Did Jeffrey Epstein spend 2017 Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago with Trump? Claim viral amid emails row
Did Jeffrey Epstein spend 2017 Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago with Trump? Claim viral amid emails row
By
Shamik Banerjee
Updated on: Nov 14, 2025 08:31 am IST
In the newly released Epstein emails, a note claimed Epstein supposedly spent 2017 Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago, despite Trump saying he banned him.
The newly released emails of Jeffrey Epstein, made public by the Democrat-led US House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, have sparked a row over the multiple mentions of President Donald Trump.
A banner of Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump displayed during a protest earlier this year.(REUTERS)
One email from Faith Kates, created a lot of buzz over supposedly mentioning that Jeffrey Epstein spent the 2017 Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's resort-sum-residence in Palm Beach, Florida. The email was shared by the official X handle of the Democrats, sparking a row.
The purported claim that Epstein was at Mar-a-Lago with Trump, celebrating Thanksgiving in 2017, is of particular interest, as Trump has repeatedly claimed that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago.
Though Trump has not mentioned when the ban was brought into effect. Some reports claim that Epstein's account at Mar-a-Lago was closed in 2007.
What The Email States
In the email exchange between Faith Kates and Jeffrey Epstein, dated November 23, 2017, Kates asks Epstein about what he is doing for Thanksgiving. Epstein replies that he is having Thanksgiving at 'Eva's.' It is not immediately clear who Epstein refers to by "Eva."
Faith Kates then asks him who else is there at the party with him. He replies: "david fizel, hanson. trump." It was not immediately clear who these people were. But Democrats claimed that by "trump," Epstein meant Donald Trump. However, there is no mention of Mar-a-Lago on the emails.
Here's the viral exchange:
What The Epstein Emails Reveal On Trump
The newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein have revealed details of his connection with high-profile individuals, including political operatives, royalty, and media figures. But, undoubtedly, the most talked-about aspect in them was the mentions of Donald Trump.
Also read: Trump-Epstein row: 10 explosive comments financier made about POTUS – ‘dog that hasn’t barked’ to ‘borderline insane’
In one email from 2011, Epstein told Ghislaine Maxwell that Donald Trump “spent hours at my house” with a trafficking victim and called Trump “that dog that hasn’t barked.”
Another 2019 message to author Michael Wolff stated that Trump “knew about the girls,” though it didn’t clarify the extent of Trump’s knowledge or involvement.
Notably, Trump has repeatedly denied his association with Epstein. He called the recently released emails a "hoax."
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/did-jeffrey-epstein-spend-2017-thanksgiving-at-mar-a-lago-with-trump-claim-viral-amid-emails-row-101763087315941.html
Mar-a-Lago (/ˌmɑːr ə ˈlɑːɡoʊ/ MAR ə LAH-goh, Spanish: [ˈmaɾ a ˈlaɣo]) is a resort and National Historic Landmark on a barrier island in Palm Beach, Florida, United States.[5] It spans 126 rooms and 62,500 square feet (5,810 square metres)[1] built on 17 acres (7 hectares) of land.[2] Since 1985, it has been owned by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States.
Mar-a-Lago was built for the businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post between 1924 and 1927, during the Florida land boom. At the time of her death in 1973, Post bequeathed the property to the National Park Service,[6] hoping it could be used for state visits or as a Winter White House. However, because the costs of maintaining the property exceeded the funds provided by Post, and because it was difficult to secure the facility,[a] the property was returned to the Post Foundation by act of Congress 96-586 on December 23, 1980.[9][10]
In 1985, Donald Trump, primarily a businessman and real estate investor at the time, acquired Mar-a-Lago and used it as a residence. In 1995, he converted it into the Mar-a-Lago Club, a members-only club with guest rooms, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. The Trump family maintains private quarters in a closed-off area on the grounds.[11] During his first presidency, Trump frequently visited Mar-a-Lago[12] and held meetings there with international leaders, including Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Etymology
The name Mar-a-Lago means "sea to lake" in Spanish,[13] reflecting the fact that the estate extends from one side of Palm Beach Island to the other, touching the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Lake Worth Lagoon on the west.[14]
History
Exterior of Mar-a-Lago, 1967
Living room of Mar-a-Lago, 1967
Design
During the 1920s Florida land boom, Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post Cereals business and later the wealthiest woman in the United States,[15][16] paid for the house to be built with her husband Edward F. Hutton. She hired Marion Sims Wyeth as designer and Joseph Urban for interior design and exterior decorations.[17][18] Post spent US$7 million (equivalent to $127 million in 2024). It was finished in 1927.[13] At the time it was the most expensive non-royal residence built in history.[citation needed]
Winter residence of Marjorie Merriweather Post
Hutton and Post regularly used Mar-a-Lago as their winter residence, typically staying from mid January to late March. Post hosted dinner parties, charity events, concerts, costume balls, and a circus.
In 1935, Hutton and Post divorced. Post married the Washington lawyer Joseph E. Davies, who was appointed ambassador to the Soviet Union. Mar-a-Lago was closed for five seasons. Post made only brief visits to Mar-a-Lago in the early 1940s and did not stay at the estate from 1941 to 1948. In April 1944 the house was turned into a training center for returning servicemen.[19]
Post returned to Mar-a-Lago in 1948 and began to host social events again. Since 1957 it has traditionally hosted the International Red Cross gala.[13] In 1961 a pavilion with a 30-foot-by-50-foot dance floor was built where square dance evenings were held.[19]
Federal government and foundation
By the 1950s and 1960s, social tastes had changed, and many mansions constructed in the 1920s were demolished.[13] However, in 1969 Mar-a-Lago was designated a national historic site.[20] A contemporary report prepared by the Department of the Interior attributed its significance to providing "an excellent picture of winter resort life in Palm Beach prior to the Depression".[17]
Post, who died in 1973, willed the 17-acre (6.9 ha) estate to the United States government as a Winter White House for presidents and visiting foreign dignitaries.[21] Richard Nixon preferred the Florida White House in Key Biscayne, however, and Jimmy Carter was not interested. The federal government soon realized the immense cost of maintenance and the difficulty of providing security[22] and returned it to the Post Foundation in 1981. It was listed for sale for $20 million. Post's daughters, including Dina Merrill, did not maintain the property anticipating a sale,[23] but there was so little interest that its demolition was approved.[24]
Mar-a-Lago was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980 for exemplifying "the baronial way of life of the wealthy who built mansions in Florida during the Florida land boom of the 1920s".[3][25][26]
Trump ownership
Entrance gate in 2014
Donald Trump initially offered the Post family $15 million, which was rejected. Trump then purchased land between Mar-a-Lago and the ocean from Jack C. Massey, the former owner of KFC, for $2 million,[27] stating he intended to build a home that would block Mar-a-Lago's beach view. This threat caused competing interest in Mar-a-Lago to decline. Trump purchased the property for $7 million in 1985.[28][23] Different sources have put the combined total cost of the purchase at around $10 million.[29][30][31] The minimum acceptable bid had been $20 million, and the interior furnishings were appraised at $8 million.[32]
Mar-a-Lago, which was renovated by Trump, remained largely true to its original style.[33] Extensive renovations were done, including the addition of a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) ballroom.[24] The club has five clay tennis courts and a waterfront pool. Trump's wife at the time, Ivana Trump, managed the property.[34]
In 1992, Trump was filmed with Jeffrey Epstein at a party in Mar-a-Lago. The footage received attention following Epstein's arrest for child sex trafficking in 2019, and video footage of Trump talking to Epstein in Mar-a-Lago appears in the 2020 mockumentary black comedy film Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.[35][36][37] It was also alleged that Mar-a-Lago hosted an event for 28 women in 1992 where Trump and Epstein were the only male attendees.[38][39][40] Further photographs of the pair taken at Mar-a-Lago include a photograph of Trump and Epstein from 1997, and a photograph taken on February 12, 2000, with Trump, Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Trump's future wife Melania.[41][42]
In the early 1990s, Trump faced financial difficulties. While negotiating with bankers he attempted to divide Mar-a-Lago into smaller properties, alarming Palm Beach residents. City council rejected this plan. Trump instead turned the estate into a private club in 1995,[43] fighting what he considered to be excessive restrictions.[44][45]
The new club hosted concerts by celebrities such as Céline Dion and Billy Joel, and had beauty pageant contestants as guests.[24][23][46] Mar-a-lago also had numerous celebrity guests; notably, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley had their honeymoon there in 1994, and according to his biography Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness Jackson and Presley kissed for the first time at Mar-a-Lago early in their relationship.[47][48] It still frequently hosted the International Red Cross Ball, an annual "white tie, tails, and tiara" event founded by Post.[49]
In 2000, Virginia Giuffre was a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago when she was first approached by Ghislaine Maxwell and introduced to Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre would later go on to make accusations against Maxwell and Epstein for sex trafficking her to clients including Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz.[50][51]
In 2005, Trump married Melania Knauss at Mar-a-Lago. The ceremony was attended by Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as many other celebrities and figures in media and broadcasting.[52][53][54]
According to financial disclosure forms filed by Trump, the Mar-a-Lago Club had $29.7 million in gross revenues in the period of June 2015 through May 2016.[55] The club had revenues of $25.1 million for calendar year 2017, $22 million in 2018, and $21.4 million in 2019.[56][57]
In 2022, Forbes estimated the value of the estate at around $350 million.[29] In 1995 Trump "gave up the right to use Mar-a-Lago for any purpose other than as a social club" by agreeing to a "Deed of Conservation and Preservation". In 2002, he agreed to a conservation easement preventing further development.[58] According to Forbes, "Real estate experts outside of Palm Beach guessed that the place was worth more than $200 million. Brokers on the island thought it could be worth far more, with the most aggressive estimate coming in at $725 million. When Forbes last valued the property in March, we went with a conservative $350 million." A 2022 lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged that Trump inflated the value of Mar-a-Lago to $739 million, when the property should actually be valued at $75 million.[59]
First Trump presidency
See also: Mar-a-Lago Crowd
President Trump referred to Mar-a-Lago as his "Winter White House",[60] and on occasion his "Southern White House".[61]
During Trump's presidency, a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) was operational at Mar-a-Lago. It was removed after he left office.[62] The SCIF was used for communications with the White House Situation Room and Pentagon.[63] The Mar-a-Lago Crowd, an informal group organized by President Trump which oversaw many of the activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Trump administration, frequently met at the club.[64]
Notable presidential visits
Clockwise from top-left:
The Trumps host Shinzō Abe and his wife Akie Abe at Mar-a-Lago.The Trumps host Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Mar-a-Lago.President Trump hosts Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-a-Lago.President Trump (at the head of the table) and staffers monitor the missile strike on Syria from the SCIF within Mar-a-Lago.
Trump signing the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 at Mar-a-Lago on December 27, 2020
Donald Trump's first visit to Mar-a-Lago as president of the United States took place on the weekend of February 3–6, 2017. On Saturday, he hosted the Diamond Red Cross Ball at the Mar-a-Lago Club,[65] and on Sunday he watched Super Bowl LI at the nearby Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
On the weekend of February 10–12, 2017, President Trump and his wife Melania hosted Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and his wife. This was the first use of Mar-a-Lago to entertain an international leader, traditionally performed at the White House.[66] On this weekend one of President Trump's first international security crises happened, a North Korean missile launch. Trump and Abe conferred in full view of the other diners.[67]
During the third weekend visit to Mar-a-Lago on February 17–20, President Trump conducted a campaign rally at the Melbourne Orlando International Airport.[61] He also conducted interviews for a replacement National Security Advisor and named General H. R. McMaster as Michael Flynn's, who had recently been terminated,[68] successor on February 20, 2017.[68]
After President Trump's fourth weekend visit on March 3–5, 2017, questions were raised about the access his paying club members have to him and his entourage. A number of Democratic senators asked the President to release visitor logs of Mar-a-Lago and as well as a list of the members of the private club.[69] Subsequently, the "Mar-a-Lago Act" was introduced, legislation requiring publication of logs of visitors at the White House and other places where the president conducts business.[70] After a lawsuit was filed, a judge ordered, in July 2017, that these logs be released in September.[71]
President Trump's fifth presidential visit took place on March 17–18. Guests included Melania's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs.[72]
During his next visit April 6–9, President Trump hosted the Chinese president Xi Jinping for the first two days.[73][74][75] At Mar-a-Lago, the decision to strike a Syrian airfield was made.[75] The following Easter weekend was also spent with family members at Mar-a-Lago.[76][unreliable source?]
On April 4, 2017, prior to Xi's visit, ShareAmerica, a website run by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs, published a blog post describing Mar-a-Lago's history.[77] On April 5, 2017, the U.S. embassy in the United Kingdom's website shared snippets of the original blog post on its own blog, and the U.S. embassy in Albania's Facebook page shared the original post.[78][79] On April 24, 2017, Democratic senator Ron Wyden, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, and ethics observers like former ambassador Norman Eisen, questioned the use of official government resources promoting a private property owned by Trump.[80][81][82][83] By April 25, 2017, ShareAmerica and both U.S. embassies in the United Kingdom and Albania removed their respective posts. ShareAmerica, replaced their post with the following statement, "The intention of the article was to inform the public about where the president has been hosting world leaders. We regret any misperception and have removed the post."[77]
In November 2017, President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago for a Thanksgiving celebration,[84] and one month later he returned for his tenth presidential visit during his Christmas vacation.[85]
In 2018, President Trump visited Mar-a-Lago eight times prior to the seasonal closing in May. During this time he had a summit meeting with Shinzō Abe on April 17–18.[86]
In November 2018, President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving. One month later, President Trump canceled his planned Christmas vacation in Mar-a-Lago following the federal government shutdown. In November 2019, he returned to Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving, and a month later returned for Christmas.
On March 7, 2020, President Trump hosted Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for a working dinner, where the two leaders discussed the U.S.-led effort to oust Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, a future trade deal, and peace for the Middle East.[87] Also at the dinner was Bolsonaro's press secretary, Fábio Wajngarten [pt], whose wife informed others on social media on March 11, 2020, that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after he had returned from the United States via Miami to Brazil.[88] Others attending the dinner included Vice President Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner.[89]
Security zone
When President Trump was in residence as president, the Palm Beach region became a zone of temporary flight restrictions[90] affecting flights and air operations severely within a 30 nautical mile (55.56 km) radius.[91] Coast Guard and Secret Service secured the two waterway approaches, ocean and lake, and Secret Service cordoned off streets to Mar-a-Lago during the president's visits. The Coast Guard also attached an elite Maritime Safety and Security Team with unique capabilities that specialized in maritime security.[92] By the third weekend in February 2017, nearby Palm Beach County Park Airport (Lantana Airport) had been shut down for three consecutive weekends, accumulating significant financial losses for multiple businesses.[93]
Between Trump presidencies
At the end of his term, Trump went to live at Mar-a-Lago and established an office as provided for by the Former Presidents Act.[94][95] Following the end of his term, Trump and other Republican candidates continued to hold fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago, and Trump continued to hold significant influence over the Republican party, a state of affairs labelled the "Mar-a-Lago machine" by The New York Times.[96][97][98]
Mar-a-Lago was the location of watch parties for Trump and close allies for the 2022 United States elections on November 8, 2022, and for Super Tuesday on March 5, 2024.[99][100] During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump hosted Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago.[101]
Storage of classified records
Main article: FBI search of Mar-a-Lago
Classified documents stored in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago
Upon departing the White House in January 2021, Trump transported a large volume of presidential records to Mar-a-Lago, despite storage of such materials being subject to the Presidential Records Act.[102] Seeking to preserve presidential communications and correspondence with world leaders, the National Archives and Records Administration arranged to retrieve 15 boxes of material from Mar-a-Lago in January 2022.[103] These included documents clearly marked as classified, prompting the Department of Justice to restrict any details regarding the contents of the 15 boxes.[104]
On May 11, 2022, the Justice Department sent Trump a grand jury subpoena, requesting any additional documents marked classified.[105] A later subpoena requested surveillance footage from the club. On August 8, 2022, FBI agents presented a search warrant and searched Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago, part of the continuing investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents. The Secret Service "facilitated access" for the FBI, and one of Trump's lawyers was present for the search.[106]
Second Trump presidency
Trump was at Mar-a-Lago on the night of the 2024 United States presidential election. While Trump's official watch party was hosted at Palm Beach County Convention Center, where Trump delivered his victory speech,[107][108][100] Trump hosted a more exclusive watch party and several private dinners at Mar-a-Lago during election night. Attendees at the event included his extended family, close friends and members of the Mar-a-Lago club. Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dana White and Vivek Ramaswamy were all at the Mar-a-Lago events, as well as foreign political figures such as Nigel Farage and Eduardo Bolsonaro.[109][110] Following his election to a second term as President of the United States, Mar-a-Lago became the base for the second presidential transition of Donald Trump as the president-elect made decisions on the nomination of people for his upcoming administration.[111]
Architectural style, layout, and materials
Architecturally, the resort is in Spanish Revival style. The house is a Mediterranean-style villa, an adaptation of Hispano-Moresque architecture which was popular in Palm Beach at the time. It has a two-story central block with family quarters and service areas in lower subsidiary wings and buildings. This arrangement was chosen by Mrs. Post to keep the main house from appearing too massive and to separate the family and service areas from those used for entertaining. The house is topped by a seventy-five foot, tile-roofed tower containing bedrooms, baths, and an observation deck with an extensive view of Palm Beach.[17]
Among the imported materials used were three boatloads of Doria limestone from Genoa visible in the exterior wall facing, some interior structures, arches, and the Barwig sculptures. This fossil-bearing limestone was chosen for its quality of rapid aging and its suitability for intricate carving. Approximately 20,000 roofing tiles and 2,200 black and white marble floor blocks came from a Cuban castle. Spanish tiles are used in the entrance hall, patio, cloisters, and some rooms from a collection of nearly 36,000 15th century tiles that had been assembled in the 1880s by Mrs. Horace Havermeyer. This collection is possibly one of the largest in the world.[17]
The house has 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, a 29-foot-long (8.8 m) pietra dura marble-top dining table, 12 fireplaces, and three bomb shelters.
On April 18, 2012, members of the American Institute of Architects' Florida chapter ranked Mar-a-Lago fifth on the Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places list.[112]
The Mar-a-Lago Club
Mar-a-Lago in 2009
The primary business occupying the estate is the Mar-a-Lago Club, which opened in 1995 and operates as resort and hotel for dues-paying members, and rents out estate venues for private events. Operating the mansion as a club in this way, while continuing to live on the premises, allows Trump to significantly reduce his tax bill, by identifying a range of items used to maintain the mansion and his lifestyle as being legitimate business expenses.[113]
Membership at the Mar-a-Lago Club required a $200,000 initiation fee. In 2012, reportedly in response to reduced demand following the Bernie Madoff scandal which affected many affluent Palm Beach residents, the fee was lowered to $100,000.[114] The fee returned to $200,000 in January 2017 after Trump was elected president,[114] with $14,000 annual dues.[115] Overnight guests paid up to $2,000 a night.[24]
The membership list of Mar-a-Lago has long been shrouded in secrecy. The 2020 book The Grifter's Club had access to old membership records from the club, which confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein had been a member until 2007, and reveals that he was expelled "after Epstein harassed the daughter of a member", according to another Mar-a-Lago member. The book alleges that the girl was a teenager at the time, and confirms that Epstein is listed in club membership records as "Account closed 10/07", in contrast to cases of members' resignations, where "Resigned" is normally noted.[116]
As of January 2017, the club was nearly at its maximum capacity of 500 paying members and was admitting twenty to forty new members a year.[117][118] Members as of 2017 include oil executive Bill Koch, financier Thomas Peterffy, New Jersey Democratic Party leader George Norcross, lobbyist Kenneth Duberstein, real estate developers Bruce E. Toll and Richard LeFrak, media executive Christopher Ruddy, talk show host Howie Carr, talk show host Michael Savage's wife, and NFL coach Bill Belichick.[118]
In February 2017 it was reported that Trump was considering at least three club members for ambassadorships.[118]
In protest against Trump's remarks on the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, six nonprofit organizations canceled scheduled gala events at the club. The charities canceling included the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society.[119]
The club has been frequently cited for health code violations. In January 2017, Florida inspectors noted 15 infractions that included unsafe seafood, insufficiently refrigerated meats, rusty shelving, and cooks without hairnets.[120] However, according to Florida department of Business and Professional Regulation spokesman, Stephen Lawson, "The infractions were corrected on site, and the establishment was immediately brought into compliance."[120] Since 2013, it has faced 51 health code violations.[121]
On March 30, 2019, Yujing Zhang, a Chinese national, was arrested and charged with unlawful entry to the premises and making false statements to federal law enforcement officials.[122] Chinese nationals were also arrested for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago in December 2019.[123] Chinese national Zijie Li attempted to enter the property at least three times in 2024.[124]
In August 2022, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a Ukrainian-born Russian speaker who used a fake name and claimed to be a Rothschild family heiress had frequented the residence over a year's time, even posing there for photos with Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham.[125][126]
Legal issues
Hurricane insurance claim
Trump received a $17 million insurance payment for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago after the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, for damage to the "landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion", as he described. Anthony Senecal, a former mayor and[127] Trump's former butler at the resort and later its "in-house historian" said some trees behind the resort had been flattened and some roof tiles were lost, but "That house has never been seriously damaged. I was there for all [the hurricanes]."[128]
American flag litigation
On October 3, 2006, Trump raised a 20-by-30-foot (6.1 by 9.1 m) American flag on an 80-foot (24 m) flagpole at Mar-a-Lago. Town zoning officials asked Trump to adhere to town zoning codes that limit flagpoles to a height of 42 feet (13 m).[129] This dispute led the town council of Palm Beach to charge Trump $1,250 for every day the flag stayed up. Trump filed a lawsuit against the Town of Palm Beach. He eventually dropped his lawsuit over the flag, and in exchange the town waived its fines.[130] As part of a court-ordered mediation, Trump was allowed to file for a permit and keep a pole that was both 10 feet (3.0 m) shorter than the original pole and located on a different spot on his lawn. The agreement also required him to donate $100,000 to veterans' charities, and resulted in a change to town ordinances allowing out-of-town club members.[131]
Discrimination lawsuit
In 1993, Trump and the city of Palm Beach signed an agreement that allowed Trump to turn the residence into a private club.[132] In November 1996, Trump asked the Palm Beach council to lift the restrictions contained in the agreement that limited media photography, filmmaking, land sales, membership, and traffic at the club, and prevented him from applying for tax exemptions on the property for three years. The council denied the request. According to Vanity Fair, before the meeting "Trump and his attorney had already implied that he and his club had been discriminated against because many of its members were Jewish, and, worse, that the council members who had placed the conditions on him had not placed those restrictions on their own clubs."[23] In December 1997, Trump filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that the town discriminated against him and his club because the club accepted Jewish and African-American members[133] and because town officials had financial stakes in competing clubs.[134]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar-a-Lago
Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to extend her regency. Margaret was the eldest daughter and second child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. By her line, the House of Stuart eventually acceded to the throne of England and Ireland, in addition to Scotland.
Margaret married James IV at the age of 13, in accordance with the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between England and Scotland. Together, they had six children, though only one of them reached adulthood. Margaret's marriage to James linked the royal houses of England and Scotland, which a century later resulted in the Union of the Crowns. Following the death of James IV at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, Margaret, as queen dowager, was appointed as regent for their son James V. A pro-French party took shape among the nobility, urging that the king's closest male relative, John Stewart, Duke of Albany, should replace Margaret as regent. In seeking allies, Margaret turned to the Douglases, and in 1514 she married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, with whom she had one daughter, Margaret Douglas. Margaret's marriage to Angus alienated other powerful nobles and saw Albany take her place as regent. In 1524, Margaret, with the help of the Hamiltons, removed Albany from power in a coup d'état while he was in France, and was recognised by Parliament as regent, then later as chief counsellor to James V when he came of age.
In 1527, Pope Clement VII approved Margaret's annulment from Angus.[1] The following year, she married Henry Stewart, whom the King created Lord Methven. Through her first and second marriages, Margaret was the grandmother of both Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Tudor
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.
Career
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.
Alan's career in England can be traced largely through his presence as a witness to charters granted by the king during his travels in the first decade or more of his reign. Some of his activities were traced by Eyton, and his researches overlap with William Farrer's calendar of Henry I travel. All of the business in which he took part was ecclesiastical, involving grants, sometimes disputed, to churches and monasteries.
Appearances at court
Alan appeared in Henry I's company at least as early as September 1101, probably at a court held in Windsor Castle,[8] when he witnessed important grants to Norwich Cathedral, confirming its foundation and various endowments.[9][10] Next, he appeared with the king at Canterbury in 1103,[11] where he witnessed the grant of a market to the nuns of Malling Abbey and land acquisitions by Rochester Cathedral, then in the process of rebuilding.[12]
Later that year,[13] or early in the next,[14] Alan was with the king in the New Forest, where the business concerned Andover Priory, a daughter house of the great Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Florent de Saumur.[15] He was probably selected deliberately for this meeting because of his family's close connections with Saumur Abbey: one of his uncles was a monk there.[16] William Rufus had decreed that all chapels in the parish of Andover church should be handed over to the monks or destroyed.[17] One problem at issue revolved around the Foxcote chapel, which was evidently being defended from destruction or annexation by Edward de Foscote, a local landowner. Another seems to have been the administration of justice in the monastic estates.[18] Wihenoc, a monk of St Florent, had initiated an action against the reeve of Andover to have these issues clarified and resolved. Alan Fitz Flaad was called upon to witness a compromise, although Foxcote was among the properties confirmed to the priory by Pope Eugenius III in 1146.[19]
In the autumn of 1105, Alan was called to York to witness confirmation of Ralph Paynel's transfer of his refounded Holy Trinity Priory in York to Marmoutier Abbey, Tours[20][21] and his many endowments of the priory itself.[22][23] At some point, he also witnessed the Roger de Nonant's gift of the church at Totnes and various tithes to the Abbey of Ss Sergius and Bacchus at Angers, a gift earmarked as being for the souls of the royal family.[24]
In May 1110, Alan was at court at Windsor again to witness the king's settlement of a property dispute between Hervey le Breton, Bishop of Ely, and Ranulph Flambard, Bishop of Durham, resolved in favour of the former.[25]
Probably only later did he appear as a witness to a royal command issued to Richard de Belmeis I, the Bishop of London and the king's viceroy in Shropshire, to see that justice was done in the case of a disputed prebend at Morville.[26][27] The collegiate church there had been dissolved and replaced with a priory attached to Shrewsbury Abbey[28] and it seems that the son of one of the prebendaries was resisting the loss of what he regarded as his patrimony. Alan is listed among a group of Shropshire magnates, including Corbets and a Peverel, meeting perhaps during Henry I's 1114 military expedition into Wales. Johnson and Cronne tentatively place the meeting at Holdgate Castle in Shropshire. Eyton dates the event earlier, around the time of a royal expedition to Shropshire in 1109.[29] Whatever the date, it shows Alan as an important member of the Shropshire landowning class.
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
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/
Caput Mundi is a Latin phrase which literally means "Head of the world" whereas Roma Caput Mundi means "Rome capital of the world" and is one of the many nicknames given to the city of Rome throughout its history.[1]
The phrase is related to the enduring power of the city first as the capital of the Republic and the Empire, and later as the centre of the Catholic Church.[2]
Although it is not known for sure when it was first used, Rome was already named in this way by the poet Ovid in 1st century BC.[3]
Along with "Eternal City" and the "City of Seven Hills", Caput Mundi remains as one of the most commonly used names to refer to the city of Rome.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caput_Mundi
Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[1] It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family.[2] He was the first Jewish member of the House of Lords not to have previously converted to Christianity. The current holder of the title is Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, who inherited the barony in 1990."
In 1822, the hereditary title of Freiherr (baron) of the Austrian Empire was granted in the Austrian nobility by Emperor Francis I of Austria to the five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild.[5] In 1838, Queen Victoria authorized the use of this Austrian baronial title in the United Kingdom by Lionel de Rothschild and certain other members of the Rothschild family.[6][7] However, the use of such foreign titles in the United Kingdom was subsequently limited by a warrant of 27 April 1932.[8]"
Baron Rothschild - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Rothschild
The family of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and owner of The Trump Organization, is a prominent American family active in real estate, entertainment, business, and politics. Trump, his wife Melania, and son BARRON were the first family of the United States for the duration of his presidency. Trump's paternal grandparents, Frederick Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump, had immigrated to the United States from Germany. Donald Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, came from the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland.[1] Trump has five children from three wives, and 10 grandchildren."
Family of Donald Trump - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Donald_Trump#Barron_Trump
Trump International, Scotland
@TrumpScotland
Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States, announced today the start of a new golf venture in Scotland: the MacLeod course, to be built at Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire in honor of his late mother Mary Anne MacLeod.
10:47 AM · May 1, 2023
https://x.com/TrumpScotland/status/1653093764271857666
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) [a] was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until his death in 1766. The only son of James II of England and his second wife, Mary of Modena, he was Prince of Wales and heir until his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His Protestant half-sister Mary II and her husband William III became co-monarchs. As a Catholic, he was subsequently excluded from the succession by the Act of Settlement 1701.
Raised primarily in France and Italy, when his father died in September 1701 James claimed the thrones. As part of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1708 Louis XIV of France backed a landing in Scotland on his behalf. This failed, as did further attempts in 1715 and 1719. Led by his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, the 1745 Rising was the last serious effort to restore the House of Stuart.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart
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
Protocol 17: The King of the Jews will be the real Pope of the Universe, the patriarch of an international Church.
But, in the meantime, while we are re-educating youth in new traditional religions and afterwards in ours, we shall not overtly lay a finger on existing churches, but we shall fight them by criticism calculated to produce schism....
Notice that "The King of the Jews" will replace the Pope. Jews would not be concerned with replacing the Pope. They do not even recognize the Church. On the other hand, the Priory of Sion used the Catholic Church to build its empire. It was subject to the Roman Church for centuries, but withdrew during the Reformation, and through Free-masonry became adversarial to the Church. Naturally, the Priory would want to call their king "the real Pope of the Universe."
Also, notice the reference to New Age religion. Before the New Age can be perfected, the Protocol states that "criticism" must first divide the Church. This "criticism" is likely the new "Biblical criticism," the sources of which Orthodox Rabbi Marvin Antelman has revealed to us. In his book, To Eliminate The Opiate, he devotes a whole chapter entitled "The Birth of Biblical Criticism" to the subject. He lays Biblical Criticism at the feet of the Frankist-Reform Jews who were protected by illuminated Masonic lodges in Germany. Rabbi Antelman confirms that Biblical criticism did not originate with Orthodox Jews, but rather; was orchestrated by apostate Jews bent on the destruction of Jude~ Christian religion.
Scarlet and the Beast
by John Daniel
https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf
Lucky 17, Q and the 'tippy top' White House: How conspiracy theories are being turbo-charged in Donald Trump's America
Donald Trump
World
Thursday 22 November 2018 at 12:01am
Robert Moore
ITV News Correspondent
There are some riddles about America that I never imagined I would have to unravel.
In fact, there are many conspiracy theories that exist in the dark recesses here that I never knew about, even after reporting from the US for more than a decade.
Until recently, I was blissfully unaware of the significance of the number 17 to many Americans.
I had never pondered the letter Q as a political force.
I would have struggled to tell you why thousands of people were exhilarated when Donald Trump used the phrase “tippy top” from the White House balcony.
Today, having spent a month researching and filming American conspiracy theories for a documentary for ITV’s Tonight programme, I feel more informed and more confused at the same time.
I have a better grasp, certainly, of why Americans are drawn to the idea of conspiracies and secret plots.
But as these theories are turbo-charged by the internet, talk radio and social media, I don’t know where it ends.
Does America become increasingly paranoid and suspicious, seeing shadows and threats everywhere, or does it eventually rediscover its equilibrium and return to a belief in reason and science?
Let me explain those riddles.
Q is the name that many Trump-supporting Americans give to the secretive figure they believe exists inside the government, who is helping the president defeat his enemies.
They believe that Q will not only ensure Trump’s survival but that he - or she - will turn the tables and destroy the Democrats and the Deep State.
And since Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet, his followers attach special significance to that number.
In the eyes of Q believers, his credibility was enhanced when a follower asked Q to get President Trump to say “tip top”.
Sure enough, Trump did use those words, although he had used the phrase before and there is no evidence of a link between the president and the Q conspiracy theory.
America has always been awash with such ideas.
From the hysteria of the 17th century Salem witch trials, through to the paranoid McCarthy era, to the JFK assassination and 9/11, there is a direct connection.
All have fuelled Americans’ obsession with conspiracies and raised doubts about whether official explanations are accurate.
But today something much more remarkable has occurred.
Suddenly, the conspiracy theorist-in-chief is on the inside.
He works from the White House. He is the President of the United States of America.
Donald Trump has weaponised conspiracy theories for his own political benefit.
Indeed, he came to political prominence by riding on the back of the Birther Movement, the pernicious lie that claims that Barack Obama was born in Africa and therefore was an illegitimate president.
Whether it is believing votes have been deliberately miscounted in the mid-term elections, or that there is a Deep State conspiracy against him, Trump is playing to the anxiety of millions of Americans who already have a profound distrust of the government and mainstream sources of news.
Many recent acts of violence have been triggered by those who believe in wild conspiracy theories, including most recently the gunman who murdered 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue.
So there is grave danger ahead if the battle for truth is lost.
In our film, we speak to those who believe passionately in the existence of Q; we hear from those who have been traumatised by conspiracy theorists; and we speak to scientists and intellectuals who are fighting back.
Besieged by talk of Fake News, with a president who portrays much of the media as the Enemy of the People, America is at a crossroads.
https://www.itv.com/news/2018-11-22/lucky-17-q-and-the-tippy-top-president-how-conspiracy-theories-are-being-turbo-charged-into-donald-trumps-america
Louis Farrakhan (/ˈfɑːrəkɑːn/; born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black nationalist organization.[2][3] Farrakhan is notable for his leadership of the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, D.C., and for his rhetoric that has been widely denounced as antisemitic and racist.
Prior to joining the NOI, Farrakhan was a calypso singer who used the stage name Calypso Gene. Early in his career, he served as the minister of mosques in Boston and Harlem and was appointed to the post of National Representative of the Nation of Islam by then-NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. He adopted the name Louis X before being named Louis Farrakhan.
After Warith Deen Mohammed reorganized the original NOI into the orthodox Sunni Islamic group American Society of Muslims, Farrakhan began to rebuild the NOI as "Final Call". In 1981, he officially adopted the name "Nation of Islam", reviving the group and establishing its headquarters at Mosque Maryam. In October 1995, Farrakhan organized and led the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.. Due to health issues, he reduced his responsibilities with the NOI in 2007.[4] However, Farrakhan has continued to deliver sermons[5] and speak at NOI events.[6] In 2015, he led the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March: Justice or Else.
Farrakhan is known for antisemitic statements and racist remarks directed at white people. His antisemitic statements and views have been condemned by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL),[7][6] and other organizations.[8] Farrakhan's views and remarks have also been called homophobic.[9] He has denied assertions that he is antisemitic, racist, or anti-gay.[10][11][12] Farrakhan was banned from Facebook in 2019 along with other public figures considered to be extremists.[13][14]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Farrakhan
416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]
L. D. S. "
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
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
Clovis is the modern conventional French (and thence English) form of the Old Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ (in runic alphabet) or *"Hlōdowik" or "Hlōdowig" (in Latin alphabet), equivalent to the modern forms Louis (French), Lodewijk (Dutch), Lewis (English), and Ludwig (German).
Etymology
The name *Hlōdowik or *Hlōdowig is traditionally considered to be composed of two elements, deriving from both Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, resulting in the traditional practice of translating Clovis' name as meaning "famous warrior".
However, scholars have pointed out that Gregory of Tours consequently transcribes the names of various Merovingian royal names containing the first element as chlodo-. The use of a close-mid back protruded vowel (o), rather than the expected close back rounded vowel (u) which Gregory does use in various other Germanic names (i.e. Fredegundis, Arnulfus, Gundobadus, etc.) opens up the possibility that the first element instead derives from Proto-Germanic *hlutą ("lot, share, portion"), giving the meaning of the name as "loot bringer" or "plunder (bringing) warrior". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that if the first element is taken to mean "famous", then the name of Chlodomer (one of Clovis' sons) would contain two elements (*hlūdaz and *mērijaz) both meaning "famous", which would be highly uncommon within the typical Germanic name structure.[1][2]
Frankish royalty
Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler
Clovis II (637 – c. 658), king of Neustria and Burgundy
Clovis III (reigned 675–676), the king of Austrasia
Clovis IV (682–695), the sole king of the Franks from 691 until 695
Clovis (died 580), son of Chilperic I and Audovera, assassinated by his father and stepmother
Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, King of Aquitaine from 781 and sole ruler of the Franks 814–840, but counted as "Louis I of France" even though West Francia (the nucleus of the later kingdom of France) was formed only after his death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_(given_name
The Carolingian dynasty (/ˌkærəˈlɪndʒiən/ KARR-ə-LIN-jee-ən;[1] known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD.[2] The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. Nearly every monarch of France from Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious till the penultimate monarch of France Louis Philippe have been his descendants. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Name
The Carolingian dynasty takes its name from Carolus, the Latinised name of multiple Frankish kings including Charlemagne and Charles Martel.[3] The name originates from a common Germanic word, rendered in Old High German as Karl or Kerl,[4] meaning 'man', 'husband', or 'freeman'.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_dynasty
THE CONFLICT: PRIORY OF SION VERSUS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
Secret societies by virtue of their very secrecy have often kept historians at bay, and the historians, reluctant to confess their ignorance, prefer to diminish the consequence of their subject. Freemasonry.. is of vital importance to any social, psychological, cultural or political history of eighteenth-century Europe, and even to the founding of the United States; but most history books don't even mention it. It is almost as if an implicit policy obtained: If something cannot be exhaustively documented, it must be irrelevant and thereby not worth discussing I at all. Investigators of the Holy Grail' Freemasonry, French and English, as we know it today, finds its loots in two organizations of the Middle Ages - the Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. What follows is the fascinating, if sometimes complicated and obscure history, of how these two modern, anti-Christian secular secret societies - English and French Freemasonry - developed from two groups that themselves had roots in the occult. We will see how the Priory of Sion desired to rule the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem through its counterfeit Jewish Merovingian bloodline, and how its own creation, the Knights Templar, moved beyond its role as police and protector of Sion to financial masters of medieval Europe. We will trace the alliance of Sion and the Templars, their dispute over the discovery of Solomon's treasures, and the terrible intrigues which followed that led to the undoing of the Templars in their struggle over wealth, power, and politics. We will reveal the beliefs of these two groups: that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene; that a spiritual god of good (Satan) battles a material god of evil; that Lucifer, not Jesus, deserves worship; that a "Spear of Destiny" (later sought and possessed by Hitler) allows the holder to rule the world. We will also present data about the whereabouts of King Solomon's wealth, the plan to one day return it to Jerusalem, and reveal that the ultimate goal of these two groups is world government, and that their descendants, English and French Freemasonry, desire the same. The Historical Trail: The Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail In 1982 and 1986 three secular revisionist authors, Michael Baigent~ Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln published Holy Blood, Holy Grail followed by The Messianic Legacy. These two books dramatically reveal a secret order structured in the manner of Freemasonry, and founded in Europe twelve centuries before the Grand Lodge was officially formed in 1717. This order protects both the Holy Grail and the Merovingian bloodline, which bloodline carried Mystery Babylon into the Catholic Church in 496 A.D. 56 The Holy Grail, of course, is the so-called cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The Merovingians, owners of the Holy Grail, teach that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene. The Merovingians claim to be the offspring of that "holy" union, and as such, assert they are Jews of the Davidic line.
In Revelation 17:3-5 the apostle John describes a vision, which Rev. J. R. Church in Guardians of the Grail believes is fulfilled in the Grail legend. The Whore of Babylon is holding in her hand a golden cup full of blasphemy. Church believes the cup is the blasphemous Holy Grail Another element of the Grail legend is the spear supposed to have pierced the side of Jesus, also known as the Spear of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny. Whoever possesses this spear, so the legend goes, will rule the world. The Merovingians, whose descendants are the Habsburg pretenders to the Austrian throne today, are in possession of the spear. It is on display in the Habsburg museum in Vienna, Austria~ No one, however, knows the location of the Holy Grail. At least no one is telling. Although heretical, this secret society should not be discounted, for it is alive and well today. In fact, in 1956, an Order calling itself the Prieure de Sion, or Priory of Sion, registered itself publicly for the first time with the French government. (Sion is French for Zion.) It is from this Order that the legend of the Holy Grail originated five centuries after Christ's death. Rev. Church remarks of this organization: This mysterious group is presently made up of over 9,000 men, including Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Moslems. The members of this secret sect should be considered unfaithful to their respective beliefs, for in reality they are neither Christian nor Catholic, they are neither Jew nor Moslem. Their doctrine sidesteps the basic tenets of those beliefs and replaces them with the teachings of their greatest prophet - whom they believe to be Buddha.2 From this secret order J. R. Church believes will come the Anti-Christ, for he writes, "Their ultimate goal is world government!'"
Scarlet and the Beast
by John Daniel
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCd0nFuvnM4OYWuVW5QUBCpsTfBv5bYx/view?usp=sharing
Joseph Anthony Marella (February 28, 1963 – July 4, 1994) was an American professional wrestling referee for the World Wrestling Federation and son of former wrestler and then WWF announcer Gorilla Monsoon (Robert Marella) from Willingboro Township, New Jersey.[1]
Career
Joey Marella joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1983,[2] and moved through the ranks until he was often assigned to referee feature promotion matches.[3] In 1987, he served as the referee for the much-hyped match between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant at WrestleMania III as well as their rematch in 1988 at WrestleMania IV.[4] 10 minutes prior to their WrestleMania III match, André had asked Vince McMahon to choose Marella to be the referee for that match.[5]
Marella was also the official for the 1992 SummerSlam main event of Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith at London's famous Wembley Stadium.[6] Marella was briefly suspended for a substance abuse problem in 1993 and then later re-hired.[7]
He was also part of the controversy at the 1994 Royal Rumble match in which he and former WWF referee Earl Hebner couldn't decide between Lex Luger and Bret Hart as to who had won the match.[8][9][10]
During Marella's career as a WWF referee, while becoming one of the Federation's most respected in-ring officials, he also became the butt of jokes for heel based commentators especially when they were teamed with Marella's father Gorilla Monsoon with Monsoon regularly using one of his catch phrases "Will you stop" (mostly said to either Jesse "The Body" Ventura or Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) when they would criticize his performance. This was actually an inside joke, as the fact that Monsoon and Marella were actually father and son was not well known by fans until after Marella had died. Earl Hebner discussed in an interview how Marella was a good person. Hebner revealed that he was scheduled to referee the last match on a card, but Marella offered to referee the last match so Hebner could get out early and fly home from the nearby Newark Airport.[11]
Other media
Marella also appeared in the 1989 WWF produced movie No Holds Barred as a referee during a wrestling match.[12]
Death and legacy
He died in a car accident on July 4, 1994, at the age of 31, after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a guardrail and a tree while driving home on the New Jersey Turnpike after a night of refereeing WWF matches in Ocean City, Maryland.[13][14][15] Bruno Lauer, better known by his ring name Harvey Wippleman, was with him at the time and was critically injured. Lauer was wearing a seatbelt, while Marella was not. Following his death, the WWF instituted rules that WWF personnel had to check into hotels when working late. Furthermore, they would no longer travel alone and everyone traveling together had to agree to travel.[16] Marella is buried next to his father Gorilla Monsoon (1937–1999) at Lakeview Memorial Park in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Images of a baseball player and a golfer were placed on his headstone due to his love of the two sports.[2] As a tribute, WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel named his son after Marella. Marella's sister Valerie also named a son after her brother.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Marella
Chaldean Catholic Church
Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ
Interior of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Baghdad, Iraq
Type Particular church (sui iuris)
Classification Christian
Orientation
Eastern Catholic
Syriac
Scripture Peshitta[1]
Theology Catholic theology
Governance Holy Synod of the Chaldean Church[2]
Pope Leo XIV
Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako
Region Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon; diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia
Language Liturgical: Syriac[3]
Liturgy East Syriac Rite
Headquarters Cathedral of Mary Mother of Sorrows, Baghdad, Iraq
Founder Traditionally traced to Thomas the Apostle via Addai and Mari; established in 1552 under Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa
Origin 1552
Ottoman Iraq
Separated from Church of the East
Members 616,639 (2018)[4]
Other name Chaldean Patriarchate
Official website chaldeanpatriarchate.com
The Chaldean Catholic Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĒdtā Kalḏāytā Qāṯōlīqāytā; الكنيسة الكلدانية, al-Kanīsa al-Kaldāniyya; Latin: Ecclesia Chaldaeorum Catholica) is an Eastern Catholic particular church (sui iuris) in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church. It uses the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac language and forms part of the Syriac tradition.
The church is headed by the patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, currently Louis Raphaël I Sako, and is based in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Baghdad, Iraq. As of 2018, it counted approximately 616,639 members globally, with most residing in Iraq and significant diasporic communities in North America, Europe, and Australia.[4]
The Chaldean Catholic Church emerged following the Schism of 1552, when a faction of the Church of the East sought to restore communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa was elected patriarch and traveled to Rome, where Pope Julius III confirmed his position in 1553.
Demographics
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, citing the Iraqi Christian Foundation, around 80% of Iraqi Christians are Chaldean Catholics.[5] A 2018 report by the U.S. Department of State estimated that 67% of Christians in Iraq belonged to the Chaldean Catholic Church.[6] The European Union Agency for Asylum cited similar figures in its 2019 country guidance.[7]
Ethnicity
The majority of adherents are ethnic Assyrians, also referred to as Chaldo-Assyrians.[8] Chaldean communities are primarily located in northern Iraq, especially in towns such as Alqosh, Ankawa, Araden, Tel Keppe, and Shaqlawa, as well as among diaspora populations.
Terminology
Neither before nor after the 15th century did the term "Chaldean" indicate a supposed ethnic connection of the Church of the East with ancient south Babylonian Chaldea and its inhabitants, which emerged during the 9th century BC after Chaldean tribes migrated from the Levant region of Urfa in Upper Mesopotamia to southeast Mesopotamia, and disappeared from history during the 6th century BC:[9] it referred instead to the use by Christians of that church of the Syriac language, a form of the biblical Aramaic language, which was then and indeed until the 19th century generally called Chaldean.[10][11][12][13]
Outside of Catholic Church usage, the term "Chaldean" continued to apply to all associated with the Church of the East tradition, whether they were in communion with Rome or not. It indicated not race or nationality, but only language or religion. Throughout the 19th century, it continued to be used of East Syriac Christians, whether "Nestorian" or Catholic,[14][15][16][17][18] and this usage continued into the 20th century.[19]
Historical usage
4th century
For many centuries, from at least the time of Jerome (c. 347 – 420),[10] the term "Chaldean" was a misnomer that indicated the Biblical Aramaic language[20] and was still the normal name in the nineteenth century. Jerome did know that Aramaic was in the Bible, where he designated the biblical Aramaic by the term "Chaldean". Jerome implied that one reason the books of Tobit and Judith are undeserving of inclusion within the biblical canon is because they were written in Chaldean. Because he translated the Hebrew Bible, he would naturally recognize each time which language would be much more difficult for him when the passages changed from Hebrew to Chaldean.[11][12][13]
In Porphyry's Philosophy from Oracles, quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea in Praeparatio Evangelica, from the early 4th century AD, the term "Chaldean" was mentioned as a synonym for "Assyrian": "The discovery was ascribed by the god to Egyptians, Phoenicians, Chaldeans (for these are the Assyrians), Lydians, and Hebrews."[21]
15th–16th century
Only in 1445 did it begin to be used to mean Aramaic speakers in communion with the Catholic Church, on the basis of a decree of the Council of Florence,[22] which accepted the profession of faith that Timothy, metropolitan of the Aramaic speakers in Cyprus, made in Aramaic, and which decreed that "nobody shall in future dare to call [...] Chaldeans, Nestorians".[23][24][25]
In the 16th century, Spanish cleric Francis Xavier used the term "Chaldean" for the Syriac language in this statement: "Not even the Caciz themselves understand the prayers which they recite: which are in a foreign language (I think Chaldean). They render special honours to the Apostle St. Thomas, claiming to be descendants of the Christians begotten to Jesus Christ by that Apostle in these countries."[26]
19th century
A letter from November 14, 1838, states: “The so-called “Chaldeans" of Mesopotamia received that title, as you know, from the pope, on their becoming Catholics.”[27] Previously, when there were as yet no Catholic Aramaic speakers of Mesopotamian origin, the term "Chaldean" was applied with explicit reference to their "Nestorian" religion. Thus Jacques de Vitry wrote of them in 1220/1 that "they denied that Mary was the Mother of God and claimed that Christ existed in two persons. They consecrated leavened bread and used the 'Chaldean' (Syriac) language".[28] The decree of the Council of Florence was directed against use of "Chaldean" to signify "non-Catholic."
In 1852 George Percy Badger distinguished those whom he called Chaldeans from those whom he called Nestorians, but by religion alone, never by language, race or nationality.[29]
The Assyrian ethnicity of Chaldean Catholics is also attested by Assyriology. In 1881, archeologist and author Hormuzd Rassam stated: “The inhabitants of Assyria consist now of mixed races, Arabs, Turkomans, Koords, Yezeedees, Jews, and Christians called Chaldeans and Syrians. The last two-named denominations doubtless belong to one nationality, the Assyrian, and they were only distinguished by these two names when they separated consequent upon the theological dispute of the age, namely, Monophisites or Jacobites, and Nestorians.”[30]
Contemporary
In 1920, Herbert Henry Austin stated: “It may not be out of place, therefore, to point out that there were exceedingly few Roman Catholic Assyrians or “Chaldeans" as they are generally termed when they embrace Rome, amongst the refugees at Baqubah. The very large majority of the Roman Catholic Assyrians in the Mosul vilayet did not join the mountaineers and fight against the Turks and in consequence were permitted by the Turks to continue to dwell practically unmolested in their homes about Mosul."[31][32]
Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid of the Chaldean Catholic Church (1989–2003), who accepted the term Assyrian as descriptive of his nationality and ethnicity, commented: "When a portion of the Church of the East became Catholic in the 17th Century, the name given to the church was 'Chaldean' based on the Magi kings who were believed by some to have come from what once had been the land of the Chaldean, to Bethlehem. The name 'Chaldean' does not represent an ethnicity, just a church [...] We have to separate what is ethnicity and what is religion [...] I myself, my sect is Chaldean, but ethnically, I am Assyrian."[33] Earlier, he said: "Before I became a priest I was an Assyrian, before I became a bishop I was an Assyrian, I am an Assyrian today, tomorrow, forever, and I am proud of it."[34]
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Urmia, Mar Toma Audo (1854-1918), considered the most elegant Syriac writer of his time,[35] also stressed the remnants of the ancient Assyrians were the East Syrians (Suryāyē Madənkhāyē). Commenting in his Syriac work The Selected Readings, published in 1906, he wrote: "We too, the East Syrians, descend from the aforementioned Assyrians, we are children of the Assyrians or Ashur son of Shem and on account of this we are also Semites. We have preserved until today the language of our ancestors with of course some changes which have entered it." He then continues and explains how "Syrian" (Surāyā) is simply a shortened abbreviation of "Assyrian," and notes that some scholars contemporary to him believed that the Assyrians adopted the name "Syrian" after converting to Christianity.[36]
History
The Church of the East
Main article: Church of the East
The Chaldean Catholic Church traces its beginnings to the Church of the East, which was founded in the Parthian Empire. The Acts of the Apostles mentions Parthians as among those to whom the apostles preached on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9). Thomas the Apostle, Thaddeus of Edessa, and Bartholomew the Apostle are reputed to be its founders. One of the modern Churches that boast descent from it says it is "the Church in Babylon" spoken of in 1 Peter 5:13 and that he visited it.[37]
Under the rule of the Sasanian Empire, which overthrew the Parthians in 224, the Church of the East continued to develop its distinctive identity by use of the Syriac language and Syriac script. One "Persian" bishop was at the First Council of Nicaea (325).[38] There is no mention of Persian participation in the First Council of Constantinople (381), in which also the Western part of the Roman Empire was not involved.
The Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon of 410, held in the Sasanian capital, recognized the city's bishop Isaac as Catholicos, with authority throughout the Church of the East. The persistent military conflicts between the Sasanians and the by then Christianized Roman Empire made the Persians suspect the Church of the East of sympathizing with the enemy. This in turn induced the Church of the East to distance itself increasingly from that in the Roman Empire. Although in a time of peace their 420 council explicitly accepted the decrees of some "western" councils, including that of Nicaea, in 424 they determined that thenceforth they would refer disciplinary or theological problems to no external power, especially not to any "western" bishop or council.[39][40]
The theological controversy that followed the Council of Ephesus in 431 was a turning point in the history of the Church of the East. The Council condemned as heretical the Christology of Nestorius, whose reluctance to accord the Virgin Mary the title Theotokos "God-bearer, Mother of God" was taken as evidence that he believed two separate persons (as opposed to two united natures) to be present within Christ. The Sasanian Emperor provided refuge for those who in the Nestorian schism rejected the decrees of the Council of Ephesus enforced in the Byzantine Empire.[41] In 484 he executed the pro-Roman Catholicos Babowai. Under the influence of Barsauma, Bishop of Nisibis, the Church of the East officially accepted as normative the teaching not of Nestorius himself, but of his teacher Theodore of Mopsuestia, whose writings the 553 Second Council of Constantinople condemned as Nestorian but some modern scholars view them as orthodox.[42] The position thus assigned to Theodore in the Church of the East was reinforced in several subsequent synods in spite of the opposing teaching of Henana of Adiabeme.[43]
After its split with the West and its adoption of a theology that some called Nestorianism, the Church of the East expanded rapidly in the medieval period due to missionary work. Between 500 and 1400, its geographical horizon extended well beyond its heartland in present-day northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey, setting up communities throughout Central Asia and as far as China—as witnessed by the Xi'an Stele, a Tang dynasty tablet in Chinese script dating to 781 that documented 150 years of Christian history in China.[44] Their most lasting addition was of the Saint Thomas Christians of the Malabar Coast in India, where they had around 10 million followers.[45]
However, a decline had already set in at the time of Yahballaha III (1281–1317), when the Church of the East reached its greatest geographical extent, it had in south and central Iraq and in south, central and east Persia only four dioceses, where at the end of the ninth century it had at least 54.[46]
Around 1400, the Turco-Mongol nomadic conqueror Timur arose out of the Eurasian Steppe to lead military campaigns all across Western, Southern and Central Asia, ultimately seizing much of the Muslim world after defeating the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, the emerging Ottoman Empire, and the declining Delhi Sultanate. Timur's conquests devastated most Assyrian bishoprics and destroyed the 4000-year-old cultural and religious capital of Assur. After the destruction brought on by Timur, the massive and organized Church of the East structure was largely reduced to its region of origin, with the exception of the Saint Thomas Christians in India.
1552 schism
Main articles: Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa and Schism of 1552
The Church of the East has seen many disputes about the position of Catholicos. A synod in 539 decided that neither of the two claimants, Elisha and Narsai, who had been elected by rival groups of bishops in 524, was legitimate.[47] Similar conflicts occurred between Barsauma and Acacius of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and between Hnanisho I and Yohannan the Leper. The 1552 conflict was not merely between two individuals but extended to two rival lines of patriarchs, like the 1964 schism between what are now called the Assyrian and the Ancient Church of the East.
Credentials of Abdisho IV Maron, Sulaqa's successor, to the Council of Trent in 1562
Dissent over the practice of hereditary succession to the Patriarchate, usually from uncle to nephew, led to the action in 1552 by a group of bishops from the northern regions of Amid and Salmas who elected as a rival Patriarch the abbot of Rabban Hormizd Monastery (the patriarch's residence), Yohannan Sulaqa. To strengthen the position of their candidate, the bishops sent him to Rome to negotiate a new union with the pope.[48] By tradition, a patriarch could be ordained only by someone of archiepiscopal (metropolitan) rank, a rank to which only members of that one family were promoted. Sulaqa thus travelled to Rome, where, presented as the new patriarch-elect, he entered communion with the Catholic Church on 20 February 1553, was ordained by Pope Julius III and was recognized as patriarch on 9 April.[49]
The title or description under which Sulaqa was recognized as patriarch is given variously as "Patriarch of Mosul in Eastern Syria";[50] "Patriarch of the Church of the Chaldeans of Mosul";[51] "Patriarch of the Chaldeans";[48][52][53][54] "Patriarch of Mosul";[49][55][56] or "Patriarch of the Eastern Assyrians", this last being the version given by Pietro Strozzi on the second-last unnumbered page before page 1 of his De Dogmatibus Chaldaeorum,[57] of which an English translation is given in Adrian Fortescue's Lesser Eastern Churches.[58][59] The "Eastern Assyrians", who, if not Catholic, were presumed to be Nestorians, were distinguished from the "Western Assyrians" (those west of the Tigris River), who were looked on as Jacobites.[60][61][62] It was as Patriarch of the "Eastern Assyrians" that Sulaqa's successor, Abdisho IV Maron, was accredited for participation in the Council of Trent.[63]
The names already in use (except that of "Nestorian") were thus applied to the existing church (not a new one) for which the request to consecrate its patriarch was made by emissaries who gave the impression that the patriarchal see was vacant.[55][53][64]
Sulaqa returned home in the same year and, unable to take possession of the traditional patriarchal seat near Alqosh, resided in Amid. Before being put to death at the instigation of partisans supporting the patriarch from whom he had broken away, Shemon VII Ishoyahb, he ordained two metropolitans and three other bishops.[53][55][49] This initiated a new ecclesiastical hierarchy under what is known as the "Shimun line" of patriarchs, who soon moved from Amid eastward, settling, after many intervening places, in the isolated village of Qudshanis under Persian rule. Ishoyahb, meanwhile, was succeeded by his nephew Eliya VI, in what became known as the "Eliya Line".
Successive leaders of those in communion with Rome
Sulaqa's earliest successors entered into communion with the Catholic Church, but in the course of over a century, their link with Rome grew weak. The last to request and obtain formal papal recognition died in 1600. They adopted hereditary succession to the patriarchate, opposition to which had caused the 1552 schism. In 1672, Shimun XIII Dinkha formally broke communion with Rome, adopting a profession of faith that contradicted that of Rome, while he maintained his independence from the Alqosh-based "Eliya line" of patriarchs. The "Shimun line" eventually became the patriarchal line of what since 1976 is officially called the Assyrian Church of the East.[65][66][67][68]
Leadership of those who wished to be in communion with Rome then passed to Archbishop Joseph I of Amid. In 1677 his leadership was recognized first by the Turkish civil authorities, and then in 1681 by Rome. (Until then, the authority of the Alqosh patriarch over Amid, which had been Sulaqa's residence but which his successors abandoned on having to move eastward into Safavid Iran, had been accepted by the Turkish authorities.)
All the (non-hereditary) successors in Amid of Joseph I, who in 1696 resigned for health reasons and lived on in Rome until 1707, took the name Joseph: Joseph II (1696–1713), Joseph III (1713–1757), Joseph IV (1757–1781). For that reason, they are known as the "Josephite line". Joseph IV presented his resignation in 1780 and it was accepted in 1781, after which he handed over the administration of the patriarchate to his nephew, not yet a bishop, and retired to Rome, where he lived until 1791.[69]
Appointment of the nephew as patriarch would look like acceptance of the principle of hereditary succession. In addition, the Alqosh "Eliya line" was drawing closer to Rome, and the pro-Catholic faction within its followers was becoming predominant. For various reasons, including the ecclesiastical as well as political turbulence in Europe after the French Revolution, Rome was long unable to choose between two rival claimants to headship of the Chaldean Catholics.
The 1672 adoption by the "Shimun line" of patriarchs of Nestorian doctrine had been followed in some areas by widespread adoption of the opposing Christology upheld in Rome. This occurred not only in the Amid-Mardin area for which by Turkish decree Joseph I was patriarch, but also in the city of Mosul, where by 1700 nearly all the East Syrians were Catholics.[70] The Rabban Hormizd Monastery, which was the seat of the "Eliya line" of patriarchs is 2 km from the village of Alqosh and about 45 km north of the city of Mosul.
In view of this situation, Patriarch Eliya XI wrote to Pope Clement XII and his successor Benedict XIV in 1735, 1749 and 1756, asking for union. Then, in 1771, both he and his designated successor Ishoyabb made a profession of faith that Pope Clement XIV accepted, thus establishing communion in principle. When Eliya XI died in 1778, the metropolitans recognized as his successor Ishoyabb, who accordingly took the Eliya name (Eliya XII). To win support, Eliya made profession of the Catholic faith, but almost immediately renounced it and declared his support of the traditionalist (Nestorian) view.
Yohannan Hormizd, a member of the "Eliya line" family, opposed Eliya XII (1778–1804), the last of that line to be elected in the normal way as patriarch. In 1780 Yohannan was irregularly elected patriarch, as Sulaqa had been in 1552. He won over to communion with Rome most followers of the "Eliyya line". The Holy See did not recognize him as patriarch, but in 1791 Pope Pius VI appointed him archbishop of Amid and administrator of the Catholic patriarchate. The violent protests of Joseph IV's nephew, who was then in Rome, and suspicions raised by others about the sincerity of Yohannan's conversion prevented this being put into effect.[70]
In 1793 it was agreed that Yohannan should withdraw from Amid to Mosul, the metropolitan see that he already held, but that the post of patriarch would not be conferred on his rival, Joseph IV's nephew. In 1802 the latter was appointed metropolitan of Amid and administrator of the patriarchate, but not patriarch. Nonetheless, he became commonly known as Joseph V. He died in 1828. Yohannan's rival for the Alqosh title of patriarch had died in 1804, with his followers so reduced in number that they did not elect any successor for him, thus bringing the Alqosh or Eliya line to an end.[70]
Finally then, in 1830, a century and a half after the Holy See had conferred headship of the Chaldean Catholics on Joseph I of Amid, Pope Pius VIII granted recognition as Patriarch to Yohannan, whose (non-hereditary) patriarchal succession has since then lasted unbroken in the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Later history of the Chaldean Church
Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Ankawa, Archeparchy of Arbil.
St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church, Tehran
In 1838, the Kurds of Soran attacked the Rabban Hormizd Monastery and Alqosh, apparently thinking the villagers were Yazidis responsible for the murder of a Kurdish chieftain, and killed over 300 Chaldean Catholics, including Gabriel Dambo, the refounder of the monastery, and other monks.[71]
In 1846, the Ottoman Empire, which had previously classified as Nestorians those who called themselves Chaldeans, granted them recognition as a distinct millet.[72][73]
The most famous patriarch of the Chaldean Church in the 19th century was Joseph VI Audo who is remembered also for his clashes with Pope Pius IX mainly about his attempts to extend the Chaldean jurisdiction over the Malabar Catholics. This was a period of expansion for the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The activity of the Turkish army and their Kurdish and Arab allies, partly in response to armed support for Russia in the territory of the Qochanis patriarchate, brought ruin also to the Chaldean dioceses of Amid, Siirt and Gazarta and the metropolitans Addai Scher of Siirt and Philippe-Jacques Abraham of Gazarta were killed in 1915.[74]
Faisal I of Iraq with Mar Yousef VI Emmanuel II Thomas, Patriarch 1900–1947, and the Chaldean bishops
In the 21st century, Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni, the pastor of the Chaldean Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, who graduated from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome in 2003 with a licentiate in ecumenical theology, was killed on 3 June 2007 in Mosul alongside the subdeacons Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, and Gassan Isam Bidawed, after he celebrated mass.[75][76] Ganni has since been declared a Servant of God.[77]
Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho and three companions were abducted on 29 February 2008, in Mosul, and murdered a few days later.[78]
21st century: international diaspora
A historic church and community center built in Chaldean Town, an Assyrian diaspora neighborhood in Detroit
There are many Chaldean Assyrians in diaspora in the Western world, primarily in the American states of Michigan, Illinois and California.[79]
In 2006, the Eparchy of Oceania, with the title of 'St Thomas the Apostle of Sydney of the Chaldeans' was set up with jurisdiction including the Chaldean Catholic communities of Australia and New Zealand.[80] Its first Bishop, named by Pope Benedict XVI on 21 October 2006, was Archbishop Djibrail (Jibrail) Kassab, until this date, Archbishop of Bassorah in Iraq.[81]
There has been a large immigration to the United States particularly to West Bloomfield and Oakland County in Southeast Michigan.[80] Although the largest population resides in Southeast Michigan, there are populations in parts of California and Arizona as well, which all fall under the Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Detroit. In addition, Canada in recent years has shown growing communities in provinces such as Ontario.
In 2008, Bawai Soro of the Assyrian Church of the East and 1,000 Assyrian families were received into full communion with the Chaldean Catholic Church.[82]
On Friday, June 10, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI erected a new Chaldean Catholic eparchy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and named Archbishop Yohannan Zora, who has worked alongside four priests with Catholics in Toronto (the largest community of Chaldeans) for nearly 20 years and who was previously an ad hominem Archbishop (he will retain this rank as head of the eparchy) and the Archbishop of the Archdiocese (Archeparchy) of Ahvaz (since 1974). The new eparchy, or diocese, will be known as the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Mar Addai. There are 38,000 Chaldean Catholics in Canada. Archbishop Zora was born in Batnaya, Iraq, on March 15, 1939. He was ordained in 1962 and worked in Iraqi parishes before being transferred to Iran in 1969.[83]
The 2006 Australian census counted a total of 4,498 Chaldean Catholics in that country.[84]
Historic membership censuses
Despite the internal discords of the reigns of Yohannan Hormizd (1830–1838), Nicholas I Zaya (1839–1847) and Joseph VI Audo (1847–1878), the 19th century was a period of considerable growth for the Chaldean church, in which its territorial jurisdiction was extended, its hierarchy strengthened and its membership nearly doubled. In 1850, the Anglican missionary George Percy Badger recorded the population of the Chaldean Catholic Church as 2,743 Chaldean families, or just under 20,000 persons.[85]
Badger's figures cannot be squared with the figure of just over 4,000 Chaldean families recorded by Fulgence de Sainte Marie in 1796 nor with slightly later figures provided by Paulin Martin in 1867. Badger is known to have classified as Nestorian a considerable number of villages in the Aqra district which were Chaldean at this period, and he also failed to include several important Chaldean villages in other dioceses. His estimate is almost certainly far too low.[85]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldean_Catholic_Church
Trump, Vance meet with Pope Leo's Florida brother, 'a major MAGA fan', at White House
Kim Luciani
USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
May 22, 2025, 12:58 p.m. ET
Key Points AI-assisted summary
President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's brother, Louis Prevost, at the White House.
Trump publicly praised Prevost, a Florida resident, for being a "major MAGA fan."
Louis Prevost acknowledged his political views and stated his intention to "tone it down" to avoid causing issues for the pope.
President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's Florida brother Louis Prevost at the White House on May 20, after praising Prevost to reporters at the Capitol earlier in the day, calling him a "major MAGA fan."
Trump told reporters he likes the pope and both of his brothers, but spotlighted the eldest brother, Navy veteran and Port Charlotte resident Louis Prevost.
"I like the new pope and I like the pope's brother. You know, one of the pope's brothers – actually both of them – but one in particular is a major MAGA fan. Did you know that? He lives in Florida," Trump said.
"And I look forward to getting him to the White House. I want to shake his hand, I want to give him a big hug."
Later that day, the White House visit happened. Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah met with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office.
"Great meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and @Pontifex’s brother, Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah," Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor Margo Martin posted on X, along with a photo of the meeting.
Louis Prevost excited and happy about brother Pope Leo XVI's papacy
The Prevost brothers — Louis, John and Robert (Pope Leo XIV) — grew up in Chicago in a traditional Catholic family.
Louis Prevost said his youngest brother Robert wanted to "play priest" when he was 6 and set his sights on the priesthood as a freshman in high school. Their parents, neighbors and even strangers told Robert, "You're going to be pope someday," he said.
Robert Prevost's election as Pope Leo XIV left Louis Prevost excited, happy, mind blown and a little worried about how the papacy would impact their relationship.
“I just freaked out and said ‘It’s Rob, OMG.’ I was up, dressed, out, just going nuts,” he told WBBH.
“We can only hope that we can maintain that closeness, and we don't do anything to embarrass him,” he said.
Louis Prevost attended Pope Leo's inaugural mass at the Vatican on May 18. The brothers shared a hug after the service.
Pope Leo's Florida brother Louis Prevost is a MAGA, Trump supporter
Trump told reporters Louis Prevost is a "major MAGA fan."
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Louis Prevost said, "I don’t want to create waves that don’t need to be there because I’m a MAGA type and I have my beliefs,” he said. “I don’t need to create heat for him. He’s going to have enough to handle as it is without the press going ‘the pope’s brother says this.’ He doesn’t need that.”
Asked about his reposts of controversial social media memes, including one calling Nancy Pelosi a drunk (expletive), and how they might affect the pope, Louis Prevost said he will "tone it down."
"He knows I am who I am," he said of the pope. "He's well aware of my position. He knows I'm probably not going to change and I don't think I will, other than to, just like you say, tone it down."
Contributing: Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Herald-Tribune, Ashley Ferrer, USA TODAY Network-Florida
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2025/05/22/trump-pope-leo-florida-maga-brother-louis-prevost-white-house-visit/83773944007/
All historians acknowledge the ascendancy of the popes began in 308 A.D., when King Clovis of the Salian or Merovingian Franks (later France), won the decisive battle in the Catholic and Arian religious war, thereby settling the dispute in favor of the Catholics. But the popes' temporal reign officially began in the year 538 A.D. when Roman Emperor Justinian subdued the last of the three kingdoms, or "horns," that opposed the rise of the Papacy."
-page 137
Chapter 19 "Exposed (Again): 1260 Years of World Domination
Codeword Barbelon book 2
by P.D. Stuart
Clovis is the modern conventional French (and thence English) form of the Old Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ (in runic alphabet) or *"Hlōdowik" or "Hlōdowig" (in Latin alphabet), equivalent to the modern forms Louis (French), Lodewijk (Dutch), Lewis (English), and Ludwig (German).
Etymology
The name *Hlōdowik or *Hlōdowig is traditionally considered to be composed of two elements, deriving from both Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, resulting in the traditional practice of translating Clovis' name as meaning "famous warrior".
However, scholars have pointed out that Gregory of Tours consequently transcribes the names of various Merovingian royal names containing the first element as chlodo-. The use of a close-mid back protruded vowel (o), rather than the expected close back rounded vowel (u) which Gregory does use in various other Germanic names (i.e. Fredegundis, Arnulfus, Gundobadus, etc.) opens up the possibility that the first element instead derives from Proto-Germanic *hlutą ("lot, share, portion"), giving the meaning of the name as "loot bringer" or "plunder (bringing) warrior". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that if the first element is taken to mean "famous", then the name of Chlodomer (one of Clovis' sons) would contain two elements (*hlūdaz and *mērijaz) both meaning "famous", which would be highly uncommon within the typical Germanic name structure.[1][2]
Frankish royalty
Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler
Clovis II (637 – c. 658), king of Neustria and Burgundy
Clovis III (reigned 675–676), the king of Austrasia
Clovis IV (682–695), the sole king of the Franks from 691 until 695
Clovis (died 580), son of Chilperic I and Audovera, assassinated by his father and stepmother
Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, King of Aquitaine from 781 and sole ruler of the Franks 814–840, but counted as "Louis I of France" even though West Francia (the nucleus of the later kingdom of France) was formed only after his death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_(given_name)
Louis Raphaël I Sako (Arabic: لويس روفائيل ساكو;[1] born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018.
Biography
Early life
Sako was born in the city of Zakho, Iraq, on 4 July 1948.[2] He comes from an ethnic Assyrian family of the Chaldean Catholic Church that has roots in a religious community that has had a presence in the city of his birth since the 5th century AD.[3]
He completed his early studies in Mosul and then attended the Dominican-run Saint Jean’s Seminary there. He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1974 and filled his first pastoral assignment at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. He then earned a doctorate in Eastern patrology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. When denied a license to teach because he was only qualified for religious instruction, he earned a second doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris.[4] With this he secured his teaching license and was able to provide religious instruction. From 1997 to 2002 he was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. He then returned to Mosul and guided the parish of Perpetual Help for a year.[5][6]
Sako speaks Neo-Aramaic, German, French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Arabic.[2]
Archeparch
A synod of the bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church meeting in Baghdad elected Sako Archeparch of Kirkuk on 24 October 2002. Pope John Paul II gave his assent on 27 September 2003.[7] He received his episcopal consecration on 14 November 2003 from his predecessor in Kirkuk, André Sana.[8]
In August 2009, and at the beginning of Ramadan, Sako organized an appeal for national peace, reconciliation and end to violence on the part of more than fifty religious leaders in Kirkuk. He called it "a gesture of closeness to our Muslim brothers. We are all brothers, sons of the same God we must respect and cooperate for the good of the people and our country." The participants included representatives of Ali Sistani and Muqtada al Sadr.[9]
Patriarch
The Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church, convoked in Rome on 28 January 2013, elected Sako to succeed Emmanuel III Delly as Patriarch of Babylon. He chose Louis Raphael I as his regnal name. Pope Benedict XVI gave his assent to the election on 1 February[2] and granted him ecclesiastica communio (ecclesiastical communion) as required by the canon law for Eastern-rite Catholic churches in recognition of their unity with the wider Catholic church.[10]
That same year, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani issued a decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church.[11]
In July 2014 Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious levy or face death by the sword.[12] In September 2014 Sako said “The U.S. is indirectly responsible for what is going on in Iraq as it said it would ensure democracy and the well-being of the people, but 10 years have passed and on the contrary we have gone backward." He was responding to a question following remarks attributed to him in the local daily Ad-Diyar in which he accused the U.S. of supporting ISIS. Sako had also criticized Muslim countries for lack of support: "Our Muslim neighbours did not help us." He urged Muslim preachers to issue a religious ruling against the killing of all innocent people and said that "Issuing a fatwa preventing Muslims from killing fellow Muslims is not enough."[13]
In 2014, Sako ordered ten priests who had fled Iraq to return there by 22 October; he suspended them when they failed to comply. The priests, all living in the United States, some for as long as twenty years, appealed to Pope Francis for relief from the order.[14] In January 2015, Pope Francis granted them permission to remain in the United States.[15] Sako later renewed his order despite the pope's decision.[16]
In 2015, Sako proposed a "merger" or reunion of his own Chaldean Catholic Church with the Ancient Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East to create one united "Church of the East" with a single patriarch in union with the pope. His proposal would have required both his own resignation and that of Mar Addai II, followed by a joint synod of the bishops of all three churches to elect a new patriarch for the reunited Church of the East. (The patriarchate of the Assyrian Church of the East was vacant at the time, following the death of Mar Dinkha IV.)[17] He wrote that "Unity does not mean uniformity, nor the melting of our own church identity into one style, but it maintains unity in diversity and we remain one apostolic universal church, the Oriental Church, that maintains its independence of administration, laws and liturgies, traditions and support."[18] The Assyrian Church of the East respectfully declined this proposal citing "ecclesiological divergences still remaining" and proceeded with its election of a new patriarch.[19]
On 14 November 2015, the Synod of Bishops announced that Pope Francis had named Sako as one of his three appointments to that body's council.[20]
Cardinal
Pope Francis made Sako a cardinal in a consistory on 28 June 2018.[21] Later that year, Pope Francis named him one of the four cardinals to preside over sessions of the Synod of Bishops on Youth in October.[22]
On 6 October 2018 Sako was named a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches,[23] on 22 February 2019 a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,[24] and on 29 September 2021 a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.[25] On 4 January 2022, Pope Francis made him a member of the Council for the Economy.[26]
Sako was a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.[27] Patriarch Sako was also the first Chaldean Catholic Patriarch ever to participate in a papal conclave.[28][a] Sako opted not to wear the shash, the traditional headgear of East Syriac Christian bishops, and wore only his scarlet zucchetto.[32]
Government recognition dispute
On 15 July 2023, Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid announced the revocation of the government's 2013 decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch. In response that same day Sako announced he was leaving Baghdad to take up residence in Iraqi Kurdistan. He called the revocation "unprecedented in the history of Iraq".[11] Rashid said his action "does not affect the religious or legal status of patriarch Sako" and said it was based on the fact that Sako's office is not recognized by the Iraqi Constitution; Sako viewed as an extension of the government's ongoing "deliberate and humiliating campaign" against him and its wider failure to protect Iraqi Christians.[33] Rashid had recently rejected requests for comparable decrees from the Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church and the Old Assyrian Church. Others cited complex political manoeuvering.[34]
On 15 July 2023, Sako announced his intention to "retire from the Patriarchal See in Baghdad and move to a church, a mission, in one of the monasteries of Iraqi Kurdistan". His announcement followed a decision by the President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, to revoke a decree established in 2013 by the former Iraq's President, Jalal Talabani, recognising Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church. The revocation "is unprecedented in Iraq's history," Sako said, highlighting "the government's silence" about the incident and the suffering of the Christian community.[35] For months, Sako had been embroiled in a war of words with a Shia lawmaker and militia leader, Rayan al-Kildani. Both accused each other of exploiting their influence to illegally seize Christian-owned properties. Al-Kildani is the leader of the Babylon Movement, whose militia fought ISIS within the state-linked Popular Mobilisation Forces, a network of largely pro-Iran paramilitaries. Since then, al-Kildani forged strong alliances with powerful Tehran-allied Shiite militias. Sako criticized the Babylon Movement as falsely Christian, noting most of its members and supporters are Shia Muslims using the label for political gain.[36][37] Furthermore, the Babylon Movement, led by al-Kildani, is accused of pillaging homes, unlawful confiscation of land, coercion, extortion, abuse of women, persecution of religious minorities, and torture of detainees. As a result, in 2019, the US imposed sanctions on al-Kildani and another Shiite militia leader, calling them "perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption", and penalizing entities that interact with them.[38]
Cardinal Sako has accused Archbishop Bashar Warda of collaborating and conspiring with Rayan al-Kildani in an effort to subvert his authority and push for his resignation as head of the Chaldean Church. Warda is criticized for supporting al-Kildani despite his horrendous actions, and for not supporting Sako's efforts to counter the Babylon Movement's seizure of Christian assets. This has led to accusations that Warda prioritizes benefits from al-Kildani's support over protecting church interests. Sako has referred to Warda as the "Godfather" of the Babylon Movement.[39][40][41]
On 7 August 2023, Sako told an interviewer that "Withdrawing the decree is very bad. For 15 centuries, there were decrees recognising the Patriarch as head of the Church and administrator of the properties of the Church. Revoking it is a humiliation for the Church. Those behind this move want to put their hands on the properties of the Church and administer them separately from the ecclesiastical authorities. We cannot accept that."[42]
In April 2024, after nine months of exile, Sako returned to Baghdad with the assistance of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani.[43][44]
On 28 August 2024, Sako demanded a public apology from five bishops based on perceived disunity in the Chaldean Catholic Church, including absence from a mandatory July episcopal synod, setting a deadline of September 5. The five bishops, led by Bashar Warda, the Archbishop of Erbil, also withdrew from an August spiritual retreat and pulled their students from the Chaldean Seminary. The bishops refused to apologize, citing dissatisfaction with Sako's leadership style and unilateral decision-making. As a result, he would suspend them and ask Pope Francis to impose canonical penalties, including excommunication.[45][46] The actions of Bashar Warda and the other bishops have been described by the Chaldean Patriarchate as a "dangerous precedent" that goes against their episcopal vows to support the patriarch. The 17 bishops who attended the July 2024 synod issued a communiqué, calling for "appropriate legal measures" against the "clear violations" committed by the boycotting group of Warda.[47]
The rivalry between Louis Sako and Bashar Warda is driven by a fierce personal conflict, with Sako perceiving Warda as ruthlessly ambitious to seize the patriarchate. This perception has led Sako to backtrack on his initial plans to retire at 75, driven by a determination to thwart Warda's power grab. Warda's actions are seen as a betrayal of Sako's leadership.[48]
Honours
Defensor Fidei Prize, 2008
Pax Christi International Peace Award, 2010
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rapha%C3%ABl_I_Sako
The Carolingian dynasty (/ˌkærəˈlɪndʒiən/ KARR-ə-LIN-jee-ən;[1] known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD.[2] The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. Nearly every monarch of France from Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious till the penultimate monarch of France Louis Philippe have been his descendants. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Name
The Carolingian dynasty takes its name from Carolus, the Latinised name of multiple Frankish kings including Charlemagne and Charles Martel.[3] The name originates from a common Germanic word, rendered in Old High German as Karl or Kerl,[4] meaning 'man', 'husband', or 'freeman'.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_dynasty
Paul Casimir Marcinkus GCIH (/mɑːrˈsɪŋkəs/; January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American Catholic prelate who served as president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989.[1] He also served as president of the Governorate for Vatican City State from 1989 to 1990, following eight years as vice-president. He was the titular Archbishop of Horta.
Early life
Marcinkus was born in Cicero, Illinois, the son of Lithuanian immigrants and the youngest of five children. His father worked as a window cleaner, among other occupations.[1]
After attending Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary,[1] Marcinkus was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 3, 1947,[1] and served parish assignments with both St. Christina's and Holy Cross Church on the city's south side. By 1949, he had been appointed to the archdiocese's matrimonial tribunal, which processed petitions to recognize the nullity of putatively valid marriages.[2]
International career
In 1950, Marcinkus began to fulfil special assignments for the Holy See and became friendly with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, later Pope Paul VI, while studying canon law at the Gregorian University.[3]: 156 [4] Upon earning his degree in 1953, he completed the two-year program for prospective diplomats at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and was assigned to Bolivia[5] in 1955 and to Canada four years later, serving as secretary in the nunciature of the Holy See in both instances.[3]: 156
Beginning in December 1959, he worked at the Secretariat of State in Rome[3]: 156 and served on occasion as an interpreter for Pope John XXIII[6] and as an English translator for Pope Paul VI.[6] Under Paul VI, he helped manage arrangements for papal overseas trips. His height and muscular build served him well as an "informal bodyguard" for Paul VI,[3]: 157 [5] earning him the nickname "The Papón".[5] On January 6, 1969, he received his episcopal consecration as titular Bishop of Horta.[7]
Vatican Bank and Vatican City State
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Pope Paul VI appointed Marcinkus secretary of the Vatican Bank in 1968. He was named its president in 1971 at the age of 48, serving in that role until 1989. Although an able administrator, Marcinkus had no prior experience as a banker. Upon his initial appointment to the Vatican Bank, he underwent brief training and short (of days-to-weeks) observational periods at several financial institutions.[3]: 157
As early as April 24, 1973, Marcinkus was questioned in his Vatican office by United States federal prosecutor William Aronwald and Bill Lynch, head of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice, about his involvement in the delivery of $14.5 million worth of counterfeit bonds to the Vatican in July 1971, part of a total request of $950 million stated in a letter on Vatican letterhead. His name had arisen and the letter come to light during the investigation of an international gangster, who eventually served 12 years in prison.[8] Marcinkus said "he considered the charges against him serious, but not based enough on fact that he would violate the Vatican Bank's confidentiality to defend himself...back in the States, it was agreed on the highest levels that the case against Marcinkus could not be pursued any further."[9][page needed][10]
In 1979, Marcinkus was reported as having been targeted by the Red Brigades, a far-left terrorist group, for possible kidnap or assassination after his address and other documents were found in the apartment of two group members, Valerio Morucci and Adriana Faranda.[citation needed]
In 1981, Pope John Paul II promoted Marcinkus to archbishop and, in addition to his role with the Vatican Bank, made him vice-president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, in effect its governor.[2]
In 1982, he allegedly thwarted an assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in Fátima, Portugal, when Juan Maria Fernandez y Krohn, a reportedly disturbed priest, attacked the Pope with a bayonet.[11] In fact, several Portuguese police officers grabbed and disarmed the attacker, preventing the Pope from being stabbed.[12]
In July 1982, Marcinkus was implicated in financial scandals being reported on the front pages of newspapers and magazines throughout Europe, particularly the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano, in which Propaganda Due (aka "P2"), a Masonic Lodge, was involved.[citation needed] Marcinkus had been a director of Ambrosiano Overseas, based in Nassau, Bahamas, and had been involved with Ambrosiano's chairman, financier Roberto Calvi, for a number of years.[according to whom?][citation needed] He also was involved with Michele Sindona,[clarification needed] who had links with the Mafia.[according to whom?][citation needed]
The scandal widened, after the body of Roberto Calvi, whose Banco Ambrosiano had dealt with Marcinkus, was found hanging under London's Blackfriars Bridge in June 1982. Marcinkus himself was never charged with a crime.[13]
Marcinkus stepped aside as head of the Vatican Bank in June 1989, with a board of laymen assuming control of the bank.[14] He was then made president of the Governorate of Vatican City State.[15]
The Vatican eventually paid £145 million in a settlement with creditors, with Marcinkus observing in 1986 that "You can't run the Church on Hail Marys."[16][17] Marcinkus later said that he was misquoted, what he actually said was: "When my workers come to retire, they expect a pension; it's no use my saying to them 'I'll pay you 400 Hail Marys."[18][page needed]
Marcinkus resigned from Vatican service on October 30, 1990.[15]
Allegations
In 1984, Marcinkus was named by David Yallop as a possible accomplice in the claimed "murder" of Pope John Paul I; Yallop made allegations regarding a number of suspects, involving the Mafia and Freemasonry.[19] For instance, Anthony Raimondi, who purports to be a nephew of Lucky Luciano, claimed in 2019 that he helped his alleged cousin Marcinkus murder the pope.[20] Loris Serafini, director of a museum in Canale d'Agordo overseeing a collection covering John Paul I's life, refers to the purported murder as "an unshakable myth",[21] and Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli, writing for the Washington Post, report that: "One papal doctor believed heart attack was the likeliest cause of death. Another doctor who'd previously treated the pope said there was "no clinical doubt" that the cause was circulatory...[21] In her official work as postulator, Stefania Falasca, a journalist for the Italian newspaper Avvenire, and the lead investigator for the Vatican regarding the late pope's canonisation, quotes the conflicting medical opinions and does not try to weigh which was likelier.[21]
As of 2008, a case of a missing person had been reopened after claims that Emanuela Orlandi, daughter of a Vatican employee, had been kidnapped and later killed on orders of Marcinkus were made by Sabrina Minardi, a former girlfriend of Enrico De Pedis, boss of the gang, Banda della Magliana. Members of Orlandi's family said they were skeptical of the claim, as Minardi had been treated for drug abuse. Investigators remained cautious but were reportedly impressed by the accuracy of some details, as reported by La Repubblica.[22][needs update]
Later life and death
Marcinkus returned to the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1990 before retiring to Arizona, where he lived as an assistant parish priest at St. Clement of Rome Church in Sun City. He declined to discuss his role in the Ambrosiano scandal. Marcinkus died in Sun City, Arizona, aged 84, of undisclosed causes.[23][24][25]
In popular culture
Marcinkus was played by actor Rutger Hauer in the Italian film The Bankers of God.[26]
In Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III, actor Donal Donnelly portrayed Archbishop Gilday. The character is widely perceived as based on Marcinkus.[27]
In 2006, Marcinkus was played by actor Jacques Sernas in the 2006 Italian TV Series Pope John Paul I: The Smile of God.[28][better source needed]
Tom Flannery's one-man play Marcinkus (2006) played in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania to positive reviews.[29]
Marcinkus was portrayed by actor Randall Paul in Roberto Faenza's 2016 film La Verità Sta in Cielo ('The Truth Lies in Heaven').[30]
Honours
Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry, Portugal (2 September 1983)[31]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Marcinkus
“Throughout the whole of Rome the unanimous opinion was that the Pope
had died from poison, and, indeed, from the so-called ‘aquetta,’ . . . as this
does not at once prove fatal, but, according to the dose, it may be predicted
beforehand at what time the person poisoned must die. Even, indeed, did
anyone have a doubt whether poison had been the cause of death, that doubt
must have been at once resolved by the appearance of the corpse, when, on
the day following the death, the 23rd of September, the process of
embalming the body was commenced. The face then presented a leaden
colour, while the lips and nails had become quite black. Ash coloured
strips showed themselves too, under the skin, on the arms, sides, thighs, and
feet, and on other parts of the body blue spots appeared, as if from
coagulation of the blood. The body was opened in order to remove the
intestines, which was effected with considerable difficulty, while the whole
presented the appearance as if eaten up with something resembling cancer
[casting further light on the Order’s American Medical Association and its
domestic control of the International Cancer Conspiracy]. They were
immediately placed in an especially well-closed vessel, as the odour was
most offensive, while the examination was proceeded with. Not an hour,
however, had elapsed before the vessel burst with a loud explosion, and the
gases issuing from the intestines produced so frightful a stench that it was
impossible any longer to remain in the chamber, and the embalming
process had to be discontinued for that day. On the following day, the 24th,
when they came again, it was found that decomposition had made rapid
process, such as never occurs in ordinary cases, but alone in those of
poisoning, the face and hands having become quite black, while on the skin
appeared thick blisters filled with a noisome lymph, and when these were
cut or pressed an odour was emitted entirely similar to that coming from the
intestines, and it was, indeed, necessary to avoid coming near the body as
much as possible.
