of John Paul’s geopolitical focus.

 On one flank, Gorbachev was faced with the fact that Western Europe,

 with West Germany as its heart, promised soon to become a community of

 300 million people with enormous economic power.

 On a second flank, the People’s Republic of China not only outstripped

 the USSR demographically, with a population of 1.5 billion, but was more

 than likely to do so technologically and economically, as well, if the Soviet

 Union remained economically stagnant.

 Finally, a still-prosperous United States, with its own stepped-up military

 clout, had renewed the stigma of international unacceptability against the

 Soviet Union. President Ronald Reagan’s often repeated “evil empire”

 epithet lay like an international shroud over every Soviet move.

 This was not the way to reach the Leninist geopolitical goal. As the

 second true geopolitician to enter the arena of the millennium endgame,

 therefore, Mikhail Gorbachev began a brand-new world agenda. Clamoring

 for attention, throwing off scintillating sparks of geopolitical dynamism and

 sheer tactical genius, he established himself on every level that mattered as

 progenitor and public hero of a new outlook for the nations.

 At one level, he conducted a personal public relations campaign that

 must have made Madison Avenue blush with envy. He wooed and won his

 two most adamant and conservative enemies among the leaders of the West,

 Ronald Reagan and England’s Margaret Thatcher. He wooed and won the

 United Nations with a bravura performance whose substance was drowned

 in the emotional tide of acceptance he created. In successive and

indefatigable travels, he wooed and won vast populations in America, West

 Germany, England, France and Italy, leaving behind him a truly global tide

 of Gorbi-mania.

 At another level, meanwhile—at the level of the mechanics of

 geopolitical innovation—by 1989, within four years of his ascendancy to

 leadership in the Soviet Union, Gorbachev had accomplished what no

 Soviet leader before him had ever thought to do, and would probably not

 have believed possible. He had forced the West into a complete, 180-degree

 reversal of its seventy-year policy toward the USSR. He forced the “Group

 of Seven” European nations to hold a seminal meeting precisely to deal

 with his presence and proposals on the world stage; and then he literally

 hijacked their meeting without even setting foot out of Moscow. And

 finally, he forced major meetings of the European nations in June and

 October 1990, to deal with unheard-of questions. Questions absolutely vital

 to the solution of the problems of the USSR and to the success of Leninist

 Marxism. Questions such as the integration of Eastern Europe, and even of

 some parts of the Soviet Union itself, into the new European power

 equation supposedly to take shape from 1992 onward.

 Every move Gorbachev made underlined for John Paul the Soviet

 leader’s complete understanding of European power as the first springboard

 of his geopolitical vision; his understanding that such power lay in a Europe

 that would run from the Atlantic to the Urals; and his understanding that the

 hinge of that power lies, as it always has, in the area of Central Europe from

 the Adriatic to the Baltic seas.

 In 1989, in a chessman’s move remarkable for its theatricality and its

 boldness, and redolent with the confidence of a master of the game,

 Gorbachev began what appeared to be the “liberation” of his Eastern

 European satellites. Thereby, in a single stroke, he accomplished a world of

 good for his cause.

 He banished the “evil empire” image from international sight. He

 removed an unbearable economic incubus from the outer carcass of the

 USSR and placed it on the West instead. And not least, he successfully

 transformed himself and his supreme leadership of the Soviet Union into

 the sine qua non of the foreign policies of the Western nations. Mr.

 Gorbachev had to be helped in every way. He must not be put at the mercy

 of the “conservative hard-liners” in the Kremlin. No truthful criticism must

 be risked of his cruel suppression of nationalism in the unwilling Soviet

republics of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, for example; nor of his

 brutality with the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Even his

 flagrant violations of the U.S.-Soviet INF missile treaty, never before off

 limits for comment and complaint, were passed over in deafening official

 silence.

 The attitude toward Gorbachev by the opening of the final decade of the

 millennium was neatly, even lyrically, summed up in a letter from a

 respected American professor of political science, published in The New

 York Times on April 27, 1990. “Mr. Gorbachev has probably made greater

 contributions to the wellbeing of humankind than any other political figure

 in history,” wrote Professor Reo M. Christenson of Miami University in

 Ohio. “… ending the cold war, reversing the arms race, liberating Eastern

 Europe, introducing democratic and economic reforms in the Soviet Union

 as rapidly as feasible, withdrawing from Afghanistan and from most of the

 Soviet international mischief-making of recent decades, and changing the

 political atmosphere for the better constitute unparalleled achievements. I

 can think of no statesman in history to have done so much.”

 Gorbachev’s greatest triumph can only be described as a phenomenal

 victory in the opening phase of the millennium endgame. For, by the early

 days of 1990, not only scholars and commentators but virtually every

 political and entrepreneurial leader of the West, on both sides of the

 Atlantic, was not only contemplating but talking and planning about

 Mikhail Gorbachev’s proposal for a new “European” community,

 comprising some 800 million people and stretching westward from the train

 yards of Vladivostok to the sun-drenched beaches of California.

 Whatever geopolitical fate might ultimately await Gorbachevism,

 Gorbachev had indeed taken up John Paul’s Poland challenge with gusto.

 He had done more than crank open the floodgates of geopolitical change.

 He had created a new mind in the West. Or, more precisely, he had got the

 West to adopt his mind and cater to his needs. He had successfully included

 the Soviet Union in the very entrails of the economic life and machinery of

 the new world aborning. From now on, Gorbachevism—and Wojtylism—

 will be potent factors activating the society of nations, even if either or both

 leaders should leave the human scene or be toppled from positions of

 supreme leadership.

 As the Pope he is, John Paul would typically pray that one day Mikhail

 Gorbachev will enter the house of God that Peter built—not because as a

Leninist he covets the Roman Church as the geopolitical power tool it is;

 and not because he needs the cooperation of the Pontiff as a fellow Slav and

 a geopolitical equal; but as a prayerful penitent. Gorbachev was baptized as

 an infant, after all; and he was a churchgoing believer in his boyhood.

 Perhaps it is not too much to hope that the Soviet leader is not totally

 impervious to the grace of his erstwhile faith.

 As the geopolitician he is, however, John Paul would just as typically not

 let such prayers and hopes, deeply genuine though they are, cloud or

 replace his crystal-clear understanding of the design Mikhail Gorbachev has

 formed for the new world order: the design he and his associates in the

 Soviet Party-State are fully confident they will install as victors in this

 “greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through.”

 There is no mystery for John Paul about Gorbachev’s design. It is the

 late-twentieth-century version of Lenin’s old “Workers’ Paradise,” but

 intelligently purged of the crudities and stupidities that marred Lenin’s

 vision. Lenin’s definition of the Proletarian Revolution, for example, has

 been expanded to encompass something much wider than the masses of

 workers. The new Leninist Revolution will liberate all people from slavery

 to the meaninglessness of daily life, including the meaninglessness formerly

 characteristic of Marxism. It will share common ground with capitalists in

 the solution of world problems. And it will do all that unremittingly and

 pointedly for man’s sake only. Man will take credit for it all in the certainty

 that man himself is the creator of all things good and pleasant.

 At the geopolitical level, the Gorbachevist design for a new world order

 envisages a condition in which all national governments as we now know

 them will cease to exist. There is to be one central governing hub located in

 Moscow and dominated exclusively by the Communist Party of the World

 (CPW). Governing structures in the various nations will be peopled with

 appointees of the CPW, and will be reproductions of the CPW in structure,

 though not in power.

 All military and security matters will be in the hands of the CPW and its

 surrogates throughout the nations. The geo-economy of the new world

 order, meanwhile, will incorporate all the practical lessons Communists

 have learned from the market economies of the Western democracies; but it

 will preserve the centralizing principle of Leninist Marxism.

 The CPW will also take charge of the cultural value system of the new

 world order. Religion will be banned. But because the spirit in man requires

a specific nourishment to which the organized religions catered in the past,

 such catering will continue as a matter of practical necessity. However, it

 will ensure that the bone and marrow of the new value system are

 constructed not of God’s worth and God’s qualities, but exclusively of

 human worth and human qualities.

 To this end, the education of each individual must be a womb-to-tomb

 affair. On the one hand, there must be constant and lifelong revision and

 reinforcement of the individual’s grasp of pure Leninism, with its emphasis

 on that individual’s total dependency on the overall directorate of the CPW.

 On the other hand, a parallel educational effort will filter out all ideas about

 civil and political rights that presently cluster around capitalist democracy

 —most notably, the notion that there are certain inalienable rights of the

 citizen that are superior to the needs of the CPW.

 Pope John Paul is aware that such a reading of Gorbachev’s geopolitical

 vision for the new world order runs counter to the hopeful rhetoric current

 in the West. Rhetoric content for the moment to purr that democracy has

 won its long battle with Leninist Marxism at last; that Gorbachev has seen

 the light at the top of the capitalist hill and is making his way bravely up

 that slope.

 Nevertheless, the reality as John Paul sees it appears to weigh in another

 direction. Mikhail Gorbachev has said straight out to the world that he is a

 Leninist, and a Leninist he will remain. In almost those very words, in fact,

 Gorbachev told the Moscow cadres of the CPSU in November of 1989, “I

 am a Leninist, devoted to achieving the goals of Leninism and the

 worldwide Leninist association of all workers under the banner of

 Marxism.” Pope John Paul has learned from long experience when to take a

 Soviet leader at his word.

 Moreover, Gorbachev does have the global machinery of the Leninist

 structure available to carry out his design; and he has the fuel of an abiding

 geo-ideology that is shared by countless millions of men and women the

 world over.

 And finally, even among the world population that may not share or care

 about the Leninist-Marxist ideal, the materialist view of human life that has

 become so rampant has already shown itself to be entirely compatible in

 important ways with Gorbachev’s classical Leninism, refurbished as it is in

 the light of historical events subsequent to Lenin’s time.

On the other side of the coin, meanwhile, two principal weaknesses dog

 Gorbachev’s every move. First, he stands or falls depending on the support

 of the KBG; the support of the Red Army Central Command Corps within

 the supersecret Soviet Defense Council of the USSR; and the support of the

 Central Committee of the CPSU. All three are Leninist to the core. He has

 to make sure that his Leninist credentials remain spotless and unsullied. For

 without that troika, Gorbachev’s chariot of geopolitical conquest would be

 immobilized. He would be finished.

 And second, he cannot with any degree of impunity jettison the

 centralized authority of the Party-State. Shorn of that authority, the USSR

 has no further reason to exist. Yet Gorbachev must, if he is to succeed in the

 endgame, build a workable bridge between that centralizing organization

 and the Western-style market economy without which his perestroika will

 never get off the ground.

 Both weaknesses provoke one torturing question for him: How far is too

 far? How far can he go in “liberating” the satellites and the dissident

 republics of the Party-State without violating the strategic requirements of

 that Party-State? How far can he liberalize the economy of the USSR

 without its de facto conversion into a capitalist system, so repugnant to his

 Leninist supporters?

 From Pope John Paul’s point of view, however, the greatest weakness of

 the Gorbachevist design for the new world order lies in its denial of God’s

 existence; in its bedrock cultivation of man as completely and solely a

 creature of nature and of the CPW. Any design based on such a principle is

 both unacceptable and unworkable, the Pope maintains, for one and the

 same reason. It is a cruel denial of man’s highest aspirations. It is a

 violation of man’s deepest instinct—to worship God; and of his deepest

 desire—to live forever, never to die.

 “The claim to build a world without God,” the Pope stated bluntly in

 Czechoslovakia during his visit in April of 1990, “has been shown to be an

 illusion…. Such a hope has already revealed itself as a tragic Utopia … for

 man is unable to be happy if the transcendent relationship with God is

 excluded.”

 On the face of it, the champions of Western capitalism—the

 Transnationalists and Internationalists of America and Europe—appear to

 be far and away the most effective and powerful architects of a new world

order, for the simple reason that their power base rests on the indispensable

 pillars of money and technology.

 Given their background and their history, these Globalists of the West

 have developed a totally different design from Gorbachev’s, both for

 establishing a new world order and, once it is in place, for nourishing and

 developing it. Their plan is to broaden the scope of what they do so well; to

 exploit democratic capitalism and democratic egalitarianism to the full. The

 new world order, they say, will develop organically from the fundamental

 idea of a nation-state democracy into a geopolitical system of world

 regulation.

 The father of this version of the new world order is to be the

 interdependence of nations. Its mother is to be that peculiarly modern

 process called international development. It is to be midwifed by the

 entrepreneur, the banker, the technocrat, the scientist and, ultimately, the

 lawyer. It is to be born between the printed sheets of compacts and

 agreements; joint ventures and mergers; contracts and covenants and

 international treaties signed and countersigned by the political bureaucrat,

 and sealed with the stamp of united nations.

 It is a tribute to the geopolitical skill of Mikhail Gorbachev that there is

 an almost perfect coincidence between the framework he has chosen as his

 method of approximating his geopolitical goals and the framework adopted

 by President Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III as the public

 leaders and spokesmen for the Transnationalist-Internationalist Globalists

 of the West. They express that framework in terms of three concentric

 spheres of international unity: the European Economic Community; Greater

 Europe, composed of the Western European states, the former Eastern

 satellites of the Soviet Union and the USSR itself; and finally, both of those

 welded geopolitically with the United States.

 Again, as Gorbachev has done, the most influential leaders of this

 Globalist group, the Wise Men of the West, have taken account of the main

 sources of disequilibrium that must be addressed before their globalist

 design for a new world order can be stabilized. The ominous threat of an

 isolated People’s Republic of China could be the spoiler and must therefore

 be offset and diverted. The role of West Germany—already powerful and

 now to be reunified with its eastern half—must be regulated in order to

 quell the fears of the Soviets and of most Western Europeans concerning

 any renascence of German imperialism. And—tribute of tributes—Mikhail

Gorbachev must be aided so that he will be able with impunity to reform

 the economico-political structure of the Soviet Union.

 If these main sources of disequilibrium can be taken care of, then—given

 the time—this third contender group in the millennium endgame sees itself

 within reach of a geopolitical structure. Indeed, the Globalists already see

 themselves in the very midst of an orderly transition—an organic evolution

 —from the divisive nation-state politics of yesterday to a new world order.

 More, they see the whole process as in the nature of a logical consequence.

 Their presumption is that the old internationalism, allied with the new

 capitalist-based transnationalism, will carry democratic egalitarianism to a

 geopolitical level. They presume, in short, that the new world order will be

 a logical consequence of yesterday’s mode of democratic politics.

 With that facile transition already visibly under way around the world,

 the Western Globalists don’t feel they are jumping the gun by much when

 they speak of the final prize to come. Just over the horizon, they say, still

 out of sight but firmly presumed to be there waiting for us all, stretch the

 smiling upland meadows of plenty for all; and not far beyond that lie the

 rolling plains of man’s continuing perfectibility.

 There is no doubt in John Paul’s mind that the Western Globalists are

 true and powerful contenders in the millennium endgame; or that they are

 already determining certain contours and aspects of our global life. But that

 is not to deny specific and practical weaknesses of an important kind in the

 West’s position.