But this was still not the least difficulty in carrying out the embalmment, as
the skin had become detached from almost the whole body of the deceased,
as in the case of a putrid carcass. Indeed, the nails came off, and the hair
remained on the pillows on which the head rested. Under such
circumstances embalmment was, of course, quite out of the question, and it
became necessary to hasten to place the body quickly into a coffin before
the limbs became entirely separated; and the Roman people had, for this
time, to forego the spectacle of the exhibition of a Papal corpse in full
Pontifical robes. . . . [The] question was who had poisoned him? The
people of Rome quickly gave an answer, and exclaimed as from one throat,
‘This the Jesuits have done.’ . . . the Order of Jesus had perpetrated an act
of revenge; and that it was not contrary to their morals that such an act
might be accomplished by poison or dagger . . .” {25} [Emphasis added]
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376
With this, Protestant Richard W. Thompson agrees:
“. . . that it was not criminal but rather the proper service of God, to
assassinate their enemies.” {26}
Further, Edward W. Grinfield, in his History of the Jesuits, agrees:
“There cannot be stronger circumstantial evidence that Ganganelli fell a
victim to the rage and detestation of the Order he had suppressed.” {27}
For the famous German Jesuit and “moral theologian,” Martin Becan, had declared
in his outrageous Opusculum Theologicum on page 130 concerning regicide:
“That every subject can assassinate his prince when he has assumed the
power of the throne as a usurper . . . in all the nations, it will be observed,
that they will be honored in the extreme, those who immolate similar
tyrants. It is necessary yet, however, that he shall be a usurper, because,
having a probable right, his death will not be lawful. It is permitted to a
nation . . . to depose a legitimate prince always, when he conducts himself
as a tyrant [one who does not submit to the rule of the Jesuits].” {28}
[Emphasis added]
Over two hundred years later, the Jesuits, using their 33rd Degree and Shriner
Freemasons, would poison another Pope who had become their enemy as a usurper
and a tyrant. After only thirty-three (Masonic) days in office Pope John Paul I lay
dead in his bedroom. The Pope’s death, according to some, was the result of a trusted
friend who entered his room and, while standing nearby during a friendly
conversation, crushed a two-chambered capsule under the Pope’s nose releasing
deadly airborne cyanide. In the words of a memorandum from a U.S. Army medical
facility in Washington, D.C., the Papal Caesar was found sitting in a chair with a
look of wide-eyed horror. Avro Manhattan gives us a similar description:
“The Pope’s lips were pulled backwards and upwards, his gums exposed,
giving him a most horrific grimace. But then, what horrified her [the nun]
even more, was, that both his eyes seemed about to be shooting out of their
sockets . . . Cardinal Villot . . . announced with the utmost detachment,
that, yes, the Pope was truly dead.” {29}
And why?
“. . . John Paul [I], had said that, the following morning he was going to
read personally to Father Arrupe, the Jesuit General, a document which he
had written himself. Although he did not reveal its nature, his companions
guessed, it had something to do with [Communist] Liberation Theology . . .
the Jesuits, behind the whole movement of Liberation Theology, were
Chapter 14
The Jesuits — 1750 – 1773; 1978
377
supporting, ever more openly, Communist guerrillas. Some of these
movements, indeed, were even led by the Jesuit padres . . . Father Arrupe,
their General, who had been in contact with Moscow [under Jesuit control
since the commencement of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917], had become
a ruling Pope [the sinister “Black Pope”] himself, with a private army of
his own. . . . Pope John Paul [I] became perturbed about the whole
problem . . . The new Pope, decided to start dealing with Father Arrupe.
Perhaps with Father Arrupe’s dismissal.” {30} [Emphasis added]
And two key players in the assassination of Pope John Paul I were Jean Cardinal
Villot, the Papal Secretary of State (like President Kennedy’s Dean Rusk), and
Bishop Paul Marcinkus of the Vatican Bank. Both of these men were Freemasons.
We read with astonishment and utter disbelief:
“Now, along with top politicians, journalists, pundits, and others with a
need to know first, the pope read about what L’Osservatore Politics OP
called ‘The Great Vatican Lodge.’ The article gave names of 121 people
who were alleged to be members of Masonic lodges . . . If the information
was authentic, then it meant Luciano [Pope John Paul I] was virtually
surrounded by Masons . . . The Secretary of State, Cardinal Villot,
Masonic name Jeanni . . . Bishop Paul Marcinkus . . . of the Vatican
Bank. The disconcerted pope read a list that seemed like a Who’s Who of
Vatican City.” {31} [Emphasis added]
By virtue of their high positions of power in Vatican City and being members of the
P2 Masonic Lodge, Jean Cardinal Villot and Bishop Paul Marcinkus (who was
also a criminal money launderer for the Pope’s Italian Mafia and CIA who resided
in Sun City, Arizona, until his sudden death in February, 2006) were obedient tools of
Pedro Arrupe, the Jesuit General. Dear truth-seeker, in addition to Popes, the Jesuit
General using his many soldiers has imprisoned or killed scores of liberal-minded
priests within the Roman hierarchy and priesthood who dared to resist his absolutism.
This policy further entrenched the power of his “infallible” Papal Roman Caesar and
of his ultramontane, fascist dictators. We read:
“. . . the Hitler regime in the beginning interned Catholic priests in
concentration camps because they refused to obey his dictates . . .
Persecution of the Catholic Church in Germany has been directed only
against those elements which did not entirely submit to the ever-increasing
centralization of authority in Church and State [as described in Pope Pius
IX’s Syllabus of Errors and his conferred Infallibility in 1870]. To this end
the Vatican helped crush out [directed the crushing out of] the Catholic
popular parties both in Italy and Germany and centralized all political
matters in Rome. This ensured to the [Masonic] dictators freedom from
Vatican Assassins
The Jesuits — 1750 – 1773; 1978
378
popular interference on the part of Catholics [via the Concordats with
Hitler and Mussolini]; it established a more complete dictatorial regime
within the Catholic Church itself; it enabled the Vatican to enter into secret
concordats [like the Concordat with Lenin and Stalin negotiated by
Georgetown Jesuit Edmund Walsh under cover of Masonic President
Harding’s Mission of Relief in 1922] with fascist countries already
existing, and with democratic countries, like Spain, France, Belgium
[which, under the Order’s King Leopold II having invited the Jesuits into
the Congo, murdered ten million Black Congolese], and Portugal, after the
destruction of their democratic governments by revolution and blitzkrieg.
Finally it left the way clear for complete harmony and unity between Nazi-
Fascism and Jesuit Catholicism . . . [This is exactly the same scenario that
will be followed within the American Empire during its coming White,
“New Right,” fascist Republican, military dictatorship led by someone like
the Jesuit-trained Knight of Malta, Patrick J. Buchanan, or the
centralizing, “New Federalist” Roman Catholic and anti-Jew, Grand
Orient Freemason, Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., brought to power by
Catholics and Protestants alike, who will be enraged over the treasonous
policies of previous Presidents—like President George W. Bush’s blanket
naturalization of illegal aliens, they being mostly Hispanics, Orientals and
Blacks, further making America a Roman Catholic nation of color. The
Jesuits, advising and directing their American Nazi fascists, will use
domestic concentration camps to murder “liberal,” Roman Catholic priests
resisting tyranny, just as they did in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. This ruse of
war will further create the deception that the Order’s American tyrant is
against the Pope and his Hierarch—to the delight of the Black Pope!]
With the extinction of liberal Catholicism and the imprisonment of liberal
Protestant leaders, Vatican absolutism was triumphant. Of supreme
satisfaction to the Jesuit Catholic faction was the dissolution of
Protestantism in Germany [with the help of Jesuit General Ledochowski’s
Grand Inquisitor, the Jesuit-trained crypto-Roman Catholic Joseph
Djugashvili (“Son of Steel”) Stalin (“Man of Steel”), and his Red Army
directed by the Black Pope’s GRU/NKVD secretly working in conjunction
with the Black Pope’s Nazi SS in the persons of SS Generals Martin
Bormann and “Gestapo” Heinrich Muller].” {32} [Emphasis added]
If the Jesuits, in assassinating their enemies, would kill Popes, Cardinals,
Bishops and Priests, would they not kill a Roman Catholic American President if they
thought it essential to the fulfillment of their imperial plans, while imposing their evil
Council of Trent on us trusting and naive Americans?
Indeed they would, and indeed they did on November 22, 1963.
Vatican Assassins
“Wounded In The House Of My Friends”
Third Edition
by Eric Jon Phelps
https://ia802505.us.archive.org/28/items/EricJonPhelpsVaticanAssassins3rdEdition/Eric%20Jon%20Phelps%20-%20Vatican%20Assassins%203rd%20Edition.pdf
The Ides of March (/aɪdz/; Latin: Idus Martiae, Medieval Latin: Idus Martii)[1] is the day on the Roman calendar marked as the Idus, roughly the midpoint of a month, of Martius, corresponding to 15 March on the Gregorian calendar. It was marked by several major religious observances. In 44 BC, it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar, which made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history.
Ides
The Romans did not number each day of a month from the first to the last day. Instead, they counted back from three fixed points of the month: the Nones (the 5th or 7th, eight days before the Ides), the Ides (the 13th for most months, but the 15th in March, May, July, and October), and the Kalends (1st of the following month).
Originally the Ides were supposed to be determined by the full moon, reflecting the lunar origin of the Roman calendar. Martius (March) was the first month of the Roman year until as late as the mid-second century BC, an order reflected in the numerical names of the months of September (the seventh month) through December (the tenth month) not corresponding to their current position on the Gregorian calendar. In the earliest Roman calendar, the Ides of March would have been the first full moon of the new year.[2] As a fixed point in the month, the Ides accumulated functions set to occur every month, and was the day when debt payments and rents were due.[3][4]
Religious observances
Panel thought to depict the Mamuralia, from a mosaic of the months in which March is positioned at the beginning of the year (first half of the third century AD, from El Djem, Tunisia, in Roman Africa)
The month of Martius was named for the god Mars, whose "birthday" was celebrated on the first, but the Ides of each month were sacred to Jupiter, the Romans' supreme deity. The Flamen Dialis, Jupiter's high priest, led the "Ides sheep" (ovis Idulis) in procession along the Via Sacra to the arx, where it was sacrificed.[5]
March retained many of its new-year ceremonies even when it was preceded on the calendar by January and February. In addition to the monthly sacrifice, the Ides of March was also the occasion of the Feast of Anna Perenna, a goddess of the year (Latin annus) whose festival originally concluded the ceremonies of the new year. The day was enthusiastically celebrated among the common people with picnics, drinking, and revelry.[6] One source from late antiquity also places the Mamuralia on the Ides of March.[7] This observance, which has aspects of scapegoat or ancient Greek pharmakos ritual, involved beating an old man dressed in animal skins and perhaps driving him from the city. The ritual may have been a new-year festival representing the expulsion of the old year.[8][9]
In the later Imperial period, the Ides began a "holy week" of festivals celebrating Cybele and Attis,[10][11][12] being the day Canna intrat ("The Reed enters"), when Attis was born and found among the reeds of a Phrygian river.[13] He was discovered by shepherds or the goddess Cybele, who was also known as the Magna Mater ("Great Mother") (narratives differ).[14] A week later, on 22 March, the solemn commemoration of Arbor intrat ("The Tree enters") commemorated the death of Attis under a pine tree. A college of priests, the dendrophoroi ("tree bearers") annually cut down a tree,[15] hung from it an image of Attis,[16] and carried it to the temple of the Magna Mater with lamentations. The day was formalized as part of the official Roman calendar under Claudius (d. 54 AD).[17] A three-day period of mourning followed,[18] culminating with celebrating the rebirth of Attis on 25 March, the date of the vernal equinox on the Julian calendar.[19]
Assassination of Caesar
Main article: Assassination of Julius Caesar
Reverse side of the Ides of March Coin (a denarius) issued by Caesar's assassin Brutus in the autumn of 42 BC, with the abbreviation EID MAR (Eidibus Martiis – "on the Ides of March") under a "cap of freedom" between two daggers
In modern times, the Ides of March is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Senate. As many as 60 conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius, were involved. According to Plutarch,[20] a seer had warned that harm would come to Caesar on the Ides of March. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey, where he would be assassinated, Caesar passed the seer and joked, "Well, the Ides of March are come", implying that the prophecy had not been fulfilled, to which the seer replied, "Aye, they are come, but they are not gone."[20] This meeting is famously dramatised in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned by the soothsayer to "beware the Ides of March."[21][22] Roman biographer Suetonius[23] identifies the "seer" as a haruspex named Spurinna.
Caesar's assassination opened the final chapter in the crisis of the Roman Republic. After his victory in Caesar's civil war, his death triggered a series of further Roman civil wars that would finally result in the rise to sole power of his adopted heir Octavian. In 27 BC, Octavian became emperor Augustus, and thus he finally terminated the Roman Republic.[24] Writing under Augustus, Ovid portrays the murder as a sacrilege, since Caesar was also the pontifex maximus of Rome and a priest of Vesta.[25] On the fourth anniversary of Caesar's death in 40 BC, after achieving a victory at the siege of Perugia, Octavian executed 300 senators and equites who had fought against him under Lucius Antonius, the brother of Mark Antony.[26] The executions were one of a series of actions taken by Octavian to avenge Caesar's death. Suetonius and the historian Cassius Dio characterised the slaughter as a religious sacrifice,[27][28] noting that it occurred on the Ides of March at the new altar to the deified Julius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ides_of_March
On Easter Sunday 2021, Warnock's Twitter account tweeted, "The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves." Some conservative Christians and political commentators criticized the tweet, including Benjamin Watson, Allie Beth Stuckey, and Jenna Ellis, who called it "heretical". The tweet was deleted that afternoon, with a spokesperson for Warnock saying, "the tweet was posted by staff and was not approved" but declining to say whether it reflected Warnock's beliefs.[47][48]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_Warnock
Easter in 2030
Date: April 21, 2030
Day: Sunday
Nova music festival massacre
On 7 October 2023, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization Hamas, initiated a sudden attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas also took 40 people hostage, and men and women were reportedly subject to sexual and gender-based violence.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_music_festival_massacre
A nova (pl. novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. The main sub-classes of novae are classical novae, recurrent novae (RNe), and dwarf novae. They are all considered to be cataclysmic variable stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova
Revelation 16:8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 [a]And the fourth Angel poured out his vial on the sun, and it was given to him to torment men with heat of fire,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2016%3A8-10&version=GNV
SpaceX Roadster is not a natural celestial object, but rather a man-made object launched by SpaceX in February 2018 as part of the Falcon Heavy test flight. It is a red sports car owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and was launched as a demonstration of the Falcon Heavy's capabilities. The Roadster is not in a stable orbit around the Sun, but is instead on a heliocentric orbit that will take it to the asteroid belt and then back to the inner Solar System in the future. The Roadster also carries a mannequin named Starman, dressed in a spacesuit, in the driver's seat. The name "Roadster" refers to the type of car that is used as the payload for the Falcon Heavy, while "SpaceX" is the name of the private space exploration company founded by Elon Musk in 2002.
https://theskylive.com/roadster-info
416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]
L. D. S. "
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses (M☉)) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around 5,000 K [K] (4,700 °C; 8,500 °F) or lower. The appearance of the red giant is from yellow-white to reddish-orange, including the spectral types K and M, sometimes G, but also class S stars and most carbon stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant
Revelation 16:8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 [a]And the fourth Angel poured out his vial on the sun, and it was given to him to torment men with heat of fire,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2016%3A8-10&version=GNV
"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (commonly called "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado and Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by American R&B group the 5th Dimension. The song spent six weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969 and was eventually certified platinum in the US by the RIAA.[3] Instrumental backing was written by Bill Holman and provided by a group of session musicians commonly known as the Wrecking Crew.[4]
The song is listed at number 66 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time".[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarius/Let_the_Sunshine_In
The Five Points Gang was a criminal street gang, initially of primarily Irish-American origins, based in the Five Points of Lower Manhattan, New York City, during the late 19th and early 20th century.[1]
The gang had its origin in the various Irish immigrant and Irish-American gangs in the Five Points area. Paul Kelly, born Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli before utilizing an Irish-sounding name, was an Italian-American who organized and founded the more cohesive "Five Points Gang". While the gang had some continuity with the prior Irish gangs of the Five Points, it eventually predominately consisted of the Italian immigrant and Italian-American gangsters that had begun to populate the previously mostly Irish-American Five Points. The gang eventually consisted largely of Italian-Americans and Italian immigrants living in the Five Points, though it continued to include Irish-American members and members of other ethnicities throughout its existence. Some of the gang's members later became prominent criminals in their own right, including Johnny Torrio, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano.
Five Points
Main article: Five Points, Manhattan
Paul Kelly, founder of the Five Points Gang
A slum tour through the Five Points in an 1885 sketch
The area of Manhattan where four streets – Anthony (now Worth), Cross (now Mosco), Orange (now Baxter), and Little Water (now nonexistent) – converged was known as the "Five Points".[2] Mulberry, notorious for slum tenements, was one street down from the Five Points. This area, now the present-day location of Chinatown, lay between Broadway and the Bowery. By the 1820s, this district had been a center of settlement for poor immigrants and was considered a slum area of run-down wood frame and brick dwellings, warehouses and commercial enterprises dating from the late 18th century and early 19th century, populated by mostly poor English and Scots-Irish with increasing waves of German, Welsh and Irish refugees by the 1840s.[1]
Gambling dens and brothels were numerous in the Five Points area, which was considered a dangerous destination, where many people had been mugged, particularly at night. In 1842, famous British author Charles Dickens visited the area and was appalled at the poor living conditions and substandard housing.[1]
In the pre–civil war era, Catholic immigrants often dealt with ethnic prejudice and class discrimination from Nativist White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. As a result, many Irish immigrants formed local street gangs such as the Kerryonians, the Forty Thieves, the Shirt Tails, and the Chichesters, to rebel against their low social status. These street gang members soon turned to crime.
Shortly before the American Civil War, these gangs began to dissipate, with remaining members joining powerful gangs such as the Dead Rabbits and the Whyos.[3] Eventually the influence and numbers of these Irish gangs started to wane.
By the 1870s a new wave of Italian and Eastern European Jewish immigrants were settling into the area. Criminal gangs of Irish, Jewish and Italian criminals began competing for control of the territory, rackets and revenue to be made from illicit activities. Monk Eastman's Eastman Coin Collectors originally had many Irish members before becoming predominantly Jewish.
Origins
Italian American Paul Kelly (born Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli), formed the Five Points Gang, then made up mostly of Italians. The Five Points Gang had a reputation for brutality and in battles with rival gangs they often fought to the death. The gang would then gain more power and members when Kelly recruited the remaining members of other Five Points gangs, such as the Dead Rabbits and Whyos, into his growing gang.
As time went on, Jewish, Polish and Eastern European immigrants would also be brought within the ranks of the Five Points Gang, making them even more powerful and influential. Al Capone came from the James Street gang and would later lead the Chicago Outfit. Charles "Lucky" Luciano also joined the Five Points Gang in his younger years and was later considered the most powerful criminal in the country.
Rise to power
Biff Ellison, a former member and would-be leader of the Five Points Gang.
As the Five Points Gang became more experienced, Kelly and his lieutenants saw the money to be made by supporting corrupt politicians in their election bids. By threatening voters, falsifying voter lists and stuffing ballot boxes, the gang aided city officials of the Democratic Party political machine Tammany Hall to retain power. At the turn of the 20th century, the only competitors to the Five Pointers were from Monk Eastman's gang.[citation needed]
The rivals disputed claims to a strip of territory of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In 1901, a Five Pointer shot Eastman in the stomach, but he survived. Soon after, one of his crew killed a Five Pointer in retaliation. By 1903 the feud escalated, and the two gangs openly engaged in warfare. In one incident, Kelly, Torrio and 50 Five Pointers were in a gun battle with a similarly sized force of Eastman's gang. City Police called to the scene had to retreat from the battle, which lasted several hours. Three men were killed, and many were wounded in the battle. When the police finally gained control of the situation, they arrested Eastman, but he spent only a few hours in jail. A Tammany-controlled judge released him after Eastman swore that he was innocent.[citation needed]
The general public was angered about warfare in the streets. A Tammany Hall deputy named Tom Foley brought Kelly and Eastman together and told them that neither would receive any political protection if they did not resolve the border dispute. They restored peace for a short time, but within two months, violence had risen again. Officials brought together the two leaders, but asked them to take on each other in a boxing match with the winner's gang to take the disputed territory.[citation needed]
The New Brighton/Little Naples Cafe, main clubhouse of Paul Kelly's Five Pointers gang.
On the appointed day, hundreds of men from both sides met at an abandoned house in the Bronx. Eastman and Kelly fought each other viciously. Kelly had been a boxer in his younger days, and was said to make a better showing in the earlier rounds, but Eastman was a larger man and fought ferociously. The fight lasted two hours and by the end of the match, both had suffered heavy punishment, but neither man had been knocked out and the match was declared a draw. The gang leaders told their men that they were still at war.[citation needed]
At this point, the Tammany Hall bosses decided to back the Five Points crew and to withdraw any legal or political help for Eastman and his gang. In 1904 Eastman was beaten unconscious by a policeman who had foiled a robbery in progress. Eastman was convicted of the crime and sentenced to a 10-year term in Sing Sing prison (Ossining Correctional Facility) in Ossining, New York.[citation needed]
Ascendancy
Eastman's imprisonment meant the Five Points Gang had no effective rival for control of organized crime activities on the Lower East Side. During that time, Kelly's organization expanded into other parts of Manhattan and parts of New Jersey. The Eastman crew was largely eclipsed when Eastman's successor Max "Kid Twist" Zwerbach, a former member of the Five Points Gang until he defected to the Eastman Gang, was murdered in 1908 by hitmen of the Five Points Gang, allegedly at the behest of Paul Kelly.
Kelly brought a more businesslike approach to his gang activities. He opened the New Brighton Athletic Club, a two-story cafe and dance hall at 57 Great Jones Street (between Lafayette and Bowery), where he charmed socialites and other prominent citizens who frequented his club. Always well dressed, Kelly spoke French, Italian, and Spanish fluently, and appreciated fine art and classical music. His educated and sophisticated persona impressed many of New York's elite.
Decline and final years
Paolo Vaccarelli/Paul Kelly survived an attempt on his life, after being shot three times by two of his former lieutenants, James T. "Biff" Ellison and Pat "Razor" Riley, in a gun battle inside the New Brighton in 1905. Tammany Hall pressure made him keep a lower profile after this incident, while New York Police Commissioner William McAdoo closed the New Brighton for the protection of its socialite regulars. This failed assassination began the decline of Kelly's dominance in the New York underworld.[4]
Kelly and his gang did not, however, disappear. After Kelly closed the New Brighton, he moved operations to the Italian immigrant communities in Harlem and Brooklyn, while also retaining ties to his old neighborhood, becoming a vice president of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) under his Americanized birth name of Paul Vaccarelli. He was based in the Chelsea area.
Kelly/Vaccarelli was expelled from the ILA in 1919, but returned to it later that year. He took leadership of a spontaneous port-wide strike begun in protest against a wage increase of only five cents an hour, which management had agreed to. With the support of Mayor John F. Hylan, Kelly was appointed to a commission to resolve the strike. He ended it but did not achieve any concessions for the strikers.[5]
Kelly subsequently became a labor racketeer, providing muscle in labor disputes during the 1920s.[citation needed] Kelly died of natural causes in 1936.
Gradually the Mafia gangs took over the rackets and criminal activities formerly controlled by the Five Points Gang. Former Five Pointers such as Torrio, Capone, Lansky and Luciano became the leaders of the new groups and, with mentoring from influential businessman and criminal genius Arnold Rothstein, expanded their operations on a national and international basis. With the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act establishing Prohibition in 1920, profits from bootlegged liquor became a huge source of revenue for the Mafia families.
Kelly's second-in-command John Torrio was the first to establish his style of racketeering in Chicago, recruiting Capone to join him there. Torrio later helped form a National Crime Syndicate in the United States, following the demise of the Five Points Gang and after Capone replaced him in Chicago, in coordination with Luciano and Lansky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Points_Gang
The Five is an American conservative political talk show on Fox News Channel in which full-time hosts Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters, and alternating hosts Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr. discuss current stories, political issues, and pop culture. The one-hour show premiered on July 11, 2011, and airs live weekdays at 5 p.m. ET, with repeat episodes airing at 5 a.m. ET and 5 p.m. ET on Saturdays.[1]
Format
According to the initial Fox News press release announcing The Five, the show features a "roundtable ensemble of five rotating Fox personalities who ... discuss, debate and at times debunk the hot news stories, controversies and issues of the day."[2] In the video section of Fox News' website, it is promoted as "the hot topics that have everyone talking from the five voices that will have everyone listening."[3]
The show is made up of six blocks. Each of the first five blocks is introduced, closed and loosely moderated by a different co-host. The co-host's block may have a single topic or multiple topics. The final block is a brief wrap-up segment called "One More Thing." Episodes typically begin with one of the hosts naming themselves and their fellow panelists, before reciting the show's opening catchphrase: "It's five o'clock in New York City, and this is The Five." Former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes said the format for the show was inspired by chat-oriented programs such as The View; it has also been compared to the "Great American Panel" segment on Fox News' Hannity.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_(talk_show)
Gregory John Gutfeld (born September 12, 1964) is an American television host, political commentator, comedian, and author. He is the host of the late-night comedy talk show Gutfeld!,[1] which was formerly aired on Saturday nights as The Greg Gutfeld Show from May 2015 until March 2021, when it was announced that the show would move to weeknights.
Gutfeld is also one of five co-hosts and panelists on the political talk show The Five. Both of the shows air on Fox News. From 2007 to 2015, he hosted the 3 a.m. series Red Eye, a late-night talk show which also aired on Fox News.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Gutfeld
PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION
Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it. For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created.
PARTICULAR AND DAILY EXAMEN
It contains in it three times, and two to examine oneself. The first time is in the morning, immediately on rising, when one ought to propose to guard himself with diligence against that particular sin or defect which he wants to correct and amend. The second time is after dinner, when one is to ask of God our Lord what one wants, namely, grace to remember how many times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect, and to amend himself in the future. Then let him make the first Examen, asking account of his soul of that particular thing proposed, which he wants to correct and amend. Let him go over hour by hour, or period by period, commencing at the hour he rose, and continuing up to the hour and instant of the present examen, and let him make in the first line of the G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. Then let him resolve anew to amend himself up to the second Examen which he will make. The third time: After supper, the second Examen will be made, in the same way, hour by hour, commencing at the first Examen and continuing up to the present (second) one, and let him make in the second line of the same G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. FOUR ADDITIONS FOLLOW TO RID ONESELF SOONER OF THAT PARTICULAR SIN OR DEFECT First Addition. The first Addition is that each time one falls into that particular sin or defect, let him put his hand on his breast, grieving for having fallen: which can be done even in the presence of many, without their perceiving what he is doing. Second Addition. The second: As the first line of the G------- means the first Examen, and the second line the second Examen, let him look at night if there is amendment from the first line to the second, that is, from the first Examen to the second. Third Addition. The third: To compare the second day with the first; that is, the two Examens of the present day with the other two Examens of the previous day, and see if he has amended himself from one day to the other. Fourth Addition. The fourth Addition: To compare one week with another, and see if he has amended himself in the present week over the week past. Note. It is to be noted that the first (large) G------- which follows means the Sunday: the second (smaller), the Monday: the third, the Tuesday, and so on.
GGGGGG
"The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola
TRANSLATED FROM
THE AUTOGRAPH
BY
FATHER ELDER MULLAN, S.J.
I.H.S.
NEW YORK
P.J. KENEDY & SONS
PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE
https://ia601603.us.archive.org/32/items/spiritualexercis00ignauoft/spiritualexercis00ignauoft.pdf
The Actes and Monuments (full title: Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church), popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, is a work of Protestant history and martyrology by Protestant English historian John Foxe, first published in 1563 by John Day.
It includes a polemical account of the sufferings of Protestants under the Catholic Church, with particular emphasis on England and Scotland. The book was highly influential in those countries and helped shape lasting popular notions of Catholicism there.
The book went through four editions in Foxe's lifetime and a number of later editions and abridgements, including some that specifically reduced the text to a Book of Martyrs.
Background
After the Reformation, Catholic apologists raised the issue of the novelties of Protestant doctrines, as "exploiting religious credulity for material and sexual ends."[a] Protestant apologists such as Calvinist Anglican John Foxe "sought to establish the continuity of a proto-Protestant piety from apostolic times to the Reformation."[b]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxe%27s_Book_of_Martyrs
Église St-Pierre de Montmartre
Montmartre & Northern Paris,Paris,France,Europe
Montmartre & Northern Paris
All that remains of the former Benedictine Abbey of Montmartre, this church dates back to the 12th century and is one of the oldest in Paris, though it has been much restored. Built atop a Roman temple to Mars, it was witness to the founding of the Jesuits in 1534, who met in the crypt under the guidance of Ignatius of Loyola.
Some say that the name Montmartre is derived from ‘Mons Martis’ (Latin for Mount of Mars); others prefer the Christian ‘Mont Martyr’ (Mount of the Martyr), a reference to the 3rd-century St Denis, who, according to legend, walked across Montmartre and on to the site of today’s Basilique de St-Denis after having been beheaded by Roman priests."
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/paris/montmartre-and-northern-paris/attractions/eglise-st-pierre-de-montmartre/a/poi-sig/1264286/1323143
George Timothy Murdoch (born February 21, 1973) is an American cable news personality, actor, and former professional wrestler known by his ring/stage name Tyrus. As a wrestler, he was signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is a former NWA World's Heavyweight Champion. As a cable news personality, he appears on Fox News, and its sister streaming service Fox Nation, primarily as a co-host/panelist on the late-night talk show Gutfeld!, as well as a contributor/fill-in host on other programs. In 2024, Tyrus was named host of Maintaining with Tyrus on the streaming platform OutKick, which is owned by Fox.[9]
After training in WWE's developmental territories, such as Deep South Wrestling (DSW) and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), Murdoch under the ring name Brodus Clay debuted during the fourth season of NXT, a WWE television show where rookies were paired with established WWE wrestlers as mentors. He debuted on the main roster as Alberto Del Rio's bodyguard. During 2012, WWE changed his gimmick to The Funkusaurus, a funk dancer accompanied by his backup dancers the Funkadactyls. He wrestled in WWE until his departure in 2014. From 2014 to 2017, Murdoch wrestled in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name of Tyrus. In 2021, he joined the NWA, where he won the NWA World Television Championship, and later the promotion's primary title — the World's Heavyweight Championship.
His 2022 autobiography Just Tyrus: A Memoir was a New York Times bestseller.[10] His second book Nuff Said was released in 2023. Tyrus' third book What It Is, America will be released on November 11, 2025.[11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrus_(wrestler)
The most prominent of the Society’s “Press Lords” however is Knight of St. Gregory
Rupert Murdoch (belonging to the New York Archbishop’s CFR as does his
supposed adversary, Democratic Party financier—Masonic Jew George Soros and
CFR associate Ted Turner), the contributor of ten million “dollars” (i.e., papal
Federal Reserve Notes) to Archbishop Roger Cardinal Mahoney’s newly built
“Cathedral of Our Lady” in Los Angeles. Murdoch is better known as the nation’s
media mogul and papal owner of Fox News Corporation. It is most intriguing to
observe that two of FNC’s hosts are right-wing Irish Roman Catholics Bill O’Reilly
Vatican Assassins
The Jesuits — 1914 – 1945
1094
(a Harvard graduate) and Sean Hannity, (having attended a seminary school
intending to become a priest). Greta Van Susteren received her law degree from the
Order’s Georgetown University Law Center at which she acts as an adjunct law
professor, and Colonel Oliver North, hosting “War Stories,” is tied to the Knights of
Malta via the Central Intelligence Agency and its disgraceful Iran-Contra Affair.
Other prominent national TV hosts covertly subservient to the Company evidenced by
continued complicity with prominent CFR members are MSNBC’s Chris Matthews
(Jesuit-trained at College of the Holy Cross and assistant to the late House Speaker of
the Reagan Era, Papal Knight Thomas “Tip” O’Neill—a former trustee of the
Order’s Boston College and a co-conspirator in the JFK assassination) and Tim
Russert (Jesuit-trained at John Carroll University with strong ties to the CFR,
although not a member). Roman Catholic Republican Knight of Malta Patrick
Buchanan is another Georgetown University graduate commonly interviewed on
nearly all the networks, and Roman Catholic Democrat Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr., is
the Senior Political Analyst for MSNBC and the executive producer of NBC’s The
West Wing, starring another socialist Roman Catholic actor and Jesuit Temporal
Coadjutor, Martin Sheen, previously mentioned. O’ Donnell also served as a Senior
Advisor to the late Roman Catholic New York Senator Patrick Moynihan, once an
assistant professor at the Order’s Fordham College and Lincoln Center, as well as
functioning in the capacity of another covert Jesuit Temporal Coadjutor aiding in the
cover-up of the Company’s assassination of President John F. Kennedy by ridiculing
any assertion that the Jesuits were behind the murder. O’Donnell regularly appears on
The McLaughlin Group hosted by “former” Jesuit priest, Nixon-speechwriter and
business partner of Knight of Malta Patrick Buchanan, John McLaughlin. This is the
multi-faceted array of the Vatican’s CFR-controlled American “prostitutes” secretly in
obedience to the Black Pope’s scheme for a socialist-communist, cartel-corporatefascist,
one-world government to be realized under the final Pope, risen from the dead
(fulfilling Masonry’s type of the murdered and risen Hiram Abif derived from the
myth of the risen Roman Phoenix), possessed by the Devil and ruling from Jerusalem,
ruling his revived Holy Roman Empire—the Germany-based Fourth Reich
presently under construction. Indeed, the Society of Jesus has kept its word as
promised in its priest-written, anti-Jew, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion
and The Council of Trent. Dear truth-seeker, The Company controls the Press!)
And it was Henry R. Luce who used his media empire to shape American
culture and religion. Both Luce and the Masonic Jew, Bernard Baruch, recruited the
young Billy Graham for ecumenical purposes, as Luce was an active participant in
the Jesuits’ World Council of Churches. (Now you know why Freemason Graham,
having received an honorary doctorate from the Franciscan Belmont Abbey and thus
approved by the Vatican’s Jesuit Charles Dullea, receives such good press!) The
Jesuits, in creating the Council on Foreign Relations as their “trusted third party,”
were following the instructions of their founder. Loyola commanded:
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“ ‘The chief aim’—thus runs the order—‘of all our efforts ought to be to
procure the confidence and favor of princes and men in places of
distinction, to the end that no one might dare to offer opposition to us, but
on the contrary, that all should be subject to us. . . . In short, the Jesuit order
looks upon it as their highest aim and object to seize upon the place of
Father Confessor at all the different Courts and among all persons of
distinction, well knowing that enormous power lies hidden therein; at the
same time the making publicly known of this earnest striving after power
must be carefully avoided, especially as regards those princes who operate
somewhat beneficially by their worldly might. Assurance must often and
earnestly be given,’ proceeds the same above document, ‘that it is not
sought in any way to interfere with the affairs of the State, and it is
recommended to those who might be pleased to see themselves at the
rudder [Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, FDR and Franco] not to make it evident
that they are manifestly in that position. This ought rather to be effected
through means of some trusted third party, that then the opinion of the
rulers’ Father Confessor might be asked; when by this means all appearance
of direct interference is avoided, then will be the reality of the influence all
the more effectually secured.’ ” {73} [Emphasis added]
Dear truth-seeker, the Jesuits at Georgetown are the “Father Confessors” to the
President. Their “trusted third party” is the Council on Foreign Relations sending
its advisor, usually the Secretary of State, who in 1963 was the traitor, Dean Rusk.
CFR Pratt House, 58 East 68th Street, New York City, 2000 #395
The Black Pope’s splendid and plush Council on Foreign Relations headquarters
was donated by the Order’s grand financier, the Masonic House of Rockefeller.
How Satan Turned America Against God, William P. Grady, (Knoxville, Tennessee: Grady Pubs., Inc., 2005).
Vatican Assassins
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CFR Members and Students, Jesuit Georgetown University, 2000 #396
Standing top left, CFR Member Condoleezza Rice is being introduced to speak.
Annual Report: Council on Foreign Relations, (New York: The Harold Pratt House, 2001) p. 12.
2. The Masonic British agents of the Order, having created London’s Royal
Institute of International Affairs (RIIA), were now working in conjunction with the
Order’s Masonic American agents ruling the CFR at 58 East 68th Street in New York.
Backed by the wealth and power of America, the Protestant British Empire would
be more effectively used than formerly during the Nineteenth Century—“the British
Century.” The Empire, usurped by the Jesuits during the reign of King George III,
would be used by the Black Pope (ruling the English Monarchy and “Smokin’
Winston” Churchill) as another one of the Order’s “Swords of the Church” during
the Jesuit General’s Second Thirty Years’ War and his ensuing Cold War.
In 1922
1. The Jesuits established their unholy and bloodthirsty Inquisition in Russia
called the “USSR,” appointing their Jew-hating, Freemasonic Grand Inquisitor—
Josef Stalin—as the Secretary of the Communist Party. Indeed, it was common
Chapter 37
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knowledge in Russia that “Koba” was a Roman Catholic according to several Russian
immigrants to America known to the author. To the contrary, it was a well-kept secret
that he, like Hitler, Mussolini and Franco, had a Jesuit-negotiated Concordat with
the Pope. It was also known that the “man of steel”—like President Bill Clinton—
was educated by Jesuits. That five-year training transpired in Tiflis, Georgia, via a
Jesuit-ruled Orthodox seminary, as the Tzar’s ukase of 1820 had banned the Order
from all Russian dominions. Of Stalin’s Jesuit training we read:
“Then [1894], being nearly fifteen, he entered the Tiflis Theological
Seminary on a free scholarship . . . [Stalin then states] ‘In protest against
the humiliating regime and the jesuitical methods that prevailed in the
seminary, I was ready to become, and eventually did become, a believer
in Marxism. . . . [The Jesuits] are methodical and persevering in their
work. But the basis of all their methods is spying, prying, peering into
people’s soul, to subject them to petty torment.’ ” {74} [Emphasis added]
Further, regarding Stalin’s connection with Rome from youth to revolutionary:
“Stalin’s childhood was spent in Gori, a charming and picturesque town on
the railway to Tiflis, the capital of Georgia. Gori was already a cultured
urban center, boasting a high school. . . . The town church was built by
Capuchin missionaries [Jesuit Coadjutors] from Rome. . . . Stalin’s mother
was proud of him. He excelled in his studies, his deportment was good, and
he was his teacher’s favorite pupil. . . . He was sent to the [Capuchin’s]
local church school when he was nearly eight [illustrating the Jesuit maxim,
“as the twig is bent, so grows the tree”]. . . . ‘Soso was a good boy,’ his
mother declared emphatically, in 1930. . . . He studied hard, was always
reading or talking and trying to find out about everything. . . . I didn’t want
him to be anything but a priest.’ . . . For Stalin won a scholarship to a
college upon his graduation from the elementary school. . . .
Soso was admitted to the [openly Russian Orthodox] theological seminary
in Tiflis [upon the recommendation of crypto-Jesuit Capuchins in Gori with
their favorite student bringing a scholarship in hand], where she and her
son moved in 1893 from Gori. . . . The theological seminary was a
stronghold of new and exciting theories, a battlefield for nationalist and
internationalist propagandists. Tiflis already had [Masonic] Marxist circles.
. . . Into this hotbed of resurrection and insurrection the young Djugashvili
came to receive his baptism for priesthood. . . . He was fourteen. . . . Stalin
imbibed the socialist doctrines [perfected by the Jesuits on their fifty-seven
South American “Reductions”], studied [Masonic] Karl Marx [who hated
the Jews and sought to rid the world of the Hebrew race], and became one
of the leaders of the secret Marxist band in the seminary. Soon, at the age
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of seventeen, he established connections with the Tiflis Social Democratic
groups. He attended ‘underground’ meetings, and engaged in such
activities as distributing revolutionary proclamations and pamphlets [all
under the watchful eye of his masters, the Jesuits, appearing as Orthodox
priests, having trained him as a youth and then freely educated him in their
seminary for five years, grooming their “Robespierre” to boldly lead in
the coming Russian revolution so carefully prepared by their hands]. . . .
‘I became a Marxist, [Stalin] declared, . . . ‘because of Jesuitic repression
and the martinet intolerance of the Orthodox Church seminary where I
spent some years [during which time the Order inflicted the 1894-1896
mass-murder of 100,000 “heretic” Armenian Christians in Turkey by the
Masonic Moslem Turkish leaders aided and abetted by Jesuit-controlled
Tzars Alexander III and Nicholas II].’ . . . The espionage system in the
seminary was well established. The monastic inspectors kept a watchful
eye on the ‘reliability’ of their wards. Stalin was under suspicion. . . . The
wakeful school officers searched his room, and discovered a book by Karl
Marx. He was promptly expelled from the seminary, at the age of eighteen
[which deliberately misleading story is only equaled by the fable that
Adam Weishaupt ceased to be a Jesuit when he formed the Illuminati in
1776. Stalin was openly “expelled for not appearing for an examination,”
but secretly was blessed and dismissed by his occult Jesuit superior and
seminary inspector, later becoming Schema-Archbishop Anthony (1867-
1943)—who just so happened to survive the monstrous Bolshevik purge of
the Orthodox Church, Stalin’s “Great Terror” of the Thirties and
temporary imprisonment, living to the ripe old age of 76! Stalin had been
taught Marxism in the seminary for five years (1894-May, 1899), the
seminary having been the center of all forbidden revolutionary activity in
Georgia and the very heart of the Black Pope’s Bolshevik Revolution. This
story of “disapproval and expulsion” is a “black operation,” intended to
deceive the reader into believing that Stalin had no connection with the
Jesuit Order ruling the Orthodox Church while he was, in fact, the General
Secretary of the Communist Party, thus openly the absolute dictator of
Soviet Russia from 1922-1953 (the “vile” Alexander N. Poskrebyshev
being the real dictator), after the Order’s assassination of Vladimir Lenin
and expulsion of Leon Trotsky—both having been Masonic Jews!] . . .
It was but five years later [1903] that Lenin laid the foundations for that
modern phenomenon, the class of professional revolutionists. . . .
Somewhere in [the Jesuit stronghold of] Siberia a bald-headed exile by the
name of Ulyanov [Lenin] was studying English and translating [Masonic
Cecil Rhodes’ British Fabian Socialist] Sidney Webb into Russian.
Ulyanov was to become Lenin, and Sidney Webb—Lord Passfield. . . .
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Bolshevism was ushered into the world by Lenin in 1903. . . . Stalin’s
career was set. . . . Bolshevism is indigenous to Russia. . . . Bolshevism is a
western idea [springing from the Order’s Counter-Reformation Fabian
Socialists whose political policies, implemented by Winston Churchill’s
radical British Labor Party, furthered the post-WWII destruction of the
Protestant British Empire] . . . Bolshevism is not an accident. It is not
without reason that the Soviet historians open their accounts of communism
with [Sir] Thomas More [(1477-1535), having been a Roman Catholic
English statesman and traitor who refused to recognize King Henry VIII
as head of the Church of England for which he was beheaded; who
authored the socialist Utopia; who attacked Martin Luther’s Biblical
doctrines which ignited the Lord’s Protestant Reformation; and has been
canonized by the Papacy]. . . . One of the Soviet writers hails Thomas
More as the first communist [thus Rome being the font of communism]. . . .
More was the first to suggest a universal organization of communist
economy in which all the means of production would be publicly owned [as
in “Holy Roman,” Fourteenth Amendment, socialist-communist, corporatefascist
America today via the Order’s New York Stock Exchange]. . . .
While the Bolshevist Party in its relation to the government greatly
resembles the Calvinist pattern [which it does not in any form or fashion,
since all socialism is legalized theft in violation of the risen Son of God’s
Eighth Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” (Exodus 20:15)], the
internal structure of that party is a replica of Loyola’s Jesuit Society.
Loyola conceived the church to be in a state of war [against the one true
God of the Reformation Bible and thus the Reformation nations composing
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Western Civilization], and Lenin considered
society to be in a state of war [against the political liberties born out of the
Reformation including freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom
of the press, and the right to hold and enjoy private property, both real and
personal]. Loyola built his organization upon the principles of military
discipline, of total abnegation on the part of those who joined his society, of
an intricate system of espionage from which not even the supreme general
was exempt [as existed in Jesuit-ruled Nazi Germany, Jesuit-ruled Soviet
Russia, Jesuit-ruled Fascist Spain, Jesuit-ruled Fascist Italy, Jesuit-ruled
Fascist Portugal, Jesuit-ruled Fascist Argentina, Jesuit-ruled Fascist
Japan, Jesuit-RIIA-ruled Britain, and as now exists in our Jesuit-CFRruled,
corporate-fascist “Holy Roman” Fourteenth Amendment American
Empire]. His teachings of obedience and his hierarchical order are closely
reproduced within the Bolshevist Party. The Jesuit ethics of the end
justifying the means recur frequently in the catechism of Leninism.” {75}
[Emphasis added]
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George Bernard Shaw with Joseph P. Kennedy, 1930s #397
Rome’s Socialist-Communist with Rome’s Cartel-Capitalist
Brother Irish Catholics, Fabian Socialist Shaw was the inspiration of Lenin and
Kennedy’s Knights of Malta financed the building of the Black Pope’s USSR.
Papal Knights Joseph P. Kennedy and Winston Churchill, 1930s #398
Knight of Malta Kennedy, who later sent his son, Knight of Columbus JFK, to
the Fabian Socialist London School of Economics, stands together with Masonic
Fabian Socialist Churchill, master of the British Labor Party. Churchill, via his
party, would aid in the building of Masonic Josef Stalin’s Soviet Empire.
Joseph P. Kennedy: A Life and Times, David E. Koskoff, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1974).
Vatican Assassins:
“Wounded In The House Of My Friends”
Third Edition
by Eric Jon Phelps
https://ia802505.us.archive.org/28/items/EricJonPhelpsVaticanAssassins3rdEdition/Eric%20Jon%20Phelps%20-%20Vatican%20Assassins%203rd%20Edition.pdf
Marcia Rachel Clark (née Kleks, formerly Horowitz; born August 31, 1953[1]) is an American prosecutor, author, television correspondent, and television producer.[2] She was the lead prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case.[3][4]
Early life and education
Clark was born Marcia Rachel Kleks on August 31, 1953,[1] the daughter of Rozlyn (née Masur) and Abraham Kleks. Her father was born in Mandatory Palestine and raised there and in Israel, and worked as a chemist for the FDA.[5] Because of her father's job, the family moved several times, including living in California, New York, Michigan, and Maryland.[5]
Kleks graduated from Susan E. Wagner High School, a public school in the Manor Heights section of Staten Island, New York City.[6] She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating in 1976 with a degree in political science, and then earned a Juris Doctor degree at Southwestern University School of Law.[citation needed]
Career
Attorney
Clark was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1979, where she continued to practice law.[7] She worked in private practice and as a public defender for the city of Los Angeles before she became a prosecutor in 1981.[5][8] She worked as a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, California and was mentored by prosecutor Harvey Giss.[9]
Clark is well known as the lead prosecutor in the 1995 trial of O. J. Simpson for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.[10] Prior to the Simpson trial, Clark's highest-profile trial occurred in 1991 when she prosecuted Robert John Bardo for the murder of television star Rebecca Schaeffer.[11][12][13] Clark said that the media attention that she received during the trial was "the hell of the trial," calling herself "famous in a way that was kind of terrifying."[14] Clark was advised by a jury consultant to "talk softer, dress softer, wear pastels" in order to improve her image.[14] She subsequently changed her hairstyle into a perm, and the Los Angeles Times described her as resembling "Sigourney Weaver, only more professional."[15] The New York Times commented that "the transformation was not entirely seamless."
Commentator and author
Clark resigned from the district attorney's office after she lost the Simpson case. She and Teresa Carpenter wrote a book about the Simpson case, Without a Doubt, in a deal reported to be worth $4.2 million.[8][16]
Since the Simpson trial, Clark has made numerous appearances on television, including as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. She provided coverage of high-profile trials and reported from the red carpet at awards shows such as the Emmy Awards. She was a guest attorney on the short-lived television series Power of Attorney and was also featured on Headline News analyzing the Casey Anthony trial. In July 2013, Clark provided commentary for CNN during the Florida trial of George Zimmerman.[citation needed]
Clark wrote a pilot script for a television series called Borderland, centering on "a very dark version of the DA's office." The series was purchased by FX but was never produced.[8] Clark has contributed true-crime articles to The Daily Beast.[17]
Clark has written several novels.[18] Her "Rachel Knight" series centers on a prosecutor in the Los Angeles district attorney's office, and includes Guilt By Association (2011),[19] Guilt By Degrees (2012),[20] Killer Ambition (2013)[21] and The Competition (2014).[22] Guilt by Association was adapted as a television pilot for TNT in 2014.[18][23][24]
Clark's "Samantha Brinkman" series features a female defense attorney. It includes Blood Defense (2016), Moral Defense (2016) and Snap Judgment (2017), and was planned as a television adaptation series for NBC that Clark would cowrite.[18][24] Clark did not expect to become an author, saying, "As a lawyer, I came to understand early that storytelling plays a very important part when you address a jury. So I guess my instincts have always kind of been there when it comes to weaving a narrative."[25] She read Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys mystery fiction as a child and said "I have been addicted to crime since I was born. I was making up crime stories when I was a 4 or 5-year-old kid."[26]
Media appearances
In August 2013, Clark appeared as attorney Sidney Barnes in the Pretty Little Liars episode on Freeform (formally ABC) titled "Now You See Me, Now You Don't".[27]
In 2015, Clark was parodied on the sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt through the character Marcia, implied to represent Marcia Clark in a relationship with Chris Darden. The character portrayed by Tina Fey,[28][29] whose performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the role.[30]
Clark appears in the 2016 documentary miniseries O.J.: Made in America.[31][32] That same year, she was portrayed by Sarah Paulson in the 2016 television series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which focuses on the Simpson trial. Paulson's performance as Clark earned wide acclaim, and she earned a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role.[33][34] Clark attended the Emmy Awards with Paulson on September 18, 2016.[33] Katey Rich wrote in Vanity Fair that the series positions Clark as a "feminist hero."[35]
In 2019, Clark appeared in the 18th season finale of Gordon Ramsay's reality series Hell's Kitchen as a VIP guest diner for winner and Season 6 veteran Ariel Contreras-Fox.
In 2024, Clark appeared on the third episode of comedian John Mulaney’s live comedy special Everybody’s in LA. While the episode was themed to and titled "Helicopters," much of the discussion focused around the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial due to the presence of Clark and reporter Zoey Tur, who famously captured helicopter footage of the slow-speed Bronco chase. Clark and Tur had never met before their appearance on the show.
Personal life
When Clark was 17 years old, she was raped on a trip to Israel. She has said that it was an experience with which she did not deal until later in life and that it greatly influenced her decision to become a prosecutor.[8]
In 1976, Clark married Gabriel Horowitz, an Israeli professional backgammon player[36] whom she had met as a student at UCLA.[5] They obtained a "Mexican divorce"[5] in 1980[8][37] and had no children. Horowitz was briefly in the news after he sold topless photos of Clark to the National Enquirer during the Simpson trial.[5]
In 1980, Clark married her second husband, Gordon Clark, a computer programmer and systems administrator who was employed at the Church of Scientology.[8][38] They were divorced in 1995 and had two sons.[8] Gordon argued at a custody hearing during the Simpson trial that he should receive full custody of their children given the long hours that Marcia had spent working for the trial.[5]
Clark no longer considers herself religious, although she was raised Jewish and her first wedding was a Conservative Jewish ceremony.[8] She was a member of the Church of Scientology until 1980.[8]
Clark resides in Calabasas, California.[8]
Bibliography
Non-fiction
Without a Doubt with Teresa Carpenter (1997). Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-670-87089-9
Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham (2024). Thomas & Mercer. ISBN 978-1-662-51596-5
Rachel Knight series
Guilt By Association (2011). Mulholland Books. ISBN 978-0-316-12951-0
Guilt By Degrees (2012). Mulholland Books. ISBN 978-0-316-12953-4
Killer Ambition (2013). Mulholland Books. ISBN 978-0-316-22094-1
The Competition (2014). Mulholland Books. ISBN 978-0-316-22097-2
If I'm Dead: A Rachel Knight Story (2012). Mulholland Books. Digital.
Trouble in Paradise: A Rachel Knight Story (2013). Mulholland Books. Digital.
Samantha Brinkman series
Blood Defense (2016). Thomas & Mercer. ISBN 978-1-503-93619-5
Moral Defense (2016). Thomas & Mercer. ISBN 978-1-503-93977-6
Snap Judgment (2017). Thomas & Mercer. ISBN 978-1-542-04599-5
Final Judgment (2020). Thomas & Mercer. ISBN 978-1-542-09117-6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Clark
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
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
Marcus is a masculine given name of Ancient Roman pre-Christian origin derived either from Etruscan Marce of unknown meaning or referring to the god Mars. Mars was identified as the Roman god of War.
The name is popular in Europe, particularly in Sweden, Norway,[1] Italy and Germany, and increasingly, in the Netherlands. It is also popular in English language countries, although less common than the shortened variation 'Mark', associated with the Gospel writer Mark the Evangelist. There are other variants. Marcus ranks in the top 100 most popular boy names in Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales since the 1990s, as well as the top 200 most popular boy names in the US since the 1960s.[2]
Marcus developed as a patronymic or toponymic surname in Italy, southern France, and Spain around 1000 A.D., attributable to religious monasteries and sanctuaries named Sanctus Marcus (or its many variants). The surname was used as an identifier for the area of origin. The first historical record of the surname was in the year 1390 in Biberach an der Riß, Germany.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_(name)
John Hyrcanus (/hɜːrˈkeɪnəs/; Hebrew: יוחנן הרקנוס, romanized: Yoḥānān Hurqanos; Koine Greek: Ἰωάννης Ὑρκανός, romanized: Iōánnēs Hurkanós) was a Hasmonean (Maccabean) leader and Jewish High Priest of Israel of the 2nd century BCE (born 164 BCE, reigned from 134 BCE until he died in 104 BCE). In rabbinic literature he is often referred to as Yoḥanan Cohen Gadol (יוחנן כהן גדול), "John the High Priest".[a]
Name
Josephus explains in The Jewish War that John was also known as "Hyrcanus" but does not explain the reason behind this name. The only other primary sources—the Books of the Maccabees—never used this name for John. The single occurrence of the name Hyrcanus in 2 Maccabees 3:11 refers to a man to whom some of the money in the Temple belonged during the c. 178 BCE visit of Heliodorus.[1]
The reason for the name is disputed amongst biblical scholars, with a variety of reasons proposed:
Familial origin in the region of Hyrcania on the Caspian Sea[2]
A Greek regnal name, which would have represented closer ties with the Hellenistic culture against which the Maccabees had revolted under Seleucid rule. However, the region of Hyrcania had been conquered by Mithridates I of Parthia in 141–139 BCE
Given the name by the Seleucids after he fought in the region alongside Antiochus VII Sidetes against Phraates II of Parthia in 130–129 BCE, a campaign which resulted in the release of Antiochus' brother Demetrius II Nicator from captivity in Hyrcania
Life and work
He was the son of Simon Thassi and hence the nephew of Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Apphus and their siblings, whose story is told in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, in the Talmud, and in Josephus. John was not present at a banquet at which his father and his two brothers were murdered by John's brother-in-law, Ptolemy son of Abubus. He attained his father's former offices of High Priest and ethnarch, but not king.[3] Josephus said that John Hyrcanus had five sons but he named only four in his histories: Judah Aristobulus I, Antigonus I, Alexander Jannai, and Absalom. It is the fifth brother who is said to have unsuccessfully sought the throne at the death of Aristobulus I according to Antiquities of the Jews 13.12.1.
Siege of Jerusalem
During the first year of John Hyrcanus's reign, he faced a serious challenge to Judean independence from the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus VII Sidetes marched into Judea, pillaged the countryside, and laid what became a year-long siege of Jerusalem. The prolonged siege caused Hyrcanus to remove any Judean from the city who could not assist with the defence effort (Antiquities 13.240). These refugees were not allowed to pass through Antiochus’ lines, becoming trapped in the middle of a chaotic siege. Facing a humanitarian crisis, Hyrcanus re-admitted his estranged Jerusalemites when the festival of Sukkot arrived. Then, as food shortages in Jerusalem became severe, Hyrcanus negotiated a truce with Antiochus.[4]
The terms of the truce required payment of 3,000 talents of silver to Antiochus, the dismantling of the walls of Jerusalem, Judean participation in the Seleucid war against the Parthians, and renewed Judean recognition of Seleucid control (Antiquities 13.245). These terms were a harsh blow to Hyrcanus, who had to loot the tomb of David to pay the 3,000 talents (The Wars of the Jews I 2:5).
Under Seleucid control (133–128 BCE)
Following the Seleucid siege, Judea faced tough economic times which were magnified by taxes to the Seleucids enforced by Antiochus. Furthermore, Hyrcanus was forced to accompany Antiochus on his eastern campaign in 130 BCE. Hyrcanus probably functioned as the military commander of a Jewish company in the campaign.[5] It is reported that Antiochus, out of consideration for the religion of his Jewish allies, at one point ordered a two days' halt of the entire army to allow them to avoid breaking the Sabbath and the festival of Shavuot.[6]
This enforced absence probably caused a loss of support for the inexperienced Hyrcanus among the Judean population.[7] Judeans in the countryside were especially disillusioned with Hyrcanus after Antiochus’ army plundered their land. John Hyrcanus's expulsion of the non-military population of Jerusalem during the siege had probably caused resentment, and his looting of the Tomb of David violated his obligations as High Priest, which would have offended the religious leadership.[8]
Therefore, at an early point in his 31-year reign, Hyrcanus had lost support from Judeans in various cultural sectors. The Jerusalemites, the rural Judeans, and the religious leadership probably doubted the future of Judea under Hyrcanus. However in 128 BCE Antiochus VII was killed in battle against Parthia. What followed was an era of conquest led by Hyrcanus that marked the high point of Judea as the most significant power in the Levant.[9]
Conquests
Hasmonean Kingdom under John Hyrcanus
situation in 134 BCE
area conquered
John Hyrcanus took advantage of unrest in the Seleucid Empire to reassert Judean independence and acquire new territories. In 130 BCE Demetrius II, the former Seleucid king, returned from exile in Hyrcania to resume the government of his empire. However the transition of power made it difficult for Demetrius to reassert control over Judea.,[10] and the Seleucid Empire also lost control of other principalities. The Ituraeans of Lebanon, the Ammonites of the Transjordan, and the Arabian Nabateans were among these.[11] Hyrcanus determined to take advantage of the dissipation of the Seleucid Empire to enlarge the Judean State.
Hyrcanus raised a new mercenary army that differed from the Judean forces that had been defeated by Antiochus VII (Ant.13.249). The Judean population was probably still recovering from the attack of Antiochus, and therefore could not provide enough able men for a new army.[10] The new army was funded with more treasure that Hyrcanus removed from the Tomb of David.[12]
Beginning in 113 BCE, Hyrcanus began an extensive military campaign against Samaria. Hyrcanus placed his sons Antigonus and Aristobulus in charge of the siege of Samaria. The Samaritans called for help and eventually received 6,000 troops from Antiochus IX Cyzicenus. Although the siege lasted for a long, difficult year, Hyrcanus did not give up. Ultimately Samaria was overrun and devastated. Cyzicenus' mercenary army was defeated and the city of Scythopolis seems to have been occupied by Hyrcanus as well.[13] The inhabitants of Samaria were enslaved. Upon conquering former Seleucid regions Hyrcanus implemented a policy of compelling the non-Jewish populations to adopt Jewish customs.[14][15]
John Hyrcanus's first conquest was an invasion of the Transjordan in 110 BCE.[16] John Hyrcanus's mercenary army laid siege to the city of Medeba and took it after a six-month siege. After these victories, Hyrcanus went north towards Shechem and Mount Gerizim. The city of Shechem was reduced to a village and the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim was destroyed.[14] This military action against Shechem has been dated archaeologically around 111–110 BCE.[17] Destroying the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim helped ameliorate John Hyrcanus's standing among religious elite and common Jews who detested any temple to God outside of Jerusalem.
Hyrcanus also initiated a military campaign against the Idumeans (Edomites). During this campaign Hyrcanus conquered Adora, Maresha and other Idumean towns (Ant.13.257). Hyrcanus then instituted forced conversions of the Idumeans to Judaism.[18] This was an unprecedented measure for a Judean ruler; it was the first instance of forced conversion perpetrated by Jews in recorded history.[19] However, some scholars dispute the narrative of forced conversion and believe that the Edomites peacefully assimilated in Judean society.[20]
Economy, foreign relations, and religion
Judea, Hasmoneans. John Hyrcanus I (Yehohanan). 135–104 BCE. Æ Prutah (13mm, 2.02 gm, 12h). "Yehohanan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews" (in Hebrew) in five lines within wreath / Double cornucopia adorned with ribbons; pomegranate between horns; small A to lower left. Meshorer Group B, 11; Hendin 457.
After the siege of Jerusalem, Hyrcanus faced a serious economic crisis in Judea, although the economic difficulties probably subsided after the death of Antiochus VII, since Hyrcanus no longer had to pay taxes or tributes to a weaker Seleucid Empire.[21] The economic situation eventually improved enough for Hyrcanus to issue his own coinage (see below). On top of that, Hyrcanus initiated vital building projects in Judea. Hyrcanus re-built the walls destroyed by Antiochus. He also built a fortress north of the Temple called the Baris and possibly also the fortress Hyrcania.[22]
Moreover, out of desperation, Hyrcanus sought for good relations with the surrounding Gentile powers, especially the growing Roman Republic. Two decrees were passed in the Roman Senate that established a treaty of friendship with Judea.[23] Although it is difficult to specifically date these resolutions, they represent efforts made between Hyrcanus and Rome to maintain stable relations. Also, an embassy sent by Hyrcanus received Roman confirmation of Hasmonean independence.[24] Hyrcanus was an excellent case of a ruler backed by Roman support.
In addition to Rome, Hyrcanus was able to maintain steady relations with Ptolemaic Egypt. This was probably made possible due to various Jews living in Egypt who had connections with the Ptolemaic Court (Ant. 13.284–287). Finally, the cities of Athens and Pergamon even showed honor to Hyrcanus in an effort to appease Rome.[25]
Furthermore, the minting of coins by Hyrcanus demonstrates John Hyrcanus's willingness to delegate power. Sixty-three coins found near Bethlehem bear the inscription, "Yohanan the High Priest." The reserve side of the coins contains the phrase, "The Assembly of the Jews." This seems to suggest that during his reign, Hyrcanus was not an absolute ruler. Instead, Hyrcanus had to submit at times to an assembly of Jews that had a certain amount of minority power.[26] The coins lack any depictions of animals or humans. This suggests that Hyrcanus strictly followed the Jewish prohibition against graven images. The coins also seem to suggest that Hyrcanus considered himself to be primarily the High Priest of Judea, and his rule of Judea was shared with the Assembly.[27]
In Judea, religious issues were a core aspect of domestic policy. Josephus only reports one specific conflict between Hyrcanus and the Pharisees, who asked him to relinquish the position of High Priest (Ant. 13.288–296).[28] After this falling-out, Hyrcanus sided with the rivals of the Pharisees, the Sadducees. However, elsewhere Josephus reports that the Pharisees did not grow to power until the reign of Queen Salome Alexandra (JW.1.110) The coins minted under Hyrcanus suggest that Hyrcanus did not have complete secular authority. Furthermore, this account may represent a piece of Pharisaic apologetics due to Josephus's Pharisaic background.[29] Regardless, there were probably tensions because of the religious and secular leadership roles held by Hyrcanus.
Ultimately, one of the final acts of John Hyrcanus's life was an act that solved any kind of dispute over his role as High Priest and ethnarch. In the will of Hyrcanus, he provisioned for the division of the high priesthood from secular authority. John Hyrcanus's widow was given control of civil authority after his death, and his son Judas Aristobulus was given the role of High Priest. This action represented John Hyrcanus's willingness to compromise over the issue of secular and religious authority.[30] (However, Aristobulus was not satisfied with this arrangement, so he cast his mother into prison and let her starve.)
The Tomb of Hyrcanus was, according to Josephus, located near the Towers' Pool (also known as Hezekiah's Pool) northwest of the present Jaffa Gate.[31] During the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Titus selected the area opposite the tomb to begin his assault on the city's third wall.[31]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hyrcanus
The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World), commonly known as the Lateran Basilica or Saint John Lateran,[c] is the Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Rome in the city of Rome, Italy. It serves as the seat of the bishop of Rome, the pope. The only "archbasilica" in the world, it lies outside of Vatican City proper, which is located approximately four kilometres (2+1⁄2 miles) northwest. Nevertheless, as properties of the Holy See, the archbasilica and its adjoining edifices enjoy an extraterritorial status from Italy, pursuant to the terms of the Lateran Treaty of 1929.[a] Dedicated to Christ the Savior, in honor of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, the place name – Laterano (Lateran) – comes from an ancient Roman family (gens), whose palace (domus) grounds occupied the site. The adjacent Lateran Palace was the primary residence of the pope until the Middle Ages.
The church is the oldest and highest ranking of the four major papal basilicas, and it is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. Founded in 324, it is the oldest public church in the city of Rome, and the oldest basilica in the Western world.[1] It houses the cathedra of the Roman bishop,[2][3] and it has the title of ecumenical mother church of the Catholic faithful. The building deteriorated during the Middle Ages and was badly damaged by two fires in the 14th century. It was rebuilt in the late 16th century during the reign of Pope Sixtus V. The new structure's interior was renovated in the late 17th century, and its façade was completed in 1735 under Pope Clement XII.
The current Rector is Cardinal Archpriest Baldassare Reina, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome[4] since 6 October 2024. The president of the French Republic, currently Emmanuel Macron, is ex officio the "First and Only Honorary Canon" of the archbasilica, a title that the heads of state of France have possessed since King Henry IV.
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] As Christ the Savior is its primary dedication, 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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbasilica_of_Saint_John_Lateran
The Story of NESticle, the Ambitious Emulator That Redefined Retro Gaming
By Ernie Smith
May 1, 2017, 8:00am
The second stage of the Nintendo Entertainment System’s long lifespan started in earnest on April 3, 1997.
By that time, Nintendo had already moved on to 3D gaming with Super Mario 64. But an army of game fans, largely teens and college students who had been young children when the NES first came out in the early 1980s, were setting the stage for its legacy.
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One of those fans, a programmer from Kansas with an offbeat sense of humor and an unmissable skillset, released a PC emulator for the NES—a reverse-engineered software version of the hardware platform. Called “NESticle,” its Windows icon was, quite literally and indelicately, a pair of testicles.
NESticle, nonetheless, did something amazing: It allowed people to play old Nintendo games on cheap computers made by Packard Bell and other firms, and did so while introducing a number of fundamental new ways to appreciate those games. Divorced from Nintendo’s famously draconian licensing strategy, it introduced new ways of thinking about well-tread video games.
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Would we have the retro-friendly gaming culture that we do today without its existence? Maybe, but it’s possible it might not be quite so vibrant.
This is the story of how NESticle helped turn retro gaming into a modern cultural force.
Icer Addis was named Wichita High School Southeast’s Class of 1994 most likely graduate to become a millionaire. He had shown some early signs of brilliance by making PC games with his friend Ethan Petty. By the time he graduated from high school, their company, Bloodlust Software, was riding a wave of success during the shareware era. Their first hit, Executioners, a crude-but-funny beat-’em-up game in the Final Fight mold, was full of visual jokes, some of them featuring Addis and Petty, the game’s visual artist.
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“I’m going to say beer and women killed the original Bloodlust Software.”
Its follow-up, Nogginknockers, a bloody, in-joke-fueled take on Pong, came out a year later, and despite the claim that it was a “pathetic attempt to tide people over until our next decent game,” it was still fun. That said, their next decent game, the blood-soaked fighter Timeslaughter, made the case for the increasing sophistication of the two budding game designers, even as the graphics remained somewhat crude.
In an email interview, Petty recalled that Bloodlust’s games were something of an over-the-top response to the culture wars of the time.
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“I’d call it an equal mix of Troma movies, professional wrestling, and GWAR. We celebrated the best of the worst in American culture because we thought it was hilarious and found the overreactions to it, especially the religious ones, were even funnier,” Petty said. “We wanted to shock with excessive gore and offensive material just like our idols, but the end result was a lot more crude—you saw it through the lens of high school students trying to be rebels.”
Bloodlust Software’s Nogginknockers. Image: Internet Archive
Petty notes that while he was very much “a 16-year-old with no real artistic training and Deluxe Paint 2, drawing with a mouse,” but his crude style was distinct—you knew a Bloodlust product when you saw it. Addis, with his knowledge of assembly language and C++, helped turn their games into reality.
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It wasn’t a partnership built to last, however. Petty and Addis drifted apart as they grew older.
“I’m going to say beer and women killed the original Bloodlust Software,” Petty recalled. “I remember he had a girlfriend who didn’t like me too much and I was spending a lot of time playing drunken Dungeons & Dragons with a crowd of Kansan misfits (don’t judge). Eventually, I dropped out of college and moved to New York, chasing an IRC girlfriend (don’t judge!), which was probably the nail in the coffin.” (Addis could not be reached for this article.)
While the Bloodlust partnership eventually faded away (with a partly-completed Contra-style game left for dead), the name didn’t—and neither did its distinctive style.
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As the partnership that spawned Bloodlust was fading from view, another world was starting to grow in stature—the subculture of retro gaming.
Nesticle interface
Before console emulators became common in the late 1990s, a lot of work had to be put into understanding how outdated systems worked. Collectives of folks who grew up with these games used their budding technical skills to reverse engineer the devices, sharing knowledge with their peers in text files, on slapdash websites, or within FTP servers.
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In a 1996 interview with the DOS-based diskmag Affinity, Donald Moore, a scene figure who initially was known only by the handle MindRape, described the appeal of the console scene at the time, which he compared to the hacker mindset of the Commodore 64 scene, rather than the piracy-minded Warez scene that predated the file-sharing era. (The leaders of that scene got in trouble.)
Moore’s group, Damaged Cybernetics (DC), focused instead on “gray area” topics like cartridge-dumping and CD-ripping—which were considered somewhat lighter shades of piracy at the time. In his comments to Affinity, he emphasized that messing around with consoles differed sharply from distributing copies of shrink-wrapped Windows software.
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“The truth is this: Consoles are much more fun than the PC Warez scene and other scenes,” Moore explained.
But the truth was more complicated. Moore recruited Jeremy Chadwick, an early figure in the NES and Super NES emulation scenes who was responsible for some of that early digging, to be a part of his group. Chadwick characterized his role in the group as something of a moderating influence on Moore, the latter of whom became known (after the fact) for a slogan: “Information wants to be free!”
“I had some ethical and moral qualms with some of Don’s views,” Chadwick recalled. “I didn’t want to be involved with anything that posed the risk of going to jail or having to deal with law enforcement. After some back-and-forth, he accepted, so I joined up with effectively a gentleman’s agreement applied.”
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Legal problems were a legitimate concern. As MindRape, Moore had gained early notice in the legendary hacking zine Prhack, which reported on a 1991 FBI raid on his home without producing his full name. The reason? An online newsletter he had created called National Security Anarchists, which shared the kind of hacking-related info that Phrack did.
Image: Chris Kindred/Motherboard
After that incident, Moore never really tried to hide himself from the spotlight again. He often used his real name in interviews in tandem with his username, meaning that when he had uncovered an early technique for analyzing Microsoft’s CD-Key validation design, he was credited for the find under his real name.
The early culture around video game emulation—driven by Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels—could be all-consuming at times. Brad Levicoff (a.k.a. Zophar), the creator of the popular emulation news site Zophar’s Domain (full disclosure, a site I worked on during my teen years) recalled that maintaining his large repository of emulators and console-related information required a large amount of time and research.
Despite being the site’s namesake, he eventually outgrew it, handing it off to others. It remains active to this day.
“It was an enormous responsibility for a teenager and became my entire world to the exclusion of everything else,” he explained. “When I made the decision to leave, it was one I spent a considerable amount of time making and I didn’t take it lightly.”
In the midst of all this, Icer Addis was putting the finishing touches on NESticle, an emulator that benefited from Addis’ years of making fighting games. Programmed in assembly code and C++, it was blazing fast and very easy to use.
And when it was released into the wild, it was like a bomb dropped onto a modest scene of console hackers. Suddenly, it seemed like everyone with a home computer and fond memories of Zelda was interested in what this little scene was doing.
“Perhaps the most important thing the emulator did, according to Altice, was that it democratized the process of modifying a game.”
And that underground culture buckled under the sudden attention.
NESticle was not formed in a bubble. It benefited from the work and technical resources of Damaged Cybernetics and other scene groups, as well as the failings of prior emulators, such as the Japanese emulator Pasofami as well as iNES, an emulator created by the developer Marat Fayzullin.
Pasofami initially relied on a split-format ROM that was complicated to use. And while Fayzullin’s iNES improved on this by creating the now-standard .nes format, his decision to charge for his emulator—and mark his emulator with a particularly annoying, hard-to-ignore nag screen—rubbed some the wrong way and limited its initial success outside of the Macintosh platform.
(Nonetheless, Fayzullin’s work proved very influential. Addis specifically credited Fayzullin’s research into the inner-workings of the NES in the FAQ for NESticle.)
NESticle got around the problems of its competitors by being fast, easy to use, and free—though not open-source. It focused on usability over accuracy, which turned out to be a bit of a breakthrough for emulation of the time. The emulator was almost entirely the work of Addis, though it had Bloodlust branding and visuals. Petty played a very tiny (but noticeable) role in the emulator’s creation—he drew the famed bloody hand that was the program’s mouse cursor, along with Shitman, a character from the discarded Contra-style game, showing up in the emulator’s “About” menu.
“I think rather than setting out to make Bloodlust emulators, he simply used the ‘brand’ he had already established,” Petty explained. “I’m happy he did—those emulators allowed people to re-experience many of the games that inspired Bloodlust.”
The emulator’s style has always been something of a trademark—for some, even a deterrent, just like the look of the Bloodlust’s games. But the emulator’s success was hard to ignore.
In the 2015 book I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform, author Nathan Altice spent a significant amount of time highlighting the role of NESticle, which he argued was highly influential due to its numerous additional features.
“NESticle was not the first NES emulator, but it introduced or popularized a number of now standard augmentations like save states, simple tile editing, and movie recording,” Altice explained.
Perhaps the most important thing the emulator did, according to Altice, was that it democratized the process of modifying a game, making it something a person with relatively limited skill could pick up without a lot of trouble, and with more sophistication than, say, a Game Genie. It was a significant upgrade from what prior emulators could do. Per Altice:
The user modifications NESticle afforded were a new phenomenon for console owners. Few had the resources or know-how to dump, edit, and burn custom EPROMs. A handful of NES games like Excitebike and Wrecking Crew featured built-in level editors, but such tools were uncommon, edits were temporary, and there were no means to share creations with other players. Hardware cheat devices like the Game Genie only permitted users to tweak existing game parameters, and without knowledge of the peripheral’s underlying code generation algorithm, players were typing codes blindly in hopes of surfacing novel results.
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These innovations, over time, created major reverberations in gaming culture. Fan translations of Japanese video games gained currency through emulators like NESticle, along with its counterparts for other consoles like SNES9x. Graphic modifications of games became common. Movie-recording functionality became a fundamental feature that soon inspired speedrunning and modern-day services like Twitch.
But NESticle nearly didn’t live long enough for many of these innovations to make it into the final version. The reason? Simply, the culture of console hackers struggled to handle the sudden, almost unprecedented success of NESticle.
Almost immediately after the emulator’s release, trouble was brewing. Addis’ very fast initial release schedule raised expectations among end users, putting undue pressure on him to release new versions.
Moore, meanwhile, had apparently tired of Addis, who went by Kronk or Sardu on IRC at the time. Discovering that Addis’ machine was accessible through an open file share, Moore broke in, taking the source to NESticle and other materials.
Chadwick (known at the time as Y0SHi) recalled how the ethical concerns that gave him misgivings about originally joining Damaged Cybernetics came to a head once Moore’s theft became clear.
“I recall telling him I thought it was inappropriate and that the ramifications could be severe,” Chadwick explained. “It might cause Icer Addis to stop development of NESticle, for example (and that’s exactly what happened). Icer was rarely seen online at that point, but he was always nice (yet terse). He was a very private person, and there was no reason to violate that.”
Chadwick noted that Moore hadn’t just stolen NESticle, but the source codes of a number of other emulators of the time, including iNES and VeNES—the latter worked on by Josh McKee, Chadwick’s roommate at the time. Chadwick was quick to call out Moore.
“[At] that point, the IRC emulation community had some kind of deep hatred for [iNES developer] Marat; the guy was uncouth, but he didn’t deserve any of that,” Chadwick said.
When others on IRC learned of the source code theft, they pressed Moore to release it. He did—a move that had the dual effect of taking down Damaged Cybernetics and halting NESticle’s development.
Addis blamed both Moore and those who downloaded the code—something that, to this day, Chadwick says he has never looked at.
Nesticle interface
“MindRape knew what he was doing and he was well aware of the repercussions of his actions,” Addis wrote, according to a Usenet retelling of the situation. “Anyone that receives ‘it’ from him I find to blame as well. He handed you the apple and you all took a bite … banished from Eden you are. For those reasons and for the greediness of the general public, I finally have realized that people do not deserve a free emulator such as this.”
In a 2000 interview for the site Kinox, Moore claimed the motive behind the hack was a combination of dissonance and personal issues. Dealing with a messy divorce that involved child custody issues, he had a lot going on at the time. But he also put some of the blame on the folks in the IRC chatroom that day.
“That I really pissed off a lot of fucking ppl,” Moore said. “Which is great, i love jerk’n ppl’s chains. … One important thing I learned from this tho, there are loads and loads of hypocritical pirates or pirates with morals.”
Gingerbread, an information security pro friend of Moore’s who chose not to use his real name for this interview, didn’t know him at the time of the incident, but became close with him years later. He noted that Moore’s tone on this issue shifted some with time. “I think that as time passed, he was more honest with himself, and as a result others, about just what he was thinking all those years ago,” he said.
Addis, eventually, had a change of heart about the discontinuing NESticle, reviving it about a month after the incident. And in the year or so afterwards, he built a small empire of noteworthy emulators, each with a name nearly as gross as NESticle. Genecyst, with its bloody menu, emulated the Sega Genesis. And he further showed off his technical skills with Callus, which emulated a Capcom arcade platform. Callus outmatched even the standard-bearer of the time, a rival emulator called MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator).
But one console that he never did touch at the time was the Super NES. In part, he didn’t have to—unlike the NES, there were ample examples of sophisticated emulators at the time, thanks in part to the reverse-engineering work of folks like Chadwick. If you wanted a Super Mario World fix, SNES9x and its eventual competitor ZSNES could do the trick. But it may have been a lingering side effect of the source code theft: In his note when he originally discontinued NESticle, he noted that “the SNESticle project has been discontinued as well.”
There was of course, strong interest in a Super NES emulator from Addis, but he never took the bait. In an FAQ from the final version of NESticle, released in July of 1998, he puts it bluntly: “Do not ask about SNESticle (or anything else you want emulated).”
Soon after the release of the final versions of NESticle and Genecyst, Addis went dark. His work was eventually superseded by emulators that took advantage of the fact that the end user was probably using something better than a 486-processor.
When media outlets talked about emulation in the 90s, it was almost always in the context of the arcade emulator MAME. But today, the console emulators of 1997—NESticle, Genecyst, SNES9x, and numerous others—perhaps cast the longest shadow on retro gaming. Their success was a turning point, one that really feels all the more impactful separated from the ROM-begging dynamic of the year, a pretty great example of an Eternal September-like situation that Levicoff described in depressing detail in a 1998 article.
Gingerbread noted that the interest in the scene among the more technically minded ended, in part, because of the flood of new people, many without technical backgrounds. “NESticle was a game changer,” he said, “and a game ender.”
These days it’s not about begging for ROMs, fortunately. Important parts of online culture, like the Angry Video Game Nerd, speedrunning, or fan-made game translations? Their lineage starts during the first two weeks of April of 1997, when NESticle made the past the star of the show.
Nintendo itself, despite the interest that emulation created in its vintage products, has often dismissed the practice, but the NES Classic, which included a hidden message for device hackers, was made possible by it. And some games in its Wii Virtual Console used Marat Fayzullin’s now-standard iNES headers.
Fayzullin and many others are still actively producing emulators, but the “emulation scene” of the era—the forums and IRC channels full of teens and college-aged kids, enthralled about playing old games on their new computes—peaked not long after NESticle’s 1997 release.
It was a great moment in time, but people grew up, got jobs, and moved on.
And sadly, we lost some of those people along the way. Donald “MindRape” Moore, an icon of 90s hacker subcultures with a reach far beyond emulators, died last year after battling an illness.
“Aggressive treatment started immediately and Donald gritted his teeth for a long, bumpy ride,” Gingerbread said of his friend. “Unfortunately, while bumpy, the ride was all too brief, and on the 22nd of May 2016, MindRape (Donald Moore), with great reluctance, finally hit the power button…and let the discs spin down.”
Having matured into an elder statesman of sorts, the kind of guy who would show up at DEF CON every year, Moore’s passing led to an outpouring of sadness in some corners of the internet when it was announced last year.
“He’s a genius, and I’m not saying that just to be nice.”
Source code theft aside, he was fundamental to what emulation became—and it’s possible that MP3s might have taken a bit longer to gain mainstream acceptance had Moore and others not built a formative scene around digital music. That bitterness fades over time; scene drama always looks smaller in hindsight.
Brad Levicoff of Zophar’s Domain, whose teenage comments on the matter became an important part of the folklore around this story, notes that Moore’s decision to release the source code to NESticle, whatever the reasoning, had a significant impact on console emulation going forward.
“Although I’m sure he was a nice guy in the real world, I don’t think he had the right to decide for Icer whether or not the source code to NESticle should be public,” Levicoff wrote. “But I do know that many, many more NES emulators were created after this and I’m sure authors were influenced in some way by this code. Once something’s on the internet, it’s out there forever.”
It is out there forever, but the people who create these things eventually move on. And much like emulation eventually became accepted by the broader gaming community—see the sheer excitement around the NES Classic—so, too, did the two guys who spent the 90s creating crude, bloody video games under the name Bloodlust.
Ethan Petty eventually found work with Ubisoft as a designer and scriptwriter, putting his handiwork on a number of hit games, such as Watch Dogs 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. On the side, he’s been working on reviving and updating his Bloodlust-era art style for the modern day with his point-and-click style game Knobbly Crook. (It definitely wasn’t made with his tool of choice in the 90s, Deluxe Paint 2.)
And Icer Addis, who is a hard man to track down, has become an important technical force within the gaming industry. For years, he worked with Electronic Arts on a number of the company’s Madden football games, among others.
“He’s a genius, and I’m not saying that just to be nice,” Petty said of his high school friend. “This was a kid programming in C++ and Assembly and pumping out games just as technically complex as the professional studios at the time. I don’t think he needed Bloodlust at all to get where he was going. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he left it off of his resume.”
More recently, Addis has spent time at Zynga, where his emulation past came in handy. In 2016, Addis and a co-worker were awarded a patent titled “In-browser emulation of multiple technologies to create consistent visualization experience,” and he assisted with creating a cross-platform compiler called PlayScript.
Another game Addis worked on while at Electronic Arts was a boxing game for the GameCube called Fight Night Round 2. He isn’t directly credited for his work on the game, however. Instead, his role with the game involves an unlockable version of Super Punch-Out that’s included on the tiny disc.
Buried in the source files for the game, in a place that’s only possible to find, really, if you’ve extracted the game files using the GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin and are specifically looking for it, is a telling string of text: “SNESticleNGCVERIONPP71Copyright (c) 1997-2004 Icer Addis”
The long-rumored SNESticle? He had it all along.
*
Ernie Smith is a contributor to Motherboard, and the editor of the twice-weekly newsletter Tedium , which hunts for the end of the long tail. He also spent time working on Zophar’s Domain when he was a teen, which is a really cool thing to note in a bio.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-story-of-nesticle-the-ambitious-emulator-that-redefined-retro-gaming/
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Pope Alexander VI (Italian: Alessandro VI, Valencian: Alexandre VI, Spanish: Alejandro VI; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja;[Note 2] epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian");[6] c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503.
Born into the prominent Borja family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (in present-day Spain), he was known as Roderic de Borja, and he is commonly referred to by the Italianized form as Rodrigo Borgia. He studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Roman Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.
Alexander's papal bulls of 1493 confirmed or reconfirmed the rights of the Spanish crown in the New World following the finds of Christopher Columbus in 1492. During the second Italian war, Alexander VI supported his son Cesare Borgia as a condottiero for the French king. The scope of his foreign policy was to gain the most advantageous terms for his family.[7][8]
Alexander is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. As a result, his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate.
Birth and family
Roderic de Borja was born c. 1431, in the town of Xàtiva near Valencia, one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon, in what is now Spain.[9] He was named for his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Gil de Borja y Fennolet. His parents were Jofré Llançol i Escrivà (died bef. 24 March 1437) and his Aragonese wife and distant cousin Isabel de Borja y Cavanilles (died 19 October 1468), daughter of Juan Domingo de Borja y Doncel. He had a younger brother, Pedro. His family name is written Llançol in Valencian and Lanzol in Castillian. Roderic adopted his mother's family name of Borja in 1455 following the elevation to the papacy of maternal uncle Alonso de Borja (Italianized to Alfonso Borgia) as Callixtus III.[10] His cousin and Callixtus's nephew Luis de Milà y de Borja became a cardinal.
Gerard Noel writes that Rodrigo's father was Jofré de Borja y Escrivà, making Rodrigo a Borja from his mother and father's side.[11] However, Cesare, Lucrezia, and Jofre were known to be of Llançol paternal lineage. G. J. Meyer suggests that Rodrigo would have likely been uncle (from a shared female family member) to the children, and attributes the confusion to attempts to connect Rodrigo as the father of Giovanni (Juan), Cesare, Lucrezia, and Gioffre (Jofré in Valencian), who were surnamed Llançol i Borja.[3]
Appearance and personality
Peter de Roo gives a flattering summary of contemporary descriptions of Alexander, relating him to have been "of a medium complexion, with dark eyes and slightly full lips, of robust health"; in later life, he reports that "his aspect [was declared] to be venerable and far more august than an ordinary human appearance", and that he was "so familiar with Holy Writ, that his speeches were fairly sparkling with well-chosen texts of the Sacred Books".[12]
Plaque outside the Archbishop's Palace, Valencia. Translation: Alexander VI, 9 July 1492, Pope Innocent VIII, at the request of Cardinal Borja and the Catholic Monarchs, raised the Valencian See to the rank of metropolitan, making Rodrigo of Borja the first Archbishop of Valencia 1492–1503.
Career
Overview
Roderic de Borja's career in the Church began in 1445 at the age of 14, when he was appointed sacristan at the Cathedral of Valencia by his influential uncle, Alfons Cardinal de Borja, who had been appointed a cardinal by Pope Eugene IV the previous year.[13] In 1448, de Borja became canon at the cathedrals of Valencia, Barcelona, and Segorbe. His uncle, Cardinal de Borja, persuaded Pope Nicholas V to allow young de Borja to perform this role in absentia and receive the associated income, so that de Borja could travel to Rome.[14] While in Rome, Rodrigo Borgia (as his name was usually spelled in Italian) studied under Gaspare da Verona, a humanist tutor. He then studied law at Bologna where he graduated, not simply as Doctor of Law, but as "the most eminent and judicious jurisprudent."[12]
The election of his uncle, Alfons Cardinal de Borja, as Pope Callixtus III in 1455 enabled Borgia's appointments to other positions in the Church. These nepotistic appointments were characteristic of the era. Each pope during this period found himself surrounded by the servants and retainers of his predecessors who often owed their loyalty to the family of the pontiff who had appointed them.[15] In 1455, he inherited his uncle's post as bishop of Valencia, and Callixtus appointed him Dean of Santa Maria in Xàtiva. The following year, he was ordained deacon and created cardinal-deacon of San Nicola in Carcere. Rodrigo Borgia's appointment as cardinal only occurred after Callixtus III asked the cardinals in Rome to create three new positions in the College of Cardinals, two for his nephews Rodrigo and Luis Juan de Milà, and one for the Prince Jaime of Portugal.[16]
In 1457, Callixtus III assigned the young Cardinal de Borja (or Borgia in Italian) to go to Ancona as a Papal legate to quell a revolt. Borgia was successful in his mission, and his uncle rewarded him with his appointment as vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church.[17] The position of vice-chancellor was both incredibly powerful and lucrative, and Borgia held this post for 35 years until his own election to the papacy in 1492. At the end of 1457, Rodrigo Cardinal Borgia's elder brother, Pedro Luis Borgia, fell ill, so Rodrigo temporarily filled Pedro Luis' position as captain-general of the papal army until he recovered.[18] In 1458, Cardinal Borgia's uncle and greatest benefactor, Pope Callixtus, died.
In the papal election of 1458, Rodrigo Borgia was too young to seek the papacy himself, so he sought to support a cardinal who would maintain him as vice-chancellor. Borgia was one of the deciding votes in the election of Cardinal Piccolomini as Pope Pius II, and the new pope rewarded Borgia not only with maintaining the chancellorship but also with a lucrative abbey benefice and another titular church.[19] In 1460, Pope Pius rebuked Cardinal Borgia for attending a private party which Pius had heard turned into an orgy. Borgia apologized for the incident but denied that there had been an orgy. Pope Pius forgave him, and the true events of the evening remain unknown.[20] In 1462, Rodrigo Borgia had his first son, Pedro Luis, with an unknown mistress. He sent Pedro Luis to grow up in Spain.[21] The following year, Borgia acceded to Pope Pius's call for cardinals to help fund a new crusade. Before embarking to lead the crusade personally, Pope Pius II fell ill and died, so Borgia would need to ensure the election of yet another ally to the papacy to maintain his position as vice-chancellor.
On the first ballot, the conclave of 1464 elected Borgia's friend Pietro Barbo as Pope Paul II. Borgia was in high standing with the new pope and retained his positions, including that of vice-chancellor. Paul II reversed some of his predecessor's reforms that diminished the power of the chancellory. Following the election, Borgia fell ill of the plague but recovered. Borgia had two daughters, Isabella (*1467) and Girolama (*1469), with an unknown mistress. He openly acknowledged all three of his children.[22] Pope Paul II died suddenly in 1471.
While Borgia had acquired the reputation and wealth to mount a bid for the papacy in this conclave, there were only three non-Italians, making his election a near-impossibility. Consequently, Borgia continued his previous strategy of positioning himself as kingmaker. This time, Borgia gathered the votes to make Francesco della Rovere (the uncle of future Borgia rival Giuliano della Rovere) Pope Sixtus IV. Della Rovere's appeal was that he was a pious and brilliant Franciscan friar who lacked many political connections in Rome.[23] He seemed to be the perfect cardinal to reform the Church, and the perfect cardinal for Borgia to maintain his influence. Sixtus IV rewarded Borgia for his support by promoting him to cardinal-bishop and consecrating him as the Cardinal-Bishop of Albano, requiring Borgia's ordination as a priest. Borgia also received a lucrative abbey from the pope and remained vice-chancellor.[24] At the end of the year, the pope appointed Borgia to be the papal legate for Spain to negotiate a peace treaty between Castile and Aragon and to solicit their support for another crusade. In 1472, Borgia was appointed to be the papal chamberlain until his departure to Spain. Borgia arrived in his native Aragon in the summer, reuniting with family and meeting with King Juan II and Prince Ferdinand. The pope gave Cardinal Borgia discretion over whether to give dispensation for Ferdinand's marriage to his second cousin Isabella of Castile, and Borgia decided in favour of approving the marriage. The couple named Borgia to be the godfather of their first son in recognition of this decision.[25] The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella was critical in the unification of Castile and Aragon into Spain. Borgia also negotiated peace between Castile and Aragon and an end to the civil wars in the latter Kingdom, gaining the favour of the future King Ferdinand - who would go on to promote the interests of the Borgia family in Aragon.[26] Borgia returned to Rome the following year, narrowly surviving a storm that sank a nearby galley that was carrying 200 men of the Borgia household.
Vannozza dei Cattanei
Back in Rome, Borgia began his affair with Vannozza dei Cattenei which would yield four children: Cesare in 1475, Giovanni in 1474 or 1476, Lucrezia in 1480, and Gioffre in 1482. In 1476, Pope Sixtus appointed Borgia to be the cardinal-bishop of Porto. In 1480, the pope legitimized Cesare as a favour to Cardinal Borgia, and in 1482, the pope began to appoint the seven-year-old to church positions, demonstrating Borgia's intention to use his influence to promote his children. Contemporaneously, Borgia continued to add to his list of benefices, becoming the wealthiest cardinal by 1483.[27] He also become Dean of the College of Cardinals in that year. In 1484, Pope Sixtus IV died, necessitating another election for Borgia to manipulate to his advantage.
Borgia was wealthy and powerful enough to mount a bid, but he faced competition from Giuliano della Rovere, the late pope's nephew. Della Rovere's faction had the advantage of being incredibly large as Sixtus had appointed many of the cardinals who would participate in the election. Borgia's attempts to gather enough votes included bribery and leveraging his close ties to Naples and Aragon. However, many of the Spanish cardinals were absent from the conclave and della Rovere's faction had an overwhelming advantage. Della Rovere chose to promote Cardinal Cibo as his preferred candidate, and Cibo wrote to the Borgia faction wanting to strike a deal. Once again, Borgia played kingmaker and conceded to Cardinal Cibo who became Pope Innocent VIII.[28] Again, Borgia retained his position of vice-chancellor, successfully holding this position over the course of five papacies and four elections.
In 1485, Pope Innocent VIII nominated Borgia to become the Archbishop of Seville, a position that King Ferdinand II wanted for his own son. In response, Ferdinand angrily seized the Borgia estates in Aragon and imprisoned Borgia's son Pedro Luis. However, Borgia healed the relationship by turning down this appointment. Pope Innocent, at the urging of his close ally Giuliano della Rovere, decided to declare war against Naples, but Milan, Florence, and Aragon chose to support Naples over the pope. Borgia led the opposition within the College of Cardinals to this war, and King Ferdinand rewarded Borgia by making his son Pedro Luis the Duke of Gandia and arranging a marriage between his cousin Maria Enriquez and the new duke. Now, the Borgia family was directly tied to the royal families of Spain and Naples. While Borgia gained the favour of Spain, he stood opposed to the pope and the della Rovere family. As a part of his war opposition, Borgia sought to obstruct an alliance negotiation between the papacy and France. These negotiations were unsuccessful and in July 1486, the pope capitulated and ended the war.[29] In 1488, Borgia's son Pedro Luis died, and Juan Borgia became the new duke of Gandia. In the following year, Borgia hosted the wedding ceremony between Orsino Orsini and Giulia Farnese, and within a few months, Farnese had become Borgia's new mistress. She was 15, and he was 58.[30] Borgia continued to acquire new benefices with their large streams of income, including the bishopric of Majorca and Eger in Hungary. In 1492, Pope Innocent VIII died. Since Borgia was 61, this was likely his last chance to become pope.
Archbishop of Valencia
When his uncle Alonso de Borja (bishop of Valencia) was elected Pope Callixtus III, he "inherited" the post of bishop of Valencia. Sixteen days before the death of Pope Innocent VIII, he proposed Valencia as a metropolitan see and became the first archbishop of Valencia. When Rodrigo Borgia was elected pope as Alexander VI following the death of Innocent VIII, his son Cesare Borgia "inherited" the post as second archbishop of Valencia. The third and the fourth archbishops of Valencia were Juan de Borja and Pedro Luis de Borja, grandnephews of Alexander VI.[31]
Election to the papacy
Main article: Papal conclave, 1492
Coat of arms of Alexander VI – Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome
Coat of arms of Alexander VI – Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome
There was change in the constitution of the College of Cardinals during the course of the 15th century, especially under Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII. Of the 27 cardinals alive in the closing months of the reign of Innocent VIII no fewer than 10 were cardinal-nephews, eight were crown nominees, four were Roman nobles and one other had been given the cardinalate in recompense for his family's service to the Holy See; only four were able career churchmen.[15]
On the death of Pope Innocent VIII on 25 July 1492, the three likely candidates for the Papacy were the 61-year-old Borgia,[15] seen as an independent candidate, Ascanio Sforza for the Milanese, and Giuliano della Rovere, seen as a pro-French candidate. It was rumoured but not substantiated that Borgia succeeded in buying the largest number of votes and Sforza, in particular, was bribed with four mule-loads of silver.[32] Mallett shows that Borgia was in the lead from the start and that the rumours of bribery began after the election with the distribution of benefices; Sforza and della Rovere were just as willing and able to bribe as anyone else.[33] The benefices and offices granted to Sforza, moreover, would be worth considerably more than four mule-loads of silver. Johann Burchard, the conclave's master of ceremonies and a leading figure of the papal household under several popes, recorded in his diary that the 1492 conclave was a particularly expensive campaign. Della Rovere was bankrolled to the cost of 200,000 gold ducats by King Charles VIII of France, with another 100,000 supplied by the Republic of Genoa.[34]
The leading candidates in the first ballot were Oliviero Carafa of Sforza's party with nine votes, and Giovanni Michiel and Jorge Costa, both of della Rovere's party with seven votes each. Borgia himself gathered seven votes. However, Borgia convinced Sforza to join with his camp through the promise of being appointed vice-chancellor as well as bribes that included benefices and perhaps four mule-loads of silver. With Sforza now canvassing for votes, Borgia's election was assured. Borgia was elected on 11 August 1492 and assumed the name of Alexander VI (due to confusion about the status of Pope Alexander V, elected by the Council of Pisa). Many inhabitants of Rome were happy with their new pope because he was a generous and competent administrator who had served for decades as vice-chancellor.[35]
Early years in office
Papal bulla of Alexander VI
In contrast to the preceding pontificate, Pope Alexander VI adhered initially to strict administration of justice and orderly government. Before long, though, he began endowing his relatives at the Church's and at his neighbours' expense. Cesare Borgia, his son, while a youth of seventeen and a student at Pisa, was made Archbishop of Valencia, and Giovanni Borgia inherited the Spanish Dukedom of Gandia, the Borgias' ancestral home in Spain. For the Duke of Gandia and for Gioffre, also known as Goffredo, the Pope proposed to carve fiefs out of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. Among the fiefs destined for the duke of Gandia were Cerveteri and Anguillara, lately acquired by Virginio Orsini, head of that powerful house. This policy brought Alexander into conflict with Ferdinand I of Naples as well as with Cardinal della Rovere, whose candidature for the papacy had been backed by Ferdinand. Della Rovere fortified himself in his bishopric of Ostia at the Tiber's mouth as Alexander formed a league against Naples (25 April 1493) and prepared for war.[36]
Ferdinand allied himself with Florence, Milan, and Venice. He also appealed to Spain for help, but Spain was eager to be on good terms with the papacy to obtain the title to the recently discovered New World. Alexander, in the bull Inter caetera on 4 May 1493, divided the title between Spain and Portugal along a demarcation line. This became the basis of the Treaty of Tordesillas.[37]
French involvement
Main article: Italian War of 1494–1498
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Italy 1494
Pope Alexander VI made many alliances to secure his position. He sought help from Charles VIII of France (1483–1498), who was allied to Ludovico "il Moro" Sforza (the Moor, so-called because of his swarthy complexion), the de facto Duke of Milan, who needed French support to legitimise his rule. As King Ferdinand I of Naples was threatening to come to the aid of the rightful duke Gian Galeazzo Sforza, the husband of his granddaughter Isabella, Alexander encouraged the French king in his plan for the conquest of Naples.
But Alexander, always ready to seize opportunities to aggrandize his family, then adopted a double policy. Through the intervention of the Spanish ambassador, he made peace with Naples in July 1493 and cemented the peace by a marriage between his son Gioffre and Doña Sancha, another granddaughter of Ferdinand I.[34] In order to dominate the College of Cardinals more completely, Alexander, in a move that created much scandal, created 12 new cardinals. Among the new cardinals was his own son Cesare, then only 18 years old. Alessandro Farnese (later Pope Paul III), the brother of one of the Pope's mistresses, Giulia Farnese, was also among the newly created cardinals.
On 25 January 1494, Ferdinand I died and was succeeded by his son Alfonso II (1494–1495).[34] Charles VIII of France now advanced formal claims on the Kingdom of Naples. Alexander authorised him to pass through Rome, ostensibly on a crusade against the Ottoman Empire, without mentioning Naples. But when the French invasion became a reality Pope Alexander VI became alarmed, recognised Alfonso II as king of Naples, and concluded an alliance with him in exchange for various fiefs for his sons (July 1494). A military response to the French threat was set in motion: a Neapolitan army was to advance through Romagna and attack Milan, while the fleet was to seize Genoa. Both expeditions were badly conducted and failed, and on 8 September Charles VIII crossed the Alps and joined Ludovico il Moro at Milan. The Papal States were in turmoil, and the powerful Colonna faction seized Ostia in the name of France. Charles VIII rapidly advanced southward, and after a short stay in Florence, set out for Rome (November 1494).
Alexander appealed to Ascanio Sforza and even to the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid II for help. He tried to collect troops and put Rome in a state of defence, but his position was precarious. When the Orsini offered to admit the French to their castles, Alexander had no choice but to come to terms with Charles. On 31 December, Charles VIII entered Rome with his troops, the cardinals of the French faction, and Giuliano della Rovere. Alexander now feared that Charles might depose him for simony, and that the king would summon a council to nominate a new pope. Alexander was able to win over the bishop of Saint-Malo, who had much influence over the king, by making him a cardinal. Alexander agreed to send Cesare as legate to Naples with the French army; to deliver Cem Sultan, held as a hostage, to Charles VIII, and to give Charles Civitavecchia (16 January 1495). On 28 January Charles VIII departed for Naples with Cem and Cesare, but the latter slipped away to Spoleto. Neapolitan resistance collapsed, and Alfonso II fled and abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand II. Ferdinand was abandoned by all and also had to escape, and the Kingdom of Naples was conquered with surprising ease.[2]
French in retreat
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A reaction against Charles VIII soon set in, for all the European powers were alarmed at his success. On 31 March 1495 the Holy League was formed among the pope, the emperor, Venice, Ludovico il Moro and Ferdinand of Spain.[38] The League was ostensibly formed against the Turks, but in reality it was made to expel the French from Italy. Charles VIII had himself crowned King of Naples on 12 May, but a few days later began his retreat northward. He met the League at Fornovo and cut his way through them and was back in France by November. Ferdinand II was reinstated at Naples soon afterwards, with Spanish help. The expedition, if it produced no material results, demonstrated the foolishness of the so-called "politics of equilibrium", the Medicean doctrine of preventing one of the Italian principates from overwhelming the rest and uniting them under its hegemony.
Charles VIII's belligerence in Italy had made it transparent that the "politics of equilibrium" did nothing but render the country unable to defend itself against a powerful invading force. Italy was shown to be very vulnerable to the predations of the powerful nation-states, France and Spain, that had forged themselves during the previous century. Alexander VI now followed the general tendency of all the princes of the day to crush the great feudatories and establish a centralized despotism. In this manner, he was able to take advantage of the defeat of the French in order to break the power of the Orsini. From that time on, Alexander was able to build himself an effective power base in the Papal States.
Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome
Virginio Orsini, who had been captured by the Spanish, died a prisoner at Naples, and the Pope confiscated his property. The rest of the Orsini clan still held out, defeating the papal troops sent against them under Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino and Giovanni Borgia, Duke of Gandia, at Soriano (January 1497). Peace was made through Venetian mediation, the Orsini paying 50,000 ducats in exchange for their confiscated lands; the Duke of Urbino, whom they had captured, was left by the pope to pay his own ransom. The Orsini remained very powerful, and Pope Alexander VI could count on none but his 3,000 Spanish troops. His only success had been the capture of Ostia and the submission of the Francophile cardinals Colonna and Savelli.
Then occurred a major domestic tragedy for the house of Borgia. On 14 June, his son the Duke of Gandia, who was lately created Duke of Benevento and had a questionable lifestyle, disappeared; the next day, his corpse was found in the Tiber.[36] Alexander, overwhelmed with grief, shut himself up in Castel Sant'Angelo. He declared that henceforth the moral reform of the Church would be the sole object of his life. Every effort was made to discover the assassin. No conclusive explanation was ever reached,[39] and it may be that the crime was simply as a result of one of the Duke's sexual liaisons.
Crime
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There is no evidence that the Borgias resorted to poisoning, judicial murder, or extortion to fund their schemes and the defense of the Papal States. The only contemporary accusations of poisoning were from some of their servants, extracted under torture by Alexander's bitter enemy Della Rovere, who succeeded him as Pope Julius II.[40]
Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola
The debased state of the Curia was a major scandal. Opponents, such as the powerful Florentine friar Girolamo Savonarola, launched invectives against papal corruption and appealed for a general council to confront the papal abuses. Alexander is reported to have been reduced to laughter when Savonarola's denunciations were related to him. Nevertheless, he appointed Sebastian Maggi to investigate the friar, and he responded on 16 October 1495:
We are displeased at the disturbed state of affairs in Florence, the more so in that it owes its origin to your preaching. For you predict the future and publicly declare that you do so by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when you should be reprehending vice and praising virtue ... Prophecies like these should not be made when your charge is to forward peace and concord. Moreover, these are not the time for such teachings, calculated as they are to produce discord even in times of peace let alone in times of trouble. ... Since, however, we have been most happy to learn from certain cardinals and from your letter that you are ready to submit yourself to the reproofs of the Church, as becomes a Christian and a religious, we are beginning to think that what you have done has not been done with an evil motive, but from a certain simple-mindedness and a zeal, however misguided, for the Lord's vineyard. Our duty, however, prescribes that we order you, under holy obedience, to cease from public and private preaching until you are able to come to our presence, not under armed escort as is your present habit, but safely, quietly and modestly as becomes a religious, or until we make different arrangements. If you obey, as we hope you will, we for the time being suspend the operation of our former Brief so that you may live in peace in accordance with the dictates of your conscience.[41]
The hostility of Savonarola seems to have been political rather than personal, and the friar sent a letter of condolence to the pope on the death of the Duke of Gandia; "Faith, most Holy Father, is the one and true source of peace and consolation... Faith alone brings consolation from a far-off country."[42] But eventually the Florentines tired of the friar's moralising and the Florentine government condemned the reformer to death, executing him on 23 May 1498.[43]
Familial aggrandizement
The prominent Italian families looked down on the Spanish Borgia family, and they resented their power, which they sought for themselves. This is, at least partially, why both Pope Callixtus III and Pope Alexander VI gave powers to family members whom they could trust.[Note 3]
Papal bull Desiderando nui, 1499
In these circumstances, Alexander, feeling more than ever that he could rely only on his own kin, turned his thoughts to further family aggrandizement. He had annulled Lucrezia's marriage to Giovanni Sforza, who had responded to the suggestion that he was impotent with the unsubstantiated counterclaim that Alexander and Cesare indulged in incestuous relations with Lucrezia, in 1497.[Note 4] Unable to arrange a union between Cesare and the daughter of King Frederick IV of Naples (who had succeeded Ferdinand II the previous year), he induced Frederick by threats to agree to a marriage between the Duke of Bisceglie, a natural son of Alfonso II, and Lucrezia. Alexander and the new French king Louis XII entered a secret agreement; in exchange for a bull of divorce between the king and Joan of France (so he could marry Anne of Brittany) and making Georges d'Amboise (the king's chief advisor) the cardinal of Rouen, Cesare was given the duchy of Valentinois in France (chosen because it was homophonous with his nickname, Valentino, derived from his father's papal epithet Valentinus ("The Valencian", as seen on his coins[46] denoting his origin in the Kingdom of Valencia, Spain), military assistance to help him subjugate the feudal princelings of papal Romagna,[47] and a princess bride, Charlotte of Albret from the Kingdom of Navarre.[48]
Alexander hoped that Louis XII's help would be more profitable to his house than that of Charles VIII had been. In spite of the remonstrances of Spain and of the Sforza, he allied himself with France in January 1499 and was joined by Venice. By autumn Louis XII was in Italy expelling Lodovico Sforza from Milan. With French success seemingly assured, the Pope determined to deal drastically with Romagna, which although nominally under papal rule was divided into a number of practically independent lordships on which Venice, Milan, and Florence cast hungry eyes. Cesare, empowered by the support of the French, began to attack the turbulent cities one by one in his capacity as nominated gonfaloniere (standard bearer) of the church. But the expulsion of the French from Milan and the return of Lodovico Sforza interrupted his conquests, and he returned to Rome early in 1500.
The Jubilee (1500)
In the Jubilee year 1500, Alexander ushered in the custom of opening a holy door on Christmas Eve and closing it on Christmas Day the following year. After consulting with his Master of Ceremonies, Johann Burchard, Pope Alexander VI opened the first holy door in St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve 1499, and papal representatives opened the doors in the other three patriarchal basilicas. For this, Pope Alexander had a new opening created in the portico of St. Peter's and commissioned a marble door.[Note 5][Note 6]
Alexander was carried in the sedia gestatoria to St. Peter's. He and his assistants, bearing candles, processed to the holy door, as the choir chanted Psalm 118:19–20.[51] The pope knocked on the door three times, workers moved it from the inside, and everyone then crossed the threshold to enter into a period of penance and reconciliation. Thus, Pope Alexander formalized the rite and began a longstanding tradition that is still in practice. Similar ceremonies were held at the other three basilicas.[49]
Alexander instituted a special rite for the closing of a holy door, as well. On the Feast of the Epiphany [January 6 United States Capitol attack] in 1501, two cardinals began to seal the holy door with two bricks, one silver and one gold. Sampietrini (basilica workers)[Note 7] completed the seal, placing specially-minted coins and medals inside the wall.[49]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_VI
Francis Borgia SJ (Valencian: Francesc de Borja; Spanish: Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of both Pope Alexander VI and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After the death of his wife, Borgia renounced his titles and became a priest in the Society of Jesus, later serving as its third superior general. He was canonized on 20 June 1670 by Pope Clement X.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Borgia
Borja (Borgia)
Spanish: habitational name from a place in Zaragoza province named from Arabic burj ‘tower’. See also Borgia .
https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=borja
Pope Paul V (Latin: Paulus PP. V; Italian: Paolo V) (17 September 1550[5] – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries.[6] In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal Robert Bellarmine to inform Galileo that the Copernican theory could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the geocentric model as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the trial of 1633.[7]
Trained in jurisprudence, Borghese was made Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Eusebio and the Cardinal Vicar of Rome by Pope Clement VIII. He was elected as Pope in 1605, following the death of Pope Leo XI. Pope Paul V was known for being stern and unyielding, defending the privileges of the Church. He met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 and was involved in the controversy over heliocentrism. He canonized and beatified several individuals during his papacy and created 60 cardinals in ten consistories.
His insistence on ecclesiastical jurisdiction led to conflicts with secular governments, notably with Venice, which resulted in an interdict on the city in 1606. This disagreement was eventually mediated by France and Spain in 1607. Pope Paul V's diplomacy also strained relations with England, as his actions were perceived as undermining moderate Catholics in the country.
In Rome, he financed the completion of St. Peter's Basilica, improved the Vatican Library, and restored the ancient Roman aqueduct Aqua Traiana. Pope Paul V established the Banco di Santo Spirito in 1605 and is also known for fostering the rise of the Borghese family through nepotism. He died on 28 January 1621, after suffering from a series of strokes and was succeeded by Pope Gregory XV.
Early life
Camillo Borghese was born in Rome on 17 September 1550 into the Borghese family of Siena which had recently established itself in Rome. He was the eldest of seven sons of the lawyer and Sienese patrician Marcantonio Borghese and his wife Flaminia Astalli, a Roman noblewoman. Camillo was carefully trained in jurisprudence at Perugia and Padua, and became a canonist of marked ability.[8]
Cardinal
In June 1596 Camillo was made the Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Eusebio and the Cardinal Vicar of Rome[8] by Pope Clement VIII, and had as his secretary Niccolò Alamanni. He then opted for other titular churches like San Crisogono and Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
Clement VIII also bestowed upon him episcopal consecration in 1597 after his appointment as Bishop of Jesi; the co-consecrators were Cardinal Silvio Savelli (former Latin Patriarch of Constantinople) and Cardinal Francesco Cornaro (former Bishop of Treviso).[9] Bishop Borghese retained the diocese of Iesi until 1599. He held aloof from all parties and factions, devoting all his spare time to his law-books.
Papacy
Election
Main article: May 1605 papal conclave
When Pope Leo XI died, 1605, Cardinal Borghese became pope over a number of candidates including Caesar Baronius and Robert Bellarmine; his neutrality in the factional times made him an ideal compromise candidate.[10]
In character he was very stern and unyielding, a lawyer rather than diplomat, who defended the privileges of the Church to his utmost. His first act was to send home to their sees the bishops who were sojourning in Rome, for the Council of Trent had insisted that every bishop reside in his diocese.[8]
Papal styles of
Pope Paul V
Reference style His Holiness
Spoken style Your Holiness
Religious style Holy Father
Posthumous style None
Theology
Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy. A letter from Bellarmine to Galileo states only the injunction that the heliocentric ideas could not be defended or held; this letter was written expressly to enable Galileo to defend himself against rumors concerning what had happened in the meeting with Bellarmine.[11]
In 1618, a Decreto de Nuestro Sanctissimo Padre el Papa Paulo V. en favor dela Immaculada Concepción dela Sanctissima Virgen Madre de Dios y Señora Nuestra (Decree of our most holy father Pope Paul V in favor of the Immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin Mary,..) was published in Lima, Peru.[12]
Canonisations and beatifications
Paul V canonised Charles Borromeo on 1 November 1610[13] and Frances of Rome on 29 May 1608. He also canonized Pompejanus in 1615 and canonized Cardinal Albert de Louvain on 9 August 1621.
He also beatified a number of individuals which included Ignatius Loyola (27 July 1609), Philip Neri (11 May 1615), Teresa of Avila (24 April 1614), Aloysius Gonzaga (10 October 1605), and Francis Xavier (25 October 1619).
Consistories
Main article: Cardinals created by Paul V
The pope created 60 cardinals in ten consistories held during his pontificate. He named his nephew Scipione Borghese as a cardinal (continuing the trend of nepotism) and also named Alessandro Ludovisi, who would become his immediate successor, Pope Gregory XV, as a cardinal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_V
Borghese
Recorded in many forms including Bourges, Bourgaize, Bourgeois, (France), Burgess, Burges and Burgis (England and Scotland), Borghese, Borgesio and Burgisi (Italy), and others, this interesting surname is of pre 8th century Old French origins. It derives from the word "burgeis", meaning inhabitant and FREEMAN of a fortified town, one which could apply municipal rates, taxes, and duties. A burgeis generally had tenure of land or buildings from a landlord by "burgage", which involved the payment of a fixed money rent. In Scotland, the position of burgess required not only the making of payments, but to be availble to take part in guarding the town. The surname is one of the earliest recorded anywhere in the world. These recordings are from England because this country was the first to adopt both hereditary surnames and to make the necessary registers in which to record them. France was several centuries later, and Italy, not until the 19th century in most areas. Early recordings showing the influence of the Norman-French in England after the Invasion of 1066 include: Ralph le Burgeis, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Sussex in 1195, and Philip Bourges in the cartulary of Oseney Abbey, Oxford in 1197. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey Burgeis, which was dated 1115, in the "Winton Rolls" of Hampshire. This was during the reign of King Henry 1st, known as "The Lion of Justice", 1100 - 1135. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. Over the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Borghese
Facade of St Peter's
Designed by Carlo Maderno (1608-1614) The inscription (1m letters) states:
"Paul V Borghese, Roman, Pontiff, in 1612, the seventh of his pontificate, [built] in honour of the Prince of Apostles
On February 10, 1608 the first stone of the Facade was laid and on July 21, 1612 most of the work was completed. It took another two years for the ornamentation, and the basilica was finally consecrated by Urban VIII on November 18, 1926.
https://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Exterior/Facade/Facade.htm
AFA-27 [recorded 03/15/87] | The CIA, the Military & Drugs Part IV
Developing a line of inquiry presented in the preceding broadcast, this program focuses on narco-terrorism in Latin America. Particular emphasis is on intelligence-related elements that figured in the Iran-Contra scandal, anti-Castro Cubans in particular. Much of the discussion centers on activities that took place when George Bush was in charge of the CIA.
After reviewing the Latin American narcotics network of Corsican gangster and Third Reich collaborator Auguste Ricord, the broadcast focuses on the role of Ricord associate Klaus Barbie in the 1980 “Cocaine Coup” in Bolivia. The Gestapo chief of Lyons (France) during the war, Barbie found post-war employment with American intelligence, first with the Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps, and later with the CIA.
With the aid of elements of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, Barbie and a group of fascist terrorists associated with the narcotics trade overthrew the Bolivian government and established a dictatorship under General Garcia-Meza. Under this regime, the business of cocaine kingpin Roberto Suarez thrived, aided by Barbie and his “bridegrooms of death.” Doubling as para-fascist terrorists and enforcers for the government, Barbie and his cutthroats aided the bloody suppression of trade unions and the political left in the coup’s aftermath.
Barbie’s cocaine mercenaries included some interesting individuals. German-born Joachim Fiebelkorn (a neo-Nazi and informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency) was joined with Italian fascists, such as Pierluigi Pagliai (a member of the infamous P‑2 lodge discussed in AFAs 18,19) and the notorious fascist Stefano Delle Chiaie, a principal architect of the “strategy of tension.”
The strategy of tension (a major focal point of AFA-19) was an out-cropping of what Danish journalist Henrik Kruger termed “the International Fascista.” (Kruger is the author of The Great Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence and International Fascism, published in softcover by the South End Press of Boston, copyright 1980. Mr. Emory views the work as the best individual volume ever written on the subject of the intelligence community and the narcotics trade.) A consortium of fascists in Europe and Latin America, International Fascista included numerous Latin death squad elements, elements of U.S. intelligence and the Paladin mercenary group (funded by Libyan dictator Khadafy, as well as the weapons empire of SS officer and sometime CIA operative Otto Skorzeny.) A principal figure in the postwar ODESSA organization, Skorzeny is discussed at considerable length in AFA-22.
One of the major cogs of the International Fascista was CORU, arguably the most militant and deadly of the anti-Castro Cuban organizations. CORU was involved in a string of bombings, assassinations and terrorist attacks in the mid 1970’s, including the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier in Washington D.C. CORU’s reign of terror took place when George Bush was director of the CIA, and an element of the agency appears to have been involved with it.
Program Highlights Include: “Operation Condor” (an international assassination consortium of Latin American dictatorships); a number of assassinations and attempted assassinations conducted under “Condor;” Argentine fascist and P‑2 lodge member Jose Lopez Rega; Italian fascist and Skorzeny associate Prince Justo Valerio Borghese; former Goebbels Propaganda Ministry official Gerhard Hartmut Von Schubert (the operating manager of the Paladin group); Paladin’s overlap with Spanish intelligence and the CIA; Operation Condor’s attempts at disguising its acts as left-wing terror; the position of the World Anti-Communist League in the milieu set forth in this broadcast
For more related content, please visit:
http://ourhiddenhistory.org/
https://archive.org/details/@altviewstv-fanclub
https://rumble.com/v4e2vto-dave-emory-anti-fascist-archives-27-the-cia-the-military-and-drugs-part-4-o.html
Trump, Vance meet with Pope Leo's Florida brother, 'a major MAGA fan', at White House
Kim Luciani
USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
May 22, 2025, 12:58 p.m. ET
Key Points AI-assisted summary
President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's brother, Louis Prevost, at the White House.
Trump publicly praised Prevost, a Florida resident, for being a "major MAGA fan."
Louis Prevost acknowledged his political views and stated his intention to "tone it down" to avoid causing issues for the pope.
President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's Florida brother Louis Prevost at the White House on May 20, after praising Prevost to reporters at the Capitol earlier in the day, calling him a "major MAGA fan."
Trump told reporters he likes the pope and both of his brothers, but spotlighted the eldest brother, Navy veteran and Port Charlotte resident Louis Prevost.
"I like the new pope and I like the pope's brother. You know, one of the pope's brothers – actually both of them – but one in particular is a major MAGA fan. Did you know that? He lives in Florida," Trump said.
"And I look forward to getting him to the White House. I want to shake his hand, I want to give him a big hug."
Later that day, the White House visit happened. Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah met with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office.
"Great meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and @Pontifex’s brother, Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah," Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor Margo Martin posted on X, along with a photo of the meeting.
Louis Prevost excited and happy about brother Pope Leo XVI's papacy
The Prevost brothers — Louis, John and Robert (Pope Leo XIV) — grew up in Chicago in a traditional Catholic family.
Louis Prevost said his youngest brother Robert wanted to "play priest" when he was 6 and set his sights on the priesthood as a freshman in high school. Their parents, neighbors and even strangers told Robert, "You're going to be pope someday," he said.
Robert Prevost's election as Pope Leo XIV left Louis Prevost excited, happy, mind blown and a little worried about how the papacy would impact their relationship.
“I just freaked out and said ‘It’s Rob, OMG.’ I was up, dressed, out, just going nuts,” he told WBBH.
“We can only hope that we can maintain that closeness, and we don't do anything to embarrass him,” he said.
Louis Prevost attended Pope Leo's inaugural mass at the Vatican on May 18. The brothers shared a hug after the service.
Pope Leo's Florida brother Louis Prevost is a MAGA, Trump supporter
Trump told reporters Louis Prevost is a "major MAGA fan."
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Louis Prevost said, "I don’t want to create waves that don’t need to be there because I’m a MAGA type and I have my beliefs,” he said. “I don’t need to create heat for him. He’s going to have enough to handle as it is without the press going ‘the pope’s brother says this.’ He doesn’t need that.”
Asked about his reposts of controversial social media memes, including one calling Nancy Pelosi a drunk (expletive), and how they might affect the pope, Louis Prevost said he will "tone it down."
"He knows I am who I am," he said of the pope. "He's well aware of my position. He knows I'm probably not going to change and I don't think I will, other than to, just like you say, tone it down."
Contributing: Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Herald-Tribune, Ashley Ferrer, USA TODAY Network-Florida
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2025/05/22/trump-pope-leo-florida-maga-brother-louis-prevost-white-house-visit/83773944007/
All historians acknowledge the ascendancy of the popes began in 308 A.D., when King Clovis of the Salian or Merovingian Franks (later France), won the decisive battle in the Catholic and Arian religious war, thereby settling the dispute in favor of the Catholics. But the popes' temporal reign officially began in the year 538 A.D. when Roman Emperor Justinian subdued the last of the three kingdoms, or "horns," that opposed the rise of the Papacy."
-page 137
Chapter 19 "Exposed (Again): 1260 Years of World Domination
Codeword Barbelon book 2
by P.D. Stuart
Clovis is the modern conventional French (and thence English) form of the Old Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ (in runic alphabet) or *"Hlōdowik" or "Hlōdowig" (in Latin alphabet), equivalent to the modern forms Louis (French), Lodewijk (Dutch), Lewis (English), and Ludwig (German).
Etymology
The name *Hlōdowik or *Hlōdowig is traditionally considered to be composed of two elements, deriving from both Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, resulting in the traditional practice of translating Clovis' name as meaning "famous warrior".
However, scholars have pointed out that Gregory of Tours consequently transcribes the names of various Merovingian royal names containing the first element as chlodo-. The use of a close-mid back protruded vowel (o), rather than the expected close back rounded vowel (u) which Gregory does use in various other Germanic names (i.e. Fredegundis, Arnulfus, Gundobadus, etc.) opens up the possibility that the first element instead derives from Proto-Germanic *hlutą ("lot, share, portion"), giving the meaning of the name as "loot bringer" or "plunder (bringing) warrior". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that if the first element is taken to mean "famous", then the name of Chlodomer (one of Clovis' sons) would contain two elements (*hlūdaz and *mērijaz) both meaning "famous", which would be highly uncommon within the typical Germanic name structure.[1][2]
Frankish royalty
Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler
Clovis II (637 – c. 658), king of Neustria and Burgundy
Clovis III (reigned 675–676), the king of Austrasia
Clovis IV (682–695), the sole king of the Franks from 691 until 695
Clovis (died 580), son of Chilperic I and Audovera, assassinated by his father and stepmother
Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, King of Aquitaine from 781 and sole ruler of the Franks 814–840, but counted as "Louis I of France" even though West Francia (the nucleus of the later kingdom of France) was formed only after his death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_(given_name)
Louis Raphaël I Sako (Arabic: لويس روفائيل ساكو;[1] born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018.
Biography
Early life
Sako was born in the city of Zakho, Iraq, on 4 July 1948.[2] He comes from an ethnic Assyrian family of the Chaldean Catholic Church that has roots in a religious community that has had a presence in the city of his birth since the 5th century AD.[3]
He completed his early studies in Mosul and then attended the Dominican-run Saint Jean’s Seminary there. He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1974 and filled his first pastoral assignment at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. He then earned a doctorate in Eastern patrology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. When denied a license to teach because he was only qualified for religious instruction, he earned a second doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris.[4] With this he secured his teaching license and was able to provide religious instruction. From 1997 to 2002 he was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. He then returned to Mosul and guided the parish of Perpetual Help for a year.[5][6]
Sako speaks Neo-Aramaic, German, French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Arabic.[2]
Archeparch
A synod of the bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church meeting in Baghdad elected Sako Archeparch of Kirkuk on 24 October 2002. Pope John Paul II gave his assent on 27 September 2003.[7] He received his episcopal consecration on 14 November 2003 from his predecessor in Kirkuk, André Sana.[8]
In August 2009, and at the beginning of Ramadan, Sako organized an appeal for national peace, reconciliation and end to violence on the part of more than fifty religious leaders in Kirkuk. He called it "a gesture of closeness to our Muslim brothers. We are all brothers, sons of the same God we must respect and cooperate for the good of the people and our country." The participants included representatives of Ali Sistani and Muqtada al Sadr.[9]
Patriarch
The Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church, convoked in Rome on 28 January 2013, elected Sako to succeed Emmanuel III Delly as Patriarch of Babylon. He chose Louis Raphael I as his regnal name. Pope Benedict XVI gave his assent to the election on 1 February[2] and granted him ecclesiastica communio (ecclesiastical communion) as required by the canon law for Eastern-rite Catholic churches in recognition of their unity with the wider Catholic church.[10]
That same year, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani issued a decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church.[11]
In July 2014 Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious levy or face death by the sword.[12] In September 2014 Sako said “The U.S. is indirectly responsible for what is going on in Iraq as it said it would ensure democracy and the well-being of the people, but 10 years have passed and on the contrary we have gone backward." He was responding to a question following remarks attributed to him in the local daily Ad-Diyar in which he accused the U.S. of supporting ISIS. Sako had also criticized Muslim countries for lack of support: "Our Muslim neighbours did not help us." He urged Muslim preachers to issue a religious ruling against the killing of all innocent people and said that "Issuing a fatwa preventing Muslims from killing fellow Muslims is not enough."[13]
In 2014, Sako ordered ten priests who had fled Iraq to return there by 22 October; he suspended them when they failed to comply. The priests, all living in the United States, some for as long as twenty years, appealed to Pope Francis for relief from the order.[14] In January 2015, Pope Francis granted them permission to remain in the United States.[15] Sako later renewed his order despite the pope's decision.[16]
In 2015, Sako proposed a "merger" or reunion of his own Chaldean Catholic Church with the Ancient Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East to create one united "Church of the East" with a single patriarch in union with the pope. His proposal would have required both his own resignation and that of Mar Addai II, followed by a joint synod of the bishops of all three churches to elect a new patriarch for the reunited Church of the East. (The patriarchate of the Assyrian Church of the East was vacant at the time, following the death of Mar Dinkha IV.)[17] He wrote that "Unity does not mean uniformity, nor the melting of our own church identity into one style, but it maintains unity in diversity and we remain one apostolic universal church, the Oriental Church, that maintains its independence of administration, laws and liturgies, traditions and support."[18] The Assyrian Church of the East respectfully declined this proposal citing "ecclesiological divergences still remaining" and proceeded with its election of a new patriarch.[19]
On 14 November 2015, the Synod of Bishops announced that Pope Francis had named Sako as one of his three appointments to that body's council.[20]
Cardinal
Pope Francis made Sako a cardinal in a consistory on 28 June 2018.[21] Later that year, Pope Francis named him one of the four cardinals to preside over sessions of the Synod of Bishops on Youth in October.[22]
On 6 October 2018 Sako was named a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches,[23] on 22 February 2019 a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,[24] and on 29 September 2021 a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.[25] On 4 January 2022, Pope Francis made him a member of the Council for the Economy.[26]
Sako was a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.[27] Patriarch Sako was also the first Chaldean Catholic Patriarch ever to participate in a papal conclave.[28][a] Sako opted not to wear the shash, the traditional headgear of East Syriac Christian bishops, and wore only his scarlet zucchetto.[32]
Government recognition dispute
On 15 July 2023, Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid announced the revocation of the government's 2013 decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch. In response that same day Sako announced he was leaving Baghdad to take up residence in Iraqi Kurdistan. He called the revocation "unprecedented in the history of Iraq".[11] Rashid said his action "does not affect the religious or legal status of patriarch Sako" and said it was based on the fact that Sako's office is not recognized by the Iraqi Constitution; Sako viewed as an extension of the government's ongoing "deliberate and humiliating campaign" against him and its wider failure to protect Iraqi Christians.[33] Rashid had recently rejected requests for comparable decrees from the Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church and the Old Assyrian Church. Others cited complex political manoeuvering.[34]
On 15 July 2023, Sako announced his intention to "retire from the Patriarchal See in Baghdad and move to a church, a mission, in one of the monasteries of Iraqi Kurdistan". His announcement followed a decision by the President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, to revoke a decree established in 2013 by the former Iraq's President, Jalal Talabani, recognising Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church. The revocation "is unprecedented in Iraq's history," Sako said, highlighting "the government's silence" about the incident and the suffering of the Christian community.[35] For months, Sako had been embroiled in a war of words with a Shia lawmaker and militia leader, Rayan al-Kildani. Both accused each other of exploiting their influence to illegally seize Christian-owned properties. Al-Kildani is the leader of the Babylon Movement, whose militia fought ISIS within the state-linked Popular Mobilisation Forces, a network of largely pro-Iran paramilitaries. Since then, al-Kildani forged strong alliances with powerful Tehran-allied Shiite militias. Sako criticized the Babylon Movement as falsely Christian, noting most of its members and supporters are Shia Muslims using the label for political gain.[36][37] Furthermore, the Babylon Movement, led by al-Kildani, is accused of pillaging homes, unlawful confiscation of land, coercion, extortion, abuse of women, persecution of religious minorities, and torture of detainees. As a result, in 2019, the US imposed sanctions on al-Kildani and another Shiite militia leader, calling them "perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption", and penalizing entities that interact with them.[38]
Cardinal Sako has accused Archbishop Bashar Warda of collaborating and conspiring with Rayan al-Kildani in an effort to subvert his authority and push for his resignation as head of the Chaldean Church. Warda is criticized for supporting al-Kildani despite his horrendous actions, and for not supporting Sako's efforts to counter the Babylon Movement's seizure of Christian assets. This has led to accusations that Warda prioritizes benefits from al-Kildani's support over protecting church interests. Sako has referred to Warda as the "Godfather" of the Babylon Movement.[39][40][41]
On 7 August 2023, Sako told an interviewer that "Withdrawing the decree is very bad. For 15 centuries, there were decrees recognising the Patriarch as head of the Church and administrator of the properties of the Church. Revoking it is a humiliation for the Church. Those behind this move want to put their hands on the properties of the Church and administer them separately from the ecclesiastical authorities. We cannot accept that."[42]
In April 2024, after nine months of exile, Sako returned to Baghdad with the assistance of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani.[43][44]
On 28 August 2024, Sako demanded a public apology from five bishops based on perceived disunity in the Chaldean Catholic Church, including absence from a mandatory July episcopal synod, setting a deadline of September 5. The five bishops, led by Bashar Warda, the Archbishop of Erbil, also withdrew from an August spiritual retreat and pulled their students from the Chaldean Seminary. The bishops refused to apologize, citing dissatisfaction with Sako's leadership style and unilateral decision-making. As a result, he would suspend them and ask Pope Francis to impose canonical penalties, including excommunication.[45][46] The actions of Bashar Warda and the other bishops have been described by the Chaldean Patriarchate as a "dangerous precedent" that goes against their episcopal vows to support the patriarch. The 17 bishops who attended the July 2024 synod issued a communiqué, calling for "appropriate legal measures" against the "clear violations" committed by the boycotting group of Warda.[47]
The rivalry between Louis Sako and Bashar Warda is driven by a fierce personal conflict, with Sako perceiving Warda as ruthlessly ambitious to seize the patriarchate. This perception has led Sako to backtrack on his initial plans to retire at 75, driven by a determination to thwart Warda's power grab. Warda's actions are seen as a betrayal of Sako's leadership.[48]
Honours
Defensor Fidei Prize, 2008
Pax Christi International Peace Award, 2010
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rapha%C3%ABl_I_Sako
The Last Pope: The Decline and Fall of the Church of Rome : The Prophecies of St. Malachy for the New Millennium Hardcover – January 1, 1998
by John Hogue (Author)
According to the prophecies of St. Malachy, only two popes remain before the Holy Church will go through an Apocalypse. In this controversial and definitive study Hogue examines St. Malachy and other gifted saints, popes, monks, and nuns who have been responsible for a covert tradition of prophecy that the Vatican has never officially acknowledged. "The Last Pope" is a unique prophetic examination of papal history--past and future. Four-color insert. 16 b&w plates and line drawings.
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Pope-Decline-Prophecies-Millennium/dp/1862042020
Die Hard 2 (also known by its tagline Die Harder or Die Hard 2: Die Harder)[Note 1] is a 1990 American action film directed by Renny Harlin, written by Steven E. de Souza and Doug Richardson, co-produced by Joel Silver, and starring Bruce Willis[5] as John McClane alongside Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, Art Evans, William Atherton, Franco Nero, Dennis Franz, Fred Thompson, John Amos, and Reginald VelJohnson. The sequel to Die Hard (1988) and the second installment in the Die Hard film series, the film was released on July 4, 1990 by 20th Century Fox, in the United States.
As with the first film, the action in Die Hard 2 takes place on Christmas Eve. McClane is waiting for his wife to land at Washington Dulles International Airport when terrorists take over the air traffic control system. He must stop the terrorists before his wife's plane and several other incoming flights that are circling the airport run out of fuel and crash. During the night, McClane must also contend with airport police and a military commander, none of whom want his assistance.
The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its action sequences and criticism for some plot elements; it was nevertheless considered to be inferior to its predecessor. Die Hard 2 was a major box-office success, grossing $240 million and doubling the earnings of its predecessor and finishing as the year's seventh-highest-grossing film. The film was followed by Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013).
Plot
On Christmas Eve, two years after the events of the previous film,[Note 2] John McClane is now a lieutenant with the LAPD, who arrives at Dulles International Airport to pick up his wife, Holly. Meanwhile, a plane carrying corrupt foreign military leader General Ramon Esperanza is also headed to Dulles under extradition for using U.S. funds to buy drugs.
Waiting to meet Esperanza's plane is disgraced former United States Army Colonel William Stuart and a group of ex-military sympathizers who supported Esperanza's actions. McClane follows two of Stuart's men into a restricted baggage sorting area where a gun fight ensues. He kills one man, but the other escapes. With the help of his friend Sergeant Al Powell, he discovers that the dead man's fingerprints correspond to an American soldier who was listed as having died in a helicopter accident two years earlier. McClane reports his concerns to the ill-tempered airport police chief, Carmine Lorenzo, and air traffic control director Ed Trudeau, but neither believes him.
Stuart and his men, operating out of a church on the outskirts of the airport, cut all communications with incoming airplanes, disable all runway lighting, and demand that Esperanza's plane be allowed to land without interference. Under Stuart's direction, Trudeau orders all air traffic controllers to have all planes in Dulles airspace hold in the air despite their low fuel warnings.
McClane becomes worried about Holly's plane and enlists the help of the airport janitor Marvin to fight back. Chief airport engineer Leslie Barnes decides to try using an unfinished antenna array to communicate with the stranded circling airplanes. Lorenzo sends an airport SWAT team with him, but Stuart's men kill the officers and destroy the antenna. McClane saves Barnes and kills Stuart's men in turn. In retaliation, Stuart crashes a British airliner, killing everyone on board, by impersonating air traffic control and faking the airplane's altimeter reading by recalibrating sea level, leaving a powerless McClane distraught at being unable to save the passengers.
Esperanza's plane lands and McClane wounds Esperanza before Stuart and his men arrive. They blow up the plane and take Esperanza to the church, but McClane survives. A Blue Light team arrives, led by Major Grant, of whom Stuart is a protégé. Grant's men and McClane attack the church. McClane kills one of Stuart's men and gives chase with his gun, but the mercenaries escape on snowmobiles. McClane follows but his vehicle is destroyed by gunfire. Confused as to how he failed to wound anyone, McClane realizes the gun was filled with blanks, meaning the earlier firefight was staged and Grant's team are secretly working with Stuart.
Grant, Stuart, their men, and Esperanza all rendezvous at an airport hangar, where a Boeing 747 that they demanded is waiting for them. On Holly's flight, arrogant reporter Richard Thornburg becomes suspicious as to why the plane has not landed. He taps into the cockpit communications and records a transmission from Barnes to all the circling airplanes describing the situation. From the airplane's lavatory, Richard broadcasts the recording live on television, leading to a panic in the airport terminal which prevents McClane and Lorenzo from getting to the 747. Holly subdues Thornburg with a fellow passenger's taser.
McClane asks reporter Samantha Coleman's crew to fly him via helicopter to intercept the 747. McClane jumps onto the wing and uses his coat to jam the aileron, preventing the plane from taking off. During a fistfight, McClane kicks Grant into a jet engine. While fighting Stuart, McClane opens a fuel valve in the engine pylon just as Stuart kicks him off the wing. McClane uses a cigarette lighter to ignite the fuel trail, causing the plane to blow up and killing everyone on board. The fire trail also serves as a landing guide for all airborne aircraft, including Holly's, to land safely.
After McClane and Holly are reunited, Marvin picks them up in his airport cart and drives them away.
Cast
Bruce Willis as LAPD Detective Lieutenant John McClane
Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Gennero McClane
William Atherton as Richard "Dick" Thornburg
Reginald VelJohnson as LAPD Sergeant Al Powell
Franco Nero as General Ramon Esperanza
William Sadler as United States Army Colonel William Stuart
John Amos as Major Grant
Dennis Franz as Airport Police Captain Carmine Lorenzo
Art Evans as Leslie Barnes, airport chief engineer
Fred Thompson as Ed Trudeau, air traffic flight director
Tom Bower as Marvin, airport janitor
Sheila McCarthy as Samantha "Sam" Coleman
Robert Costanzo as Dulles International Airport Police Sergeant Vito Lorenzo
Colm Meaney as Windsor Pilot
James Lancaster as Windsor Navigator
Additional cast members include Colonel Stuart's hitmen: Don Harvey as Garber, John Costelloe as Sergeant Oswald Cochrane, Vondie Curtis-Hall as Miller, John Leguizamo as Burke, Robert Patrick as O'Reilly, Tom Verica as Kahn, Tony Ganios as Baker, Michael Cunningham as Sheldon, Peter Nelson as Thompson, Ken Baldwin as Mulkey, and Mark Boone Junior as Shockley. Patrick O'Neal appears as Telford, Major Grant's radio operator.
Production
Evergreen Boeing 747 (registration N473EV) used in the film
Filming of the Dulles airport concourse scenes took place in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
The screenplay was adapted from Walter Wager's 1987 novel 58 Minutes. The novel has the same plot but differs slightly: a police officer must stop terrorists who take an airport hostage while his daughter's plane circles overhead, and has 58 minutes to do so before the plane crashes. Roderick Thorp, who wrote the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, upon which Die Hard was based, receives credit for creating "certain original characters", although his name is misspelled onscreen as "Roderick Thorpe".
One of the writers of the screenplay, Steven E. de Souza, later admitted in an interview for the book Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie that the villains were based on America's "Central American" meddling, primarily the Iran–Contra affair.[6]
The film was originally budgeted at $40 million.[7] Bruce Willis was paid $7.5 million for reprising his role for the film.[8][2] Producer Joel Silver was accused of profligate spending and it was claimed the film cost $60–70 million.[9][7] Fox domestic distribution president Tom Sherak dismissed the $70 million claim as "absurd".[7] It was reported at the end of filming that Silver had been relieved of day-to-day producing duties.[10]
Scenes of Dulles airport in the snow were to be filmed in Denver but filming was scrapped due to warm weather. Some outdoor scenes were filmed in Alpena, Michigan, while others needing to accommodate the landing of the 747 with snow were filmed at former Kincheloe Air Force Base in Kincheloe, Michigan.[11] Other scenes were filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles using fake snow.[10]
Die Hard 2 was the first film to use digitally composited live-action footage with a traditional matte painting that had been photographed and scanned into a computer. It was used for the last scene, which took place on a runway.[12]
According to Franco Nero, Silver got the idea to cast him after he saw movie posters of Nero hanging in the office of their mutual accountant. Nero did not want to do Die Hard 2 because he did not like the script and he had committed to do the film Breath of Life. Finally, Silver scheduled Nero's scenes in such a way that the actor could do both films.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hard_2
Jesuit Superior General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, 2000 ##1-0
This photo, taken from the October 14, 2000 edition of the
Reading Eagle, is of the Jesuit General, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach,
speaking at the former Jesuit Novitiate on a beautiful estate, now
called “the Jesuit Center,” in Wernersville, Pennsylvania.
Remembering that he is the master of Pope John Paul II, Archbishop
Edward Cardinal Egan of New York, and President “elect” George W. Bush (of
the Bush pro-Nazi crime family descending from England’s House of Stuart), as
well as the petty military dictators of Communist Russia and China, we would do
well to meditate on the words of Napoleon recorded in his Memoirs—the Emperor
having been betrayed into the hands of his captors by his Jesuit masters—while
imprisoned on the island of St. Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean:
“The Jesuits are a military organization, not a religious order. Their
chief is a general of an army, not the mere father abbot of a monastery.
And the aim of this organization is POWER. Power in its most
despotic exercise. Absolute power, universal power, power to control
the world by the volition of a single man . . .
The General of the Jesuits insists on being master, sovereign, over the
sovereign. Wherever the Jesuits are admitted they will be masters, cost
what it may . . . Every act, every crime, however atrocious, is a
meritorious work, if committed for the interest of the Society of the
Jesuits, or by the order of the general.” {57}
Web Page 57
Cardinal Egan, a staunch supporter of the “infallible” Pope’s Temporal
Power and the Jesuit General’s evil Council of Trent, will continue the Great
Jesuit Cover-up, even as did his predecessors, Cardinals Spellman, Cooke and
O’Connor. This power is exercised through New York’s Council on Foreign
Relations, as both former Democratic Presidential candidates, Albert Gore and
John Kerry as well as incumbent President George W. Bush, are under its control.
Both candidates of the 2000 Presidential “race” were also present (along with former
President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, now a N.Y. Senator) during Cardinal
O’Connor’s funeral overseen by the Knights of Malta at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
George W. Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, 1999 ##1-1
President and Mrs. Clinton were flanked by presidential candidates George
W. Bush (left) and Al Gore—none of whom were Roman Catholics—at the
funeralMass for their obvious political boss, John CardinalO’Connor.
Of this Jesuit power over statesmen through the Pope and his Hierarchy, M. F.
Cusack wrote in her 1896masterpiece, The Black Pope, on page 106:
“It is here that the tremendous power of the Church makes itself felt. It is
through this [Jesuit] ‘direction’ that statesmen are compelled to act, not for the
benefit of the country to which they belong, but for the benefit of the Church,
which controls them. It is here that matters of the most secret nature are
discussed and decided [like the present Crusade against Islam, the attack into
Afghanistan commencing on the anniversary of the naval Battle of Lepanto when
the Armada of the Pope’s Knights of Malta destroyed the Armada of the Islamic
Ottoman Turks on October 7, 1571]. It is here that alliances . . . are arranged,
and political treaties are agreed on.” {58}
58 Vatican Assassins
Hopefully, the Jesuit Order, in control of the Archbishop with his Network of
Vatican Assassins, will be brought to justice for the cold-blooded murder of
President Kennedy and for continuing the Great Jesuit Cover-up of his death. This
includes the most recent murder of John F. Kennedy, Jr. along with his beautiful
wife, Carolyn Bessette and her sister, Lauren. Justice will only be done when the
Jesuit presence has been purged from the Justice Department in control of the FBI
—Rome’s political Holy Office of the Inquisition within the American Empire.
And why was John F. Kennedy, Jr., along with his innocent passengers,
murdered? According to the late Tom Kuncl in the August 31, 1999 issue of the
National Examiner, JFK, Jr. (having promised in his George magazine (October,
1998, Volume 3, Issue 10, page 136) that if elected President he would abolish the
Federal Reserve System and warned that America’s most pressing foreign issue was
a “dangerous, nuclear armed Russia that is economically unstable”) had
“. . . recently launched an all-out investigation, to find his father’s real
killer . . .
[For John had said in his own words:]
‘I want to know who killed my father. I want there to be absolutely no
doubt.’ ” {59}
G. B. Nicolini, in his History of the Jesuits published in 1889, gives us further light,
declaring on page 269:
“We insist upon that point [that the Jesuits vindictively persecuted the
Roman Catholic Jansenists for exposing the Society in using Jacques
Clement to murder King Henry III of France] one of the most
prominent characteristics of Jesuitism, [is] never to forgive an injury,
and to persecute the remotest descendants for the offences they may
have received from their ancestors.” {60}
Vatican Assassins:
“Wounded In The House Of My Friends”
Third Edition
by Eric Jon Phelps
https://ia802505.us.archive.org/28/items/EricJonPhelpsVaticanAssassins3rdEdition/Eric%20Jon%20Phelps%20-%20Vatican%20Assassins%203rd%20Edition.pdf
Spaniard becomes Jesuits' new "black pope"
By Reuters
January 19, 2008 5:07 AM PST Updated 17 years ago
By Stephen Brown
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Spaniard Adolfo Nicolas was elected the Jesuits' "black pope", as the head of the largest and perhaps most influential, controversial and prestigious Catholic order is known, in a secret conclave on Saturday.
Nicolas, 71, has run Jesuit operations in east Asia and Oceania since 2004 and spent most of his career in the Far East after being ordained in Tokyo in 1967.
The order said in a statement that Nicolas had been elected to succeed Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, who received permission from Pope Benedict to retire as head of the order formally known as the Society of Jesus at the age of 79.
Jesuit superior generals are known as "black popes" because, like the pontiff, they wield worldwide influence and usually keep their position for life -- and because their simple cassock is black, in contrast to the pope who dresses in white.
The 468-year history of the Jesuit order has often included stormy relations with the Vatican. Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul, believed the order had become too independent, leftist and political, particularly in Latin America.
Soft-spoken, white-haired Dutchman Kolvenbach won widespread praise for mending relations with the Vatican during his years in the post, after conflicts between his charismatic Basque predecessor and Pope John Paul.
Kolvenbach also had to deal with declining vocations and the future of the order founded by St Ignatius Loyola in 1540.
In the 1960s, the all-male order peaked with some 36,000 members worldwide. It now has about 19,200 members involved in education, refugee help and other social services.
The general congregation that elected Nicolas gathered 217 electors from all over the world at Jesuit headquarters, a block from the Vatican.
They spent four days in prayer and what is known in Latin as "murmuratio", or murmurings, about who should be elected. It is strictly forbidden to lobby for the post and anyone actively seeking the job must be 'turned in' by the other delegates.
The election is by secret ballot and delegates are not allowed to leave the room until Pope Benedict is informed who has won, in keeping with a tradition that the "white pope" is first to know who is the new "black pope".
But unlike a conclave to elect the pontiff, a Jesuit general congregation can continue for weeks or even months after the election to discuss future challenges and priorities.
https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/spaniard-becomes-jesuits-new-black-pope-idUSL19414053/
AI Overview
As of September 2025, there has been no 37th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. The most recent assembly was the 36th General Congregation (GC 36), which met in Rome in October 2016.
What is a General Congregation?
A General Congregation (GC) is the highest governing body of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order. A GC can be called for two main reasons:
To elect a new Superior General: This happens when the previous Superior General resigns or dies. In 2016, GC 36 was called after Father Adolfo Nicolás announced his resignation.
To address important matters: A GC can be called by the Superior General to discuss and act on significant issues concerning the order, the Church, and the world.
Key outcomes of the 36th General Congregation (GC 36)
The last General Congregation made two major decisions for the Society of Jesus:
Election of a new Superior General: The delegates elected Father Arturo Sosa Abascal of Venezuela as the 31st Superior General.
Declaration on reconciliation and justice: The assembly released a decree titled "Companions in a Mission of Reconciliation and Justice," which recommitted the order to the service of faith and the promotion of justice, continuing a priority first established at the 32nd General Congregation.
AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more
1987 Slammy Awards
The Slammy Awards returned a year later, now honoring the events and individuals involved within the professional wrestling aspect of the World Wrestling Federation. The second edition of the ceremony (referred to in commercials and on-air as the 37th annual Slammy Awards) took place on December 16, 1987, from Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It aired in syndication on December 19, 1987.[11][14][13] The ceremony was hosted by Jesse Ventura and Gene Okerlund.[15] Musical numbers were performed by Vince McMahon (singing the song "Stand Back")[16] and Jimmy Hart (singing "Girls in Cars"), with the entire WWF roster performing "If You Only Knew" as the show's closing number.[16][15]
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface.[11][14][13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slammy_Award
Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ, Named Next Provincial of the Jesuits of Canada
March 15, 2024 — The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) announced the appointment of Fr. Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ, as the next provincial of the Jesuits of Canada. This appointment is the culmination of a thoughtful, prayerful process of consultation and discernment, marking a significant milestone for the Canadian Province.
Fr. Jeffrey Burwell, SJ
Fr. Burwell will succeed Fr. Erik Oland, SJ, assuming his new responsibilities on July 31, 2024, with an inaugural Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Toronto. A special celebration will also take place at the Jesuit infirmary in Richelieu, Quebec, on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 2024.
Fr. Burwell, 48, is an educational specialist whose doctoral research took him to the Holy Land, where he focused on Catholic schools in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. A lecturer in Catholic studies, first St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba and now Campion College at the University of Regina, he balances university work with pastoral service as a chaplain to police (RCMP) and to prisoners. He dedicates his university holidays to ministering in the Dene and Cree Indigenous communities of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Holding positions as a local superior since 2017 and a province consultor since 2021, Fr. Burwell brings a profound understanding of the Jesuit mission and a significant appreciation for Canada and Haiti’s diverse cultures.
This leadership change comes at a time when the Society of Jesus seeks to deepen its engagement with contemporary challenges, oriented by their Universal Apostolic Preferences: showing the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment; walking with the excluded; journeying with youth; and caring for our common home.
A Jesuit provincial leads a specific geographic region. This role is deeply spiritual, with responsibilities that extend beyond administrative tasks to include guiding the province’s mission and providing spiritual and pastoral care for its members. Provincials generally serve a six-year term.
There are five provinces within the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. The Canadian Province of the Society of Jesus encompasses a wide range of works, including colleges/universities, secondary and pre-secondary schools, parishes, retreat houses, formation in spirituality, Indigenous ministries, social justice center and ecological endeavors.
The Jesuits of Canada, together with their partners, look forward to supporting Fr. Burwell in his new role as they continue to serve the mission of the Church and society in Canada and beyond.
https://www.jesuits.org/stories/jeffrey-s-burwell-sj-named-next-provincial-of-the-jesuits-of-canada/
The Domus Sanctae Marthae (Latin for House of Saint Martha; Italian: Casa di Santa Marta) is a building adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Completed in 1996, during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, it is named after Martha of Bethany, who was a sibling to Mary and Lazarus of Bethany. The building functions as a guest house for clergy having business with the Holy See and as the temporary residence of members of the College of Cardinals while participating in a papal conclave to elect a new pope.
Pope Francis lived in a suite in the Domus Sanctae Marthae from his election in 2013 to his death in 2025, declining to live in the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domus_Sanctae_Marthae
Theologian: John Paul II wanted to show respect by kissing the Koran
Bonn - John Paul II kissed the Koran as a gesture of respect. The picture went around the world. In an interview with katholisch.de, Islamic scholar Felix Körner talks about the sign of the Polish head of the Church and looks at the following pontificates.
Published on 14.05.2024 at 00:01 – by Mario Trifunovic
The picture of 14 May 1999 of Pope John Paul II kissing the Koran went around the world and sparked discussions within the Church. At that time, the Polish Pope received a Muslim delegation of Shiites and Sunnis as well as the Chairman of the Iranian Ministry of Religion in the Vatican. Among them was the then Archbishop of Baghdad, Raphael I. Bidawid. The Polish church leader received a copy of the Koran as a gift from the Muslim visitors. As a sign of respect, John Paul II kissed the book, which is sacred to Muslims. In an interview with katholisch.de, the Islam expert and Jesuit Felix Körner talks about the gesture 25 years ago and takes a look at the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis.
Question: Mr Körner, it is now 25 years since John Paul II kissed the Koran. Why was this event so controversial?
Körner: Behind it was the big theological question: what is the Koran for us? For in Christ are hidden all the treasures of knowledge. That's what it says in Colossians. But for the Koran, Jesus is just one of many prophets. So if the Pope kisses the Koran, does that mean that the Catholic Church no longer sees Jesus as the all-important Saviour? Of course not! The dispute about the kiss only arises if you want to misunderstand John Paul II.
Question: What was the significance of this gesture? Does it still have an effect on the dialogue between Christians and Muslims?
Körner: What did the Pope want to say with it in 1999? Firstly, that he was happy about the gift; and secondly, that he respects the faith of others. In other words, a gesture that was completely in line with the Second Vatican Council. And it went even further: Benedict XVI prayed in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. No press spokesperson said afterwards that it was a silent meditation. Benedict prayed in the mosque and Francis said to the Muslim guests: "Pray for me. In an atmosphere like this, we can also say clearly today where we disagree, what we expect from each other - and how we can work together.
Question: Have there been similar actions, whether by John Paul II or his predecessors?
Körner: Yes, there certainly were. As Apostolic Envoy to Turkey, John XXIII already made the Muslims feel that he liked them. Then Paul VI - he introduced the word dialogue into the vocabulary of the Church, also for Islamic-Christian relations. John Paul II later brought real experts on Islam into the dialogue council. Networks were established, texts written - the 1984 document "Dialogue and Mission" was already outstanding. And John Paul II himself then in his encyclical "Redemptoris missio" that the Holy Spirit also touches cultures and religions. In doing so, he opened doors.
Bild: ©KNA/Stefano dal Pozzolo/Romano Siciliani
The Jesuit Felix Körner is Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He is considered one of the Catholic Church's best experts on Islam.
Question: What was the headwind like in this regard?
Körner: Sometimes the headwind seemed to slam the doors of dialogue shut again. But now there are the texts, the relationships and above all the institutions - and ever more courageous signs. In the Holy Year 2000, we saw the Pope praying in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. At the time, his press spokesman said he had to deny it afterwards, saying it was just a moment of quiet meditation.
Question: Fundamentalist Christians criticised John Paul II for his gesture. Some said at the time that he was confirming the Islamic faith. What can be said in response?
Körner: There are fundamentalists on all sides, because they want to establish a firm identity for themselves. The Christian faith is much more exciting. You can always discover something new there! If you look into the world with the gospel, you can see how the kingdom of God is already growing, how the spirit of Christ is already at work. When I say that I see the good in you, your faithfulness, your seriousness, I am not saying that I am adopting your view. Sometimes we agree to disagree. But there are things that we find exemplary in each other, and in the end we learn from each other.
Question: Benedict XVI was criticised for his Regensburg speech, while Francis was criticised for the Abu Dhabi document on brotherhood between people, which he signed in 2019 together with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Sheikh of Azar University and therefore one of the most respected representatives of Sunni Islam. What is the current mood on both sides?
Körner: I am interested in the arguments of the critics. Those who are worried are often right, because there is cause for concern. But the crucial question is not how bad it is, but what we do now. After Regensburg, we have started a new, serious series of Christian-Islamic encounters. This has become theologically serious. There are now even Islamic theology programmes at German universities. I have respectful and curious encounters with students and colleagues on an almost daily basis. You can also bear witness to your own faith.
Joint declaration by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Mohammad Al-Tayyeb
Bild: ©picture alliance/AP Photo/Andrew Medichini
Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Mohammad Al-Tayyeb sign a joint declaration on "Human Fraternity" on 4 February 2019.
Question: The so-called Abu Dhabi Document provided a new impetus in the Church's dialogue with Islam. How did this come about?
Körner: The document is also based on the Second Vatican Council. There it said: We condemn all discrimination based on skin colour or religion. In 2019, it now said: Differences are willed by God. In the case of religious differences, this means that if the other person believes differently, then the encounter can also be purifying and enriching for me - and that is God's will.
Question: Francis has been sharply criticised for this God-ordained pluralism. Why?
Körner: Well, almost everything a pope does gets a shitstorm, including a Catholic one. Good theology helps here too. The question behind such voices is usually whether the Gospel is still really being emphasised. And we can use it to make that clear. In any case, these gestures are a testimony to the Gospel.
„Wir haben nach Regensburg eine neue, ernsthafte Reihe christlich-islamischer Begegnungen begonnen. Das ist theologisch seriös geworden.“
— Zitat: Jesuit und Islamkenner Felix Körner zum interreligiösen Dialog
Question: In what way do these gestures serve to clarify?
Körner: Pope Francis aptly said in the programmatic letter "Evangelii gaudium" at the beginning of his pontificate: evangelising means making the kingdom of God present in the world. When people come closer to God and to one another, then what the Good News of Jesus promises happens: then God's kingdom grows among us. A sign of this can also be a courageous word of fraternity, or a respectful kiss on a book that is sacred to Muslims and which they present to a pope.
Question: In your opinion, what else should Francis do to advance the dialogue?
Körner: Francis knows that Christian-Islamic dialogue is not about agreement on matters of faith. Rather, he is talking about the courage to be different and to deal with each other as people of different religions. He is now moving from friendship to institutions, from the atmospheric to the legal. Because living in dialogue also requires political freedom.
by Mario Trifunovic
https://english.katholisch.de/artikel/53269-theologian-john-paul-ii-wanted-to-show-respect-by-kissing-the-koran
PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION
Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it. For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created.
PARTICULAR AND DAILY EXAMEN
It contains in it three times, and two to examine oneself. The first time is in the morning, immediately on rising, when one ought to propose to guard himself with diligence against that particular sin or defect which he wants to correct and amend. The second time is after dinner, when one is to ask of God our Lord what one wants, namely, grace to remember how many times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect, and to amend himself in the future. Then let him make the first Examen, asking account of his soul of that particular thing proposed, which he wants to correct and amend. Let him go over hour by hour, or period by period, commencing at the hour he rose, and continuing up to the hour and instant of the present examen, and let him make in the first line of the G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. Then let him resolve anew to amend himself up to the second Examen which he will make. The third time: After supper, the second Examen will be made, in the same way, hour by hour, commencing at the first Examen and continuing up to the present (second) one, and let him make in the second line of the same G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. FOUR ADDITIONS FOLLOW TO RID ONESELF SOONER OF THAT PARTICULAR SIN OR DEFECT First Addition. The first Addition is that each time one falls into that particular sin or defect, let him put his hand on his breast, grieving for having fallen: which can be done even in the presence of many, without their perceiving what he is doing. Second Addition. The second: As the first line of the G------- means the first Examen, and the second line the second Examen, let him look at night if there is amendment from the first line to the second, that is, from the first Examen to the second. Third Addition. The third: To compare the second day with the first; that is, the two Examens of the present day with the other two Examens of the previous day, and see if he has amended himself from one day to the other. Fourth Addition. The fourth Addition: To compare one week with another, and see if he has amended himself in the present week over the week past. Note. It is to be noted that the first (large) G------- which follows means the Sunday: the second (smaller), the Monday: the third, the Tuesday, and so on.
GGGGGG
"The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola
TRANSLATED FROM
THE AUTOGRAPH
BY
FATHER ELDER MULLAN, S.J.
I.H.S.
NEW YORK
P.J. KENEDY & SONS
PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE
https://ia601603.us.archive.org/32/items/spiritualexercis00ignauoft/spiritualexercis00ignauoft.pdf
The word asas in Arabic means "principle". The Asāsiyyūn (plural, from literary Arabic) were, as defined in Arabic, the principle people. The term "assassin" likely has roots in hashshāshīn ("hashish smokers or users"), a mispronunciation of the original Asāsiyyūn, but not a mispronunciation of Assasiyeen (pronounced "Asāsiyyeen", the plural of "Asasi"). Originally referring to the methods of political control exercised by the Assasiyuun, one can see how it became "assassin" in several languages to describe similar activities anywhere.
The Assassins were finally linked by the 19th-century orientalist Silvestre de Sacy to the Arabic word hashish using their variant names assassin and assissini in the 19th century. Citing the example of one of the first written applications of the Arabic term hashish to the Ismailis by 13th-century historian Abu Shama, de Sacy demonstrated its connection to the name given to the Ismailis throughout Western scholarship.[87] Following de Sacy's account, various popularizers of the "Hashishi myth" – including self-proclaimed Sufi scholar Idries Shah (who, in fact, never belonged to any Sufi tariqa nor even graduated from any university) – continue to pejoratively describe the Assassins (and, by extension, Ismailis in general) as 'druggers' who used hashish "in stupefying candidates for the ephemeral visit to paradise".[88] However, the first known usage of the term hashishi has been traced back to 1122 when the Fatimid caliph al-Amir bi-Ahkami'l-Lah, himself later assassinated, employed it in derogatory reference to the Syrian.[87] Used figuratively, the term hashishi connoted meanings such as outcasts or rabble.[87] Without actually accusing the group of using the hashish drug, the caliph used the term in a pejorative manner. This label was quickly adopted by anti-Isma'ili historians and applied to the Isma'ilis of Syria and Persia. The spread of the term was further facilitated through military encounters, whose chroniclers adopted the term and disseminated it across Europe. The Crusaders and other European travelers accepted and spread myths such as the 'paradise legend', the 'leap of faith' legend, and the 'hashish legend', sewn together in the writings of Marco Polo.[89]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Assassins
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
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 Old Man of the Mountain (Persian: پیر کوهستان (pir koohestan)[citation needed], Latin: Vetulus de Montanis),[1] is the expression used by Marco Polo in a passage from Book of the Marvels of the World, to indicate Hassan-i- sabbah, the grand master of the Order of Assassins which was based in Alamut Castle. It later became a common name used by the Crusaders.[2]
Subsequently, this nickname was given to various Isma'ili successors of Hassan, in Syria, particularly,[3] for example Rashid al-Din Sinan, the da'i (missionary)[4] and a leader of the Syrian branch of the Nizari Isma'ili state.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain_(nickname)
Al-Andalus[a] (Arabic: الأَنْدَلُس) was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The term is used by modern historians for the former Islamic states in modern Spain, Portugal[1] and France. The name describes the different Muslim[2][3] states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most of the peninsula[4][5][6] and part of present-day southern France (Septimania) under Umayyad rule. These boundaries changed constantly through a series of conquests Western historiography has traditionally characterized as the Reconquista,[2][3][7][8][9] 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 Complimentary Norms
A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts
THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES
SAINT LOUIS, 1996
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
https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid032z7eGFHZVWVMAz7ZfhxHm5NMwDAPAkWjbGuUAB2LQaQFzt39MbSJ5CooxMbGe5Ryl
The Capetian dynasty (/kəˈpiːʃən/; French: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favor of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans. Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon house are still ruling over Spain and Luxembourg."
Name origins and usage
The name of the dynasty derives from its founder, Hugh, who was known as "Hugh Capet".[4] The meaning of "Capet" (a nickname rather than a surname of the modern sort) is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with "cape", other suggestions indicate it might be connected to the Latin word caput ("head"), and explain it as meaning "chief" or "head".[citation needed]
Historians in the 19th century (see House of France) came to apply the name "Capetian" to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice. The name "Capet" has also been used as a surname for French royalty, particularly but not exclusively those of the House of Capet. One notable use was during the French Revolution, when the dethroned King Louis XVI (a member of the House of Bourbon and a direct male-line descendant of Hugh Capet) and Queen Marie Antoinette (a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) were referred to as "Louis and Antoinette Capet" (the queen being addressed as "the Widow Capet" after the execution of her husband).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_dynasty
Caput Mundi is a Latin phrase which literally means "Head of the world" whereas Roma Caput Mundi means "Rome capital of the world" and is one of the many nicknames given to the city of Rome throughout its history.[1]
The phrase is related to the enduring power of the city first as the capital of the Republic and the Empire, and later as the centre of the Catholic Church.[2]
Although it is not known for sure when it was first used, Rome was already named in this way by the poet Ovid in 1st century BC.[3]
Along with "Eternal City" and the "City of Seven Hills", Caput Mundi remains as one of the most commonly used names to refer to the city of Rome.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caput_Mundi
The Constantinian dynasty is an informal name for the ruling family of the Roman Empire from Constantius Chlorus (died 306) to the death of Julian in 363. It is named after its most famous member, Constantine the Great, who became the sole ruler of the empire in 324. The dynasty is also called Neo-Flavian because every Constantinian emperor bore the name Flavius, similarly to the rulers of the first Flavian dynasty in the 1st century.
Stemmata
In italics the augusti and the augustae.
Constantius I
From relationship between Constantius I and Helena
Constantine I
From marriage between Constantine I and Minervina
Crispus
From marriage between Constantine I and Fausta
Constantina, wife of Hannibalianus and Constantius Gallus
Constantine II
Constantius II
No offspring from marriage between Constantius II and his first wife, daughter of Julius Constantius
No offspring from marriage between Constantius II and Eusebia
From marriage between Constantius II and Faustina
Constantia, wife of Gratian
Constans I
Helena, wife of Julian
From marriage between Constantius Chlorus and Theodora
Flavius Dalmatius
From marriage between Flavius Dalmatius and unknown wife
Flavius Dalmatius
Hannibalianus, husband of Constantina
Julius Constantius
From marriage between Julius Constantius and Galla
son, died in the purges of 337[1]
daughter, first wife of Constantius II
Constantius Gallus
No offspring from marriage between Gallus and Constantina
From marriage between Julius Constantius and Basilina
Julian
No offspring from marriage between Julian and Helena, daughter of Constantine I
Hannibalianus (must have died before the imperial purges that occurred in 337 because he is not listed among its victims);
Anastasia;
Flavia Julia Constantia, wife of Licinius
Licinius II
Eutropia
Nepotianus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinian_dynasty
The Carolingian dynasty ceased to rule France upon the death of Louis V (d. 987). After the death of Louis, the son of Hugh the Great, Hugh Capet was chosen as king of the Franks, nominally the last ruler of West Francia. Given the resurgence of the Holy Roman Empire title and dignities in the West Francian kingdom, Europe was later believed to have entered a new age, so became to be known in historiography as the first king of France, as western civilization was perceived to have entered the High Middle Ages period. Hugh was crowned at Noyon on July 3, 987 with the full support from Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. With Hugh’s coronation, a new era began for France, and his descendants came to be named, after him, the Capetians. They ruled France as the Capetians, Valois, and Bourbons until the French Revolution. They returned after 1815 and ruled until Louis Philippe was deposed in 1848.
However they continue to rule Spain, with two republican interruptions, through the Bourbon Dynasty right down to Juan Carlos of Spain.
[edit] Family branches
Ro(d)bert (-764), dux of Hesbaye from 732, married Williswinda of Worms
Ingerman of Hesbaye
Ermengarde of Hesbaye (780-818), wife of Emperor Louis the Pious
Cancor (-782), founder of Lorsch Abbey
Heimrich (-795), count in the Lahngau
Poppo of Grapfeld (-839/41), ancestor of the Frankish House of Babenberg
Landrada, married Sigram
Saint Chrodogang (-766), Archbishop of Metz, Abbot of Lorsch Abbey
Robert II of Hesbaye (770-807)
Robert III of Worms (800-822)
Robert IV the Strong (820-866)
Odo of Paris (860-898), king of West Francia from 888, married Théodrate of Troyes
Raoul
Arnulf
Guy
Richildis, or Regilindis, married William I of Périgueux, son of Count Wulgrin I of Angoulême
Robert (866-923), king of West Francia from 922, second marriage to Béatrice of Vermandois
Emma (894-934), married Rudolph of Burgundy
Adela, married Herbert II, Count of Vermandois
Hugh the Great (898-956), married for the 3rd time to Hedwige of Saxony, daughter of German king Henry the Fowler
Béatrice (939-987), married Frederick of Bar
Hugh Capet (940-996), ancestor of the Capetian dynasty
Otto of Paris (944-965), Duke of Burgundy from 956
Odo-Henry (946-1002), Duke of Burgundy from 965
Emma (-966), married Richard I, Duke of Normandy
Herbert (-994), Bishop of Auxerre
Ermengarde of Hesbaye (or Irmengarde) (c. 778 – 3 October 818) was Queen of the Franks and Holy Roman Empress as the wife of Emperor Louis I. She was Frankish, the daughter of Ingeram, count of Hesbaye, and Hedwig of Bavaria. Her family is known as the Robertians.
In 794/5 Ermengarde married Louis the Pious, king of Aquitania, king of Franks, king of Italy, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
She had six children:
Lothair I, born 795 in Altdorf, Bavaria
Pepin I of Aquitaine, born 797
Adelaide, born ca. 799
Rotrude, born 800
Hildegard / Matilda, born ca. 802
Wife of Gerard, Count of Auvergne, possible mother of Ranulf I of Poitiers.
Louis the German, born ca. 805
She died at Angers, France on 3 October 818. A few years after her death, her husband remarried to Judith of Bavaria, who bore him Charles the Bald.
https://rosamondpress.com/2012/06/25/merovingian-grail-lineage-of-the-swan-knight/
The Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries (currently Spain and Luxembourg). The Capetians appear first in the records as powerful nobles serving under the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne in West Francia, which later became France. As their power increased, they came into conflict with the older royal family and attained the crown several times before the eventual start of the continuous rule of the descendants of Hugh Capet (ruled 987–996).
Hugh's paternal ancestral family, the Robertians, appear in documents that trace the family back to his great-grandfather Robert the Strong (d. 866). His origins remain unclear, but medieval records hint at an origin in East Francia, in present-day Germany, an area then still also ruled by the Carolingians. In particular, Regino of Prüm (died 915) states that Robert the Strong's son Odo was said to be a relative (nepos) of a Count Meingaud, count of an area near Worms, who died in 892, and there are indications that Maingaud's family used the names Robert and Odo.
Modern proposals about their ancestry further back are based on the idea that there was one family which frequently named its sons Robert, including Robert III of Worms (800–834), Robert the Strong (d. 866), and Robert I of France (866–923). For example, one proposed ancestor is Robert of Hesbaye (c. 800), about whom there are almost no records.
The Robertian family figured prominently amongst the Carolingian nobility and married into this royal family. Eventually, the Robertians themselves produced Frankish kings such as the brothers Odo (reigned 888–898) and Robert I (r. 922–923), then Hugh Capet (r. 987–996), who ruled from his seat in Paris as the first Capetian king of France.
Although Philip II Augustus (r. 1180–1223) was officially the last monarch of France with the title "King of the Franks" (rex Francorum) and the first to style himself "King of France" (roi de France), in (systematic application of) historiography, Hugh Capet holds this distinction. He founded the Capetians, the royal dynasty that ruled France until the revolution of the Second French Republic in 1848—save during the interregnum of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Members of the family still reign in Europe today : both King Felipe VI of Spain and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg descend from this family through the Bourbon cadet branch of the dynasty.