 Of the three principal contenders in the struggle to form a new world

 order, the Western capitalists are the only ones who must still form a truly

 geopolitical structure. The most serious question they face, therefore, is

 whether there can in fact be an organic evolution of the democratic

 egalitarianism of the capitalist camp into a geopolitical mode.

 In this vein, surely it was the recent democratic evolution in Eastern

 Europe that prompted Francis Fukuyama, a Harvard-trained official in the

 American State Department, to argue categorically that there can be no

 organic evolution of democratic egalitarianism into anything further of its

 own kind. To argue, in fact, that there is no evolution of political thought

 possible beyond the idea of liberal democracy.

 So adamant is Mr. Fukuyama that his persuasion amounts to nothing less

 than an interdict. A serious argument taken seriously that human thought in

 the matter of democratic government has reached the outer limit. A serious

argument that, if history can be defined not as a series of events, but as the

 living force of new ideas incarnated in political institutions adequate to

 vehicle those ideas, then the history of democratic egalitarianism is at an

 end.

 The fundamental idea of democracy—government of, for and by the

 people, with its ancillary institutions guaranteeing both continuity in

 government and fundamental rights on the personal and civic levels of life

 —is inviolable in its structural elements. Take away any element—the right

 to vote, say; or the right of free association—and the entire structure loses

 its integrity. Tip the balance in favor of one institutional arm—executive

 over legislative, or legislative over judicial—and the orderly system is

 jiggered. Adopt only one proviso of democracy—take the right of free

 association again—or even three or four, and as Mr. Gorbachev is presently

 learning the hard way, you will not have anything resembling the

 democratic egalitarianism of the United States or Great Britain.

 The fact of the matter is, however, that any geopolitical structure worthy

 of the name would necessitate an entirely different regime of rights and

 duties. In a truly one-world order, it would not be possible to regulate an

 election of high officials in the same manner as democratic egalitarianism

 requires. General referenda would also be impossible.

 So obvious has this difficulty been—and for far longer than Mr.

 Fukuyama has been on the scene—that warning scenarios have long since

 been prepared in the democratic capitalist camp itself. Scenarios that show

 in considerable detail just how and why, in the transition to a world order,

 the various processes of democracy would have to be shouldered by select

 groups, themselves picked by other select groups.

 It takes little imagination to see that such a situation is not likely to lead

 to egalitarianism, democratic or otherwise. Nor is it likely to lead to wide

 rolling plains and smiling upland meadows of popular contentment.

 Even if the most dour assessments of the globalist structure that is likely

 to come out of the capitalist design are correct, that is not the only weakness

 faced by the West. Intent as they are on winning the competition, the

 Western democracies tend to conceal from themselves two additional

 problems that are paramount in John Paul’s assessment of their likelihood

 of success.

 The first is the problem of time. There is not at the present moment a

 geopolitical structure—or even the model for such a structure—native to

democratic egalitarianism or born from its own specific sociopolitical

 principles. Quite apart from the stark Fukuyama interdict, which indicates

 that such an elaboration of democratic egalitarianism is now impossible,

 there does not seem to be any leeway of time available for the champions of

 Western democracy to attempt such an elaboration. The speed and urgency

 of events, together with the ongoing geopolitical readiness of

 Gorbachevism, afford no leisure for cautious experimentation. A new world

 order is all but upon us, demanding a geopolitical structure in the immediate

 here and now.

 The second is the problem of morality: of a moral base as the necessary

 mooring for any system of government, whether national or global. In and

 of itself, capitalism does not have, nor does it require for its specific

 functioning, any moral precept or code of morality. What currently passes

 for such a moral base is nothing more than moral exigency; pressing needs

 calling for immediate action are responded to on a situation-by-situation

 basis.

 Speaking at Prague Castle on April 21, 1990, John Paul was pointed in

 his warning to the newly liberated Czechoslovaks that in getting rid of

 Communism, they should not replace it with “the secularism, indifference,

 hedonistic consumerism, practical materialism, and also the formal atheism

 that plague the West.”

 Already John Paul sees that the exigencies forced by Gorbachev and

 Gorbachevism upon the Western democracies can and do evoke from them

 the same brand of ruthlessness and incompassion that the Soviets have long

 displayed as a daily behaviorism. He has already seen, for example, the

 United States’ attitude to the rape and genocide of Tibet; to the cruel

 oppression of democracy in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and in the PRC; to

 the Indonesian genocide of the East Timorese; and to the war of

 extermination Syria’s Hafez Assad has waged against Christian

 communities in his land.

 It is sufficiently evident, therefore, at least to Pope John Paul, that as

 Mikhail Gorbachev elaborates his ideological position within the new

 architecture of Europe, the main trends of the new global society begin to

 take on the color of Gorbachev’s Leninist-Marxist design.

 Put another way, it is sufficiently evident that, if Gorbachev’s greatest

 geopolitical triumph to date has been the creation of a new mind in the West

 that is compatible with his great Leninist design for the new world order,

then the corollary weakness for the capitalists’ design lies in the fact that

 the Western Globalists think they are in charge of the forces of change.

 Admittedly, there is little quarrel between Gorbachev and the capitalists

 about the need they both see to fill our bellies with fresh food, and our

 minds with fresh knowledge, and our world with fresh air and water.

 The difficulty comes, however, with the Leninist proviso embedded

 within Gorbachevism that we must never more repeat the famous cry of the

 German philosopher Martin Heidegger: “I know that only God can save

 us.”

 Even granting Western Globalists the necessary time to achieve their

 one-world design, therefore, the questions of structure and moral

 underpinning lead Pope John Paul, with many others, to anticipate the total

 effect of the Western Globalist model on the society of nations.

 Good intentions notwithstanding, one can foresee the demise of

 democratic egalitarianism as we have known it. One can predict the rise of

 massive bureaucracies to govern every phase of civic development. One can

 expect the insertion of the statist element in all phases of private life, and

 the slow elimination of compassion; of good taste; of the wild hopefulness

 that has made mankind venturesome in this cosmos; and finally of truth

 itself as the basic rule of the human mind in its quest for knowledge.

 Unfortunately for us all, the basic lesson is not quickly learned that on

 this new globalist plane, once a geopolitical structure is established,

 powerful forces take over that are difficult to change. As Czechoslovakia’s

 new leader, Vaclav Havel, has already observed, “In organizational decrees,

 it is truly difficult to find that God who is the only one who can save us.”

 The contemporary world over which Pope John Paul casts his wide

sweeping gaze is not a tidy place. It is cluttered with all manner of groups,

 large and small, able to command greater or lesser publicity, all making

 their own globalist claims.

 Well before Karol Wojtyla took up his own position in the geopolitical

 arena as Pope, in fact, many such groups had already claimed a place on the

 world stage. Some were inspired by the creation of the United Nations.

 Others who disliked that institution proposed their own form of globalism.

 Still other groups, ancient and modern, elaborated extensive plans in the

 name of some religious belief or philosophy about human life.

 Common to all of these aspiring globalist contenders is the fact that, of

 themselves, they lack even the most basic tools for practical geopolitical

contention. They have neither an extensive, articulated organization nor

 even the means to network all the nations, much less the power to entrain

 the world in the globalist way of life of their choice.

 Some of these groups have simply decided to wait out their own

 geopolitical impotence in the belief that someday they will somehow

 achieve a global status and capacity commensurate with their ambitions.

 Of principal interest to John Paul in terms of their present influence,

 however, are certain more venturesome groups, who plan to piggyback a

 ride to global status and supremacy by straddling any vehicle that appears

 to be headed in their direction.

 Such in particular are the thousands of New Agers in our midst. And

 such, too, are the so-called Mega-Religionists—those who are persuaded,

 and who work to persuade us all, that all religions of the world are fusing

 into one globe-spanning mega-religion of mankind.

 The members and spokesmen of both of these groups wax poetic about

 their vision. In their imagined grand design, the new world order will be

 one great Temple of Human Understanding. The truly global home of all

 nations will still resound with the languages of every race and tribe; but

 they will all be harmonized into one. Their Temple of Human

 Understanding will be roofed over with the all-inclusive allegiance to the

 common good. Its walls will be decorated with the icons of the new values

 —peacefulness; healthfulness; respect for Earth and environmental

 devotion. But over all, there will be the great icon of Understanding. What

 divinity exists will be accepted as incarnate in man; divinity of, for and by

 —and only within—mankind. All other shapes and concepts of divinity will

 melt—are already melting; fusing gently and irresistibly into the

 Understanding of mankind’s own inherent and godly power to fashion its

 own destiny.

 The chief interest of these groups for Pope John Paul is that they spend

 their days leeching off of the geopolitical power of others. Intent upon

 predisposing as many minds as possible to the task of achieving heaven on

 earth, they have developed infiltration to a high art. Chameleon-like, they

 are to be found basking at the height of power everywhere in the West—in

 Transnationalist boardrooms and Internationalist bureaucracies; in the

 hierarchies of the Roman, Orthodox and other Christian churches; in major

 Jewish and Islamic enclaves already dedicated to the total Westernization of

 culture and civilization.

Neither New Agers nor Mega-Religionists are any less helpless finally

 than the many globalist pretenders crowding at the edges of the arena where

 the millennium endgame has already developed into a game of power—

 power understood, power possessed and power exercised.

 Beset by delusions of grandeur and illusions of a favorable geopolitical

 future for themselves, New Agers and Mega-Religionists not only lack a

 geostructure. They must go a-begging for bits of georeligion and pieces of

 geo-ideology; and they are totally bereft of a realistic and rounded geo

mind-set.

 The important effect of these globalist dreamers in the geopolitical

 contest is the weight they add to the forces already intent upon disposing

 the world toward the idea of an earthly Utopia and away from any

 knowledge of the transcendent truth of a loving God who, as John Paul is

 convinced, has a very different design in store than any they are able to

 imagine.

 Among the primary contenders dominating the economic and political

 moves to form and control the new world order, Pope John Paul stands

 apart in several ways.

 He is, first, the only one of the three whose vision of the grand design for

 that world order has undergone an abrupt revision of the most major kind.

 And he is the only one who has, from the first moment of his assumption of

 power, faced a concerted effort from within his own organization—indeed,

 on the part of some of the most powerfully placed members of his hierarchy

 —to wrest his entire georeligious and geopolitical structure from his control

 as Pontiff. An entrenched effort to take the Keys from Peter, and to divide

 the spoils of power that lie uniquely within his authority.

 By contrast, and for all of Mikhail Gorbachev’s genius as an innovative

 and imaginative geopolitician, the Soviet leader is heir to a mentality and an

 organization that remain committed to Leninist ideology and goals,

 however they are to be achieved. And, for all of his difficulties as he tries to

 steer the Soviet Union into the river of Western European progress—

 avoiding shipwreck on the rock of Stalinist hard-lining as best he can, while

 maneuvering around the hard place of implosion and disintegration of the

 Leninist system—he has never been at the mercy of forces within his own

 house that clamor for an end result any different from the one he himself is

 after. Neither the problems Gorbachev faces, nor the bold and

 unprecedented means he has adopted to overcome those problems, provide

John Paul with realistic and persuasive evidence that Gorbachev’s vision for

 the ultimate grand design is at odds either with Lenin’s seminal vision or

 with the aims of the most powerful elements of his own Party. The quarrel

 in the USSR is not over the end to be desired, but over the means to achieve

 that end.

 The Wise Men of the West likewise proceed in the same hope they have

 always shared that their animating spirit will be sufficient to propagate

 democratic egalitarianism into a coherent geopolitical structure, and never

 mind the nay-sayers. They are as one in their intent to give the lie to the

 medieval maxim “Hope is a good companion, but a bad guide.” Even the

 fact that they have been forced by Gorbachev into a deep revision of their

 earlier plans is not in itself a revolutionary change; for it has been true more

 often than not over the past seventy years that Soviet leadership has been

 the active agent in international affairs and that the West has made hay out

 of its role as a powerful reactive agent. There may be as many opinions in

 the West as there are in the Soviet Union about which path to follow in any

 specific situation. But about the end result that is desired and sought, there

 is no bedrock disunity. In that sense at least, the West is not a house that is

 irreparably divided.

 ·   ·   ·

 When John Paul started into the millennium endgame—when he

 initiated it—all of his moves were tied to his clear but decidedly long-range

 vision that he could supersede the plans of both East and West; and, further,

 that he could leaven and finally supplant those superpower plans with some

 system that would tie the condition of the whole world no longer to the

 success barometers in Moscow and Washington but to the legitimate and

 absolute needs of the whole of mankind.

 Even had any of the world leaders in 1978 and 1979 known what John

 Paul had in mind in their regard, none of them would have ventured a guess

 that the Middle European hotbed of nineteenth-century politics and wars

 would become the actual arena of the late-twentieth-century contest for

 world hegemony. For, to all intents and purposes, those leaders accepted the

 Iron Curtain as a permanent element of international life; as a kind of

 reliable center they could count on as they moved forward with their

 contentious agendas.

 It was expected by most that the United States, Western Europe and

 Japan would continue as the trilateral giants of their camp. It was expected

by those giants themselves that, over time, they would be able to weave and

 extend a net of profound change in the conditions of life around the world.

 It was expected that, over time, such profound change would lead to the

 creation of a geopolitical house in which the society of nations would live

 happily ever after. It was expected further that, over time, as the West built

 the sinews of a new world on the foundations of its technological,

 commercial and developmental prowess, it would simultaneously wear

 down the Soviet Union by the same means.

 John Paul’s program was intent upon sweeping all such plans aside. The

 suffering caused by the East-West divide was too intense—too urgent and

 too widespread—to be acceptable as the permanent center or the reliable

 element in anybody’s plans. He came to the papacy, therefore, certain in the

 knowledge that the old order had to go.

 Moreover, the Holy Father’s own certainty that the locus of change must

 lie within Eastern Europe was not mere whim or contrariness or personal

 will. It was not even luck or untutored intuition. It was based on the careful

 penetration of what the West had long regarded as the Soviet enigma. It was

 rooted in the facts of hard-nosed intelligence; facts he analyzed without the

 impediment of an ideology rooted in the motives of profit or seduced by the

 siren song of raw power.

 Pope John Paul was not surprised, therefore, by his early victory in

 Poland in 1979. Nor was he surprised that it was not the West, but the

 Soviet Union—the constant catalyst of twentieth-century affairs—that saw

 its advantage in shifting the locus of significant activity away from the

 agenda that had been fixed by the trilateral allies for their own advantage,

 and toward Eastern Europe, where the USSR needed early solutions to

 grave problems.

 First, as he planned it then, he would introduce step-by-step and

 carefully balanced alterations in the sociocultural forces already deeply at

 work in Poland, not as a governmental entity but as a nation of people. His

 aim was to provide a model the Soviet Union could follow to ease the

 mounting pressures besetting the Politburos in Warsaw and Moscow; and to

 do that without spooking them in the areas of their military security and

 political dominance in that key sector of Eastern Europe.