Origin
The oldest known Robertians probably originated in the county of Hesbaye, around Tongeren in modern-day Belgium. The first certain ancestor is Robert the Strong count of Paris,[1] probably the son of Robert III of Worms, grandson of Robert of Hesbaye, and nephew of Ermengarde of Hesbaye, who was the daughter of Ingram, and wife of Louis the Pious. Other related family includes Cancor, founder of the Lorsch Abbey, his sister Landrada and her son Saint Chrodogang, archbishop of Metz.
History
Robert the Strong
The sons of Robert the Strong were Odo and Robert, who were both king of Western Francia and ruled during the Carolingian era. His daughter Richildis married a count of Troyes. The family became Counts of Paris under Odo and "Dukes of the Franks" under Robert, possessing large parts of the ancient Neustria. Although quarrels continued between Robert's son Hugh the Great and Louis IV of France, they were mended upon the ascension of Lothair I of France (954–986). Lothair greatly expanded the Robertian dominions when he granted Hugh Aquitaine as well as much of Burgundy,[2] both rich and influential territories, arguably two of the richest in France.
The Carolingian dynasty ceased to rule France upon the death of Louis V (d. 987). After the death of Louis, the son of Hugh the Great, Hugh Capet was chosen as king of the Franks, nominally the last ruler of West Francia. Given the resurgence of the Holy Roman Empire title and dignities in the West Francian kingdom, Europe was later believed to have entered a new age, so Hugh came to be known in historiography as the first king of France, as western civilization was perceived to have entered the High Middle Ages period. Hugh was crowned at Noyon on July 3, 987 with the full support of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. With Hugh's coronation, a new era began for France, and his descendants came to be named, after him, the Capetians. They ruled France as the Capetians, Valois, and Bourbons until the French Revolution. They returned after 1815 and ruled until Louis Philippe was deposed in 1848.
However, they have continued to rule Spain, with two republican interruptions, through the Bourbon Dynasty right down to the current king Felipe VI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertians
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
The Hohenstaufens were ruling in absentia, and their rule was not liked. The local barons managed to induce various people to claim the regency. Alix de Brienne, second daughter of queen Isabeau, had married Hughes de Lusignan (d. 1218), son of Amaury by a previous wife, and king of Cyprus. Alix died in 1246 and her son Henri (1218-53) succeeded her as regent of Jerusalem. At his death, his son grandson Hugues II (1252-67) was a minor and the widow Plaisance (d. 1261) was regent of both Cyprus and Jerusalem. At her death, a new regent was required; the late king Henri had two sisters Marie (d. 1252) married to Gauthier de Brienne, and Isabelle (d. 1264), married to Henri de Poitiers. The elder one's son, Hugues de Brienne, was passed over in favor of the younger one's son Hugues d'Antioche as regent of Cyprus, while Isabelle herself was accepted as regent for Jerusalem. On her death in 1267, Hugues de Brienne's attempt to claim his rights was rebuffed and the throne of Cyprus, along with the regency of Jerusalem, passed to Hugues d'Antioche, whose descendants assumed the name of Lusignan and reigned over Cyprus.
At the death of Conradin, the issue of Queen Isabeau's eldest daughter became extinct. Hugues III of Cyprus, descended from her second daughter and already regent, now claimed the throne. But another claim emerged through the third daughter of Queen Isabeau, Mélissende, who married Bohémond IV of Antioch (uncle of Hugues III) and whose only daughter Marie of Antioch claimed the throne as being closer in kinship to Isabeau. She was unsuccessful and Hugues III was crowned king of Jerusalem in 1269. She went to Rome to plead her case with the Pope, and was eventually induced to cede her rights in 1277 to Charles of Anjou, whom the pope had established as king of Naples and Sicily (the same who had defeated Conradin in 1268). Henceforth there were two lines of claimants, the kings of Cyprus and the kings of Naples.
The kings of Cyprus continued to be crowned kings of Jerusalem, although from 1277 to 1282 the remnants of the kingdom (Acre) were actually under Charles d'Anjou's control, and the kings of Cyprus only gradually restored their authority. But soon after, with the fall of Acre in 1291, there was nothing left of the kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1458 Jean III, last male of the line, died without male heirs. His only sister Anne had (d. 1462) married Louis I de Savoie. His only daughter Charlotte (d. 1487) was recognized as queen of Cyprus, Armenia and Jerusalem, and married to her first cousin Louis de Savoie. But she was dethroned in 1460 by a bastard son of her father, namely Jacques II (d. 1473), and fled to Italy. Ultimately, in 1485, she ceded her rights to her husband's nephew Charles I, duke of Savoie, and his successors; at that point the dukes of Savoie (later kings of Sardinia and kings of Italy) added the title of king of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia to their titles and the arms to their achievement. The kings of Italy used the title until 1946.
https://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/jerusale.htm
The Order carries through ancient tradition, the Coat of Arms attributed to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, which is of silver to the Jerusalem Cross of gold and enamelled in the color of blood." "Motto: “Deus lo vult” in capital ROMAN characters on a forked band under the point of the shield."
Insignia, Decorations and Attire – Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (midatlanticeohs.com)
EQUESTRIAN ORDER OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE OF JERUSALEM
https://www.midatlanticeohs.com/insignia-decorations-and-attire/
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
In 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
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
Rito Scozzese
Antioco Ed Accettato
History
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is the final and the only result of a complex reform that involves various Masonic Systems which developed separately one from another during the XVIII century in the range of the so called Scottish Regime. This regime originated from the advent of the Scottish Masters since about 1738 and continued with the Chapters of Clermont (1754), the Emperors of the Orient and the Western world (1758) which put in practice rituality defined as the Rite of Perfection or the Rite of Heredom. The aim of the reform, that unified all in one single Order, was aside from these veins, also minor branches with more recent manifestation among which the Primitive Rite and others.
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is the rituality that characterises a particular Masonic Body which it adopts and makes his. This Masonic Body is called “The Supreme Council of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the 33 rd and Last Level of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite”.
The first Supreme Council (SC) called Mother of the World was founded in Charleston, Carolina, USA on the May 31st 1801 and presently has headquarters in Washington DC, USA.
In some ten years the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, under the impetus of the SC of Charleston, practically spread to all the world through further Supreme Councils which were formed in national territorial Jurisdictions, each independent and autonomous, jealous of their very sovereignty.
The Scottish Rite in Italy
The SC of Italy, that today is denominated “the Supreme Council SS.GG.II.GG. of the 3 rd and Last Level of the Free Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Italian Jurisdiction – Grand Orient of Italy – Palazzo Giustiniani” as shown in a manuscript handed down as the Verbal of the Foundation, also called the “Seal of Foundation” which was founded and installed ritually in Milan on March16th 1805 by the Count Alexandre Francois Auguste De Grasse Tilly S.G.C. of the SC of France (1804), duly assisted by the French and Italian Brothers, with Licenses conferred by the SC Mother of the World of Charleston. The SC of Italy was a direct emanation of this Ritual Body.
In the same constitutional act of the SC of Italy, it is formally declared that it “creates and constitutes by its sovereign authority a General Grand Lodge in Italy under the name of G.O. Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite“. The Grand Orient of Italy, thus founded, was ritually installed on June 20th 1805 by the same founders of the SC of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.
The SC of Italy with headquarters in Milan, had jurisdiction only in the territory of the Italian Kingdom and the Sovereign Grand Commander was the Vice King Eugenio Beauharnais.
Subsequently, on the not yet unified Italian territory, other SS.CC ‘s were formed among which (in Naples) a SC called of the two Sicilies (1809), a SC of Palermo (1860), a SC of Naples (1860). Following the unification of Italy initially a SC was formed with the fusion of the SC Milan with that of Turin (1862), then with the transfer of the capital to Florence another SC of this city (1864) was formed. A further SC was established in 1870 in Rome, permanent Capital of the Kingdom. Following numerous agreements and with much difficulty, the unification between the various SS.CC in a single SC of Italy was achieved with headquarters in Rome.
From a schism which occurring 1908, a second SC was born called “Piazza del Gesù” which since 1912 was recognized by many SS.CC. of the world opposed to that of 2Palazzo Giustiniani”. The fascist period, during which all Masonic activity in Italy was prohibited, actually eliminated the problem of this atypical duplication between the historical continuity and the possession of recognition of the various Jurisdictions.
The separation between the Jurisdictions of the Grand Orient of Italy and the SC was sanctioned in 1922. The conference of Paris of the SS.CC. of the world, held in 1929, authorized this principle for all the SS.CC.
Upon recommencement of Masonic activity in 1943, after the failures of unification attempts, those who possessed the Supreme Level of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, formed two SS.CC. of “Palazzo Giustiniani” and “Piazza del Gesù”.
From 1960 to 1973, the residual incomprehension between the two historical blocks of Italian Masonry were settled. Since then, in spite of other efforts of schism, in particular that of 1977 which failed owing to the loyalty of the Scottish Brothers of Italy and the wisdom of SS.CC. of the rest of the world, the SC of “Palazzo Giustiniani” represents the regularity for 54 Supreme Councils in the world.
https://www.ritoscozzese.it/en/rsaa/history/
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
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
Louis Raphaël I Sako (Arabic: لويس روفائيل ساكو;[1] born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018.
Biography
Early life
Sako was born in the city of Zakho, Iraq, on 4 July 1948.[2] He comes from an ethnic Assyrian family of the Chaldean Catholic Church that has roots in a religious community that has had a presence in the city of his birth since the 5th century AD.[3]
He completed his early studies in Mosul and then attended the Dominican-run Saint Jean’s Seminary there. He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1974 and filled his first pastoral assignment at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. He then earned a doctorate in Eastern patrology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. When denied a license to teach because he was only qualified for religious instruction, he earned a second doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris.[4] With this he secured his teaching license and was able to provide religious instruction. From 1997 to 2002 he was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. He then returned to Mosul and guided the parish of Perpetual Help for a year.[5][6]
Sako speaks Neo-Aramaic, German, French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Arabic.[2]
Archeparch
A synod of the bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church meeting in Baghdad elected Sako Archeparch of Kirkuk on 24 October 2002. Pope John Paul II gave his assent on 27 September 2003.[7] He received his episcopal consecration on 14 November 2003 from his predecessor in Kirkuk, André Sana.[8]
In August 2009, and at the beginning of Ramadan, Sako organized an appeal for national peace, reconciliation and end to violence on the part of more than fifty religious leaders in Kirkuk. He called it "a gesture of closeness to our Muslim brothers. We are all brothers, sons of the same God we must respect and cooperate for the good of the people and our country." The participants included representatives of Ali Sistani and Muqtada al Sadr.[9]
Patriarch
The Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church, convoked in Rome on 28 January 2013, elected Sako to succeed Emmanuel III Delly as Patriarch of Babylon. He chose Louis Raphael I as his regnal name. Pope Benedict XVI gave his assent to the election on 1 February[2] and granted him ecclesiastica communio (ecclesiastical communion) as required by the canon law for Eastern-rite Catholic churches in recognition of their unity with the wider Catholic church.[10]
That same year, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani issued a decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church.[11]
In July 2014 Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious levy or face death by the sword.[12] In September 2014 Sako said “The U.S. is indirectly responsible for what is going on in Iraq as it said it would ensure democracy and the well-being of the people, but 10 years have passed and on the contrary we have gone backward." He was responding to a question following remarks attributed to him in the local daily Ad-Diyar in which he accused the U.S. of supporting ISIS. Sako had also criticized Muslim countries for lack of support: "Our Muslim neighbours did not help us." He urged Muslim preachers to issue a religious ruling against the killing of all innocent people and said that "Issuing a fatwa preventing Muslims from killing fellow Muslims is not enough."[13]
In 2014, Sako ordered ten priests who had fled Iraq to return there by 22 October; he suspended them when they failed to comply. The priests, all living in the United States, some for as long as twenty years, appealed to Pope Francis for relief from the order.[14] In January 2015, Pope Francis granted them permission to remain in the United States.[15] Sako later renewed his order despite the pope's decision.[16]
In 2015, Sako proposed a "merger" or reunion of his own Chaldean Catholic Church with the Ancient Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East to create one united "Church of the East" with a single patriarch in union with the pope. His proposal would have required both his own resignation and that of Mar Addai II, followed by a joint synod of the bishops of all three churches to elect a new patriarch for the reunited Church of the East. (The patriarchate of the Assyrian Church of the East was vacant at the time, following the death of Mar Dinkha IV.)[17] He wrote that "Unity does not mean uniformity, nor the melting of our own church identity into one style, but it maintains unity in diversity and we remain one apostolic universal church, the Oriental Church, that maintains its independence of administration, laws and liturgies, traditions and support."[18] The Assyrian Church of the East respectfully declined this proposal citing "ecclesiological divergences still remaining" and proceeded with its election of a new patriarch.[19]
On 14 November 2015, the Synod of Bishops announced that Pope Francis had named Sako as one of his three appointments to that body's council.[20]
Cardinal
Pope Francis made Sako a cardinal in a consistory on 28 June 2018.[21] Later that year, Pope Francis named him one of the four cardinals to preside over sessions of the Synod of Bishops on Youth in October.[22]
On 6 October 2018 Sako was named a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches,[23] on 22 February 2019 a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,[24] and on 29 September 2021 a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.[25] On 4 January 2022, Pope Francis made him a member of the Council for the Economy.[26]
Sako was a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.[27] Patriarch Sako was also the first Chaldean Catholic Patriarch ever to participate in a papal conclave.[28][a] Sako opted not to wear the shash, the traditional headgear of East Syriac Christian bishops, and wore only his scarlet zucchetto.[32]
Government recognition dispute
On 15 July 2023, Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid announced the revocation of the government's 2013 decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch. In response that same day Sako announced he was leaving Baghdad to take up residence in Iraqi Kurdistan. He called the revocation "unprecedented in the history of Iraq".[11] Rashid said his action "does not affect the religious or legal status of patriarch Sako" and said it was based on the fact that Sako's office is not recognized by the Iraqi Constitution; Sako viewed as an extension of the government's ongoing "deliberate and humiliating campaign" against him and its wider failure to protect Iraqi Christians.[33] Rashid had recently rejected requests for comparable decrees from the Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church and the Old Assyrian Church. Others cited complex political manoeuvering.[34]
On 15 July 2023, Sako announced his intention to "retire from the Patriarchal See in Baghdad and move to a church, a mission, in one of the monasteries of Iraqi Kurdistan". His announcement followed a decision by the President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, to revoke a decree established in 2013 by the former Iraq's President, Jalal Talabani, recognising Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church. The revocation "is unprecedented in Iraq's history," Sako said, highlighting "the government's silence" about the incident and the suffering of the Christian community.[35] For months, Sako had been embroiled in a war of words with a Shia lawmaker and militia leader, Rayan al-Kildani. Both accused each other of exploiting their influence to illegally seize Christian-owned properties. Al-Kildani is the leader of the Babylon Movement, whose militia fought ISIS within the state-linked Popular Mobilisation Forces, a network of largely pro-Iran paramilitaries. Since then, al-Kildani forged strong alliances with powerful Tehran-allied Shiite militias. Sako criticized the Babylon Movement as falsely Christian, noting most of its members and supporters are Shia Muslims using the label for political gain.[36][37] Furthermore, the Babylon Movement, led by al-Kildani, is accused of pillaging homes, unlawful confiscation of land, coercion, extortion, abuse of women, persecution of religious minorities, and torture of detainees. As a result, in 2019, the US imposed sanctions on al-Kildani and another Shiite militia leader, calling them "perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption", and penalizing entities that interact with them.[38]
Cardinal Sako has accused Archbishop Bashar Warda of collaborating and conspiring with Rayan al-Kildani in an effort to subvert his authority and push for his resignation as head of the Chaldean Church. Warda is criticized for supporting al-Kildani despite his horrendous actions, and for not supporting Sako's efforts to counter the Babylon Movement's seizure of Christian assets. This has led to accusations that Warda prioritizes benefits from al-Kildani's support over protecting church interests. Sako has referred to Warda as the "Godfather" of the Babylon Movement.[39][40][41]
On 7 August 2023, Sako told an interviewer that "Withdrawing the decree is very bad. For 15 centuries, there were decrees recognising the Patriarch as head of the Church and administrator of the properties of the Church. Revoking it is a humiliation for the Church. Those behind this move want to put their hands on the properties of the Church and administer them separately from the ecclesiastical authorities. We cannot accept that."[42]
In April 2024, after nine months of exile, Sako returned to Baghdad with the assistance of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani.[43][44]
On 28 August 2024, Sako demanded a public apology from five bishops based on perceived disunity in the Chaldean Catholic Church, including absence from a mandatory July episcopal synod, setting a deadline of September 5. The five bishops, led by Bashar Warda, the Archbishop of Erbil, also withdrew from an August spiritual retreat and pulled their students from the Chaldean Seminary. The bishops refused to apologize, citing dissatisfaction with Sako's leadership style and unilateral decision-making. As a result, he would suspend them and ask Pope Francis to impose canonical penalties, including excommunication.[45][46] The actions of Bashar Warda and the other bishops have been described by the Chaldean Patriarchate as a "dangerous precedent" that goes against their episcopal vows to support the patriarch. The 17 bishops who attended the July 2024 synod issued a communiqué, calling for "appropriate legal measures" against the "clear violations" committed by the boycotting group of Warda.[47]
The rivalry between Louis Sako and Bashar Warda is driven by a fierce personal conflict, with Sako perceiving Warda as ruthlessly ambitious to seize the patriarchate. This perception has led Sako to backtrack on his initial plans to retire at 75, driven by a determination to thwart Warda's power grab. Warda's actions are seen as a betrayal of Sako's leadership.[48]
Honours
Defensor Fidei Prize, 2008
Pax Christi International Peace Award, 2010
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rapha%C3%ABl_I_Sako
The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, the arch spans the Via Triumphalis, the route taken by victorious military leaders when they entered the city in a triumphal procession.[a] Dedicated in 315, it is the largest Roman triumphal arch, with overall dimensions of 21 m (69 ft) high, 25.9 m (85 ft) wide and 7.4 m (24 ft) deep.[1] It has three bays, the central one being 11.5 m (38 ft) high and 6.5 m (21 ft) wide and the laterals 7.4 m (24 ft) by 3.4 m (11 ft) each. The arch is constructed of brick-faced concrete covered in marble.
The three-bay design with detached columns was first used for the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum (which stands at the end of the triumph route) and repeated in several other arches now lost.
Though dedicated to Constantine, much of the sculptural decoration consists of reliefs and statues removed from earlier triumphal monuments dedicated to Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180), with the portrait heads replaced with his own.[2] The resulting mixture of sculptural styles has given rise to much discussion among art historians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_Constantine
Jonathan Del Arco (born March 7, 1966) is an Uruguayan American actor and gay rights and political activist. He is best known for his role as Hugh the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard, and for his series regular role as medical examiner Dr. Morales in The Closer and Major Crimes. He was awarded the 2013 Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign.
Career
As a teenager, Del Arco became interested in acting and the theater. He often traveled by commuter train from his home in Port Chester, New York to Manhattan, where he attended plays. He eventually enrolled in acting classes there, and after graduating from high school, he moved to New York City permanently.[2][3] Shortly after, Del Arco won a role in the touring company of Torch Song Trilogy.
In 1990, with a role on the Miami Vice television show and a role in the independent film Lost Angeles under his belt, Del Arco moved to Los Angeles, California. Guest starring roles on the television series True Colors, Sisters, The Wonder Years, and Blossom as well as a small role in the film The Mambo Kings followed. His most notable role during this period was as the Borg drone "Hugh" on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1992, which he reprised in 1993 and again in 2020.[4][5]
Del Arco has appeared in a wide range of live theatrical plays. His New York theater debut came in 1987 in Milcha Sanchez-Scott's Roosters at the INTAR Theatre. Theater critic Mel Gussow called his a "most sensitive performance", and said his debut was "auspicious".[6] His Broadway theater debut followed in 1988, when he understudied and then played Martin in Michael Weller's play Spoils of War at the Music Box Theatre, replacing Christopher Collet.[7] This was followed in 1990 by an off-Broadway role in John Jesurun's Everything That Rises Must Converge at the Kitchen Theatre Company.[8]
Del Arco's other stage performances include Amulets Against the Dragon Forces by Paul Zindel,[9] House Arrest by Anna Deavere Smith,[10] The Virgin Molly by Quincy Long, Common Infractions / Gross Injustices (produced by American Repertory Theater),[11] and Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca.[12]
In 1996, Del Arco joined the Hispanic Playwrights Project at the South Coast Repertory and spent six seasons there. He also spent the summers of 1998 and 1999 at the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at Harvard University, working under Anna Deavere Smith.[10]
His breakout role came in 2003 when he landed a recurring guest star role FX Networks's series Nip/Tuck, playing a transgender woman named Sofia Lopez. Roles on other highly rated shows such as 24, The Sopranos, and Dollhouse followed.[2] Beginning in 2007, Del Arco had a recurring role on TNT cable network's The Closer as the openly gay medical examiner, Dr. Morales.[13] He continued the role as a series regular in the series' spin-off, Major Crimes.
In 2014, he appeared in the episode "Love Sucks" of The Crazy Ones, as the previously offscreen husband of Brad Garrett's character. Del Arco also reprised his role of the Borg drone "Hugh" in Star Trek: Picard (2020), a direct sequel to The Next Generation.[citation needed]
Political activism
In addition to acting, Del Arco is a political, environmental, and gay rights activist. Del Arco turned to waiting tables in 1995 for an income. Instead, through a friend, he found paid work on an environmental campaign being led by actor/director Rob Reiner.[14][1] Del Arco then worked on numerous political campaigns.[14] Del Arco credits the political activism with allowing him to find a new passion and expansiveness as an actor, which led to new acting roles.[2]
Del Arco volunteered for Barack Obama and has worked for five presidential campaigns,[15] including as a celebrity surrogate for President Obama in 2012, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and the Biden/Harris campaign in 2020. Most recently, he has volunteered as surrogate for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock for their campaigns in the 2020 Georgia Senate runoff elections.
He works to raise awareness for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which Del Arco described as life-changing.[13][16] "Never did I imagine that working for a nonprofit organization would have such a great effect on me personally. It's changed the structure of how I use my career as an actor because now I have a reason beyond entertainment to promote something other than me."[2]
In 2013, Del Arco was awarded the 2013 Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign and now works with the campaign as a guest speaker.
Del Arco is a member of Actors' Equity Association.[10]
Personal life
Del Arco was born in Uruguay. When he was 10 years old his family left their home for the United States, moving into a two-bedroom, "rat-infested" apartment in Port Chester, New York.[17][1]
When Del Arco was age 24 and living in New York City, he lost his first partner, Eddie, to AIDS. Later, when preparing the role of Hugh for Star Trek, Del Arco based the character's "innocence" and "wonder" upon Eddie, and channelled his own grief into the part: "I had just lost my partner a year before, so I was broken and lost and lonely, and I was willing to share that."[18][1][2][14]
Del Arco subsequently met Kyle Fritz, a talent manager, a year and a half after moving to Hollywood. They began a relationship around the time Del Arco appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "I, Borg", and later married.[1]
One of Del Arco's best friends is Jeri Ryan, who like Del Arco played a Borg character in the Star Trek franchise; when Ryan returned to her role in 2020, Del Arco rehearsed with her to help her prepare.[19]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Del_Arco
Pope Alexander VI[Note 2] (born Rodrigo de Borja;[Note 3]; epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian");[6] c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon, Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.
Alexander's papal bulls of 1493 confirmed or reconfirmed the rights of the Spanish crown in the New World following the finds of Christopher Columbus in 1492. During the second Italian war, Alexander VI supported his son Cesare Borgia as a condottiero for the French king. The scope of his foreign policy was to gain the most advantageous terms for his family.[7][8]
Alexander is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. As a result, his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate.
Pope Alexander VI[Note 2] (born Rodrigo de Borja;[Note 3]; epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian");[6] c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon, Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_VI
Pope Paul III (Latin: Paulus III; Italian: Paolo III; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549.
He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church as the Protestant Reformation progressed. His pontificate initiated the Catholic Reformation with the Council of Trent in 1545, and witnessed wars of religion in which Emperor Charles V launched military campaigns against the Protestants in Germany. He recognized new Catholic religious orders and societies such as the Jesuits, the Barnabites, and the Congregation of the Oratory. His efforts were distracted by nepotism to advance the power and fortunes of his family, including his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese.
Paul III was a significant patron of artists, including Michelangelo, and Nicolaus Copernicus dedicated his heliocentric treatise to him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_III
Pope Julius III (Latin: Iulius PP. III; Italian: Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555.
After a career as a distinguished and effective diplomat, he was elected to the papacy as a compromise candidate after the death of Paul III. As pope, he made only reluctant and short-lived attempts at reform, mostly devoting himself to a life of personal pleasure. His reputation, and that of the Catholic Church, were greatly harmed by his scandal-ridden relationship with his adopted nephew, Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Julius_III
Francis Borgia SJ (Valencian: Francesc de Borja; Spanish: Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of both Pope Alexander VI and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After the death of his wife, Borgia renounced his titles and became a priest in the Society of Jesus, later serving as its third superior general. He was canonized on 20 June 1670 by Pope Clement X.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Borgia
Pope Paul V (Latin: Paulus V; Italian: Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries.[2] In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal Robert Bellarmine to inform Galileo that the Copernican theory could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the geocentric model as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the trial of 1633.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_V
AFA-27 [recorded 03/15/87] | The CIA, the Military & Drugs Part IV
Developing a line of inquiry presented in the preceding broadcast, this program focuses on narco-terrorism in Latin America. Particular emphasis is on intelligence-related elements that figured in the Iran-Contra scandal, anti-Castro Cubans in particular. Much of the discussion centers on activities that took place when George Bush was in charge of the CIA.
After reviewing the Latin American narcotics network of Corsican gangster and Third Reich collaborator Auguste Ricord, the broadcast focuses on the role of Ricord associate Klaus Barbie in the 1980 “Cocaine Coup” in Bolivia. The Gestapo chief of Lyons (France) during the war, Barbie found post-war employment with American intelligence, first with the Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps, and later with the CIA.
With the aid of elements of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, Barbie and a group of fascist terrorists associated with the narcotics trade overthrew the Bolivian government and established a dictatorship under General Garcia-Meza. Under this regime, the business of cocaine kingpin Roberto Suarez thrived, aided by Barbie and his “bridegrooms of death.” Doubling as para-fascist terrorists and enforcers for the government, Barbie and his cutthroats aided the bloody suppression of trade unions and the political left in the coup’s aftermath.
Barbie’s cocaine mercenaries included some interesting individuals. German-born Joachim Fiebelkorn (a neo-Nazi and informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency) was joined with Italian fascists, such as Pierluigi Pagliai (a member of the infamous P‑2 lodge discussed in AFAs 18,19) and the notorious fascist Stefano Delle Chiaie, a principal architect of the “strategy of tension.”
The strategy of tension (a major focal point of AFA-19) was an out-cropping of what Danish journalist Henrik Kruger termed “the International Fascista.” (Kruger is the author of The Great Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence and International Fascism, published in softcover by the South End Press of Boston, copyright 1980. Mr. Emory views the work as the best individual volume ever written on the subject of the intelligence community and the narcotics trade.) A consortium of fascists in Europe and Latin America, International Fascista included numerous Latin death squad elements, elements of U.S. intelligence and the Paladin mercenary group (funded by Libyan dictator Khadafy, as well as the weapons empire of SS officer and sometime CIA operative Otto Skorzeny.) A principal figure in the postwar ODESSA organization, Skorzeny is discussed at considerable length in AFA-22.
One of the major cogs of the International Fascista was CORU, arguably the most militant and deadly of the anti-Castro Cuban organizations. CORU was involved in a string of bombings, assassinations and terrorist attacks in the mid 1970’s, including the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier in Washington D.C. CORU’s reign of terror took place when George Bush was director of the CIA, and an element of the agency appears to have been involved with it.
Program Highlights Include: “Operation Condor” (an international assassination consortium of Latin American dictatorships); a number of assassinations and attempted assassinations conducted under “Condor;” Argentine fascist and P‑2 lodge member Jose Lopez Rega; Italian fascist and Skorzeny associate Prince Justo Valerio Borghese; former Goebbels Propaganda Ministry official Gerhard Hartmut Von Schubert (the operating manager of the Paladin group); Paladin’s overlap with Spanish intelligence and the CIA; Operation Condor’s attempts at disguising its acts as left-wing terror; the position of the World Anti-Communist League in the milieu set forth in this broadcast
For more related content, please visit:
http://ourhiddenhistory.org/
https://archive.org/details/@altviewstv-fanclub
https://rumble.com/v4e2vto-dave-emory-anti-fascist-archives-27-the-cia-the-military-and-drugs-part-4-o.html
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in the United States on November 7, 2028, to elect the president and vice president of the United States for a term of four years.
In the 2024 elections, the Republican Party gained a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and Senate. Incumbent president Donald Trump won a non-consecutive second term; per the limits set by the 22nd Amendment, he is constitutionally barred from being elected president again.[1]
Background
See also: 2024 United States elections
The Republican Party returned to power in the United States with a government trifecta in January 2025 following the 2024 election. Trump, who was elected president in 2016 but lost a re-election bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, and JD Vance, a then-senator from Ohio defeated vice president Kamala Harris, who began her campaign following Biden's exit from the 2024 election, and Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Trump's victory was credited to a post-pandemic surge in inflation,[a] a migrant crisis at the U.S.–Mexico border,[b] and a global anti-incumbent backlash.[8][9][10] In addition, Republicans secured control of the Senate, flipping four seats and earning a three seat majority, while also retaining a House majority, though the party's majority narrowed to three seats after losing two seats.[11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2028_United_States_presidential_election
25th Amendment
Presidential Disability and Succession
Section 1
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxv
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock[1] (/ˈrɑːfiɛl ˈwɔːrnɒk/ RAH-fee-el WOR-nok; born July 23, 1969) is an American politician and Baptist pastor serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia, a seat he has held since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.[2][3]
Warnock was the senior pastor of Douglas Memorial Community Church from 2001 to 2005.[4] He came to prominence in Georgia politics as a leading activist in the campaign to expand Medicaid in the state under the Affordable Care Act. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate special election in Georgia, defeating incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler in a runoff election.[5]
Warnock and Jon Ossoff are the first Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia since Zell Miller in 2000.[6][7] Their elections were critical in securing a 50–50 Senate majority for Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote.[8] Warnock was a reliable supporter of Joe Biden's legislative efforts during his presidency.[9][10] He was reelected to a full term in 2022, defeating Republican nominee Herschel Walker.
Warnock is the first African American to represent Georgia in the Senate, the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from a Southern state, and the second black U.S. Senator directly elected from a Southern state, after Tim Scott.[11][12][13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_Warnock
The Farnese Cup or Tazza Farnese is a 2nd-century BC cameo hardstone carving bowl or cup made in Hellenistic Egypt of four-layered sardonyx agate. It is at the Naples National Archaeological Museum.[1] It is about 20 cm (8 in) wide and similar in form to a Greek phiale or Roman patera, with no foot.[2][3] It features relief carvings on both its exterior and interior surfaces.[2][3]
There is no surviving evidence regarding when and why the piece was made, though there is consensus among scholars that it was created in Alexandria, due to the blending of Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Greek or Roman iconography found in its relief carvings. This provides a range of time wherein it may have been created, spanning from approximately 300 BC to 20 BC.[2][4]
The underside has a large Gorgon's head occupying most of the area, probably intended to ward off evil. The upper side has a scene with several figures that has long puzzled scholars. It seems clearly an allegory containing several divine figures and perhaps personifications, but corresponds to no other known representation and has been interpreted in several different ways.
History
The origin of the Tazza Farnese is unknown, leaving archaeologists and art historians to theorize a date and purpose for its creation. While its size and the material used are usually considered, theories of origin are mainly arrived at via individual analysis of the iconography of the piece, and therefore vary from one analysis to the next.[2][3][4]
Many archaeologists and art historians attribute the Tazza to the Hellenistic Period, asserting that its blending of Greek and Egyptian cultural symbols, as well as the funds necessary to commission such a large gemstone cameo, tie it to the Ptolemaic court.[4] Though not a widely held view, more recent analyses of the piece have assigned it a later date in the Augustan Period.[2][3]
After Octavian's conquest of Egypt in 31 BC, the Farnese Cup was possibly acquired by the Treasury of Rome; according to some, it was only made after the Romans took Egypt. It seems it was later taken to Byzantium, then back west after this city was sacked in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. By 1239 it was in the court of Frederick II,[5] from which it then reached the Persian court of Herat or possibly Samarkand, where a contemporary drawing documents it;[6] thence it found its way to the court of Alfonso of Aragon in Naples, where Angelo Poliziano saw it in 1458. Lorenzo the Magnificent finally purchased the famous "scutella di calcedonio" in Rome, in 1471. From there it came into the possession of the Farnese family through Margaret of Austria and thus into the Naples National Archaeological Museum[1]
Iconography
Though some analyses of the iconography of the Tazza Farnese build upon and expand previous analyses, each scholarly writing on the piece leads to a slightly different theory about its inherent meaning.
Eugene J. Dwyer
In his analysis of the Tazza Farnese, Dwyer builds upon previous analyses by experts in the field, including Ennio Quirino Visconti, Frederic Louis Bastet, and Reinhold Merkelbach, among others. Dwyer's two major assertions are that the iconography found in the interior and exterior carvings is a sophisticated mix of Greek and Egyptian philosophic and religious concepts and that the composition of the carved figures correspond to specific constellations which, in their orientation, resemble a map of the night sky during the time of year in which the flooding of the Nile would have occurred. In assigning the piece a multi-faceted religious and philosophic meaning, Dwyer repeatedly references the Corpus Hermeticum. More specifically, he points to the Poimandres and how the figures of the interior carving closely match the elements it presents in its discussion of the creation of life. He uses this reference to assign each figure a corresponding Greek and/or Egyptian god. In this sense, Dwyer sets up the piece as a direct illustration of the creation of life that would have been easily understood by both Greeks and Egyptians living at the time the Tazza was created. Though he credits Merkelbach with first coming up with the theory, Dwyer also discusses the figures' and their placement on the piece as corresponding to specific constellations in an astronomical map. In particular, Dwyer assigns each figure to constellations that would be seen together in the sky during the time of year when the flooding of the Nile took place. He argues that through this apparent map of the night sky, the creator of the Tazza was directly referencing the time of the Nile flooding in order to present more fully the concept of divine creation of life.[4]
Julia C. Fischer
Fischer is one of the few who have assigned the Tazza Farnese an Augustan date rather than a Hellenistic one. Her analysis of the piece therefore focuses on reexamining preconceived notions arrived at by other scholars who have assigned it a Hellenistic date, as well as attempting to provide evidence for her assertion of an Augustan date. Fischer's main evidence for placing the piece in the Augustan period is its size and the material it was carved from. She discusses the unstable economic position of the Ptolemaic Court, asserting that the funds for such a piece would not have been available until the improvement of the economy during the Augustan period. Fischer also discusses that while the piece features a mix of Greek and Egyptian figures, concepts, and methods, it also contains distinctly Roman aspects, especially in the Romanesque features of the Gorgon carving found on the piece's exterior.[2]
John Pollini
Like Julia C. Fischer, John Pollini attributes the Tazza Farnese to the Augustan period in Rome. His evidence is also based on the size and material used, but Pollini's primary focus is providing analysis of the piece's iconography in an attempt to prove that it was made during Augustus' reign, and was possibly even commissioned by Augustus himself. To this end, Pollini discusses the figures carved on the inner and outer surfaces, and how the symbolism found in each relates it to an aspect or region of the Augustan empire. Pollini's interpretation of the piece's iconography leads him to assert that it was meant to convey the Golden Age of Augustus and act as a sort of talisman to propagate the strength of the empire.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnese_Cup
Louis Farrakhan (/ˈfɑːrəkɑːn/; born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI), an organization which combines black nationalism and Islamic teachings.[2][3][4] Prior to joining the NOI, Farrakhan was a calypso singer who used the stage name Calypso Gene. Early in his career, he served as the minister of mosques in Boston and Harlem and was appointed to the post of National Representative of the Nation of Islam by then-NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. He adopted the name Louis X before being named Louis Farrakhan.
After Warith Deen Mohammed reorganized the original NOI into the orthodox Sunni Islamic group American Society of Muslims, Farrakhan began to rebuild the NOI as "Final Call". In 1981, he officially adopted the name "Nation of Islam", reviving the group and establishing its headquarters at Mosque Maryam. In October 1995, Farrakhan organized and led the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Due to health issues, he reduced his responsibilities with the NOI in 2007.[5] However, Farrakhan has continued to deliver sermons[6] and speak at NOI events.[7] In 2015, he led the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March: Justice or Else.
Farrakhan is known for antisemitic statements and racist remarks directed at white people. His antisemitic statements and views have been condemned by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL),[8][7] and other organizations.[9] Farrakhan's views and remarks have also been called homophobic.[10] He has denied assertions that he is antisemitic, racist, or anti-gay.[11][12][13] Farrakhan was banned from Facebook in 2019 along with other public figures Meta considered to be extremists.[14][15]
Early life and education
Farrakhan, who is Black,[16] was born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933 in The Bronx, New York City.[1] He is the younger of two sons of Sarah Mae Manning (1900–1988) and Percival Clark, immigrants from the Anglo-Caribbean islands. His mother was born in Saint Kitts, while his father was Jamaican. The couple separated before their second son was born, and Walcott says he never knew his biological father.[17] Walcott was named after Louis Walcott, a man with whom his mother had a relationship after becoming separated from Percival Clark.[1] In a 1996 interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr., Walcott speculated that Percival Clark, "a light-skinned man with straight hair from Jamaica", may have been Jewish.[18][19]
After Walcott's stepfather died in 1936, the Walcott family moved to Boston, where they settled in the largely African-American neighborhood of Roxbury.[17]
Walcott received his first violin at the age of five. By the time he was 12 years old, he had been on tour with the Boston College Orchestra.[17][20] A year later, he participated in national competitions and won them. In 1946, he was one of the first black performers to appear on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour,[20] where he also won an award. Walcott and his family were active members of the Episcopal St. Cyprian's Church in Roxbury.[17]
Walcott attended the Boston Latin School, and later attended and graduated from the English High School.[21] He completed three years at Winston-Salem Teachers College, where he had a track scholarship.[20]
Khadijah and Louis Farrakhan, 1996
In 1953, Walcott married Betsy Ross (later known as Khadijah Farrakhan) while he was in college.[22] Due to complications from his new wife's first pregnancy, Walcott dropped out after completing his junior year of college to devote time to his wife and their child.[1][23]
Music career
In the 1950s, Walcott began his professional music career as a singer billed as "The Charmer". It was during a tour in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that he took this nickname.[24] At this point, earning $500 a week, Walcott was touring the northeastern and midwestern United States, sometimes also using the nickname "Calypso Gene".[25] In 1953–1954, preceding Harry Belafonte's success with his album Calypso (released in 1956), he recorded and released a dozen cheeky, funny tunes as "The Charmer" in a mixed mento/calypso style, including "Ugly Woman", "Stone Cold Man" and calypso standards like "Zombie Jamboree", "Hol 'Em Joe", "Mary Ann" and "Brown Skin Girl". Some were reissued: "Don't Touch Me Nylon" has mild, explicit sexual lyrics as well as "Female Boxer", which contains some sexist overtones[26] and "Is She Is, Or Is She Ain't" (inspired by Christine Jorgensen's sex change operation).[27]
When Farrakhan first joined the NOI, he was asked by Elijah Muhammad to put aside his musical career as a calypso singer.[28] After many years, Farrakhan decided to take up the violin once more primarily due to the urging of prominent classical musician Sylvia Olden Lee.[29]
On April 17, 1993, Farrakhan made his return concert debut with performances of the Violin Concerto in E Minor by Felix Mendelssohn. Farrakhan intimated that his performance of a concerto by a Jewish composer was, in part, an effort to heal a rift between him and the Jewish community. (Mendelssohn's family converted to Christianity).[20] The New York Times music critic Bernard Holland reported that Farrakhan's performance was somewhat flawed due to years of neglect, but "nonetheless Mr. Farrakhan's sound is that of the authentic player. It is wide, deep and full of the energy that makes the violin gleam."[20]'
In 2021, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, Farrakhan performed Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 61 with the New World Symphony.[30]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Farrakhan
Inside the Abandoned Babylon That Saddam Hussein Built
“If I could, I would go without shoes here, because it’s a holy place,” says a guide to the ancient site.
by Pesha Magid
December 2, 2019
Inside the Abandoned Babylon That Saddam Hussein Built
Outside the gates of Babylon is a vast maze.
Outside the gates of Babylon is a vast maze. Pesha Magid
Meky Mohamed Farhoud grew up in a small village called Qawarish on the edge of the Tigris River, among pomegranate, orange, and date trees. The village is just steps away from the ruins of ancient Babylon, the Mesopotamian kingdom that Hammurabi helped build into one of the world’s largest cities. As a child, Farhoud played soccer in fields studded with ceramic shards and bricks from long ago. “I had a golden childhood,” he says.
But Qawarish’s famed location ultimately doomed it. In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein became obsessed with the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar, who is notorious for waging bloody wars to seize large swaths of current-day Iran and Israel. Saddam saw himself as a modern reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar, and to prove it, he spent millions building a massive reconstruction of Babylon.
Saddam wanted a palace to overlook his works, and Qawarish had the unfortunate luck of standing in the perfect location. In 1986, Saddam’s workers blasted away Farhoud’s village and built an artificial hill in its place. Today, Saddam’s palace upon a hill stands on the same site where Farhoud went to school; from it, you can see reconstructed walls and mazes with perfect clarity. That beautiful view came at an immense cost. “I cried,” remembers Farhoud. “At that time, I felt like the village was a member of my family. I loved it.”
Nowadays, Farhoud waits daily outside the entrance to Babylon, where he works as a tour guide for hundreds of visitors from all over the globe. The gate, made from bright-blue bricks and polished off with a gold overlay, looks like it could have been transplanted from Vegas, or Disneyland*. Farhoud is now in his mid-50s, with a face worn by 25 years of working under the unforgiving sun. He has seen Babylon transform from an archeological site to the jewel of Saddam’s vanity projects—and then to an occupied territory under the Americans. Today, it seems to fall between picnic site and abandoned theme park. Teenagers wander among Saddam-era walls and Nebuchadnezzar-era bricks. They smoke cigarettes, steal kisses, and blast music from their speakers. The site belongs to a new generation now.
The ruins of Babylon, also known as Babel, date back over 3,000 years. The world’s first-known civil code was written here; Alexander the Great died here; countless Bible stories take place here. It holds an imagined as well as real presence in many people’s minds, which may be why so many rulers have tried to build their dreams here.
When Saddam invaded Iran in 1980, the country was still reeling from the 1979 revolution, and he believed a few weeks of fighting would solidify his position as the leader of a unified pan-Arabist dream. It proved to be one of the greatest political errors of his career. Farhoud, like many other Iraqis, was conscripted. Within a few years, Iran had not only retaken its territory, but also launched an offensive against Iraq. By 1983, the pan-Arabist dream was drawing thin. The war showed no sign of ending, and Iraqis did not understand why they were fighting in a conflict they never asked for.
To fuel support for the battle, Saddam turned increasingly turned to grand nationalist building projects. That was when he ordered the reconstruction of Babylon.
“Babylon is neither Islamic nor Arab—it is obviously deeply pre-Islamic,” says says Kanan Makiya, an Iraqi author and professor at Brandeis University who has written a book on Saddam’s building projects. “In celebrating Babylon and reconstructing the city of Babylon, what one is doing is essentially calling upon the idea of Iraq—not the idea of Arabism, or the idea of Baghdad as the spearhead of a new pan-Arabism in the region, or Islamism, but Iraq.”
Saddam siphoned millions into the rebuilding, and pushed to have the reconstruction built on the foundations of the original site. The project was not only nationalistic, but also narcissistic. “There was megalomania involved in that,” says Makiya. “Saddam wanted every Iraqi to know that he rebuilt Babylon. The point is that it’s not just an archaeological reconstruction of the city of Babylon for the sake of science and history and the past. It’s an idealization of that history for the purposes of the cementing of the legitimacy of the regime’s presence.”
His palace at Babylon is the clearest example of his hubris. It’s carved with Arabic calligraphy that at first glance resembles religious iconography, but upon closer appraisal reveals itself to be Saddam Hussein’s initials. Brutalist, hyper-realist reliefs depict him leading soldiers on the battlefield; the ceilings are painted with symbols of Iraqi civilization, ranging from Babylonian lions to towers that Saddam built in Baghdad.
When Saddam heard that Nebuchadnezzar had stamped the bricks of ancient Babylon with his name and titles, he ordered that the reconstruction mimic this practice. To this day, in the maze behind the Southern Palace, scores of bricks are stamped with a declaration: “In the reign of the victorious Saddam Hussein, the president of the Republic, may God keep him the guardian of the great Iraq and the renovator of its renaissance and the builder of its great civilization, the rebuilding of the great city of Babylon was done in 1987.”
The war killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers. When it ended in 1988, under a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations, Farhoud returned to a totally different Babylon than the one he remembered. Looking at the bright new cement bricks, he was aghast. “Saddam wanted to be like a king,” he says. “The building was not right.”
But Farhoud still loved Babylon. It was still the place where his father and grandfather had worked before him. He took up his job as a tour guide and welcomed crowds of Iraqi tourists, who marveled at what Saddam had built.
When President Bush ordered U.S. forces to invade Iraq in 2003, they occupied Babylon and turned Saddam’s castle into their command center. Their graffiti remains on the walls: notes of longing about faraway loved ones, reminders of soldierly protocol. The military also caused immense damage to the site, looting precious artifacts and running tanks over ancient ruins. Farhoud remembers that time with fury. “I would not sell a single piece for a $1,000,” he says, “Babel is more precious to me to me than my children.”
Visitors walk through the graffiti-painted halls of the palace at Babylon, built by Iraqi former President Saddam Hussein.
Visitors walk through the graffiti-painted halls of the palace at Babylon, built by Iraqi former President Saddam Hussein. Ameer Al Mohammedaw/Getty Images
Farhoud says that the U.S. military arrested him in a broad sweep of Iraqi civilians and held him for two weeks in a sunless room. “I don’t remember the number of days in prison. I suffered from torture and I still feel pain today in my chest, because of the beatings from the Polish and American soldiers,” he says. Poland was one of only three nations whose soldiers joined U.S. forces in Iraq, as part of the so-called “coalition of the willing.”
But Farhoud doesn’t like to remember those days. Instead, he likes to tell stories of good days in Babylon. He met his wife within its walls, when she came for a visit in 1999. She was taking a tour with her family, and he says that as soon as he saw her, his heart started beating quickly and he knew he wanted to become close to her. His daughters, inspired by the site, are now studying archaeology and history at the University of Babylon. He loves Babylon with a fervor that burns through any dark memories he has of the place. “If I could, I would go without shoes here, because it’s a holy place,” he says.
A man stands in front of a window in Saddam's abandoned palace.
A man stands in front of a window in Saddam’s abandoned palace. Pesha Magid
Over 15 years after Saddam’s fall from power, his palatial tribute to the emperor has become a ghostly shell. Broken glass and graffiti are scattered through the once-grand palace halls. Teenagers and families smoke shisha and listen to music on Saddam’s vast balconies, overlooking the mind-boggling spread of Babylon.
From a balcony, Farhoud points out his favorite grove of date trees. He tells the story of the time he met Saddam in an entrance hall. He points out how the southern walls were constructed to confuse invaders. For all of the painful memories, he loves the city with naked affection. “I love Babel, and feel that Babel is like my father, mother, wife, brother, and sister,” he says.
In front of him stretches a vast maze, its walls engraved with the name of the ruler who once cast a shadow over this land–a man with the power to twist Farhoud’s home into a grand palace. He still loves this place. Its history is a poignant reminder that nothing built by men can last forever.
* Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Cinderella Castle is part of Disneyland. It is part of Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/babylon-iraq-saddam-hussein
Mesopotamia was the name of a Roman province, initially a short-lived creation of the Roman emperor Trajan in 116–117 and then re-established by Emperor Septimius Severus in c. 198. Control of the province was subsequently fought over between the Roman and the Sassanian empires until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century.
Trajan's province
In 113, the Roman emperor Trajan (r. 98–117) launched a war against Rome's long-time eastern rival, the Parthian Empire. In 114, he conquered Armenia, which was made into a province, and by the end of 115, he had conquered northern Mesopotamia. This too was organized as a province in early 116, when coins were minted to celebrate the fact.[1]
Later in the same year, Trajan marched into central and southern Mesopotamia (enlarging and completing the province of Mesopotamia) and across the river Tigris to Adiabene, which he annexed into another Roman province, Assyria.[2] But he did not stop there. In the last months of 116, he captured the Persian city of Susa and deposed the Parthian king Osroes I, putting his own puppet ruler Parthamaspates on the Parthian throne. Never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east.
As soon as Trajan died, however, his successor Hadrian (r. 117–138) relinquished his conquests east of the Euphrates river, which became again the Roman Empire's eastern boundary.[3][4]
Severus's province
Lucius Verus's campaign
Northern Mesopotamia, including Osroene, came again under Roman control in the expedition of Lucius Verus in 161–166, but were not formally organized into provinces; instead, they were left under local vassal rulers, although Roman garrisons were maintained, notably at Nisibis.
Year of the Five Emperors
This control was threatened in 195, during the civil war between Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) and the usurper Pescennius Niger, when rebellions broke out in the area, and Nisibis was besieged. Severus quickly restored order and organized Osroene as a full province.[5][6]
Reconquest by Severus
Next, Severus embarked on a war against Parthia, which he concluded successfully with the sack of the Parthian capital Ctesiphon. In emulation of Trajan, he re-established a province of Mesopotamia in 198, with Nisibis, elevated to the status of a full colonia, as its capital.[7][8]
Unlike Trajan's province, which encompassed the whole of Roman-occupied Mesopotamia between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, the new province was limited between the province of Osroene to the south, the Euphrates and Tigris to the north, and the river Chaboras (modern Khabur) to the east.[9]
Border conflict
Map showing the Mesopotamia province
For the remainder of its existence, the province would remain a bone of contention between the Romans and their eastern neighbors, suffering heavily in the recurrent Roman–Persian Wars. In the turmoil that followed the Year of the Six Emperors, in 239–243, Ardashir I (r. 224–241), the founder of the new Sassanid Empire which replaced the moribund Parthians, attacked and overran the area, but it was recovered by Timesitheus before his death in 243.[10] In the 250s, the Persian shah Shapur I (r. ca. 240–270) attacked Mesopotamia, and fought with the Roman emperor Valerian (r. 253–260), whom he captured at Edessa in 260.[11] In the next year, however, Odaenathus of Palmyra took a stand against Shapur, who eventually retreated.[12]
Diocletianic-Constantinian reorganization
Under the reforms of Diocletian (r. 284–305) and Constantine I (r. 306–337), it became part of the Diocese of the East, which in turn was subordinated to the praetorian prefecture of the East.
Map of Roman military stations in Mesopotamia from a 1436 manuscript
Nisibis and Singara, along with the territory in Adiabene conquered by Diocletian were lost after the debacle of Julian's Persian expedition in 363, and the capital was transferred to Amida, while the seat of the military commander, the dux Mesopotamiae, was located at Constantina. Other cities included Martyropolis and Kephas.[9]
The attendance list of the First Council of Nicaea lists the bishops of Edessa, Nisibis, Rhesaina, Makedonopolis and Fars, whereas by the time of the council of Constantinople in 381 the bishoprics included were those of Amida, Constantina and Amaria.[13]
Late Roman/Early Byzantine Mesopotamia
Not to be confused with Mesopotamia (theme).
After the troubles Roman forces faced in the Anastasian War of 502–506, the East Roman emperor Anastasius I (r. 491–518) built the fortress of Dara as a counter to Nisibis and as the new base of the dux Mesopotamiae.
During the reforms of Justinian I (r. 527–565), the province was split up: the northern districts with Martyropolis went to the new province of Armenia IV, while the remainder was divided into two civil and ecclesiastical districts, one (the region south of the Tigris) with capital at Amida and the other (the region of Tur Abdin) with capital at Dara.[9] The see of Amida was listed with eight suffragan bishoprics (Martyropolis, Iggilon, Bolebtina, Arsamosata, Beth Sophanaia, Qidarizon, Hesen Kepha, Zugmatos) while the see of Dara had only three (Reshaina, Tur Abdin, Menasobion) according to the Notitia Antiochena from the 580s.[13] The region around Tur Abdin became a monastic hotspot (including for instance the monastery of Qarṭmin) as well as the center of the Syrian Orthodox world for the coming centuries.[14]
The province suffered greatly during the near-constant wars with Persia in the 6th century. In 573, the Persians even took Dara, although the East Romans recovered it under the peace of 591. They lost it again to the Persians in the great war of 602–628, and regained it afterwards only to lose the entire region permanently to the Muslim conquests in 633–640.[9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia_(Roman_province)
THE CONFLICT: PRIORY OF SION VERSUS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
Secret societies by virtue of their very secrecy have often kept historians at bay, and the historians, reluctant to confess their ignorance, prefer to diminish the consequence of their subject. Freemasonry.. is of vital importance to any social, psychological, cultural or political history of eighteenth-century Europe, and even to the founding of the United States; but most history books don't even mention it. It is almost as if an implicit policy obtained: If something cannot be exhaustively documented, it must be irrelevant and thereby not worth discussing I at all. Investigators of the Holy Grail' Freemasonry, French and English, as we know it today, finds its loots in two organizations of the Middle Ages - the Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. What follows is the fascinating, if sometimes complicated and obscure history, of how these two modern, anti-Christian secular secret societies - English and French Freemasonry - developed from two groups that themselves had roots in the occult. We will see how the Priory of Sion desired to rule the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem through its counterfeit Jewish Merovingian bloodline, and how its own creation, the Knights Templar, moved beyond its role as police and protector of Sion to financial masters of medieval Europe. We will trace the alliance of Sion and the Templars, their dispute over the discovery of Solomon's treasures, and the terrible intrigues which followed that led to the undoing of the Templars in their struggle over wealth, power, and politics. We will reveal the beliefs of these two groups: that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene; that a spiritual god of good (Satan) battles a material god of evil; that Lucifer, not Jesus, deserves worship; that a "Spear of Destiny" (later sought and possessed by Hitler) allows the holder to rule the world. We will also present data about the whereabouts of King Solomon's wealth, the plan to one day return it to Jerusalem, and reveal that the ultimate goal of these two groups is world government, and that their descendants, English and French Freemasonry, desire the same. The Historical Trail: The Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail In 1982 and 1986 three secular revisionist authors, Michael Baigent~ Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln published Holy Blood, Holy Grail followed by The Messianic Legacy. These two books dramatically reveal a secret order structured in the manner of Freemasonry, and founded in Europe twelve centuries before the Grand Lodge was officially formed in 1717. This order protects both the Holy Grail and the Merovingian bloodline, which bloodline carried Mystery Babylon into the Catholic Church in 496 A.D. 56 The Holy Grail, of course, is the so-called cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The Merovingians, owners of the Holy Grail, teach that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene. The Merovingians claim to be the offspring of that "holy" union, and as such, assert they are Jews of the Davidic line.
In Revelation 17:3-5 the apostle John describes a vision, which Rev. J. R. Church in Guardians of the Grail believes is fulfilled in the Grail legend. The Whore of Babylon is holding in her hand a golden cup full of blasphemy. Church believes the cup is the blasphemous Holy Grail Another element of the Grail legend is the spear supposed to have pierced the side of Jesus, also known as the Spear of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny. Whoever possesses this spear, so the legend goes, will rule the world. The Merovingians, whose descendants are the Habsburg pretenders to the Austrian throne today, are in possession of the spear. It is on display in the Habsburg museum in Vienna, Austria~ No one, however, knows the location of the Holy Grail. At least no one is telling. Although heretical, this secret society should not be discounted, for it is alive and well today. In fact, in 1956, an Order calling itself the Prieure de Sion, or Priory of Sion, registered itself publicly for the first time with the French government. (Sion is French for Zion.) It is from this Order that the legend of the Holy Grail originated five centuries after Christ's death. Rev. Church remarks of this organization: This mysterious group is presently made up of over 9,000 men, including Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Moslems. The members of this secret sect should be considered unfaithful to their respective beliefs, for in reality they are neither Christian nor Catholic, they are neither Jew nor Moslem. Their doctrine sidesteps the basic tenets of those beliefs and replaces them with the teachings of their greatest prophet - whom they believe to be Buddha.2 From this secret order J. R. Church believes will come the Anti-Christ, for he writes, "Their ultimate goal is world government!'"
Scarlet and the Beast
by John Daniel
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCd0nFuvnM4OYWuVW5QUBCpsTfBv5bYx/view?usp=sharing
The Song dynasty (/sʊŋ/ SUUNG) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin dynasty, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty
A famous Jesuit General Michael Angelo Tambourini once boasted, in 1720, to the Duke of Brissac: " See, My Grace [my Lord], from this room, I govern not only Paris, but China; not only China, but the whole world, without anyone knowing how it is managed."
"Andrew Steinmetz, History of the Jesuits, Vol. 1 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lea and Blanchard Publ.,/New York: Richard Bentley, 1848), pp.107, 168-169; see also, Constitution of the Jesuits, edited by Paris Paulin (1843); Eugene Sue (Marie Joseph), The Wandering Jew, (London: Chapman and Hall, 1844/ New York; Harper & Brothers,, 1845), Bk I, Chap. XV, P. 183; see also, p. 618, and Bk. II, p. 21; Abrige de I'Hist. Eccles. de Racine, Chap. xii. P. 77." page 129 Chapter XII "Unhesitating Obedience: The General And The Holy Office" Codeword Barbelon book One by P.D. Stuart
"Steinmetz was fourteen years a Jesuit; see also, Constitutions of the Jesuits, ed. by P. Paulin (1843); Morale Pratique Des Jesuites: Histoire De La Persecution De deux Saints, Vol. I (Cologne, 1669), pp. 50 and 51." "Epilogue-For Such A Time As This"
Pope Francis Lord of the World
by P.D. Stuart
Chaldean Catholic Church
Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ
Interior of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Baghdad, Iraq
Type Particular church (sui iuris)
Classification Christian
Orientation
Eastern Catholic
Syriac
Scripture Peshitta[1]
Theology Catholic theology
Governance Holy Synod of the Chaldean Church[2]
Pope Leo XIV
Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako
Region Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon; diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia
Language Liturgical: Syriac[3]
Liturgy East Syriac Rite
Headquarters Cathedral of Mary Mother of Sorrows, Baghdad, Iraq
Founder Traditionally traced to Thomas the Apostle via Addai and Mari; established in 1552 under Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa
Origin 1552
Ottoman Iraq
Separated from Church of the East
Members 616,639 (2018)[4]
Other name Chaldean Patriarchate
Official website chaldeanpatriarchate.com
The Chaldean Catholic Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĒdtā Kalḏāytā Qāṯōlīqāytā; الكنيسة الكلدانية, al-Kanīsa al-Kaldāniyya; Latin: Ecclesia Chaldaeorum Catholica) is an Eastern Catholic particular church (sui iuris) in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church. It uses the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac language and forms part of the Syriac tradition.
The church is headed by the patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, currently Louis Raphaël I Sako, and is based in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Baghdad, Iraq. As of 2018, it counted approximately 616,639 members globally, with most residing in Iraq and significant diasporic communities in North America, Europe, and Australia.[4]
The Chaldean Catholic Church emerged following the Schism of 1552, when a faction of the Church of the East sought to restore communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa was elected patriarch and traveled to Rome, where Pope Julius III confirmed his position in 1553.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldean_Catholic_Church
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
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 Pontifical Swiss Guard,[note 1] also known as the Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard,[3] is an armed forces, guard of honour, and protective security unit, maintained by the Holy See to protect the Pope and the Apostolic Palace within the territory of the Vatican City State. Established in 1506 under Pope Julius II, it is among the oldest military units in continuous operation[4] and is sometimes called "the world's smallest army".[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Guard
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
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
The CORONA [1] program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The CORONA satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union (USSR), China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CORONA_(satellite)
Covid origins: Chinese scientists publish long-awaited data Published 7 April
By Victoria Gill Science correspondent, BBC News
A research team in China has published analysis of samples taken more than three years ago from the market linked to the outbreak of Covid-19. The Huanan seafood and wildlife market has been a focal point in the search for the origin of the coronavirus. But this is the first peer-reviewed study of biological evidence gathered from the market back in 2020. By linking the virus with animals sold in the market, it could open new lines of inquiry into how the outbreak began. The research reveals swabs that tested positive for the virus also contained genetic material from wild animals. Some scientists say this is further evidence that the disease was initially transmitted from an infected animal to a human. But others have urged caution in interpreting the findings and it remains unclear why it took three years for the genetic content of the samples to be made public. Another theory has centred on the suggestion that the virus accidentally leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. No definitive proof The Chinese research team posted an early version of their study online back in February 2022, but they did not publish the full genetic information that was contained in the samples gathered from the market. In March this year, another international group of researchers shared their own assessment of what those crucial market swabs had revealed, after spotting that the genetic sequences had been posted on a scientific data-sharing website. This new analysis, which has been validated by other scientists before being published in the journal Nature, includes more important detail about the content of those samples, which were collected from stalls, surfaces, cages and machinery inside the market. The Chinese research team's paper showed that some samples - collected from areas where wildlife was being sold - had tested positive for the virus. Their analysis also showed that animals now known to be susceptible to the virus, particularly raccoon dogs, were being sold alive in those locations. But the Chinese researchers have pointed out that their discoveries fall short of definitive proof of how the outbreak started. "These environmental samples cannot prove that the animals were infected," the paper explains. The possibility remains, it adds, that the virus was brought into the market by an infected person, rather than an animal. Prof David Robertson, from the University of Glasgow, is a virologist who has been involved in the genetic investigation into the origin of SARS-CoV-2 since it emerged in 2020. He told BBC News: "The most important thing is that this very important dataset is now published and available for others to work on." But he added that the contents of the samples were "compelling evidence that animals there were probably infected with the virus". "It's the whole body of evidence that's important," he said. "When you bring this together with the fact that the early Covid-19 cases in Wuhan are linked to the market, it's strong evidence that this is where a spillover from an animal in the market occurred." The published findings come amid signs that the lab leak theory is gaining ground among authorities in the US. The Chinese government has strenuously denied suggestions that the virus originated in a scientific facility, but the FBI said it now believes that scenario is the "most likely", as does the US Department of Energy. Various US departments and agencies have investigated the mystery and produced differing conclusions, but on 1 March the FBI's director accused Beijing of "doing its best to try to thwart and obfuscate", and disclosed the bureau had been convinced of the lab leak theory "for quite some time now". The FBI has not made their findings public, which has frustrated some scientists. The lead researcher of the new report, from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) in Beijing, has been contacted by the BBC for comment."
Covid origins: Chinese scientists publish long-awaited data - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65204169
Crown Plaza - Chinese restaurant 1 Tiyuguan Rd Wuchang District, Wuhan, Hubei China 430071
"Nowadays, everyone is aware of the word “corona” in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. “Corona” is a Latin word which means “crown or garland”. Coronaviruses have a crown or halo-like appearance of their envelope glycoproteins.[1] Few body structures and dermatoses also share the name corona. This article summarises all such structures and diseases." Coronavirus is Not the Only Corona We Know in Dermatology - PMC (nih.gov)
East Lake High-tech Zone is short for Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, which is also known as Optics Valley of China (OVC). East Lake High-tech Zone was founded in 1988 and was approved by the State Council in succession as one of the first national high-tech zones, the second National Innovation Demonstration Zone, the China (Hubei) Pilot Free Trade Zone – Wuhan Area and the core area for the Hubei Cross-Straits Industrial Cooperation Zone. Optics Valley has also been recognized as a National Optoelectronic Information Industrial Base, a National Bio-industry Base, a talent base for central SOEs, a National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Demonstration Base, as well as a National Memory Base.
http://www.chinaopticsvalley.com/2021-03/23/c_631197.htm
La tiara papal es una triple corona que fue usada por los papas, líderes de la Iglesia católica, desde el siglo VIII hasta el XX. Fue utilizada por última vez por el papa Pablo VI.
El término «tiara» se refiere a la totalidad de la pieza, sin importar cuántas coronas o diademas la hubieran adornado a través de los siglos,[1][2] mientras que su forma de tres niveles, que fue ideada en el siglo XIV, es también llamada triregnum[3][4] «triple tiara»[5][6][7] o «triple corona».[8]
De 1143 a 1963, la tiara papal se colocó solemnemente en la cabeza del papa durante su ceremonia de coronación. Las tiaras papales supervivientes poseen todas el triregnum, siendo la más antigua la de 1572, y el resto no anteriores al año 1800.
Una representación del triregnum, combinada con las dos llaves cruzadas de San Pedro, continúa siendo utilizada como un símbolo del papado y aparece en sus documentos, edificios e insignias.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiara_papal
https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid02Ayc1npvLmJQZ5VzzcBQ6EDe2S7uzRSBFXDXAnptSVeisjhGxw5WE2WQNUVPfvuqDl
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock[1] (/ˈrɑːfiɛl ˈwɔːrnɒk/ RAH-fee-el WOR-nok; born July 23, 1969) is an American politician and Baptist pastor serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia, a seat he has held since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.[2][3]
Warnock was the senior pastor of Douglas Memorial Community Church from 2001 to 2005.[4] He came to prominence in Georgia politics as a leading activist in the campaign to expand Medicaid in the state under the Affordable Care Act. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate special election in Georgia, defeating incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler in a runoff election.[5]
Warnock and Jon Ossoff are the first Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia since Zell Miller in 2000.[6][7] Their elections were critical in securing a 50–50 Senate majority for Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote.[8] Warnock was a reliable supporter of Joe Biden's legislative efforts during his presidency.[9][10] He was reelected to a full term in 2022, defeating Republican nominee Herschel Walker.
Warnock is the first African American to represent Georgia in the Senate, the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from a Southern state, and the second black U.S. Senator directly elected from a Southern state, after Tim Scott.[11][12][13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_Warnock
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in the United States on November 7, 2028, to elect the president and vice president of the United States for a term of four years.
In the 2024 elections, the Republican Party gained a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and Senate. Incumbent president Donald Trump won a non-consecutive second term; per the limits set by the 22nd Amendment, he is constitutionally barred from being elected president again.[1]
Background
See also: 2024 United States elections
The Republican Party returned to power in the United States with a government trifecta in January 2025 following the 2024 election. Trump, who was elected president in 2016 but lost a re-election bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, and JD Vance, a then-senator from Ohio defeated vice president Kamala Harris, who began her campaign following Biden's exit from the 2024 election, and Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Trump's victory was credited to a post-pandemic surge in inflation,[a] a migrant crisis at the U.S.–Mexico border,[b] and a global anti-incumbent backlash.[8][9][10] In addition, Republicans secured control of the Senate, flipping four seats and earning a three seat majority, while also retaining a House majority, though the party's majority narrowed to three seats after losing two seats.[11]
Electoral system
Main article: United States Electoral College
See also: United States presidential primary and Primary elections in the United States
The president and vice president of the United States are elected through the Electoral College, determined by the number of senators and representatives with an additional three representatives for Washington, D.C. A majority of 270 votes is needed to win the election. Forty-eight states use a winner-take-all system, in which states award all of their electors to the winner of the popular vote. In Maine and Nebraska, two votes are allocated to the winner of the popular vote, while each of the individual congressional districts have one vote. Electoral votes are certified by state electors in December and by Congress on January 6.[12] Presidential candidates are selected in a presidential primary, conducted through primary elections run by state governments or caucuses run by state parties which bind convention delegates to candidates.[13] A brokered convention occurs when a candidate does not receive a majority of votes on the first round of voting,[14] or when a candidate withdraws.[15]
Election Day in the United States has been held on the first Tuesday that falls after the first Monday in November.[16] Previously, states could determine their own Election Day prior to the first Wednesday in December. The 2028 presidential election will occur on November 7, 2028.[17]
Eligibility
The United States Constitution limits occupancy of the presidency to individuals who are at least thirty-five, who have been a resident in the United States for at least fourteen years, and who are a natural-born citizen.[18] Section three of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents current and former federal, state, and military officials from holding office—including the presidency—if they have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the United States;[19] in March 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Trump v. Anderson that former president Donald Trump could seek office after challenges to his ballot eligibility were raised by several state attorneys general.[20] A convicted felon may serve as president.[21] Elon Musk, who emerged as a political influencer in the 2024 presidential election, is ineligible to serve as president as he was born in South Africa and is a naturalized citizen.[22]
Trump is ineligible to be elected to a third term, as the Twenty-Second Amendment forbids any person from being elected president more than twice.[23] Nonetheless, he has repeatedly suggested running for a third term, an idea supported by several of his allies, including Steve Bannon.[24] In January 2025, Tennessee representative Andy Ogles proposed a resolution to amend the Twenty-Second Amendment, allowing for presidents who have served two non-consecutive terms to seek a third term. The verbiage of the amendment would prevent living presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, all currently ineligible under the 22nd Amendment, from running for a third term.[25] At CPAC 2025, conservative groups, such as the Third Term Project, supported the Ogles resolution and promoted the idea of Trump running for an as-yet unconstitutional third term.[26][27] In response, New York Democratic representative Dan Goldman planned to introduce a resolution affirming the Twenty-Second Amendment.[28]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2028_United_States_presidential_election
Kamala Devi Harris (English: /ˈkɑːmələ ˈdeɪvi/ ⓘ,[1] born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who has been the 49th and current vice president of the United States since 2021, serving under President Joe Biden. Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 United States presidential election. She is the first female vice president of the United States, making her the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history. She is also the first African American and first Asian American vice president. From 2017 to 2021, she represented California in the United States Senate. Before that, she was Attorney General of California from 2011 to 2017.
Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her law career in the office of the district attorney of Alameda County. She was recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and later to the office of the city attorney of San Francisco. She was elected district attorney of San Francisco in 2003 and attorney general of California in 2010, and reelected as attorney general in 2014. As the San Francisco district attorney and the attorney general of California, Harris was the first woman, the first African American, and the first Asian American to hold each office.
Harris was the junior U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021. She won the 2016 Senate election, becoming the second Black woman and first South Asian American U.S. senator. As a senator, Harris advocated for stricter gun control laws, the DREAM Act, federal legalization of cannabis, and reforms to healthcare and taxation. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings, including Trump's second Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.
Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, but withdrew from the race before the primaries. Biden selected her as his running mate, and their ticket defeated the incumbent president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 election. Presiding over an evenly split Senate upon entering office, Harris played a crucial role as president of the Senate. She cast more tie-breaking votes than any other vice president, which helped pass bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stimulus package and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. After Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, Harris launched her campaign with Biden's endorsement and soon became the presumptive nominee. On August 6, 2024, she chose Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris
The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (abbreviated as UC Law SF or UC Law) is a public law school in San Francisco, California, United States. It was known as the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (abbreviated as UC Hastings) from 1878 to 2023.
Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Law SF was the first law school of the University of California as well as one of the first law schools established in California. Although part of the University of California, UC Law SF is not directly governed by the Regents of the University of California. UC Law SF is also one of the few prominent university-affiliated law schools in the United States that does not share a campus with the university's undergraduates or other postgraduate programs.
The Battle of Hastings (1066) as depicted on a stained glass window over the main entrance of 100 McAllister Street.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California_College_of_the_Law,_San_Francisco
The Battle of Hastings[a] was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle between several claimants to his throne. Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death but faced invasions by William, his own brother Tostig, and the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway). Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066. They were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford Bridge left William as Harold's only serious opponent. While Harold and his forces were recovering, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey on 28 September and established a beachhead for his conquest of the kingdom. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went.
The numbers present at the battle are unknown as even modern estimates vary considerably. The composition of the forces is clearer: the English army was composed almost entirely of infantry and had few archers, whereas only about half of the invading force was infantry, the rest split equally between cavalry and archers. Harold appears to have tried to surprise William, but scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold. The battle lasted from about 9 am to dusk. Early efforts of the invaders to break the English battle lines had little effect. Therefore, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. Harold's death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army. After further marching and some skirmishes, William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.
There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William's rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William's conquest of England. Casualty figures are difficult to assess, but some historians estimate that 2,000 invaders died along with about twice that number of Englishmen. William founded a monastery at the site of the battle, the high altar of the abbey church supposedly placed at the spot where Harold died.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings
Spitfire is the third album by American rock band Jefferson Starship. Released in 1976, a year after the chart-topping Red Octopus, it quickly scaled the charts, peaking for six consecutive weeks at No. 3 in Billboard and attaining an RIAA platinum certification. Stereo and quadraphonic mixes of the album were released.
Background
By early 1976, Jefferson Starship had become one of America's biggest rock bands thanks to the multiplatinum success of 1975's Red Octopus and its smash hit "Miracles". They were playing arenas and stadiums as well as headlining big festivals, and money was pouring in.[1] All seemed well within the group, although the beginnings of dissent began to appear when singer Grace Slick broke up her seven-year relationship with guitarist Paul Kantner, choosing to hook up instead with the group's lighting director Skip Johnson (Johnson was quickly fired from that position, although he would be re-hired in 1978).[1] There were also lingering problems with Marty Balin, who had refused to sign a long-term contract with RCA/Grunt and was working on an album-by-album basis, which gave him much leverage now that he was writing the hit singles.[2] Although he was enjoying his return to prominence within the group, the pressure was now on Balin to come up with another hit that would equal or surpass "Miracles".
In the meantime, there were also increasing charges that the group had betrayed their earlier underground credentials as Jefferson Airplane and "sold out" to corporate rock interests. Slick complained that Grunt kept sending her out to silly publicity stunts like cake-judging contests, later reasoning "I was smiling and going along with it because we had to keep the publicity machine oiled while we were waiting for Marty to decide whether or not he was going to go on the road".[2]
Songs and recording
Before going into the studio, the band assembled at their rehearsal space to exchange ideas. As guitarist Craig Chaquico noted, "We would sort of go through all our own song ideas at rehearsals until we found just what we wanted to hear and play together...often Grace would be jotting down new spontaneous incoming lyric inspirations in a yellow legal notebook. We all played what we wanted while riffing off each other live without a real arrangement in mind to follow or anything like a master conductor at first."[3]
Sessions for Spitfire took place from March 4–17, 1976 at Wally Heider Studios with Larry Cox producing, as had been the case for the prior two Jefferson Starship albums.[1] The band's lineup was the same, save for the absence of Papa John Creach who had recently quit the band to concentrate on his solo career. The pressure to produce another blockbuster release led to the group essentially repeating much the same formula as Red Octopus, starting with another "Miracles"-style soft rock ballad from Balin titled "With Your Love" which was co-written with former Airplane drummer Joey Covington and guitarist Vic Smith, who had worked with Marty in Bodacious DF.[1] Balin also sang lead on the opening track "Cruisin'", a funk-rock number by Charles Hickox (another Marty bandmate from Bodacious DF) about cruising down the road which fades out to a Chaquico guitar solo. The album closed with Marty also taking lead vocals on a number by his new writing partner Jesse Barish, the early rock-disco hybrid "Love Lovely Love".
The hard rocker "Dance With The Dragon" originated with a Chaquico guitar riff and initial set of lyrics by him that was later fleshed out by the other band members, in teamwork fashion.[3] Paul Kantner's psych-prog opus "Song For The Sun" was divided into two sections: the opening ambient instrumental "Ozymandias" (credited to all band members except Balin) and the longer "Don't Let It Rain", with lyrics co-credited to Paul and his daughter China. This would be one of the last numbers by the band, both musically and lyrically, to reference '60s countercultural themes. Another centerpiece of the album, "St. Charles", began as the first line of a poem by Thunderhawk, an acquaintance of Balin, with the rest of the lyric completed by Barish, Balin, and Kantner. A power ballad that moves into psychedelic and hard rock territory, it closes on another lengthy Chaquico solo meant to impersonate the heavy storm referenced in the lyrics; it purportedly took six weeks to perfect the vocals on this track. Slick contributed the funky "Hot Water" (co-written with Pete Sears) and soaring, Moog-layered piano ballad "Switchblade", while drummer John Barbata offered the retro-50s rocker "Big City", co-written with ex-Flying Burrito Brother Chris Ethridge. One outtake from the sessions, Freiberg's "Nighthawks" (with lyrics by Robert Hunter), was performed at least once on the supporting tour.
Overall, the album continued the vein of eclectic stylistic variety, with contributions from all band members, that had characterized Red Octopus, along with a polished, highly commercial sound. Chaquico remembers the album's recording as a period when group unity was at an all-time high,[3] although Slick later recalled that Sears wasn't allowed to contribute his longer, more progressive songs to the album.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitfire_(Jefferson_Starship_album)
Templar Military Lodges
The Templars also stealthily entered America through military lodges. Of particular significance are those chartered by the Irish Grand Lodge, which offered the higher degrees of Jacobite Masonry. Later these lodges incorporated the French Templar Scottish Rite degrees, further dividing colonial America between two rival forms of Freemasonry. While British politics in the colonies was dominated by English Masons in the Northeast, her military was under the influence of French Templar Field Lodges throughout the colonies - not a stable union for governing "13" rebellious colonies.25
European Templars Settle America
Another identifying characteristic of the Beast's revived Roman empire, according to our analysis of Daniel 7:7-8 in chapter 26, is that it must be populated by immigrants from the territory governed by the old Roman empire. Of course colonial America was populated by peoples from a Europe shaped by ancient Rome and later by the Holy Roman Empire. Templar influence in America began after Prince Charles Edward, the Young Stuart Pretender, failed to regain his British throne. As you recall, in 1746 he was soundly defeated, forever dashing the hopes of Scottish Templars recapturing England. As a result, many Irish and Scottish Templar Jacobites who had fought with Charles Stuart fled to America. Those who returned to France with the Prince founded the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Between 1745 and 1753, the British and European Templar population in the New World had increased dramatically. In 1754 Benjamin Franklin attempted to relieve population pressure by proposing a plan for the union of all 13 colonies. The British government rejected Franklin's proposal, fearing a united America would be difficult to control. Subsequently, the exploding population was forced to move west into French territory, which precipitated the French and Indian War in America, a phase of the Seven Years War on the continent of Europe. During this war the French military brought to the New World the Templar Scottish Rite, first setting up base at Boston, then Charleston, S.C.26 Michael Baigent, in The Temple and The Lodge, explains: 565 Prior to the Seven Years War, most of the Freemasonry in North America was orthodox pro- Hanoverian, warranted by Grand Lodge [London]. During the Seven Years War, however, "higher degree" [Templar] Freemasonry, by means of regimental field lodges, was transplanted on a large scale to the American colonies and quickly took root. Boston - the soil from which the American Revolution was to spring - exemplifies the process of transplantation and the friction that sometimes arose from it.27
Scarlet and the Beast
by John Daniel
https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf
It was while investigating the Little Rock integration incident in 1957 that I first learned of Pike’s rapid advance in Freemasonry, and knowing that Weishaupt, using Thomas Jefferson and Moses Holbrook, had infiltrated Illuminists into the Masonic Lodges of America, I decided I would find out if the fact that Pike’s mansion in Little Rock had thirteen rooms had any significance. “Thirteen’ figures prominently in Satanic, Luciferian and Cabalistic rituals, codes, and writings, etc. My investigations produced documentary evidence to show that, because of Pike’s exceptional mental ability, he came under the notice of professors in Harvard who were members of the Illuminati, who developed in his mind the ‘idea that a One World Government, a One World Religion and a One World financial and economic system was the ONLY solution to the world’s many and varied problems. I next discovered that his departure from Harvard was not due to lack of finances, or because of a misunderstanding with the faculty over tuition fees, but because of his ‘radical’ ideas and teachings. When he returned home determined that he would ‘fight’ his way to the top despite all opposition, he was in a suitable frame of mind to be recruited as a ‘Minerval’ or ‘apprentice’ into the lower degrees of the Illuminati."
Satan Prince of This World
by William Guy Carr
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hw94yTrcRzvZjNQOo8T5_w-jqL8v5IMu/view
Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas. It is operated by the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission.
The largest commercial airport in Arkansas, it served more than 2.1 million passengers in the year spanning from March 2009 through to February 2010.[6] While Clinton National Airport does not have direct international passenger flights, more than 50 flights arrive or depart at Little Rock each day, with nonstop service to 14 cities.[7] The airport is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_National_Airport
The President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site is located in HOPE, Arkansas.[2] Built in 1917 by Dr. H. S. Garrett, in this house the 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton, spent the first four years of his life, having been born on August 19, 1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in HOPE, Arkansas.[3][4] The house was owned by Clinton's maternal grandparents, Edith Grisham and James Eldridge Cassidy, and they cared for him when his mother, Virginia, was away working as an anesthetist in New Orleans.[5]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_William_Jefferson_Clinton_Birthplace_Home_National_Historic_Site
Tragedy and HOPE: A History of the World in Our Time is a work of history written by former Georgetown University professor and historian Carroll Quigley. The book covers the period of roughly 1880 to 1963 and is multidisciplinary in nature though perhaps focusing on the economic problems brought about by the First World War and the impact these had on subsequent events. While global in scope, the book focuses on Western civilization."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_and_Hope
In his first year (1965) in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, Bill Clinton took Quigley's course, receiving a 'B' as his final grade in both semesters (an excellent grade in a course where nearly half the students received D or lower).[1]: 94, 96 In 1991, Clinton named Quigley as an important influence on his aspirations and political philosophy, when Clinton launched his presidential campaign in a speech at Georgetown.[1]: 96 He said he learned from Quigley that “The future can be better than the past, and that each of us has a personal, moral responsibility to make it so.” Bill Clinton told his audiences, “that is what the new choice is all about....We are not here to save the Democratic party. We are here to save the United States of America.” It was Clinton's most effective speech, and he repeated variations time and time again as the blueprint for his campaign message in winning the Democratic nomination and the general election for President of the United States in 1992.[21][22]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Quigley
Theorists also cite the inclusion of Bill Clinton at the meetings in 1991 before he was president and Tony Blair’s presence in 1993 before he became the British prime minister as examples of the group’s power. Past attendees have included former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (who will also be attending this year), former Chase Manhattan chief executive David Rockefeller, and British Prime Minister David Cameron."
Bilderberg Group: What To Know About the Secretive Meetings
https://time.com/4362872/bilderberg-group-meetings-2016-conspiracy-theories/
Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner October 20, 2016 Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Henry Kissinger Gayle King Cardinal Dolan Katie Couric Chuck Schumer Mayor Bill de Blasio"
https://www.facebook.com/MariaBartiromo/posts/alfred-e-smith-memorial-foundation-dinner-october-20-2016-donald-trump-hillary-c/1353937201283479/
HOPE: all hope is to be placed in God, and with what degree of perfection [67]; eternal life alone is to be hoped for as a reward [82]; the extent to which this hope should be of assistance [288]; how hope should be shown by the dying | 595]; hope in the preservation and growth of the Society [812]. See also Faithfulness
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
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
Bill Clinton ‘Encouraged’ Trump to Run
SLICK WILLY
Updated Apr. 14, 2017 10:12AM EDT /
Published Aug. 05, 2015 3:33PM EDT
https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/08/05/bill-clinton-encouraged-trump
I began by attending Fordham University in the Bronx, mostly because I wanted to be close to home. I got along very well with the Jesuits who ran the school, but after two years, I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best. I applied to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and I got in. At the time, if you were going to make a career in business, Wharton was the place to go. Harvard Business School may produce a lot of CEOs—guys who manage public companies— but the real entrepreneurs all seemed to go to Wharton: Saul Steinberg, Leonard Lauder, Ron Perelman—the list goes on and on."
Donald Trump The Art of the Deal
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DLcbnLrl6moQT7nGj1JitG6AiQ6qgK0y/view?usp=sharing
University of Scranton welcomes President Biden
The university has illuminated its Class of 2020 Gateway in red and blue lights.
Author: WNEP Web Staff
Published: 10:52 PM EDT October 19, 2021
Updated: 10:52 PM EDT October 19, 2021
SCRANTON, Pa. — In preparation for President Joe Biden's visit, a university lit up their lights in his honor.
The University of Scranton has illuminated its Class of 2020 Gateway in blue and red with the number 46 prominently displayed to welcome the 46th president."
University of Scranton welcomes President Biden | wnep.com
https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/university-of-scranton-welcomes-president-biden-gateway-lights/523-cdba68b1-822b-4747-94be-4cd7e4de9d67
"His son, Hunter Biden, 38, is a longtime federal lobbyist for the Jesuit university located in his father's hometown, Scranton PA. According to federal disclosures, Hunter Biden has been earning about $80,000 a year since 2006 to lobby for this university. Senator Biden himself has lectured at the Jesuit University of Scranton, and received an honorary degree from the same university, in 1976."
Codeword Barbelon
by P.D. Stuart
Trump and Harris neck-and-neck as she prepares to announce VP pick after meeting candidates Sunday: Live
Harris met with top running mate contenders Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro at her Washington DC residence
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kamala-harris-vp-pick-trump-polls-news-b2591106.html
San Francisco's 555 California St., co-owned by Trump, on lender watchlist
The beautiful, very great, big league skyscraper, still allegedly 30% owned by Donald Trump, is on a lender watchlist, according to Bloomberg
By Alex Shultz,
Politics editor, SFGATE
Updated Feb 23, 2023 3:40 p.m.
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/san-francisco-building-trump-stake-on-watchlist-17801816.php
Early life and education
Harris's childhood home at 1227 Bancroft Way in Berkeley, August 2020
Kamala Devi Harris[a] was born in Oakland, California,[3] on October 20, 1964.[4] Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan (1938–2009), was a biologist who arrived in the United States from India in 1958 to enroll in graduate school in endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley. A research career of over 40 years followed, during which her work on the progesterone receptor gene led to advances in breast cancer research.[5] Kamala's father, Donald J. Harris (1938–),[6] is an Afro-Jamaican who immigrated to the United States in 1961 and also enrolled in UC Berkeley, specializing in development economics. The first Black scholar to be granted tenure at Stanford University's economics department, he has emeritus status there.[7] Kamala's parents met in 1962 and married in 1963.[8]
The Harris family lived in Berkeley until they moved in 1966, around Kamala's second birthday. The Harrises lived for a few years in college towns in the MIDWEST where her parents held teaching or research positions:[9] Urbana, Illinois (where her sister Maya was born in 1966); Evanston, Illinois; and Madison, Wisconsin.[b][10][9][11] By 1970, the marriage had faltered, and Shyamala moved back to Berkeley with her two daughters;[12][13][9] the couple divorced when Kamala was seven.[8] In 1972, Donald Harris accepted a position at Stanford University; Kamala and Maya spent weekends at their father's house in Palo Alto and lived at their mother's house in Berkeley during the week.[14] Shyamala was friends with African-American intellectuals and activists in Oakland and Berkeley.[11] In 1976, she accepted a research position at the McGill University School of Medicine, and moved with her daughters to Montreal, Quebec.[15][16] Kamala graduated from Westmount High School on Montreal Island in 1981.[17]
Early career
In 1990, Harris was hired as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, where she was described as "an able prosecutor on the way up".[27] In 1994, Speaker of the California Assembly Willie BROWN, who was then dating Harris, appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and later to the California Medical Assistance Commission.[27] In February 1998, San Francisco district attorney Terence Hallinan recruited Harris as an assistant district attorney.[28] There, she became the chief of the Career Criminal Division, supervising five other attorneys, where she prosecuted homicide, burglary, robbery, and sexual assault cases—particularly three-strikes cases. In August 2000, Harris took a job at San Francisco City Hall, working for city attorney Louise Renne.[29] Harris ran the Family and Children's Services Division, representing child abuse and neglect cases. Renne endorsed Harris during her D.A. campaign.[30]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris
Kamala returned to the WWF on May 9, 1992, with Lombardi reprising the Kim Chee character and Harvey Wippleman acting as his managers. In June 1992, he unsuccessfully challenged Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Throughout mid-1992, he wrestled primarily in house shows, with his regular opponents including The Undertaker, Bret Hart, The Texas Tornado, and The Ultimate Warrior.[9][19] Kamala lost to The Undertaker by disqualification at SummerSlam in August 1992. Kamala later claimed that he was paid $13,000 for the bout while The Undertaker was paid $500,000. Professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer questioned this claim, saying: "I'm not saying he's lying, but that's hard to believe [...] for there to be that big of a disparity wouldn't make any sense."[8][16] In November 1992, Kamala lost to The Undertaker at Survivor Series in the first ever televised casket match.[33][34][35] In January 1993, Kim Chee and Wippleman began mistreating Kamala, leading him to break away from them and align himself with Reverend Slick, turning face for the first time in his WWF career.
Slick set out to humanize Kamala, leading to a series of skits in which he introduced him to activities such as ten-pin bowling.[8][33][36][37] Kamala feuded with Kim Chee throughout early 1993. In March 1993, he began a series of matches with Bam Bam Bigelow. The two were scheduled to face one another at WrestleMania IX, but the match was canceled.[8] In May 1993, Kamala lost a King of the Ring tournament qualifying match via countout to Mr. Hughes on an episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge. He went on to compete primarily at house shows until being released by the WWF that July.[19][16] In December 1993, Kamala was announced as a participant in the 1994 Royal Rumble Match. During the bout the announcers noted that Virgil, as an alternate participant, had replaced him.[38]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_(wrestler)
Donald Jasper Harris, OM (born August 23, 1938) is a Jamaican-American economist and professor emeritus at Stanford University, known for applying post-Keynesian ideas to development economics.[1]
He is the father of US Vice President and current Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris and lawyer Maya Harris.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_J._Harris
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
Danney Lee Williams Jr. (born December 7, 1985) is a man from Little Rock, Arkansas who claims to be the biological son of Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States.[1] Blood tests ruled out Clinton as the father.[1][2]
Background
Williams was born in 1985 to Danney Williams Sr. and Bobbie Ann Williams.
The story came to notice in the late 1990s when reporting by Newsmax led by celebrity tabloid magazine Star to commission a paternity test prove whether Williams is actually Clinton's biological son.[3] Time magazine cited Star on July 18, 1999 to say that there was no match.[4]
The story was revived in 2016 before the 2016 presidential election and pushed by a number of media outlets including Newsmax, the Drudge Report,[3] as well as WorldNetDaily,[1] and the New York Daily News.[1]
Due to some uncertainties with the original test by Star, Snopes concluded that the claim was unproven.[3] The Washington Post stated that, while the test could not prove Clinton was the father, it did conclusively rule him out as the father.[1]
On October 19, 2016, Williams' lawyers announced their intentions to file a paternity suit to prove that Clinton's DNA matched Williams'.[5] Williams wrote to Monica Lewinsky asking for her dress in order to obtain a sample of Clinton's DNA. However, Lewinsky never replied to Williams.[6] A partial analysis of Clinton's blood, and thus his DNA, was already part of the public record because of the Lewinsky affair investigation.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danney_Williams
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,*
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
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
“Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to). This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."
Rosa jesuitica, oder, Jesuitische Rottgesellen (1620) - Google Drive
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view
There have only been 36 general congregations in history, the most recent ending in November 2016. Below are some details of each general congregation. Some facts about the 36 general congregations: — The congregations occurring before the papal suppression of the Society of Jesus lasted an average of 78.6 days.
https://jesuitportal.bc.edu/research/general-congregations/
The second edition of the Slammy Awards (falsely referred to in commercials and on the air as the 37th annual Slammy Awards) took place on December 17 from Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
This ceremony is perhaps best remembered for a musical number performed by WWF owner Vince McMahon, singing the song "Stand Back". The video of McMahon (whose on-air role at the time was strictly as an announcer) singing "Stand Back" would resurface on the May 28, 2001 episode of WWF Raw is War when Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit played the video to humiliate McMahon, who by then had long moved out of his announcing role and into his Mr. McMahon persona on TV; "Stand Back" has since resurfaced several times over the years as a running gag between McMahon and any face wrestler he is feuding with at that particular time, and was included on the 2006 McMahon DVD.
https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/1987_Slammy_Awards
Fr. Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ, is the Provincial of the Jesuits of Canada.
Fr. Jeffrey Burwell, SJ
Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) supports the Jesuits of Canada in their mission to serve those on the margins of society. Through its work, CJI stands in solidarity with communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, responding to urgent needs and empowering people to reclaim their dignity. This goes beyond addressing immediate challenges; it reflects a profound commitment to justice and reconciliation inspired by the call of Christ to care for the most vulnerable.
Rooted in the global mission of the Society of Jesus and its apostolic vision, CJI offers a tangible way to live out the Gospel. Working in partnership with communities affected by poverty and displacement, CJI creates pathways for lasting change. This work is about more than providing aid; it is about walking alongside those in need as they rebuild their lives and rediscover hope. By empowering individuals often overlooked by society, CJI enables people to claim their rights and shape their future.
CJI’s efforts align with the current apostolic priorities of the Jesuits, such as walking with the excluded and caring for our common home. By standing with marginalized communities, CJI addresses systemic injustice. Its commitment to ecological justice reflects the Jesuit concern for protecting the environment and supporting vulnerable communities affected by climate change.
What inspires me most about CJI is its commitment to amplifying marginalized voices. Rather than simply meeting needs, CJI creates spaces where those most affected by systemic injustice can share their stories and lead the way toward real change. This is not merely charity but a transformative commitment to justice. I have witnessed how this mission restores dignity to those stripped of it; CJI helps individuals overcome extraordinary challenges and reclaim their humanity. At its core, CJI is relational in its mission; it is grounded in the belief that communion with others is essential.
CJI’s work transcends borders, and it reminds us that we are part of one human family. Its work builds bridges across divides and calls us to unite in the pursuit of authentic justice. By fostering solidarity, CJI creates opportunities for healing in a broken world; it offers a place where reconciliation in Christ can take root. This initiative is a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved when we embrace our shared responsibility to build a more compassionate world.
I express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supports this vital mission. Your generosity is not only appreciated, but also essential to make this endeavour possible. As Saint Ignatius of Loyola reminds us, true philanthropy asks us to give freely and labour for others without counting the cost. CJI embodies this spirit every day, bringing hope and dignity to those most in need. With your continued support, CJI will continue to transform lives and build a just and hopeful world.
https://www.canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/a-message-from-the-provincial-of-the-jesuits-of-canada/
Louis Raphaël I Sako (Arabic: لويس روفائيل ساكو;[1] born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018.
Biography
Early life
Sako was born in the city of Zakho, Iraq, on 4 July 1948.[2] He comes from an ethnic Assyrian family of the Chaldean Catholic Church that has roots in a religious community that has had a presence in the city of his birth since the 5th century AD.[3]
He completed his early studies in Mosul and then attended the Dominican-run Saint Jean’s Seminary there. He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1974 and filled his first pastoral assignment at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. He then earned a doctorate in Eastern patrology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. When denied a license to teach because he was only qualified for religious instruction, he earned a second doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris.[4] With this he secured his teaching license and was able to provide religious instruction. From 1997 to 2002 he was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. He then returned to Mosul and guided the parish of Perpetual Help for a year.[5][6]
Sako speaks Neo-Aramaic, German, French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Arabic.[2]
Archeparch
A synod of the bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church meeting in Baghdad elected Sako Archeparch of Kirkuk on 24 October 2002. Pope John Paul II gave his assent on 27 September 2003.[7] He received his episcopal consecration on 14 November 2003 from his predecessor in Kirkuk, André Sana.[8]
In August 2009, and at the beginning of Ramadan, Sako organized an appeal for national peace, reconciliation and end to violence on the part of more than fifty religious leaders in Kirkuk. He called it "a gesture of closeness to our Muslim brothers. We are all brothers, sons of the same God we must respect and cooperate for the good of the people and our country." The participants included representatives of Ali Sistani and Muqtada al Sadr.[9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rapha%C3%ABl_I_Sako
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film[7] produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson. It is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers. The film presents the descent into insanity of a recovering alcoholic and aspiring novelist (Nicholson) who takes a job as winter caretaker for a mountain resort hotel with his wife (Duvall) and clairvoyant son (Lloyd). Production took place almost exclusively in England at EMI Elstree Studios, with sets based on real locations. Kubrick often worked with a small crew, which allowed him to do many takes, sometimes to the exhaustion of the actors and staff. The then-new Steadicam mount was used to shoot several scenes, giving the film an innovative and immersive look and feel.
The film was released in the United States on May 23, 1980, by Warner Bros., and in the United Kingdom on October 2 by Columbia Pictures through Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors. There were several versions for theatrical releases, each of which was cut shorter than the preceding cut; about 27 minutes was cut in total. Reactions to the film at the time of its release were mixed; King criticized the film due to its deviations from the novel. The film received two controversial nominations at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards in 1981—Worst Director and Worst Actress—the latter of which was later rescinded in 2022 due to Kubrick's alleged[8] treatment of Duvall on set.
However, the film has since been critically reappraised and is now often cited as one of the best horror films and one of the greatest films of all time. The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2018.[9] A sequel titled Doctor Sleep, based on King's 2013 novel of the same name, was adapted to film and released in 2019.
Plot
Jack Torrance takes a caretaker position to look after the remote Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, while it is closed for the winter. After his arrival, hotel manager Stuart Ullman informs Jack that a previous caretaker, Charles Grady, killed his wife, two young daughters, and himself in the hotel a decade prior.
In Boulder, Jack's son, Danny, has a premonition and seizure. Jack's wife, Wendy, tells the doctor about a past incident when Jack accidentally dislocated Danny's shoulder during a drunken rage. Jack has been sober ever since. Before leaving for the seasonal break, the Overlook's head chef, Dick Hallorann, informs Danny of a telepathic ability the two share, which his grandmother called "shining". Hallorann tells Danny that the hotel also "shines" due to residue from unpleasant past events and warns him to avoid Room 237.
A month passes, and Danny starts having frightening visions, including of the murdered Grady sisters. Meanwhile, Jack's mental health deteriorates; he suffers from writer's block, is prone to violent outbursts, and has dreams of killing his family. Danny gets lured to room 237 by unseen forces, and Wendy later finds him with signs of physical trauma, for which she blames Jack. Jack sulks in the ballroom, where ghostly bartender Lloyd entices him back to drinking. Wendy tells him that Danny was attacked by a "crazy woman" in room 237. Jack investigates and encounters a hideous female ghost in the bathroom, but tells Wendy he saw nothing. He blames Danny for inflicting the bruises on himself and reacts angrily when Wendy suggests leaving the hotel. Danny enters a trance and telepathically contacts Hallorann. Returning to the ballroom, Jack finds it filled with ghostly figures, including waiter Delbert Grady, who urges Jack to "correct" his wife and child.
Wendy finds Jack's manuscript written with nothing but countless repetitions of the proverb "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". When Jack threatens her life, Wendy knocks him unconscious with a baseball bat and locks him in the kitchen pantry, but she and Danny cannot leave because Jack previously sabotaged the hotel's two-way radio and snowcat. Back in their hotel room, Danny says "redrum" repeatedly and writes the word in lipstick on the bathroom door. Wendy sees the word in the mirror and realizes that it is actually "murder" spelled backward.
Jack is freed by Grady and goes after Wendy and Danny with an axe. Danny escapes outside through the bathroom window, and Wendy fights Jack off with a knife when he tries to break through the door. Hallorann, having flown back to Colorado from his Florida winter home, reaches the hotel in another snowcat. Jack ambushes and murders him with the axe, then pursues Danny into an expansive hedge maze on the hotel grounds. Wendy runs through the hotel looking for Danny, encountering the hotel's ghosts, Hallorann's bloody corpse, and a vision of cascading blood from an elevator similar to Danny's premonition.
Danny carefully backtracks to mislead Jack and hides behind a snowdrift. While Jack rushes ahead without a trail to follow and becomes lost, Danny exits the maze and is found by Wendy. The two depart the Overlook in Hallorann's snowcat, leaving Jack to freeze to death in the maze.
In the film's last shot, a photograph in the hotel hallway pictures Jack standing amidst a crowd of party revelers from July 4, 1921.
Cast
Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance
Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance, Jack's wife
Danny Lloyd as Danny "Doc" Torrance, Jack and Wendy's son
Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann
Barry Nelson as Stuart Ullman
Philip Stone as Delbert Grady
Joe Turkel as Lloyd
Anne Jackson as Doctor
Tony Burton as Larry Durkin
Lia Beldam as young woman in bath
Billie Gibson as old woman in bath
Barry Dennen as Bill Watson
Lisa and Louise Burns as the Grady "twins"
In the European cut, all of the scenes involving Jackson and Burton were removed but the credits remained unchanged. Dennen is on-screen in all versions of the film, albeit to a limited degree (and with no dialogue) in the European cut.
The actresses who played the ghosts of the murdered Grady daughters, Lisa and Louise Burns, are identical twins.[10] The characters in the book and film script are sisters, but not twins. In the film's dialogue, Ullman says that he thinks that they were "about eight and ten". Nonetheless, they are frequently referred to in discussions about the film as "the Grady twins".
There is a resemblance in the staging of the Grady girls and the Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967 photograph by Diane Arbus according to Arbus' biographer, Patricia Bosworth,[11] the Kubrick assistant who cast and coached them, Leon Vitali,[12] and by numerous Kubrick critics.[13][14] Kubrick both met Arbus personally and studied photography under her during his time as photographer for Look magazine; Kubrick's widow says he did not deliberately model the Grady girls on Arbus' photograph, in spite of widespread attention to the resemblance.[13]
Analysis
Social interpretations
The film's most famous scene, when Jack places his face through the broken door and says, "Here's Johnny!", which echoes scenes in both D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919) and the 1921 Swedish horror film The Phantom Carriage.[15][16]
Film critic Jonathan Romney writes that the film has been interpreted in many ways, including addressing the topics of the crisis in masculinity, sexism, corporate America, and racism. "It's tempting to read The Shining as an Oedipal struggle not just between generations but between Jack's culture of the written word and Danny's culture of images", Romney writes, "Jack also uses the written word to more mundane purpose – to sign his 'contract' with the Overlook. 'I gave my word', ... which we take to mean 'gave his soul' in the ... Faustian sense. But maybe he means it more literally – by the end ... he has renounced language entirely, pursuing Danny through the maze with an inarticulate animal roar. What he has entered into is a conventional business deal that places commercial obligation ... over the unspoken contract of compassion and empathy that he seems to have neglected to sign with his family."[17]
Native Americans
Among interpreters who see the film reflecting more subtly the social concerns that animate other Kubrick films, one of the early viewpoints was discussed in an essay by ABC reporter Bill Blakemore titled "Kubrick's 'Shining' Secret: Film's Hidden Horror Is the Murder of the Indian", first published in The Washington Post on July 12, 1987.[18] He believes that indirect references to American killings of Native Americans pervade the film, as exemplified by the Amerindian logos on the baking powder in the kitchen and the Amerindian artwork that appears throughout the hotel, though no Native Americans are seen. Stuart Ullman tells Wendy that when building the hotel, a few Indian attacks had to be fended off since it was constructed on an Indian burial ground.[18]
Blakemore's general argument is that the film is a metaphor for the genocide of Native Americans. He notes that when Jack kills Hallorann, the dead body is seen lying on a rug with an Indian motif. The blood in the elevator shafts is, for Blakemore, the blood of the Indians in the burial ground on which the hotel was built. The date of the final photograph, July 4, is meant to be ironic. Blakemore writes:[18][19]
As with some of his other movies, Kubrick ends The Shining with a powerful visual puzzle that forces the audience to leave the theater asking, "What was that all about?" The Shining ends with an extremely long camera shot moving down a hallway in the Overlook, reaching eventually the central photo among 21 photos on the wall, each capturing previous good times in the hotel. At the head of the party is none other than the Jack we've just seen in 1980. The caption reads: "Overlook Hotel – July 4th Ball – 1921." The answer to this puzzle, which is a master key to unlocking the whole movie, is that most Americans overlook the fact that July Fourth was no ball, nor any kind of Independence day, for native Americans; that the weak American villain of the film is the re-embodiment of the American men who massacred the Indians in earlier years; that Kubrick is examining and reflecting on a problem that cuts through the decades and centuries.
Film writer John Capo sees the film as an allegory of American imperialism. This is exemplified by many clues, such as the closing photo of Jack in the past at a Fourth of July party, or Jack's earlier reference to the Rudyard Kipling poem "The White Man's Burden", which was written to advocate the American colonial seizure of the Philippine islands, justifying imperial conquest as a mission of civilization.[20]
The artwork of Indigenous Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau can be seen throughout the film, including the paintings The Great Earth Mother (1976), and Flock of Loons (1975).[21]
Geoffrey Cocks and Kubrick's concern with the Holocaust
Film historian Geoffrey Cocks has extended Blakemore's idea that the film has a subtext about Native Americans by arguing that the film indirectly reflects Stanley Kubrick's concerns about the Holocaust (both Cocks's book and Michael Herr's memoir of Kubrick discuss how he wanted his entire life to make a film dealing directly with the Holocaust but could never quite make up his mind). Cocks, writing in his book The Wolf at the Door: Stanley Kubrick, History and the Holocaust, proposed a controversial theory that all of Kubrick's work is informed by the Holocaust; there is, he says, a holocaust subtext in The Shining. This, Cocks believes, is why Kubrick's screenplay goes to emotional extremes, omitting much of the novel's supernaturalism and making the character of Wendy much more hysteria-prone.[22] Cocks places Kubrick's vision of a haunted hotel in line with a long literary tradition of hotels in which sinister events occur, from Stephen Crane's short story "The Blue Hotel" (which Kubrick admired) to the Swiss Berghof in Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain, about a snowbound sanatorium high in the Swiss Alps in which the protagonist witnesses a series of events which are a microcosm of the decline of Western culture.[23]
Cocks claims that Kubrick has elaborately coded many of his historical concerns into the film with manipulations of numbers and colors and his choice of musical numbers, many of which are post-war compositions influenced by the horrors of World War II. Of particular note is Kubrick's use of Krzysztof Penderecki's The Awakening of Jacob to accompany Jack Torrance's dream of killing his family and Danny's vision of past carnage in the hotel, a piece of music originally associated with the horrors of the Holocaust.[24]
Cocks's work has been anthologized and discussed in other works on Stanley Kubrick films, though sometimes with skepticism. Julian Rice, writing in the opening chapter of his book Kubrick's Hope, believes Cocks's views are excessively speculative and contain too many strained "critical leaps" of faith. Rice holds that what went on in Kubrick's mind cannot be replicated or corroborated beyond a broad vision of the nature of good and evil (which included concern about the Holocaust) but Kubrick's art is not governed by this one obsession.[25] Diane Johnson, co-screenwriter for The Shining, commented on Cocks's observations, saying that preoccupation with the Holocaust on Kubrick's part could very likely have motivated his decision to place the hotel on a Native American burial ground, although Kubrick never directly mentioned it to her.[26]
Literary allusions
Geoffrey Cocks notes that the film contains many allusions to fairy-tales, both Hansel and Gretel and The Three Little Pigs,[22] with Jack Torrance identified as the Big Bad Wolf, which Bruno Bettelheim interprets as standing for "all the asocial unconscious devouring powers" that must be overcome by a child's ego.
The saying "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" appeared first in James Howell's Proverbs in English, Italian, French and Spanish (1659).[27]
Artworks in the film
Numerous paintings and sculptures appear throughout the film. Several paintings by Group of Seven artists appear including The Solemn Land (1921) by J. E. H. MacDonald, Northern River (1914) by Tom Thomson, Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay (1921) by Frederick Varley, Red Maple (1914) by A. Y. Jackson, Mist Fantasy, Sand River, Algoma (1920) by J.E.H. MacDonald, Maligne Lake, Jasper Park (1924) by Lawren Harris, Beaver Swamp (1920) by Lawren Harris, and Arpeggio (1932) by Frederick Varley.[28] Two paintings by Indigenous Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau can be seen in the film: The Great Earth Mother (1976) and Flock of Loons (1975)––Morriseau was part of the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. (PNIAI) which came to be informally known as the "Indian Group of Seven".[29][21][30]
Many of the paintings that appear include depictions of Canada or are painted by Canadian artists including Le Campement du Trappeur (1931) by Clarence Gagnon, December Afternoon (1969) by Hugh Monahan, Log Hut on the St. Maurice (1862) and Paysage d'hiver, Laval (1849) by Cornelius Krieghoff, After The Bath (1890) by Paul Peel, Site du : "Combat de la Grange" September 25, 1775 (1839) by Louise-Amélie Panet, Starlight: Indian Papoose (n.d.) and Chief Bear Paw (n.d.) by Nicholas Raphael de Grandmaison, Montreal from the Mountain (1838) by William Henry Bartlett, Makah Returning in their War Canoes (1845–1859) by Paul Kane, Mill on the Cliff (n.d.) by Nicholas Hornyansky, The Johnson House, Hanover (1932–42) by Carl Schaefer, and Cooper's Hawk (1974) and Glaucous-Winged Gull (1973) by J. Fenwick Lansdowne.[21][31]
A number of paintings by Alex Colville make appearances including Woman and Terrier (1963), Horse and Train (1954), Hound in Field (1958), Dog, Boy, and St. John River (1958), and Moon and Cow (1963).[21][32][33]
Several portraits by Dorothy Oxborough of children from the Bearspaw band of the Stoney/Nakoda people appear in the film.[21][34] Oxborough's portraits were often reproduced as decorative prints, framed souvenirs, greeting cards, novelties, and calendars.[35] Oxborough, born in Calgary, Alberta, was criticized for infantilizing and culturally insensitive depictions of indigenous people.[35][36][34]
Four etchings by John Webber appear in the film, A Man of Nootka Sound (1778), A Woman of Oonalashka (1784), A Woman of Prince William Sound (1784), and A Man of Van Diemen's Land (1777).[37] Webber accompanied James Cook on his third voyage to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Vancouver Island.[38][39]
Ambiguities in the film
Roger Ebert notes that the film does not really have a "reliable observer", with the possible exception of Dick Hallorann. Ebert believes various events call into question the reliability of Jack, Wendy and Danny.[40] This leads Ebert to conclude that:
Kubrick is telling a story with ghosts (the two girls, the former caretaker and a bartender), but it isn't a "ghost story", because the ghosts may not be present in any sense at all except as visions experienced by Jack or Danny.[40]
Ebert concludes that "The movie is not about ghosts but about madness and the energies it sets loose in an isolated situation primed to magnify them". The film critic James Berardinelli notes that "King would have us believe that the hotel is haunted. Kubrick is less definitive in the interpretations he offers." He dubs the film a failure as a ghost story, but brilliant as a study of "madness and the unreliable narrator".[41]
Ghosts versus cabin fever
In some sequences, there is a question of whether or not there are ghosts present. In the scenes where Jack sees ghosts, he is always facing a mirror or, in the case of his storeroom conversation with Grady, a reflective, highly polished door. Film reviewer James Berardinelli notes "It has been pointed out that there's a mirror in every scene in which Jack sees a ghost, causing us to wonder whether the spirits are reflections of a tortured psyche."[41] In Hollywood's Stephen King, Tony Magistrale wrote,
Kubrick's reliance on mirrors as visual aids for underscoring the thematic meaning of this film portrays visually the internal transformations and oppositions that are occurring to Jack Torrance psychologically. Through ... these devices, Kubrick dramatizes the hotel's methodical assault on Torrance's identity, its ability to stimulate the myriad of self-doubts and anxieties by creating opportunities to warp Torrance's perspective on himself and [his family]. Furthermore, the fact that Jack looks into a mirror whenever he "speaks" to the hotel means, to some extent, that Kubrick implicates him directly into the hotel's "consciousness", because Jack is, in effect, talking to himself.[42]
Ghosts are the implied explanation for Jack's seemingly physically impossible escape from the locked storeroom. In an interview of Kubrick by scholar Michel Ciment, the director made comments about the scene in the book that may imply he similarly thought of the scene in the film as a key reveal in this dichotomy:
It seemed to strike an extraordinary balance between the psychological and the supernatural in such a way as to lead you to think that the supernatural would eventually be explained by the psychological: 'Jack must be imagining these things because he's crazy.' This allowed you to suspend your doubt of the supernatural until you were so thoroughly into the story that you could accept it almost without noticing ... It's not until Grady, the ghost of the former caretaker who axed to death his family, slides open the bolt of the larder door, allowing Jack to escape, that you are left with no other explanation but the supernatural.[43]
Two Gradys and other doubles
Early in the film, Stuart Ullman tells Jack of a previous caretaker, Charles Grady, who, in 1970, succumbed to cabin fever, murdered his family and then killed himself. Later, Jack meets a ghostly butler named Grady. Jack says that he knows about the murders, claiming to recognize Grady from pictures, but the butler introduces himself as Delbert Grady.
Gordon Dahlquist of The Kubrick FAQ argues that the name change "deliberately mirrors Jack Torrance being both the husband of Wendy/father of Danny and the mysterious man in the 1920s July Fourth photo. It is to say he is two people: the man with choice in a perilous situation and the man who has 'always' been at the Overlook. It's a mistake to see the final photo as evidence that the events of the film are predetermined: Jack has any number of moments where he can act other than the way he does and that his (poor) choices are fueled by weakness and fear perhaps merely speaks all the more to the questions about the personal and the political that The Shining brings up. In the same way Charles had a chance – once more, perhaps – to not take on Delbert's legacy, so Jack may have had a chance to escape his role as 'caretaker' to the interests of the powerful. It's the tragic course of this story that he chooses not to."[44]
Dahlquist's argument is that Delbert Grady, the 1920s butler, and Charles Grady, the 1970s caretaker, rather than being either two people or the same are two 'manifestations' of a similar entity; a part permanently at the hotel (Delbert) and the part which is given the choice of whether to join the legacy of the hotel's murderous past (Charles), just as the man in the photo is not exactly Jack Torrance but nor is he someone different. Jack in the photo has 'always' been at the Overlook; Jack the caretaker chooses to become part of the hotel. The film's assistant editor Gordon Stainforth has commented on this issue, attempting to steer a course between the continuity-error explanation on one side and the hidden-meaning explanation on the other; "I don't think we'll ever quite unravel this. Was his full name Charles Delbert Grady? Perhaps Charles was a sort of nickname? Perhaps Ullman got the name wrong? But I also think that Stanley did NOT want the whole story to fit together too neatly, so [it is] absolutely correct, I think, to say that 'the sum of what we learn refuses to add up neatly'."[44]
Among Kubrick's other doubling/mirroring effects in the film:[45]
In the U.S. version, Jack's interview with Ullman, whose confident affability contrasts with Jack's seemingly forced nonchalance, is paired with Wendy's meeting with a female doctor, whose somber and professional manner contrasts with Wendy's nervousness.
During the interview, Jack and Ullman are joined by a hotel employee named Bill Watson, who looks similar to Jack from behind, creating a pseudo–mirror image effect as they sit in chairs to the front-left and front-right of Ullman's desk.
The Grady sisters look so similar that they appear to be twins, though they are different ages (Ullman states that he thinks that they were about eight and ten).
On two occasions, Ullman says goodbye to two young female employees and in the second case, they closely resemble each other.
The film contains two mazes, the hedges outside and, per Wendy's characterization, the Overlook. The hedge maze appears in two forms, the 13-foot-high version outside and the model inside the Overlook. In the overhead shot zooming down on Wendy and Danny in the center of the maze, the maze differs from the map outside and from the model having far more corridors, and the left and right sides are mirror images of each other. The Overlook significantly breaks down into two sections, one old and one remodeled; one past, one present.
Two versions of the bathing woman inhabit Room 237.
In Hallorann's Miami bedroom, two paintings showing similar nude black women are seen on opposite walls just before he experiences a "shining".
There appear to be two Jack Torrances, the one who goes mad and freezes to death in the present and the one who appears in a 1921 photograph that hangs on the gold corridor wall inside the Overlook.
Photograph
For the ending, Nicholson's face was superimposed over this authentic 1921 dance picture.
The ending photograph has been described as "iconic".[46] The provenance of the original photo used in the ending shot was discovered in April 2025. "Conspiracy theories" about its source have been discussed since the release of The Shining. Identified on screen as a July 4 ball at the Overlook Hotel in 1921, the real event depicted was a Valentine's Day dance in 1921 at the Empress Rooms of the Royal Palace Hotel in Kensington, London.[47] Jack Nicholson's face was airbrushed over that of John Golman, who would later be a well-known ballroom dance instructor and author under the stage name Santos Casani.[48][49]
In an interview with Michel Ciment, Kubrick said that the photograph suggests that Jack was a reincarnation of an earlier official at the hotel.[50] This has not stopped alternative readings, such as that Jack has been "absorbed" into the Overlook Hotel. Film critic Jonathan Romney, while acknowledging the absorption theory, wrote:
As the ghostly butler Grady (Philip Stone) tells him during their chilling confrontation in the men's toilet, 'You're the caretaker, sir. You've always been the caretaker.' Perhaps in some earlier incarnation Jack really was around in 1921, and it's his present-day self that is the shadow, the phantom photographic copy. But if his picture has been there all along, why has no one noticed it? After all, it's right at the center of the central picture on the wall, and the Torrances have had a painfully drawn-out winter of mind-numbing leisure in which to inspect every corner of the place. Is it just that, like Poe's purloined letter, the thing in plain sight is the last thing you see? When you do see it, the effect is so unsettling because you realise the unthinkable was there under your nose – overlooked – the whole time.[51]
Spatial layout of the Overlook Hotel
Screenwriter Todd Alcott has noted:
Much has been written, some of it quite intelligent, about the spatial anomalies and inconsistencies in The Shining: there are rooms with windows that should not be there and doors that couldn't possibly lead to anywhere, rooms appear to be in one place in one scene and another place in another, wall fixtures and furniture pieces appear and disappear from scene to scene, props move from one room to another, and the layout of the Overlook makes no physical sense.[52]
Artist Juli Kearns first identified and created maps of spatial discrepancies in the layout of the Overlook Hotel, the interiors of which were constructed in studios in England. These spatial discrepancies included windows appearing in impossible places, such as in Stuart Ullman's office, which is surrounded by interior hallways, and apartment doorways positioned in places where they cannot possibly lead to apartments.[53] Rob Ager is another proponent of this theory.[54][55] Jan Harlan, an Executive Producer on The Shining, was asked about the discontinuity of sets by Xan Brooks of The Guardian and confirmed the discontinuity was intentional, "The set was very deliberately built to be offbeat and off the track, so that the huge ballroom would never actually fit inside. The audience is deliberately made not to know where they're going. People say The Shining doesn't make sense. Well spotted! It's a ghost movie. It's not supposed to make sense."[56] Harlan further elaborated to Kate Abbot, "Stephen King gave him the go-ahead to change his book, so Stanley agreed – and wrote a much more ambiguous script. It's clear instantly there's something foul going on. At the little hotel, everything is like Disney, all kitsch wood on the outside – but the interiors don't make sense. Those huge corridors and ballrooms couldn't fit inside. In fact, nothing makes sense."[57]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_(film)
The Jacksons in 1977
In 1969, one year after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there was a time when Black power movement and the civil rights movement were disintegrating. It was during this time that the Jackson 5 would emerge. The Jackson family was important to black culture. After the Lyndon B. Johnson administration declared the black family broken with the Moynihan Report, Motown and the Jackson family gave America and the world renewed faith in the American dream with an idealized image of domestic bliss. Black ascensionism was in the air. The Jackson family presented to America and the world a new positive image of black families. They changed the perception of the African-American male worldwide.[72][73] The brothers became a household name and appealed equally to black and white audiences, breaking racial barriers.[74][75]
In September 1971, Jackson 5ive television series ran as part of ABC's Saturday morning cartoon lineup. Jackson 5ive animation director Bob Balser insisted that the series would not include violence. The series was one of the first cartoon representations of a black family that did not include cheap gags and stereotyping. The Jackson 5 solved their problems with music and intellect as role models for families and their children.[31]
In 1977, the Jackson 5 were among a small group of artists eligible to receive the newly minted Madison Square Garden Gold Ticket Award for selling over 100,000 tickets to their concerts there.[76] They received the award from Madison Square Garden when they played there as the Jacksons in 1981.[77] On September 3, 1980, the brothers were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the Jacksons.[78] As the Jackson 5, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.[79][80] Two of the band's recordings ("ABC" and "I Want You Back") are among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, while the latter track also included in the Grammy Hall of Fame.[79][81] On September 8, 2008, the Jacksons were honored as BMI Icons at the annual BMI Urban Awards.[82]
In 1992, Suzanne de Passe, Jermaine Jackson, and Stan Margulies worked with Motown to produce The Jacksons: An American Dream, a five-hour television miniseries broadcast based on the history of the Jackson family in a two-part special on ABC. The series tells the story of a hard working black family and their path to success and the American Dream.[83]
The rise of the Jackson 5 in the 1960s and 1970s coincided with the rise of a similar musical family, the Osmonds. The white Mormon brothers from Utah, were thought to be an imitation of the black Jackson 5. Michael and Donny, the lead singers from each group developed a friendship. They both went on to pursue successful solo careers.[84] Influenced by the Temptations, the Supremes, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sammy Davis Jr., the Teenagers and Sly and the Family Stone, the Jackson 5 eventually served as the inspiration for several generations of boy bands including New Edition, Boyz II Men, Menudo, New Kids on the Block, NSYNC, the Jonas Brothers, Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Silk Sonic, BTS and many more.[85]
In 2012, Motown Records released a "two-disc undiscovered" Jackson 5 collection Come and Get It: The Rare Pearls. The archive contained several well-known covers and previously unreleased material, re-issued.[86]
In 2017, on their 50th anniversary, the Jacksons released The Jacksons: Legacy, their first official behind-the-scenes chronicle book. The book includes new interviews and unseen photographs, and it tells the story of the Jackson family in their own words.[43]
On June 15, 2018, the Jacksons accepted plaques bearing the keys to Detroit city. Detroit police chief James Craig, who presented the honors, declared the Motown group "truly Detroiters". They were also honored with a 90-minute tribute concert featuring Jackson 5, the Jacksons, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Rebbie Jackson hits. The concert finale was Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" with Greg Phillinganes, a Detroit native who worked with the Jacksons as a session player and tour musical director.[69]
On May 13, 2021, the Jackson family got official 2300 Jackson street highway signage. The signs declaring the "Home of the World-Famous Jackson 5" were placed along Interstate 80/94 as well as on local roads to direct motorists to the Jackson family home at 2300 Jackson street in Gary, Indiana. Lieutenant Governor of Indiana Suzanne Crouch and state Sen. Eddie Melton were present.[87]
In August 2025, Marlon and Jackie Jackson returned to Gary for a two-day 2300 Jackson Street Block Party, that the city organized in celebration of the group's legacy. The event began on the 67th anniversary of Michael Jackson's birth and included a moment of silence acknowledging Tito Jackson's death.[88][89] Gary native Deniece Williams performed during the event, which was months after the unveiling of a mural of the Jackson Five mural painted by Felix Maldonado.[88][90]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jackson_5
Weishaupt desired that the revolution of 1789 produce pure democracy, much as it was in Israel during the time of the Judges when each Israelite did "that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The consequence of this kind of rule, however, leads to anarchy. Such was the case after the French Revolution. History records it as the "Reign of Terror" perpetrated by the Jacobin Clubs. As we shall learn, however, the Jacobins were all Templar Masons. The name "Jacobin," as we know, recalls Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, who was avenged by the French Revolution. If the Knights Templar, and not the Priory of Sion, was the Order that perfected the French Revolution, then somehow, sometime between Weishaupt's plan and the commencement of the French Revolution, control of the conspiracy transferred from the Priory of Sion to the Knights Templar. This conclusion was confirmed by Abbe' Augustin Barruel in 1799, one year following the publication of Robison's exposure of the Illuminati. During the 1773 suppression of the Jesuits, Barruel, a French patriot and a Jesuit, had joined Freemasonry, rising to the rank of Master Mason (3rd degree). After seeing the devastation caused by the French Revolution, knowing it to be Masonic, he renounced Freemasonry and wrote his Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism. In them he documented that the Jacobin Clubs were Templar Masonic fronts.98
Abbe' Barruel, a French clergyman, and John Robison, a professor in Scotland, were two men unknown to each other. They were members of opposing Masonic Orders and wrote in different countries and languages. They both covered the same subject matter and came to the same conclusions - that a conspiracy lay behind the French Revolution. Robison claimed that the Illuminati controlled the conspiracy, while Barruel maintained the Templars were in command.
Scarlet and the Beast
by John Daniel
https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf
In some Jewish folklore, such as the Alphabet of Sirach (c. 700–1000 AD), Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time and from the same clay as Adam.[a] The legend of Lilith developed extensively during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadah, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism.[15] For example, in the 13th-century writings of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she had coupled with the archangel Samael.[16]
Interpretations of Lilith found in later Jewish materials are plentiful, but little information has survived relating to the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian views of this class of demons. Recent scholarship has disputed the relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish lilith to an Akkadian lilītu – the Gilgamesh appendix and the Arslan Tash amulets[17] (see below for discussion of these two problematic sources).
In contrast, some scholars, such as Lowell K. Handy, hold the view that though Lilith derives from Mesopotamian demonology, evidence of the Hebrew Lilith being present in the sources frequently cited – the Sumerian Gilgamesh fragment and the Sumerian incantation from Arshlan-Tash being two – is scant, if present at all.[16]: 174 In the Sumerian King List, the name first occurs in a description of a king's lineage, and was identified by scholars as a class of demons.[18]
In Hebrew-language texts, the term lilith or lilit (translated as "night creatures", "night monster", "night hag", or "screech owl") first occurs in a list of animals in Isaiah 34.[19] The Isaiah 34:14 Lilith reference does not appear in most common Bible translations such as KJV and NIV. Commentators and interpreters often envision the figure of Lilith as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness.[20] Jewish incantation bowls and amulets from Mesopotamia from the first to the eighth centuries identify Lilith as a female demon and provide the first visual depictions of her.[20]
Etymology
In the Akkadian language of Assyria and Babylonia, the terms lili and līlītu mean spirits. Some uses of līlītu are listed in the Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD, 1956, L.190), in Wolfram von Soden's Akkadisches Handwörterbuch (AHw, p. 553), and Reallexikon der Assyriologie (RLA, p. 47).[21]
The Sumerian female demons lili have no etymological relation to Akkadian lilu, "evening".[22]
Archibald Sayce (1882)[23][page needed] considered that the Hebrew and the earlier Akkadian names are derived from Proto-Semitic. Charles Fossey (1902) has this literally translating to "female night being/demon", although cuneiform inscriptions from Mesopotamia exist where Līlīt and Līlītu refers to disease-bearing wind spirits.[24][25]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith
See ‘Friends’ stars promote Windows 95 in 1995
Aug. 25, 2015
Happy 20th anniversary, Windows 95! To mark the birthday of the operating system, watch then-“Friends” stars Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston get a lesson on Bill Gates’ own computer in a vintage promotional video.
https://www.today.com/video/see-friends-stars-promote-windows-95-in-1995-512593987841
Friends: of the Society are to be sought and cultivated [426, 823, 824] on behalf of them, whether living or dead, prayers are to be offered and other signs of gratitude are to be shown [638], 413; the extent to which communication with friends in the world is to be had [60, 246], 53, 111; the extent to which an examiner can examine candidates who are his friends [143]
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 Society of the Friends of the Constitution (French: Société des amis de la Constitution), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality (Société des Jacobins, amis de la liberté et de l'égalité) after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club (Club des Jacobins) or simply the Jacobins (/ˈdʒækəbɪn/; French: [ʒakɔbɛ̃]), was the most influential political club during the French Revolution of 1789. The period of its political ascendancy includes the Reign of Terror, during which well over 10,000 people were put on trial and executed in France, many for political crimes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobins
Windows on the World was destroyed when the North Tower collapsed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While the restaurant was hosting regular breakfast patrons and the Risk Waters Financial Technology Congress, Egyptian terrorist Mohamed Atta and four other Al-Qaeda hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower between floors 93 and 99 at 8:46 a.m.[19] Everyone present in the restaurant died that day, as all means of escape (including the stairwells and elevators leading down from the impact zones) were instantly severed by the impact. Victims trapped in Windows on the World either died from smoke inhalation from the ensuing fire, jumping or falling to their deaths from the restaurant, or being killed in the eventual collapse of the North Tower 102 minutes later at 10:28 A.M. At least five Windows occupants were witnessed jumping or falling to their deaths from the restaurant.[20]
There were 72 restaurant staff present in the restaurant, including assistant general manager Christine Olender, whose desperate calls to Port Authority police represented the restaurant's final communications.[21] Sixteen Incisive Media-Risk Waters Group employees, as well as 76 other guests/contractors, were also present.[22] Among those also present was the executive director of the Port Authority, Neil Levin, who was having breakfast. After about 9:40 a.m., no further distress calls from the restaurant were made. The last people to leave the restaurant before Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. were Michael Nestor, Liz Thompson, Geoffrey Wharton, and Richard Tierney, who all shared an elevator together. They departed at 8:44 a.m. and survived the attack.[23]
World Trade Center lessor, Larry Silverstein, was regularly holding breakfast meetings in Windows on the World with tenants as part of his recent acquisition of the Twin Towers from the Port Authority, and was scheduled to be in the restaurant on the morning of the attacks. However, his wife insisted that he had to go to a dermatologist's appointment that morning,[24] whereby he avoided death."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_on_the_World
Breakfast in America is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released on 16 March 1979, by A&M Records.[5] It was recorded in 1978 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. It spawned three US Billboard hit singles: "The Logical Song" (No. 6), "Goodbye Stranger" (No. 15), and "Take the Long Way Home" (No. 10). In the UK, "The Logical Song" and the title track were both top 10 hits, the only two the group had in their native country.[6]
At the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1980, Breakfast in America won two awards for Best Album Package and Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording, as well as nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[7] It holds an Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certification of quadruple platinum and became Supertramp's biggest-selling album, with more than 4 million copies sold in the US and more than 3 million in France (the fourth ever best-selling album). It was No. 1 on Billboard Pop Albums Chart for six weeks, until 30 June 1979.[8] The album also hit No. 1 in Norway, Austria, West Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Australia and France.
Background
As with Even in the Quietest Moments..., Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson wrote most of their songs separately but conceived the theme for the album jointly. Their original concept was for an album of songs about the relationship and conflicting ideals between Davies and Hodgson themselves, to be titled Hello Stranger. Hodgson explained: "We realized that a few of the songs really lent themselves to two people talking to each other and at each other. I could be putting down his way of thinking and he could be challenging my way of seeing life [...] Our ways of life are so different, but I love him. That contrast is what makes the world go 'round and what makes Supertramp go 'round. His beliefs are a challenge to mine and my beliefs are a challenge to his."[9]
This idea was eventually scrapped in favour of an album of "fun" songs, and though Davies initially wanted to keep the title Hello Stranger, he was convinced by Hodgson to change it to Breakfast in America. Hodgson commented later: "We chose the title because it was a fun title. It suited the fun feeling of the album."[9] Due to the title and the explicit satirising of American culture in the cover and three of the songs ("Gone Hollywood", "Breakfast in America" and "Child of Vision"), many listeners interpreted the album as a whole as being a satire of the United States. Supertramp's members have all insisted that the repeated references to US culture are purely coincidental and that no such thematic satire was intended.[9] Hodgson has described the misconception as a parallel to how Crime of the Century (1974) is often misinterpreted as being a concept album.[9]
"Gone Hollywood" is the opening track of Breakfast in America. Written by Rick Davies, the song tells about a person who moves to Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a movie star, but finds it far more difficult than he imagined. He struggles and becomes frustrated, until he ultimately gets his break and becomes "the talk of the Boulevard". The lyrics were originally more bleak, but under pressure from the other band members, Davies rewrote them to be more optimistic and commercially appealing.[10] Billboard writer David Farrell felt that, other than Davies' lead vocal, the song sounds like a Queen song.[11]
"Child of Vision" is the closing track. Much like "The Logical Song", it uses a Wurlitzer electric piano as the main instrument. After the lyrical part, the song goes into a long solo played on the grand piano alongside the original melody on the Wurlitzer. The track fades out with a short saxophone solo by John Helliwell. Roger Hodgson has said that the song was written to be an equivalent to "Gone Hollywood", looking at how Americans live, though he confessed that he had only a limited familiarity with US culture at the time of writing.[12] He also said there is a slight possibility that he subconsciously had Rick Davies in mind while writing the lyrics.[12]
Each song was credited to a single musician on the inner sleeve, but on the central vinyl label was printed "Words and Music by Roger Hodgson & Rick Davies", combining the two and confusing the issue of composition credit. Roger Hodgson's management has described "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America", "Take the Long Way Home", "Lord Is It Mine" and "Child of Vision" as 'Roger's songs';[13] however, this apparently does not mean he necessarily wrote them by himself, for Hodgson has credited Davies with writing the vocal harmony on "The Logical Song".[10] Davies has referred to "The five songs that I did on Breakfast",[9] but has not specified which ones.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_in_America
Windows Vista is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on November 8, 2006, and became generally available on January 30, 2007, on the Windows Marketplace, the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform.[7] Vista succeeded Windows XP (2001); at the time, the five-year gap between the two was the longest time span between successive Windows releases.
Microsoft began developing Vista under the codename "Longhorn" in 2001, shortly before the release of XP. It was intended as a small upgrade to bridge the gap between XP and the next major Windows version, codenamed Blackcomb. As development progressed, it assimilated many of Blackcomb's features and was repositioned as a major Windows release. Vista introduced the updated graphical user interface and visual style Aero, Windows Search, redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems, and new multimedia tools such as Windows DVD Maker among other changes. Vista aimed to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and media between computers and devices. Vista included version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs. It removed support for Itanium and devices without ACPI.
While its new features and security improvements garnered praise, Vista was the target of significant criticism, such as its high system requirements, more restrictive licensing terms, lack of compatibility, longer boot time, and excessive authorization prompts from User Account Control. It saw lower adoption and satisfaction rates than XP, and it is generally considered a market failure.[8][9] However, Vista usage did exceed Microsoft's pre-launch two-year-out expectations of achieving 200 million users, with an estimated 330 million internet users in January 2009. On October 22, 2010, Microsoft ceased sales of retail copies of Windows Vista, and the original equipment manufacturer's sales for Windows Vista ceased the following year.[10]
Vista was succeeded by Windows 7 (2009), which retained and refined many of the features that Vista introduced. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Vista on April 10, 2012, and extended support on April 11, 2017.[11] In retrospect, Vista is often described as one of the worst versions of Windows,[12] but also an important one that laid the foundation for future releases.[13][14]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista
The Marriott World Trade Center was a 22-story, 825-room hotel at 3 World Trade Center within the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. It opened in April 1981 as the Vista International Hotel and was the first major hotel to open in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street since 1836. It was also unofficially known as World Trade Center 3 (WTC 3 or 3 WTC), and the World Trade Center Hotel, officially the Vista Hotel, and the Marriott Hotel throughout its history.
The hotel was damaged in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. It was destroyed by structural damage caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center as a result of the September 11 attacks. The hotel was not replaced as part of the new World Trade Center complex, although its address was reused for a tower at 175 Greenwich Street.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_World_Trade_Center
An anonymous Internet commentator reflects:A friend of mine got hold of the beta test CD of Win95, and set up a packet sniffer between his serial port and the modem. When you try out the free demo time on The Microsoft Network, it transmits your entire directory structure in background.This means that they have a list of every directory (and, potentially every file) on your machine. It would not be difficult to have something like a File Request from your system to theirs, without you knowing about it. This way they could get a hold of any juicy routines you've written yourself and claim them as their own if you don't have them copyrighted." Liability For Distributed Artificial Intelligences"
Berkeley Technology Law Journal (btlj.org)
https://www.btlj.org/data/articles2015/vol11/Searchable/11-1/03%20Karnow.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3N1_M0djLd_bQgTM_xQto8kfgVZRyQkphkkmMOmvXec71yVJuGf9UvVnU
The Vatican has founded the Pope John Paul II Center for Prayer and Study for Peace at 1711 Ocean Avenue, Springlake, New Jersey, in a mansion overlooking the ocean. The mansion was given to the New York Archdiocese by the estate of Elmer Bobst, who died in 1978. He was a multimillionaire and chairman of Warner Lambert Company. Richard Nixon was a frequent visitor. Directors of the Center were Kurt Waldheim, former Secretary General of the United Nations and ex-nazi war criminal; Cyrus Vance, former Secretary of State under Carter and member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission; Clare Booth Luce, a dame of the Knights of Malta; and J. Peter Grace of W.R. Grace Company, who is head of the Knights of Malta in the United States. The Center was set up by the Vatican as a part of the Pope's new peace plan, which will bring the world together (see my paper "The Secret Government"). The Center has two roles:
(1) Educate Catholics and their children to accept the New World Order.
(2) Provide residence for the world-peace-solution computer and an ongoing study for peaceful solutions to any future problems which may endanger world peace. The computer is hooked to the world capitals via satellite. All nations have agreed to relinquish sovereignty to the Pope and submit future problems to the computer for solution. Of course, this will not go into effect until the New World Order is publicly announced. I believe that the New World Order was born in secrecy on January 19,1989. Now you know.
Acquaint yourself anew with the teachings of Jesus. Compare his teachings with the tenets of the Illuminati and then compare it with the following. The Vatican has stated at various times that "the Pope is for total disarmament; the Pope is for elimination of the sovereignty of the nation states; the Pope is also stating that property rights are not to be considered true property rights. The Pope believes that only the Vatican knows what is right for man." In the early 1940s, the I.G. Farben Chemical Company employed a Polish salesman who sold cyanide to the Nazis for use in Auschwitz. The same salesman also worked as a chemist in the manufacture of the poison gas. This same cyanide gas along with Zyklon B and malathion was used to exterminate millions of Jews and other groups. Their bodies were then burned to ashes in the ovens. After the war the salesman, fearing for his life, joined the Catholic Church and was ordained a priest in 1946. One of his closest friends was Dr. Wolf Szmuness, the mastermind behind the November/78 to October/79 and March/80 to October/81 experimental hepatitis B vaccine trials conducted by the Center for Disease Control in New York, San Francisco and four other American cities that loosed the plague of AIDS upon the American people. The salesman was ordained Poland's youngest bishop in 1958. After a 30-day reign his predecessor was assassinated and our ex-cyanide gas salesman assumed the papacy as Pope John Paul II. 1990 is the right time with the right leaders: ex-chief of the Soviet secret police Mikhail Gorbachev, ex-chief of the CIA George Bush, ex-Nazi cyanide gas salesman Pope John Paul II, all bound by an unholy alliance to ring in the New World Order."
Behold A Pale Horse
by William Cooper
hourofthetime .com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/William_Cooper-Behold_a_Pale_Horse1991A.pdf
https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0GmY2mTPFru8vm1L1f3w1phRZ8z2FNTdqvNfoD1wRf8vAw8xWzqdDNx4JkZKRnp6Xl
The western provinces of the Persian Empire had been home to Christian communities, headed by metropolitans, and later patriarchs of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. The Christian minority in Persia was frequently persecuted by the Zoroastrian majority, which accused local Christians of political leanings towards the Roman Empire. In 424, the Church in Persia declared itself independent, in order to ward off allegations of any foreign allegiance. By the end of the 5th century, the Persian Church increasingly aligned itself with the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia and his followers, many of whom became dissidents after the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). The Persian Church became increasingly opposed to doctrines promoted by those councils, thus furthering the divide between Chalcedonian and Persian currents.[8]
In 486, the Metropolitan Barsauma of Nisibis publicly accepted Nestorius' mentor Theodore of Mopsuestia as a spiritual authority. In 489, when the School of Edessa in Mesopotamia was closed by Byzantine Emperor Zeno for its pro-Nestorian teachings, the school relocated to its original home of Nisibis, becoming again the School of Nisibis, leading to the migration of a wave of Christian dissidents into Persia. The Persian patriarch Babai (497–502) reiterated and expanded upon the church's esteem for Theodore of Mopsuestia.
Now firmly established in Persia, with centers in Nisibis, Ctesiphon, and Gundeshapur, and several metropoleis, the Persian Church began to branch out beyond the Sasanian Empire. However, through the sixth century, the church was frequently beset with internal strife and persecution by Zoroastrians. The infighting led to a schism, which lasted from 521 until around 539 when the issues were resolved. However, immediately afterward Roman-Persian conflict led to the persecution of the church by the Sassanid emperor Khosrow I; this ended in 545. The church survived these trials under the guidance of Patriarch Aba I, who had converted to Christianity from Zoroastrianism.[28]
The church emerged stronger after this period of ordeal, and increased missionary efforts farther afield. Missionaries established dioceses in the Arabian Peninsula and India (the Saint Thomas Christians). They made some advances in Egypt, despite the strong Miaphysite presence there.[29] Missionaries entered Central Asia and had significant success converting local Turkic tribes.
The Anuradhapura Cross discovered in Sri Lanka strongly suggests a strong presence of Nestorian Christianity in Sri Lanka during the 6th century AD according to Humphrey Codrington, who based his claim on a 6th-century manuscript, Christian Topography, that mentions of a community of Persian Christians who were known to reside in Taprobanê (the Ancient Greek name for Sri Lanka).[30][31][32]
Nestorian missionaries were firmly established in China during the early part of the Tang dynasty (618–907); the Chinese source known as the Nestorian Stele records a mission under a Persian proselyte named Alopen as introducing Nestorian Christianity to China in 635. The Jingjiao Documents (also described by the Japanese scholar P. Y. Saeki as "Nestorian Documents") or Jesus Sutras are said to be connected with Alopen.[33]
Following the Arab conquest of Persia, completed in 644, the Persian Church became a dhimmi community under the Rashidun Caliphate. The church and its communities abroad grew larger under the caliphate. By the 10th century it had 15 metropolitan sees within the caliphate's territories, and another five elsewhere, including in China and India.[28] After that time, however, Nestorianism went into decline.[disputed – discuss]
Assyrian Church of the East
Saint Mary Church: an ancient Assyrian church located in the city of Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
In a 1996 article published in the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Fellow of the British Academy Sebastian Brock wrote: "the term 'Nestorian Church' has become the standard designation for the ancient oriental church which in the past called itself 'The Church of the East', but which today prefers the fuller title 'The Assyrian Church of the East'. The Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East signed by Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV underlines the Chalcedonian Christological formulation as the expression of the common faith of these Churches and recognizes the legitimacy of the title Theotokos."[34]
In a 2017 paper, Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of the Assyrian Church, stated the position of that church: "After the Council of Ephesus (431), when Nestorius the patriarch of Constantinople was condemned for his views on the unity of the Godhead and the humanity in Christ, the Church of the East was branded as 'Nestorian' on account of its refusal to anathematize the patriarch."[35]
Several historical records suggest that the Assyrian Church of the East may have been in Sri Lanka between the mid-5th and 6th centuries.[30][31][32]
Modern discourse
The accusations of Nestorianism have been used in contemporary theological discourse. One notable example is the case of John MacArthur, as he has asserted that when Mary gave birth to Jesus, she did not give birth to God, but rather gave birth to Jesus in his humanity and that "it’s heretical to call the blood of Jesus Christ the blood of God."[36][37] These statements have been critiqued as resembling Nestorianism by other Christians.[38][39]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestorianism
The General Register of Sasines, established by statute in 1617, allowed baronies to be legally registered, granting prescriptive rights to the caput over time. Possession of the land containing the caput conferred the title of baron or baroness. In 1672, the Lyon Register was created to regulate armorial bearings; no arms could be legally used in Scotland unless recorded therein, resolving disputes over heraldic rights.
Until 1874, new barons were confirmed by the Crown through charters of confirmation. By law, a Scottish barony required a Crown charter erecting the land into a barony, recorded in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland. Even if the original charter was lost, an official extract carried the same legal weight. Barons held their estates directly of the Crown or the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, and the barony's legal status depended on this superior feudal relationship.
Scottish barons were part of the political structure of pre-Union Scotland. They sat in the Parliament of Scotland as members of the Second Estate. In 1428, lesser barons were permitted to elect commissioners to represent them, due to the burdens of travel. These representatives joined the Third Estate alongside burgh and shire commissioners, though the barons retained their personal right to attend until the Union of 1707. Greater barons often gained peerages over time, becoming lords of parliament, earls, or dukes, while lesser barons retained local influence, particularly through baron's courts and administrative roles.
Following the 1707 Acts of Union, legislative power affecting Scottish private law transferred to the unified British Parliament at Westminster. This arrangement remained in place until the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999. During this period, landowners often used "prescriptive feudal grants" to impose perpetual obligations - called real burdens - on land, which were recognised by courts and functioned similarly to English leaseholds.
The first Scottish Government (or Executive) was committed to abolishing the feudal system. This culminated in the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, which came fully into effect on 28 November 2004. With the Act, the feudal system was abolished, and baronies became incorporeal hereditaments[18][19] - intangible in status, similar to hereditary peerages, baronetcies, and coats of arms. Although baronies no longer conferred any legal right to land, the Act explicitly preserved their status as a dignity.[20][21] This marked the end of the ability to acquire a barony by purchasing land containing the caput.
Baronies are now fully "floating" meaning that they are detached from land and can be freely assigned or bequeathed[22]. If a baron dies intestate, the dignity is inherited according to the pre-1964 rules of succession, preserved for titles and dignities by the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964.[23] The Court of the Lord Lyon, as the heraldic authority of Scotland, continues to regulate the heraldic aspects of baronies. The holder of a barony may petition the Lyon Court for a grant of arms and is entitled to bear the appropriate helm and additaments befitting the dignity.[24] However, the Lyon Court has no jurisdiction over the legal assignation of baronies, which is a matter of civil law.[citation needed]
Most Scottish baronies were created prior to 1745, though some were erected as late as 1824. One of the oldest surviving baronies, the Baron of the Bachuil, is exceptional in that it does not depend on land ownership. Instead, the title passes with possession of an ancient staff known as the Bachuil Mór, once belonging to Saint Moluag. The lawful possessor of the staff is recognised as the Baron of the Bachuil, irrespective of any landholding - a tradition predating the feudal system itself.[25]
Although Scottish baronies are now entirely incorporeal in law, in some common law jurisdictions outside Scotland, particularly the United States, a barony may still be treated as a landholding entity. In these cases, land titled to "the Baron of X" is considered held in a fee simple attached to the barony.[26] This concept has not yet been tested in the Scottish courts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baronage_of_Scotland
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart[1] (31 December 1720[b] – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1766 as Charles III.[c] He is also known as the Young Pretender, the Young Chevalier and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Born in Rome to the exiled Stuart court, he spent much of his early and later life in Italy. In 1744, he travelled to France to take part in a planned invasion of England to restore the Stuart monarchy under his father. When storms partly wrecked the French fleet, Charles resolved to proceed to Scotland following discussion with leading Jacobites. This resulted in Charles landing by ship on the west coast of Scotland, leading to the Jacobite rising of 1745. The Jacobite forces under Charles initially achieved several victories in the field, including the Battle of Prestonpans in September 1745 and the Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746. However, by April 1746, Charles was defeated at Culloden, effectively ending the Stuart cause. Although there were subsequent attempts such as a planned French invasion in 1759, Charles was unable to restore the Stuart monarchy.[4]
With the Jacobite cause lost, Charles spent the remainder of his life on the continent, except for one secret visit to London.[5] On his return, Charles lived briefly in France before he was exiled in 1748 under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Charles eventually returned to Italy, where he spent much of his later life living in Florence and Rome. He had a number of mistresses before marrying Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern in 1772. In his later life, Charles's health declined greatly, and he was said to be an alcoholic. However, his escapades during the 1745 and 1746 uprisings and his escape from Scotland led to his portrayal as a romantic figure of heroic failure.[6][7] His life and the once possible prospects of a restored Stuart monarchy have left an enduring historical legend that continues to have a legacy today.[8][7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Edward_Stuart
Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[1] It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family.[2] He was the first Jewish member of the House of Lords not to have previously converted to Christianity. The current holder of the title is Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, who inherited the barony in 1990."
In 1822, the hereditary title of Freiherr (baron) of the Austrian Empire was granted in the Austrian nobility by Emperor Francis I of Austria to the five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild.[5] In 1838, Queen Victoria authorized the use of this Austrian baronial title in the United Kingdom by Lionel de Rothschild and certain other members of the Rothschild family.[6][7] However, the use of such foreign titles in the United Kingdom was subsequently limited by a warrant of 27 April 1932.[8]"
Baron Rothschild - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Rothschild
The family of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and owner of The Trump Organization, is a prominent American family active in real estate, entertainment, business, and politics. Trump, his wife Melania, and son BARRON were the first family of the United States for the duration of his presidency. Trump's paternal grandparents, Frederick Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump, had immigrated to the United States from Germany. Donald Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, came from the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland.[1] Trump has five children from three wives, and 10 grandchildren.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Donald_Trump#Barron_Trump
Trump International, Scotland
@TrumpScotland
Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States, announced today the start of a new golf venture in Scotland: the MacLeod course, to be built at Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire in honor of his late mother Mary Anne MacLeod.
10:47 AM · May 1, 2023
https://x.com/TrumpScotland/status/1653093764271857666
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) [a] was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until his death in 1766. The only son of James II of England and his second wife, Mary of Modena, he was Prince of Wales and heir until his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His Protestant half-sister Mary II and her husband William III became co-monarchs. As a Catholic, he was subsequently excluded from the succession by the Act of Settlement 1701.
Raised primarily in France and Italy, when his father died in September 1701 James claimed the thrones. As part of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1708 Louis XIV of France backed a landing in Scotland on his behalf. This failed, as did further attempts in 1715 and 1719. Led by his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, the 1745 Rising was the last serious effort to restore the House of Stuart.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart
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
Friends: of the Society are to be sought and cultivated [426, 823, 824] on behalf of them, whether living or dead, prayers are to be offered and other signs of gratitude are to be shown [638], 413; the extent to which communication with friends in the world is to be had [60, 246], 53, 111; the extent to which an examiner can examine candidates who are his friends [143]
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
Trump, Vance meet with Pope Leo's Florida brother, 'a major MAGA fan', at White House
Kim Luciani
USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
May 22, 2025, 12:58 p.m. ET
Key Points AI-assisted summary
President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's brother, Louis Prevost, at the White House.
Trump publicly praised Prevost, a Florida resident, for being a "major MAGA fan."
Louis Prevost acknowledged his political views and stated his intention to "tone it down" to avoid causing issues for the pope.
President Donald Trump met with Pope Leo XIV's Florida brother Louis Prevost at the White House on May 20, after praising Prevost to reporters at the Capitol earlier in the day, calling him a "major MAGA fan."
Trump told reporters he likes the pope and both of his brothers, but spotlighted the eldest brother, Navy veteran and Port Charlotte resident Louis Prevost.
"I like the new pope and I like the pope's brother. You know, one of the pope's brothers – actually both of them – but one in particular is a major MAGA fan. Did you know that? He lives in Florida," Trump said.
"And I look forward to getting him to the White House. I want to shake his hand, I want to give him a big hug."
Later that day, the White House visit happened. Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah met with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office.
"Great meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and @Pontifex’s brother, Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah," Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor Margo Martin posted on X, along with a photo of the meeting.
Louis Prevost excited and happy about brother Pope Leo XVI's papacy
The Prevost brothers — Louis, John and Robert (Pope Leo XIV) — grew up in Chicago in a traditional Catholic family.
Louis Prevost said his youngest brother Robert wanted to "play priest" when he was 6 and set his sights on the priesthood as a freshman in high school. Their parents, neighbors and even strangers told Robert, "You're going to be pope someday," he said.
Robert Prevost's election as Pope Leo XIV left Louis Prevost excited, happy, mind blown and a little worried about how the papacy would impact their relationship.
“I just freaked out and said ‘It’s Rob, OMG.’ I was up, dressed, out, just going nuts,” he told WBBH.
“We can only hope that we can maintain that closeness, and we don't do anything to embarrass him,” he said.
Louis Prevost attended Pope Leo's inaugural mass at the Vatican on May 18. The brothers shared a hug after the service.
Pope Leo's Florida brother Louis Prevost is a MAGA, Trump supporter
Trump told reporters Louis Prevost is a "major MAGA fan."
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Louis Prevost said, "I don’t want to create waves that don’t need to be there because I’m a MAGA type and I have my beliefs,” he said. “I don’t need to create heat for him. He’s going to have enough to handle as it is without the press going ‘the pope’s brother says this.’ He doesn’t need that.”
Asked about his reposts of controversial social media memes, including one calling Nancy Pelosi a drunk (expletive), and how they might affect the pope, Louis Prevost said he will "tone it down."
"He knows I am who I am," he said of the pope. "He's well aware of my position. He knows I'm probably not going to change and I don't think I will, other than to, just like you say, tone it down."
Contributing: Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Herald-Tribune, Ashley Ferrer, USA TODAY Network-Florida
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2025/05/22/trump-pope-leo-florida-maga-brother-louis-prevost-white-house-visit/83773944007/
All historians acknowledge the ascendancy of the popes began in 308 A.D., when King Clovis of the Salian or Merovingian Franks (later France), won the decisive battle in the Catholic and Arian religious war, thereby settling the dispute in favor of the Catholics. But the popes' temporal reign officially began in the year 538 A.D. when Roman Emperor Justinian subdued the last of the three kingdoms, or "horns," that opposed the rise of the Papacy."
-page 137
Chapter 19 "Exposed (Again): 1260 Years of World Domination
Codeword Barbelon book 2
by P.D. Stuart
Clovis is the modern conventional French (and thence English) form of the Old Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ (in runic alphabet) or *"Hlōdowik" or "Hlōdowig" (in Latin alphabet), equivalent to the modern forms Louis (French), Lodewijk (Dutch), Lewis (English), and Ludwig (German).
Etymology
The name *Hlōdowik or *Hlōdowig is traditionally considered to be composed of two elements, deriving from both Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, resulting in the traditional practice of translating Clovis' name as meaning "famous warrior".
However, scholars have pointed out that Gregory of Tours consequently transcribes the names of various Merovingian royal names containing the first element as chlodo-. The use of a close-mid back protruded vowel (o), rather than the expected close back rounded vowel (u) which Gregory does use in various other Germanic names (i.e. Fredegundis, Arnulfus, Gundobadus, etc.) opens up the possibility that the first element instead derives from Proto-Germanic *hlutą ("lot, share, portion"), giving the meaning of the name as "loot bringer" or "plunder (bringing) warrior". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that if the first element is taken to mean "famous", then the name of Chlodomer (one of Clovis' sons) would contain two elements (*hlūdaz and *mērijaz) both meaning "famous", which would be highly uncommon within the typical Germanic name structure.[1][2]
Frankish royalty
Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler
Clovis II (637 – c. 658), king of Neustria and Burgundy
Clovis III (reigned 675–676), the king of Austrasia
Clovis IV (682–695), the sole king of the Franks from 691 until 695
Clovis (died 580), son of Chilperic I and Audovera, assassinated by his father and stepmother
Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, King of Aquitaine from 781 and sole ruler of the Franks 814–840, but counted as "Louis I of France" even though West Francia (the nucleus of the later kingdom of France) was formed only after his death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_(given_name)
Louis Raphaël I Sako (Arabic: لويس روفائيل ساكو;[1] born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018.
Biography
Early life
Sako was born in the city of Zakho, Iraq, on 4 July 1948.[2] He comes from an ethnic Assyrian family of the Chaldean Catholic Church that has roots in a religious community that has had a presence in the city of his birth since the 5th century AD.[3]
He completed his early studies in Mosul and then attended the Dominican-run Saint Jean’s Seminary there. He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1974 and filled his first pastoral assignment at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. He then earned a doctorate in Eastern patrology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. When denied a license to teach because he was only qualified for religious instruction, he earned a second doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris.[4] With this he secured his teaching license and was able to provide religious instruction. From 1997 to 2002 he was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. He then returned to Mosul and guided the parish of Perpetual Help for a year.[5][6]
Sako speaks Neo-Aramaic, German, French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Arabic.[2]
Archeparch
A synod of the bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church meeting in Baghdad elected Sako Archeparch of Kirkuk on 24 October 2002. Pope John Paul II gave his assent on 27 September 2003.[7] He received his episcopal consecration on 14 November 2003 from his predecessor in Kirkuk, André Sana.[8]
In August 2009, and at the beginning of Ramadan, Sako organized an appeal for national peace, reconciliation and end to violence on the part of more than fifty religious leaders in Kirkuk. He called it "a gesture of closeness to our Muslim brothers. We are all brothers, sons of the same God we must respect and cooperate for the good of the people and our country." The participants included representatives of Ali Sistani and Muqtada al Sadr.[9]
Patriarch
The Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church, convoked in Rome on 28 January 2013, elected Sako to succeed Emmanuel III Delly as Patriarch of Babylon. He chose Louis Raphael I as his regnal name. Pope Benedict XVI gave his assent to the election on 1 February[2] and granted him ecclesiastica communio (ecclesiastical communion) as required by the canon law for Eastern-rite Catholic churches in recognition of their unity with the wider Catholic church.[10]
That same year, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani issued a decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church.[11]
In July 2014 Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious levy or face death by the sword.[12] In September 2014 Sako said “The U.S. is indirectly responsible for what is going on in Iraq as it said it would ensure democracy and the well-being of the people, but 10 years have passed and on the contrary we have gone backward." He was responding to a question following remarks attributed to him in the local daily Ad-Diyar in which he accused the U.S. of supporting ISIS. Sako had also criticized Muslim countries for lack of support: "Our Muslim neighbours did not help us." He urged Muslim preachers to issue a religious ruling against the killing of all innocent people and said that "Issuing a fatwa preventing Muslims from killing fellow Muslims is not enough."[13]
In 2014, Sako ordered ten priests who had fled Iraq to return there by 22 October; he suspended them when they failed to comply. The priests, all living in the United States, some for as long as twenty years, appealed to Pope Francis for relief from the order.[14] In January 2015, Pope Francis granted them permission to remain in the United States.[15] Sako later renewed his order despite the pope's decision.[16]
In 2015, Sako proposed a "merger" or reunion of his own Chaldean Catholic Church with the Ancient Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East to create one united "Church of the East" with a single patriarch in union with the pope. His proposal would have required both his own resignation and that of Mar Addai II, followed by a joint synod of the bishops of all three churches to elect a new patriarch for the reunited Church of the East. (The patriarchate of the Assyrian Church of the East was vacant at the time, following the death of Mar Dinkha IV.)[17] He wrote that "Unity does not mean uniformity, nor the melting of our own church identity into one style, but it maintains unity in diversity and we remain one apostolic universal church, the Oriental Church, that maintains its independence of administration, laws and liturgies, traditions and support."[18] The Assyrian Church of the East respectfully declined this proposal citing "ecclesiological divergences still remaining" and proceeded with its election of a new patriarch.[19]
On 14 November 2015, the Synod of Bishops announced that Pope Francis had named Sako as one of his three appointments to that body's council.[20]
Cardinal
Pope Francis made Sako a cardinal in a consistory on 28 June 2018.[21] Later that year, Pope Francis named him one of the four cardinals to preside over sessions of the Synod of Bishops on Youth in October.[22]
On 6 October 2018 Sako was named a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches,[23] on 22 February 2019 a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,[24] and on 29 September 2021 a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.[25] On 4 January 2022, Pope Francis made him a member of the Council for the Economy.[26]
Sako was a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.[27] Patriarch Sako was also the first Chaldean Catholic Patriarch ever to participate in a papal conclave.[28][a] Sako opted not to wear the shash, the traditional headgear of East Syriac Christian bishops, and wore only his scarlet zucchetto.[32]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rapha%C3%ABl_I_Sako
The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (French: Société des amis de la Constitution), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality (Société des Jacobins, amis de la liberté et de l'égalité) after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club (Club des Jacobins) or simply the Jacobins (/ˈdʒækəbɪn/; French: [ʒakɔbɛ̃]), was the most influential political club during the French Revolution of 1789. The period of its political ascendancy includes the Reign of Terror, during which well over 10,000 people were put on trial and executed in France, many for political crimes.
Initially founded in 1789 by anti-royalist deputies from Brittany, the club grew into a nationwide republican movement with a membership estimated at a half million or more.[1] The Jacobin Club was heterogeneous and included both prominent parliamentary factions of the early 1790s: The Mountain and the Girondins.[3] In 1792–93, the Girondins were more prominent in leading France when they declared war on Austria and on Prussia, overthrew King Louis XVI, and set up the French First Republic. In May 1793, the leaders of the Mountain faction, led by Maximilien Robespierre, succeeded in sidelining the Girondin faction and controlled the government until July 1794. Their time in government featured high levels of political violence, and for this reason the period of the Jacobin/Mountain government is identified as the Reign of Terror. In October 1793, 21 prominent Girondins were guillotined. The Mountain-dominated government executed 17,000 opponents nationwide as a way to suppress the Vendée insurrection and the Federalist revolts, and to deter recurrences. In July 1794, the National Convention pushed the administration of Robespierre and his allies out of power and had Robespierre and 21 associates executed. In November 1794, the Jacobin Club closed.
In the British Empire, Jacobin was linked primarily to The Mountain of the French Revolutionary governments and was popular among the established and entrepreneurial classes as a pejorative to deride radical left-wing revolutionary politics, especially when they exhibit dogmatism and violent repression.[4] In Britain, the term faintly echoed negative connotations of Jacobitism, the pro-Catholic, monarchist, rarely insurrectional political movement that faded out decades earlier tied to deposed King James II of England and his descendants. Jacobin reached obsolescence and supersedence before the Russian Revolution, when the terms (Radical) Marxism, anarchism, socialism, and communism had overtaken it.
In France, Jacobin now generally leans towards moderate authoritarianism, more equal formal rights, and centralization.[5] It can, similarly, denote supporters of extensive government intervention to transform society.[6] It is unabashedly used by proponents of a state education system that strongly promotes and inculcates civic values. It is more controversially, and less squarely, used by or for proponents of a strong nation-state capable of resisting undesirable foreign interference.[7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobins
The Chaldean Catholic Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĒdtā Kalḏāytā Qāṯōlīqāytā; الكنيسة الكلدانية, al-Kanīsa al-Kaldāniyya; Latin: Ecclesia Chaldaeorum Catholica) is an Eastern Catholic particular church (sui iuris) in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church. It uses the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac language and forms part of the Syriac tradition.
The church is headed by the patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, currently Louis Raphaël I Sako, and is based in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Baghdad, Iraq. As of 2018, it counted approximately 616,639 members globally, with most residing in Iraq and significant diasporic communities in North America, Europe, and Australia.[4]
The Chaldean Catholic Church emerged following the Schism of 1552, when a faction of the Church of the East sought to restore communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa was elected patriarch and traveled to Rome, where Pope Julius III confirmed his position in 1553.
Demographics
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, citing the Iraqi Christian Foundation, around 80% of Iraqi Christians are Chaldean Catholics.[5] A 2018 report by the U.S. Department of State estimated that 67% of Christians in Iraq belonged to the Chaldean Catholic Church.[6] The European Union Agency for Asylum cited similar figures in its 2019 country guidance.[7]
Ethnicity
The majority of adherents are ethnic Assyrians, also referred to as Chaldo-Assyrians.[8] Chaldean communities are primarily located in northern Iraq, especially in towns such as Alqosh, Ankawa, Araden, Tel Keppe, and Shaqlawa, as well as among diaspora populations.
Terminology
Neither before nor after the 15th century did the term "Chaldean" indicate a supposed ethnic connection of the Church of the East with ancient south Babylonian Chaldea and its inhabitants, which emerged during the 9th century BC after Chaldean tribes migrated from the Levant region of Urfa in Upper Mesopotamia to southeast Mesopotamia, and disappeared from history during the 6th century BC:[9] it referred instead to the use by Christians of that church of the Syriac language, a form of the biblical Aramaic language, which was then and indeed until the 19th century generally called Chaldean.[10][11][12][13]
Outside of Catholic Church usage, the term "Chaldean" continued to apply to all associated with the Church of the East tradition, whether they were in communion with Rome or not. It indicated not race or nationality, but only language or religion. Throughout the 19th century, it continued to be used of East Syriac Christians, whether "Nestorian" or Catholic,[14][15][16][17][18] and this usage continued into the 20th century.[19]
Historical usage
4th century
For many centuries, from at least the time of Jerome (c. 347 – 420),[10] the term "Chaldean" was a misnomer that indicated the Biblical Aramaic language[20] and was still the normal name in the nineteenth century. Jerome did know that Aramaic was in the Bible, where he designated the biblical Aramaic by the term "Chaldean". Jerome implied that one reason the books of Tobit and Judith are undeserving of inclusion within the biblical canon is because they were written in Chaldean. Because he translated the Hebrew Bible, he would naturally recognize each time which language would be much more difficult for him when the passages changed from Hebrew to Chaldean.[11][12][13]
In Porphyry's Philosophy from Oracles, quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea in Praeparatio Evangelica, from the early 4th century AD, the term "Chaldean" was mentioned as a synonym for "Assyrian": "The discovery was ascribed by the god to Egyptians, Phoenicians, Chaldeans (for these are the Assyrians), Lydians, and Hebrews."[21]
15th–16th century
Only in 1445 did it begin to be used to mean Aramaic speakers in communion with the Catholic Church, on the basis of a decree of the Council of Florence,[22] which accepted the profession of faith that Timothy, metropolitan of the Aramaic speakers in Cyprus, made in Aramaic, and which decreed that "nobody shall in future dare to call [...] Chaldeans, Nestorians".[23][24][25]
In the 16th century, Spanish cleric Francis Xavier used the term "Chaldean" for the Syriac language in this statement: "Not even the Caciz themselves understand the prayers which they recite: which are in a foreign language (I think Chaldean). They render special honours to the Apostle St. Thomas, claiming to be descendants of the Christians begotten to Jesus Christ by that Apostle in these countries."[26]
19th century
A letter from November 14, 1838, states: “The so-called “Chaldeans" of Mesopotamia received that title, as you know, from the pope, on their becoming Catholics.”[27] Previously, when there were as yet no Catholic Aramaic speakers of Mesopotamian origin, the term "Chaldean" was applied with explicit reference to their "Nestorian" religion. Thus Jacques de Vitry wrote of them in 1220/1 that "they denied that Mary was the Mother of God and claimed that Christ existed in two persons. They consecrated leavened bread and used the 'Chaldean' (Syriac) language".[28] The decree of the Council of Florence was directed against use of "Chaldean" to signify "non-Catholic."
In 1852 George Percy Badger distinguished those whom he called Chaldeans from those whom he called Nestorians, but by religion alone, never by language, race or nationality.[29]
The Assyrian ethnicity of Chaldean Catholics is also attested by Assyriology. In 1881, archeologist and author Hormuzd Rassam stated: “The inhabitants of Assyria consist now of mixed races, Arabs, Turkomans, Koords, Yezeedees, Jews, and Christians called Chaldeans and Syrians. The last two-named denominations doubtless belong to one nationality, the Assyrian, and they were only distinguished by these two names when they separated consequent upon the theological dispute of the age, namely, Monophisites or Jacobites, and Nestorians.”[30]
Contemporary
In 1920, Herbert Henry Austin stated: “It may not be out of place, therefore, to point out that there were exceedingly few Roman Catholic Assyrians or “Chaldeans" as they are generally termed when they embrace Rome, amongst the refugees at Baqubah. The very large majority of the Roman Catholic Assyrians in the Mosul vilayet did not join the mountaineers and fight against the Turks and in consequence were permitted by the Turks to continue to dwell practically unmolested in their homes about Mosul."[31][32]
Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid of the Chaldean Catholic Church (1989–2003), who accepted the term Assyrian as descriptive of his nationality and ethnicity, commented: "When a portion of the Church of the East became Catholic in the 17th Century, the name given to the church was 'Chaldean' based on the Magi kings who were believed by some to have come from what once had been the land of the Chaldean, to Bethlehem. The name 'Chaldean' does not represent an ethnicity, just a church [...] We have to separate what is ethnicity and what is religion [...] I myself, my sect is Chaldean, but ethnically, I am Assyrian."[33] Earlier, he said: "Before I became a priest I was an Assyrian, before I became a bishop I was an Assyrian, I am an Assyrian today, tomorrow, forever, and I am proud of it."[34]
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Urmia, Mar Toma Audo (1854-1918), considered the most elegant Syriac writer of his time,[35] also stressed the remnants of the ancient Assyrians were the East Syrians (Suryāyē Madənkhāyē). Commenting in his Syriac work The Selected Readings, published in 1906, he wrote: "We too, the East Syrians, descend from the aforementioned Assyrians, we are children of the Assyrians or Ashur son of Shem and on account of this we are also Semites. We have preserved until today the language of our ancestors with of course some changes which have entered it." He then continues and explains how "Syrian" (Surāyā) is simply a shortened abbreviation of "Assyrian," and notes that some scholars contemporary to him believed that the Assyrians adopted the name "Syrian" after converting to Christianity.[36]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldean_Catholic_Church
Weishaupt desired that the revolution of 1789 produce pure democracy, much as it was in Israel during the time of the Judges when each Israelite did "that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The consequence of this kind of rule, however, leads to anarchy. Such was the case after the French Revolution. History records it as the "Reign of Terror" perpetrated by the Jacobin Clubs. As we shall learn, however, the Jacobins were all Templar Masons. The name "Jacobin," as we know, recalls Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, who was avenged by the French Revolution. If the Knights Templar, and not the Priory of Sion, was the Order that perfected the French Revolution, then somehow, sometime between Weishaupt's plan and the commencement of the French Revolution, control of the conspiracy transferred from the Priory of Sion to the Knights Templar. This conclusion was confirmed by Abbe' Augustin Barruel in 1799, one year following the publication of Robison's exposure of the Illuminati. During the 1773 suppression of the Jesuits, Barruel, a French patriot and a Jesuit, had joined Freemasonry, rising to the rank of Master Mason (3rd degree). After seeing the devastation caused by the French Revolution, knowing it to be Masonic, he renounced Freemasonry and wrote his Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism. In them he documented that the Jacobin Clubs were Templar Masonic fronts.98
Abbe' Barruel, a French clergyman, and John Robison, a professor in Scotland, were two men unknown to each other. They were members of opposing Masonic Orders and wrote in different countries and languages. They both covered the same subject matter and came to the same conclusions - that a conspiracy lay behind the French Revolution. Robison claimed that the Illuminati controlled the conspiracy, while Barruel maintained the Templars were in command.
Scarlet and the Beast
by John Daniel
https://ia803001.us.archive.org/28/items/ScarletAndTheBeastJohnDaniel1995/Scarlet%20and%20the%20Beast,%20John%20Daniel%20(1995).pdf
Recusal and Order of Appointment - Court on 10.28.2028
Info Brock Law
Attachments
Mon, Oct 20, 12:40 PM (7 days ago)
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Good Morning,
Mr. Dunn, we hope this email finds you well.
This email serves to inform you that your case has been transferred to the Fernley Justice Court and you are scheduled to appear on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 8:00 a.m.
Can you confirm that you have received this email?
--
Kind Regards,
Brock Law, LTD.
phone: (775)993-9683
email: info@brocklawnevada.com
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 222
Winnemucca, Nevada 89446
NOTICE: This communication, including any attachments, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. Any review, dissemination, or copying of this communication by anyone other than the recipient is strictly prohibited by the electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email, delete and destroy all copies of the original message.
Case No. 25-CR-276 3G
FILED
2025 OCT 15 PM 12:37
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
IN THE JUSTICE COURT OF DAYTON TOWNSHIP
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF LYON, STATE OF NEVADA
a
CLERK
9 THE STATE OF NEVADA,
Plaintiff,
10
VS.
RECUSAL AND ORDER
WILLIAM FRANCIS DUNN IV
OF APPOINTMENT
Defendant.
Pursuant to the provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes 1.230 and inasmuch as there may be actual or implied bias, the undersigned Judge of Dayton Township Justice Court, County of Lyon, State of Nevada, does hereby recues herself from the above-entitled matter.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Judge Lori Matheus be, and hereby appointed to preside over the above-entitled matter. The case is hereby transferred to Canal Township Justice Court for further proceedings. The next court date will be held at 595 Silver Lace Blvd, Fernley, Nevada on October 28, 2025 at 8:00 am.
DATED this 15th day of October, 2025.
Camille Vecchiarelli Justice of the Peace
Judge temporary suspends case in Fernley kidnapping, killing
Driver’s lawyers continue to argue he can’t legally be tried in Lyon County
Troy Driver Mugshot(Lyon County Sheriff's Office)
By Scott Sonner
Published: Aug. 24, 2022 at 2:17 PM PDT
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A rural justice of the peace has suspended proceedings in justice court for a man accused of kidnapping and killing a Fernley teenager until a state judge can decide whether he should undergo a competency examination.
Canal Township Justice of the Peace Lori Matheus originally ordered Troy Driver of Fallon to appear in Lyon County District Court for a competency hearing before a preliminary hearing is scheduled in her Fernley courtroom next month.
Her new ruling says that state law requires her to suspend further proceedings “if a doubt arises as to the competency of the defendant.”
“The district court can make the necessary orders regarding any required examinations in this case,” Matheus wrote Aug. 22.
Meanwhile, Driver’s lawyers continue to argue he can’t legally be tried in Lyon County for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Naomi Irion, which occurred in neighboring Churchill County.
Matheus earlier set a preliminary hearing Sept. 13-15 to determine if there’s enough evidence to bound him over for trial. She also had planned to hear jurisdictional arguments then.
Driver faces six charges in addition to first-degree murder, including sexual assault, robbery and destroying evidence.
Prosecutors maintain he can be tried in Lyon County on all charges because he kidnapped Irion from a Walmart there before he shot and buried her “all as one continuous course of conduct.”
Copyright 2022 KOLO. All rights reserved.
https://www.kolotv.com/2022/08/24/judge-temporary-suspends-case-fernley-kidnapping-killing/
Lori Ann Matheus (age 56) is listed at 1449 Mill Creek Rd Fernley, Nv 89408 and is affiliated with the Non-Partisan Party. Lori is registered to vote in Lyon County, Nevada.