 With that delicate purpose in mind, and with the on-site cooperation of

 Cardinal Wyszynski and his Polish hierarchy, who were already past

 masters at such activity, the first instrument the Pope fomented—Solidarity

—was devised purely and simply as a model of sociocultural liberty.

 Pointedly, he did not demand or want for it a political role; nor did he

 envision for it any action that would precipitate a Soviet-inspired security or

 military backlash.

 The sociocultural model in and of itself was not an original idea. It

 traced back at least as far as the argument set out by Thomas Aquinas seven

 hundred years ago to the effect that the two seminal and ineradicable loves

 of any individual human being are the love of God and the love of one’s

 native country; and, further, that these can live and flourish only within the

 framework of a religious nationalism.

 The greatest significance of Solidarity, therefore, was to be its function

 as a modern laboratory of sociocultural liberty rooted entirely and

 sufficiently in religious nationalism. If it was totally successful, it would be

 an important new ingredient introduced into the dough of international

 affairs that would produce a slow leavening of the materialist mind

 dominating East and West alike.

 Even without total success, however, Solidarity would be an unbloody

 battleground for a choice John Paul was certain would have to be made. A

 choice, on the one hand, for the sociocultural religious nationalism

 vindicated in Poland by the Pontiff’s mentor, Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski,

 and championed in the Soviet Union itself first by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

 and more recently by Igor Shafarevich. Or, conversely, a choice for the

 opposing sociopolitical model personified in the Soviet Union mainly by

 Andrei Sakharov and in Poland by the two well-known activists Adam

 Michnik and Jacek Kuron: a model totally based on the Western ideal of

 democratic egalitarianism.

 To some degree, then, Solidarity was the first international arena in

 which John Paul’s early idea—his early vision, if you will, of religious

 nationalism as the vehicle for sociocultural freedom—made its debut in the

 hostile territory of the Soviet Union, and at the same time went head-to

head with the basic premise of the capitalist superpower.

 Solidarity alone would not do the trick, of course. The melting of the

 Soviet iceberg of materialist, anti-Church and anti-God intransigence

 would, as John Paul saw the matter in 1979, be an intricate affair of papal

 policy that he would begin. But it would continue into another pontificate

 after he himself had joined his predecessors in the papal crypt beneath the

 altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.

While time was thus not the primary factor for the Pope in those early

 years of his reign, still he wasted not a moment in setting the broader lines

 of his new policy with respect to the USSR. And the manner in which he

 proceeded was instructive concerning his whole approach to Vatican

 politics.

 The policy toward the Soviet Union initiated in 1959–60 by Pope John

 XXIII, and subsequently elaborated from 1963 to 1978 into the wellknown

 Ostpolitik of the Vatican under Pope Paul VI, presented a practical problem

 for John Paul. For, at its heart, it was the same policy of containment that

 the Western powers had adopted toward the USSR of Joseph Stalin in the

 forties and that they had followed ever since. Its essence was to contain

 Soviet aggression; to react to Soviet moves; and to wait for some favorable

 evolution within the Soviet system.

 Whatever the results of such an Ostpolitik for capitalist democracy, it

 was a barren policy for religion and for the Church. It promised only silent

 martyrdom amid the slow erosion of all religious tradition by the steady

 pressures of a professional antireligion. It was a seemingly perpetual tunnel

 with no light at the end, filled merely with the ever-encroaching darkness of

 spreading godlessness.

 Nonetheless, Pope John Paul made it clear that he would not abrogate

 the policies of his predecessors. Practically speaking, it would have been

 difficult and even counterproductive to do so in any case, for diplomatic

 protocols with some Eastern European countries had already been signed,

 and others were in train.

 The solution for John Paul lay in the fact that there was nothing in the

 Vatican’s Ostpolitik, and nothing in the Vatican protocols, to keep him from

 attempting an end run around the Soviet Party-State. In precisely such a

 move, the new Holy Father set about building closer and ever closer ties

 with the Russian Orthodox Church and with Eastern Orthodoxy in general.

 This papal end run included certain overt moves—John Paul visited the

 Greek Orthodox center in Istanbul, for example; and he received and openly

 favored visits to the Vatican by Orthodox prelates. But there were also

 constant covert moves originating in Poland and radiating into western parts

 of the USSR, moves that fostered a common religious bond between

 Eastern European Roman Catholics and Russian Orthodox communities.

 Later historians with access to records unavailable today will document

 the successes of John Paul’s end-run policies and their basic premise.

Suffice it to say now that, in spite of the official prostitution of the Russian

 Orthodox Church to the ideological policies of the Party-State, John Paul’s

 efforts nourished within that Church a genuinely Christian core of prelates

 and people eager once and for all to reenter the mainstream of European

 Christianity as vindicated by papal Rome; and eager as well to renounce the

 role, accepted once upon a time by Russian Orthodox Church authorities, as

 servants of the Soviet Party-State in the fomentation of worldwide

 revolution.

 By the opening of the eighties, about half of the Orthodox prelates were

 already secretly prepared, if the opportunity were afforded, to place

 themselves under the ecclesial unity of the Roman Pope. A sociocultural

 leavening had been produced within the Russian Orthodox Church. While

 the Vatican’s official Ostpolitik remained undisturbed, a deep cultural

 change was being effected covertly within the body of Russian Orthodox

 believers that could lead in the long run—as all deep cultural changes do—

 to sociopolitical change.

 Yet another factor the Pope reckoned as working for his new policy of

 stirring up change in the Soviet Union was the information revolution

 taking place worldwide. Launched in the West, and already producing a

 global invasion of practical knowledge into the business of international

 linkage and development, this was not a factor under John Paul’s control.

 But it could only work hand in glove with the sociocultural change so

 essential for his stategy in the Soviet Union. For the information revolution

 would inevitably mean the dawning of the factual truth about things on the

 minds of Soviet citizens. Factual truth about past history, for one thing; and

 about present economic and social conditions in the world. The kind of

 truth that would help free those citizens from the darksome toils of the Big

 Lie foisted on them by the Party-State.

 John Paul achieved some remarkable successes in the dynamic pursuit of

 his independent policies to sow the seeds of sociocultural change in the

 geopolitical soil of the East. Indeed, his assault on the Soviet monolith was

 key to the 1989 liberation of the Eastern European states. And by 1990—

 almost overnight, as it seemed to the inattentive—whole blocs of Russian

 believers voted themselves and their church property back into the Roman

 Catholic fold.

 Nevertheless, this was not a pope for halfhearted ventures, nor for half

 an international policy. His end run around Soviet officialdom was not a

religious gambit, but a geopolitical strategy, and it was therefore joined to a

 twin policy toward the West. His concern, in other words, was not only to

 produce a change in the policies of what Cardinal Wyszynski had always

 called the Red Internationale of the USSR. At least as much of his

 attention, and a great deal more of his physical energy, was devoted to a

 change in the increasingly materialist, antiChurch and anti-God stance of

 the Golden Internationale of the Western capitalist nations.

 It was significant in that regard that the Solidarity experiment with

 which the Pontiff was so deeply involved in his Polish homeland would

 quickly fire the popular imagination, and the deep concern of all truly

 democratic minds, in the Western nations. But the deepest and broadest

 effects of John Paul’s policies were produced in the West as a direct

 consequence of his crisscrossing lines of world travel. By those travels he

 achieved a high international profile; he made his ideas current coinage

 among world leaders; and in countries that were battlegrounds between East

 and West, he was able to juxtapose those ideas persuasively with Leninist

Marxist ideas. Within a brief time, it became so clear that Pope John Paul

 had taken his due place among the nations’ leaders that—after over a

 hundred years of an attitude that passed for a policy, an attitude regarded by

 some as “Hands off this political hot potato”—even the United States

 reestablished formal diplomatic relations between Washington and the

 Vatican.

 At the same time he was making such geopolitical headway, however—

 and despite urgent advice from some of his most trusted and certainly his

 most loyal advisers, as well as a mounting cry of anguish from ordinary

 believers who were subjected to extraordinary displays of un-Catholicity

 among bishops, clergy and religious around the world—the Pontiff

 neglected almost totally what many argued was his primary problem and

 responsibility. He put off indefinitely any attempt to reform his own

 Church, or even to arrest the accelerating deterioration of its universal

 integrity.

 The surprising thing was that this was not negligence in office

 occasioned by the heat of his geopolitical agenda. As in the case of his

 choice not to abrogate the Vatican’s formal Ostpolitik, it was a conscious

 decision on the Pontiff’s part. As early as 1980, in fact, John Paul was frank

 in declaring that a reform of his rapidly deteriorating Church—or even an

 attempt to arrest that deterioration—was an impossibility at that stage of his

pontificate. In his gradation of papal values, the geopolitics of power took

 precedence over the geopolitics of faith. Reform of his churchly institution

 would he vehicled on the global change he was pursuing with such

 intelligence and vigor.

 That was essentially the agenda and the climate in Pope John Paul II’s

 Vatican for the first two and a half years of his pontificate. As revolutionary

 as his geopolitical vision was, it was keyed to and gridded upon nothing

 more astounding than an educated understanding of human affairs. Like the

 Wise Men of the West, in a certain sense he took time for granted. He

 remained comfortable in the persuasion that the shift from the old

 internationalism to a more truly geopolitical globalism would be a gradual

 affair: that it would come on the long finger of slow and laborious historical

 changes. He presumed that as the gradual changes he was sowing within the

 geopolitics of power would bear more and more fruit, so too the

 preeminence of the geopolitics of faith would emerge.

 Nothing short of the rudest shock of ultimate reality—of life and death

 and the inescapable will of God—would change that mind-set.

 At a certain moment on May 15, 1981, during an open-air papal

 audience in St. Peter’s Square, in the presence of some 75,000 people and

 before the eyes of an estimated 11 million television viewers, Pope John

 Paul spied a little girl wearing a small picture of Christ’s mother as Our

 Lady of Fatima. Just as he bent from his slow-moving “popemobile” in a

 spontaneous gesture toward the child, hired assassin Mehmet Ali Agea

 squeezed off two bullets, aimed precisely where his head had been. As two

 pilgrims fell wounded to the ground, two more shots rang out, and this time

 John Paul’s blood stained his white papal cassock.

 Robust though he was, it took six months of painful convalescence for

 the Pope to recover. During that time he had the strength and the nobility of

 soul to receive in private audience the sorrowing mother of his Turkish

 assassin-designate. Motivated by the love of Christ, and by that ancient

 principle of powerful men to “know thine enemy,” he also went to see Ali

 Agca in his prison cell. In quasi-confessional intimacy, John Paul talked

 with the man who knew the enemy who had commissioned so grisly a

 desecration.

 The attempted assassination of John Paul shocked the world as a planned

 act of high sacrilege. In its immediate intent, however, that most vile act

 had no religious significance. For it was an act committed against the Pope

not as a religious leader but as a geopolitician well along on the highroad of

 success. The wrath that had boiled up in homicidal anger, and that by the

 remotest and most covert control had guided the actions of Ali Agea on that

 day, was the wrath of important hegemonic interests separated from St.

 Peter’s Square by huge distances of land and water. Interests unwilling to

 see this Pope reintroduce the Holy See as an independent and

 uncontrollable force in international affairs.

 Already John Paul’s successes in Poland had jiggered alliances presumed

 to have been inviolable. As he had widened the ambit of his attention and

 his energies, he had consistently shown himself to be a leader capable of

 carrying out his intention to shape events, and to determine the success or

 failure of secular policies for the new world order. He had not opened the

 new game of nations by chance, as some had originally thought. He was not

 some papal Alice who had carelessly fallen down a geopolitical rabbit hole

 and then wondered where he had landed. He was a purposeful contender for

 power, who cast a shadow that already blocked the light of success from the

 eyes of some with diametrically opposed plans for the geopolitical future of

 the society of nations. Better, then, to cut that shadow down to the abject

 shades of death in the noonday glare of the Italian sun.

 Given the fact that the attempt to murder him was itself a badge of his

 geopolitical success, there was no earthly reason to expect John Paul to

 change his vision of the new world order or his agenda to influence it. It

 was not lost on him, however, that the attempt on his life had taken place on

 May 13. Or that a series of very curious supernatural events—events of

 intimate interest to the papacy—had begun on May 13, 1917, in the obscure

 Portuguese hamlet of Fatima, and had ended there on October 13 of the

 same year with a miracle centered on the Virgin Mary and her apparent

 power to control the sun in spectacular ways. Nor, finally, was it lost on him

 that, but for the picture of the Virgin of Fatima pinned to the blouse of a

 little girl, his skull would have been shattered by the first bullets out of Ali

 Agca’s gun.

 Given such circumstances, it would have been a stony papal heart indeed

 that could have refused to reexamine the compelling events that had taken

 place at Fatima over five months, from spring to fall, in 1917.

 Like most Catholics the world over, Karol Wojtyla had been acquainted

 for as long as he could remember with most of the facts about Fatima. The

 Virgin Mary had appeared several times to three peasant children; she had

confided to them certain admonitions and instructions, including a detailed

 set of instructions and predictions that were intended for papal action at a

 certain time in the future; and she had ended her visits in October with a

 miracle that recalled for many the Bible verse that tells of a “Woman

 Clothed with the Sun, and giving birth to a Son who will rule the Nations

 with a scepter of iron.”

 Once elected Pope in 1978, John Paul had become privy to the papal

 instructions and predictions Mary had entrusted in confidence to the

 children at Fatima. That part of her message dealt with matters of

 tribulation for the Roman Catholic institutional organization, and with the

 troubled future of mankind in general.

 Like his two predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI, Pope John Paul had

 long since accepted the authenticity of the Fatima events of 1917. In fact, he

 had been rooted and reared in a certain special intimacy Poles have always

 cultivated with Mary as the mother of God; and his papal motto reflected

 his personal and public dedication to her. Still, as those same predecessors

 had done, John Paul had always taken the papal instructions and predictions

 of Fatima as a matter for the future. “This matter,” John XXIII had written

 of Fatima in 1960, “does not concern Our time.” This matter, Pope John

 Paul had concluded in 1978, does not concern my pontificate. Based on the

 facts available, it seemed a legitimate judgment call at the time.

 Now, however—after what were arguably the very pointed events that

 had taken place in St. Peter’s Square; after exhaustive examination of the

 documents and living witnesses and participants connected with the Fatima

 events themselves; and after nothing less than a personal communication

 from Heaven during his long convalescence—John Paul was all but forced

 to face the full meaning of Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski’s familiar maxim

 that “certain events are willed by the Lord of History, and they shall take

 place.”

 More, he came face-to-face with the realization that, far from pointing to

 some distant future time, the contents of the now famous Fatima message—

 and, specifically, the secret contents directed to papal attention—amounted

 to a geopolitical agenda attached to an immediate timetable.

 Gone was the Pope’s agenda in which Central Europe figured as the

 primary springboard for lasting geopolitical change, or as the strategic base

 from which he could slowly interact with and leaven the policies of East

 and West alike to satisfy the patient demands of God’s justice. Instead, there

was now no doubt in John Paul’s mind that Heaven’s agenda had located

 the catalyst of geopolitical change in Russia.