Lori Matheus's Voter Registration
Party Affiliation: Non-Partisan
Registered to Vote In: Lyon County, Nevada
Registration Date: 05/18/2002
Voter Status: ActivePrecinct: 27.01
Congressional District: Cd2
House District: Ad38
Senate District: Sd17
School Board District: Ed2
https://voterrecords.com/voter/73052433/lori-matheus
Meet Your DA – Stephen Rye
Stephen Rye
Lyon County District Attorney
Yerington Office
31 S. Main Street
Yerington, NV 89447
Office: (775) 463-6511 or (775) 246-6130
Fax: (775) 463-6516
Email: stephenbrye@yahoo.com
Registered sex offender driving ice cream truck linked to unlicensed Denver business
Jun 20, 2024
Denver's Department of Excise and Licenses said not only is The Ice Cream Wagon operating without a license but there is no record of an application or license for Keith Frazier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7kv3Vqwdo8
Rye hosting Ice Cream Social at Black Bear Sunday
Author: Robert Perea
Upload date: 10/07/2022 09:27 PM
https://www.fernleyreporter.com/article/3846,rye-hosting-ice-cream-social-at-black-bear-sunday
(AOC-Supreme Court of Nevada) 88366540
565 E Main St Fernley NV 89408
AOC-Supreme Court of Nevada - Organizer
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Based on this email
Correct?
Court Reminders <nvcourtnotification@ecase.io>
Attachments
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AOC-Supreme Court of Nevada Logo
WILLIAM DUNN, You have a STATUS CONFERENCE on 12/30/2025 08:00 AM at Fernley - Canal Township Justice Court, 565 E Main St, Fernley, NV, 89408. If you have questions, contact the court directly 775-575-3355 as this is an unmonitored mailbox. Reply STOP to opt-out.
Rituals and worship
According to M.J. Vermaseren and C.C. van Essen, the Mithraic New Year and the birthday of Mithras was on 25 December.[v][w] Beck disagreed strongly.[43](p 299, note 12) Clauss states: "The Mithraic Mysteries had no public ceremonies of its own. The festival of Natalis Invicti, held on 25 December, was a general festival of the Sun, and by no means specific to the Mysteries of Mithras."[44]
Mithraic initiates were required to swear an oath of secrecy and dedication.[45]
Mithras was thought to be a "warrior hero" similar to Greek heroes.[46]
Mithraic catechism
Apparently, some grade rituals involved the recital of a catechism, wherein the initiate was asked a series of questions pertaining to the initiation symbolism and had to reply with specific answers. An example of such a catechism, apparently pertaining to the Leo grade, was discovered in a fragmentary Egyptian papyrus (Papyrus Berolinensis 21196),[45][47] and reads:
Verso
[...] He will say: 'Where [...]?'
'[...] is he at a loss there?' Say: '[...]'
[...] Say: 'Night'. He will say: 'Where [...]?'
[...] Say: 'All things [...]'
'[...] are you called?' Say: 'Because of the summery [...]'
[...] having become [...] he/it has the fiery ones
'[...] did you receive?' Say: 'In a pit'. He will say: 'Where is your [...]?'
'[...] [in the] Leonteion.' He will say: 'Will you gird [...]?'
'[...] death'. He will say: 'Why, having girded yourself, [...]?'
[...] this [has?] four tassels.
Recto
Very sharp and [...]
[...] much. He will say: '[...]?'
'[...] of the hot and cold'. He will say: '[...]?'
'[...] red [...] linen'. He will say: 'Why?' Say:
[...] red border; the linen, however, [...]
'[...] has been wrapped?' Say: 'The savior's [...]'
He will say: 'Who is the father?' Say: 'The one who [begets] everything [...]'
[He will say: 'How] did you become a Leo?' Say: 'By the [...] of the father [...]'
Say: 'Drink and food'. He will say: '[...]?'
[...] in the seven-[...]
Mithraic relief with original colors (reconstitution), c. 140–160 CE; from Argentoratum. Strasbourg Archaeological Museum.
Almost no Mithraic scripture or first-hand account of its rituals survives;[o] with the exception of the aforementioned oath and catechism, and the document known as the Mithras Liturgy, from 4th century Egypt, whose status as a Mithraist text has been questioned by scholars including Franz Cumont.[x][48] The walls of mithraea were commonly whitewashed, and where this survives, it tends to carry extensive repositories of graffiti; and these, together with inscriptions on Mithraic monuments, form the main source for Mithraic texts.[49]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraism
Julia Ann Byse at 2030 Lonnie Lane Dayton Nevada worked at WALMART, Judge Lori Matheus:
Body of missing Nevada woman found, suspect charged
By Scott Sonner
Published 8:40 PM PST, March 30, 2022
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Authorities discovered the remains of an 18-year-old northern Nevada woman who was kidnapped over two weeks ago from a Walmart parking lot along the interstate east of Reno, officials said.
Investigators acting on a tip about the disappearance of Naomi Irion of Fernley found a gravesite in a remote part of northern Nevada on Tuesday. An autopsy on Wednesday confirmed the body was Irion, the Lyon and Churchill county sheriff’s offices said in a joint statement late Wednesday.
Earlier Wednesday, a 41-year-old man with a violent criminal record was charged during a brief court hearing with first-degree kidnapping. A judge in rural Lyon County left Troy Driver’s bail unchanged. It had been set at $750,000 after his Friday arrest.
Driver, of Fernley, has yet to enter a plea to the kidnapping charge. He was arraigned from jail Wednesday via Zoom. Authorities did not immediately say whether Driver will be charged in Irion’s death.
“No further information can be released at this time as this is still an open and active investigation,” the sheriff’s offices said after officials announced Irion had been found.
Justice of the Peace Lori Matheus said Driver will have to wear a GPS monitoring device if he posts a bond.
Driver has been held at the Lyon County Jail in Yerington as a suspect in what authorities say was Irion’s kidnapping.
She was last seen around 5:25 a.m. March 12 in her car in a Walmart parking lot in Fernley about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Reno. Security video showed a masked man wearing a hooded sweatshirt get into her car.
Driver abducted her “on or about March 12” and “did hold or detain her for the purpose of committing sexual assault and/or purpose of killing her,” according to the two-page criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Lyon County’s Canal Township Justice Court.
The FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information to locate Irion. Hundreds of volunteers have joined searches during the past two weeks, looking for clues in a vast desert area.
Irion lived in Fernley with her older brother, Casey Valley, who told reporters after the hearing that the family was “all in shock” that any bail was set.
Irion’s vehicle was found three days after she went missing near a paint manufacturing facility in an industrial park along Interstate 80 not far from the store.
Valley said earlier Wednesday they planned another search Saturday just across the Churchill County line near Hazen about 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of Fernley.
“We would like to extend our sympathy and condolences to the Irion family and thank all the volunteers for their hard work in trying to find Naomi and bring closure to the family,” the sheriff’s offices said in a statement Wednesday night.
Valley said his sister usually catches a bus from the Walmart lot to work at a Reno-area Panasonic facility. Valley said she never arrived at work, and he contacted family members and authorities when Irion didn’t return home that weekend.
Matheus set a court date for Driver next Tuesday, and a preliminary hearing April 12 to decide if there is evidence for Driver to be tried in state court. He could face life in prison without parole if he is convicted.
His defense lawyer, Mario Walther, did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the hearing.
Several news outlets have reported that Driver was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a 1997 murder case in Northern California.
Mendocino County Court records show he pleaded guilty that summer to robbery, burglary and firearms charges as well as to being an accessory to a felony after the fact.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Dana Simas said in an email to The Associated Press that he was sentenced to 15 years on those charges on Aug. 19, 1997, was released to state parole supervision in 2012 and discharged from parole supervision in 2014.
Before authorities announced that her body had been identified, Valley told reporters Wednesday that family members appreciate the support from the community and praised efforts by sheriff’s deputies and federal agents to find his sister.
“Lyon County and the FBI are working very hard,” he said. “I wish there was more and everybody does.”
___
Associated Press Writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
https://apnews.com/article/nevada-kidnapping-reno-816f216c87f3a91e633c6b4131c19d88
On March 12, 2022, 18-year-old Naomi Irion disappeared from a Walmart parking lot in Fernley, Nevada, United States. A man was seen approaching Irion's car and driving away in it. She was found dead two weeks later in a shallow gravesite in rural Churchill County, having been kidnapped and shot to death.
Several days before Irion's body was found, 41-year-old Troy Driver was taken into custody and charged with Irion's killing. Before going to trial, he committed suicide in his jail cell in August 2023.
Personal life
Naomi Irion moved across the world with her family to follow her father's, Herve Irion, career as a foreign expat for the US State Department. They relocated to France, Russia, Germany, and South Africa before Naomi returned to the United States as an adult. When in South Africa, Naomi attended the American International School of Johannesburg where she graduated in 2021.[1]
Naomi had three younger brothers, who were adopted from Ukraine in 2018. Irion also had a brother, Sean Michael Irion, who died in infancy in 2002.[2]
Naomi was an avid fan of music, playing the ukulele, guitar, and was a singer. Her favourite colour was the rainbow and often wore rainbow clothing such as socks and had rainbows on her jackets and bag. Irion was well known for always laughing, spreading kindness, and her positivity within her friendship groups.
Irion turned eighteen on 25 July 2021 and died between 12 and 29 March 2022.
Events
Kidnapping
Naomi Christine Irion's FBI Missing poster
Around 5:00 a.m. (PST; UTC−08:00) on Saturday, March 12, 2022, Naomi Irion parked her vehicle in the Walmart parking lot in Fernley, Nevada.[3] According to her sister, she was waiting for a shuttle to take her to her job.[3] She was active on social media between 5:09 and 5:23 a.m.[3] At 5:24 a.m., surveillance footage showed a man approaching Irion's vehicle and entering.[3] A minute later, the vehicle left the parking lot with the man driving.[3] The male was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, "dark pants or jeans" and dark tennis shoes.[3] At the time of the disappearance, Irion was described as being 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) with dyed black hair and green eyes.[3] She was wearing a blue shirt, gray sweater, dark boots, and gray sweatpants.[3]
Search and discovery of body
On March 15, three days after Irion disappeared, her four-door sedan was discovered in an industrial area near Fernley.[4] Police stated they were searching for a suspect driving a "dark, newer model" Chevrolet Silverado High Country truck.[4] Irion's sedan was searched and analyzed forensically.[4] Law enforcement conducted many searches on the ground and by air.[4] On March 28, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced they would be offering a reward of up to US$10,000 for information leading to Irion's location.[5] The Bureau put Irion on their Most Wanted Kidnapping and Missing Persons list.[6]
On March 29, police received a tip connected to Irion's disappearance that led them to a rural site in Churchill County. They recovered a body, which was later confirmed to be Irion's.[7]
Investigation
On March 25, police arrested 41-year-old Troy Driver, a resident of Fallon.[8] Driver had a lengthy juvenile criminal history, including pleading guilty to being an accomplice to murder and a series of armed robberies at age 17.[9]
Legal proceedings
Driver was initially taken into custody for kidnapping charges and had his bond set to US$750,000, but was charged with murder, first-degree kidnapping, robbery, burglary of a motor vehicle and destruction of evidence after Irion's body was discovered.[7][10] A criminal complaint alleged that Driver kidnapped Irion and shot her to death before burying her body to avoid leaving evidence.[10] He reportedly disposed of Irion's phone and replaced his truck's tires.[10]
In July 2022, Driver was charged with sexual assault, as prosecutors alleged he raped Irion before killing her.[11] In November, he was found mentally fit to stand trial for the killing of Irion.[12]
On August 6, 2023, Driver was found dead in his cell when prison personnel arrived for a routine inmate check.[13] His death was ruled a suicide by asphyxiation.[13][14] While he was never convicted, officials said the evidence against him was overwhelming. Forensic evidence, including his DNA, were found on Irion's body. Driver also left a note in which he apologized for the "darkness within" himself.[15]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Naomi_Irion
BIG BROTHER’S COMING! Revealed: Secret plan to tag every man, woman and child
by Joe Frick
First Published: Aug. 01, 1989 – edition of The Sun
CODED MICROCHIPS implanted in every person in the country would tie all of us into a master computer that could track anyone down at any moment, and plans for such a system are already under way whether you like it or not!
The secret scheme is being touted as a service for the protection of the people by high government officials, but some insiders who object to the move say it’s just another way for Big Brother to control its subjects.
http://www.whale.to/vaccine/frick.html
THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER AND PROJECT SANGUINE
In 1953, the Soviets set up seven radio transmitters and began pulsing the American Embassy in Moscow with an ELF signal measuring 3.26–17.54 MHz. Embassy workers had no idea they were being pulsed while developing emotional and behavioral problems, leukemia (a 40 percent higher than average white blood cell count), cancer, and cataracts. Ambassadors Charles Bohlen and Llewellyn Thompson died; Ambassador Walter Stoessel, Jr. developed a rare blood disease and bled from the eyes. The Moscow Embassy “experiment” would run for thirty years, a full generation.
Meanwhile in the United States under DARPA’s Project Pandora, scientists were studying how low-intensity microwaves might be used to induce heart attacks, blood/brain barrier leaks, auditory hallucinations, etc. This was the MK-ULTRA mind control era whose overarching electromagnetic question was, Can a microwave signal control the mind at a distance? In 1962, the CIA dedicated Project Bizarre to studying the Moscow signal and made a crucial discovery: it was not the strength of the signal that was responsible for loss of biological health—a tiny fraction of the U.S. military (very high) “safe” exposure level—but the pulsing. This information was immediately classified and Pandora went black, along with other projects.
By July 1969, the U.S. had 71,524 microwave towers spaced according to the geometric harmonics of the world magnetic grid. SECOM II’s16 five towers broadcast in the 3–12 MHz range—within the Schumann range—in a round robin from Idaho and New Mexico to Missouri, South Carolina, and Maryland.
In 1968, the secretive JASON Group mounted Project Sanguine’s 6,400-mile buried cable antenna for long radio wave transmissions (SLF 30–300Hz) out of upper Wisconsin. A transmitter on one side would pump ELF waves through the ground and out the other side so that, as bioelectromagnetics expert Robert O. Becker, MD, put it, “ELF waves issuing from it and resonating between the earth’s surface and the ionosphere could be picked up anywhere on the globe.”17 Supposedly, Sanguine was for submarine communication (much like HAARP was sold to the public), but the antenna length produced minuscule frequencies (.3 kHz), which was odd, given that the best frequencies for defense purposes are much higher. The truth is that Sanguine was to be set in sync with the three Soviet Duga antennas at Chernobyl, eastern Siberia, and Ukraine/Croatia.18
Per the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act, U.S. Navy Captain Paul E. Tyler asked Dr. Becker to be on the scientific committee overseeing Sanguine. In 1984, Captain Tyler would author “The Electromagnetic Spectrum in Low-Intensity Conflict,” a watershed paper which the International Committee on Offensive Microwave Weapons (ICOMW) described as “so important in the chain of evidence establishing the existence of an Electronic Concentration Camp System that if our Archive consisted of only two documents, the Tyler paper would surely be one of them!”19
In his 1985 book The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life, Dr. Becker detailed the committee’s disturbing Project Sanguine findings: stress responses, desynchronized bio-cycles, cellular metabolism interference, increased cancer rates in hundreds of thousands of people living inside the antenna field, etc. What would happen when the longwave signals resonated throughout the world? The committee recommended that Project Sanguine be shelved and that the 60 Hz power lines carrying far more power than the Sanguine antenna into homes across the nation be reexamined.
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
Peckerwood is a racial epithet used against white people, especially poor rural whites.[2] Originally an ethnic slur, the term has been reclaimed by a subculture related to prison gangs and outlaw motorcycle clubs.[3][4][5][6] The term was in use as an inversion of woodpecker in the Southern United States by the 1830s; it is also with the sense referring to white people documented from the 1850s.[2] African-American folklore in the 1920s contrasted the white "peckerwood" bird with the African-American blackbird.[6][7] The word became a common term in Jive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peckerwood
AI Overview
WHAT IS THE FREY EFFECT?
The Frey effect, also known as the microwave auditory effect or radio-frequency hearing, refers to the human perception of sounds induced by pulsed or modulated radio frequencies, specifically microwaves. These sounds are generated directly within the head, without the need for an external electronic device. The effect is named after Allan H. Frey, who first reported the phenomenon in the 1960s.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
How it works:
Microwaves, a form of electromagnetic radiation, can be absorbed by the human head, causing the auditory cortex to perceive sounds. These sounds can range from clicks and buzzes to human voices and are often described as being inside the head rather than originating from an external source.
Historical context:
The effect was initially noticed by individuals working near radar transponders during World War II. Later, Frey's research established the link between microwave exposure and auditory sensations.
Applications:
While the Frey effect is a well-established phenomenon, it has also been explored for potential applications, including microwave weapons. Some research suggests that microwave auditory effect weapons, like MEDUSA, can cause discomfort or even incapacitation by inducing loud, painful sounds in the target's head.
"Havana Syndrome":
The Frey effect has been suggested as a possible explanation for the "Havana Syndrome" – a set of health problems experienced by U.S. embassy personnel in Cuba and elsewhere. Some researchers have proposed that directed microwave energy could be responsible for the symptoms, including auditory and other neurological effects.
Potential for weaponization:
The potential for using the Frey effect as a weapon has raised concerns about its ethical implications and the need for further research.
AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more
Justia Patents US Patent for Apparatus and method for remotely monitoring and altering brain waves Patent (Patent # 3,951,134)
Apparatus and method for remotely monitoring and altering brain waves
Aug 5, 1974 - Dorne & Margolin Inc.
Apparatus for and method of sensing brain waves at a position remote from a subject whereby electromagnetic signals of different frequencies are simultaneously transmitted to the brain of the subject in which the signals interfere with one another to yield a waveform which is modulated by the subject's brain waves. The interference waveform which is representative of the brain wave activity is re-transmitted by the brain to a receiver where it is demodulated and amplified. The demodulated waveform is then displayed for visual viewing and routed to a computer for further processing and analysis. The demodulated waveform also can be used to produce a compensating signal which is transmitted back to the brain to effect a desired change in electrical activity therein.
https://patents.justia.com/patent/3951134
The Sopranos - Are you wearing a wire? Compilation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yaJqnAKdUE
Alien Nation is a science fiction police procedural television series in the Alien Nation franchise that aired on Fox from September 18, 1989 to May 7, 1990. Adapted from the 1988 Alien Nation film, it stars Gary Graham as Detective Matthew Sikes, an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department reluctantly working with "Newcomer" alien Sam "George" Francisco, played by Eric Pierpoint. Sikes also has an on again-off again flirtation with a female Newcomer, Cathy Frankel, played by Terri Treas.
TV Guide included the series in their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".[1]
Plot
The series is set in the near future in the United States. In 1990, a flying saucer crashes in the Mojave Desert containing a race of extraterrestrials, the Tenctonese, escaping from slavery under a cruel Overseer race. They are humanoid but have certain anatomical differences and have been bred with greater physical strength and intelligence. These Newcomers, as they are called, are accepted as the latest immigrants to the US. The series explores issues around their integration into the multicultural society of the US.
The storylines often are morality plays on the evils of racism and bigotry, using Newcomers as the discriminated minority. As fictional extraterrestrial immigrants, the Newcomers could stand in for social issues about various races, as well as sexual minorities such as gays and lesbians, and would invert the usual expectations. For instance, mid-way through the series, George becomes pregnant (the male of his species carrying the fetus for part of its gestation), and during much of the episode, dialog included lines like, "If you females had to feel the pain we males feel during pregnancy, there wouldn't be any babies." The series offers social commentary by illustrating what it means to be human and the often bizarre rituals we observe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Nation_(TV_series)
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX,[5] providing coverage to around 130 countries and territories.[6] It also aims to provide global mobile broadband.[7] Starlink has been instrumental to SpaceX's growth.[8]
SpaceX began launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of May 2025, the constellation consists of over 7,600 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO)[9] that communicate with designated ground transceivers, and Starlink comprises 65% of all active satellites.[10] Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned, with a possible later extension to 34,400. SpaceX announced reaching over 1 million subscribers in December 2022[11] and 4 million subscribers in September 2024.[12]
The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington, houses Starlink research, development, manufacturing, and orbit control facilities. In May 2018, SpaceX estimated the cost of designing, building and deploying the constellation would be at least US$10 billion.[1] Revenues from Starlink in 2022 were reportedly $1.4 billion with a net loss. A small profit began only in 2023.[13][failed verification – see discussion] In May 2024 that year's revenue was expected to reach $6.6 billion[14] but by December the prediction was raised to $7.7 billion.[15] Revenue was then expected to reach $11.8 billion in 2025.[15]
Starlink has been extensively used in the Russo-Ukrainian War, a role for which it has been contracted by the United States Department of Defense.[16] Starshield, a military version of Starlink, is designed for government use.[17][18]
Astronomers raised concerns about the effect the constellation would have on ground-based astronomy, and how the satellites contribute to an already congested orbital environment.[19][20] SpaceX has attempted to mitigate astronometric interference concerns with measures to reduce the satellites' brightness during operation.[21] The satellites are equipped with Hall-effect thrusters allowing them to raise their orbit, station-keep, and de-orbit at the end of their lives. They are also designed to autonomously and smoothly avoid collisions based on uplinked tracking data.[22]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX
SpaceX Roadster is not a natural celestial object, but rather a man-made object launched by SpaceX in February 2018 as part of the Falcon Heavy test flight. It is a red sports car owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and was launched as a demonstration of the Falcon Heavy's capabilities. The Roadster is not in a stable orbit around the Sun, but is instead on a heliocentric orbit that will take it to the asteroid belt and then back to the inner Solar System in the future. The Roadster also carries a mannequin named Starman, dressed in a spacesuit, in the driver's seat. The name "Roadster" refers to the type of car that is used as the payload for the Falcon Heavy, while "SpaceX" is the name of the private space exploration company founded by Elon Musk in 2002.
https://theskylive.com/roadster-info
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses (M☉)) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around 5,000 K [K] (4,700 °C; 8,500 °F) or lower. The appearance of the red giant is from yellow-white to reddish-orange, including the spectral types K and M, sometimes G, but also class S stars and most carbon stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant
Mercury is the first planet from the Sun. It is a rocky planet with a trace atmosphere. While it is the smallest and least massive planet of the Solar System, its surface gravity is slightly higher than that of Mars. The surface of Mercury is similar to Earth's Moon, heavily cratered, with expansive rupes system, generated from thrust faults, and bright ray systems, formed by ejecta. Its largest crater, Caloris Planitia, has a diameter of 1,550 km (960 mi), which is about one-third the diameter of the planet (4,880 km or 3,030 mi). Being the most inferior orbiting planet it appears in Earth's sky, always close to the Sun, either as a "morning star" or an "evening star". It stays most of the time the closest to all other planets and is the planet with the highest delta-v needed to travel to from all other planets of the Solar System.
Mercury's sidereal year (88.0 Earth days) and sidereal day (58.65 Earth days) are in a 3:2 ratio. This relationship is called spin–orbit resonance, and sidereal here means "relative to the stars". Consequently, one solar day (sunrise to sunrise) on Mercury lasts for around 176 Earth days: twice the planet's sidereal year. This means that one side of Mercury will remain in sunlight for one Mercurian year of 88 Earth days; while during the next orbit, that side will be in darkness all the time until the next sunrise after another 88 Earth days. Above the planet's surface is an extremely tenuous exosphere and a faint magnetic field that is strong enough to deflect solar winds. Combined with its high orbital eccentricity, the planet's surface has widely varying sunlight intensity and temperature, with the equatorial regions ranging from −170 °C (−270 °F) at night to 420 °C (790 °F) during sunlight. Due to the very small axial tilt, the planet's poles are permanently shadowed. This strongly suggests that water ice could be present in the craters.
Like the other planets in the Solar System, Mercury formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. There are many competing hypotheses about Mercury's origins and development, some of which incorporate collision with planetesimals and rock vaporization; as of the early 2020s, many broad details of Mercury's geological history are still under investigation or pending data from space probes. Its mantle is highly homogeneous, which suggests that Mercury had a magma ocean early in its history, like the Moon. According to current models, Mercury may have a solid silicate crust and mantle overlying a solid outer core, a deeper liquid core layer, and a solid inner core.
Mercury is a classical planet that has been observed throughout history and recognized as a planet (or wandering star). In English, it is named after the ancient Roman god Mercurius (Mercury), god of commerce and communication, and the messenger of the gods. The first successful flyby of Mercury was conducted by Mariner 10 in 1974, and it has since been visited and explored by the MESSENGER and BepiColombo orbiters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Mercury defied the conventions of a rock frontman with his theatrical style, influencing the artistic direction of Queen.
Born in 1946 in Zanzibar to Parsi-Indian parents, Mercury attended British boarding schools in India from the age of eight and returned to Zanzibar after secondary school. In 1964, his family fled the Zanzibar Revolution, moving to Middlesex, England. Having previously studied and written music, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Mercury wrote numerous hits for Queen, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love", "We Are the Champions", "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". His charismatic stage performances often saw him interact with the audience, as displayed at the 1985 Live Aid concert. He also led a solo career and was a producer and guest musician for other artists.
Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. He continued to record with Queen, and was posthumously featured on their final album, Made in Heaven (1995). In 1991, the day after publicly announcing his diagnosis, he died from complications of the disease at the age of 45. In 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium, in benefit of AIDS awareness.
As a member of Queen, Mercury was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1990, he and the other Queen members received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. One year after his death, Mercury received the same award individually. In 2005, Queen were awarded an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. In 2002, Mercury was voted number 58 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury
A nova (pl. novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. The main sub-classes of novae are classical novae, recurrent novae (RNe), and dwarf novae. They are all considered to be cataclysmic variable stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova
"Champagne Supernova" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. It is the closing track on the band's second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), and was released as the sixth and final single from the album in Australia and New Zealand on 13 May 1996 by Helter Skelter. Paul Weller appears as a guest guitarist and backing vocalist on the track. A music video for the song, directed by Nigel Dick, was released in 1996. The single was not released in the United Kingdom.[3]
Described by Gallagher himself as “probably as psychedelic as I'll ever get", it features a dreamy, anthemic sound characterized by its expansive instrumentation and atmospheric production. The song begins with a gentle, arpeggiated guitar riff that sets a reflective mood, gradually building in intensity. As it progresses, layered guitars and lush strings create a rich soundscape, complemented by a steady drum beat that drives the song forward, accompanied with the vocals of Liam Gallagher, conveying a sense of longing and nostalgia, with lyrics that are both evocative and somewhat abstract.[4][5]
Although much debate surrounds the meaning of the song, Noel Gallagher originally described how "Champagne Supernova" resonates with him depending on his mood. However, in later interviews, he has stated that he does not really know what the song means and how "it means something different" to everyone.[6][7]
"Champagne Supernova" is considered by fans and music journalists alike as one of the most defining songs of Oasis and of Britpop. Alexis Petridis, the chief critic of The Guardian, called it the band's greatest song, claiming it was the "perfect epitaph for swaggering mid-90s hedonism."[8] Upon its release, the song became a radio single in the United States, becoming the band's second No. 1 single on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, becoming the band's third top 40 single on that chart. The song is included on the band's greatest hits album Stop the Clocks and on the US release of Time Flies... 1994–2009. "Champagne Supernova" has also topped several ranked lists of the band's best songs, including from Consequence of Sound, Medium, Uproxx, and Variety.[9][10][11][12] Supernova SN 2003fg was nicknamed "Champagne Supernova" after the song.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_Supernova
Hugh (c. 1074 – c. 1130) was a French noble who was the first count of Champagne. He was known for donating the valley that was used as the site for the Clairvaux Abbey and going on several pilgrimages to the Holy Land. During his second visit, Hugh de Paynes, a knight in his service, stayed in Jerusalem and established the Knights Templar. Hugh later gave up his wealth and lands to join the Templar Order.
Biography
Hugh was the third son of Count Theobald III of Blois and Countess Adele of Valois,[1] bearing the title count of Bar-sur-Aube. His older brother Count Odo died in 1093,[2] leaving him master of Troyes, where he centred his court, Bar-sur-Aube and Vitry-le-François. In this way the three contiguous countships that formed the core of an emerging Champagne[2] were united in his person, and though he preferred "Count of Troyes", the oldest of his lordships and site of the only bishopric in his domains, many contemporary documents call him the count of Champagne, the title preferred by his descendants.[3]
His first recorded act, a monastic gift in 1094, became the oldest document of the comital archive.[2] The act of his that resonated longest in history was his grant of lands in 1115 to the monk Bernard of the reformed Benedictines at Cîteaux—the Cistercians—in order to found Clairvaux Abbey, a Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux (in the present Ville-sous-la-Ferté), in a wild valley of a tributary of the Aube, where Bernard was appointed abbot and became famous as Bernard of Clairvaux. Hugh's charter makes over to the new foundation Clairvaux and its dependencies, fields, meadows, vineyards, woods and water. A deeply affectionate letter from Bernard to Hugh survives,[4] written in 1125, as Hugh went off for a third time to fight in the Holy Land, joining the Knights Templar, leaving his pregnant wife, and disinheriting his son Odo – according to later sources, Hugh believed himself impotent and never acknowledged his son. Instead, he transferred his titles to his nephew, who became Theobald II of Champagne. Odo's two sons, Odo II of Champlitte and William of Champlitte were important figures in the Fourth Crusade.[5]
Hugh married first Constance,[1] daughter of King Philip I of France and Bertha of Holland. Their only child, a son called Manasses, died young. He married second Isabella,[1] daughter of Stephen I, Count of Burgundy and niece of Pope Callixtus II and they had issue:
Eudes/Odo I, married to Sibylle de La Ferte-sur-L'Aube and had two sons:
Odo II of Champlitte died 1204, one of the leaders of the IV Crusade.
William I 1160s - 1209, prince of Achaea and founder of the Principality.
When Hugh became a Knight Templar himself in 1125,[6] the Order comprised few more than a dozen knights, and the first Grand Master of the Templars was a vassal of his, Hugues de Payens, who had been with him at Jerusalem in 1114.[7] While in the kingdom of Jerusalem, Hugh appeared with the king, Baldwin II, in two documents, but there is no trace of him after 1130.[8]
Hugh was also the generous patron of the abbeys of Montieramey Abbey and of Molesme, making grants from his castle of Isle-Aumont, south of Troyes. In a surviving letter to him from Ivo of Chartres (Letter CCCXLV), the Bishop of Chartres reminds him of his obligations of marriage, perhaps to deter him from making vows of continence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh,_Count_of_Champagne
Nova music festival massacre
On 7 October 2023, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization Hamas, initiated a sudden attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas also took 40 people hostage, and men and women were reportedly subject to sexual and gender-based violence.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_music_festival_massacre
CHAPTER SEVEN – SHABTAI, SHIMON AND SHARON – DESTROYING THE JEWS
ALM 1 - THE DEUTSCH DEVILS
Rabbi Marvin Antelman was right all along. Way back in 1974, he identified the source of all the evil against Jews and humanity but his message and style were too unaccessible to get through to anyone but the most advanced students of antisemitism. What he lacked most was simplicity, a common enough failure of thinkers decades in advance of their contemporaries. What he needed was someone to put out a Cliff's Notes simplified explanation of his thesis...and someone, without intention, just did. The name of the book is, 50 Jewish Messiahs by Jerry Rabow (Gefen Publishing, Jerusalem). It is an informative but shallow overview of just what the title says, but in its shallowness lies vital depth. We begin with Chapter 17, about the "most damaging messiah to the Jewish people," Shabbatai Zvi. First we'll read Rabow and then add commentary opening Rabbi Antelman's work to the wide world. Recall that there are various accepted English spellings for Shabtai Tzvi, and the Sabbataians. The spelling presented depends on the writer:
pp 91 - Shabbatai Zvi was born in Smyrna, Turkey on the ninth of Av, 1626. The ninth day of Av is the day of a triple tragedy for the Jewish nation. According to tradition, the First Temple, the Second Temple and Bar Kokhba's Betar fortress all fell on this day.
pp 93 - He changed the holiday celebrations and violated the dietary prohibitions. All of this followed from his declaration that the usual rules were inapplicable to messianic times.
pp 95 - He declared that the coming of the messianic era meant that the biblical commandments were no longer binding. He proclaimed that God now permitted everything. ** This is Rabbi Antelman's central assertion; that Shabbataism was the polar opposite of Judaism. That Shabbatai Zvi's program was to destroy all the tenets of the Torah and replace them with their opposites. Incredibly, more than half the Jews of the world at the time, believed he would be revealed as their promised messiah: **
pp 101 - Then he finally made the announcement for which the Jewish community had been waiting for 1600 years - he would begin the Redemption on the 15th day of the month of Sivan, June 18, 1666. ** There are many who will recognize the significance of the date. June is the sixth month, 18 divided by three is 6+6+6 and 1666 is clear enough. Either he knew what he was doing or the prophesies of the emergence of an evil false messiah or anti-Christ are right, and Shabbatai Zvi was him. **
pp 110 - Through all of this, Shabbatai continued to issue proclamations of the theological changes wrought by the coming of the messianic age. Shabbatai's new prayer was, "Praised be He who permits the forbidden." Since all things would be permitted in the age of the messiah, Shabbatai declared many of the old restrictions of the Torah no longer applicable. He abolished the laws concerning sexual relationships. He eventually declared that all of the thirty six major biblical sins were now permitted and instructed some of his followers that it was their duty to perform such sins in order to hasten the Redemption.
Shabtai Tzvi, Labor Zionism and the Holocaust
by Barry Chamish
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B66Pc9x2hkIrV2Y3QWxPbkpKYWc/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-5ak831cRNQohyyjZYfFKvw
In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string acts like a particle, with its mass, charge, and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the graviton, a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. Thus, string theory is a theory of quantum gravity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reaction
2 Peter 3:10
1599 Geneva Bible
10 [a]But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a [b]noise, and the elements shall melt with heat, and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt up.
Read full chapter
Footnotes
2 Peter 3:10 A very short description of the least distinction of the world, but in such sort as nothing could be spoken more gravely.
2 Peter 3:10 With the violence as it were of a hissing storm.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter%203%3A10&version=GNV
NASA's Greeting to Aliens Has Been Floating in Space for 40 Years
February 21, 2017
If extraterrestrial life encounters the Voyager space probes, they would be greeted by a series of Golden Records programmed by NASA in 1977 to explain the story of Earth.
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/space/nasa-s-greeting-aliens-has-been-floating-space-40-years-n723586
Countdown to the Messiah
Daniel 9:24 gives the Hebrew Nation a 483 year countdown to the year that the Messiah would arrive on the scene (column 2 row 3 of our next table). Luke records that Jesus began to be about 30 years old when he was revealed as the Messiah at the Jordan River baptism.
Three and a half years later the Messiah is crucified, by no coincidence it is forty years before the total Desolation of the Temple and the Nation by the Roman army, the people of the prince that shall come, as foretold by Daniel and Jesus. If any period of time deserves the title, “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” it would be this forty years. And if those days had not been shortened no flesh (Jacob) would have been saved, but for the Elect's sake (those obedient Hebrew's who would spread the gospel) those days of persecution were shortened to prevent the annihilation of even the elect. Many try to apply this verse to the days preceding the return of Messiah but this is not logical because the elect will all be resurrected at that time so those days will not need to be shortened for their sake. Because first century Christians were a sect of the Jews it was necessary for the Elect to survive the desolation of the Hebrew Nation at the end of that century.
The Rapture Will Be Cancelled
by Nicklas Arthur
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hwvsMLXT7Z35KlbSdXw6x5EH0VLHPZsM/view?usp=sharing
1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1989th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 989th year of the 2nd millennium, the 89th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1980s decade.
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin Wall in November, the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and the overthrow of the communist dictatorship in Romania in December; the movement ended in December 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Revolutions against communist governments in Eastern Europe mainly succeeded, but the year also saw the suppression by the Chinese government of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.
It was the year of the first Brazilian direct presidential election in 29 years, since the end of the military government in 1985 that ruled the country for more than twenty years, and marked the redemocratization process's final point.
F. W. de Klerk was elected as State President of South Africa, and his regime gradually dismantled the apartheid system over the next five years, culminating with the 1994 election that brought jailed African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela to power.
The first commercial Internet service providers surfaced in this year,[1][2] as well as the first written proposal for the World Wide Web and New Zealand, Japan and Australia's first Internet connections. The first babies born after preimplantation genetic diagnosis were conceived in late 1989.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989
Note: Inauguration Day, January 20, 2029, falls on a Saturday. Federal employees in the Washington, DC, area are entitled to a holiday on the day a President is inaugurated on January 20th for each fourth year after 1965. Only employees scheduled to work on Saturday, January 20th, may be excused from duty and provided with paid holiday time off. In this instance, Inauguration Day is not observed on another day. There is no in-lieu-of holiday for employees who are not regularly scheduled to work on Inauguration Day (5 U.S.C. 6103(c)). Employees who are required to perform work on a holiday are entitled to holiday premium pay.
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/#url=2029
The other 9/11: George H.W. Bush's 1990 New World Order speech
Out of these troubled times, a new world order can emerge.
By George H.W. Bush|Contributor
12:41 PM on Sep 8, 2017 CDT
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt of George H.W. Bush's speech before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 11, 1990, in which he describes his vision of a new world order amid the Persian Gulf crisis. Read the full speech here.
We stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective — a new world order — can emerge: a new era — freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, East and West, North and South, can prosper and live in harmony.
A hundred generations have searched for this elusive path to peace, while a thousand wars raged across the span of human endeavor. Today that new world is struggling to be born, a world quite different from the one we've known. A world where the rule of law supplants the rule of the jungle. A world in which nations recognize the shared responsibility for freedom and justice. A world where the strong respect the rights of the weak. This is the vision that I shared with President Gorbachev in Helsinki. He and other leaders from Europe, the Gulf, and around the world understand that how we manage this crisis today could shape the future for generations to come.
The test we face is great, and so are the stakes. This is the first assault on the new world that we seek, the first test of our mettle. Had we not responded to this first provocation with clarity of purpose, if we do not continue to demonstrate our determination, it would be a signal to actual and potential despots around the world. America and the world must defend common vital interests — and we will. America and the world must support the rule of law — and we will. America and the world must stand up to aggression — and we will. And one thing more: In the pursuit of these goals, America will not be intimidated.
President George Bush and first lady Barbara Bush welcomed Soviet President Mikhail...
President George Bush and first lady Barbara Bush welcomed Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, for a state dinner at the White House in May 1990. (File Photo/The Associated Press)
Vital issues of principle are at stake. Saddam Hussein is literally trying to wipe a country off the face of the Earth. We do not exaggerate. Nor do we exaggerate when we say Saddam Hussein will fail. Vital economic interests are at risk as well. Iraq itself controls some 10 percent of the world's proven oil reserves. Iraq plus Kuwait controls twice that. An Iraq permitted to swallow Kuwait would have the economic and military power, as well as the arrogance, to intimidate and coerce its neighbors — neighbors who control the lion's share of the world's remaining oil reserves. We cannot permit a resource so vital to be dominated by one so ruthless. And we won't.
Recent events have surely proven that there is no substitute for American leadership. In the face of tyranny, let no one doubt American credibility and reliability. Let no one doubt our staying power. We will stand by our friends. One way or another, the leader of Iraq must learn this fundamental truth. From the outset, acting hand in hand with others, we've sought to fashion the broadest possible international response to Iraq's aggression. The level of world cooperation and condemnation of Iraq is unprecedented. Armed forces from countries spanning four continents are there at the request of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia to deter and, if need be, to defend against attack. Moslems and non-Moslems, Arabs and non-Arabs, soldiers from many nations stand shoulder to shoulder, resolute against Saddam Hussein's ambitions. ...
I cannot predict just how long it will take to convince Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Sanctions will take time to have their full intended effect. We will continue to review all options with our allies, but let it be clear: We will not let this aggression stand.
George H.W. Bush was the 41st president of the United States.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230306211151/https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/09/08/the-other-9-11-george-h-w-bush-s-1990-new-world-order-speech/
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet"[1][2] – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs, as the term sustainable development implies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals
2030-2031 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS
Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2031 Mars apparition is considered Transitional (between Aphelic and Perihelic) because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 68.4° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls and 111.6° Ls from perihelion (250° Ls).
NOTE: Ls is the planetocentric longitude of the Sun along the ecliptic of Mars’ sky. 0° Ls is defined as that point where the Sun crosses the Martian celestial equator from south to north, that is the planet’s northern hemisphere vernal equinox. The other Ls values that define the beginnings of Martian northern hemisphere seasons are: summer, 90° Ls; autumn, 180° Ls; and winter, 270° Ls. For Mars’ southern hemisphere these values represent the opposite seasons. Distance (A.U.) - Distance from Earth to Mars in astronomical units, where one (1) A.U. equals 92,955,807.267 miles or 149,597,870.691 km.
Opposition occurs 11 months after conjunction when Mars is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. At that time, the two planets will lie nearly in a straight line with respect to the Sun, or five weeks after retrogression begins. Opposition will occur at 1157 UT on May 04, 2031 (138.4° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.7 arcsec. Mars will remain visible for more than twelve months after opposition and then become lost in the glare of the Sun around May 31, 2032 as it approaches the next conjunction (July 11, 2032). The cycle is complete in 780 Earth days.
Closest approach occurs at 0350 UT on May 12, 2031 (142.1° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.9 at a distance of 0.5533578 astronomical units (AU) or 51,437,823 miles (82,781,152 km). During closest approach in 2031 the apparent diameter of Mars will be 2.4 arcsec larger than it was at the same period in 2029; however, it will be 17.1 degrees lower in the sky - not quite as good for observing the Red Planet for observers in the northern hemisphere. It should also be noted that closest approach between Earth and Mars is not necessarily coincident with the time of opposition but varies by as much as two weeks.
https://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jbeish/2031_MARS.htm
Empty Nest is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to June 17, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of The Golden Girls by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Richard Mulligan as recently widowed pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston, whose two adult daughters return home to live with him. The series was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions in association with Touchstone Television.[3][4]
History
An early version of the series initially appeared in the 1987 Golden Girls episode "Empty Nests" which was intended to act as a backdoor pilot for the spin-off, which was to begin during the fall 1987 TV season.
In the episode, George and Renee Corliss (played by Paul Dooley and Rita Moreno), were introduced as the Girls' neighbors, a middle-aged couple suffering from empty nest syndrome. Their teenage daughter Jenny (Jane Harnick), who had left for college, and Renee's brother Chuck (Geoffrey Lewis), also appeared. The Corlisses also had an annoying neighbor played by David Leisure (although in this version his character was named Oliver). The series was, in part, conceived as a star vehicle for Leisure, whose portrayal of car salesman Joe Isuzu had made him a national celebrity.[5][6]
Rita Moreno later criticized the Empty Nest pilot, calling it a "very, very bad show."[7] She explained that the script desperately needed rewrites from creator Susan Harris, but she was very sick the week of shooting so it was left to other writers to fix. According to Moreno, "every day they kept changing my character, to the extent that by the time we got to do it in front of an audience I couldn't remember Line 1 because the attitudes had changed so many times. That was the most embarrassing experience...we must have done, I would guess, about 15 takes in front of an audience."[7]
Ultimately, the series did not go ahead as planned and the premise was later extensively revamped with a new cast before Empty Nest debuted in 1988. The set of the Corlisses' house, however, was exactly the same as the one that later became the Weston residence.
Premise
The show's story revolves around Miami pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston, whose life is turned upside down when his wife, Libby, dies and two of his adult daughters move back into the family home. Later estranged daughter Emily returns to the nest (Lisa Rieffel). Early episodes establish that the Golden Girls characters are neighbors of the Westons. Original Golden Girls actors, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty all guest-star as their Golden Girls characters, and Mulligan appears occasionally on The Golden Girls.
In the show, eldest daughter Carol is a highly-strung recent divorcée, while middle daughter Barbara is a tough undercover police officer. The two sisters frequently bicker and vie for the attention of their father, whom they call "Daddy", while their father occasionally expresses regret at never having had a son. The Westons' large dog Dreyfuss also prominently features as a member of the household.
In 1992, Kristy McNichol, who played Barbara, left the show, and Lisa Rieffel joined the cast as the third Weston daughter, Emily. Her character had previously not been shown onscreen, but had been mentioned as being away at college. Rieffel left after one season, and for the show's final two seasons only eldest daughter Carol remained of the Weston children. Kristy McNichol returned for the series finale in 1995.
Another main character is the Westons' neighbor and friend, Charley Dietz (David Leisure), a womanizing cruise ship employee who frequently enters the house uninvited and takes food or makes sexist comments. Charley has a father-son relationship with Harry and a love-hate relationship with Carol. Charley's role increased in later seasons after Leisure's other role as Joe Isuzu was discontinued.[6][5]
Harry Weston's job is another major focus for the show. For the first five seasons, he works at a hospital, where he is assisted by wisecracking Southern nurse Laverne, played throughout the series by Park Overall. Laverne and Harry are shown to be good friends. In season six, Harry retires, eventually going to work for a struggling inner-city medical clinic run by the tough-talking Dr. Maxine Douglas. Nurse Laverne, having been fired by Dr. Weston's replacement, comes to work there as well.
Another character who appears is Carol's boyfriend, Patrick, an artist who is almost as eccentric as she is. Patrick convinces the Westons to let him use their empty garage as his new painting studio and, when his relationship with Carol becomes serious, he eventually moves into the house. Carol and Patrick's romantic bliss is short-lived, and they break up at the beginning of season six. Carol then finds she is pregnant with Patrick's child, and chooses to raise the baby, Scotty, on her own.
Estelle Getty reprised her Golden Girls character Sophia Petrillo during Empty Nest's final two seasons (after the cancellation of The Golden Palace). In the show, it is explained that Sophia has moved back into the nearby Shady Pines retirement home.
Cast
Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston
Dinah Manoff as Carol Weston
Kristy McNichol as Barbara Weston (1988–1992, 1995)
David Leisure as Charley Dietz
Park Overall as Laverne Todd
Paul Provenza as Patrick Arcola (1992–1993)
Lisa Rieffel as Emily Weston (1993)
Marsha Warfield as Dr. Maxine Douglas (1993–1995)
Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo (1993–1995)
Bear the Dog as Dreyfuss the St. Bernard-Golden Retriever mix
Notable guest stars
Don Adams
Bea Arthur (reprising her Golden Girls role as Dorothy)
Diana Muldaur
Loni Anderson
Mayim Bialik
Eddie Bracken
Garth Brooks
Patricia Crowley
Angie Dickinson
Stephen Dorff
Morgan Fairchild
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Marla Gibbs
Trevor Goddard
Bobcat Goldthwait
Lee Grant
Harold Gould
Pat Harrington
Phil Hartman
Earl Holliman
Shirley Jones
Gordon Jump
Carol Kane
Joey Lawrence
Mark Linn-Baker
Jane Lynch
Wendie Malick
Barbara Mandrell
Rue McClanahan (reprising her Golden Girls role as Blanche)
Edie McClurg
Audrey Meadows
Stephen Nichols
Jerry Orbach
Matthew Perry
Donnelly Rhodes (also appeared on Soap as Dutch)
Geraldo Rivera
Doris Roberts
Debra Jo Rupp
Jennifer Salt (also appeared on Soap as Eunice)
Peter Scolari
Liz Sheridan
Yeardley Smith
Jeffrey Tambor
Renée Taylor
Danny Thomas
Betty White (reprising her Golden Girls role as Rose)
Grace Zabriskie
Adrian Zmed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_Nest
PROPERTY OF:
CANAL TOWNSHIP JUSTICE COURT DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE BUILDING
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IN THE JUSTICE COURT OF CANAL TOWNSHIP
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF LYON, STATE OF NEVADA
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THE STATE OF NEVADA,
VS
Plaintiff,
Willian Dunn IV
Defendant.
WAIVER OF FIFTEEN DAY RULE
COMES NOW Willian Dum IV;
Defendant in the
above entitled action, after having been fully advised of his/her rights to a prosecution on the charges and hereby waives the fifteen (15) day period in which h to be given a preliminary examination pursuant to NRS 171.196 and agrees tha examination may be held within such reasonable time, after the fifteen (15) day pe the Court may deem to be just and proper.
DATED this 28 day of
вст
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Defendant
Attorney for Defendant/Witness
Protocol 15: When the King of Israel sets upon his sacred head the crown offered him by Europe he will become patriarch of the world.
Twelve royal families in Europe today have Grail blood flowing through their veins. Two of them carry the title of "King of Jerusalem:" Otto von Habsburg, Pretender to the Austrian throne, and Juan Carlos, King of Spain.
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 Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries (currently Spain and Luxembourg). The Capetians appear first in the records as powerful nobles serving under the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne in West Francia, which later became France. As their power increased, they came into conflict with the older royal family and attained the crown several times before the eventual start of the continuous rule of the descendants of Hugh Capet (ruled 987–996).
Hugh's paternal ancestral family, the Robertians, appear in documents that trace the family back to his great-grandfather Robert the Strong (d. 866). His origins remain unclear, but medieval records hint at an origin in East Francia, in present-day Germany, an area then still also ruled by the Carolingians. In particular, Regino of Prüm (died 915) states that Robert the Strong's son Odo was said to be a relative (nepos) of a Count Meingaud, count of an area near Worms, who died in 892, and there are indications that Maingaud's family used the names Robert and Odo.
Modern proposals about their ancestry further back are based on the idea that there was one family which frequently named its sons Robert, including Robert III of Worms (800–834), Robert the Strong (d. 866), and Robert I of France (866–923). For example, one proposed ancestor is Robert of Hesbaye (c. 800), about whom there are almost no records.
The Robertian family figured prominently amongst the Carolingian nobility and married into this royal family. Eventually, the Robertians themselves produced Frankish kings such as the brothers Odo (reigned 888–898) and Robert I (r. 922–923), then Hugh Capet (r. 987–996), who ruled from his seat in Paris as the first Capetian king of France.
Although Philip II Augustus (r. 1180–1223) was officially the last monarch of France with the title "King of the Franks" (rex Francorum) and the first to style himself "King of France" (roi de France), in (systematic application of) historiography, Hugh Capet holds this distinction. He founded the Capetians, the royal dynasty that ruled France until the revolution of the Second French Republic in 1848—save during the interregnum of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Members of the family still reign in Europe today : both King Felipe VI of Spain and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg descend from this family through the Bourbon cadet branch of the dynasty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertians
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
The Capetian dynasty (/kəˈpiːʃən/; French: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favor of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans. Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon house are still ruling over Spain and Luxembourg."
Name origins and usage
The name of the dynasty derives from its founder, Hugh, who was known as "Hugh Capet".[4] The meaning of "Capet" (a nickname rather than a surname of the modern sort) is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with "cape", other suggestions indicate it might be connected to the Latin word caput ("head"), and explain it as meaning "chief" or "head".[citation needed]
Historians in the 19th century (see House of France) came to apply the name "Capetian" to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice. The name "Capet" has also been used as a surname for French royalty, particularly but not exclusively those of the House of Capet. One notable use was during the French Revolution, when the dethroned King Louis XVI (a member of the House of Bourbon and a direct male-line descendant of Hugh Capet) and Queen Marie Antoinette (a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) were referred to as "Louis and Antoinette Capet" (the queen being addressed as "the Widow Capet" after the execution of her husband).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_dynasty
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/
Pope Leo XIV[a] (born Robert Francis Prevost,[b][c] September 14, 1955) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the first to hold American and Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis).
Prevost was born in Chicago and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton, Illinois. He became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he worked as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, he was based in Rome from 2001 to 2013, and extensively traveled to the order's provinces around the world. He then returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Made a cardinal by Pope Francis, Prevost emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Prevost's election in the 2025 papal conclave was unexpected by observers; he was a dark horse candidate, with Vatican insiders believing that a pope would never emerge from the United States.[8][9] He took his papal name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIV
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
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
"The Day Called 'X' is a dramatized CBS documentary film set in Portland, Oregon, in which the entire city is evacuated in anticipation of a nuclear air raid, after Soviet bombers had been detected by radar stations to the north; it details the activation of the city's civil defense protocols and leads up to the moment before the attack (the ending is left intentionally unknown). The operations were run from the Kelly Butte Bunker, which was the emergency operations center at that time. It was filmed in September 1957[1] and aired December 8 of that year.[2][3] Apart from presenter/narrator Glenn Ford, none of the people shown are actors. They are locals of Portland shown in their real jobs, including Mayor Terry Schrunk.
Its local re-broadcast in 2004[4] and appearance in the on-line Prelinger Archives attracted interest among local history buffs due to its extensive outside shots of the city, and the use of non-actor participants (local officials and broadcasters). Whenever one of these individuals is heard uttering warnings or statements regarding attack, the words "AN ATTACK IS NOT TAKING PLACE" are superimposed over the picture.[2]
On September 27, 1955, Portland actually conducted an exercise evacuation of downtown called "Operation Greenlight",[5][6] and the film is often misattributed to that year. Ford's narration, however, does make direct reference to the 1955 exercise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_Called_%27X%27
Eyewitness Account of Hiroshima
By Father John A. Siemes, professor of modern philosophy at Tokyo's Catholic University
Hiroshima- August 6th, 1945
Up to August 6th, occasional bombs, which did no great damage, had fallen on Hiroshima. Many cities roundabout, one after the other, were destroyed, but Hiroshima itself remained protected. There were almost daily observation planes over the city but none of them dropped a bomb. The citizens wondered why they alone had remained undisturbed for so long a time. There were fantastic rumors that the enemy had something special in mind for this city, but no one dreamed that the end would come in such a fashion as on the morning of August 6th.
August 6th began in a bright, clear, summer morning. About seven o'clock, there was an air raid alarm which we had heard almost every day and a few planes appeared over the city. No one paid any attention and at about eight o'clock, the all-clear was sounded. I am sitting in my room at the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Nagatsuke; during the past half year, the philosophical and theological section of our Mission had been evacuated to this place from Tokyo. The Novitiate is situated approximately two kilometers from Hiroshima, half-way up the sides of a broad valley which stretches from the town at sea level into this mountainous hinterland, and through which courses a river. From my window, I have a wonderful view down the valley to the edge of the city.
Suddenly--the time is approximately 8:14--the whole valley is filled by a garish light which resembles the magnesium light used in photography, and I am conscious of a wave of heat. I jump to the window to find out the cause of this remarkable phenomenon, but I see nothing more than that brilliant yellow light. As I make for the door, it doesn't occur to me that the light might have something to do with enemy planes. On the way from the window, I hear a moderately loud explosion which seems to come from a distance and, at the same time, the windows are broken in with a loud crash. There has been an interval of perhaps ten seconds since the flash of light. I am sprayed by fragments of glass. The entire window frame has been forced into the room. I realize now that a bomb has burst and I am under the impression that it exploded directly over our house or in the immediate vicinity.
I am bleeding from cuts about the hands and head. I attempt to get out of the door. It has been forced outwards by the air pressure and has become jammed. I force an opening in the door by means of repeated blows with my hands and feet and come to a broad hallway from which open the various rooms. Everything is in a state of confusion. All windows are broken and all the doors are forced inwards. The bookshelves in the hallway have tumbled down. I do not note a second explosion and the fliers seem to have gone on. Most of my colleagues have been injured by fragments of glass. A few are bleeding but none has been seriously injured. All of us have been fortunate since it is now apparent that the wall of my room opposite the window has been lacerated by long fragments of glass.
We proceed to the front of the house to see where the bomb has landed. There is no evidence, however, of a bomb crater; but the southeast section of the house is very severely damaged. Not a door nor a window remains. The blast of air had penetrated the entire house from the southeast, but the house still stands. It is constructed in a Japanese style with a wooden framework, but has been greatly strengthened by the labor of our Brother Gropper as is frequently done in Japanese homes. Only along the front of the chapel which adjoins the house, three supports have given way (it has been made in the manner of Japanese temple, entirely out of wood.)
Down in the valley, perhaps one kilometer toward the city from us, several peasant homes are on fire and the woods on the opposite side of the valley are aflame. A few of us go over to help control the flames. While we are attempting to put things in order, a storm comes up and it begins to rain. Over the city, clouds of smoke are rising and I hear a few slight explosions. I come to the conclusion that an incendiary bomb with an especially strong explosive action has gone off down in the valley. A few of us saw three planes at great altitude over the city at the time of the explosion. I, myself, saw no aircraft whatsoever.
Perhaps a half-hour after the explosion, a procession of people begins to stream up the valley from the city. The crowd thickens continuously. A few come up the road to our house. We give them first aid and bring them into the chapel, which we have in the meantime cleaned and cleared of wreckage, and put them to rest on the straw mats which constitute the floor of Japanese houses. A few display horrible wounds of the extremities and back. The small quantity of fat which we possessed during this time of war was soon used up in the care of the burns. Father Rektor who, before taking holy orders, had studied medicine, ministers to the injured, but our bandages and drugs are soon gone. We must be content with cleansing the wounds.
More and more of the injured come to us. The least injured drag the more seriously wounded. There are wounded soldiers, and mothers carrying burned children in their arms. From the houses of the farmers in the valley comes word: "Our houses are full of wounded and dying. Can you help, at least by taking the worst cases?" The wounded come from the sections at the edge of the city. They saw the bright light, their houses collapsed and buried the inmates in their rooms. Those that were in the open suffered instantaneous burns, particularly on the lightly clothed or unclothed parts of the body. Numerous fires sprang up which soon consumed the entire district. We now conclude that the epicenter of the explosion was at the edge of the city near the Jokogawa Station, three kilometers away from us. We are concerned about Father Kopp who that same morning, went to hold Mass at the Sisters of the Poor, who have a home for children at the edge of the city. He had not returned as yet.
Toward noon, our large chapel and library are filled with the seriously injured. The procession of refugees from the city continues. Finally, about one o'clock, Father Kopp returns, together with the Sisters. Their house and the entire district where they live has burned to the ground. Father Kopp is bleeding about the head and neck, and he has a large burn on the right palm. He was standing in front of the nunnery ready to go home. All of a sudden, he became aware of the light, felt the wave of heat and a large blister formed on his hand. The windows were torn out by the blast. He thought that the bomb had fallen in his immediate vicinity. The nunnery, also a wooden structure made by our Brother Gropper, still remained but soon it is noted that the house is as good as lost because the fire, which had begun at many points in the neighborhood, sweeps closer and closer, and water is not available. There is still time to rescue certain things from the house and to bury them in an open spot. Then the house is swept by flame, and they fight their way back to us along the shore of the river and through the burning streets.
Soon comes news that the entire city has been destroyed by the explosion and that it is on fire. What became of Father Superior and the three other Fathers who were at the center of the city at the Central Mission and Parish House? We had up to this time not given them a thought because we did not believe that the effects of the bomb encompassed the entire city. Also, we did not want to go into town except under pressure of dire necessity, because we thought that the population was greatly perturbed and that it might take revenge on any foreigners which they might consider spiteful onlookers of their misfortune, or even spies.
https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/hiroshima-nagasaki/hiroshima-siemes.html
Case No. 25CR276
DA Case No. CR251398D
The State of Nevada, Plaintiff, vs. William Francis Dunn IV
Filed 2025 Aug-6 AM 9:54
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Case No. 25cean6
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DA Case No. CR251398D
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USE BY:
BIN#42
FILED
2025 AUG-6 AM 9:54
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE BY KU CLERK
IN THE JUSTICE COURT OF DAYTON TOWNSHIP
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF LYON, STATE OF NEVADA
THE STATE OF NEVADA,
Plaintiff,
CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
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VS.
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WILLIAM FRANCIS DUNN,
Defendant.
COMES NOW, Plaintiff, State of Nevada, by and through STEPHEN B. RYE, Lyon 13 County District Attorney, and hereby verifies and declares upon information and belief 14 and under penalty of perjury, that WILLIAM FRANCIS DUNN, the Defendant above- 15 named, has committed the following crime(s):
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COUNTI
Violation of Extended Order Against Stalking or Harassment, in violation of NRS 200.591(5)(b), a Category C Felony
That on or about August 3, 2025, within Dayton Township, Lyon County, Nevada, the said defendant intentionally violated an extended order against stalking or
harassment issued by the Dayton Justice Court, served on August 23, 2024, valid until July 2, 2026, and the defendant violated the extended order in the manner following, to wit, the defendant posted a threatening message directed at Julia Byse on Facebook, all of which occurred at or near 2031 Lonnie Lane, Dayton, Nevada.
All of which is contrary to the form of statute in such cases made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Nevada. Complainant prays that a summons and/or warrant be issued and that said Defendant be dealt with according to law.
Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, but withdrew from the race before the primaries. Biden selected her as his running mate, and their ticket defeated the incumbent president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 election. Presiding over an evenly split Senate upon entering office, Harris played a crucial role as president of the Senate. She cast more tie-breaking votes than any other vice president, which helped pass bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stimulus package and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. After Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, Harris launched her campaign with Biden's endorsement and soon became the presumptive nominee. On August 6, 2024, she chose Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris
A jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder of Senator Robert Kennedy and fixed the penalty at death for that crime. [7 Cal. 3d 717] The jury also found defendant guilty on five counts charging assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder upon Paul Schrade, Irwin Stroll, William Weisel, Elizabeth Evans and Ira Goldstein respectively, and prison sentences were imposed on those counts. The court denied a motion for a new trial, and defendant's automatic appeal is now before us. (Pen. Code, § 1239, subd. (b).)
Defendant contends that (1) the death penalty is cruel or unusual punishment; (2) in view of proof of his diminished capacity the evidence is insufficient to support the first degree murder conviction; (3) he was denied a fair trial as a result of certain publicity; (4) his right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures and his privilege against self-incrimination were violated by the receipt of evidence found in his bedroom and in his yard; (5) other evidence was erroneously admitted; (6) his constitutional rights were violated by having the prosecution initiated by an indictment rather than an information; (7) the court erred in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether the exclusion of veniremen opposed to the death penalty results in an unrepresentative jury on the issue of guilt or substantially increases the risk of conviction; and (8) the petit and grand juries were illegally selected. fn. 1
People v. Anderson, 6 Cal. 3d 628 [100 Cal. Rptr. 152, 493 P.2d 880], holds that the death penalty violates our state constitutional provision against cruel or unusual punishment (Cal. Const., art. I, § 6). The first of defendant's contentions thus is meritorious. We have concluded that the other contentions set forth above cannot be upheld and that the judgment should be modified to provide for life imprisonment and as so modified affirmed.
At the trial it was undisputed that defendant fired the shot that killed Senator Kennedy. The evidence also established conclusively that he shot the victims of the assault counts. The principal defense relied upon by defendant was that of diminished capacity. Extensive evidence was presented of the circumstances surrounding the shootings and of defendant's mental condition, which evidence may be summarized as follows:
About 8:30 p.m. on June 2, 1968, two days before defendant shot Senator Kennedy, the senator made a speech in the Coconut Grove at the [7 Cal. 3d 718] Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, following which he delivered a second speech outside the hotel. Defendant was seen at the hotel about 8:45 that night by an acquaintance. A half hour or less after the senator's second speech a hostess saw a man who looked like defendant in the kitchen near the Coconut Grove.
During the day on June 4, 1968, defendant practiced firing at a gun range for several hours and had also practiced shooting at ranges on several prior occasions. On June 4 he engaged in rapid fire with the .22 revolver he used a few hours later to kill Senator Kennedy. The revolver had been obtained by defendant in February 1968 when his brother Munir paid a fellow employee for it.
A person who talked with defendant at the gun range on June 4 testified that defendant stated he was "going to go on a hunting trip with his gun," that he told defendant it was not permissible to use pistols for hunting "because of the accuracy," and that defendant said, "Well, I don't know about that. It could kill a dog."
About 10 or 11 p.m. on June 4, 1968, a secretary whose duties included seeing that unauthorized persons were not near the Embassy Ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, saw defendant near that room and asked him who he was, and he turned and walked toward the doors leading into the ballroom.
Shortly before midnight on the same day defendant asked hotel employees if Senator Kennedy was going to come through the pantry, and they told him that they did not know. One of the employees observed defendant for about a half hour in the pantry and noticed nothing unusual about his manner or activity.
About midnight on June 4, Senator Kennedy made a speech in the Embassy Ballroom announcing his victory as a Democratic candidate for president in the California primary. Following the speech he and his entourage proceeded toward the hotel's Colonial Room, which was then being used as a press room. En route the senator stopped in the pantry to shake hands with the kitchen staff. Suddenly defendant darted toward the senator, pulled out a revolver, and fired several shots. The senator and a man adjacent to him, Paul Schrade, fell. Pandemonium ensued.
A hotel employee grabbed defendant around the wrist of the hand holding the gun, but defendant, who was still able to move that hand, continued shooting. Irwin Stroll, William Weisel, Elizabeth Evans and Ira Goldstein were injured by the gunfire. Several persons joined in the struggle and succeeded in restraining defendant, and one took the gun [7 Cal. 3d 719] from him. When asked "Why did you do it?," defendant replied something to the effect "I can explain."
The senator was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery. He subsequently died on June 6, 1968. According to the autopsy surgeon, the cause of death was a gunshot wound "to the right mastoid" that penetrated the brain; the senator also received two additional gunshot wounds, one in an armpit and another slightly lower. Expert testimony indicated that the gun was an inch and a half or less from the senator's head when the fatal bullet was fired and in contact with him or within a few inches when the other wounds were inflicted.
Around the time that the senator was taken to the hospital the police arrived at the hotel and took custody of defendant. Two officers, defendant, and Jesse Unruh got into a car and drove to the police station. En route the officers advised defendant of his constitutional rights. Subsequently Unruh asked defendant "Why did you shoot him?" and defendant replied "You think I am crazy? You think I will tell you so you can use it as evidence against me?" Unruh also heard defendant say "I did it for my country." Unruh believed that defendant was not intoxicated, and police officers who were with defendant at the time of his arrest or shortly thereafter reached the same conclusion.
About 12:45 a.m., minutes after defendant arrived at the police station, he was seen by Officer Jordan. The officer estimated that he was with defendant between four and five hours on this occasion. Jordan stated that defendant never appeared irrational and that in the officer's many years on the force defendant was "one of the most alert and intelligent people I have ever attempted to interrogate." Jordan initially identified himself and asked defendant his name but received no response. The officer then advised defendant of his constitutional rights, and defendant, after asking a few questions, indicated he wished to remain silent. Defendant, Jordan, and other officers subsequently discussed various matters other than the case. Tapes of the conversations were played to the jury.
The police found various items on defendant's person, including a newspaper article which in part noted that in a recent speech Senator Kennedy "favored aid to Israel 'with arms if necessary' to meet the threat of the Soviets."
A trash collector testified that on one occasion he told defendant he was going to vote for Kennedy in the primary election and that defendant replied "What do you want to vote for that son-of-a-b for? Because I'm planning on shooting him." On cross-examination the witness admitted that following the assassination when asked if he would testify he stated [7 Cal. 3d 720] he "would not want to take the oath because [he] hated Sirhan so much that [he] would do anything to see him convicted."
The prosecution also introduced documents found by the police at defendant's home. The documents contain statements in defendant's handwriting regarding various matters including, inter alia, killing Senator Kennedy. fn. 2
Defendant, testifying in his own behalf, admitted having shot Senator Kennedy, but claimed that he did not remember having done so. He conceded, however, that he stated "I killed Robert Kennedy wilfully, premeditatively, with twenty years of malice aforethought." (The context in which this statement was made is set forth later herein.) Defendant further testified that he "must have," or had no doubt that he, shot the victims of the assault counts.
Defendant's account of what transpired on June 4 and 5, was as follows: He intended to go to the races on June 4, but did not like the entries and decided to go target shooting instead. He took his revolver to a gun range, stopping en route to buy ammunition, and stayed at the range until about 5 p.m. He practiced shooting there but was not the person who engaged in rapid fire. He had gone to gun ranges on several prior occasions and practiced with the gun because he "liked to" and "was interested ... in ... target practicing perfection." He first developed an interest in guns as a member of a high school cadet corps. He did not recall making a statement about killing a dog. He might have said "it [apparently his gun] is strong enough to kill an animal," but he did not have in mind killing Senator Kennedy. After leaving the range, he stopped to eat and subsequently saw an article concerning a march for Israel, which made him angry. He drove to the area where the march was scheduled but found it was not on that date. On the drive he passed Thomas Kuchel's headquarters and went in. There someone mentioned a "bigger party" at the Ambassador. The person did not mention whose party it was, and defendant did not know there was to be a Kennedy party that night. He went to the Ambassador, was mad at the Zionists, and started to drink. He bought two Tom Collins during about an hour. He does not recall how many drinks he had that evening. After a while he felt high and returned to his car to go home but was afraid to drive because of his condition and decided to return to the hotel for coffee.
He did not recall picking up his gun but as a result of what subsequently [7 Cal. 3d 721] transpired he realized he must have done so. Upon returning to the Ambassador, he found some coffee and talked with a girl. The next thing he remembered he was being choked.
He did not remember asking anyone "where Kennedy was going to come through" and did not know if he asked "what time [Kennedy] would be there." He did not remember saying "I did it for my country" but "Jesse Unruh must have been correct in saying that [defendant made the statement]." He recalled getting into the police car, being advised of his constitutional rights, and various other matters following his arrest.
Defendant also admitted having gone to the Ambassador Hotel on June 2 where he heard Senator Kennedy speak but denied having been in the kitchen that night. He stated that the senator "looked like a saint" but that defendant still had in the back of his mind a broadcast in which the senator committed himself to sending jet bombers to Israel.
Defendant denied having made the statement to the trash collector regarding killing Senator Kennedy.
Defendant further testified regarding his background as follows: He is a Palestinian Arab. He was born in 1944 in New Jerusalem, and in 1948 he and his family moved to Old Jerusalem where they remained until coming to the United States in 1956. Throughout his eight years in Old Jerusalem there were intermittent bombings. He attended school there. His family lived under poor conditions in Old Jerusalem [e.g., the whole family resided in one room with grossly inadequate toilet facilities]. He was told they were living as they were because "The Jews kicked us out of our home." He was also told of a massacre in which 250 people including children were slaughtered in cold blood by the Jews. While living in Old Jerusalem he went to a well for some water, and when the bucket came up it contained a hand and it sickened him. On one occasion he saw the exploded remains of a grocer he knew. In 1956 he heard about aggression by Israel against the Arabs in the Suez Canal. About a year after they came to the United States his father returned to Jordan. In 1963 defendant graduated from high school and subsequently attended college but was dismissed in 1965 after missing classes. He thereafter worked with horses but left his job in 1966 and did not find another job for a year. He read everything available on the Arab-Israel conflict and on the occult, in which he became interested in 1965. He joined the Rosicrucian Order in 1965. He performed several experiments such as concentrating on a mirror and seeing the face of Robert Kennedy instead of his own.
https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/7/710.html
The Priory of Sion is an initiatory Order of chivalry, founded on July 15 1099 in Jerusalem, by Godfrey of Bouillon, at the Abbey "Our Lady of Mount Sion" as "Order of our Lady of Mount Sion."The Order, after being registered for the first time in history, in 1956, and then being dissolved in 1993, was newly registered in 2015, perpetuating the legitimate Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair's lineage, through the actual Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti.The Priory of Sion is characterized by a gnostic and rosicrucian influence, who sets himself the task of supporting and nurturing personal growth, moral and spiritual, with respect and in harmony with the personal objectives that each of us, by nature, has to carry through in life experience.It's also our purpose the esoteric research as the study and experience related to the transcendent and mystical in an environment of communion with our Brothers and Sisters, Members of the Order.The Priory of Sion today inherits a tradition of esoteric, philosophical, spiritual and cultural legacy, which favors the cultivation of values and principles that offers the way to live a more aware and noble personal dimension.We work through symbols, ancient rituals, theurgic practice and traditions, in order to live a personal and collective sprirituality in communion with our Brothers and Sisters.The Order is apolitical and forbids its members to be made a place of political debate, or even worse, to be exploited for such purposes."
http://www.prieure-de-sion.com/
The Order – A Brief History
The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem date back to the First Crusade, when its leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, liberated Jerusalem. As part of his operations to organize the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, he founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. According to accounts of the Crusades, in 1103 the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order, and reserved the right for himself and his successors, as agents of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to appoint Knights to it, should the Patriarch be absent or unable to do so.
The Order’s members included not only the Regular Canons (Fratres) but also the Secular Canons (Confratres) and the Sergentes. The latter were armed knights chosen from the crusader troops for their qualities of valor and dedication; they vowed to obey Augustinian Rule of poverty and obedience and undertook specifically, under the command of the King of Jerusalem, to defend the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Places.
Very soon after the First Crusade the troops – including the Knights of the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre – began to return to their homelands. This led to the creation of priories all over Europe, which were part of the Order as they came under the jurisdiction of the noble knights or prelates who had been invested on the Holy Sepulchre itself and who, although they were no longer in the direct service of the King of Jerusalem, continued to belong to the Order of Canons.
The Order first began to fail as a cohesive military body of knights after Saladin regained Jerusalem in 1182, and completely ceased to exist in that format after the defeat of Acre in 1291. The passing of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem left the Order without a leader, though it continued to survive in the European priories thanks to the protection of sovereigns, princes, bishops and the Holy See. The priories kept alive the ideals of the Crusader Knights: propagation of the Faith, defense of the weak, charity towards other human beings. With the exception of events in Spain, it was only rarely that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ever took part again in military action to defend Christianity.
In the 14th century, the Holy See made an extremely high payment to the Egyptian Sultan so that he would grant the right to protect the Christian Sanctuaries to the Franciscan Friars Minor. Throughout the whole period of the Latin Patriarchate’s suppression, the right to create new Knights, was the prerogative of the representative of the highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land: the Custos.
In 1847 the Patriarchate was restored and Pope Pius IX modernized the Order, issuing a new Constitution, which placed it under the direct protection of the Holy See and conferred its government to the Latin Patriarch. The Order’s fundamental role was also defined: to uphold the works of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whilst preserving the spiritual duty of propagating the Faith.
In 1949, Pius XII decreed that the Grand Master of the Order should be a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and assigned the position of Grand Prior to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1962 Pope John XXIII and, in 1967, Pope Paul VI reorganized and revitalized the Order by adding more specific regulations to the Constitution with the intention of making the Order’s activities more co-coordinated and more effective.
In February 1996, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II enhanced the Order’s status. Today it is a Public Association of faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1.
https://eohsjeastern.org/a-brief-history/
Horses: the extent to which they can be possessed in our houses [575, 576]; the extent to which they can be used on missions [574, 625]
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 Prieuré was cited by name in references extending from the twelfth to the early seventeenth century. Then, in documents dating from 1619, it was stated to have incurred the displeasure of King Louis XIII of France, who evicted them from their seat at Orléans and turned the premises over to the Jesuits.5 After that, the Prieuré de Sion seemed to vanish from the historical record, at least under that name, until 1956, when it appeared again, registered in the French Journal officiel. And yet the present-day Order had repeatedly cited certain of its activities between 1619 and the twentieth century, certain historical events in which it had played a role, certain historical developments in which it had some sort of vested interest. When we examined the events and developments in question, we found indisputable evidence attesting to the involvement of an organised and coherent cadre working in concert behind the scenes, sometimes using other institutions as a façade. This cadre was not named specifically, but everything indicated that it was indeed the Prieuré de Sion. What was more, it proved to involve precisely the same network of interlinked families claiming Merovingian descent. Whether it was the intrigues and the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century, the insurrection known as the Fronde in the seventeenth century or the Masonic conspiracies of the eighteenth century, successive generations of precisely the same families were implicated, operating in accordance with a single consistent pattern.
The Messianic Legacy
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UV7FwghOOhdkp4fdk2SzG7oem2nRleW0/view?usp=sharing
Mind Control and The Revelation of the Method
It is here necessary to point out a fallacy which has succeeded
in defeating many genuine ecological rebels against modern
tampering and the occult philosophy and organization which
powers it. These are a rare breed to begin with since the vast
majority of researchers who start out in search of the truth
about these big themes end, like so many other avant-garde
thinkers and activists, succumbing to the egregious tyranny and
mind-napping that lurks beneath the facade of the liberaloccult
operation.
But a few escape this net only to blunder blindly into another.
They become trapped in the fallacy that exposure of the methods
and personnel involved in the cryptocracy's crimes is, by
itself, a tremendous step toward overthrowing the power of the
cryptocracy. "If only we could get some of the facts out in the
open" is their refrain. I would reply that the process of
Hermetic cryptocracy is not stagnant. It is engaged in a
remarkable project set into motion millennia ago, an operation
which has accomplished most—if not all—of its chief-goals
with awe-inspiring dispatch.
In the beginning and middle stages of this operation, the
"hoodwink" was a key to accomplishment of objectives.
Generally speaking, deception is far less necessary today. Quite
the contrary, the cryptocracy has actually been determined to
reveal many of its greatest secrets to us "profane ones" for
some time now. Veteran independent occult investigators were
astonished at the massive disclosure in the 1970s of some of
the deepest and most profound secrets of the masonic-Neo-
Platonic Hermetic Academy, secrets reserved in some cases for
Michael A. Hoffman II Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare Page 36
thousand of years for only the highest initiates.
Two books by the English writer and Ordo Templi Orientis
(0T0) initiate Kenneth Grant, The Magical Revival and Aleister
Crowley and the Hidden God and another by the aforementioned
Robert K.G. Temple, The Sirius Mystery, revealed secrets of the
highest magnitude which have been vigorously protected and
hidden at some cost to human life for centuries and in the case
of Temple's book, millennia. And they were published with the
knowledge and approval of the masonic-Hermetic heirs to this
knowledge.
Independent researchers have seldom noted the significance of
these revelations coming from occult groups and even
advertising agencies which, in a demonstration of macabre
nose-thumbing at our complete indifference to our mental
enslavement, have actually pointed to the subliminals in their
own liquor ads. These actions signal our entrance into an
entirely different era of alchemical Process. As I wrote in
Apocalypse Culture (first edition, Amok Press):
"...in the brilliant word-play of the (mythical) Masonic
(figure) Dr. Syntax we come to the current unfoldment in
"Must Be," an alchemical (cant language code) term Mr.
(James Shelby) Downard translates as "the Revelation of the
Method." This alludes to the process wherein murderous deeds
and hair-raising conspiracies involving wars, revolutions,
decapitations, (secret archaeo-astronomic deity cultworship)
and every manner of horror show are first buried
beneath a cloak of secrecy... and then, when finally
accomplished and secured, slowly revealed to the unsuspecting
populace who watch... deep-frozen... as the hidden history is
unveiled... In the circulation of... (anti-Academy)
manuscripts... the revelation of the method is accomplished.
Truth or consequences... Downard... is acutely aware that in
exposing the conspirators he is probably serving the final
dictum (in their alchemical formula)..." But Luke 8:17
predicts this, so if man doesn't act, God will, sooner or later! In
the meantime, exposure itself does not defeat the cryptocracy
because given the degraded and atrophied nature of modern
man's perceptions and insight today, such revelations may only
serve to strengthen the cryptocracy's mental hold.
The record shows that the recent revelations of occult crime
Michael A. Hoffman II Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare Page 37
have almost never been accompanied by arrests, prosecutions,
convictions and punishment of the initiates involved, hence the
reputation of Academy invincibility is heightened by the
revelations.
Moreover the spectacular nature of the crimes revealed carry
a highly charged aura of the violent and the erotic and in the
final analysis, when exposed to public attention, only become
further grist for the seemingly limitless public appetite for
shock-titillation and passive voyeurism.
Mystical Toponomy
Exposure without action against the perpetrators of the
crimes revealed, devolves into a kind of perverse
advertisement for the prowess of the cryptocrats who are seen
as having performed fantastic feats of criminal enterprise with
a genius that renders them immune from the consequences.
The entire process as a whole smacks of that familiar occult
control device of grotesque mockery of the principle touted, in
this case of the notion of exposure leading to punishment and
retribution.
The phrase "Truth or Consequences" given to a city in New
Mexico in a process of masonic, onomatological, "mystical
toponomy" first discovered by James Shelby Downard, can be
seen as a karmic challenge necessary to so bold an enterprise as
the making manifest of all that the cryptocracy has hidden.
Mystical toponomy and alchemical cant language are part of a
process which hinges on a marriage between action in time [or
recorded history] and physical locations on the earth regarded
as "places of power" by the cryptocracy's magical-geographical
vision of the earth as a giant chess board, symbolized by the
tessellated floor of Solomon's Temple and the masonic lodge, and
Alice's vision of the world in Lewis Carroll's Wonderland
"fantasy."
If all this seems far-fetched we can re-state the underlying
principle in more prosaic scientific terms, where it comprises
a key doctrine of modern atomic theory: "Time relations among
events are assumed to be first constituted by the specific
physical relations obtaining between them."
The famous old American highway "Route 66" was laid out by
Freemasons with the apparent intention of sending masses of
Michael A. Hoffman II Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare Page 38
automobile riders into a self-processing occult "trip." Route
66 began at the Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, near the site
of the University of Chicago's collection of Aztec ritual
incunabula. It ended in Barstow, California in the Mohave
desert, which is for the Freemasons, the cosmic graveyard of
the West, the final destiny of Anubis, the celestial jackal,
otherwise known as Sirius (see Giorgio de Santillana and
Hertha Von Dechend, Hamlet's Mill: An Essay on Myth and the
Frame of Time, p. 358).
If this version of Route 66 smacks of some medieval
pilgrimage made more appropriately on a camel than by car, it
is for good reason. Most of Route 66 was based on a road forged
in 1857 by Lt. Edward Beale and his caravan of the U.S. Camel
Corps.
Beale is a highly significant symbol-name in the masonic
chess game which is played with word, number, sign, symbol
and destination across the face of America mystica. It was on
Beale Street that the "Jazz Age," began the breakdown of music
into the beastly jungle muzak that would finally result in "rock
and roll."
Beale is an etymological derivative of the word for Baalzebub
(or Beelzebub in the Latin rendering of the New Testament
Greek) or simply, "Baal," which is also the name of the idol of
the crystal-powered "New Age." In Quartzite, Arizona, under a
pyramid, Lt. Edward Beale's head camel-driver, "Hi Jolly," is
buried.
Truth or Consequences
There are occult links between masonic ceremonies held at the
town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and the masonic
ritual which attended the explosion of the first atomic bomb and
the assassination of President Kennedy.
This mapping of the world in terms of a magico-scientific
toponony is remindful of the Rosicrucian princes of the
Renaissance, with their specially-sited palaces and grounds
arranged in an elaborate pattern of images and symbols which
functioned as a "memory theater" where, it was claimed, all
knowledge, the entire encyclopedia, could be stored and
recalled. The gauntlet the cryptocracy threw down at our feet in
the specially orchestrated chain of ritual criminal events
Michael A. Hoffman II Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare Page 39
and locations intimately connected to Truth or Consequences,
New Mexico, was an "open-air" ceremony in full public view
for those who had the eyes and the intuition to see it. Much of
the Process was carried on in public. This was the "truth." The
supreme high-stakes gamblers of the Hermetic Academy risked
"the consequences."
Granted it was a gamble, but to those whose annals contained
the records of the powers and perceptions of fully human beings
of old compared with the mind-bombed goofs and patsies which
make up the overwhelming majority of an increasingly lessthan-
human modern mankind, perhaps the risk was not so
great after all. It's a matter of timing.
The cryptocracy's spectacular 20th century scam could never
have been accomplished in antiquity among free people. The
truth of the symbolism involved would have been immediately
perceived and would have resulted in swift resistance to it by
the target population.
The followers of the cult of Human Brain Power whose
exoteric sigil is the pentagram, would have been swinging from
tall trees in short order, soon to be added to Robert K.G.
Temple's inventory of martyrs wiped out by craven prisoners
of "shuttered belief-systems."
If traditional man could respond quickly and resolutely to
those who would tamper with God's natural order, the
contemporary cryptocracy (which is blessed with the ability
not to believe their own public relations propaganda), would be
fully aware that the real prisoners of "shuttered belief
systems" are modern people whose laziness and disconnection
from reality would virtually ensure that the "consequences"
would not accrue to the debit sheet of the cryptocracy, but
rather to the base humanity which failed to detect the cheat.
And therein lies the risk and the success (thus far) of the Truth
or Consequences mechanism
If the truth of what the cryptocracy has perpetrated is
grasped and acted upon, the consequences for the conspirators
will be annihilation. But if the people fail to perceive the truth
or fail to act on their perception, thus rendering the Process a
kind of tacit consent born of apathy, amnesia and abulia, the
consequence for the conspirators will be a giant-step in the
advancement of their system of control, that is to say, ever
Michael A. Hoffman II Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare Page 40
tighter bonds of enslavement for humanity.
Why does the cryptocracy bother to gamble so much by going
public with what it is doing to us? Because consent fuels their
control like no other form of energy.
Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare
by Michael A. Hoffman II
https://dn720003.ca.archive.org/0/items/michael-a.-hoffman-ii-book-collection/Michael%20A.%20Hoffman%20II%20-%20Secret%20Societies%20and%20Psychological%20Warfare%20%281989%29.pdf
https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0i2G8wdtZ9rApEjfF3oeTGYgx8DBBHpGfNskREYhPb7jnPL2PWTNGuKSfrnDTqzaCl
“Speedy trial” motion in Nevada – What is it and can it get my case dismissed?
Judge's gavel on a calendar, signifying a speedy trial
If you are charged with a crime in Nevada, you can demand a trial within 60 days.
In Nevada, speedy trial motions are where you ask the court to dismiss your criminal charges because you have not been given a trial within 60 days of your arraignment.1
Even if you agree to waive the 60-day rule, you can still bring a speedy trial motion later on if the court continues to unreasonably delay your trial. In Nevada, a trial delay typically becomes preemptively prejudicial (hurtful to your defense) around one year after your arraignment.2
If the court grants your speedy trial motion, the criminal charges against you will be dropped.
1. Do I have a right to a speedy trial in Nevada?
You have a right to a speedy trial under the United States Constitution’s Sixth Amendment, although it does not define how long “speedy” is.3 Meanwhile, Nevada’s state constitution does not mention speedy trial rights at all.4
However, the Nevada Revised Statutes say that courts may dismiss your criminal case if no trial occurs within 60 days of your arraignment (and you did not agree to postpone the trial). However, the court is not required to dismiss your case simply because 60 days have passed.5
Example: Patty pleads not guilty to burglary and demands a speedy trial. However, the soonest the court can possibly squeeze in a trial is 61 days after her arraignment.
If Patty files a speedy trial motion on day 60, the court probably would not grant it since it scheduled the trial as soon as it could, and the added day did not likely prejudice her case.
Prosecutors’ speedy trial rights
Interestingly, Nevada law gives prosecutors the right to a speedy trial as well. Prosecutors can demand that you stand trial within 60 days of your arraignment unless:
the court finds that you need more time to prepare your defense; and
the court calendar is too busy to accommodate your case.6
2. How do Nevada judges decide whether to grant my speedy trial motion?
Nevada judges weigh four factors when deciding whether your right to a speedy trial has been violated:
the length of delay,
the reason for the delay,
your assertion of your right to a speedy trial, and
how the delay prejudiced your case.7
Therefore, these decisions are very case-specific and turn on your unique situation.
3. Should I exercise my right to a speedy trial in 60 days?
If and when you should take your Nevada criminal case to trial depends entirely on the specific facts of your case. It is a decision you and your criminal defense attorney should come to together after considering all the possibilities.
The advantages of having a speedy trial are that witnesses’ memories are still fresh and you will not have to languish in “pretrial uncertainty” longer than necessary.