 Gone, too, was the Pope’s presumed time frame involving a leisurely and

 relatively peaceful evolution from the traditional system of sovereign and

 interacting nation-states to a veritable new world order. Instead, there was

 now no doubt in John Paul’s mind that in Heaven’s agenda, all would be

 thrown into the cauldron of human judgment gone awry; of human evil

 sanctioned by men as normal; of unparalleled natural catastrophes, and

 catastrophes caused by the panic of once regnant power brokers scrambling

 to retain some semblance of their once secure hegemonies, and for their

 own very survival.

 When Pope John Paul had left the Apostolic Palace to greet and bless the

 people in St. Peter’s Square that May 13 of 1981, he had done so as the

 leading practitioner of the geopolitics of power. By the time he took up his

 full papal schedule again six months later, his entire papal strategy had been

 raised to the level upon which the “Lord of History” arranges the

 geopolitics of faith.

 This is not to say, however, that he was out of the millennium endgame;

 or that Fatima had done what Ali Agca’s bullets could not—removed him

 as a leader to be reckoned with in the contention for power in the new world

 order.

 On the contrary, it would seem that all through history, Heaven’s

 mandates appear to involve the servants of its designs more deeply and

 more confidently than ever in the major affairs of the world. In its essence,

 in fact, Fatima became for John Paul something like the famed Heavenly

 mandate and guarantee of success proffered to Constantine on the eve of his

 battle at the Milvian Bridge. Suddenly, Constantine had seen the Sign of the

 Cross appear in the sky, accompanied by the Latin words In hoc signo

 vinces. “In this sign you will conquer.” Improbable as it was, Constantine

 took that sign as anything but unrealistic or unworldly. He took it as a

 guarantee. With miraculous confidence, he not only conquered at the

 Milvian Bridge but proceeded to conquer his entire world, transforming it

 into what became the new civilization of Christianity.

 True, Pope John Paul was not a sword-toting conqueror; and at Fatima,

 Mary hadn’t exactly said, “In this sign you will conquer.” But she had given

 a mandate that was every bit as clear. And as a consequence, in the light of

 what he now understood his situation to be, the millennium endgame

became as important and as urgent for John Paul as the international

 situation had become for Constantine in his time.

 With stunning clarity, the Pope now knew that there was even less time

 left than he had thought for the old adversarial juxtaposition of East and

 West that still held sway in 1981 across the face of Europe and the wide

 world.

 Moreover, he knew with equal clarity that his careful and detailed

 assessment of the contemporary geopolitics of power was correct, but that

 its significance lay in the fact that the game of power itself would be played

 out in a totally different manner than he had previously expected.

 And finally, he knew that he could not be less involved than before in the

 millennium endgame. Rather, with supreme personal confidence, and with a

 tranquillity that would confound many of his adversaries, he would plunge

 his pontificate with ever greater energy into the game of nations that would

 soon enough engulf the entire world, before spending itself like raging

 waters poured out on cement.

 If the Pontiff’s understanding of Heaven’s geopolitical agenda for our

 time—his outlook and expectations for the near term of history—seems too

 stark and unsettling to fit today’s common superstition that God is incapable

 of anything but acceptance of man on man’s own terms, John Paul knows

 something about man’s own terms. He knows from long and bitter personal

 experience that the raw exercise of the geopolitics of power inflicts far

 deeper hurt and barrenness in suffering and death than the God of Love

 would wreak on his children through the geopolitics of faith. He knows that

 the greatest divine punishment would be like balm compared to the

 inhumanity and ruthlessness of such a godless society as either Leninist

 Marxism or democratic capitalism is capable of generating.

 And if, to the modern mind of his competitors in the millennium

 endgame, John Paul’s finalized geopolitical stance seems too deeply based

 on transcendental matters, too dependent on invisible reality and on “the

 substance of things to come,” that is a problem that time and events have

 already taken care of. For, within a scant four years of the change in John

 Paul’s geopolitical outlook, thrust so brusquely upon him between the

 spring and the fall of 1981, Mikhail Gorbachev emerged from the heartland

 of Russia, right on schedule, as the agent of unimagined and unimaginable

 change in the old world order. Suddenly, nothing—not even the Kremlin

fortress in Moscow itself—seemed permanent. Suddenly, the whole world

 was expectant.

 Clearly, the new agenda—Heaven’s agenda; the Grand Design of God

 for the new world order—had begun. And Pope John Paul would stride now

 in the arena of the millennium endgame as something more than a

 geopolitical giant of his age. He was, and remains, the serene and confident

 Servant of the Grand Design.

 While Pope John Paul engages himself in the totally new agenda for a

 totally new world order, there is one area crucial to his success where his

 early policies have not changed at all. Anybody who examines the Pontiff’s

 governance of his Roman Catholic institutional organization since 1978

 must come away stunned at the deterioration that began during the fifteen

year reign of Pope Paul VI, and that the present Pope has neither reversed

 nor arrested.

 Whatever may have been his grave policy decision in this matter, and

 while nobody in his right mind would assess John Paul as anything but a

 thoroughly Catholic soul and an intensely professional pope, the conclusion

 is inescapable that there has been no reliable sign from his papal office that

 a reform of his Church has even been seriously mounted.

 The overall result of that policy for the Roman Church has been

 profound. But in one key area—the area of papal privilege, and of the papal

 power embodied in the sacred symbol of the Petrine Keys—the policy has

 been disastrous. For it has enabled those in the Church bent on an antipapal

 agenda—the anti-Church within the Church—to arrive within touching

 distance of their main objective; namely, the effective elimination of papal

 power itself as an operative factor in the administration of the Roman

 Catholic structure and in the life of the Roman Catholic institution.

 This policy decision of John Paul’s is the more puzzling because, while

 it bears directly on the obvious fragmentation of the Church Universal, if

 there is one aspect of that Church upon which this Pope lays continual

 emphasis, it is unity. The fact remains, however, that because he has

 steadfastly refused to discipline his bishops, he has no means to resist the

 planned ways in which many of those bishops, through such regional

 bureaucratic organizations as the National Catholic Conference of Bishops

 in the United States, for example, and the European Conference of Bishops

 —to name just two among many—have in effect deprived bishops as

 individuals of their consecrated power to govern their individual dioceses.

The result is something that has never before existed in the Roman

 Church. An anonymous and impersonal force has been created, centered in

 the regional Bishops’ Conferences around the world, which has now begun

 to exercise its own power in contravention of papal power.

 So far has this situation progressed already that—even though their

 actions often imply and sometimes condone deep departures from the

 traditional teaching and the moral laws of the Roman Catholic Church—

 such regional intra-Church groups are consistent in claiming both autonomy

 for themselves and special discernment concerning doctrine and morals in

 their separate regions.

 It is true that this victory of in-Church papal enemies is only a de facto

 affair; that nowhere and by no explicit statement has Pope John Paul

 formally renounced his Petrine power. But that is cold comfort for those

 who find his huge gamble with the Petrine Office the most frightening

 element of John Paul’s papal policy. It is all very well, warn some papal

 advisers, that the Pope refuses to bless the work of those intent upon

 shattering the Rock of Peter. But the effective catalyst here is the Pontiff’s

 abstention from exercising his papal power in matters critical to Church

 governance. And, the warning continues, unless the Pope begins to extirpate

 those who are silently and covertly sapping the foundations of papal

 privilege and power upon which his Church rests, then into the bargain he

 might just as well give his blessing to the anti-Church.

 That may be an extreme sentiment, especially for men who do remain

 faithful, and who do accord to John Paul the deference due him as Pope; but

 it is a sentiment that is understandable. For while the Pope tarries, his in

Church enemies—those who arc sworn to rid the earth of the papacy as a

 centralized governing institution—use this strange and unsettling policy of

 John Paul’s as a comfortable highway leading to their own ultimate victory.

 Day by day, these papal advisers and advocates see the desuetude and

 obsolescence of the papacy more fully confirmed as a fact of life. In that

 situation, and as human affairs go, they foresee that the bulk of Roman

 Catholics can more and more easily be induced to look upon Rome much as

 they look upon St. Paul’s of London—as a venerable institution with its

 classic dome and whispering gallery, housing invaluable memories of the

 past but having no practical bearing on their faith or their lives. And in that

 situation, these advisers expect that the bulk of Roman Catholics can be

 ever more easily persuaded to accept the papacy itself as the office of a

somewhat influential and honorific Catholic bishop who happens to live in

 Rome, and who will be as revered as the Dalai Lama—and just about as

 powerful.

 Those among Pope John Paul’s advisers who are most urgently and

 deeply concerned about what some call this “self-slaughter” of the Roman

 papacy do remain confident in Christ’s promise that its destruction will not

 be completed; that even the Gates of Hell itself will not prevail against the

 Church Jesus founded upon Peter as its Rock. But, as Lord Nelson

 commented after a cannonball came too close for comfort at the battle of

 Trafalgar, it looks to be “a damn near thing.”

 In the serenity of his own convictions concerning Heaven’s agenda for

 the nations, meanwhile, it is reasonable to think that John Paul himself fully

 expects that as Pope he will one day in the not distant future be hailed by

 the generality of his contemporaries in much the same terms as

 Czechoslovakia’s President Havel used to welcome him to Prague on April

 21, 1990.

 After the Pontiff, following his now familiar custom, stepped off the

 papal plane and kissed the ground, Havel told the world that “the

 Messenger of Love comes today into a country devastated hy the ideology

 of hatred…. The Living Symbol of civilization comes into a country

 devastated by the rule of the uncivilized…. I have the honor to be a witness

 when its soil is being kissed by the Apostle of Spirituality.”

 To all who are presently skeptical about the acceptance on a universal

 scale of such a role for this or any Roman pope, John Paul might well

 respond, with Havel, that “I do not know whether I know what a miracle

 is…. Nevertheless, I dare say I am a party to a miracle now.” And indeed, to

 an extent John Paul would be justified in making such a response. For, five

 years before—even five months before—no one would have imagined such

 a papal visit possible. As he said that day to his Czechoslovak hosts,

 “Almighty God can make the impossible possible, can change all human

 hearts, through the queenship of Jesus’ mother, Mary.”

 Nevertheless, it would appear that now, as in 1980, John Paul has judged

 that he still can find no way to reform his rapidly deteriorating Church

 structure; that he cannot make an end run around the antiChurch, as he did

 so successfully in regard to the Vatican’s established policy of Ostpolitik.

 Meanwhile, the threat to the power and authority of the Petrine Office

 has become so critical that, at least in the view of faithful and important

Churchmen who are themselves as steeped as he is in practical and

 hardnosed experience, somewhere down the slope of papal desuetude and

 obsolescence John Paul will have to issue what will amount to his Protocol

 of Salvation. They foresee a day of confrontation when Pope John Paul will

 stand in front of friends and enemies and recite the words with which Jesus

 once confronted Simon Peter as the chosen head of his Church, to reassure

 him that his own weakness would not end in the destruction of that Church:

 “Simon, Simon, Satan has set out to make you like useless chaff he can

 blow away. But I have prayed for you that your faith not be extinguished.

 So, in time, you will return to the true faith. And you will correct your

 ways. And then you will reinstill faith in your brothers.”

 That day may come suddenly, out of the blue. It may come too late to

 salvage and restore the faith of millions who have been disillusioned, or to

 revive the faith of other millions of Roman Catholic apostates. It seems

 probable, as things are going, that it will come after most who still retain

 fidelity to the Pope, to the papacy and to the traditional dogmas and faith of

 universal Roman Catholicism have been shut out of places of Catholic

 worship that will, for the most part, be fully occupied by those who retain

 no such fidelity.

 When that day does arrive, surely not all of John Paul’s friends, nor most

 of his enemies, will accept the Holy Father’s Protocol of Salvation. Surely,

 many will walk away from him and his papacy forever. But those who

 submit and remain will no longer be troubled by the ambitions and the

 meretricious promises of the many among them who would be little popes.

 Nor will they be blinded and shriveled by the subsequent glory of the

 Woman Clothed with the Sun

The Keys of This Blood

by Malachi Martin

https://archive.org/details/malachi-martin-the-keys-of-this-blood-the-struggle-for-world-dominion-between-po_202012

https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0xSpfy6a9vtbpat8pcsmia7dywpbTa1ZMpxUB6vL75KKFkjaXyYGoc8dEJHcHx22jl

Alito, Breyer, Kagan, Scalia, and Thomas skip papal address to Congress

By Nick Gass

09/24/2015 10:15 AM EDT

Updated: 09/25/2015 12:37 PM EDT

Less than half of the Supreme Court attended Pope Francis’ historic address to Congress on Thursday morning, including three Catholic no-shows.

Cameras showed Chief Justice John Roberts joined by justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. Roberts, Kennedy and Sotomayor are all Catholics, while Ginsburg is Jewish.

Notably absent were Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, all of whom are Catholic. Also absent were Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, who are Jewish.

A Supreme Court spokeswoman declined to comment on the justices’ schedules.

However, Alito and Breyer were out of town Thursday for previously scheduled engagements, according to press reports and news releases.

Alito was teaching and speaking at the University of Kentucky, while Breyer was in Northern California speaking and promoting his new book, “The Court and the World.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/pope-francis-supreme-court-214013

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions of U.S. constitutional or federal law. It also has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party."[2] In 1803, the Court asserted itself the power of judicial review, the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the Constitution via the landmark case Marbury v Madison. It is also able to strike down presidential directives for violating either the Constitution or statutory law.[3]

Under Article Three of the United States Constitution, the composition and procedures of the Supreme Court were originally established by the 1st Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789. As it has since 1869, the court consists of nine justices – the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices – who meet at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Justices have lifetime tenure, meaning they remain on the court until they die, retire, resign, or are impeached and removed from office.[3] When a vacancy occurs, the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints a new justice. Each justice has a single vote in deciding the cases argued before the court. When in the majority, the chief justice decides who writes the opinion of the court; otherwise, the most senior justice in the majority assigns the task of writing the opinion.[4]

On average, the Supreme Court receives about 7,000 petitions for writs of certiorari each year, but only grants about 80.[5]

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

FRANCISCANS: The Franciscans were founded in the 13th century by Saint Francis, who, in a vision, was charged by God to rebuild My Church, which as you see is falling into ruin. These words proved not only to be true, but also prophetic; the Church indeed was falling into ruin, and Saint Francis indeed saved it; for he sparked a wave of new fervor that swept across the world that lasted for generations (Just read any papal encyclical from this time period. They are all about regularizing the Franciscans).

            Franciscans are typically characterized by their lives of simplicity, penance, poverty, and love for the poor. In a testament written by Saint Francis, the very first sentence contains the following; "The Lord granted me, Br. Francis, to begin to do penance in this way." It is thus fitting that the Franciscan order be regarded as the Order of Penitents. The Franciscan school tends to follow the thought of Franciscan saints, such as St. Bonaventure and Bl. John Duns SCOTUS, and was responsible for defending the Immaculate Conception in a time when it was still contested, even by St. Thomas Aquinas himself. For this reason, Franciscans and Dominicans have often shared a healthy (and not so healthy at times) competition with one another. Tragically, this has often resulted in a polarization of their two schools, Franciscans vs. Dominicans, where the former avoids Aquinas and the latter avoids Bonaventure and SCOTUS. Such exclusivity, unforutnately, causes much harm to the Church, and is not unique to these two orders alone; it is common for orders to read only saints within their own tradition and avoid others (And, by doing so, communities today are failing in their own formation. It is not unlike reading five chapters of the Bible for ones life, or contemplating a detail of a painting without ever seeing the whole painting. To be Catholic is to be universal, open to all the gifts of God to the Church. If the Church, for example, places such great importance on the theology of Aquinas, then it is lamentable that religious orders do not also do so in their theology programs).

               Being a mendicant order, the Franciscans live solely off of the generosity of others, entrusting all to the hands of God. Like the Benedictines, the Franciscans also underwent a number of reforms throughout history, but were consolidated in 1897 into three main bodies; Friars Minor, the Conventuals, and the Capuchins. Some Franciscan communities may be more contemplative in nature, similar to that of monastics. Venerable Mary of Agreda, for instance, a 17th century cloistered Franciscan nun and mystic, received messages from Our Lady on how to live out her religious state;

Mystical City of God, Book VI, Chp V: "But I...find so few who console with me and try to console my Son in His sorrows....Consider then thy duty, my dearest, and raise thyself above all earthly things and above thyself; for I am calling thee and choose thee to imitate and follow me into the solitude in which I am left by man....Flee from the dangerous intercourse with creatures....I remind thee that there is no exercise more profitable and useful to the soul than to suffer....Therefore, my daughter, embrace the cross, and do not admit any consolation outside of it in this mortal life. By contemplating and feeling within thyself the sacred Passion thou wilt attain the summit of perfection and attain the love of a spouse."

Friars Minor: The Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) were the result of a large consolidation of various branches (Observants, Discalced, Recollects, Riformati, etc.) by Pope Leo XII in 1897. Today the Friars Minor compose the largest body of the Franciscan order, and are criticized as being the most lenient and divorced from the spirit of Saint Francis--an unfortunate exigency considering the OFM's prominent place in the history of the Franciscan order; with roots dating back to first years of the order through the aggregation of the Observants.

Friars Minor Conventual: Next to the Observants, the Conventual Franciscans were one of the first reforms of the Franciscan order. They desired to apply the Franciscan spirit to new applications (such as urban city apostolates, rather than remaining in rural areas). As such, the Conventuals were granted various dispensations to relax certain rules in order to carry out specific apostolates. The conventuals tended to take on a more academic spirit than, say, Capuchins for instance. Today, the Conventuals have also suffered from a spirit of laxity, as most communities. However, there have also been great fruits that originated from Conventual communities, such as St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Bonaventure, and Saint Maximilian Kolbe, known for his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Friars Minor Capuchin. The Capuchin reform (O.F.M. Cap.) dates to about 1525, and not unlike the first Observants, they also desired a return to a stricter observance of the Franciscan rule--though, like most reforms, certain elements of its initial fervor declined with time. The Capuchins are more likely to be seen feeding the poor or street evangelizing, rather than writing a book on the liturgy or studying mystical theology. Today, the Capuchin Franciscans tend to be considerably more divorced from their origins. However, there also exists renewed efforts to restore the original spirit of the order. In 1968, Padre Pio--a Capuchin Franciscan and one of the greatest mystics in the Church--wrote a letter to Pope Paul VI in which he stated; "I pray to God that [the Capuchin order] may continue in its tradition of religious seriousness and austerity, evangelical poverty and faithful observance of the Rule and Constitution, certainly renewing itself in the vitality and in the inner spirit, according to the guides of the Second Vatican Council". We have yet to see if such a renewal, which is so desperately needed in all orders, will take root or not.

Author's note: Like many of the major religious orders, the Franciscans and Dominicans have suffered greatly in recent times. It is not uncommon today to see friars watching television, or going to the movies and eating ice cream on a Friday night. The spirit of sacrifice, a hallmark of religious life, has largely been obscured over years, as the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction to a kind of secularized love, absent of any austerities. However, like the Benedictines, the communities of lax traditions tend to be dying away, as new young communities take their place, devoted to a more authentic renewal that Vatican II called for.

https://www.religious-vocation.com/differences_religious_orders.html#.ZEc2f87MJD9

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

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Bold Plan to Reform the Supreme Court and Ensure No President Is Above the Law

Home

Briefing Room

Statements and Releases

From his first day in office—and every day since then—President Biden has taken action to strengthen American democracy and protect the rule of law.

In recent years, the Supreme Court has overturned long-established legal precedents protecting fundamental rights. This Court has gutted civil rights protections, taken away a woman’s right to choose, and now granted Presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office.

At the same time, recent ethics scandals involving some Justices have caused the public to question the fairness and independence that are essential for the Court to faithfully carry out its mission to deliver justice for all Americans.

President Biden believes that no one—neither the President nor the Supreme Court—is above the law.

In the face of this crisis of confidence in America’s democratic institutions, President Biden is calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability:

No Immunity for Crimes a Former President Committed in Office: President Biden shares the Founders’ belief that the President’s power is limited—not absolute—and must ultimately reside with the people. He is calling for a constitutional amendment that makes clear no President is above the law or immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. This No One Is Above the Law Amendment will state that the Constitution does not confer any immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction, or sentencing by virtue of previously serving as President.

Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices: Congress approved term limits for the Presidency over 75 years ago, and President Biden believes they should do the same for the Supreme Court. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court Justices. Term limits would help ensure that the Court’s membership changes with some regularity; make timing for Court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary; and reduce the chance that any single Presidency imposes undue influence for generations to come. President Biden supports a system in which the President would appoint a Justice every two years to spend eighteen years in active service on the Supreme Court.

Binding Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court: President Biden believes that Congress should pass binding, enforceable conduct and ethics rules that require Justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest. Supreme Court Justices should not be exempt from the enforceable code of conduct that applies to every other federal judge.

President Biden and Vice President Harris look forward to working with Congress and empowering the American people to prevent the abuse of Presidential power, restore faith in the Supreme Court, and strengthen the guardrails of democracy. President Biden thanks the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States for its insightful analysis of Supreme Court reform proposals. The Administration will continue its work to ensure that no one is above the law – and in America, the people rule.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/07/29/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-bold-plan-to-reform-the-supreme-court-and-ensure-no-president-is-above-the-law/

LVII

SEPTEMBER 11-NATIONAL SECURITY VS.

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS IN THE NEW

WORLD ORDER!

The right to be let alone is the most comprehensive of rid and the right most valued by civilized men

Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brande Olmstead. United States (1928), 2771 S. 38, 478

How does one take over control of the currency of a nation? By engineering crisis, wars and national calamities. And that is exactly what has been done

THE SECRET GOVERNMENT HAD LONG SOUGHT means, or rather an excuse, to bring in the first phase of the New World order-initiated" by Pope John Paul II- September 11, 2001 gave them that opportunity.

As the reader will recall, earlier, I referred to the official US government video in which the then U.S. Senator Gary Hart can be heard saying, just one day after 9/11, that President Bush had the

Pope Benedict's 2009 encyclical, Caritas in Veritate speaks about setting "ourselves new rules under new "a world Political authority" And you will recall also that in an earlier chapter I quoted the Jesuit Professor Malachi Martin saying, "John Paul started into the millenni and that it would be "dominated by an INTERNATIONAL BUREAUCRACY (vix, a world political authority? whuch controls and directs every citizen and every nation." Martin called

endgame... HE INITIATED IT

this "International Bureaucracy" the Pope's "Grand Design of God for the new world order." So we have it from a former advise to three popes that the Vatican, the Roman Catholic hierarchy is the power behind the new world order (See, Keys of This Blood, op. cit., pp. 13,15, 16, 41, 50

378

September 11-National Security Vs. Individual Freedoms... opportunity to "use this [September 111 disaster to carry out what his father (Bush Sr./ mentioned... and that is a New World Order."

September 11, 2001, was a major phase of the "millenium endgame" spoken of by Jesuit professor Malachi Martin. It created the ammosphere that was required for the unopposed introduction of

modern fascism.

Leading American academic, Patricia Williams has said that the laws passed after September 11 "mirror the worst excesses of some hctatorships." Andrew P. Napolitano a 59 year old former New Jersey Superior Court Judge had this to say about the U.S. law makers of the Patriot Act: "Congress recognizes no limits on its power. It doesn't care about the Constitution; it doesn't care about your inalienable rights."

Reader, this Catholic judge has admitted that the most glaring assault on American freedoms comes from a Jesuit-crafted law known as the ESA PATRIOT Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by George W. Bush on October 15, 2001, "while the rubble of 9/11 still smoldered," as someone commented. This deceptively named Patriot Act is being used against the very American citizens it was supposed to protect. Under this Dark Age monstrosity, FBI agents can serve self- written search warrants and then enter your home, your barn, search your car, etc, etc., without any prior court authorization!

Congress-with minimal floor debate in the Senate and no floor debate in the House-enacted this most Inquisitorial, popish kind of Low; and had the nerve, the 'audacity' if you please, to call it the PATRIOT Act! In 2004, this law produced two offsprings: the "Intelligence Authorization Act" and the "Intelligence Reform Act." both of which permit the execution of self-written search warrants. called a national security letter, is the ultimate constitutional farce. What Writes, Judge Napolitano, "A self-written search warrant, even one federal agents would not authorize themselves to seize whatever they wished?... Why would government agents bother going to a judge with probable cause seeking a search warrant if they can simply write their warrants on over 120,000 unsuspecting Americans since October ?... federal agents have written and executed self-written search the Bush administration and... Congress could have visited upon us." 2001. "The PATRIOT Act is the most unpatriotic of the things that Judge Napolitano added. But, interestingly, what Judge Napolitano does not seem to realise is that this is the very code under which the Roman House members were given just 30 minutes to read the 315 page bill.

379

CODEWORD BARBELÓN BK 2

Catholic Inquisition operated. He forgets, too, that the Patriot Act was drafted by a professor at the Jesuit Georgetown University (for whach see Book D. Judge Napolitano is a devout Roman Catholic who studied at the Jesuit Notre Dame University (Notre Dame is French for "Our Lady" referring to Mary). In a 2008 interview with Celebrate Lake Magazine, Judge Napolitano said " we should go to our Lady, the Blessed Mother. Not a Mass should be said without reference to her. Not a war should be waged, not a prayer should be uttered, no contact should be sought without her assistance." This, reader, n qualify as a candidate for quote of the decade! It certainly left me scratching my head. Isn't it just strange how Catholics can be intellige on almost every subject other than their religion? But more of this ser Not content with the Patriot Act. Mr. Bush enacted the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which effectively ended habeas corpus-d right to an attorney when charged, and to have a court review of one's detention and arrest. Without this latter right, all other rights are ellectively undermined, as anyone can now be detained indefinitely and no one needs to know about it-they would just go missing!

Still, Mr. Bush was not done. Before leaving office he passed NSPD 51, a directive signed by Bush on May 9, 2007, that, with the stroke of a pen allows any US. President to declare martial law-for such reasons as "to restore public order-effectively transforming the US, into dictatorship. Mr. Bush even had parts of the NSPD 51 directive classified so that members of Congress are denied the right to review Next came the "Protect America Act 2007" (PAA), allowing domes wiretapping and surveillance, while reducing FISA court over Under PAA, probable cause' of being a terrorist is no longer required. Another law, The Jolm Warner Defense Authorization Act, sed by Mr. Bush on October 17, 2007, allows the U.S. President to declec a public emergency and station troops anywhere in America-with de coment of the governor or local authorities-to "suppress publ disorder. Thus, by means of a raft of post 9/11 legist the Constitutional rights of Americans have been systematically disuaald

One la alter another, all in the name of national security

Another curious set of farts is what occurred soon after 9/11: the US government, it would appear, took no ellective steps to catch the alleged

3 The university's first academic curriculum was modeled after the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum ("The Official Plan for Jesuit Education"). Interview with Anita Crane, senior editor of Celebrate Life

www.cimagazine.org/backissues/2008 janfeb 16-18judgeandrewnapolitano.pdf

380

September 11th-National Security Vs. Individual Freedoms... astermind behind 9/11. This is demonstrated by what happened to Bin Ladens living in the US, a few days after the 9/11 attacks, when Learjet 35 twice flew in and out of Tampa International Airport (TIA) violation of the Federal no-fly restriction. Among the passengers on at aircraft were members of the Bin Laden family."

Authorities at TIA initially denied that the flights had taken place. can Heller of the St. Petersburg Times wrote on June 9, 2004, that the White House, aviation and law enforcement officials have insisted the d never took place and have denied published reports and despread Internet speculation about its purpose." "But now, at the

quest

of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, TIA officials ve confirmed that the flight did take place and have supplied details." Yet another lie foisted upon the American people by the officialdom. Did the FBI or CIA investigate the Bin Laden Family as part of the ackdown of financing or involvement in global terrorism before allowing them to leave the U.S.? No! At the time, the Bin Laden family lad extensive investments in the U.S., and it is not improbable that they could have secretly funnelled millions of dollars to Bin Laden's operatives inside and outside of America. Yet, every member of the Emily of the alleged master-minded behind the 9/11 plot was given aress to the America skies on a private jet, at a time when law-abiding American citizens were banned from flying! The alleged orchestrator of the attacks had his family treated as royalty, while the U.S. Government felt it necessary to caves drop on and interrogate its own citizens, despite the fact the government admits that the 9/11 attackers were all non- Americans and lived primarily outside of the U.S. Yet, the Bush gemment, in its unparalleled wisdom, saw it fit to create the "Homeland Security" Act and the Jesuit-crafted "Patriot Act."

The question is, why? Is this really a war on terror or something more sinister? Several decades ago, John Lord O'Brian, former United

Boeing 727 contracted by the Saudi embassy, departed the United On September 20, 2001, at 2:05 A.M., Ryan International Flight 441, a States from Boston, for Newfoundland. The screening of this flight was directed by an FBI agent in the Baltimore Field Office who was also a pilot: James C, interview (June 3, 2004). The flight manifest indicates other than the flight crew: 23 passengers and 3 security guards. that the flight departed the United States with 26 individuals on board them had the last name Bin Ladin: see, FBI record, "Final Draft of Most of the 23 passengers were relatives of Usama Bin Ladin: 12 of Response to October 2003 Vanity Fair Article (Bin Laden FamilyDepartures after 9/11/2001)," Sept. 24, 2003.

S

381

CODEWORD BARBELON Bk 2

States Attorney General for Western New York, warned of the dangers af forfeiting Constitutionally granted freedoms for the promise-teg necessarily the guarantee-of security: "It is an understatement to emphasize that one of the principal influences which threaten the very existence of democracy is the all-pervasive craving for security at any price." "Over and over again we have been warned against the insidious and sinister invasions of civil liberty by plausible excuses...."