Though in practice, criminal defense attorneys prefer to delay trials as long as possible. During this time, it may be possible to “wear down” the prosecutors and come to a favorable plea deal.
4. What safeguards are in place if my trial gets delayed?
When a Nevada trial gets postponed, the court may require that the party who asked for the continuance to depose the other side’s witnesses (if they have not already been deposed). This way if something happens to the witnesses before trial, their testimony will be available to use at trial.
In addition, the court can require witnesses to post money to the court as a promise that they will appear on the new trial date. Though if a witness cannot “procure sureties”, the court can discharge them on their own recognizance as long as they give a deposition.8
5. How long can courts delay trials?
It is not unusual for some criminal court trials to take place years after the initial arraignment. As long as both you and the prosecution agree to the delay, the judge will usually rubber-stamp any requests to postpone the trial.
However if a Nevada case involves a victim or witness younger than 16 years old, the court may choose to deny a continuance if it could adversely affect their emotional health and well-being.9
6. Do juvenile defendants have speedy trial rights?
Yes. Nevada juvenile courts must resolve delinquency cases within 60 days after the filing of the petition unless delaying would serve the interest of justice.
In any event, juvenile final dispositions must occur within one year from the filing of the petition.10
Hourglass and gavel, signifying a speedy trial
Nevada’s constitution does not guarantee a speedy trial right.
What Does the Right to a “Speedy Trial” Mean in Reno, Nevada?
Legal References
NRS 178.556 – Dismissal by court for unnecessary delay.
1. If no indictment is found or information filed against a person within 15 days after the person has been held to answer for a public offense which must be prosecuted by indictment or information, the court may dismiss the complaint. If a defendant whose trial has not been postponed upon the defendant’s application is not brought to trial within 60 days after the arraignment on the indictment or information, the district court may dismiss the indictment or information.
2. If a defendant whose trial has not been postponed upon the defendant’s application is not brought to trial within 60 days after the arraignment on the complaint for an offense triable in a Justice or municipal Court, the court may dismiss the complaint.
State v. Inzunza (2019) 454 P.3d 727 (“First, to trigger the Barker-Doggettspeedy-trial analysis, the length of the delay must be presumptively prejudicial….A post-accusation delay meets this standard “as it approaches one year.”“)
United States Constitution, Sixth Amendment (“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”).
Nevada Constitution.
See notes 1 & 2.
NRS 174.511 - Right of State to trial within 60 days after arraignment; exceptions.
The State, upon demand, has the right to a trial of the defendant within 60 days after arraignment. The court may postpone the trial if:
1. It finds that more time is needed by the defendant to prepare a defense; or
2. The number of other cases pending in the court prohibits the acceptance of the case for trial within that time.
Sunseri v. State (2021) 495 P.3d 127 (“This court adopted the four-factor test, noting that no factor was determinative and that each must be considered together, along with all the relevant circumstances of the case.”).
NRS 174.515 – Postponement: When and how ordered; court may require depositions of and undertakings by witnesses; court may consider adverse effect upon child who is victim or witness.
1. When an action is called for trial, or at any time previous thereto, the court may, upon sufficient cause shown by either party by affidavit, direct the trial to be postponed to another day. In all cases where a continuance is granted upon the application of either party the court may require, as a condition of granting such continuance, that the party applying therefor consent to taking, forthwith, or at any time to be fixed by the court, of the deposition of any witness summoned by the opposite party whose deposition has not previously been taken.
2. The court also may require all witnesses to enter into undertakings in such sum as the court may order, with or without sureties, to appear and testify on the day to which the case may be continued, but any witness who is unable to procure sureties for the witness’s attendance may be discharged on the witness’s own recognizance, upon giving a deposition in the manner prescribed in NRS 174.175 and 174.205.
3. If the trial involves acts committed against a child less than 16 years of age or involving acts witnessed by a child less than 16 years of age, the court may consider any adverse effect a continuance or other postponement might have upon the mental or emotional health or well-being of the child. The court may deny a continuance or other postponement if the delay will adversely affect the mental or emotional health or well-being of the child.
Same. NRS 174.519 – Request for preference in setting date for trial where child is victim or witness; court may consider effect on child of delay in commencement of trial.
If the trial involves acts committed against a child less than 16 years of age or involving acts witnessed by a child less than 16 years of age, the prosecuting attorney shall request the court, in its discretion, to give preference in setting a date for the trial of the defendant. In making a ruling, the court may consider the effect a delay in the commencement of the trial might have on the mental or emotional health or well-being of the child.
NRS 62D.310 – Period for final disposition of cases. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the juvenile court shall make its final disposition of a case not later than 60 days after the date on which the petition in the case was filed.
2. The juvenile court may extend the time for final disposition of a case if the juvenile court files an order setting forth specific reasons for the extension:
(a) Not later than 60 days after the date on which the petition in the case was filed; or
(b) Later than 60 days after the date on which the petition in the case was filed, if the juvenile court finds that the extension would serve the interests of justice. In determining whether an extension would serve the interests of justice, the juvenile court shall consider:
(1) The gravity of the act alleged in the case;
(2) The reasons for any delay in the disposition of the case; and
(3) The potential consequences to the child, any victim and the public of not extending the time for final disposition of the case.
3. The juvenile court shall not extend the time for final disposition of a case beyond 1 year from the date on which the petition in the case was filed.
About the Author
Author Avatar
Neil Shouse
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.
https://www.shouselaw.com/nv/blog/speedy-trial-motion-in-nevada-what-is-it-and-can-it-get-my-case-dismissed/
PROPERTY OF:
CANAL TOWNSHIP JUSTICE COURT DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE BUILDING
5
9
∞
IN THE JUSTICE COURT OF CANAL TOWNSHIP
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF LYON, STATE OF NEVADA
9
10
11
13
4
5
THE STATE OF NEVADA,
VS
Plaintiff,
Willian Dunn IV
Defendant.
WAIVER OF FIFTEEN DAY RULE
COMES NOW Willian Dum IV;
Defendant in the
above entitled action, after having been fully advised of his/her rights to a prosecution on the charges and hereby waives the fifteen (15) day period in which h to be given a preliminary examination pursuant to NRS 171.196 and agrees tha examination may be held within such reasonable time, after the fifteen (15) day pe the Court may deem to be just and proper.
DATED this 28 day of
вст
20 25
Defendant
Attorney for Defendant/Witness
Protocol 15: When the King of Israel sets upon his sacred head the crown offered him by Europe he will become patriarch of the world.
Twelve royal families in Europe today have Grail blood flowing through their veins. Two of them carry the title of "King of Jerusalem:" Otto von Habsburg, Pretender to the Austrian throne, and Juan Carlos, King of Spain.
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 Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries (currently Spain and Luxembourg). The Capetians appear first in the records as powerful nobles serving under the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne in West Francia, which later became France. As their power increased, they came into conflict with the older royal family and attained the crown several times before the eventual start of the continuous rule of the descendants of Hugh Capet (ruled 987–996).
Hugh's paternal ancestral family, the Robertians, appear in documents that trace the family back to his great-grandfather Robert the Strong (d. 866). His origins remain unclear, but medieval records hint at an origin in East Francia, in present-day Germany, an area then still also ruled by the Carolingians. In particular, Regino of Prüm (died 915) states that Robert the Strong's son Odo was said to be a relative (nepos) of a Count Meingaud, count of an area near Worms, who died in 892, and there are indications that Maingaud's family used the names Robert and Odo.
Modern proposals about their ancestry further back are based on the idea that there was one family which frequently named its sons Robert, including Robert III of Worms (800–834), Robert the Strong (d. 866), and Robert I of France (866–923). For example, one proposed ancestor is Robert of Hesbaye (c. 800), about whom there are almost no records.
The Robertian family figured prominently amongst the Carolingian nobility and married into this royal family. Eventually, the Robertians themselves produced Frankish kings such as the brothers Odo (reigned 888–898) and Robert I (r. 922–923), then Hugh Capet (r. 987–996), who ruled from his seat in Paris as the first Capetian king of France.
Although Philip II Augustus (r. 1180–1223) was officially the last monarch of France with the title "King of the Franks" (rex Francorum) and the first to style himself "King of France" (roi de France), in (systematic application of) historiography, Hugh Capet holds this distinction. He founded the Capetians, the royal dynasty that ruled France until the revolution of the Second French Republic in 1848—save during the interregnum of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Members of the family still reign in Europe today : both King Felipe VI of Spain and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg descend from this family through the Bourbon cadet branch of the dynasty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertians
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
The Capetian dynasty (/kəˈpiːʃən/; French: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favor of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans. Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon house are still ruling over Spain and Luxembourg."
Name origins and usage
The name of the dynasty derives from its founder, Hugh, who was known as "Hugh Capet".[4] The meaning of "Capet" (a nickname rather than a surname of the modern sort) is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with "cape", other suggestions indicate it might be connected to the Latin word caput ("head"), and explain it as meaning "chief" or "head".[citation needed]
Historians in the 19th century (see House of France) came to apply the name "Capetian" to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice. The name "Capet" has also been used as a surname for French royalty, particularly but not exclusively those of the House of Capet. One notable use was during the French Revolution, when the dethroned King Louis XVI (a member of the House of Bourbon and a direct male-line descendant of Hugh Capet) and Queen Marie Antoinette (a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) were referred to as "Louis and Antoinette Capet" (the queen being addressed as "the Widow Capet" after the execution of her husband).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_dynasty
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/
Pope Leo XIV[a] (born Robert Francis Prevost,[b][c] September 14, 1955) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the first to hold American and Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis).
Prevost was born in Chicago and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton, Illinois. He became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he worked as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, he was based in Rome from 2001 to 2013, and extensively traveled to the order's provinces around the world. He then returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Made a cardinal by Pope Francis, Prevost emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Prevost's election in the 2025 papal conclave was unexpected by observers; he was a dark horse candidate, with Vatican insiders believing that a pope would never emerge from the United States.[8][9] He took his papal name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIV
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
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
"The Day Called 'X' is a dramatized CBS documentary film set in Portland, Oregon, in which the entire city is evacuated in anticipation of a nuclear air raid, after Soviet bombers had been detected by radar stations to the north; it details the activation of the city's civil defense protocols and leads up to the moment before the attack (the ending is left intentionally unknown). The operations were run from the Kelly Butte Bunker, which was the emergency operations center at that time. It was filmed in September 1957[1] and aired December 8 of that year.[2][3] Apart from presenter/narrator Glenn Ford, none of the people shown are actors. They are locals of Portland shown in their real jobs, including Mayor Terry Schrunk.
Its local re-broadcast in 2004[4] and appearance in the on-line Prelinger Archives attracted interest among local history buffs due to its extensive outside shots of the city, and the use of non-actor participants (local officials and broadcasters). Whenever one of these individuals is heard uttering warnings or statements regarding attack, the words "AN ATTACK IS NOT TAKING PLACE" are superimposed over the picture.[2]
On September 27, 1955, Portland actually conducted an exercise evacuation of downtown called "Operation Greenlight",[5][6] and the film is often misattributed to that year. Ford's narration, however, does make direct reference to the 1955 exercise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_Called_%27X%27
Eyewitness Account of Hiroshima
By Father John A. Siemes, professor of modern philosophy at Tokyo's Catholic University
Hiroshima- August 6th, 1945
Up to August 6th, occasional bombs, which did no great damage, had fallen on Hiroshima. Many cities roundabout, one after the other, were destroyed, but Hiroshima itself remained protected. There were almost daily observation planes over the city but none of them dropped a bomb. The citizens wondered why they alone had remained undisturbed for so long a time. There were fantastic rumors that the enemy had something special in mind for this city, but no one dreamed that the end would come in such a fashion as on the morning of August 6th.
August 6th began in a bright, clear, summer morning. About seven o'clock, there was an air raid alarm which we had heard almost every day and a few planes appeared over the city. No one paid any attention and at about eight o'clock, the all-clear was sounded. I am sitting in my room at the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Nagatsuke; during the past half year, the philosophical and theological section of our Mission had been evacuated to this place from Tokyo. The Novitiate is situated approximately two kilometers from Hiroshima, half-way up the sides of a broad valley which stretches from the town at sea level into this mountainous hinterland, and through which courses a river. From my window, I have a wonderful view down the valley to the edge of the city.
Suddenly--the time is approximately 8:14--the whole valley is filled by a garish light which resembles the magnesium light used in photography, and I am conscious of a wave of heat. I jump to the window to find out the cause of this remarkable phenomenon, but I see nothing more than that brilliant yellow light. As I make for the door, it doesn't occur to me that the light might have something to do with enemy planes. On the way from the window, I hear a moderately loud explosion which seems to come from a distance and, at the same time, the windows are broken in with a loud crash. There has been an interval of perhaps ten seconds since the flash of light. I am sprayed by fragments of glass. The entire window frame has been forced into the room. I realize now that a bomb has burst and I am under the impression that it exploded directly over our house or in the immediate vicinity.
I am bleeding from cuts about the hands and head. I attempt to get out of the door. It has been forced outwards by the air pressure and has become jammed. I force an opening in the door by means of repeated blows with my hands and feet and come to a broad hallway from which open the various rooms. Everything is in a state of confusion. All windows are broken and all the doors are forced inwards. The bookshelves in the hallway have tumbled down. I do not note a second explosion and the fliers seem to have gone on. Most of my colleagues have been injured by fragments of glass. A few are bleeding but none has been seriously injured. All of us have been fortunate since it is now apparent that the wall of my room opposite the window has been lacerated by long fragments of glass.
We proceed to the front of the house to see where the bomb has landed. There is no evidence, however, of a bomb crater; but the southeast section of the house is very severely damaged. Not a door nor a window remains. The blast of air had penetrated the entire house from the southeast, but the house still stands. It is constructed in a Japanese style with a wooden framework, but has been greatly strengthened by the labor of our Brother Gropper as is frequently done in Japanese homes. Only along the front of the chapel which adjoins the house, three supports have given way (it has been made in the manner of Japanese temple, entirely out of wood.)
Down in the valley, perhaps one kilometer toward the city from us, several peasant homes are on fire and the woods on the opposite side of the valley are aflame. A few of us go over to help control the flames. While we are attempting to put things in order, a storm comes up and it begins to rain. Over the city, clouds of smoke are rising and I hear a few slight explosions. I come to the conclusion that an incendiary bomb with an especially strong explosive action has gone off down in the valley. A few of us saw three planes at great altitude over the city at the time of the explosion. I, myself, saw no aircraft whatsoever.
Perhaps a half-hour after the explosion, a procession of people begins to stream up the valley from the city. The crowd thickens continuously. A few come up the road to our house. We give them first aid and bring them into the chapel, which we have in the meantime cleaned and cleared of wreckage, and put them to rest on the straw mats which constitute the floor of Japanese houses. A few display horrible wounds of the extremities and back. The small quantity of fat which we possessed during this time of war was soon used up in the care of the burns. Father Rektor who, before taking holy orders, had studied medicine, ministers to the injured, but our bandages and drugs are soon gone. We must be content with cleansing the wounds.
More and more of the injured come to us. The least injured drag the more seriously wounded. There are wounded soldiers, and mothers carrying burned children in their arms. From the houses of the farmers in the valley comes word: "Our houses are full of wounded and dying. Can you help, at least by taking the worst cases?" The wounded come from the sections at the edge of the city. They saw the bright light, their houses collapsed and buried the inmates in their rooms. Those that were in the open suffered instantaneous burns, particularly on the lightly clothed or unclothed parts of the body. Numerous fires sprang up which soon consumed the entire district. We now conclude that the epicenter of the explosion was at the edge of the city near the Jokogawa Station, three kilometers away from us. We are concerned about Father Kopp who that same morning, went to hold Mass at the Sisters of the Poor, who have a home for children at the edge of the city. He had not returned as yet.
Toward noon, our large chapel and library are filled with the seriously injured. The procession of refugees from the city continues. Finally, about one o'clock, Father Kopp returns, together with the Sisters. Their house and the entire district where they live has burned to the ground. Father Kopp is bleeding about the head and neck, and he has a large burn on the right palm. He was standing in front of the nunnery ready to go home. All of a sudden, he became aware of the light, felt the wave of heat and a large blister formed on his hand. The windows were torn out by the blast. He thought that the bomb had fallen in his immediate vicinity. The nunnery, also a wooden structure made by our Brother Gropper, still remained but soon it is noted that the house is as good as lost because the fire, which had begun at many points in the neighborhood, sweeps closer and closer, and water is not available. There is still time to rescue certain things from the house and to bury them in an open spot. Then the house is swept by flame, and they fight their way back to us along the shore of the river and through the burning streets.
Soon comes news that the entire city has been destroyed by the explosion and that it is on fire. What became of Father Superior and the three other Fathers who were at the center of the city at the Central Mission and Parish House? We had up to this time not given them a thought because we did not believe that the effects of the bomb encompassed the entire city. Also, we did not want to go into town except under pressure of dire necessity, because we thought that the population was greatly perturbed and that it might take revenge on any foreigners which they might consider spiteful onlookers of their misfortune, or even spies.
https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/hiroshima-nagasaki/hiroshima-siemes.html
Case No. 25CR276
DA Case No. CR251398D
The State of Nevada, Plaintiff, vs. William Francis Dunn IV
Filed 2025 Aug-6 AM 9:54
1
Case No. 25cean6
2
DA Case No. CR251398D
3 4 5 6 7
USE BY:
BIN#42
FILED
2025 AUG-6 AM 9:54
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE BY KU CLERK
IN THE JUSTICE COURT OF DAYTON TOWNSHIP
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF LYON, STATE OF NEVADA
THE STATE OF NEVADA,
Plaintiff,
CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
8
VS.
9
10
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12
WILLIAM FRANCIS DUNN,
Defendant.
COMES NOW, Plaintiff, State of Nevada, by and through STEPHEN B. RYE, Lyon 13 County District Attorney, and hereby verifies and declares upon information and belief 14 and under penalty of perjury, that WILLIAM FRANCIS DUNN, the Defendant above- 15 named, has committed the following crime(s):
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7
18
19
120
222
24
24
25
26
27
28
2220
COUNTI
Violation of Extended Order Against Stalking or Harassment, in violation of NRS 200.591(5)(b), a Category C Felony
That on or about August 3, 2025, within Dayton Township, Lyon County, Nevada, the said defendant intentionally violated an extended order against stalking or
harassment issued by the Dayton Justice Court, served on August 23, 2024, valid until July 2, 2026, and the defendant violated the extended order in the manner following, to wit, the defendant posted a threatening message directed at Julia Byse on Facebook, all of which occurred at or near 2031 Lonnie Lane, Dayton, Nevada.
All of which is contrary to the form of statute in such cases made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Nevada. Complainant prays that a summons and/or warrant be issued and that said Defendant be dealt with according to law.
Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, but withdrew from the race before the primaries. Biden selected her as his running mate, and their ticket defeated the incumbent president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 election. Presiding over an evenly split Senate upon entering office, Harris played a crucial role as president of the Senate. She cast more tie-breaking votes than any other vice president, which helped pass bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stimulus package and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. After Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, Harris launched her campaign with Biden's endorsement and soon became the presumptive nominee. On August 6, 2024, she chose Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris
Recusal and Order of Appointment - Court on 10.28.2028
Info Brock Law
Attachments
Mon, Oct 20, 12:40 PM (7 days ago)
to me
Good Morning,
Mr. Dunn, we hope this email finds you well.
This email serves to inform you that your case has been transferred to the Fernley Justice Court and you are scheduled to appear on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 8:00 a.m.
Can you confirm that you have received this email?
--
Kind Regards,
Brock Law, LTD.
phone: (775)993-9683
email: info@brocklawnevada.com
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 222
Winnemucca, Nevada 89446
NOTICE: This communication, including any attachments, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. Any review, dissemination, or copying of this communication by anyone other than the recipient is strictly prohibited by the electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email, delete and destroy all copies of the original message.
Case No. 25-CR-276 3G
FILED
2025 OCT 15 PM 12:37
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
IN THE JUSTICE COURT OF DAYTON TOWNSHIP
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF LYON, STATE OF NEVADA
a
CLERK
9 THE STATE OF NEVADA,
Plaintiff,
10
VS.
RECUSAL AND ORDER
WILLIAM FRANCIS DUNN IV
OF APPOINTMENT
Defendant.
Pursuant to the provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes 1.230 and inasmuch as there may be actual or implied bias, the undersigned Judge of Dayton Township Justice Court, County of Lyon, State of Nevada, does hereby recues herself from the above-entitled matter.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Judge Lori Matheus be, and hereby appointed to preside over the above-entitled matter. The case is hereby transferred to Canal Township Justice Court for further proceedings. The next court date will be held at 595 Silver Lace Blvd, Fernley, Nevada on October 28, 2025 at 8:00 am.
DATED this 15th day of October, 2025.
Camille Vecchiarelli Justice of the Peace
Judge temporary suspends case in Fernley kidnapping, killing
Driver’s lawyers continue to argue he can’t legally be tried in Lyon County
Troy Driver Mugshot(Lyon County Sheriff's Office)
By Scott Sonner
Published: Aug. 24, 2022 at 2:17 PM PDT
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A rural justice of the peace has suspended proceedings in justice court for a man accused of kidnapping and killing a Fernley teenager until a state judge can decide whether he should undergo a competency examination.
Canal Township Justice of the Peace Lori Matheus originally ordered Troy Driver of Fallon to appear in Lyon County District Court for a competency hearing before a preliminary hearing is scheduled in her Fernley courtroom next month.
Her new ruling says that state law requires her to suspend further proceedings “if a doubt arises as to the competency of the defendant.”
“The district court can make the necessary orders regarding any required examinations in this case,” Matheus wrote Aug. 22.
Meanwhile, Driver’s lawyers continue to argue he can’t legally be tried in Lyon County for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Naomi Irion, which occurred in neighboring Churchill County.
Matheus earlier set a preliminary hearing Sept. 13-15 to determine if there’s enough evidence to bound him over for trial. She also had planned to hear jurisdictional arguments then.
Driver faces six charges in addition to first-degree murder, including sexual assault, robbery and destroying evidence.
Prosecutors maintain he can be tried in Lyon County on all charges because he kidnapped Irion from a Walmart there before he shot and buried her “all as one continuous course of conduct.”
Copyright 2022 KOLO. All rights reserved.
https://www.kolotv.com/2022/08/24/judge-temporary-suspends-case-fernley-kidnapping-killing/
Lori Ann Matheus (age 56) is listed at 1449 Mill Creek Rd Fernley, Nv 89408 and is affiliated with the Non-Partisan Party. Lori is registered to vote in Lyon County, Nevada.
Lori Matheus's Voter Registration
Party Affiliation: Non-Partisan
Registered to Vote In: Lyon County, Nevada
Registration Date: 05/18/2002
Voter Status: ActivePrecinct: 27.01
Congressional District: Cd2
House District: Ad38
Senate District: Sd17
School Board District: Ed2
https://voterrecords.com/voter/73052433/lori-matheus
Meet Your DA – Stephen Rye
Stephen Rye
Lyon County District Attorney
Yerington Office
31 S. Main Street
Yerington, NV 89447
Office: (775) 463-6511 or (775) 246-6130
Fax: (775) 463-6516
Email: stephenbrye@yahoo.com
Registered sex offender driving ice cream truck linked to unlicensed Denver business
Jun 20, 2024
Denver's Department of Excise and Licenses said not only is The Ice Cream Wagon operating without a license but there is no record of an application or license for Keith Frazier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7kv3Vqwdo8
Rye hosting Ice Cream Social at Black Bear Sunday
Author: Robert Perea
Upload date: 10/07/2022 09:27 PM
https://www.fernleyreporter.com/article/3846,rye-hosting-ice-cream-social-at-black-bear-sunday
(AOC-Supreme Court of Nevada) 88366540
565 E Main St Fernley NV 89408
AOC-Supreme Court of Nevada - Organizer
No events on this date
Based on this email
Correct?
Court Reminders <nvcourtnotification@ecase.io>
Attachments
9:04 AM (11 hours ago)
to me
AOC-Supreme Court of Nevada Logo
WILLIAM DUNN, You have a STATUS CONFERENCE on 12/30/2025 08:00 AM at Fernley - Canal Township Justice Court, 565 E Main St, Fernley, NV, 89408. If you have questions, contact the court directly 775-575-3355 as this is an unmonitored mailbox. Reply STOP to opt-out.
Rituals and worship
According to M.J. Vermaseren and C.C. van Essen, the Mithraic New Year and the birthday of Mithras was on 25 December.[v][w] Beck disagreed strongly.[43](p 299, note 12) Clauss states: "The Mithraic Mysteries had no public ceremonies of its own. The festival of Natalis Invicti, held on 25 December, was a general festival of the Sun, and by no means specific to the Mysteries of Mithras."[44]
Mithraic initiates were required to swear an oath of secrecy and dedication.[45]
Mithras was thought to be a "warrior hero" similar to Greek heroes.[46]
Mithraic catechism
Apparently, some grade rituals involved the recital of a catechism, wherein the initiate was asked a series of questions pertaining to the initiation symbolism and had to reply with specific answers. An example of such a catechism, apparently pertaining to the Leo grade, was discovered in a fragmentary Egyptian papyrus (Papyrus Berolinensis 21196),[45][47] and reads:
Verso
[...] He will say: 'Where [...]?'
'[...] is he at a loss there?' Say: '[...]'
[...] Say: 'Night'. He will say: 'Where [...]?'
[...] Say: 'All things [...]'
'[...] are you called?' Say: 'Because of the summery [...]'
[...] having become [...] he/it has the fiery ones
'[...] did you receive?' Say: 'In a pit'. He will say: 'Where is your [...]?'
'[...] [in the] Leonteion.' He will say: 'Will you gird [...]?'
'[...] death'. He will say: 'Why, having girded yourself, [...]?'
[...] this [has?] four tassels.
Recto
Very sharp and [...]
[...] much. He will say: '[...]?'
'[...] of the hot and cold'. He will say: '[...]?'
'[...] red [...] linen'. He will say: 'Why?' Say:
[...] red border; the linen, however, [...]
'[...] has been wrapped?' Say: 'The savior's [...]'
He will say: 'Who is the father?' Say: 'The one who [begets] everything [...]'
[He will say: 'How] did you become a Leo?' Say: 'By the [...] of the father [...]'
Say: 'Drink and food'. He will say: '[...]?'
[...] in the seven-[...]
Mithraic relief with original colors (reconstitution), c. 140–160 CE; from Argentoratum. Strasbourg Archaeological Museum.
Almost no Mithraic scripture or first-hand account of its rituals survives;[o] with the exception of the aforementioned oath and catechism, and the document known as the Mithras Liturgy, from 4th century Egypt, whose status as a Mithraist text has been questioned by scholars including Franz Cumont.[x][48] The walls of mithraea were commonly whitewashed, and where this survives, it tends to carry extensive repositories of graffiti; and these, together with inscriptions on Mithraic monuments, form the main source for Mithraic texts.[49]
Feasting
The archaeology of numerous mithraea indicates that most rituals were associated with feasting – as eating utensils and food residues are often found. These tend to include both animal bones and also very large quantities of fruit residues.[4](p 115) The presence of large numbers of cherry-stones in particular would tend to confirm mid-summer (late June, early July) as a season especially associated with Mithraic festivities. The Virunum album, in the form of an inscribed bronze plaque, records a Mithraic festival of commemoration as taking place on 26 June 184. Beck argues that religious celebrations on this date are indicative of special significance being given to the summer solstice; but this time of the year coincides with ancient recognition of the solar maximum at midsummer, when iconographically identical holidays such as Fors Fortuna (ancient Rome), Saint John's Eve, and Jāņi (Lithuania) are also observed.
For their feasts, Mithraic initiates reclined on stone benches arranged along the longer sides of the mithraeum – typically there might be room for 15 to 30 diners, but very rarely many more than 40 men.[4](p 43) Counterpart dining rooms, or triclinia, were to be found above ground in the precincts of almost any temple or religious sanctuary in the Roman empire, and such rooms were commonly used for their regular feasts by Roman 'clubs', or collegia. Mithraic feasts probably performed a very similar function for Mithraists as the collegia did for those entitled to join them; indeed, since qualification for Roman collegia tended to be restricted to particular families, localities or traditional trades, Mithraism may have functioned in part as providing clubs for the unclubbed.[50] The size of the mithraeum is not necessarily an indication of the size of the congregation.[27](pp 12, 36)
Altars, iconography, and suspected doctrinal diversity
Each mithraeum had several altars at the further end, underneath the representation of the tauroctony, and also commonly contained considerable numbers of subsidiary altars, both in the main mithraeum chamber and in the ante-chamber or narthex.[4](p 49) These altars, which are of the standard Roman pattern, each carry a named dedicatory inscription from a particular initiate, who dedicated the altar to Mithras "in fulfillment of his vow", in gratitude for favours received.
Burned residues of animal entrails are commonly found on the main altars, indicating regular sacrificial use, though mithraea do not commonly appear to have been provided with facilities for ritual slaughter of sacrificial animals (a highly specialised function in Roman religion), and it may be presumed that a mithraeum would have made arrangements for this service to be provided for them in co-operation with the professional victimarius[51](p 568) of the civic cult. Prayers were addressed to the Sun three times a day, and Sunday was especially sacred.[52]
It is doubtful whether Mithraism had a monolithic and internally consistent doctrine.[y] It may have varied from location to location.[30](p 16) The iconography is relatively coherent.[26] It had no predominant sanctuary or cultic centre; and, although each mithraeum had its own officers and functionaries, there was no central supervisory authority. In some mithraea, such as that at Dura Europos, wall paintings depict prophets carrying scrolls,[54] but no named Mithraic sages are known, nor does any reference give the title of any Mithraic scripture or teaching. It is known that initiates could transfer with their grades from one Mithraeum to another.[4](p 139)
Mithraeum
See also: Mithraeum
A mithraeum found in the ruins of Ostia Antica, Italy
Temples of Mithras are sunk below ground, windowless, and very distinctive. In cities, the basement of an apartment block might be converted; elsewhere they might be excavated and vaulted over, or converted from a natural cave. Mithraic temples are common in the empire; although unevenly distributed, with considerable numbers found in Rome, Ostia, Numidia, Dalmatia, Britain and along the Rhine/Danube frontier, while being somewhat less common in Greece, Egypt, and Syria.[4](pp 26–27) According to Walter Burkert, the secret character of Mithraic rituals meant that Mithraism could only be practiced within a Mithraeum.[55] Some new finds at Tienen show evidence of large-scale feasting and suggest that the mystery religion may not have been as secretive as was generally believed.[z]
For the most part, mithraea tend to be small, externally undistinguished, and cheaply constructed; the cult generally preferring to create a new centre rather than expand an existing one. The mithraeum represented the cave to which Mithras carried and then killed the bull; and where stone vaulting could not be afforded, the effect would be imitated with lath and plaster. They are commonly located close to springs or streams; fresh water appears to have been required for some Mithraic rituals, and a basin is often incorporated into the structure.[4](p 73) There is usually a narthex or ante-chamber at the entrance, and often other ancillary rooms for storage and the preparation of food. The extant mithraea present us with actual physical remains of the architectural structures of the sacred spaces of the Mithraic cult. Mithraeum is a modern coinage and mithraists referred to their sacred structures as speleum or antrum (cave), crypta (underground hallway or corridor), fanum (sacred or holy place), or even templum (a temple or a sacred space).[aa]
In their basic form, mithraea were entirely different from the temples and shrines of other cults. In the standard pattern of Roman religious precincts, the temple building functioned as a house for the god, who was intended to be able to view, through the opened doors and columnar portico, sacrificial worship being offered on an altar set in an open courtyard – potentially accessible not only to initiates of the cult, but also to colitores or non-initiated worshippers.[51](p 493) Mithraea were the antithesis of this.[51](p 355)
Degrees of initiation
In the Suda under the entry Mithras, it states that "No one was permitted to be initiated into them (the mysteries of Mithras), until he should show himself holy and steadfast by undergoing several graduated tests."[56] Gregory Nazianzen refers to the "tests in the mysteries of Mithras".[57]
There were seven grades of initiation into Mithraism, which are listed by St. Jerome.[58] Manfred Clauss states that the number of grades, seven, must be connected to the planets. A mosaic in the Mithraeum of Felicissimus, Ostia Antica depicts these grades, with symbolic emblems that are connected either to the grades or are symbols of the planets. The grades also have an inscription beside them commending each grade into the protection of the different planetary gods.[4]: 132–133 In ascending order of importance, the initiatory grades were:[4](p 133–138)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraism
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10225397499519479&set=a.1308029555858
By the time of the success of the First Crusade in 1099, the Hospital of St John was already well known among pilgrims and was regarded as a separate organization from the monastery of St Mary. The monastic brothers at the hospital saw it as their duty to provide the best possible treatment to the poor. They were given an endowment by Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the First Crusade, before he died in 1100. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Ghibbelin of Arles, formally recognized it as a separate entity from the monastery when he reformed the Catholic hierarchy in Palestine, and a step towards this was taken by Pope Paschal II when he recognized the abbey of St Mary as a church of the Holy See, placing it under his protection and exempting it from paying tithes on its land, on 19 June 1112. The monastic Hospitaller Order was formally created when the Pope issued the papal bull Pie postulatio voluntatis on 15 February 1113 to the head of the Hospital of St John, Blessed Gerard de Martigues. The Pope subordinated the hospital to his own authority and exempted it from paying tithes on the lands it owned, and gave the right to its professed brothers to elect their master. He also placed several other hospitals and hospices in southern Italy under the governance of the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem, as they were located at port cities from which pilgrims traveled to the Holy Land.[7][8][9]
Knights Hospitaller in Jerusalem
Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond. Under his successor, Raymond du Puy, the original hospice was expanded to an infirmary[10] and by then was subordinated to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Around this time the Hospital of St John became connected with that Church, and documents often referred to "the Holy Sepulchre and the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem."[11] Initially, the Hospitallers cared for pilgrims as well as others (including Muslims and Jews) in Jerusalem,[7] but the order soon extended to provide pilgrims with an armed escort before eventually becoming a significant military force. Thus, the Order of St. John imperceptibly became militaristic without losing its charitable character.[10]
It is possible that the Hospital of St John hired knights or foot soldiers after the First Crusade to provide security, before it formally established its own military organization. Knights in western Europe left their horses and weapons to the Hospitallers in their wills in the 1120s, and in the early 1140s Pope Innocent II mentioned that the Hospitallers had "servants" to protect pilgrims. An account from a Hospitaller priest in 16th century stated that as the Order of St John became more wealthy it hired knights to defend its hospitals and pilgrims, and these knights eventually became Hospitallers themselves. It is known that secular knights and soldiers were hired by institutions in Jerusalem to provide protection after 1099, including churches, and some of them later joined military orders. The Order of Knights Templar was founded around 1119-1120 and it is likely that the Hospitallers were inspired by them to have their own knights. A charter made for a gift to the Hospital of St John in a Christian army on 17 January 1126 recorded that a brother from the Order was present as a witness and that he held a military title.[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Hospitaller
THE 17 OF JANUARY AND THE "BLUE APPLES" - Priory of Sion
On 17 January every year, near the statue of St. Anthony the Hermit, from 11.00 A.M., a suggestive and ethereal composition, always invisible, during every other day of the year, appears projected on the wall; those are the famous "blue apples" of the church in Rennes le Château.
The phenomenon is the result of a formidable creation by Bérenger Saunière, which exploits a highly elaborate combination of deep geometrical and astronomical knowledge, the result reaches its peak around 13.00 on the 17th of January every year, and from that moment, for a few days more, this phenomenon repeats itself.
The intention of the priest was to celebrate and underline, with the usual allegorical veil, a series of recurrences, which he considered important; among them the date of Marie de Negri of Ables d'Hautpoul's death, the Marquess of Blanchefort-Hautpoul, the last noble whose burial is in the church and besides that, also the date of the death of Saint Anthony the hermit and of Saint Germain from Pibrac, both represented within the church itself, as already mentioned; this particular date has many meanings also for the Priory of Sion, both for the reasons listed above, and for being the day defined as the date of the success of the "Great Work" by the past Grand Master of the Order, Nicolas Flamel, as it was January 17 that he and his wife are said to have obtained the Philosopher's Stone; January 17 is also the date of the death of Bérenger Saunière, so January 17, 1917, death declared by Marie Denarnaud only a few days later (January 22).
http://www.prieure-de-sion.com/4/church_of_rennes_le_chateau_1051503.html#pr_1870288
The Priory of Sion is an initiatory Order of chivalry, founded on July 15 1099 in Jerusalem, by Godfrey of Bouillon, at the Abbey "Our Lady of Mount Sion" as "Order of our Lady of Mount Sion."The Order, after being registered for the first time in history, in 1956, and then being dissolved in 1993, was newly registered in 2015, perpetuating the legitimate Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair's lineage, through the actual Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti.The Priory of Sion is characterized by a gnostic and rosicrucian influence, who sets himself the task of supporting and nurturing personal growth, moral and spiritual, with respect and in harmony with the personal objectives that each of us, by nature, has to carry through in life experience.It's also our purpose the esoteric research as the study and experience related to the transcendent and mystical in an environment of communion with our Brothers and Sisters, Members of the Order.The Priory of Sion today inherits a tradition of esoteric, philosophical, spiritual and cultural legacy, which favors the cultivation of values and principles that offers the way to live a more aware and noble personal dimension.We work through symbols, ancient rituals, theurgic practice and traditions, in order to live a personal and collective sprirituality in communion with our Brothers and Sisters. The Order is apolitical and forbids its members to be made a place of political debate, or even worse, to be exploited for such purposes."
http://www.prieure-de-sion.com/
The Order – A Brief History
The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem date back to the First Crusade, when its leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, liberated Jerusalem. As part of his operations to organize the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, he founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. According to accounts of the Crusades, in 1103 the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order, and reserved the right for himself and his successors, as agents of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to appoint Knights to it, should the Patriarch be absent or unable to do so.
The Order’s members included not only the Regular Canons (Fratres) but also the Secular Canons (Confratres) and the Sergentes. The latter were armed knights chosen from the crusader troops for their qualities of valor and dedication; they vowed to obey Augustinian Rule of poverty and obedience and undertook specifically, under the command of the King of Jerusalem, to defend the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Places.
Very soon after the First Crusade the troops – including the Knights of the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre – began to return to their homelands. This led to the creation of priories all over Europe, which were part of the Order as they came under the jurisdiction of the noble knights or prelates who had been invested on the Holy Sepulchre itself and who, although they were no longer in the direct service of the King of Jerusalem, continued to belong to the Order of Canons.
The Order first began to fail as a cohesive military body of knights after Saladin regained Jerusalem in 1182, and completely ceased to exist in that format after the defeat of Acre in 1291. The passing of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem left the Order without a leader, though it continued to survive in the European priories thanks to the protection of sovereigns, princes, bishops and the Holy See. The priories kept alive the ideals of the Crusader Knights: propagation of the Faith, defense of the weak, charity towards other human beings. With the exception of events in Spain, it was only rarely that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ever took part again in military action to defend Christianity.
In the 14th century, the Holy See made an extremely high payment to the Egyptian Sultan so that he would grant the right to protect the Christian Sanctuaries to the Franciscan Friars Minor. Throughout the whole period of the Latin Patriarchate’s suppression, the right to create new Knights, was the prerogative of the representative of the highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land: the Custos.
In 1847 the Patriarchate was restored and Pope Pius IX modernized the Order, issuing a new Constitution, which placed it under the direct protection of the Holy See and conferred its government to the Latin Patriarch. The Order’s fundamental role was also defined: to uphold the works of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whilst preserving the spiritual duty of propagating the Faith.
In 1949, Pius XII decreed that the Grand Master of the Order should be a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and assigned the position of Grand Prior to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1962 Pope John XXIII and, in 1967, Pope Paul VI reorganized and revitalized the Order by adding more specific regulations to the Constitution with the intention of making the Order’s activities more co-coordinated and more effective.
In February 1996, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II enhanced the Order’s status. Today it is a Public Association of faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1.
https://eohsjeastern.org/a-brief-history/
Horses: the extent to which they can be possessed in our houses [575, 576]; the extent to which they can be used on missions [574, 625]
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
By the time of the success of the First Crusade in 1099, the Hospital of St John was already well known among pilgrims and was regarded as a separate organization from the monastery of St Mary. The monastic brothers at the hospital saw it as their duty to provide the best possible treatment to the poor. They were given an endowment by Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the First Crusade, before he died in 1100. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Ghibbelin of Arles, formally recognized it as a separate entity from the monastery when he reformed the Catholic hierarchy in Palestine, and a step towards this was taken by Pope Paschal II when he recognized the abbey of St Mary as a church of the Holy See, placing it under his protection and exempting it from paying tithes on its land, on 19 June 1112. The monastic Hospitaller Order was formally created when the Pope issued the papal bull Pie postulatio voluntatis on 15 February 1113 to the head of the Hospital of St John, Blessed Gerard de Martigues. The Pope subordinated the hospital to his own authority and exempted it from paying tithes on the lands it owned, and gave the right to its professed brothers to elect their master. He also placed several other hospitals and hospices in southern Italy under the governance of the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem, as they were located at port cities from which pilgrims traveled to the Holy Land.[7][8][9]
Knights Hospitaller in Jerusalem
Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond. Under his successor, Raymond du Puy, the original hospice was expanded to an infirmary[10] and by then was subordinated to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Around this time the Hospital of St John became connected with that Church, and documents often referred to "the Holy Sepulchre and the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem."[11] Initially, the Hospitallers cared for pilgrims as well as others (including Muslims and Jews) in Jerusalem,[7] but the order soon extended to provide pilgrims with an armed escort before eventually becoming a significant military force. Thus, the Order of St. John imperceptibly became militaristic without losing its charitable character.[10]
It is possible that the Hospital of St John hired knights or foot soldiers after the First Crusade to provide security, before it formally established its own military organization. Knights in western Europe left their horses and weapons to the Hospitallers in their wills in the 1120s, and in the early 1140s Pope Innocent II mentioned that the Hospitallers had "servants" to protect pilgrims. An account from a Hospitaller priest in 16th century stated that as the Order of St John became more wealthy it hired knights to defend its hospitals and pilgrims, and these knights eventually became Hospitallers themselves. It is known that secular knights and soldiers were hired by institutions in Jerusalem to provide protection after 1099, including churches, and some of them later joined military orders. The Order of Knights Templar was founded around 1119-1120 and it is likely that the Hospitallers were inspired by them to have their own knights. A charter made for a gift to the Hospital of St John in a Christian army on 17 January 1126 recorded that a brother from the Order was present as a witness and that he held a military title.[12]
Krak des Chevaliers, a castle acquired by the Hospitallers in Syria
Raymond du Puy, who succeeded Gerard as master of the hospital in 1120,[11] is credited with establishing the military element of the Order.[13] Raymond decided some time before 1136 that Hospitallers could fight to defend the kingdom or to besiege a pagan city.[14] The Knights Hospitaller, like the other military orders, organized its fighting members into the ranks of knight and sergeant.[15] In 1130, Pope Innocent II gave the order its coat of arms, a plain silver cross in a field of red, to differentiate them from the Templars.[16] The other symbol of the Hospitallers, the "eight-pointed cross", is said to have originated in the Byzantine Empire before reaching the Duchy of Amalfi in Italy, and it was later used in Jerusalem by the monks that founded the Hospital of St John. After the Hospitallers moved to Malta, it became known as the Maltese cross.[17]
Maronite archer guiding a Knights Hospitaller and Northern Italian Crusader through Wadi Numeira to the Kerak plateau
King Fulk of Jerusalem constructed several castles to defend the kingdom's southern border from attacks by the Fatimid garrison at Ascalon, and allowed the Hospitallers to manage one of them in 1136, the castle of Bethgibelin.[14] This castle also allowed them to defend the pilgrim route between Jaffa and Jerusalem.[18] Later in the century, the Hospitallers were given control over more castles in Syria than they had in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[19] In the next several decades after 1136 the Order was granted more castles and towns by nobles that needed assistance in defending them, especially in the County of Tripoli and the Principality of Antioch. Those notably included the Krak des Chevaliers in 1142, which they received from Raymond II, Count of Tripoli.[14][19] According to one estimate the Hospitallers had 25 castles as of 1180.[19] In addition to defending them, the Hospitallers also undertook construction projects to build new castles or repair and expand existing ones, with an example of the latter being Krak des Chevaliers.[20]
One of the first battles that the Knights Hospitaller fought in was the Siege of Ascalon in 1153. After a group of Knights Templar, led by their Grand Master, Bernard de Tremelay, entered the besieged fortress and were all killed, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem wanted to withdraw, but Raymond du Puy convinced him to continue, and the fort surrendered to the Crusaders on 22 August 1153.[21][22] It is not clear if the role of the Hospitallers was only advisory or if they were involved in the fighting at Ascalon.[23]
The Hospitallers and the Knights Templar became the most formidable military orders in the Holy Land. Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, pledged his protection to the Knights of St. John in a charter of privileges granted in 1185.[24][25] In order to protect the road of the Camino de Santiago, the Order of Saint John generously received the hospital, commandery and convent of San Juan de Acre in Navarrete, La Rioja, founded in 1185 by María Ramírez de Medrano, Lady of Fuenmayor, built by her son Martín de Baztán y Medrano, bishop of Osma in Soria.[26] Active in the Kingdom of Toledo (a border area with Islam from the 12th to the 13th centuries) since 1144, the order had their largest holding in the kingdom in the Campo de San Juan.[27]
A Hospitaller depicted in a church painting
The statutes of Roger de Moulins (1187) deal only with the service of the sick; the first mention of military service is in the statutes of the ninth grand master, Fernando Afonso of Portugal (about 1200). In the latter, a marked distinction is made between secular knights, externs to the order, who served only for a time, and the professed knights, attached to the order by a perpetual vow, and who alone enjoyed the same spiritual privileges as the other religious. The order numbered three distinct classes of membership: the military brothers, the brothers infirmarians, and the brothers chaplains, to whom was entrusted the divine service.[10]
In 1248, Pope Innocent IV (1243–1254) approved a standard military dress for the Hospitallers to be worn during battle. Instead of a closed cape over their armour (which restricted their movements), they wore a red surcoat with a white cross emblazoned on it.[28]
Many of the more substantial Christian fortifications in the Holy Land were built by the Templars and the Hospitallers. At the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Hospitallers held seven great forts and 140 other estates in the area. The two largest of these, their bases of power in the Kingdom and in the Principality of Antioch, were the Krak des Chevaliers and Margat in Syria.[8] The property of the Order was divided into priories, subdivided into bailiwicks, which in turn were divided into commanderies.
As early as the late 12th century, the order had begun to achieve recognition in the Kingdom of England and Duchy of Normandy. As a result, buildings such as St John's Jerusalem and the Knights Gate, Quenington in England were built on land donated to the order by local nobility.[29] An Irish house was established at Kilmainham, near Dublin, and the Irish Prior was usually a key figure in Irish public life.
The Knights also received the "Land of Severin" (Terra de Zeurino), along with the nearby mountains, from Béla IV of Hungary, as shown by a charter of grant issued on 2 June 1247. The Banate of Severin was a march, or border province, of the Kingdom of Hungary between the Lower Danube and the Olt River, today part of Romania, and back then bordered across the Danube by a powerful Bulgarian Empire. The Hospitaller hold on the Banate was only brief.[30]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Hospitaller
The Prieuré was cited by name in references extending from the twelfth to the early seventeenth century. Then, in documents dating from 1619, it was stated to have incurred the displeasure of King Louis XIII of France, who evicted them from their seat at Orléans and turned the premises over to the Jesuits.5 After that, the Prieuré de Sion seemed to vanish from the historical record, at least under that name, until 1956, when it appeared again, registered in the French Journal officiel. And yet the present-day Order had repeatedly cited certain of its activities between 1619 and the twentieth century, certain historical events in which it had played a role, certain historical developments in which it had some sort of vested interest. When we examined the events and developments in question, we found indisputable evidence attesting to the involvement of an organised and coherent cadre working in concert behind the scenes, sometimes using other institutions as a façade. This cadre was not named specifically, but everything indicated that it was indeed the Prieuré de Sion. What was more, it proved to involve precisely the same network of interlinked families claiming Merovingian descent. Whether it was the intrigues and the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century, the insurrection known as the Fronde in the seventeenth century or the Masonic conspiracies of the eighteenth century, successive generations of precisely the same families were implicated, operating in accordance with a single consistent pattern."
The Messianic Legacy
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UV7FwghOOhdkp4fdk2SzG7oem2nRleW0/view?usp=sharing
The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as OH), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning "Do-Good Brothers", and elsewhere as the "Brothers of Mercy", the "Merciful Brothers" and the "John of God Brothers". The order carries out a wide range of health and social service activities in 389 centres and services in 46 countries.
Founder
St. John of God, the founder of the order, was born 8 March 1495 at Montemor-o-Novo in Portugal. Twice he enlisted in the Spanish army against the French and later the Turks.[1] After years of living a highly religious way of life in Spain resulting from a conversion experience, in 1535 he founded his first hospital at Granada, where he served the sick and afflicted. After ten years spent in the exercise of charity, he died 8 March 1550 of pneumonia after he had plunged into a river to save a young man from drowning.[2] He was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690 and was declared the patron saint of the dying and of all hospitals by Pope Leo XIII in 1898.[3]
History
John of God's first companion, Antón Martín, O.H., was chosen to succeed him as prior general of the order. Thanks to the generosity of King Philip II of Spain, a hospital was founded at Madrid, another at Córdoba and several others in various Spanish towns. Pope Pius V approved the Order of the Brothers Hospitallers in 1572 under the Rule of St. Augustine. The order spread rapidly into the other countries of Europe, and even into the distant colonies. For example, the Order provided staff to the Fortress of Louisbourg in New France (now Canada) during the mid 1700s; one of their roles was the operation of the hospital.[4]
In 1584, Pope Gregory XIII called some of the Brothers to Rome and gave them the Hospital of St. John Calybita, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, located on an island in the Tiber, which then became the motherhouse of the whole order. Brother Sebastiano Arias founded the Hospital of Our Lady at Naples and the famous Hospital of Milan. Another Brother Hospitaller at this time was John Grande, O.H., who was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1852.[3] The first general of Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God was Pedro Soriano.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Hospitallers_of_Saint_John_of_God
Augustinians and Cistercians | Church and Society in the Medieval West
One newly founded order broke with the rule of Benedict, finding its inspiration in a letter of Augustine is that prescribed simply that monks share all their property, pray together at regular intervals, dress alike, and obey a superior. Some of the “Augustinians,” as they called themselves, interpreted these general rules severely, living in silence, performing manual labor, eating and drinking sparingly, and singing psalms; others ate meat, conversed among themselves, and did not insist on manual labor.
https://bigsiteofhistory.com/augustinians-and-cistercians-church-and-society-in-the-medieval-west
The Teutonic Order, or Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital at Jerusalem, grew out of the establishment of a field hospital during the siege of Acre in the winter of 1190-91, by pious merchants of Bremen and Lubeck. When these merchants returned to Germany in 1191 they turned over the hospital to the chaplain Conrad and the chamberlain Burkhard.
With the model of the Hospitallers or Knights of St. John the Baptist, later known as Knights of Malta, before them, these men together with other Germans, formed a brotherhood, adopted the rules of the Hospitallers, and named their hospital “The Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem” “in the hope and confidence that when the Holy City was reconquered they would there establish a house which should become the mother, head and mistress of the entire Order.” The new Order was confirmed by popes Clement III in 1191 and Celestine in 1196; it won as a patron the emperor, Henry VI, who bestowed upon it its first possessions in the West. In 1198 it was changed into a military Order by the adoption of the rules of the Knights Templars in addition to those of the Hospitallers. Unlike both of these older Orders, the Teutonic Knights were a strictly national organization, none but Germans of noble birth being admitted to it. “Like the knights of other orders, the Teutonic Knights lived a semimonastic life under the Augustinian rule, and in the same way they admitted priests and half-brothers (servientes) into their ranks. Like the other two orders, the Teutonic Order began as a charitable society, developed into a military club, and ended as something of a chartered company, exercising rights of sovereignty on the troubled confines of Christianity. Even in its last phase the Order did not forget its original purpose: it maintained several great hospitals in its new home on the southeast shore of the Baltic, in addition to an hotel des invalides at Marienburg for its sick or aged brethren.” F550 Under its fourth grand master, Hermann von Salza, 1210-39, the Order grew rapidly and made the most important advance in its history. After having aided the king of Hungary against the Comans, and receiving from the king the district of Burzenland in Transylvania, which it did not long retain, the Order was invited to assist in subduing the heathen Prussians. A Cistercian monk named Christian had succeeded in establishing the Church among the Prussians, and in 1212 was made bishop of Prussia. When the heathen arose and destroyed his churches, Christian called upon the Teutonic Knights for help and bestowed upon them Kulm, some of the frontier towns and such lands as they should conquer (1228). After driving the enemy out of Kulm and founding the cities of Kulm, Thorn and Marienwerder, the Order began the task of conquering and Christianizing Prussia. In 1235 it absorbed the Order of Dobrzin, which had been founded by bishop Christian, and in 1237 the Knights of the Sword of Livonia, founded by Albert, bishop of Riga, became a province of the Order.
Its successes in Prussia changed the character of the Teutonic Order. It lost all connection with the East, its grand master moved his seat from Acre, first to Venice in 1291, then in 1308 to Marienburg on the Vistula. The Order became a governing aristocracy, its statutes were altered to suit the new conditions. “The Order was at once supreme ecclesiastical and political authority .... The lay subjects of the Order consisted of two classes: on the one hand there were the conquered Prussians, in a position of serfdom, bound in time of war to serve the brethren in foreign expeditions; on the other hand there were the German immigrants, both urban and rural, along with the free Prussians, who had voluntarily submitted and remained faithful.” f551 By the middle of the fourteenth century the Teutonic Knights had become a world power. Their cities belonged to the Hanseatic League and shared in its power; Poland had been deprived of its outlet on the Baltic; the ships of the Order were a power on the sea; Marienburg with its brilliant court was not merely a school of chivalry, but for a time a literary center. Yet the downfall of the Order was close at hand. It alienated its subjects, who allied themselves with Poland; its missionary work was completed when the Lithuanians became Christians and also made common cause with Poland; the Slav reaction made the Germanizing efforts of the Knights still more unpopular. Internally the success of the Order brought with it a secularization which was disastrous. Poland regained a foothold on the Baltic. The Prussian League was formed in 1440 with the real purpose of opposing the Knights, and in 1454 offered Prussia to the Polish king. The peace of Thorn, 1466, left to the Order only East Prussia and made the knights vassals of Poland. But the German master and the Landmeister for Livonia would not serve Poland, and the Order in East Prussia adopted the policy of electing German princes as grand masters in the hope of again regaining independence, without success. The first of these German grand masters was Frederick of Saxony, 1498 to 1511. He was succeeded by Albert of Brandenburg. f552 Albert became involved in a devastating war with Poland, which was provisionally ended by a four years’ truce made in 1521. In September of that year Albert suggested the possibility of a revision of the statutes of the Order by Luther, probably in harmony with the plans outlined in the Open Letter to the German Nobility. So far as known Luther was not consulted at that time. Albert continued to take his place with the Roman Catholic princes. But when in April, 1522, he returned to Germany he came under the influence of Lazarus Spengler and Andreas Osiander and was won for the evangelical party. During the Diet at Nuremberg, 1522- 23, he protested that it was not the proper way to proceed against Luther, “if evident truth be condemned and books burned.”
Pope Hadrian VI urged upon Albert a reformation of the Order. In June, 1523, Albert secretly turned to Luther for advice concerning the reformation of the Order in head and members. On November 29th the two met at Wittenberg, and Luther advised Albert “to throw aside the foolish and absurd rules of the Order, to marry, and to convert the religious state into a secular state, either a principality or a duchy.” Melanchthon, who was present at the interview, gave the same advice. The grand master smiled and said nothing. But “with that evangelical protestant advice Luther laid the foundations for the development of the Prussian state, of the Prussian kingdom, and of the German empire which is inseparable from the development of the Prussian kingdom.” f554 Soon after this meeting Luther prepared the following treatise, intended, as Kawerau suggests, to be a “feeler, which should test the attitude of the knights of the Order as well as of the Prussian bishops, and prepare them for coming events.” The older collected editions of Luther’s works date the treatise March 28, 1523. But, as Kawerau points out, it is improbable that the treatise was written before the last month of 1523, and the date may be a mistake for December 12th. The original prints are undated; the editors may have confused the festivals of the Annunciation and of the Conception of the Virgin Mary, the latter of which may have been the date attached to the manuscript.
After the evangelical principles had been gradually introduced into Prussia by the two bishops, Georg von Polentz and Erhard von Queiss, the grand master returned to Prussia and carried out Luther’s suggestion. Peace was made with Poland, Prussia was converted into a duchy held as fief of the king of Poland and hereditary in the family of Albert. July 1, 1526, Albert was married to Dorothea, the daughter of the Danish king, and thus was founded the evangelical house of the Hohenzollern.
The progress of the Gospel in Prussia gave Luther much joy. In 1525 he wrote to the Bishop of Samland, Georg von Polentz: “Behold the wonder!
In rapid course, with full sails, the Gospel hastens to Prussia, whither it was not called, and where it was not sought after, while in Upper and Lower Germany, whither it came of its own accord, it is blasphemed, repelled and put to flight with all rage and madness.” f556 The Teutonic Order in its German and Livonian branches continued to exist, and laid claim to the rights of the Order in Prussia. It was finally suppressed in 1809, and its lands passed into the hands of the secular princes within whose territories they lay. But in 1840 the Order was resuscitated in Austria, and again engaged in hospital service, in which it is presumably active during the present war. But this Teutonic Order is not the same as that which became secularized at the time of the Reformation.
The Prussian branch passed into the Prussian kingdom, not into the restored Order. A Protestant branch exists in the ancient bailiwick of Utrecht, the members of which must profess the Calvinistic faith, and are dispensed from celibacy. See Catholic Encyclopedia, xiv, 542.
The subject of the monastic vows and of the marriage of monks had been discussed at great length before this treatise was written. For the development of that discussion we must refer here to the introduction to the Treatise on Monastic Vows, which was excluded from this volume because of its size. But the careful student will find that Luther has not merely repeated older arguments nor restated older positions. He has gone farther, his position is more advanced. In fact, upon the advance beyond the position taken in the Formula Missae Kawerau bases an argument for the later date of our treatise. “For the writing of this treatise immediately after the FormuIa Missae we find an argument in the remarkable agreement between the statements in the two concerning those who want to wait for decrees of a council and desire permission to be given them (to use the two kinds in the Lord’s Supper, or, in the later treatise, to marry) by such decrees. He who reads the analogous portions in the two treatises will easily recognize in the Exhortation to the Teutonic Knights the bold heightening of the thought to a paradox, and thus see in the Formula Missae the older form.” f558 The German text is found in Weimar Ed., xii, 232-244; Walch Ed., xix, 2157-76; Erlangen Ed., xxix 16-33; St. Louis Ed., xix, 1730-45; Berlin Ed., iv, 32-47. Literature : Introduction by KAWERAU in Weimar Ed., xii, 228-31; Prot. Realencyklopadie, 3d ed., Arts., Albrecht von Preussen, I, 310-23; Deutschorden, iv, 589-95; Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Arts., Albert, i, 497, and Teutonic Order, xxvi, 676-9. The literature is given fully in all these articles. Compare also Schaff, Church History, vi, 588-600, and Kostlin-Kawerau, Martin Luther, i, 620-623. W. A. LAMBERT. LEBANON,PA.
WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER - TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER AN EXHORTATION THAT THEY LAY ASIDE FALSE CHASTITY AND TAKE UPON THEM THE TRUE CHASTITY OF WEDLOCK (godrules.net)
https://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_c8.htm
AI Overview
Henry VIII and Martin Luther were contemporaries who initially opposed each other, with Henry VIII writing a defense of Catholic doctrine against Luther, for which he was granted the title "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope. However, Henry VIII later broke with the Catholic Church for personal reasons (his desire for an annulment), initiating the English Reformation and establishing the Church of England, though his initial theological opposition to Luther was genuine. While Luther sought to reform the Church's doctrines, Henry VIII's motivations were primarily political and personal, despite his later adoption of some Protestant ideas for the Church of England.
Initial conflict: Henry VIII as a Catholic defender
When Luther first challenged the Catholic Church in 1517, Henry VIII was a devout Catholic.
In response to Luther's attacks on the Church's theology, Henry VIII wrote Defence of the Seven Sacraments in 1521.
For this work, Pope Leo X granted Henry VIII the title "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor).
Henry VIII saw Luther's actions as heresy and publically denounced him.
Later divergence: Henry VIII's political break
Despite his earlier stance, Henry VIII's relationship with the Catholic Church deteriorated due to his desire for an annulment from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn.
When the Pope refused the annulment, Henry VIII decided to break from Rome for political and personal reasons.
He passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, which declared him the Supreme Head of the Church of England.
This marked the beginning of the English Reformation, which was initiated by political and personal motives rather than a theological dispute with the papacy.
Contrast in motives
Martin Luther: Driven by a desire to reform the Catholic Church's doctrines and practices, which he saw as corrupt.
Henry VIII: Driven primarily by his desire for a male heir and an annulment from his marriage, leading him to pursue political and personal control over the church in England.
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Katharina von Bora (German: [kataˈʁiːnaː fɔn ˈboːʁaː]; 29 January 1499? – 20 December 1552), after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ('the Lutheress'),[1] was the wife of the German reformer Martin Luther and a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. Although little is known about her, she is often considered to have been important to the Reformation, her marriage setting a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage.[2]
Ancestry
Katharina von Bora was the daughter to a family of Saxon lesser nobility.[3][4][5] According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499 in Lippendorf, but there is no evidence of this in contemporary documents. Due to there being multiple branches in her family and the uncertainty of her birth name, there are diverging theories about her place of birth.[6] One of them proposes that she was born in Hirschfeld and that her parents were Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld and his wife, born Anna von Haugwitz.[7][8] It is also possible that Katharina was the daughter of Jan von Bora auf Lippendorf and his wife Margarete, both of whom were only mentioned in 1505.[9]
Early life
A portrait of Martin Luther in 1526 by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Her father sent five-year-old von Bora to a Benedictine convent in Brehna in 1504 to be educated, according to a letter Laurentius Zoch sent to Martin Luther in 1531.[10] At the age of nine, she was moved to Nimbschen Abbey, Cistercian community named Marienthron ('Mary's Throne') near Grimma, where her maternal aunt was a nun.[11] Von Bora's presence is in the financial accounts of 1509/10.[12]
Plaque on the ruins of Nimbschen Abbey, commemorating von Bora's time there and her escape.
After years of being a nun, von Bora became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with cloistered life. Conspiring with several other sisters, she contacted Luther and begged for his assistance.[13] On 4 April 1523, Holy Saturday, Luther sent Leonhard Köppe, a merchant and councillor of Torgau who regularly delivered herring to the convent. The nuns escaped by hiding in his covered wagon among the fish barrels, and fled to Wittenberg.[14]
Luther asked the families of the nuns to admit them into their houses, but they declined, possibly because this would have made them accomplices to a crime under canon law.[15]
Within two years, Luther was able to arrange marriages or find employment for all of the escaped nuns except von Bora. She was first housed with the family of Philipp Reichenbach, the municipal clerk of Wittenberg, then with Lucas Cranach the Elder and his wife, Barbara. Von Bora had a number of suitors, including Hieronymus Baumgartner from Nuremberg, and a pastor, Kaspar Glatz from Orlamünde, but none of the proposals resulted in marriage. She told Luther's friend and fellow reformer, Nicolaus von Amsdorf, that she would be willing to marry only Luther or von Amsdorf.[16]
Marriage to Luther
Three depictions of Katharina von Bora
Martin Luther, as well as many of his friends, was at first unsure of whether he should marry. Philip Melanchthon thought that this would hurt the Reformation by causing scandal. Luther eventually decided that his marriage would 'please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep'.[16] 26-year-old Von Bora and 41-year-old Luther married on 13 June 1525, before witnesses including Justus Jonas, Johannes Bugenhagen, and Barbara and Lucas Cranach.[17] A small wedding breakfast was held the next morning, and a more formal, public ceremony on 27 June, presided over by Bugenhagen.[18]
The couple took up residence in the former dormitory and educational institution of Augustinian friars studying in Wittenberg (known as the 'Black Monastery'), a wedding gift from John, Elector of Saxony, brother of Luther's protector Frederick III, Elector of Saxony.[19] Katharina immediately took on the task of managing the monastery's vast holdings. She bred and sold cattle and ran a brewery to provide for their family, the numerous students who boarded with them, and her husband's visitors. In times of epidemics, she operated a hospital with nurses, working alongside them. Luther called her the 'boss of Zulsdorf', after the farm they owned, and the 'morning star of Wittenberg' for her habit of rising at 4 a.m.[2]
Based on Luther's descriptions, his wife, whom he nicknamed 'Herr Käthe', exerted much control over his life. She might have even influenced his decisions to a degree; Luther said that his wife 'convince[d] [him] of whatever' she pleased', and explicitly afforded her 'complete control' over the household, as long as 'his rights' were 'preserved', since '[f]emale government has never done any good'.[20] She thus assisted her husband with running their estate and directed renovations when necessary.[21] Anecdotal evidence suggests that Katharina Luther played a wife's role as taught by her husband's movement: she depended on him financially (although she also increased their estate's profits), and respected him as a 'higher vessel', always calling him 'Herr Doktor'. He reciprocated by occasionally consulting her on church matters.[22]
Katharina bore six children: Hans (1526–1575), Elisabeth (1527–1528), Magdalena (1529–1542), Martin (1531–1565), Paul (1533–1593), and Margarete (1534–1570). She also suffered a miscarriage on 1 November 1539. The Luthers raised four orphaned children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian.[23]
Significance of the marriage
The marriage of von Bora to Luther is very important in the history of Protestantism, specifically in regard to the development of its views on marriage and gender roles. While Luther was not the first cleric to marry because of Reformation ideas, he was one of the most prominent. As he argued publicly for clerical marriage and produced much anti-Catholic propaganda, his marriage became a natural target for his enemies.[24]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Bora
The Cistercian Order
Main article: Cistercians
In 1075 Robert de Molesme, a Benedictine monk from Cluny Abbey, had obtained the permission of Pope Gregory VII to found a monastery at Molesme in Burgundy. At Molesme, Robert tried to restore monastery practice to the simple and severe character of the original Rule of Saint Benedict, called "Strict Observance". Being only partly successful in this at Molesme, Robert in 1098 led a band of 21 monks from their abbey at Molesme to establish a new monastery. The monks acquired a plot of marsh land just south of Dijon called Cîteaux (Latin: "Cistercium") and set about building a new monastery there which became Cîteaux Abbey, the mother Abbey of the newly founded Cistercian Order.[10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluniac_Reforms
Finally, the Constitutions train us all for perfection, instructing us in the weapons to be used in combatting our three fierce and raging adversaries. They teach us how to counter the lust of the flesh with chastity, the lust of the eyes with poverty, and the pride of life with obedience. I shall say nothing of our observance of chastity (in which we should imitate the purity of the angels so far as our frailty allows), or of our OBSERVANCE of poverty (which is so STRICT that neither churches nor professed houses may acquire any rents, lands, or even perpetual endowments). As for obedience, however, by which we consecrate the chief and noblest part of ourselves to God, our Constitutions require of us that it be so prompt, eager, perfect, and integral that we do not swerve even a hairsbreadth from our superiors commands. In matters falling under obedience, not only must our action be guided by the superior s command and our will by his will, but even something much more difficult our understanding by his understanding.
To sum up: men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified[7] such would our Constitutions have us to be; new men, I say, who have put off their affections to put on Christ;[8] dead to themselves to live to justice; who, with St. Paul in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, show themselves ministers of God[9] and by the armor of Justice on the right hand and, on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, by good success finally and ill success, press forward with great strides to their heavenly country. This is the sum and aim of our institute.
And so I beseech you, brothers in the Lord, that we may walk in a manner worthy of our vocation,[10] and, in order to know that vocation, may read and reread these Constitutions that have been bestowed upon us by the gift of God. Let us study them day and night. Let us vie with each other in learning them, pondering them, and keeping them. If we do so, our name will be matched by our lives and our profession made manifest in deed.
Farewell in Christ.
Rome, the house of the Society of Jesus, 1559 [7]
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 Old Man of the Mountain (Persian: پیر کوهستان (pir koohestan)[citation needed], Latin: Vetulus de Montanis),[1] is the expression used by Marco Polo in a passage from Book of the Marvels of the World, to indicate Hassan-i- sabbah, the grand master of the Order of Assassins which was based in Alamut Castle. It later became a common name used by the Crusaders.[2]
Subsequently, this nickname was given to various Isma'ili successors of Hassan, in Syria, particularly,[3] for example Rashid al-Din Sinan, the da'i (missionary)[4] and a leader of the Syrian branch of the Nizari Isma'ili state.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain_(nickname)
Al-Andalus[a] (Arabic: الأَنْدَلُس) was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The term is used by modern historians for the former Islamic states in modern Spain, Portugal[1] and France. The name describes the different Muslim[2][3] states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most of the peninsula[4][5][6] and part of present-day southern France (Septimania) under Umayyad rule. These boundaries changed constantly through a series of conquests Western historiography has traditionally characterized as the Reconquista,[2][3][7][8][9] 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 Complimentary Norms
A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts
THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES
SAINT LOUIS, 1996
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
Louis Raphaël I Sako (Arabic: لويس روفائيل ساكو;[1] born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018.
Biography
Early life
Sako was born in the city of Zakho, Iraq, on 4 July 1948.[2] He comes from an ethnic Assyrian family of the Chaldean Catholic Church that has roots in a religious community that has had a presence in the city of his birth since the 5th century AD.[3]
He completed his early studies in Mosul and then attended the Dominican-run Saint Jean’s Seminary there. He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1974 and filled his first pastoral assignment at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. He then earned a doctorate in Eastern patrology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. When denied a license to teach because he was only qualified for religious instruction, he earned a second doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris.[4] With this he secured his teaching license and was able to provide religious instruction. From 1997 to 2002 he was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. He then returned to Mosul and guided the parish of Perpetual Help for a year.[5][6]
Sako speaks Neo-Aramaic, German, French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Arabic.[2]
Archeparch
A synod of the bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church meeting in Baghdad elected Sako Archeparch of Kirkuk on 24 October 2002. Pope John Paul II gave his assent on 27 September 2003.[7] He received his episcopal consecration on 14 November 2003 from his predecessor in Kirkuk, André Sana.[8]
In August 2009, and at the beginning of Ramadan, Sako organized an appeal for national peace, reconciliation and end to violence on the part of more than fifty religious leaders in Kirkuk. He called it "a gesture of closeness to our Muslim brothers. We are all brothers, sons of the same God we must respect and cooperate for the good of the people and our country." The participants included representatives of Ali Sistani and Muqtada al Sadr.[9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rapha%C3%ABl_I_Sako
John Hyrcanus (/hɜːrˈkeɪnəs/; Hebrew: יוחנן הרקנוס, romanized: Yoḥānān Hurqanos; Koine Greek: Ἰωάννης Ὑρκανός, romanized: Iōánnēs Hurkanós) was a Hasmonean (Maccabean) leader and Jewish High Priest of Israel of the 2nd century BCE (born 164 BCE, reigned from 134 BCE until he died in 104 BCE). In rabbinic literature he is often referred to as Yoḥanan Cohen Gadol (יוחנן כהן גדול), "John the High Priest".[a]
Name
Josephus explains in The Jewish War that John was also known as "Hyrcanus" but does not explain the reason behind this name. The only other primary sources—the Books of the Maccabees—never used this name for John. The single occurrence of the name Hyrcanus in 2 Maccabees 3:11 refers to a man to whom some of the money in the Temple belonged during the c. 178 BCE visit of Heliodorus.[1]
The reason for the name is disputed amongst biblical scholars, with a variety of reasons proposed:
Familial origin in the region of Hyrcania on the Caspian Sea[2]
A Greek regnal name, which would have represented closer ties with the Hellenistic culture against which the Maccabees had revolted under Seleucid rule. However, the region of Hyrcania had been conquered by Mithridates I of Parthia in 141–139 BCE
Given the name by the Seleucids after he fought in the region alongside Antiochus VII Sidetes against Phraates II of Parthia in 130–129 BCE, a campaign which resulted in the release of Antiochus' brother Demetrius II Nicator from captivity in Hyrcania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hyrcanus
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 Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is composed of 13 chapters. Each one is devoted to a different set of skills or art related to warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics. For almost 1,500 years, it was the lead text in an anthology that was formalized as the Seven Military Classics by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1080. The Art of War remains one of the most influential works on strategy of all time[1] and has shaped both East Asian and Western military theory and thinking.[2]
The book contains a detailed explanation and analysis of the 5th-century BC Chinese military, from weapons, environmental conditions, and strategy to rank and discipline. Sun also stressed the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to the war effort. Considered one of history's finest military tacticians and analysts, his teachings and strategies formed the basis of advanced military training throughout the world.
The text was first translated into a European language in 1772, when the French Jesuit priest Jean Joseph Marie Amiot produced a French version; a revised edition was published in 1782. A partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905 under the title The Book of War. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910.[3] Military and political leaders such as the Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong, Japanese daimyō Takeda Shingen, Vietnamese general Võ Nguyên Giáp, and American generals Douglas MacArthur and Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. are all cited as having drawn inspiration from the book.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War
A famous Jesuit General Michael Angelo Tambourini once boasted, in 1720, to the Duke of Brissac: " See, My Grace [my Lord], from this room, I govern not only Paris, but China; not only China, but the whole world, without anyone knowing how it is managed."
"Andrew Steinmetz, History of the Jesuits, Vol. 1 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lea and Blanchard Publ.,/New York: Richard Bentley, 1848), pp.107, 168-169; see also, Constitution of the Jesuits, edited by Paris Paulin (1843); Eugene Sue (Marie Joseph), The Wandering Jew, (London: Chapman and Hall, 1844/ New York; Harper & Brothers,, 1845), Bk I, Chap. XV, P. 183; see also, p. 618, and Bk. II, p. 21; Abrige de I'Hist. Eccles. de Racine, Chap. xii. P. 77." page 129 Chapter XII "Unhesitating Obedience: The General And The Holy Office" Codeword Barbelon book One by P.D. Stuart
"Steinmetz was fourteen years a Jesuit; see also, Constitutions of the Jesuits, ed. by P. Paulin (1843); Morale Pratique Des Jesuites: Histoire De La Persecution De deux Saints, Vol. I (Cologne, 1669), pp. 50 and 51." "Epilogue-For Such A Time As This"
Pope Francis Lord of the World
by P.D. Stuart
AI Overview
Learn more
Both "Evan" and "Jean" are variations of the name "John" and ultimately derive from the Hebrew name "Yochanan," meaning "God is gracious"; "Evan" is a Welsh variation while "Jean" is the French version, essentially sharing the same core meaning of "God is gracious.".
Breakdown:
Evan: A Welsh form of "John," meaning "God is gracious".
Jean: The French version of "John," also signifying "God is gracious".
Key points:
Origin: Both names stem from the Hebrew name "Yochanan".
Language variations: "Evan" is Welsh, while "Jean" is French.
Meaning: Both names essentially mean "God is gracious".
Generative AI is experimental.
Evan Wyman
in Dayton, NV (Nevada)
Age 27
Current Address (Since January 2020)
2033 Lonnie Ln
Dayton NV 89403
Jean Rae Malone's Nevada Voter Registration
Dayton, Nevada
Jean Rae Malone (age 66) is listed at 2030 Lonnie Ln Dayton, Nv 89403 and is affiliated with the Non-Partisan Party. Jean is registered to vote in Lyon County, Nevada.
Overview of Jean Rae Malone
Lives in: Dayton, Nevada
Phone: View phone number Ad
Age: 66
Jean Malone's Voter Registration
Party Affiliation: Non-Partisan
Registered to Vote In: Lyon County, Nevada
Registration Date: 12/18/2023
Voter Status: ActivePrecinct: 13.00
Congressional District: Cd2
House District: Ad39
Senate District: Sd17
School Board District: Ed2
https://voterrecords.com/voter/129532222/jean-malone
CERTIFICATE OF FOSTER PARENTHOOD
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT SUE DUNN
HAS BECOME A FOSTER PARENT ON THIS DAY DEC. 25, 1986 OF A BOWLSIE CREATION OF LITTLE PEOPLE.
Frances & Bowles
FRANCES A. BOWLES
A SPECIAL CREATION FOR A SPECIAL FRIEND SUSAN JEAN LITTLE SU SU)
HAS BEEN CREATED ESPECIALLY FOR YOU
Susan Lohrey Dunn's Nevada Voter Registration
Dayton, Nevada
Susan Lohrey Dunn (age 73) is listed at 2031 Lonnie Ln Dayton, Nv 89403 and is affiliated with the Republican Party. Susan is registered to vote in Lyon County, Nevada.
Overview of Susan Lohrey Dunn
Lives in: Dayton, Nevada
Phone: View phone number Ad
Age: 73
Susan Dunn's Voter Registration
Party Affiliation: Republican Party
Registered to Vote In: Lyon County, Nevada
Registration Date: 05/28/2015
Voter Status: ActivePrecinct: 13.00
Congressional District: Cd2
House District: Ad39
Senate District: Sd17
School Board District: Ed2
https://voterrecords.com/voter/124466056/susan-dunn
2030-2031 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS
Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2031 Mars apparition is considered Transitional (between Aphelic and Perihelic) because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 68.4° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls and 111.6° Ls from perihelion (250° Ls).
NOTE: Ls is the planetocentric longitude of the Sun along the ecliptic of Mars’ sky. 0° Ls is defined as that point where the Sun crosses the Martian celestial equator from south to north, that is the planet’s northern hemisphere vernal equinox. The other Ls values that define the beginnings of Martian northern hemisphere seasons are: summer, 90° Ls; autumn, 180° Ls; and winter, 270° Ls. For Mars’ southern hemisphere these values represent the opposite seasons. Distance (A.U.) - Distance from Earth to Mars in astronomical units, where one (1) A.U. equals 92,955,807.267 miles or 149,597,870.691 km.
Opposition occurs 11 months after conjunction when Mars is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. At that time, the two planets will lie nearly in a straight line with respect to the Sun, or five weeks after retrogression begins. Opposition will occur at 1157 UT on May 04, 2031 (138.4° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.7 arcsec. Mars will remain visible for more than twelve months after opposition and then become lost in the glare of the Sun around May 31, 2032 as it approaches the next conjunction (July 11, 2032). The cycle is complete in 780 Earth days.
Closest approach occurs at 0350 UT on May 12, 2031 (142.1° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.9 at a distance of 0.5533578 astronomical units (AU) or 51,437,823 miles (82,781,152 km). During closest approach in 2031 the apparent diameter of Mars will be 2.4 arcsec larger than it was at the same period in 2029; however, it will be 17.1 degrees lower in the sky - not quite as good for observing the Red Planet for observers in the northern hemisphere. It should also be noted that closest approach between Earth and Mars is not necessarily coincident with the time of opposition but varies by as much as two weeks.
https://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jbeish/2031_MARS.htm
Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[1] It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family.[2] He was the first Jewish member of the House of Lords not to have previously converted to Christianity. The current holder of the title is Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, who inherited the barony in 1990."
In 1822, the hereditary title of Freiherr (baron) of the Austrian Empire was granted in the Austrian nobility by Emperor Francis I of Austria to the five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild.[5] In 1838, Queen Victoria authorized the use of this Austrian baronial title in the United Kingdom by Lionel de Rothschild and certain other members of the Rothschild family.[6][7] However, the use of such foreign titles in the United Kingdom was subsequently limited by a warrant of 27 April 1932.[8]"
Baron Rothschild - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Rothschild
The family of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and owner of The Trump Organization, is a prominent American family active in real estate, entertainment, business, and politics. Trump, his wife Melania, and son BARRON were the first family of the United States for the duration of his presidency. Trump's paternal grandparents, Frederick Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump, had immigrated to the United States from Germany. Donald Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, came from the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland.[1] Trump has five children from three wives, and 10 grandchildren."
Family of Donald Trump - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Donald_Trump#Barron_Trump
Trump International, Scotland
@TrumpScotland
Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States, announced today the start of a new golf venture in Scotland: the MacLeod course, to be built at Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire in honor of his late mother Mary Anne MacLeod.
10:47 AM · May 1, 2023
https://x.com/TrumpScotland/status/1653093764271857666
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) [a] was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until his death in 1766. The only son of James II of England and his second wife, Mary of Modena, he was Prince of Wales and heir until his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His Protestant half-sister Mary II and her husband William III became co-monarchs. As a Catholic, he was subsequently excluded from the succession by the Act of Settlement 1701.
Raised primarily in France and Italy, when his father died in September 1701 James claimed the thrones. As part of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1708 Louis XIV of France backed a landing in Scotland on his behalf. This failed, as did further attempts in 1715 and 1719. Led by his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, the 1745 Rising was the last serious effort to restore the House of Stuart.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart
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 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
Santiago de Compostela,[a] simply Santiago, or Compostela,[4] in the province of A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St. James, a leading Catholic pilgrimage route since the 9th century.[5] In 1985, the city's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Santiago de Compostela has a very mild climate for its latitude with heavy winter rainfall courtesy of its relative proximity to the prevailing winds from Atlantic low-pressure systems.
Toponym
According to Richard A. Fletcher, scholars now agree that the origin of the name Compostela comes from the Latin compositum tella, meaning a well-ordered burial ground, possibly referring to an ancient burial ground on the site of the Church of Santiago de Compostela that pre-dates the Christian building.[6]
Santiago is the local Galician evolution of Vulgar Latin Sanctus Iacobus "Saint James". According to folk etymology Compostela derives from the Latin: Campus Stellae ('field of the star').
City
See also: Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
According to a medieval legend, the remains of the apostle James, son of Zebedee were brought to Galicia for burial, where they were lost. Eight hundred years later the light of a bright star guided a shepherd, Pelagius the Hermit, who was watching his flock at night to the burial site in Santiago de Compostela.[7] This site was originally called Mount Libredon [gl] and its physical topography leads prevalent seaborne winds to clear the cloud deck immediately overhead.[8] The shepherd quickly reported his discovery to the bishop of Iria, Theodemir.[7] The bishop declared that the remains were those of the apostle James and immediately notified King Alfonso II in Oviedo.[7] To honour St. James, the cathedral was built on the spot where his remains were said to have been found. The legend, which included numerous miraculous events, enabled the Catholic faithful to bolster support for their stronghold in northern Spain during the Christian crusades against the Moors, but also led to the growth and development of the city.[7]
Along the western side of the Praza do Obradoiro is the elegant 18th-century Pazo de Raxoi, now the city hall. On the right from the cathedral steps is the Hostal dos Reis Católicos, founded in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand II of Aragon, as a pilgrims' hospice (now a Parador). The Obradoiro façade of the cathedral, the best known, is depicted on the Spanish euro coins of 1 cent, 2 cents, and 5 cents (€0.01, €0.02, and €0.05).
Santiago is the site of the University of Santiago de Compostela, established in the early 16th century. The main campus can be seen best from an alcove in the large municipal park in the centre of the city.
Santiago de Compostela has a substantial nightlife. Both in the new town (a zona nova in Galician, la zona nueva in Spanish or ensanche) and the old town (Galician: a zona vella, Spanish: la zona vieja, trade-branded as zona monumental), a mix of middle-aged residents and younger students maintain a lively presence until the early hours of the morning. Radiating from the centre of the city, the historic cathedral is surrounded by paved granite streets, tucked away in the old town, and separated from the newer part of the city by the largest of many parks throughout the city, Parque da Alameda.
Santiago gives its name to one of the four military orders of Spain: Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa.
One of the most important economic centres in Galicia, Santiago is the seat for organisations like Association for Equal and Fair Trade Pangaea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Compostela
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.
Career
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.
Alan's career in England can be traced largely through his presence as a witness to charters granted by the king during his travels in the first decade or more of his reign. Some of his activities were traced by Eyton, and his researches overlap with William Farrer's calendar of Henry I travel. All of the business in which he took part was ecclesiastical, involving grants, sometimes disputed, to churches and monasteries.
Appearances at court
Alan appeared in Henry I's company at least as early as September 1101, probably at a court held in Windsor Castle,[8] when he witnessed important grants to Norwich Cathedral, confirming its foundation and various endowments.[9][10] Next, he appeared with the king at Canterbury in 1103,[11] where he witnessed the grant of a market to the nuns of Malling Abbey and land acquisitions by Rochester Cathedral, then in the process of rebuilding.[12]
Later that year,[13] or early in the next,[14] Alan was with the king in the New Forest, where the business concerned Andover Priory, a daughter house of the great Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Florent de Saumur.[15] He was probably selected deliberately for this meeting because of his family's close connections with Saumur Abbey: one of his uncles was a monk there.[16] William Rufus had decreed that all chapels in the parish of Andover church should be handed over to the monks or destroyed.[17] One problem at issue revolved around the Foxcote chapel, which was evidently being defended from destruction or annexation by Edward de Foscote, a local landowner. Another seems to have been the administration of justice in the monastic estates.[18] Wihenoc, a monk of St Florent, had initiated an action against the reeve of Andover to have these issues clarified and resolved. Alan Fitz Flaad was called upon to witness a compromise, although Foxcote was among the properties confirmed to the priory by Pope Eugenius III in 1146.[19]
In the autumn of 1105, Alan was called to York to witness confirmation of Ralph Paynel's transfer of his refounded Holy Trinity Priory in York to Marmoutier Abbey, Tours[20][21] and his many endowments of the priory itself.[22][23] At some point, he also witnessed the Roger de Nonant's gift of the church at Totnes and various tithes to the Abbey of Ss Sergius and Bacchus at Angers, a gift earmarked as being for the souls of the royal family.[24]
In May 1110, Alan was at court at Windsor again to witness the king's settlement of a property dispute between Hervey le Breton, Bishop of Ely, and Ranulph Flambard, Bishop of Durham, resolved in favour of the former.[25]
Probably only later did he appear as a witness to a royal command issued to Richard de Belmeis I, the Bishop of London and the king's viceroy in Shropshire, to see that justice was done in the case of a disputed prebend at Morville.[26][27] The collegiate church there had been dissolved and replaced with a priory attached to Shrewsbury Abbey[28] and it seems that the son of one of the prebendaries was resisting the loss of what he regarded as his patrimony. Alan is listed among a group of Shropshire magnates, including Corbets and a Peverel, meeting perhaps during Henry I's 1114 military expedition into Wales. Johnson and Cronne tentatively place the meeting at Holdgate Castle in Shropshire. Eyton dates the event earlier, around the time of a royal expedition to Shropshire in 1109.[29] Whatever the date, it shows Alan as an important member of the Shropshire landowning class.