A state or country in which citizens and visitors can be interrogaod, interned or detained without trial, without evidence or even explanation or have their private communications intercepted, purely on the basis of some government agent's suspicion is a slippery slope towards high-tech totalitarianism-and is a mere refinement of the techniques of the papal Inquisition of the middle ages. As the Supreme Court of Canada observed in R. v. Duarte (1990), such a police state is the kind of 'democracy in which liberty will eventually have no meaning.

Reader, unless the signs are all misleading, the United States will soon no longer have a constitutional legislative branch of government in any true sense of that term, other than vestigial: for each year brings its additional level of restrictive and invasive regulations in the name of Anti-Terrorism, but in the bargain chip away at our liberties.

And when the dust finally settles, I venture to say that we will find ourselves in a world in which privacy and liberty no longer have any meaning, a world where we are a little safer, perhaps, but far less free."

As Brian Lilley wrote. ".... It is only a matter of time before some would be terrorist, pledging loyalty to al Qaida tries to bring down a plane by smuggling explosives in a body cavity. At that point, a travellers will be asked to take off their shoes, surrender their water boules, step aside for the scan and then bend over for a probing search. At that point, perhaps, the public will realise they are surrendering their rights, their dignity and getting little in the way of protection in return.

7 John Lord O'Brian, National Security and Individual Freedom (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955), p. 7.

8 Frank Murphy and Norris Harold, Mr. Justice Murphy and the Bill of Rights (New York: Oceana Publ., Inc., 1965), p. 43, citing John L. O'Brian from a speech given at Harvard April 27, 1955.

9 The thorough pat-down as an alternative to full-body scan is no less

invasive or humiliating.

10 Brian Lilley, Ottawa Bureau Chief for radio stations Newstalk 1010 Toronto and CJAD 800 Montreal": www.mercatornet.com/articles/

382

CODEWORD BARBELON Bk 2

5. U.S. development of space-based weapons;

6. "Advanced forms of biological warfare that can target specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool;"

7. U.S. willingness to use muclear weapons to accomplish its goal 8. Possible conflict with China.

Reader, that was in 2000, one year before 9/11! The proposal is available, in its entirety, on the PNAC Website. Read it for yoursell

Knowing full well that the decent American people would never support their outrageous goals unless they were thoroughly traumatised first, page 52 of the proposal (PNAC) states, "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event-like a new Pearl Harbor. That's verbatim. Were these ideologs serious?

Michael Schwartz, Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University. has confirmed in his book War Without End that in 1998 the out of power Republican Party formed a policy advocacy group called "The Project for a New American Century." Professor Schwartz reveals that the group's membership included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld. Paul Wolfowitz and dozens of other key individuals who would later hold key positions in the administration of George W. Bush.

Only a year before Bush, Jr. was jobbed into office, this same group of Neo-Cons, lead by Rumsfeld and Cheney, issued a policy document "Entitled Rebuilding America's Defenses, advocating what is now known as the Rumsfeldian doctrine. The document stated that in order to justify another American military invasion of Iraq they would need "some catastrophic and catalyzing event." The document goes on to s that "public approval could not be obtained WITHOUT... A NEW PEARL HARBOR." That is to say, an outrageous attack on the US, soil.

There are those who say that since members of the Bush administration could make suck policy proposals in 1998, and further since the American government actually planned to stage fake terror attacks aunst its people in 1962, what's to keep them from staging fake

1 www.newamericancentury.org

2 The document was also cited by the BBC:

3 David Ray Griffin, The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/conspiracy files/6338551.stm the Bush Administration and 9/11 (Northampton, Mass.: Interlink Bks.

2004), pp. 95-96.

384  

9/11: A New Pearl Harbor Or "outrageous conspiracy theories" Such attacks, lake or real. Indeed, some conspiracists say that the U.S. attacks in 2001 when they have even greater capability to orchestrate government had much more motivation to achieve this hidden agenda. Do these conspiracy theorists have documented proof, irrefutable proof, that the U.S. government is capable of conspiring a plot of the magnitude and evil of 9/11, against its own citizens? It would seem so. There is a document known as "Operation Northwoods," which although created long before 9/11, does show that the U.S. government had a plan to kill its own citizens for a "greater cause." This top secret document was presented to President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1962 and was only declassified in 1997. But it took three years before the Baltimore Sun and ABC News ran stories on the document, in 2001. The document is available from dozens of reputable online sources such as the National Security Archive located at George Washington University, and is thoroughly analyzed by author James Bamford in his 2001 book Body of Secrets.

What are the contents of this document? The goal of Operation Northwoods was to get public support for an invasion of Cuba. The Joint Chiefs of Staff believed that Americans would only support a war against Cuba if it could be shown that Cuban "terrorists" had carried out a number of surprise attacks against the U.S. Isn't that how they got support for their "war on terror" and their second war against Iraq?

The 1962 Northwoods document recommended that the US. should stage fake terror attacks against American citizens. The document states: "Such a plan would enable a logical build-up of incidents to be combined with other seemingly unrelated events to camouflage the ultimate objective and create the necessary impression of Cuban rasmess and irresponsibility on a large scale." The specific recommendations made in the document included": 1. Stage mock attacks, sabotages and riots and blame it on Cuban 2. Sink an American ship at the Guantanamo Bay American military base or destroy American aircraft and blame it on Cubon

forces.

News, May 1, 2003. Archived at:

David Ruppert, "US Military Wanted to Provoke War with Cuba," ABC Washington University: www.gwu.edu/nsarchiv/news/20010430 pabcnews.go.com/sections/us/Daily News/jointchiefs 010501.html

ee, "Pentagon Proposed Pretext for Cuba Invasion." Archive at George http://operation-northwoods.wikiverse.org summary of the Operation Northwoods document is found at:

A

385

CODEWORD BARBELON BK 2

3. Harassment of civil air, attacks on surface shipping, and destruction of U.S. military drone aircraft by MIG-type planes would be useful as complementary actions.

4. Destroy A FAKE COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT supposedly full of "college students off on a holiday."

5. Stage a "terror campaign," including the "real or simulated" sinking of Cuban refugees.

What do you think reader, does that not sound like the U.S. Joint hiels were plotting a "conspiracy" involving the hijacking of an aircraft? If in 1962, the higher ups in the U.S. government were prepared to lan and stage fake terror attacks against its own citizens, what is to say hey did not stage "simulated" or even 'real' attacks on 9/112

But, I hear you say, "That was fouty years ago; you couldn't possibly be suggesting that this could happen today, or did happen on 9/11?" My response to you is, "Why not?"Why not reader? Answer that.

In 2002, U.S. Today reported a bizarre coincidence that occurred on the very day of the 9/11 terror attacks: that a US. intelligence agency was set to run "an exercise" on Sept 11 at 9AM, 2001, in which a commercial aircraft would crash into one of its buildings near Washington, DC. (USA Today/AP, 8/22/02). "It was just an incredible coincidence that this happened to involve an aircraft crashing into our facility," was the excuse given by U.S. intelligence agent Art Haubold. He added: "As soon as the real world events began, we canceled the exercise." Sure you did. The U.S. Today article quoted above was titled "FEDERAL AGENCY PLANNED PLANE-CRASHING-INTO-BUILDING DRILL... LAST SEPT. 11." Now, that's a fact that is stranger than fiction! In light of all of the above facts, let us review what really happened on 9/11; let us separate the 'real' from the fiction-the cold, hard. unpalatable truth from the "outrageous conspiracy theories. For as Disraeli once said. "Ignorance never settles a question.

7 usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-08-22-sept-11-plane-drill_x.htm

8 As an aside, here is what might be just another "outrageous conspiracy theory" for you. Is it probable that Islamic terrorists or Islamic nations may attack Rome and the Vatican? According to Former Jordanian Minister Sheikh Ali Al-Faqir "The prophecy of the conquest of Rome remains valid, Allah willing.... Rome too will be conquered. Our prayers, our fasting, and the charity we give will be to no avail, if we doubt [what the Prophet Muhammad (said]." May 2, 2008. "We proclaim that we will conquer Rome.": www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2410.htm; See also sermon aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV on March 5, 2010: www.memritv.org/clip/en/2410.htm.

386

"September 11-National Security vs Individual Freedoms In The New World Order!" 

Codeword Barbelon book Two 

by P.D. Stuart

Marquette University Law School is the law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Milwaukee Law Class, MULS is housed in Eckstein Hall on Marquette University's campus in downtown Milwaukee.[3][4]

Overview

Marquette University is a Catholic institution operated by the Jesuit order. The law school's mission includes a commitment to the Jesuit idea of cura personalis ("care of the entire person"), a duty to promote diversity, and a goal of encouraging its "students to become agents for positive change in society."[5]

As of the 2016-17 academic year, the school has 575 enrolled students and 98 faculty members and administrators, including 30 full-time faculty members, 10 "deans, librarians, and others who teach," and 58 part-time faculty members.[1] For the fall 2016 entering J.D. class, there were 190 enrolled students (182 full-time and 8 part-time).[1]

Wisconsin, unique among American states, allows graduates of accredited law schools within the state to be admitted to the Wisconsin state bar without taking the state's bar examination if they complete certain requirements in their law school courses and achieve a certain level of performance in those courses, a practice known as the "diploma privilege."[6]

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

World, the: 1. It is proper to our vocation: to go to diverse places and live in whatever part of the world and to be sent wherever the greater service of God and the help of souls can be hoped for [82, 92, 304, 308, 588, 603, 605, 626, 749]; to this purpose is directed the vow of special obedience to the supreme pontiff regarding missions, FI no. 3 [603, 605], 2 §1; consequently a complete availability, mobility, and universality are necessary, 110, 121 4°, 242 §3, 246 7°, 248, 259, 411; at the service of which is chastity, 144 §2; consequently our community is a community for dispersion, 255 §1, 312, 314 §2, 315, 317; thus also the need for communicating with different cultures of the world and for insertion into them, 99 §2, 106 §2, 110, 111, 246 2°; and for promoting that perfect and open cooperation among the members of the entire Society, of whatever province or region they may be, 396 §2. See also Cooperation, interprovincial and supraprovincial; Culture(s); Insertion 2. God is present in the world: exercising the ministry of healing and reconciliation, 246 4°; thus he is there to be sought and found, 223 §§3-4; the world, in great part afflicted with atheism and injustice and increasingly divided by diverse economic, social, and ethnic systems and by other sources of division and opposition, 59 §2, 223 §3, 246 4° 3. The world, as distinguished from religious life: is to be left behind, trampled underfoot, and renounced [30, 50, 53, 61, 66, 297]; it is to be despised because of the love for and imitation of Christ [101]; contempt for it assists in the union of minds and hearts [671]: customs which smack of the world are not to be introduced, 322.

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

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

Thirteenth Rule. To be right in everything, we ought always to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchical Church so decides it, believing that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride, there is the same Spirit which governs and directs us for the salvation of our souls. Because by the same Spirit and our Lord Who gave the ten Commandments, our holy Mother the Church is directed and governed."

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing 

Fourteenth Rule. Although there is much truth in the assertion that no one can save himself without being predestined and without having faith and grace; we must be very cautious in the manner of speaking and communicating with others about all these things.

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing

14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

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 

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings,[10] a global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film, football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to other companies to produce video games and action figures.

The promotion was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), a Northeastern territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Following a dispute, CWC left the NWA and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in April 1963. After rejoining the NWA in 1971, the WWWF was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 before the promotion left the NWA for good in 1983. In 2002, following a legal dispute with the World Wildlife Fund, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In 2011, the promotion ceased branding itself as World Wrestling Entertainment and began solely branding itself with the initials WWE.[11]

Prior to September 2023, the company's majority owner was its executive chairman, third-generation wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, who retained a 38.6% ownership of the company's outstanding stock and 81.1% of the voting power. The current entity, which was originally named Titan Sports, Inc., was incorporated on February 21, 1980, in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, but reincorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law in 1987. It acquired Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd., the holding company for the WWF, in 1982. Titan was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. in 1999, and then World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. In 2023, its legal name was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC.[12]

WWE is the largest wrestling promotion in the world. Its main roster is divided into two touring brands, Raw and SmackDown. Its developmental brand, NXT, is based at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Overall, WWE programming is available in more than one billion homes worldwide in 30 languages. The company's global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut,[13] with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Munich.[14]

As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not true contests but entertainment-based performance theater, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and partially choreographed matches; however, matches often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury, even death, if not performed correctly. The pre-determined aspect of professional wrestling was publicly acknowledged by WWE's then-owner Vince McMahon in 1989 in order to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. WWE markets its product as sports entertainment, acknowledging professional wrestling's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.

In 2023, WWE began to explore a potential sale of the company, amidst an employee misconduct scandal involving McMahon that had prompted him to step down as chairman and CEO, although he returned as executive chairman.[15] In April 2023, WWE made a deal with Endeavor Group Holdings, under which it would merge with Zuffa, the parent company of mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to form TKO Group Holdings, a new public company majority-owned by Endeavor, with McMahon serving as executive chairman of the new entity, and Nick Khan becoming president. The merger was completed on September 12, 2023.[16] In 2024, McMahon, who was by now no longer the majority WWE stockholder, ended his ties with the company amid a sex trafficking scandal.[17]

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

Universal good: for this the entire Society was founded [258]; the Society s superior should look to the same [119]; let the assistants for provident care be strong in pursuit of this [779], 364 §2; let provincials foster this, 397; let all possess a supraprovincial and supranational spirit, 110, 111, 242 §3; its greatest foe is love of oneself [671]; it must be kept in mind: in admissions [187, 189]; in dismissals [204, 208, 212, 215, 222]; in the dismissal of the author of dissension [665]; in dispensing from a requirement of the Constitutions [425]; in communicating authority [512]; in exercising poverty [422, 558, 576, 579]; in the renunciation of goods [258]; in seeking alms [331]; in taking on the obligations of colleges or universities [325] ; in studies [354, 356, 417, 466, 508]; in the choice of ministries [608, 611, 615, 618, 622-26, 629], 258 §1; in providing our neighbors with the assistance of prayer [638, 639]; in undertaking corporal works of mercy [650]; by the general in his disposition of personnel [739]; and in his removal of superiors [736]; in the provident care the Society exercises toward the general [766, 773, 774, 778]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

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 large Latin inscription on the façade reads: Clemens XII Pont Max Anno V Christo Salvatori In Hon SS Ioan Bapt et Evang. This abbreviated inscription translates as: "The Supreme Pontiff Clement XII, in the fifth year [of his Pontificate, dedicated this building] to Christ the Savior, in honor of Saints John the Baptist and [John] the Evangelist".[5] The inscription indicates, with its full title (see below), that the archbasilica was originally dedicated to Christ the Savior and, centuries later, rededicated in honor of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. Christ the Savior remains its primary dedication, and its titular feast day is 6 August, the Transfiguration of Christ. As the cathedral of the pope as bishop of Rome, it ranks superior to all other churches of the Catholic Church, including Saint Peter's Basilica.

Name

The archbasilica's Latin name is Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris ac Sancti Ioannis Baptistae et Ioannis Evangelistae ad Lateranum,[6] which in English is the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist at the Lateran, and in Italian Arcibasilica [Papale] del Santissimo Salvatore e Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbasilica_of_Saint_John_Lateran#Lateran_Palace 

Himmler used the Jesuits as the model for the SS, since he found they had the core elements of absolute obedience and the cult of the organisation.[59][60] Hitler is said to have called Himmler "my Ignatius of Loyola".[59] As an order, the SS needed a coherent doctrine that would set it apart.[61] Himmler attempted to construct such an ideology, and deduced a "pseudo-Germanic tradition" from history.[61] Himmler dismissed the image of Christ as a Jew and rejected Christianity's basic doctrine and its institutions.[62] Starting in 1934, the SS hosted "solstice ceremonies" (Sonnenwendfeiern) to increase team spirit within their ranks.[63] In a 1936 memorandum, Himmler set forth a list of approved holidays based on pagan and political precedents meant to wean SS members from their reliance on Christian festivities.[64] In an attempt to replace Christianity and suffuse the SS with a new doctrine, SS-men were able to choose special Lebenslauffeste, substituting common Christian ceremonies such as baptisms, weddings and burials. Since the ceremonies were held in small private circles, it is unknown how many SS-members opted for these kind of celebrations.[65]

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

From modest beginnings the SS (Schutzstaffel; Protection Squadrons), became a virtual state within a state in Nazi Germany, staffed by men who perceived themselves as the “racial elite” of Nazi future.

In the Nazi state, the SS assumed leading responsibility for security, identification of ethnicity, settlement and population policy, and intelligence collection and analysis. The SS controlled the German police forces and the concentration camp system. The SS conceived and implemented plans designed to restructure the ethnic composition of eastern Europe and the occupied Soviet Union.

From 1939, the SS assumed responsibility for “solving” the so-called Jewish Question; after 1941, its leadership planned, coordinated and directed the so-called Final Solution of the Jewish Question. This “solution” was the annihilation of the European Jews, which we now refer to as the Holocaust

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ss 

2 §1. The character and charism of the Society of Jesus arise from the Spiritual Exercises which our holy father Ignatius and his companions went through. Led by this experience, they formed an apostolic group rooted in charity, in which, after they had taken the vows of chastity and poverty and had been raised to the priesthood, they offered themselves as a HOLOCAUST to God,[2] so that serving as soldiers of God beneath the banner of the cross and serving the Lord alone and the Church his spouse under the Roman Pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth,[3] they would be sent into the entire world[4] for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine. [5]

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 

[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 Complementary Norms

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

"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

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."

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

"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

[529] C. 1The entire purport of this fourth vow of obedience to the pope was and is with regard to missions; 2and this is how the bulls should be understood where they speak of this obedience in all that the sovereign pontiff may command and wherever he may send one, and so on."

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 

Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus: a Roman work of the entire Society, 304 §2

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

LII-

THE INQUISITION IN MINUTE DETAIL: THE FIRST HOLOCAUST

Cruelties committed by the Inquisition. Those who survive the first tortures are tied dom upon their backs, a large cauldron turned upside down is placed upon their naked stomachs, with a number of large dormice underneath. A fire is lighted upon the top of the cauldron, which enrages the dormice; and as they are unable to creep under the edges of the cauldron, they burrow into the entrails of the victim

OR NEARLY SIX CENTURIES, WROTE PETER DE ROSSA. "Not one of the eighty popes (from the thirteenth century to nineteenth) said a word against the diabolical machinery of the inquisition, rather they cach added their own cruel touch to the awful machinery of death. The Church of Rome, at times, even waded through the blood of Roman Catholics to get to the Protestant "heretics."

THE

The real object of the Inquisition, it has been asserted. "was to discover errors in doctrine, to stop them from being propagated, and endeavour to enlighten and to win back those who had been perverted by the apostles of error." So says a Catholic apologist. We are even told that "the popes were obliged to employ stratagem in order to protect the penitent heretics from the merciless severity of the Inquisition." But, the fact is that the Holy See, in 1215 at the fourth Lateran Council, in the

1 Peter de Rossa, Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy (1988).

344

The Inquisition In Minute Detail...

third canon of that Council declared that "the heretics who are condemned shall be handed over to the secular arm, in order that they may receive their merited punishment," in the MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MIDDLE AGES! Indeed, one historian, giving a detailed account of trials before the tribunals of the Inquisition, tell us that the civil punishment was only inflicted after the day of the Church's mock trial

called the Auto-da-fe ("Act of Faith").

In 1252, the pope even made a decree stipulating the exact details of how the prisoners of the Inquisition were to be tortured-including children from the age of twelve and upwards.

But for all its horrors, it was popish Spain that refined to an art the punishments Catholics invented to use against those who refused to accept their faith. In 1481, during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. the Inquisition was provided with "a new code of regulations," giving it even more formidable powers:

It was then that it got the name of The Holy Office, and was superintended by a grand inquisitor-general and a council.

When the Holy Office had a heretic, or anyone suspected of being one, lafter being arrested, its agents stripped the accused person of all he had about his person, and took a detailed inventory of his clothing and furniture.... The money so seized, whether in gold or silver, belonged by right to the tribunal, and went to defray the costs of the procedure. These formalities over, the accused...was taken to prison.

Of prisons, the Inquisition had several kinds: 1st, the common prison, in which were confined persons accused merely of ordinary misdemeanour, and who, consequently, were allowed to communicate with their families and friends; 2nd, the prison of mercy or of penitence, which was set apart for those who were to be detained only temporarily; 3rd, the intermediate prison, reserved for those who had committed some ordinary delinquency which brought them within the jurisdiction of the Holy Office; 4th, the secret prison, the inmates of which were kept in solitary confinement.

lon] the day of trial.... after a long interrogatory linterrogation). if the prisoner failed to avow his guilt, he was taken to the torture chamber, preceded by the Inquisitor and the four mystenous men in black.... Here he was again exhorted to abjure his errors, and, if these fresh entreaties were powerless to move lum, he was handed over to the torturer, who put him to the torture with one of the four agencies employed by justice-the cord, the scourge, fire, or water."

P. L. Jacob, (a Catholic) Military and Religious Life in the Middle Ages, (London: Chapman & Hall, 1874), pp. 435-436.

345

CODEWORD BARBELÓN Bk 2

Reader, we cannot find expressions strong enough to characterise the brutish, raw violence to which the Church of Rome had recourse with a view to establishing her anti-christian 'religion. John Lothrop Modey, speaking of papal persecution in the Netherlands, says: "Upon February 16, 1568, a sentence of the Holy Office (the Inquisition) condenmed ALL the inhabitants of the Netherlands to death as heretics.... The mos concise death warrant that was ever framed. THREE MILLIONS of people, men, women and children, were sentenced to the scaffold..." Although not put into full effect, "Alva's contemporary Grotius states that 100,000 genuine martyrs suffered death in the Netherlands for conscience' sake. Gibbon declared that this number, executed in a single province and a single reign, far exceeded that of the primitive martyrs in the space of three centuries and of the Roman Empire."

More than fifty million members of the human family are estimated to have been slaughtered under the sanction of the Catholic Church (Dowling, History of Rome. Bk. 8). How could such a degraded, inhumane, barbaric system claim to be the religion of Jesus Christ? Where in the Bible does it say the life of the heretic should be taken?

In Rome today, you will find, on the outside the Lateran Church, a plaque depicting Pope Innocent VIII's 1487 order against the Christian Waldenses (Vaudois or Albigenses) in these words: "That abominable sect of malignant to be crushed like venomous snakes." Why? They would not accept the pope as their head. R. W. Thompson writes:

The Waldenses were burned; they were cast into damp and bomd dungeons; they were smothered in crowds in mountain cavems mothers and babes, and old men and women together; they were sen out into exile in the winter night, unclothed and unfed, to climb the snowy mountains; they were hurled over the rocks; their houses and lands were taken from them; their children were stolen to be indoctrinated with the religion which they abhorred. Rap individuals were sent among them to strip them of their propert persecute and exterminate them. Thousands... old men, wouse and children, WERE HUNG, QUARTERED, BROKEN UPON THE WHEEL, OR BURNED ALIVE and their property confiscated...

John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, Vol. I (London:

John Chapman, 1856), part 3, chap. 2, p. 626.

4 W.L. Bruckman, THE GLORY OF BELGIUM (London, New York, Toronto: Hodder & Stoughton), see footnote on pp. 10-11.

5 John Dowling, History of Romanism (1871), Bk. 6, chap. 5: sect. 62. 6 R.W. Thompson, The Papacy and the Civil Power, op. cit., p. 416.

346

The Inquisition In Minute Detail...

In 1209 (July 22nd), Pope Innocent III caused the Waldenstan town of Beziers to be taken by assault and made a scene of terrible camage: his "crusaders gave no quarter-twenty thousand inhabitants were massacred without distinction of age or sex, and seven thousand were burnt in a church in which they had taken refuge."

In a few decades, hundreds of thousands of Waldenses dissenters were killed by the Pope's army. Two cities, of considerable size, Beziers (Braziers) and Carcasone, were destroyed; their occupants thrown from the top of high cliffs, hanged, DISEMBOWELED, PIERCED THROUGH REPEATEDLY, drowned, put out to be tom by dogs, burnt alive, and even crucified! One victim, "Paul Garnier was slowly sliced to pieces at Rora. Thomas Margueti was mutilated in an indescribable manner at Miraboco, and Susan Jaquin cut in bits at La Torre, Sara Rostagnol was slit open from the legs to the bosom, and so left to perish on the road between Eyral and Lucerna. Anne Charbonnier was impaled and carried thus on a pike, AS A STANDARD, from San Giovanni to La Torre. Daniel Rambaud, at Paesano, had his nails torn off, then his fingers chopped off, then his feet and his hands, then his arms and his legs, with each successive refusal on his part to abjure the Gospel.... In June, 1556, Barthelemi Hector, of Poitiers, was burned at Turin, for having sold copies of the Bible to the shepherds of the Alps."

Said the same author. "On Saturday, 24th April, 1655, at four o'clock in the morning, the signal for a general massacre of the Vandois was given: Sick persons and old people, men and women, were burned alive in their houses, or hacked in pieces, or mutilated in horrible ways. or flayed alive, or exposed bound and dying to the sun's noontide heat, or to ferocious animals; some were stripped naked, bound up in the form of a ball... and then rolled over precipices... Next, alter massacre and abduction, came incendiarismr. monks and priests, and other zealous propagandists, went about with lighted torches and projectiles, burning down the houses.... lal sister had seen her brother's mouth filled with gunpowder, and the head then blown to atoms...." These people, "so simple, so Christian, were made a prey to the DEMON of popery, cruel in its superstition BEYOND THE CRUELTY OF THE

MOST BARBAROUS SAVAGES.

TP. L. Jacob, Military and Religious Life..., op. cit., p. 430. Alex Muston (transl.), A History of the Waldenses: The Israel of the Alps

2nd edn. (London: Ingram, Cooke, & Co., 1853), p. 46.

9 Ibid., p. 138.

347

CODEWORD BARBELON BK 2

I shall next quote from one who was intimately acquainted with the Inquisition, Don Juan Antonio Llorente, derived from orginal documents in the archives of the Supreme Tribunal and those of the Subterranean Tribunals of the Holy Office. I quote Llorente from his Critical History of the Inquisition in Spain, cited in page 207 of History of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, Vol. 1, by William H. Prescott

Don Juan Antonio Llorente is the only writer who has succeeded in completely lifting the veil from the dread mysteries of the Inquisition. It is obvious how very few could be competent to this task, since the proceed. ings of the Holy Office were shrouded in such impenetrable secrecy, that even the prisoners who were arraigned before it, as has been already stated, were kept in ignorance of their own processes. Even such of its functionaries, as have at different times pretended to give its transactions to the world, have confined themselves to an historical outline, with meagre notices of such parts of its internal discipline as might be safely disclosed to the public.

Llorente was secretary to the tribunal of Madrid from 1790 to 1792. His official station consequently afforded him every facility for an acquaint- ance with the most recondite affairs of the Inquisition; and, on its suppres sion at the close of 1808, he devoted several years to a careful investigation of the registers of the tribunals, both of the capital and the provinces, as well as of such other original documents contained within their archives, as had not hitherto been opened to the light of day.

Llorente thus speaks in his Preface:--

In order to write an exset history, it was necessary to be an Inquisitor, or Se entary of the Inquisition. In this way alone could be seen the bulls of the pope the orders of the kings, the decisions of the council of the Inquisition, the original trials and other papers of its archives. Perhaps I am the only one, who at the pre sent time can poss all of these documents. I was Secretary of the Inquisition of the Court of Madrid, in the years 1789, 1790, and 1791. I knew its establishment sofficiently to consider it vicious in its origin, constitution, and laws, in spite of the apologetic writings in its favour. I immediately devoted myself to the collection of papers, abridging the most voluminous, but copying literally all that was impert ant. My perseverance in this labour, and in that of collecting all the suppressed books and pamphlets that I could find among the depositories of former inquisitor provided me with a great sumber of interesting documents. I at last obtained the whole of the archives in 150), when the tribunal was abolished. I hope that I shall not be thought arrogant is mying, that I alone can satisfy the cariosity of th who wish to know the trae tory of the Inquisition of Spain. I merely mean, that supply in a great degree, my want of talent" I hop

In the early chapters of his work. Llorente gives a sketch of the ancient Inquisition, from its origin in 1203, down to the estab lishment of the modern tribunal by Ferdinand V. in 1481. Llo rente, with all his opportunities, was able to collect bat meagre details of the ancient Inquisition: its existence during the dark ages being unfavourable to critical inquiry.

348

The Inquisition In Minute Detail...

To begin to understand the scale of atrocity of the inquisitions, consider the career of Torquemada (1420-1498), Grand Inquisitor of Spain. During his 18- year term, well over 100,000 heresy cases were tried in Spain alone, of which 97.322 were imprisoned and/or lost their property, at least 90,000 were torrared (many to death) and 10.220 were burned. These are numbers so large they seem incredible, but which were given by Llorenie, the Spanish historian of the Imp sition, who was well-qualified to judge their accuracy. If we take only half of Torquemada's rate of 5975 victims per year (people imprisoned, robbed, tor tured or killed by the Church) and multiply it for the 6 major Western Christian powers (Spain, France. England, Germany, Italy, Slavic countries) over 500 years (roughly 1150-1650), we reach a figure of nearly 9,000,000 victims of the various inquisitions. This does not include groups slaughtered in Europe by crusaders, or by general decree. It also does not include those threatened, harassed, lynched or punished without trial, such as known Jews. These victims add millions more to the body count. We can easily say that Christian Inquisitions killed at least 10 million, and cruelly ruined the lives of at least 10 million more.

Sober reader, the Seventh chapter of Daniel has been precisely fulfilled in the Catholic Church: "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth... and shall devour the whole earth.... tread it down, and break it to pieces."

I quote next Grattan Guiness Romanism and the Reformation, 1881:

Stay, I will take you to the Inquisition. You shall enter its gloomy portals; you shall walk through its dark passages; you shall stand in its infernal torture-chamber; you shall hear the cries of some of its victims; you shall listen to their very words. What agonies have been suffered in these somber vaults, unseen by any human eyes save those of fiendish inquisitors! What cries have been uttered in this dismal place which has never reached the open world in which we live. Locked doors shut them in; stone walls stifled them. No sound escaped, not even that of a faint and distant moan. But now and then a victim found release; one and another have come forth from the torture-chamber pale and tremblingly, maimed and mutilated, to tell the things they experienced when in the hands of the holy inquisitors. We shall call in some of these as witnesses.

This book is Limborch's History of the Inquisition. It tells the story of its origin seven hundred years ago.... it describes its ministers and methods, its vicars, assistants, notaries, judges, and other officials. It describes the power of the inquisitors, and their manner of proceeding. It unveils their dread tribunal; opens their blood-stained records; describes their dungeons, the secret tortures they unflicted. the extreme, merciless, unmitigated tortures, and also the public... burning of heretics. What a record! What a world of tyranny and intolerable anguish compressed into that one word-the Inquisition!

349

CODEWORD BARBELON Bk 2

Tyranny over the conscience! Men in the name of Jesus Christ stretching and straining, maiming and mangling their fellow men, to compel them to call light darkness, and darkness light. To bow down to man and worship him as God; to call the teaching of Chris beress, and the teachings of antichrist Divine! Tremendous was the power of that dread[ed] tribunal. In Spain and Portugal it completely crushed the Reformation. No secrets could be withheld from the inquisitors; hundreds of persons were often apprehended in one day, and in consequence... from their examinations under torture, thousands more were apprehended.

the inquisition [cells were filled and emptied again and ag torture-chamber was a hell. The most excruciating engines wer employed to dislocate the limbs of even tender women. Thousands were burned at the stake. The gospel was gagged and crushed....

"The place of torture," says a Spanish historian, quoted by Limborch, Page 217, "is generally an underground and very dri room.... There is a tribunal erected in it in which the inquisitor inspector, and secretary sit. When the candles are lighted, and the person to be tortured brought in, the executioner, who is waiting for him, makes an astonishing and dreadful appearance. He is covered all over with a black linen garment down to his feet and tied close to his body. His head and face are all concealed with a long black carl, only two little holes being left in it for him to see through.

All this is intended to strike the miserable wretch with greater terror in mind and body, when he sees himself going to be tortured by the hands of one who thus looks like the very devil.

Today, the infallible Church of Rome would have us to believe that such atrocities were the product of darker, less civilized times and that she has changed. But if she has changed' WHAT WAS SHE BEFORE?

TORTURE BY Ut

For more, see Juan Antonio Llorente's Critical History of the Inquisition in Spain 189

350

"The Inquisition In Minute Detail: The First Holocaust" 

Codeword Barbelon book Two 

by P.D. Stuart

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid023VqYNt4iwNSk8BREzesUxR1gPEDTrmnE648pn3nATw2NNfWCjamzEtr9zdXMcftkl

What is dialectical materialism?

Answer

The phrase dialectical materialism rarely comes up in conversation; however, it is related to more-commonly discussed concepts such as Marxism, communism, and socialism. According to dialectical materialism, human ideas are purely the result of physical interactions, most especially those related to economics, and are constantly in a process of change. Initial ideas generate contradictions or struggles, which lead to changes, which lead to a new idea. In short, dialectical materialism could be described as evolution as applied to philosophy instead of organisms. Dialectical materialism is the root assumption of Marxist and communist political theories.

The two words in the phrase dialectical materialism carry separate meanings. Materialism is used to describe an approach to philosophy, as well as a lens through which to interpret history. In the philosophical sense, materialism is the belief that only physical entities exist and that all ideas, thoughts, and even minds are simply an effect of physical interactions. The interpretation of evidence or experience through a materialist mindset is referred to as naturalism.

At the same time, materialism is also the name given to a certain approach to history. According to this idea, human life is mostly defined by “producing” the material requirements to survive, such as food and water and shelter. Thus, per historical materialism, human development, government, economics, and so forth are all driven by the fundamental need to survive.

Dialectical materialism incorporates both of these uses of the term materialism.

In philosophy, the word dialectical refers to a pattern of interaction between ideas, where an initial idea results in a response, and these two then re-combine to form a final idea. This is often referred to using the terms thesis (the initial idea), antithesis (the response or contradiction of that idea), and synthesis (the final idea formed by resolving the contradictions). As it applies to dialectical materialism, this idea is particularly tied to the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel, though Hegel’s dialectic was not materialist.

Dialectical materialism combines all of those major themes: a rejection of the non-material, a claim that economic issues drive all of human history, and the suggestion that all things are constantly evolving through the process of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Through the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, this became the philosophical basis of Marxism and communism.

According to Marx and Engels, all developments of human history have been driven by economic issues. In their view, the transition from agriculture to industry caused most people to lose ownership of their own labor, creating two major classes: the power-and-property-owning bourgeoisie; and the laborers-producers of material goods, the proletariat. Indirectly, the writings of Marx and Engels lay out the structure of what we now call dialectical materialism—an economically focused, atheistic process of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. This process, in Marx and Engles’ view, would result in a transition from capitalism to socialism, which would then evolve into complete communism: the total elimination of all classes and inequities. Through this philosophical lens, they suggested the solution to the flaws of capitalism was to evolve human economics.

Dialectical materialism suffers from several major flaws. First and foremost, it assumes there is no such thing as God or any reality beyond the physical. Beyond being factually false, this approach has proved dangerous due to the results of applying atheism to government. This relates to the second major flaw of dialectical materialism: its naïve assumptions about human nature. In order for a society to actually “evolve” from capitalism to socialism to communism, human beings must act in the best interests of others and never out of selfish desires—a profoundly unrealistic expectation. Third, dialectical materialism assumes that human culture is shaped almost entirely by economics, an idea not well-supported in modern historical or economic studies.

While it may sound sophisticated, dialectical materialism boils down to the same basic idea expressed in biblical passages such as Romans 1:22 and Psalm 14:1. When man attempts to explain truth without God or to interpret history without truth, the end result is disaster. The horrific toll that atheistic and communist governments have taken on mankind is the natural result of assuming that man is nothing but matter and that controlling economics is a means of controlling men.

https://www.gotquestions.org/dialectical-materialism.html

Romans 1

1599 Geneva Bible

The Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans

1 1 He first showeth on what authority his Apostleship standeth. 15 Then he commendeth the Gospel, 16 by which God setteth out his power to those that are saved, 17 by faith, 21 but were guilty of wicked unthankfulness to God: 26 For which his wrath was worthily powered on them, 29 so that they ran headlong to all kinds of sin.

1 PAUL [a]a [b][c]servant of JESUS Christ called to be an [d]Apostle, [e]put apart to preach the Gospel of God,

2 (Which he had promised afore by his Prophets in the holy Scriptures)

3 [f]Concerning his [g]Son Jesus Christ our Lord (which was [h]made of the seed of David [i]according to the flesh,

4 And [j]declared [k]mightily to be the Son of God, touching the Spirit of sanctification by the resurrection from the dead)

5 [l]By whom we have received [m]grace and Apostleship (that [n]obedience might be given unto the faith) for his name [o]among all the Gentiles,

6 Among whom ye be also the [p]called of Jesus Christ:

7 To all you that be at Rome beloved of God, called to be Saints: [q]Grace be with you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

8 [r]First I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is [s]published throughout the [t]whole world.

9 For God is my witness (whom I serve in my [u]spirit in the [v]Gospel of his Son) that without ceasing I make mention of you.

10 Always in my prayers, beseeching that by some means, one time or other I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God, to come unto you.

11 For I long to see you, that I might bestow among you some spiritual gift, that you might be strengthened:

12 That is, that [w]I might be comforted together with you, through our mutual faith, both yours and mine.

13 Now my brethren, I would that ye should not be ignorant, how that I have oftentimes purposed to come unto you (but have been let hitherto) that I might have some fruit also among you, as I have among the other Gentiles.

14 I am debtor both to the Grecians, and to the Barbarians, both to the wise men and to the unwise.

15 Therefore, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you also that are at [x]Rome.

16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: [y]for it is the [z]power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the [aa]Grecian.

17 [ab]For by it the righteousness of God is revealed from [ac]faith to faith: [ad]as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

18 [ae]For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against [af]all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men, which withhold the [ag]truth in unrighteousness.

19 [ah]Forasmuch as that, which may be known of God, is manifest in [ai]them, for God hath showed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him, that is, his eternal power and Godhead, are seen by the creation of the world, being [aj]considered in his works, to the intent that they should be without excuse:

21 Because that when they knew God, they [ak]glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became [al]vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was full of darkness.

22 When they [am]professed themselves to be wise, they became fools.

23 For they turned the glory of the [an]incorruptible God to the similitude of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and four footed beasts, and of creeping things.

24 [ao]Wherefore [ap]also God [aq]gave them up to their hearts lusts, unto uncleanness, to defile their own bodies between themselves:

25 Which turned the truth of God unto a lie, and worshipped and served the creature, forsaking the Creator which is blessed forever, Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.

27 And likewise also the men left the natural use of the woman, and burned in their lust one toward another, and man with man wrought filthiness, and received in themselves such [ar]recompense of their error, as was meet.

28 [as]For as they regarded not to acknowledge God, even so God delivered them up unto a [at]reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient,

29 Being full of all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, of murder, of debate, of deceit, taking all things in the evil part, whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, doers of wrong, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, [au]covenant breakers, without natural affection, such as can never be appeased, merciless.

31 Which men, though they knew the [av]Law of God, how that they which commit such things are worthy of death, yet not only do the same, but also [aw]favor them that do them.

Footnotes

Romans 1:1 The first part of the Epistle containing a most profitable preface unto verse 16.

Romans 1:1 He moving the Romans to give diligent ear unto him in that he showeth that he cometh not in his own name, but as God’s messenger unto the Gentiles, entreateth with them of the weightiest matter, that is promised long since by God, by many fit witnesses, and now at length performed indeed.

Romans 1:1 A Minister, for this word servant, is not taken in this place, as set against this word, Freeman, but declareth his ministry and office.

Romans 1:1 Whereas he said before in a general term, that he was a minister, now he cometh to a more special name, and saith that he is an Apostle, and that he took not upon him this office of his own lead, but being called of God, and therefore in this his writing to the Romans, doeth nothing but his duty.

Romans 1:1 Appointed of God to preach the Gospel.

Romans 1:3 By declaring the sum of the doctrine of the Gospel, he stirreth up the Romans to good consideration of the matter whereof he entreateth: So then he showeth that Christ (who is the very substance and sum of the Gospel) is the only son of God the Father, who as touching his humanity, is made of the seed of David, but touching his divine and spiritual nature, whereby he sanctified himself, is begotten of the Father from everlasting, as by his mighty resurrection manifestly appeareth.

Romans 1:3 This is a plain testimony of the person of Christ, that he is but one, and of his two natures, and their properties.

Romans 1:3 Which took flesh of the virgin, David’s daughter.

Romans 1:3 As he is man: for this word Flesh, by the figure Synecdoche, is taken for man.

Romans 1:4 Showed and made manifest.

Romans 1:4 The divine and mighty power is set against the weakness of the flesh, for that overcame death.

Romans 1:5 Of whom.

Romans 1:5 This marvelous liberal and gracious gift, which is given me, the least of all the Saints, to preach, etc., Eph. 3:8.

Romans 1:5 That men through faith might obey God.

Romans 1:5 For his Name’s sake.

Romans 1:6 Which through God’s goodness, are Christ’s.

Romans 1:7 God’s free good will: by peace, the Hebrews mean a prosperous success in all things.

Romans 1:8 He procureth their favorable patience, in that he reckoneth up their true commendation, and his true Apostolic good will toward them, confirmed by taking God himself to witness.

Romans 1:8 Because your faith is such, that it is commended in all Churches.

Romans 1:8 In all Churches.

Romans 1:9 Very willingly and with all my heart.

Romans 1:9 In preaching his Son.

Romans 1:12 Though Paul were never so excellent, yet by teaching the Church, he might be instructed by it.

Romans 1:15 He meaneth all them that dwelt in Rome, though some of them were not Romans, see the end of the epistle.

Romans 1:16 The second part of the Epistle unto the beginning of Chap. 9. Now the whole end and purpose of the disputation is this: that is to say: to show that there is but one way to attain unto salvation (which is set forth unto us of God in the Gospel, without any difference of nations) and that is Jesus Christ apprehended by faith.

Romans 1:16 God’s mighty and effectual instrument to save men by.

Romans 1:16 When this word Grecian, is set against this word Jew, then doth it signify a Gentile.

Romans 1:17 The confirmation of the former proposition: we are taught in the Gospel that we are justified before God by faith which increaseth daily: and therefore also saved.

Romans 1:17 From faith which increaseth daily.

Romans 1:17 The proof as well of the first as the second proposition, out of Habakkuk, who attributeth and giveth unto faith both justice and life before God.

Romans 1:18 Another confirmation of that principal question: All men being considered in themselves or without Christ, are guilty both of [ungodliness], and also unrighteousness, and therefore are subject to condemnation: Therefore must they needs seek righteousness in some other.

Romans 1:18 Against all kinds of ungodliness.

Romans 1:18 By truth, Paul meaneth all the light that is left in man since his fall, not as though they being led thereby were able to come into favor with God, but that their own reason might condemn them of wickedness both against God and man.

Romans 1:19 Their ungodliness he proveth hereby, that although all men have a most clear and evident glass wherein to behold the everlasting and almighty nature of God, even in his creatures, yet have they fallen away from those principles to most foolish and sound devices of their own brains, in consituting and appointing the service of God.

Romans 1:19 In their hearts.

Romans 1:20 Thou seest not God, and yet thou acknowledgest him as God by his works, Cicero.

Romans 1:21 They did not honor him with that honor, and service, which was meet for his everlasting power and Godhead.

Romans 1:21 As if he said, became so mad of themselves.

Romans 1:22 Or thought themselves.

Romans 1:23 For the true God they took another.

Romans 1:24 The unrighteousness of men he setteth forth first, in this, that even against nature following their lusts, they defiled themselves one with another, by the just judgment of God.

Romans 1:24 The contempt of religion, is the fountain of all mischief.

Romans 1:24 As a just judge.

Romans 1:27 A meet reward for their deserts.

Romans 1:28 He proveth the unrighteousness of man by a large rehearsal of many kinds of wickedness, from which (if not from all, yet at the least from many of them) no man is altogether free.

Romans 1:28 Into a mad and froward mind, whereby it cometh to pass, that the conscience being once put out, and having almost no more remorse of sin, men run headlong into all kinds of mischief.

Romans 1:30 Unmindful of their covenants and bargains.

Romans 1:31 By the Law of God he meaneth that which the Philosophers called the Law of nature, and the Lawyers themselves termed the Law of nations.

Romans 1:31 Are fellows and partakers with them in their wickedness, and besides that, commend them which do amiss.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201&version=GNV