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
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/
Caput Mundi is a Latin phrase which literally means "Head of the world" whereas Roma Caput Mundi means "Rome capital of the world" and is one of the many nicknames given to the city of Rome throughout its history.[1]
The phrase is related to the enduring power of the city first as the capital of the Republic and the Empire, and later as the centre of the Catholic Church.[2]
Although it is not known for sure when it was first used, Rome was already named in this way by the poet Ovid in 1st century BC.[3]
Along with "Eternal City" and the "City of Seven Hills", Caput Mundi remains as one of the most commonly used names to refer to the city of Rome.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caput_Mundi
Scottish baronies were historically the only form of British nobility held by prescriptive feudal tenure, capable of being disponed with the land or the caput (seat) rather than passing solely through heritable succession. The earliest formal structuring of the Scottish table of precedence appears in 1592 statutes and King Charles I's warrants, which positioned barons as ranking below baronets and knights, but above lairds, esquires, and gentlemen. Sir Thomas Innes of Learney explained that the 1672 Act, cap. 47, classified ranks as peers, barons (if without a fief, equivalent to heads of Continental baronial houses), and gentlemen (including all other armigers).[17] In this framework, baronets and knights were considered gentlemen and thus ranked below barons. Though a barony was not a peerage, it was recognised as a noble dignity, and titles such as "Baron of X" reflected the territorial nature of Scottish nobility.
The General Register of Sasines, established by statute in 1617, allowed baronies to be legally registered, granting prescriptive rights to the caput over time. Possession of the land containing the caput conferred the title of baron or baroness. In 1672, the Lyon Register was created to regulate armorial bearings; no arms could be legally used in Scotland unless recorded therein, resolving disputes over heraldic rights.
Until 1874, new barons were confirmed by the Crown through charters of confirmation. By law, a Scottish barony required a Crown charter erecting the land into a barony, recorded in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland. Even if the original charter was lost, an official extract carried the same legal weight. Barons held their estates directly of the Crown or the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, and the barony's legal status depended on this superior feudal relationship.
Scottish barons were part of the political structure of pre-Union Scotland. They sat in the Parliament of Scotland as members of the Second Estate. In 1428, lesser barons were permitted to elect commissioners to represent them, due to the burdens of travel. These representatives joined the Third Estate alongside burgh and shire commissioners, though the barons retained their personal right to attend until the Union of 1707. Greater barons often gained peerages over time, becoming lords of parliament, earls, or dukes, while lesser barons retained local influence, particularly through baron's courts and administrative roles.
Following the 1707 Acts of Union, legislative power affecting Scottish private law transferred to the unified British Parliament at Westminster. This arrangement remained in place until the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999. During this period, landowners often used "prescriptive feudal grants" to impose perpetual obligations - called real burdens - on land, which were recognised by courts and functioned similarly to English leaseholds.
The first Scottish Government (or Executive) was committed to abolishing the feudal system. This culminated in the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, which came fully into effect on 28 November 2004. With the Act, the feudal system was abolished, and baronies became incorporeal hereditaments[18][19] - intangible in status, similar to hereditary peerages, baronetcies, and coats of arms. Although baronies no longer conferred any legal right to land, the Act explicitly preserved their status as a dignity.[20][21] This marked the end of the ability to acquire a barony by purchasing land containing the caput.
Baronies are now fully "floating" meaning that they are detached from land and can be freely assigned or bequeathed[22]. If a baron dies intestate, the dignity is inherited according to the pre-1964 rules of succession, preserved for titles and dignities by the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964.[23] The Court of the Lord Lyon, as the heraldic authority of Scotland, continues to regulate the heraldic aspects of baronies. The holder of a barony may petition the Lyon Court for a grant of arms and is entitled to bear the appropriate helm and additaments befitting the dignity.[24] However, the Lyon Court has no jurisdiction over the legal assignation of baronies, which is a matter of civil law.[citation needed]
Most Scottish baronies were created prior to 1745, though some were erected as late as 1824. One of the oldest surviving baronies, the Baron of the Bachuil, is exceptional in that it does not depend on land ownership. Instead, the title passes with possession of an ancient staff known as the Bachuil Mór, once belonging to Saint Moluag. The lawful possessor of the staff is recognised as the Baron of the Bachuil, irrespective of any landholding - a tradition predating the feudal system itself.[25]
Although Scottish baronies are now entirely incorporeal in law, in some common law jurisdictions outside Scotland, particularly the United States, a barony may still be treated as a landholding entity. In these cases, land titled to "the Baron of X" is considered held in a fee simple attached to the barony.[26] This concept has not yet been tested in the Scottish courts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baronage_of_Scotland
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart[1] (31 December 1720[b] – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1766 as Charles III.[c] He is also known as the Young Pretender, the Young Chevalier and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Born in Rome to the exiled Stuart court, he spent much of his early and later life in Italy. In 1744, he travelled to France to take part in a planned invasion of England to restore the Stuart monarchy under his father. When storms partly wrecked the French fleet, Charles resolved to proceed to Scotland following discussion with leading Jacobites. This resulted in Charles landing by ship on the west coast of Scotland, leading to the Jacobite rising of 1745. The Jacobite forces under Charles initially achieved several victories in the field, including the Battle of Prestonpans in September 1745 and the Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746. However, by April 1746, Charles was defeated at Culloden, effectively ending the Stuart cause. Although there were subsequent attempts such as a planned French invasion in 1759, Charles was unable to restore the Stuart monarchy.[4]
With the Jacobite cause lost, Charles spent the remainder of his life on the continent, except for one secret visit to London.[5] On his return, Charles lived briefly in France before he was exiled in 1748 under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Charles eventually returned to Italy, where he spent much of his later life living in Florence and Rome. He had a number of mistresses before marrying Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern in 1772. In his later life, Charles's health declined greatly, and he was said to be an alcoholic. However, his escapades during the 1745 and 1746 uprisings and his escape from Scotland led to his portrayal as a romantic figure of heroic failure.[6][7] His life and the once possible prospects of a restored Stuart monarchy have left an enduring historical legend that continues to have a legacy today.[8][7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Edward_Stuart
Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[1] It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family.[2] He was the first Jewish member of the House of Lords not to have previously converted to Christianity. The current holder of the title is Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, who inherited the barony in 1990."
In 1822, the hereditary title of Freiherr (baron) of the Austrian Empire was granted in the Austrian nobility by Emperor Francis I of Austria to the five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild.[5] In 1838, Queen Victoria authorized the use of this Austrian baronial title in the United Kingdom by Lionel de Rothschild and certain other members of the Rothschild family.[6][7] However, the use of such foreign titles in the United Kingdom was subsequently limited by a warrant of 27 April 1932.[8]"
Baron Rothschild - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Rothschild
The family of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and owner of The Trump Organization, is a prominent American family active in real estate, entertainment, business, and politics. Trump, his wife Melania, and son BARRON were the first family of the United States for the duration of his presidency. Trump's paternal grandparents, Frederick Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump, had immigrated to the United States from Germany. Donald Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, came from the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland.[1] Trump has five children from three wives, and 10 grandchildren.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Donald_Trump#Barron_Trump
Trump International, Scotland
@TrumpScotland
Donald J Trump, 45th President of the United States, announced today the start of a new golf venture in Scotland: the MacLeod course, to be built at Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire in honor of his late mother Mary Anne MacLeod.
10:47 AM · May 1, 2023
https://x.com/TrumpScotland/status/1653093764271857666
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) [a] was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until his death in 1766. The only son of James II of England and his second wife, Mary of Modena, he was Prince of Wales and heir until his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His Protestant half-sister Mary II and her husband William III became co-monarchs. As a Catholic, he was subsequently excluded from the succession by the Act of Settlement 1701.
Raised primarily in France and Italy, when his father died in September 1701 James claimed the thrones. As part of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1708 Louis XIV of France backed a landing in Scotland on his behalf. This failed, as did further attempts in 1715 and 1719. Led by his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, the 1745 Rising was the last serious effort to restore the House of Stuart.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart
Holy Apostle James, Brother of St. John the Theologian
by Kyleshkaupdated on September 30, 2021Leave a Commenton Holy Apostle James, Brother of St. John the Theologian
April 30th is the feast of Saint James, who is the brother of St. John the Theologian.
I recently posted an article about St. James who is called the brother of Our Lord. This article goes into the etymology of James/Jacob in scripture, and also about St. James. But there are two other major James’ in the New Testament. (Personally, I find all the James more confusing than all the Marys. How about you?). So today we will look at what makes this James unique, and how we celebrate him.
Celebrating James
The St. James we are celebrating in this article is one of the sons of Zebedee. While his brother John is more well known to us (hence he is called the brother of John, rather than John being called the brother of James). However, he is also called James the Greater. This is because he is the elder of the two apostle James’.
St. James joined Christ at the same time as his brother John, and St. Peter. He too left being a fisherman to follow Christ. We also know from scripture that St. James was present at the Transfiguration. Also, we know that he, like his brother John, was deeply passionate. For he was reprimanded by Christ for wanting to ask God to destroy a Samaritan village which had not welcomed the Son of God. Finally, we know James preached to the Jews and Romans in the Empire, and he went and evangelized in Spain.
Celebrate St. James with an icon of him in your icon corner. (Or, an icon of the Transfiguration)! Also, pray the tropars for the day listed below. And
Prayers and Tropars
Matins Gospel: John 21: 15-25
Troparion Tone 3
O James, worthy of all praise, chosen apostle of Christ and only brother of the beloved theologian. Ask God to bestow on those who hymn you, forgiveness of sins, and to grant our souls great mercy.
Kontakion Tone 2
When you heard God’s voice calling to you, you spurned the love of your father, and fled to Christ with your kinsman, O glorious James. With him you were favoured to see the Lord’s divine transfiguration.
And finally, Prokeimenon Tone 8
Their utterance has gone forth into all the earth, and their words into the ends of the world.
The Byzantine Life
If you enjoyed this week’s article, you might also be interested in reading about the name James/Jacob in the Bible, or about Guardian Angels.
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https://thebyzantinelife.com/holy-apostle-james/
The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.
On 2 August 1990, Iraq, governed by Saddam Hussein, invaded neighboring Kuwait and fully occupied the country within two days. The invasion was primarily over disputes regarding Kuwait's alleged slant drilling in Iraq's Rumaila oil field, as well as to cancel Iraq's large debt to Kuwait from the recently ended Iran-Iraq War. After Iraq briefly occupied Kuwait under a rump puppet government known as the Republic of Kuwait, it split Kuwait's sovereign territory into the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District in the north, which was absorbed into Iraq's existing Basra Governorate, and the Kuwait Governorate in the south, which became Iraq's 19th governorate.
The invasion of Kuwait was met with immediate international condemnation, including the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 660, which demanded Iraq's immediate withdrawal from Kuwait, and the imposition of comprehensive international sanctions against Iraq with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 661. British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and US president George H. W. Bush deployed troops and equipment into Saudi Arabia and urged other countries to send their own forces. Many countries joined the American-led coalition forming the largest military alliance since World War II. The bulk of the coalition's military power was from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Egypt as the largest lead-up contributors, in that order.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, adopted on 29 November 1990, gave Iraq an ultimatum, expiring on 15 January 1991, to implement Resolution 660 and withdraw from Kuwait, with member-states empowered to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq's compliance. Initial efforts to dislodge the Iraqis from Kuwait began with aerial and naval bombardment of Iraq on 17 January, which continued for five weeks. As the Iraqi military struggled against the coalition attacks, Iraq fired missiles at Israel to provoke an Israeli military response, with the expectation that such a response would lead to the withdrawal of several Muslim-majority countries from the coalition. The provocation was unsuccessful; Israel did not retaliate and Iraq continued to remain at odds with most Muslim-majority countries. Iraqi missile barrages against coalition targets in Saudi Arabia were also largely unsuccessful, and on 24 February 1991, the coalition launched a major ground assault into Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. The offensive was a decisive victory for the coalition, who liberated Kuwait and promptly began to advance past the Iraq–Kuwait border into Iraqi territory. A hundred hours after the beginning of the ground campaign, the coalition ceased its advance into Iraq and declared a ceasefire. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas straddling the Iraq–Saudi Arabia border.
The conflict marked the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the American network CNN. It has also earned the nickname Video Game War, after the daily broadcast of images from cameras onboard American military aircraft during Operation Desert Storm. The Gulf War has also gained fame for some of the largest tank battles in American military history: the Battle of Medina Ridge, the Battle of Norfolk, and the Battle of 73 Easting.
The conflict's environmental impact included Iraqi forces causing over six hundred oil well fires and the largest oil spill in history until that point. US bombing and post-war demolition of Iraqi chemical weapons facilities were concluded to be the primary cause of Gulf War syndrome, experienced by over 40% of US veterans.[28]
Names
The war is also known under other names, such as the Second Gulf War (not to be confused with the 2003 Iraq War, also referred to as such[29]), Persian Gulf War, Kuwait War, or Iraq War[30][31][32][b] before the term "Iraq War" became identified with the 2003 Iraq War (also known in the US as "Operation Iraqi Freedom").[33] The war was named Umm al-Ma'arik ("mother of all battles") by Iraqi officials.[34] After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Gulf War of 1990–1991 is often known as the "First Iraq War".[35]
The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself: Gulf War and Persian Gulf War are the most common terms for the conflict used within western countries, though it may also be called the First Gulf War (to distinguish it from the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent Iraq War). Some authors have called it the Second Gulf War to distinguish it from the Iran–Iraq War.[36] Liberation of Kuwait (Arabic: تحرير الكويت) (taḥrīr al-kuwayt) is the term used by Kuwait and most of the coalition's Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Terms in other languages include French: la Guerre du Golfe and Guerre du Koweït (War of Kuwait); German: Golfkrieg (Gulf War) and Zweiter Golfkrieg (Second Gulf War).[37]
Operational names
Most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the war's operational phases. These are sometimes incorrectly used as the conflict's overall name, especially the US Desert Storm:
Operation Desert Shield was the US operational name for the US buildup of forces and Saudi Arabia's defense from 2 August 1990 to 16 January 1991[38]
Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the airland conflict from 17 January 1991 through 28 February 1991[39]
Operation Desert Sabre (early name Operation Desert Sword) was the US name for the air and land offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations (the "100-hour war") from 24 to 28 February 1991, in itself, part of Operation Desert Storm[40]
Operation Desert Farewell was the name given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwait's liberation, sometimes referred to as Operation Desert Calm
Operativo Alfil was the Argentine name for Argentine military activities
Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict
Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations[41]
Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations and conflict[42]
Operazione Locusta (Italian for Locust) was the Italian name for the operations and conflict
Campaign names
The US divided the conflict into three major campaigns:
Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991[citation needed]
Liberation and Defense of Kuwait for the period 17 January 1991, through 11 April 1991[citation needed]
Southwest Asia Cease-Fire for the period 12 April 1991, through 30 November 1995, including Operation Provide Comfort[citation needed]
Background
See also: Rationale for the Gulf War, Iraq–Kuwait relations, and Iraq–United States relations
Throughout the Cold War, Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union, and there was a history of friction between Iraq and the United States.[43] The US was concerned with Iraq's position on Israeli–Palestinian politics. The US also disliked Iraqi support for Palestinian militant groups, which led to Iraq's inclusion on the developing US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in December 1979.[44]
Donald Rumsfeld, US special envoy to the Middle East, meets Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983.
The US remained officially neutral after Iraq's invasion of Iran in 1980, which became the Iran–Iraq War, although it provided resources, political support, and some "non-military" aircraft to Iraq.[45] In March 1982, Iran began a successful counteroffensive (Operation Undeniable Victory), and the US increased its support for Iraq to prevent Iran from forcing a surrender. In a US bid to open full diplomatic relations with Iraq, the country was removed from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.[46] Ostensibly, this was because of improvement in the regime's record, although former US Assistant Defense Secretary Noel Koch later stated: "No one had any doubts about [the Iraqis'] continued involvement in terrorism ... The real reason was to help them succeed in the war against Iran."[47][48]
With Iraq's newfound success in the war, and the Iranian rebuff of a peace offer in July, arms sales to Iraq reached a record spike in 1982. When Iraqi President Saddam Hussein expelled Abu Nidal to Syria at the US's request in November 1983, the Reagan administration sent Donald Rumsfeld to meet Saddam as a special envoy and to cultivate ties. By the time the ceasefire with Iran was signed in August 1988, Iraq was heavily debt-ridden and tensions within society were rising.[49] Most of its debt was owed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.[50] Iraq's debts to Kuwait amounted to $14 billion.[51] Iraq pressured both nations to forgive the debts, but they refused.[50][52]
The Iraq–Kuwait border dispute involved Iraqi claims to Kuwaiti territory.[45] Kuwait had been a part of the Ottoman Empire's province of Basra, something that Iraq claimed made Kuwait rightful Iraqi territory.[53] Kuwait's ruling dynasty, the al-Sabah family, had concluded a protectorate agreement in 1899 that assigned responsibility for Kuwait's foreign affairs to the United Kingdom. The UK drew the border between Kuwait and Iraq in 1922, making Iraq almost entirely landlocked.[45] Kuwait rejected Iraqi attempts to secure further provisions in the region.[53]
Iraq also accused Kuwait of exceeding its OPEC quotas for oil production.[54] In order for the cartel to maintain its desired price of $18 per barrel, discipline was required. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait were consistently overproducing; the latter at least in part to repair losses caused by Iranian attacks in the Iran–Iraq War and to pay for the losses of an economic scandal. The result was a slump in the oil price – as low as $10 per barrel ($63/m3) – with a resulting loss of $7 billion a year to Iraq, equal to its 1989 balance of payments deficit.[55] Resulting revenues struggled to support the government's basic costs, let alone repair Iraq's damaged infrastructure. Jordan and Iraq both looked for more discipline, with little success.[56] The Iraqi government described it as a form of economic warfare,[56] which it claimed was aggravated by Kuwait slant-drilling across the border into Iraq's Rumaila oil field.[57] According to oil workers in the area, Iraq's slant drilling claim was fabricated, as "oil flows easily from the Rumaila field without any need for these techniques."[58] At the same time, Saddam looked for closer ties with those Arab states that had supported Iraq in the war. This move was supported by the US, who believed that Iraqi ties with pro-Western Gulf states would help bring and maintain Iraq inside the US' sphere of influence.[59]
In 1989, it appeared that Saudi–Iraqi relations, strong during the war, would be maintained. A pact of non-interference and non-aggression was signed between the countries, followed by a Kuwaiti-Iraqi deal for Iraq to supply Kuwait with water for drinking and irrigation, although a request for Kuwait to lease Iraq Umm Qasr was rejected.[59] Saudi-backed development projects were hampered by Iraq's large debts, even with the demobilization of 200,000 soldiers. Iraq also looked to increase arms production so as to become an exporter, although the success of these projects was also restrained by Iraq's obligations; in Iraq, resentment to OPEC's controls mounted.[60]
Iraq's relations with its Arab neighbors, particularly Egypt, were degraded by mounting violence in Iraq against expatriate groups, who were well-employed during the war, by unemployed Iraqis, among them demobilized soldiers. These events drew little notice outside the Arab world because of fast-moving events directly related to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. However, the US did begin to condemn Iraq's human rights record, including the well-known use of torture.[61] The UK also condemned the execution of Farzad Bazoft, a journalist working for the British newspaper The Observer.[45] Following Saddam's declaration that "binary chemical weapons" would be used on Israel if it used military force against Iraq, Washington halted part of its funding.[62] A UN mission to the Israeli-occupied territories, where riots had resulted in Palestinian deaths, was vetoed by the US, making Iraq deeply skeptical of US foreign policy aims in the region, combined with the reliance of the US on Middle Eastern energy reserves.[63]
Map of Kuwait
In early July 1990, Iraq complained about Kuwait's behavior, such as not respecting their quota, and openly threatened to take military action. On the 23rd, the CIA reported that Iraq had moved 30,000 troops to the Iraq-Kuwait border, and the US naval fleet in the Persian Gulf was placed on alert. Saddam believed an anti-Iraq conspiracy was developing – Kuwait had begun talks with Iran, and Iraq's rival Syria had arranged a visit to Egypt.[64] On 15 July 1990, Saddam's government laid out its combined objections to the Arab League, including that policy moves were costing Iraq $1 billion a year, that Kuwait was still using the Rumaila oil field, and that loans made by the UAE and Kuwait could not be considered debts to its "Arab brothers".[64] He threatened force against Kuwait and the UAE, saying: "The policies of some Arab rulers are American ... They are inspired by America to undermine Arab interests and security."[65] The US sent aerial refuelling planes and combat ships to the Persian Gulf in response to these threats.[66] Discussions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, mediated on the Arab League's behalf by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, were held on 31 July and led Mubarak to believe that a peaceful course could be established.[67]
During Saddam Hussein's 2003–2004 interrogation following his capture he claimed that in addition to economic disputes, an insulting exchange between the Kuwaiti emir Al Sabah and the Iraqi foreign minister – during which the emir stated his intention to turn "every Iraqi woman into a $10 prostitute" by bankrupting the country – was a decisive factor in triggering the Iraqi invasion.[68]
On the 25th, Saddam met with April Glaspie, the US Ambassador to Iraq, in Baghdad. The Iraqi leader attacked American policy with regards to Kuwait and the UAE:
So what can it mean when America says it will now protect its friends? It can only mean prejudice against Iraq. This stance plus maneuvers and statements which have been made has encouraged the UAE and Kuwait to disregard Iraqi rights ... If you use pressure, we will deploy pressure and force. We know that you can harm us although we do not threaten you. But we too can harm you. Everyone can cause harm according to their ability and their size. We cannot come all the way to you in the United States, but individual Arabs may reach you ... We do not place America among the enemies. We place it where we want our friends to be and we try to be friends. But repeated American statements last year made it apparent that America did not regard us as friends.[69]
Glaspie replied:
I know you need funds. We understand that and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. But we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait ... Frankly, we can only see that you have deployed massive troops in the south. Normally that would not be any of our business. But when this happens in the context of what you said on your national day, then when we read the details in the two letters of the Foreign Minister, then when we see the Iraqi point of view that the measures taken by the UAE and Kuwait is, in the final analysis, parallel to military aggression against Iraq, then it would be reasonable for me to be concerned.[69]
Saddam stated that he would attempt last-ditch negotiations with the Kuwaitis but Iraq "would not accept death."[69]
According to Glaspie's own account, she stated in reference to the precise border between Kuwait and Iraq, "... that she had served in Kuwait 20 years before; 'then, as now, we took no position on these Arab affairs'."[citation needed] Glaspie similarly believed that war was not imminent.[67]
Saddam's foreign minister Tariq Aziz later told PBS Frontline in 1996 that the Iraqi leadership was under "no illusion" about America's likely response to the Iraqi invasion: "She [Glaspie] didn't tell us anything strange. She didn't tell us in the sense that we concluded that the Americans will not retaliate. That was nonsense you see. It was nonsense to think that the Americans would not attack us."[70] Then in a second 2000 interview with the same television program, Aziz said:
There were no mixed signals. We should not forget that the whole period before August 2 witnessed a negative American policy towards Iraq. So it would be quite foolish to think that, if we go to Kuwait, then America would like that. Because the American tendency ... was to untie Iraq. So how could we imagine that such a step was going to be appreciated by the Americans? It looks foolish, you see, this is fiction. About the meeting with April Glaspie—it was a routine meeting...She didn't say anything extraordinary beyond what any professional diplomat would say without previous instructions from his government...what she said were routine, classical comments on what the president was asking her to convey to President Bush. He wanted her to carry a message to George Bush—not to receive a message through her from Washington.[71]
On 26 July 1990, only a few days before the Iraqi invasion, OPEC officials said that Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates had agreed to a proposal to limit their oil output to 1.5 million barrels (240,000 m3) per day, "down from the nearly 2 million barrels a day they had each been pumping," thus potentially settling differences over oil policy between Kuwait and Iraq.[72]
Invasion of Kuwait
Lion of Babylon main battle tanks, common Iraqi battle tank used in the Gulf War by the Iraqi Army.
Main articles: Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Timeline of the Gulf War (1990–1991)
The result of the Jeddah talks was an Iraqi demand for $10 billion[73] to cover the lost revenues from Rumaila; Kuwait offered $500 million.[73] The Iraqi response was to immediately order an invasion,[74] which started on 2 August 1990[75] with the bombing of Kuwait's capital, Kuwait City.
Before the invasion, the Kuwaiti military was believed to have numbered 16,000 men, arranged into three armored, one mechanized infantry and one under-strength artillery brigade.[76] The pre-war strength of the Kuwait Air Force was around 2,200 Kuwaiti personnel, with 80 fixed-wing aircraft and 40 helicopters.[76] In spite of Iraqi sabre-rattling, Kuwait did not mobilize its force; the army had been stood-down on 19 July,[77] and during the Iraqi invasion many Kuwaiti military personnel were on leave.[citation needed]
By 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq war, the Iraqi Army was the world's fourth largest army, consisting of 955,000 standing soldiers and 650,000 paramilitary forces in the Popular Army. According to John Childs and André Corvisier, a low estimate shows the Iraqi Army capable of fielding 4,500 tanks, 484 combat aircraft and 232 combat helicopters.[78] According to Michael Knights, a high estimate shows the Iraqi Army capable of fielding one million troops and 850,000 reservists, 5,500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces, 700 combat aircraft and helicopters; it held 53 divisions, 20 special-forces brigades, and several regional militias, and had a strong air defense.[5]
Kuwaiti Armed Forces M-84 main battle tanks
Iraqi commandos infiltrated the Kuwaiti border first to prepare for the major units, which began the attack at midnight. The Iraqi attack had two prongs, with the primary attack force driving south straight for Kuwait City down the main highway, and a supporting attack force entering Kuwait farther west, but then turning and driving east, cutting off Kuwait City from the country's southern half. The commander of a Kuwaiti armored battalion, 35th Armoured Brigade, deployed them against the Iraqi attack and conducted a robust defense at the Battle of the Bridges near Al Jahra, west of Kuwait City.[79]
Kuwaiti aircraft scrambled to meet the invading force, but approximately 20% were lost or captured. A few combat sorties were flown against Iraqi ground forces.[17]
The main Iraqi thrust into Kuwait City was conducted by commandos deployed by helicopters and boats to attack the city from the sea, while other divisions seized the airports and two airbases. The Iraqis attacked the Dasman Palace, the Royal Residence of Kuwait's Emir, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which was defended by the Emiri Guard supported with M-84 tanks. In the process, the Iraqis killed Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir's youngest brother.[citation needed]
Within 12 hours, most resistance had ended within Kuwait, and the royal family had fled, allowing Iraq to control most of Kuwait.[74] After two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti military were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard, or had escaped to Saudi Arabia. The Emir and key ministers fled south along the highway for refuge in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi ground forces consolidated their control of Kuwait City, then headed south and redeployed along the Saudi border. After the decisive Iraqi victory, Saddam initially installed a puppet regime known as the "Provisional Government of Free Kuwait" before installing his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid as Kuwait's governor on 8 August.[citation needed]
An Iraqi Air Force Bell 214ST transport helicopter, after being captured by a US Marine Corps unit at the start of the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm
After the invasion, the Iraqi military looted over $1 billion in banknotes from Kuwait's Central Bank.[80] At the same time, Saddam Hussein made the Kuwaiti dinar equal to the Iraqi dinar, thereby lowering the Kuwaiti currency to one-twelfth of its original value. In response, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah ruled the banknotes as invalid and refused to reimburse stolen notes, which became worthless because of a UN embargo. After the conflict ended, many of the stolen banknotes made their way back into circulation. The stolen banknotes are a collectible for numismatists.[81]
Kuwaiti resistance movement
Kuwaitis founded a local armed resistance movement following the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.[82][83][84] The Kuwaiti resistance's [ar] casualty rate far exceeded that of the coalition military forces and Western hostages.[85] The resistance predominantly consisted of ordinary citizens who lacked any form of training and supervision.[85]
Run-up to the war
Diplomatic means
A key element of US political, military and energy economic planning occurred in 1984. The Iran–Iraq war had been going on for five years and both had sustained casualties into the hundreds of thousands. Within President Ronald Reagan's National Security Council concern was growing war could spread beyond the two belligerents. A National Security Planning Group meeting was formed, chaired by then Vice President George H. W. Bush, to review US options. It was determined that the conflict would likely spread into Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, but the US had little capability to defend the region. A prolonged war in the region would induce much higher oil prices and threaten the recovery of the world economy, which was just beginning to gain momentum. In May 1984, President Reagan was briefed on the project conclusions by William Flynn Martin who had served as the head of the NSC staff that organized the study. The declassified presentation can be seen here:[86] The conclusions were: first, oil stocks needed to be increased among members of the International Energy Agency and, if necessary, released early if the oil market was disrupted; second, the US needed to strengthen the security of friendly Arab states in the region; and third, an embargo should be placed on sales of military equipment to Iran and Iraq. The plan was approved by Reagan and affirmed by the G7 leaders headed by the UK's Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, in the 10th G7 summit, held in London in June. The plan was implemented and became the basis for US preparedness to respond to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1991.[citation needed]
President Bush visiting American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990
Within hours of the invasion, Kuwait and US delegations requested a meeting of the UN Security Council, which passed Resolution 660, condemning the invasion and demanding a withdrawal of Iraqi troops.[87][88][clarification needed][89] On 3 August 1990, the Arab League passed a resolution, which called for a solution from within the league, and warned against outside intervention. Iraq and Libya were the only Arab League states that opposed the resolution for Iraq to withdraw; the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)[c] opposed it as well.[90] Yemen and Jordan – a Western ally which bordered Iraq and relied on the country for economic support[91] – opposed military intervention from non-Arab states.[92] Separately, Sudan, also an Arab League member, aligned itself with Saddam.[91]
On 6 August, Resolution 661 placed economic sanctions on Iraq.[93][87][94] Resolution 665[89] followed soon after, which authorized a naval blockade to enforce the sanctions. It said the "use of measures commensurate to the specific circumstances as may be necessary ... to halt all inward and outward maritime shipping in order to inspect and verify their cargoes and destinations and to ensure strict implementation of resolution 661."[95][96]
The US administration had at first been indecisive with an "undertone ... of resignation to the invasion and even adaptation to it as a fait accompli" until the UK's prime minister Thatcher[97] played a powerful role[additional citation(s) needed], reminding the President that appeasement in the 1930s had led to war, that Saddam would have the whole Gulf at his mercy along with 65% of the world's oil supply, and famously urging Bush "not to go wobbly".[97] Once persuaded, US officials insisted on Iraqi pullout, without any linkage to other Middle Eastern problems, accepting the British view that any concession would strengthen Iraqi influence.[98]
Weapons training at Abu Hydra Range, 1990
On 12 August 1990, Saddam "propose[d] that all cases of occupation, and those cases that have been portrayed as occupation, in the region, be resolved simultaneously". He called for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, and "mutual withdrawals by Iraq and Iran and arrangement for the situation in Kuwait." He called for a replacement of US troops, that mobilized in Saudi Arabia, with "an Arab force", as long as that force did not involve Egypt. He requested an "immediate freeze of all boycott and siege decisions" and a normalization of relations with Iraq.[99] Bush was strongly opposed to any "linkage" between Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and the Palestinian issue.[100]
On 23 August, Saddam appeared on state television with Western hostages to whom he had refused exit visas. In the video, he asks a British boy, Stuart Lockwood, whether he is getting his milk, and goes on to say, through his interpreter, "We hope your presence as guests here will not be for too long. Your presence here, and in other places, is meant to prevent the scourge of war."[101]
Another Iraqi proposal communicated was delivered to US National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft by an unidentified Iraqi official. The official communicated that Iraq would "withdraw from Kuwait and allow foreigners to leave" provided the UN lifted sanctions, allowed "guaranteed access to the Persian Gulf through the Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah", and allowed Iraq to "gain full control of the Rumaila oil field that extends slightly into Kuwaiti territory". The proposal also "include[d] offers to negotiate an oil agreement with the United States 'satisfactory to both nations' national security interests,' develop a joint plan 'to alleviate Iraq's economical and financial problems' and 'jointly work on the stability of the gulf.'"[102]
On 29 November 1990, the Security Council passed Resolution 678, which gave Iraq until 15 January 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait, and empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait after the deadline.
US Army soldiers from the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade during the Gulf War
In December 1990, Iraq made a proposal to withdraw from Kuwait provided foreign troops left the region and that an agreement was reached regarding the Palestinian problem and the dismantlement of Israel's and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The White House rejected the proposal.[103] The PLO's Yasser Arafat expressed that neither he nor Saddam insisted that solving the Israel–Palestine issues should be a precondition to solving the issues in Kuwait, though he did acknowledge a "strong link" between these problems.[104]
The US and UK stuck to their position there would be no negotiations until Iraq withdrew, and should not grant Iraq concessions, lest they give the impression Iraq benefited from its military campaign.[98] When US Secretary of State James Baker met with Tariq Aziz in Geneva, for last minute peace talks in early 1991, Aziz reportedly made no concrete proposals and did not outline any hypothetical Iraqi moves.[105]
On 14 January 1991, France proposed that the UN Security Council call for "a rapid and massive withdrawal" from Kuwait along with a statement to Iraq that Council members would bring their "active contribution" to a settlement of the region's other problems, "in particular, of the Arab–Israeli conflict and in particular to the Palestinian problem by convening, at an appropriate moment, an international conference" to assure "the security, stability and development of this region of the world." The proposal was supported by Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and several non-aligned states. The US, UK, and Soviet Union rejected it; US Ambassador to the UN Thomas Pickering stated that the French proposal was unacceptable, because it went beyond Council resolutions on the Iraqi invasion.[106][107][108] France dropped this proposal when it found "no tangible sign of interest" from Baghdad.[109]
Military means
"Operation Desert Shield" redirects here. For the 2006 operation by the Iraqi insurgency, see Operation Desert Shield (2006).
American F-15Es parked in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield
A concern in the Western world was the significant threat Iraq posed to Saudi Arabia. Following Kuwait's conquest, the Iraqi Army was within striking distance of Saudi oil fields. Control of these, along with Kuwaiti and Iraqi reserves, would have given Saddam control over most of the world's oil reserves. Iraq had grievances with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had lent Iraq 26 billion dollars during its war with Iran, as the Saudis feared the influence of Shia Iran's Islamic revolution on its own Shia minority. After the war, Saddam felt he should not have to repay the loans due to the help he had given the Saudis by fighting Iran.[citation needed] After his conquest of Kuwait, Saddam verbally attacked the Saudis. He argued the US-supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He combined the language of the Islamist groups that had fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had used to attack the Saudis.[110]
Acting on the Carter Doctrine policy, and out of fear the Iraqi Army could invade Saudi Arabia, Bush announced that the US would launch a "wholly defensive" mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia, under the codename Operation Desert Shield. The operation began on 7 August 1990, when US troops were sent to Saudi Arabia, due also to the request of its monarch, King Fahd, who had called for US military assistance.[73] This "wholly defensive" doctrine was quickly abandoned when, on 8 August, Iraq declared Kuwait to be Iraq's 19th province and Saddam named his cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, as its governor.[111]
M3 Bradleys of L Troop, 3rd ACR, stand in line at a holding area during the build-up to Operation Desert Shield.
The US Navy dispatched two naval battle groups built around the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Independence to the Gulf, where they were ready by 8 August. The US sent the battleships USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin. 48 US Air Force F-15s from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, landed in Saudi Arabia and commenced round-the-clock air patrols of the Saudi–Kuwait–Iraq border to discourage Iraqi military advances. They were joined by 36 F-15 A-Ds from the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg, Germany. The Bitburg contingent was based at Al Kharj Air Base. The 36th TFW would be responsible for 11 confirmed Iraqi Air Force aircraft shot down during the war. Two Air National Guard units were stationed at Al Kharj Air Base, the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing flew bombing missions with 24 F-16s flying 2,000 combat missions and dropping four million pounds (1,800,000 kilograms; 1,800 metric tons) of munitions, and the New York Air National Guard's 174th Fighter Wing from Syracuse flew 24 F-16s on bombing missions. Military buildup continued, reaching 543,000 troops, twice that used in the 2003 invasion. Much of the material was airlifted or carried to the staging areas via fast sealift ships, allowing a quick buildup. Amphibious exercises were carried out in the Gulf, including Operation Imminent Thunder, which involved the USS Midway and 15 other ships, 1,100 aircraft, and a thousand Marines.[112] In a press conference, General Schwarzkopf stated that these exercises were intended to deceive the Iraqi forces, forcing them to continue their defense of the Kuwaiti coastline.[113]
Creating a coalition
Countries that deployed coalition forces or provided support[2] (On behalf of Afghanistan, 300 Mujaheddin joined the coalition on 11 February 1991. Niger contributed 480 troops to guard shrines in Mecca and Medina on 15 January 1991.)[2]
A series of UN Security Council resolutions and Arab League resolutions were passed regarding Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Resolution 678, passed on 29 November 1990, gave Iraq a withdrawal deadline until 15 January 1991 and authorized "all necessary means to uphold and implement Resolution 660", and a diplomatic formulation authorizing the use of force if Iraq failed to comply.[114]
To ensure the US received economic backing, James Baker went on an 11-day journey to nine countries in September 1990, which the press dubbed "The Tin Cup Trip". The first stop was Saudi Arabia, which had already granted permission to the US to use its facilities. However, Baker believed that Saudi Arabia should assume some of the cost of to defend it. When Baker asked King Fahd for $15 billion, the King agreed, with the promise that Baker ask Kuwait for the same amount.[citation needed] The next day, 7 September, Baker did just that, and the Emir of Kuwait, displaced in a Sheraton hotel outside Kuwait, agreed. Baker moved to enter talks with Egypt, whose leadership he considered "the moderate voice of the Middle East". President Mubarak was furious with Saddam for his invasion, and that Saddam had assured Mubarak that an invasion was not his intention. Egypt received approximately $7 billion in debt forgiveness for providing support and troops for the US-led intervention.[115]
After stops in Helsinki and Moscow to smooth out Iraqi demands for a Middle-Eastern peace conference with the Soviet Union, Baker traveled to Syria to discuss its role with President Hafez Assad. Assad had a personal enmity towards Saddam, as "Saddam had been trying to kill him [Assad] for years."[citation needed] Harboring this animosity and impressed with Baker's initiative to visit Damascus (relations had been severed since the 1983 bombing of US barracks), Assad agreed to pledge up to 100,000 Syrian troops to the coalition. This was a vital step in ensuring Arab states were represented in the coalition. In exchange, Washington gave al-Assad the green light to wipe out forces opposing Syria's rule in Lebanon and arranged for weapons valued at a billion dollars to be provided to Syria, mostly through Gulf states.[116] In exchange for Iran's support for the US-led intervention, the US promised Iran to end US opposition to World Bank loans to Iran. On the day before the coalition ground invasion, the World Bank gave Iran the first loan of $250m.[116]
Baker flew to Rome for a meeting with the Italians in which he was promised the use of military equipment, before journeying to Germany to meet with American ally Chancellor Kohl. Although Germany's constitution (brokered by the US) prohibited military involvement outside Germany's borders, Kohl committed a two billion dollar contribution to the war effort, and further economic and military support of coalition ally Turkey, and the transportation of Egyptian soldiers and ships to the Gulf.[117]
General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. and President George H. W. Bush visit US troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990.
A coalition of forces opposing Iraq's aggression was formed, consisting of forces from 42 countries: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey,[118] the United Arab Emirates, the UK and US.[119] It was the largest coalition since World War II.[120] A group of Afghan mujahideen soldiers also reportedly joined towards the end of the war.[2] Although they did not contribute forces, Japan and Germany made financial contributions totaling $10 billion and $6.6 billion respectively. Luxembourg provided financial support.[121] US troops represented 73% of the coalition's 956,600 troops in Iraq.[122]
US Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. was designated to be the commander of the coalition forces. The Soviet Union condemned Baghdad's aggression against Kuwait, but did not support the US and allied intervention in Iraq and tried to avert it.[123] Many of the coalition countries were reluctant to commit military forces. Some felt that the war was an internal Arab affair or did not want to increase US influence in the Middle East. In the end, however, many governments were persuaded by Iraq's belligerence towards other Arab states, offers of economic aid or debt forgiveness, and threats to withhold aid.[124]
Justification for intervention
The US and UN gave public justifications for involvement in the conflict, the most prominent being the Iraqi violation of Kuwaiti territorial integrity. In addition, the US moved to support its ally Saudi Arabia, whose importance in the region, and as a key supplier of oil, made it of considerable geopolitical importance. Shortly after the Iraqi invasion, US Defense Secretary Dick Cheney made the first of several visits to Saudi Arabia where King Fahd requested US military assistance. During a speech in a special joint session of the US Congress given on 11 September 1990, Bush summed up the reasons with the following remarks: "Within three days, 120,000 Iraqi troops with 850 tanks had poured into Kuwait and moved south to threaten Saudi Arabia. It was then that I decided to act to check that aggression."[125]
The Pentagon stated that satellite photos showing a buildup of Iraqi forces along the border were the source of this information, but this was later alleged to be false. A reporter for the St. Petersburg Times acquired commercial Soviet satellite images which showed nothing but empty desert.[126]
Other justifications for foreign involvement included Iraq's history of human rights abuses under Saddam. Iraq was known to possess biological weapons and chemical weapons, which Saddam had used against Iranian troops during the Iran–Iraq War and his own country's Kurdish population in the Al-Anfal campaign. Iraq was known to have a nuclear weapons program; the report about it from January 1991 was partially declassified by the CIA in May 2001.[127]
Public relations campaign targeting the public
See also: Nayirah testimony
Gen. Colin Powell (left), Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., and Paul Wolfowitz (right) listen as Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney addresses reporters regarding the 1991 Gulf War.
Although the Iraqi military committed human rights abuses during the invasion, the alleged incidents that received the most publicity in the US were fabrications of the public relations firm hired by the government of Kuwait to persuade Americans to support military intervention.[128] Shortly after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the organization Citizens for a Free Kuwait was formed in the US. It hired the public relations firm Hill & Knowlton for about $11 million, paid by Kuwait's government.[129]
Among many other means of influencing US opinion, such as distributing books on Iraqi atrocities to US soldiers deployed, "Free Kuwait" T-shirts and speakers to college campuses, and video news releases to television stations, the firm arranged for an appearance before members of the US Congress in which a young woman identifying herself as a nurse working in the Kuwait City hospital described Iraqi soldiers pulling babies out of incubators and letting them die on the floor.[130] The story helped tip the public and Congress towards a war with Iraq: six Congressmen said the testimony was enough for them to support military action against Iraq and seven Senators referenced the testimony in debate. The Senate supported the military actions in a 52–47 vote. However, a year after the war, this allegation was revealed to be a fabrication. The young woman was found to be a member of Kuwait's royal family and the daughter of Kuwait's ambassador to the US.[130] She had not lived in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion.[citation needed]
The details of the Hill & Knowlton public relations campaign, including the incubator testimony, were published in John R. MacArthur's Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War,[131] and came to public attention when an Op-ed by MacArthur was published in The New York Times. This prompted a reexamination by Amnesty International, which had promoted an account alleging even greater numbers of babies torn from incubators than the fake testimony. After finding no evidence to support it, the organization issued a retraction.[132] Bush repeated the incubator allegations on television.[citation needed]
The Iraqi Army did commit well-documented crimes during its occupation, such as the summary execution without trial of three brothers, after which their bodies were stacked and left to decay in a street.[133] Iraqi troops ransacked and looted private homes; one residence was repeatedly defecated in.[134] A resident later commented: "The whole thing was violence for the sake of violence, destruction for the sake of destruction ... Imagine a surrealistic painting by Salvador Dalí".[135] Bush repeatedly compared Saddam Hussein to Hitler.[136]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War
[In the year 1110, a mysterious order called the Prieuré de Sion appeared upon the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This mysterious secret order, the Prieuré de Sion, was eventually to crown the first king, the first Christian king of Jerusalem. When they appeared in the Temple Mount in 1110, they recruited nine knights to comb, to scour the Temple Mount, the passages and caverns and tunnels beneath for the ancient remains of the relics of their religion.]
Later in A.D. 1118, nine knights, [supposedly] concerned for the welfare of pilgrims to the Holy Land, bound themselves together in the creation of a knightly Order. [This order, again existing of nine knights, just like the original nine knights, were commissioned by the Prieuré de Sion.] In under two hundred years [folks] this organization had become one of the most powerful single entities—if not the greatest—[power ever to exist] in Europe. [They were the first international bankers. The first that ever existed in the world.] A few years later it was utterly destroyed. [They say, however, as you're going to find out, they were not destroyed at all, but merely driven underground.] The zeal of religion, the conditioning which made men support a dedicated cause with all of their might, was likewise the instrument of their destruction. Nothing less than religious fervor could have smashed the Order: as nothing less could have created it.
[And folks, you're going to find it difficult to believe, but the rise of this order and destruction, at least publically, of this order has such a great bearing on events today that you could say that everything that has happened since has been brought about by this one series of acts.]
Were the Knights Templar devil-worshippers, secret Saracens indulging in obscene orgies? Did they adore a head, spit on the Cross, use the word, 'Yallah' [which means literally in Arabic,] (O Allah!) in their rituals? Did they learn their ways from the terrible sect of the Assassins?
[Well, yes folks, they did. And they are the link—at least, in that day, would have been considered the modern link—between the ancient Mystery Religion of Babylon and Europe. For the religion had come to Europe long, long before the Templars ever emerged, and made their appearance in the ancient worship of the sun by the Druids and the Celts, and the tribes, the Germanic tribes who had made their way thousands of years ago from the Middle East up through Asia, and across Russia and into Europe. They brought Mystery Babylon with them, and practiced it as what we now know of today as the pagan religion. And Stonehenge is actually an ancient Babylonian temple of the sun. And you will find how all this connects later.]
[But the origin of this was lost, and the ability to control large numbers of people, by the use of the hidden knowledge of the ages, was lost. It wasn't until the Knights Templar bought [sic] and brought the Mystery Religion of Babylon to Europe, that the ancient, ancient worship of the sun again took hold. Amongst the Christian countries, in the guise of Christianity, which was itself at that time—I'm not talking about the teachings of Christ now, I'm talking about the perversion of the teachings of Christ—the melding of the teachings of Christ with the ancient worship of the sun, the Mystery Religion of Babylon which became the Catholic church was indeed another branch of the ancient Mystery Religion of Babylon. And some of you out there may be confused from all of this.]
[If you've been listening from the beginning of this series, then you're right on target; you're not confused, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you picked up this series somewhere in the middle, then you need to call Stan and order the studio quality tapes. They're in stereo, they're on TDK tapes, first-quality tapes and crystal clear. You need to order this series from the first tape, the very first, and that was broadcast on February the 12th, I believe, a Friday. But anyway, Stan will know. Give him a call at (602) 567-6109. That's (602) 567-6109 or write to Stan and ask him for an information packet at P.O. Box 889, Camp Verde, Arizona, 86322. That's P.O. Box 889, Camp Verde, Arizona, 86322.]
[Now, folks,] the original objective of the Order [of the Temple—Knights Templar], which immediately because the subject of applause throughout Christendom, was to combine the two functions of monk and knight, to live chastely and fight the Saracents with the sword and spirit. The Sweet Mother of God [at least outwardly they say] was chosen as their patroness; and they bound themselves to live in accordance with the rules of St. Augustine, electing as the their first leader Hugh de Payens. [Now] King Baldwin II granted him a part of his palace to live in and gave them a grant toward its upkeep. [Now the part of the palace they lived in was an ancient mosque, which was built upon the actual location of the old Temple of Solomon, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.]
[The Knights Templar] vowed to consecrate their swords, arms, strength and lives to the defense of the mysteries of the Christian faith; to pay complete and utter obedience to the orders of the Grand Master; to fight whenever commanded, regardless of perils, for the faith of Christ as they understood it. Among the vows taken which were forbade their yielding even a foot of land to the enemy [whoever the enemy was] and not to retreat, even if attacked in the proportion of three to one. They choose the name militia temple—Soldiers of the Temple—after the temple supposedly built by Solomon in Jerusalem, near which they had been assigned quarters by the King. [But in reality had nothing to do with the Temple of Solomon.]
Some say that the Templars derived their idea of their Order from that of the Hospitallars, who looked after Catholic pilgrims to Palestine; for there was little hospitality to be had from the native Orthodox Christians of those parts. Others hold that there was an even older Order from which they received their inspiration. No reliable evidence is, at this point however, available. [According to the "establishment" historians, although for those who really, really research the true history of the secret orders, and specifically the Knights Templars, there's a direct connection to the Assassins and the Roshaniya.]
Although the Templars were so poor than two men had to share a horse [they say, but that is not true at all] (and their Seal commemorated this decades after they became one of the richest communities of their time), they soon attracted favorable notice and support. [Now, the two knights riding a horse was a symbol of sacrifice. It denoted their vows of poverty. In truth, each knight now only had a horse, but he had what they called a yeoman. He had a spare horse, he had a pack horse, and he had several horses in reserve, and a whole train of servants. But the Knights Templar were the first true—as we know it in modern times, in modern times there were others before, but they were the first true in modern times—and by modern, 112 I'd say, from the time that Europe escaped from the old tribal of paganism. In other words in 1110, I consider that to be beginning of the modern age. Although historians may disagree with me, it's the beginning of everything that has happened since, and everything that's happening today can be traced right to the door of the Knights Templar, and that's why I say that. They were the first modern order to practice what we now know as true Communism. They were the ones who brought international Socialism into Europe, which has always been the tenet and the creed of the Mystery Religion of Babylon.] Only one year after their establishment, Fulk, Count of Anjou, who had come to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage, joined as a married member and gave them an annual grant of thirty pounds of silver. This example was soon followed by other devout Western princes.
For the first nine years of their existence, the knights continued to live a life of chastity and poverty in accordance with their vows. They adopted a striped black and white banner, called the Beauséant, after their original piebald horse; and this word also became their battle-cry. Special raiment they had none, and they wore whatever clothes were given to them by the pious. But little by little, as one writer puts it, they were to become “haughty and insolent”.
[And the black and white banner, the translation of the meaning of which was for the, again, exoteric, for the real meaning of the black and white banner was the meaning of the androgynous god, the positive and the negative, the black and the white, the yin and the yang, the male and the female combined into one, and that was the real meaning of the black and white banner. And it's carried forth today on the floor of many of the temples of Freemasonry where the black and white checkered pattern exists, and in one famous cathedral in Europe built by the Knights Templar. They disguised their esoteric religion in an exoteric manner that would be accepted by Christianity.]
Baldwin of Jerusalem, who had been a prisoner in the hands of the Saracens and knew of their disunity, realized at about this time that Islam must eventually unite against the Christian invasion, and the decided that the Templars who prove ideal allies in the battles which were to come. In 1127, therefore, he sent two Templars with his strong recommendation to the Pope, applying for official recognition of the Order by the Holy See. [And this is the first time that the Templars even were considered to be close to the center of religion, the Christian religion in that day, the Catholic church, the Pope. For they were not commissioned as a Christian order; they were not commissioned by the Pope or by the church, and this is a big myth that the Knights Templar started out to protect the church and to protect the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. They were established first, primarily, and foremost as a branch of the ancient order of the Religion of Mystery Babylon. And it's indicative of the strategies that they've used since to endear themselves to whatever the established power, or the beliefs of the majority of the people might be.]
[When they went to see the Pope,] they had an introduction to St. Bernard himself, the Abbot of Clairvaux, who was known to be admirer of theirs, and who was a nephew of one of their envoys. Then the Grand Master himself arrived in Europe, and received the eulogistic opinion of the Abbot: “They go not headlong into battle, but with care and foresight, peacefully, as true children of Israel. But as soon as the fight had begun, they rush without delay upon the foe . . . and know no fear . . . one has often put to flight a thousand; two, ten thousand . . . gentler than lambs and grimmer than lions; theirs is the mildness of monks and the valor of the knight.” [Now folks, this was a strong recommendation, and this testimonial was part of the campaign of the Templars in their efforts at recognition of the Pope. All of you who have thought that they began as a religious order in the first place are so way off base that it's pathetic. And neither were the Jesuits a religious order in the first place, but we'll get that together in another broadcast.] [But] on the 31st [of] January [in the year] 1128, the Master appeared before the Council of Troyes. This formidable body consisted of the Archbishops of Rheims and Sens, ten bishops and a number of abbots—including St. Bernard himself - presided over by the Cardinal of Albano, the Papal legate. They were approved; and Pope Honorius chose for them a white mantle, completely plain. The red cross was added by order of Pope Eugenius III in 1146. [And see, you thought the Templars thought of this. Nope not at all. This was mandated by two Popes: first, the white mantle, completely plain; and then later the red cross was added by Pope Eugenius III in 1146.]
Hugh de Payens now took his delegation through France and England, and collected a number of recruits. Gifts and grants were showered upon the Order; lands, rents and arms were forthcoming from all quarters. Richard I of England was enthusiastic about them. By 1133, King Alfonso of Aragon and Naverre, who had fought the Spanish Moors in twenty-nine 113 battles, had willed his country to them; although when the Moors finally laid him low his nobles prevented the Templars from claiming their rights. [Nevertheless, this was of great honor. In fact, to my knowledge and to our research into history, it never had before been done.]
In 1129 the Master, accompanied by three hundred knights, recruited from the noblest houses of Europe, led a huge train of pilgrims to the Holy Land. It was at this time that the Templars formed part of the Christian contingent which, allied with the Assassins, tried to take Damascus. [And it wasn't the first time nor the last that the Christian Knights Templar, or supposedly Christian Knights Templar (they really weren't Christian at all) were allied with the Assassins.] Were they (as the Orientalist von Hammer alleges)109 connected in some secret way with the Assassins? [Yes, our research shows that it is a historical fact. And it is also a historical fact that the Assassins were prepared to adopt Christianity if they could gain greater power thereby (Christianity, that is, on the surface, just as the Knights Templar had done)]. Hammer points to the similarities of the two organizations. The followers of Hasan Ibn Sabah were in contact with the Templars, and had a similar method of organization. They were in existence before the Templars were formed: “The Ismailians ([or] Assassins) was the original, and [folks] the Order of the Templars, [was] the copy.”
The balance of Western opinion is against this contention; more particularly because, one feels from wide reading of historians, great sympathy is felt for the cruelly treated and a arbitrarily dispossessed Templars. Thus Keightley, who made a close study of the Order those who would claim that the Templars were an Assassin branch [but, when you do research into the (laughs) associations and memberships of Keightley, you'll find that Keightley was himself a Knight Templar. And he said:]
“When, nearly thirty years after their institution, the Pope gave them permission to wear a cross on their mantle, like the rival Hospitaller Order, no color could present itself to well suited to those who daily and hourly exposed themselves to martyrdom as that of blood, in which there was so much of what was symbolical. With respect to internal organization it will, we apprehend, be always found that this is for the most part of the growth of time and the product of circumstances; and it always nearly the same where these last are similar.”110
[And you find this kind of rhetoric, semantics, all throughout the writings of those who wish to cover the true origin and the true meaning of Mystery Babylon.]
The famous question of the three thousand gold pieces paid by the Syrian branch of the Assassins to the Templars is another matter which has [of course] never been settled. One opinion holds that this money was given as a tribute to the Christians; the other, that it was a secret allowance from the larger to the small organization. [Which it really was as the Assassins wished to expand their control and remember their original goal was to take over the entire world by the systematic infiltration and control of each individual country.] Those who think that the Assassins were fanatical Moslems, and therefore would not form any alliance with those who to them were infidels, should be reminded that to the followers of the Old Man of the Mountains only he was right, and the Saracens who were fighting the Holy War for Allah against the Crusaders were as bad as anyone else who did not accept the Assassin doctrine.
[And it is true today: “If you are not one of us, you are nothing.” “The ends justify the means.” “The strength of our Order exists in the fact that we manifest ourselves under many different names and many different occupations, and sometimes even seem to oppose ourselves. But at the highest level, we are of one mind."
And I could go on, and on (laughs), and on, and you all know that I could go on and on and on. For I have studied this for so many years that I eat, drink and sleep it. Oh yes.]
[Well, eventually] grave charges against the Templars during the Crusades included the allegation that they were fighting for themselves alone. More than one historical incident bears this out. The Christians had besieged the town of Ascalon in 1153, and were engaged upon burning down the walls with large piles of inflammable materials. Part of the wall fell after a whole night of this burning. The Christian army was about to enter, when the Master of the Temple (Bernard de Tremelai)
109 Chevalier Joseph von Hammer, The History of the Assassins: Derived from Oriental sources, 1835
110 Thomas Keightley, Secret Societies of the Middle Ages, 1837
claimed the right to take the town himself. This was because the first contingent into a conquered town had the whole spoils. As it happened, the garrison rallied and killed the Templars, closing the breach. There seem good grounds for believing that the power which they had gained caused the Templars to devote their efforts as much to their own Order's welfare as to the cause of the Cross, in spite of their tremendous sacrifices for that cause. Having no loyalty to any territorial chief, they obeyed their Master alone, and hence no softening political pressure could be put upon them. [Well,] this might well have led to an idea that they were an invisible super-state [and that is exactly the fact]; and this does show some similarity with the invisible empire of the Assassins. If none can deny their bravery, their high-handedness and exclusivity, in less than a hundred and fifty years after their founding gave them the reputation of considering themselves almost a law unto themselves.
[No longer reading] And now, dear listeners, we get into the meat, the direct connection between the historical events and the events that are happening today. Don't miss even one episode of this series. Good night, and may God bless each and every one of you.
(Outro music: Stardust)111
The Templars and the Assassins (aired March 2nd, 1993)
https://viefag.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/transcripts-of-william-cooper-s-mystery-babylon-series.pdf
'90s Wrestler Buff Bagwell Feels He's 'Gained Two Legs' After Getting Above-The-Knee Amputation (Exclusive)
Marcus "Buff" Bagwell was a WCW star and five-time champion from 1991 to 2001
By Mark Gray Published on August 6, 2025 01:29PM EDT
Wrestling legend Buff Bagwell has right leg amputated, plans to get 'back in the ring'
Marcus Bagwell on July 10, 2025, after his leg was amputated.
Credit : Maven Huffman/YouTube
NEED TO KNOW
Marcus Bagwell was involved in a car crash in 2020, which severely damaged his kneecap
The former WCW wrestler was unable to bend his knee for five years
"Amputation was on the table, I think, instantly, but we tried to save the leg," he says
Former professional wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell had a portion of his right leg amputated, the result of injuries sustained in a 2020 car accident and, subsequently, five of the most “miserable” years of his life.
“I have a completely new mindset. I'm super excited about the future. I'm overwhelmed with joy that the ugliness is cut off,” the World Championship Wrestling star told PEOPLE exclusively. “I was very ashamed of it.”
In 2020, Bagwell, 55, severely injured his leg, specifically his kneecap, after crashing his car into a freestanding restroom in Atlanta while admitting to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Although many of his injuries healed over time, the same couldn’t be said for his leg, which no longer bent at the knee due to his kneecap essentially “exploding” during the car accident. For the next five years, the former tag-team champion lived with a stiff, straight leg.
“I was faced with something that I had never faced before, which was that I couldn't fix this injury,” he said. “Amputation was on the table, I think, instantly, but we tried to save the leg.”
The former NWO member attempted multiple routes to find a remedy for his leg, including undergoing over 40 surgeries, 21 of which occurred during a seven-week hospitalization. One procedure he received was called “flap surgery,” in which his calf muscle was moved up to the knee to improve blood flow. Bagwell contracted a staph infection quickly after, much of which he spoke about on his YouTube Channel.
After Bagwell began his sobriety journey (he’s nearly three years sober), other surgeries followed, as did more infections. In 2024, the famed ‘90s wrestler underwent a “right knee extensor mechanism repair,” which he says is a “fancy term for a kneecap repair.”
“I never came out of that surgery well,” said Bagwell, who was a top star in WCW from 1991 to 2001. “The pain was better and things like that, but now I was dealing with a much stiffer straight leg that was never going to bend again. Again, amputation was the furthest thing from my mind.”
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As time went on, Bagwell searched for ways to fix his unbendable, straight leg, but the surgery still left him unable to bend his knee. Activities such as getting in and out of a car, getting up from the couch and exercising proved to be difficult.
“When you can't bend your leg, it's devastating,” he said. “I was very depressed about how it looked. I would always wear pants. Here's Buff Bagwell, ashamed to wear shorts. I would not be in public with it.”
26 Oct 2001: Buff Bagwell and his girls after winning fight during the WWA Wrestling "Inception" fight night held at the Sydney Superdome, Sydney, Australia.
Marcus "Buff" Bagwell in 2001 in Sydney, Australia.
Chris McGrath/ALLSPORT
Eventually, Bagwell was presented with a scenario that included having three surgeries in a year, skin grafts and a straight metal rod in his leg forever. But, after hearing that there was only a 20% chance of all that working, in addition to the 40 surgeries he’d already had with minimal results, Bagwell decided to go through with an “above-the-knee amputation” and get a prosthetic leg.
On July 10, his leg was removed during a five-hour surgery.
“There's no preparing you for waking up. When I first woke up, I looked down and I went, ‘Oh my God.’ And it took my breath. I went, ‘Why has my leg gone?’ And your brain's trying to kick out of the fog of anesthesia and everything,” he said. “So I'm trying to kick out, and at the same time having an anxiety attack over looking at my leg. It seemed like a couple of minutes, but it was probably 10 seconds long, and at the end of that 10 seconds, I was like, ‘Do you remember how your leg looked, buddy?’ After those 10 seconds, I knew I had made the right decision. There was no doubt in my mind.”
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By the end of August, Bagwell is set to be fitted for a prosthetic leg and “won’t even look back.”
“I'm about to cry, because I'm thinking I'm losing a leg. At the end of this thing, I have gained a leg. I will have a leg now,” he says. “And when you can't bend that leg, you can't do anything with the other leg… I have really gained two legs back by getting this amputation, and that's the first time I've said that, but it's the truth. I went from not being able to exercise my left leg to exercising my left leg, and I'll have a prosthetic. I have gained two legs out of this. I feel great now.”
“That leg was in my way. I was miserable,” he continued. “I just didn't realize how miserable I was until it was gone. I am happier right now with no leg than I was with a leg over the last five years of my life.”
Seeing this as a new lease on life, the larger-than-life wrestling personality plans to hit the gym and “get back into Buff Bagwell shape.” He also hopes to get back into the wrestling ring. His ultimate goal is to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
https://people.com/marcus-buff-bagwell-talks-about-his-above-the-knee-amputation-exclusive-11776065
Sarah Michelle Prinze (née Gellar /ˈɡɛlər/ GHEL-ər; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted by a talent agent as a young child, she made her film debut at age six in the television film An Invasion of Privacy (1983). She had her first leading role in the syndicated teen drama series Swans Crossing (1992), which was followed by her breakthrough as Kendall Hart on the ABC soap opera All My Children (1993–1995), for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award.
Gellar achieved international recognition for her portrayal of Buffy Summers on the WB/UPN supernatural series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), which earned her four Teen Choice Awards, a Saturn Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe.[2] Her film credits include I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Scream 2 (1997), Cruel Intentions (1999), Scooby-Doo (2002), Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), The Grudge (2004), Southland Tales (2006), TMNT (2007), and Do Revenge (2022).[3]
On television, Gellar has starred in Ringer (2011–2012), The Crazy Ones (2013–2014), Wolf Pack (2023), and Dexter: Original Sin (2024–2025), and provided voice work for Robot Chicken (2005–2018), Star Wars Rebels (2015–2016), and Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021). In 2015, she co-founded Foodstirs, an e-commerce baking company.[4] Her cookbook, Stirring Up Fun with Food, was published in 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Michelle_Gellar
PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION
Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it. For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created.
PARTICULAR AND DAILY EXAMEN
It contains in it three times, and two to examine oneself. The first time is in the morning, immediately on rising, when one ought to propose to guard himself with diligence against that particular sin or defect which he wants to correct and amend. The second time is after dinner, when one is to ask of God our Lord what one wants, namely, grace to remember how many times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect, and to amend himself in the future. Then let him make the first Examen, asking account of his soul of that particular thing proposed, which he wants to correct and amend. Let him go over hour by hour, or period by period, commencing at the hour he rose, and continuing up to the hour and instant of the present examen, and let him make in the first line of the G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. Then let him resolve anew to amend himself up to the second Examen which he will make. The third time: After supper, the second Examen will be made, in the same way, hour by hour, commencing at the first Examen and continuing up to the present (second) one, and let him make in the second line of the same G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. FOUR ADDITIONS FOLLOW TO RID ONESELF SOONER OF THAT PARTICULAR SIN OR DEFECT First Addition. The first Addition is that each time one falls into that particular sin or defect, let him put his hand on his breast, grieving for having fallen: which can be done even in the presence of many, without their perceiving what he is doing. Second Addition. The second: As the first line of the G------- means the first Examen, and the second line the second Examen, let him look at night if there is amendment from the first line to the second, that is, from the first Examen to the second. Third Addition. The third: To compare the second day with the first; that is, the two Examens of the present day with the other two Examens of the previous day, and see if he has amended himself from one day to the other. Fourth Addition. The fourth Addition: To compare one week with another, and see if he has amended himself in the present week over the week past. Note. It is to be noted that the first (large) G------- which follows means the Sunday: the second (smaller), the Monday: the third, the Tuesday, and so on.
GGGGGG
"The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola
TRANSLATED FROM
THE AUTOGRAPH
BY
FATHER ELDER MULLAN, S.J.
I.H.S.
NEW YORK
P.J. KENEDY & SONS
PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE
https://ia601603.us.archive.org/32/items/spiritualexercis00ignauoft/spiritualexercis00ignauoft.pdf
Mychal Fallon Judge, OFM (born Robert Emmett Judge; May 11, 1933 – September 11, 2001), was an American Franciscan friar and Catholic priest who served as a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. While serving in that capacity, he was killed, becoming the first certified fatality of the September 11 attacks.[2]
Early life
Mychal Judge was born Robert Emmett Judge on May 11, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of immigrants from County Leitrim, Ireland, and the firstborn of a pair of fraternal twins. His twin sister Dympna was born two days later. Judge was baptized in St. Paul's Church in Brooklyn on June 4. The twins, and their older sister Erin, grew up during the Great Depression.[3]
From the ages of three to six, he watched his father suffer and die of mastoiditis, a slow and painful illness of the skull and inner ear. To earn income following his father's death, Judge shined shoes at New York Penn Station and would visit St. Francis of Assisi Church, located across the street. Seeing the Franciscan friars there, he later said, "I realized that I didn't care for material things. ...I knew then that I wanted to be a friar."[4]
Career
After spending his freshman year at the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, where he studied under the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, in 1948, at the age of 15, Judge began the formation process to enter the Order of Friars Minor. He transferred to St. Joseph's Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, New York, the minor seminary of the Holy Name province of the Order. After graduation, he enrolled at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York. In 1954 he was admitted to the novitiate of the Province in Paterson, New Jersey. After completing that year of formation, he received the religious habit and professed his first vows as a member of the Order.[5] At that time, he was given the religious name of Fallon Michael. He later dropped 'Fallon' and changed 'Michael' to Mychal.[6] According to Queer There and Everywhere by Sarah Prager, Mychal changed his name to "differentiate himself from all the other 'Father Michaels.'"[7] He resumed his college studies at St. Bonaventure University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1957.[8] He professed his solemn vows as a full member of the Order in 1958.[5] Following this, he did his theological studies at Holy Name College Seminary in Washington, D.C. Upon completing these studies in 1961, he was ordained a priest.[9]
After his ordination, Judge was assigned to the Shrine of St. Anthony in Boston, Massachusetts. Following his assignment there, he served in various parishes served by the Franciscans: St. Joseph Parish in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sacred Heart Parish in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, Holy Cross Parish in the Bronx and St. Joseph Parish in West Milford, New Jersey. For three years he served as assistant to the President of Siena College, operated by the Franciscans in Loudonville, New York. In 1986 he was assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan, where he had first come to know the friars. He lived and worked there until his death.[10]
Around 1971, Judge developed alcoholism, although he never showed obvious signs. In 1978, with the support of Alcoholics Anonymous, he became sober and continued to share his personal story of alcoholism to help others facing addiction.[11]
In 1992, Judge was appointed a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. As chaplain, he offered encouragement and prayers at fires, rescues, and hospitals, and counseled firemen and their families, often working 16-hour days. "His whole ministry was about love. Mychal loved the fire department and they loved him."[12] Judge was a member of AFSCME Local 299 (District Council 37).[13]
Judge was also well known in the city for ministering to the homeless, the hungry, recovering alcoholics, people with AIDS, the sick, injured, and grieving, immigrants, gays and lesbians, and those alienated by society.[14] Judge once gave the winter coat off his back to a homeless woman in the street, later saying, "She needed it more than me." When he anointed a man who was dying of AIDS, the man asked him, "Do you think God hates me?" Judge picked him up, kissed him, and silently rocked him in his arms.[15] Judge worked with St. Clare's Hospital, which opened the city's first AIDS ward, in order to start an active AIDS ministry. He visited hospitals and AIDS patients and their families, presided over many funerals, and counseled other Catholics such as Brendan Fay and John McNeill. Judge continued to be an advocate for gay rights throughout the rest of his life, marching in pride parades and attending other gay events.[16]
Even before his death, many considered Judge to be a living saint for his extraordinary works of charity and his deep spirituality. While praying, he would sometimes "become so lost in God, as if lost in a trance, that he'd be shocked to find several hours had passed."[17] Judge's spiritual director, the late Jesuit John J. McNeill, observed that Judge achieved an "extraordinary degree of union with the divine. We knew we were dealing with someone directly in line with God."[18]
September 11 attacks
Judge's memorial inscription:
"FR. MYCHAL JUDGE
MAY 11, 1933 – SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
Lord, Take me where you want me to go, Let me meet who you want me to meet, Tell me what you want me to say and Keep me out of your way.
On September 11, 2001, upon learning that the World Trade Center had been hit by the first of two jetliners, Judge rushed to the site. He was met by Rudolph Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City, who asked him to pray for the city and its victims. Judge prayed over bodies lying on the streets, then entered the lobby of the World Trade Center North Tower, where an emergency command post had been organized. There he continued offering aid and prayers for the rescuers, the injured, and the dead.
Judge died when debris from the South Tower was ejected into the lobby of the North Tower during the collapse of the World Trade Center. This image of the South Tower was photographed nine days before Judge's death.
When the neighboring South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., debris went flying through the North Tower lobby, killing many inside. Judge died at this moment, too, struck and killed by the debris, according to a later interview with 1st Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer, it was initially believed that he had suffered a heart attack.[19] In the moment before his death, Judge was repeatedly praying aloud, "Jesus, please end this right now! God, please end this!", according to Judge's biographer and New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly.[20][21]
Shortly after his death, Judge's body was found and carried out of the North Tower by five people (Firefighters Christian Waugh and Zachary Vause, NYPD Lt. William Cosgrove, civilian John Maguire and FDNY EMT Kevin Allen) shortly before it collapsed at 10:28 a.m. This act was photographed by Reuters photographer Shannon Stapleton, and became one of the most famous photographs taken during the attacks. This event was captured in the documentary film 9/11, shot by Jules and Gedeon Naudet. The Philadelphia Weekly reported that the photograph is "considered an American Pietà."[22] Judge's body was placed before the altar of St. Peter's Catholic Church before being taken by ambulance and fire department colleagues to Engine 1/Ladder 24, the fire station opposite the Franciscan Friary on W 31st Street in Manhattan.[23] He was later taken from the fire station to the medical examiner.[24]
Judge was designated as "Victim 0001" and thereby recognized as the first named victim of the attacks. Although thousands of others had been killed before him, with Daniel Lewin largely believed to have been the first chronological fatality of the attacks, Judge was the first certified fatality because his body was the first to be recovered and taken to the medical examiner.[25]
Judge's body was formally identified by NYPD Detective Steven McDonald, a long-time friend. The New York Medical Examiner found that Judge died of "blunt force trauma to the head".[25]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mychal_Judge
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)
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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
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
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
POP MUSIC / What did George know?: The judge's findings in the George Michael case imply the singer had an information problem.
Giles Smith
Thursday 23 June 1994 00:02 BST
It's probably not much consolation for George Michael after his defeat in the High Court on Tuesday, but at least the judge liked him. In his 273-page summing up, Mr Justice Jonathan Parker described Michael as 'intelligent and articulate', and commended him for the clarity of his evidence. This must be right up there with Michael's best reviews.
Unfortunately for Michael, the evidence he so winningly produced failed to convince Mr Justice Parker that there was anything untoward in the terms of the contract by which Sony Music can retain Michael's services as a recording artist for another 10 years. The judge dismissed the claim of restraint of trade, ruling that Michael had re-affirmed his contract in the process of several re-negotiations over the years and had access to top legal advice at every turn. He knew what he was getting into: there was no getting out of it.
At the same time, flattering though it is in some respects, the judge's summary threatens to cloud slightly a common picture of Michael as a smart music industry executive, utterly in control of every detail of his business. This would have been an unpopular thing to think about a pop star two decades ago, when musicians were less intent on having a career than having a good time. Think of the scorn which descended on Paul McCartney, whose interest in the commercial possibilities of The Beatles was noticed early on.
On the day Lennon was busted for possession, McCartney was at Thomson's discussing advertising strategies. This was often levelled at McCartney afterwards in the form of an accusation. In the 1980s, when George Michael was rising to prominence, we actually encouraged calculation and control in our pop stars; these things seemed somehow became incorporated in their glamour, part of their cool.
In his summary, though, Mr Justice Parker claimed that '(Michael's) views of Sony's attitude, motives and competence derived less from first-hand experience and knowledge than from reports to him by his closest advisers.' And the judge then singled out Rob Kahane.
Kahane, an American, is Michael's manager and the judge claimed the manager's evidence was coloured to a significant extent by his 'obvious and intense dislike' of Sony and all its works. The judge said he could not help feeling that, 'had Sony seen rather more of the star and rather less of Mr Kahane from 1990 onwards, events might have turned out differently'. He said that he found Mr Kahane to be a 'thoroughly unreliable and untrustworthy witness' who had consciously distorted Sony's dealings in reporting them back to his client and who was interested in finding another lucrative deal for Michael in order to secure his percentage.
'I found him to be motivated to an unacceptable degree by self-interest and a desire to protect his own position,' the judge wrote. Which must be up there with Kahane's worst reviews.
Kahane is described by an associate as 'volatile', though this could hardly be thought an unusual characteristic in a top rock manager. Yesterday he was clearly disquieted by the judge's assessment. 'I am stunned,' he said. 'I've had my integrity and reputation questioned. It felt almost like a personal attack. As an American you really look up to the English justice. But I feel there was no balance in this judgement.'
Kahane reasserted Michael's hold on his career. 'He's a detail freak. Ever since I've managed George, he's called the shots. At many times he was interfacing with the label at the same time as I was.'
Naturally, he explained, with a business as complex as Michael's, there are more details than a single person could be expected to keep in his head, while continuing to hold down a day job as a pop star. 'But what his advisers passed on to him about his projects and about Sony's actions regarding his projects was not discoloured. When George has a record active, I might speak to him on the phone a dozen times a day. It's a blow by blow account he gets.'
He also re-stated that the court case was Michael's idea. 'The people around him, without question, were advising him against going to court. But he's a big boy - he drew his own conclusions.'
The costs will be decided this morning and the case then goes to appeal. More money, more time. 'Look,' Kahane said yesterday. 'I'm an optimist.'
Incidentally, during the 77-day hearing, Sony Music called as expert witnesses an array of present employees and business big-wigs including the American label boss and husband of Mariah Carey, Tommy Mottola. The judge liked him, too, so would presumably enjoy Frederic Dannen's book on the music industry, Hit Men, if he hasn't already read it.
(Photograph omitted)
https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/pop-music-what-did-george-know-the-judge-s-findings-in-the-george-michael-case-imply-the-singer-had-an-information-problem-giles-smith-reports-1424584.html#:~:text=Your%20support%20makes%20all%20the,every%20detail%20of%20his%20business.
Jorge is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name George. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish [ˈxoɾxe]; Portuguese [ˈʒɔɾʒɨ].
It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (Georgios) via Latin Georgius; the former is derived from γεωργός (georgos), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker".[1]
The Latin form Georgius had been rarely given in Western Christendom since at least the 6th century. The popularity of the name however develops from around the 12th century, in Occitan in the form Jordi, and it becomes popular at European courts after the publication of the Golden Legend in the 1260s.
The West Iberian form Jorge is on record in Portugal as the name of Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra (1481–1550).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge
Pope Francis[b] (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;[c] 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family of Italian origin, Bergoglio was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 papal conclave elected Bergoglio as pope on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Throughout his papacy, Francis was noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility, commitment to interreligious dialogue, and concern for the poor, migrants, and refugees. Francis believed the Catholic Church should demonstrate more inclusivity to LGBTQ people, and stated that although blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, individuals in same-sex relationships can be blessed as long as the blessing is not given in a liturgical context.[2] Francis made women full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia.[3][4] Francis convened the Synod on Synodality, which was described as the culmination of his papacy and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.[4][5][6] Francis was known for having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors by, for instance, choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes. In addition, due to both his Jesuit and Ignatian aesthetic, he was known for favoring simpler vestments devoid of ornamentation, including refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as cardinal.
Concerning global governance, Francis was a critic of trickle-down economics, consumerism, and overdevelopment;[7] he made action on climate change a leading focus of his papacy.[8] He viewed capital punishment as inadmissible in all cases,[9] and committed the Catholic Church to its worldwide abolition.[10] Francis criticized the rise of right-wing populism and anti-immigration politics, calling the protection of migrants a "duty of civilization".[11] Francis supported the decriminalization of homosexuality.[12] In international diplomacy, Francis helped to restore full diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, negotiated a deal with the People's Republic of China to define Communist Party influence in appointing Chinese bishops, and encouraged peace between Israel and Palestinians, signing the Vatican's first treaty with the State of Palestine. In 2022 he apologized for the Church's role in the cultural genocide of Canadian Indigenous peoples in residential schools. From 2023 he condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza, calling for investigations of war crimes. Francis made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday before dying on 21 April 2025, Easter Monday.[13][14] The 2025 papal conclave elected Leo XIV as Francis's successor on 8 May. Leo XIV became the second pope from the Americas, after Francis.[15]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
Easter in 2030
Date: April 21, 2030
Day: Sunday
Avril Ramona Lavigne CM (/ˈævrɪl ləˈviːn/ AV-ril lə-VEEN; French: [avʁil ʁamɔna laviɲ]; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. Her accolades include ten Juno Awards and eight Grammy Awards nominations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avril_Lavigne
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
The Day Called 'X' is a dramatized CBS documentary film set in Portland, Oregon, in which the entire city is evacuated in anticipation of a nuclear air raid, after Soviet bombers had been detected by radar stations to the north; it details the activation of the city's civil defense protocols and leads up to the moment before the attack (the ending is left intentionally unknown). The operations were run from the Kelly Butte Bunker, which was the emergency operations center at that time. It was filmed in September 1957[1] and aired December 8 of that year.[2][3] Apart from presenter/narrator Glenn Ford, none of the people shown are actors. They are locals of Portland shown in their real jobs, including Mayor Terry Schrunk.
Its local re-broadcast in 2004[4] and appearance in the on-line Prelinger Archives attracted interest among local history buffs due to its extensive outside shots of the city, and the use of non-actor participants (local officials and broadcasters). Whenever one of these individuals is heard uttering warnings or statements regarding attack, the words "AN ATTACK IS NOT TAKING PLACE" are superimposed over the picture.[2]
On September 27, 1955, Portland actually conducted an exercise evacuation of downtown called "Operation Greenlight",[5][6] and the film is often misattributed to that year. Ford's narration, however, does make direct reference to the 1955 exercise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_Called_%27X%27
SpaceX Roadster is not a natural celestial object, but rather a man-made object launched by SpaceX in February 2018 as part of the Falcon Heavy test flight. It is a red sports car owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and was launched as a demonstration of the Falcon Heavy's capabilities. The Roadster is not in a stable orbit around the Sun, but is instead on a heliocentric orbit that will take it to the asteroid belt and then back to the inner Solar System in the future. The Roadster also carries a mannequin named Starman, dressed in a spacesuit, in the driver's seat.
https://theskylive.com/roadster-info
PART X THE PRESERVATION AND INCREASE OF THE SOCIETY
410 §1. As a sign of gratitude and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let that feast be solemnly celebrated; and on that day is to be renewed the consecration by which the Society on January 1, 1872, dedicated and consecrated itself totally and perpetually.
§2. The consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to be renewed each year on the feast of the Immaculate Heart.[1]
411 The sense of belonging and responsibility that each individual one of Ours has toward the whole Society should be manifested in a knowledge of our spirituality, our history, our saints, our apostolic labors, and our men, especially of those who are suffering difficulties for the sake of Christ; it is to be manifested as well by maintaining Ignatian mobility and flexibility with a view to helping any region of the Society whatsoever.[2]
412 §1. All our members should have at heart a shared concern for attracting new members to the Society, especially by prayer and the example of their lives as individuals and in community.[3]
§2. Therefore, we must do everything possible actively to present the Society in such a way that those whom God calls will know and appreciate who and what we are and what is our distinctive way of proceeding in the following of Christ.[4]
§3. We must also promote vocations as widely as possible, in order to reflect the culture and experience of those we seek to serve, including minority cultures, immigrants, and indigenous people.[5]
413 The Society should always show itself bound to its benefactors in charity and gratitude. Superiors should ensure that prayers are offered for them and other appropriate signs of our gratitude are shown them.[6]
414 In the perfect observance of all the Constitutions and in the particular fulfillment of our Institute, our formed members should excel, setting a good example and spreading the good odor of Christ, keeping before their eyes the serious obligation they have of giving edification especially to our younger members.[ 7]
415 All by earnest reading and meditation (in particular, at the time of the annual Spiritual Exercises, renewal of vows, monthly recollection, beginning of the year, and so forth) should strive ever to know, esteem, and love better our Constitutions and the special nature of our Institute,[ 8] which are to be faithfully observed, and which for each and all of us are the one, true, and safe way that surely leads to the perfection to which our Lord calls and invites all sons of the Society.[9] §2. Major superiors, especially at the time of the annual visitation, should see that this is faithfully observed.
416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]
L. D. S.
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
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
https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid02m4Jm7syzQzmpLhFu3P2Ap5eh4MNm4KDLSi6F9k3rw8CE26bRNJ2JEhmTNqSA7ULtl
Interview with the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, Marco Rigamonti
By Laura Camilloni23 July 2022 Updated:28 August 2023
14 Mins Read
(AGENPARL) – Rome, 23 July 2022 –
QUESTION: We are with the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. Marco Rigamonti, to shed light on an iconic association, the Priory of Sion, mentioned by Dan Brown in his Best-Seller "The Da Vinci Code". Grand Master, can you explain to our readers what the Priory of Sion is and what its mission is?
RIGAMONTI – The Priory of Sion is an Initiatory Order of chivalric inspiration, which we believe was founded around 1099 by Godfrey of Bouillon, although we have no certain proof, but only based on the ritual and historical elements that have come down to us.
The Priory of Sion was and is an initiatory Order, which due to its highly esoteric and symbolic nature, together with the fact that from 1600 until more recent history, it has been a secret and clandestine society, has made the correct perception of its symbolic and allegorical aspects even more prominent and important in order to be understood, which were the only elements through which it communicated with the outside world, and only towards precise recipients, able to decipher our signs, symbols and allegories, through intuitions whose nature is superior to the ability of language to explain.
The first known Patriarch of our doctrines was the legendary Egyptian priest Ormus, an adept of the Gnostic school of Alexandria in Egypt, converted to Christianity by St. Mark before the Saint was surprised by a furious storm on his way from Alexandria to Aquileia, finding shelter in the islands of Rivo Alto, now known as Rialto, and it was on that night that an Angel appeared to him, announcing himself to the Saint with the words "Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus. Hic requiescet corpus tuum", these are the words later engraved on the book of the Lion of St. Mark. St. Mark in that event, learned from the prophecy, that that land would be the place where his body would rest after death. In fact, so it was, because even if buried in Alexandria in Egypt, the remains of the Evangelist were brought to Venice by order secretly given to the Doge by the Counts of Toulouse, custodians of the initiatory deposit from which transmission would later arise the Order of Our Lady of Mount Zion. The recovery of the remains was organized and carried out on the command of the Doge Giustiniano Partecipazio in 828 by Rustico da Torcello and Buono da Malamocco; the Doge thus wanted to house the remains of the evangelist who converted the Patriarch of what had later become the Merovingian initiatory association to Christianity. The Doge therefore, upon the arrival of the remains, ordered the beginning of the construction of what would later become the Basilica of St. Mark. Consecrated in 828 to house the remains of the Saint, thus was born the original private Chapel of the Doges (replacing the previous Palatine Chapel dedicated to San Teodoro), which then became the current Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of San Marco, whose construction work began in 1063 and where the remains of the Patron are still kept.
Ormus, together with his six disciples, founded an initiatory society called "The Children of Light", through which he transmitted his knowledge, inherited from the most ancient mystery schools, perfected and implemented through the teachings of Solomon and early Christianity. This knowledge then came into contact with the Order of Our Lady of Mount Zion and the Templar Order, and it was at this moment that the phase of schism between the Order founded by Godfrey of Bouillon and the Order of the Templars began, as two factions had formed, the first having accepted the teachings emanating from Ormus' successors, while the other group wanted to remain faithful to the doctrine originally imparted by the Roman Catholic Church. This situation degenerated to the point of making the split irreconcilable and it was then that the mythical cutting of the Elm took place in Gisors, precisely in 1188.
It is no coincidence that Ormus is very similar to "Orme", which in French means "Elm". From the moment of the split, the Grand Master of the Templars remained Gérard de Ridefort, while the first Grand Master proclaimed by the Priory of Sion was Jean de Gisors.
The "Priory of Sion", which is an initiatory order of chivalry founded in 1099, perpetuates the line of Pierre Plantard of St. Clair. Of Gnostic and Rosicrucian influence (Rosicrucian knowledge transmits a knowledge of ancient Egypt – Babylon – a hermetic and gnostic knowledge, developed in spiritual alchemy), the symbol is the rose which expresses beauty, love, purity and grace in their strongest representation, at the same time, it represents transience, vulnerability, the brevity of existence, which translates into a very strong parallelism with the human condition), This is often placed in the center of a cross, which represents the body of man.
In the light of what has been illustrated, the purpose of the Priory of Sion is clear, especially in this historical moment, that is to preserve a social environment in which man can cultivate his prerogatives both in the profane and initiatory or spiritual spheres, being able to express himself to the best of his ability and having recognized in everyday life the highest possible dignity, which is the only way to have the freedom necessary to be able to realize oneself according to one's ambitions, which are not only material or professional, but also interior, social, and therefore interpersonal.
QUESTION. In your opinion, are the various Freemasons in the world at the service of Humanity or are they at the service of real power?
RIGAMONTI – It is a very current and significant question, which gives us a way to understand to what extent certain institutions have betrayed themselves. Freemasonry was originally born to support the Kingdom of the one whom God has chosen, a figure traditionally attributable to the monarch, then over time, Freemasonry has come to be infiltrated by the economic forces that have vulgarized them, effectively emptying them of their function and thus becoming a receptacle for businessmen or for people who often and willingly, they are more interested in obtaining power, even a small one, even at the local level, than individuals interested in receiving the Masonic Light.
QUESTION: How can you say this with certainty? Was it perhaps part of it or is it the personal opinion of an outsider?
RIGAMONTI – In the Priory of Sion there are several Freemasons, but I also consider myself such, even though I have resigned from the Institution where I was initiated into Freemasonry. I would like to point out that being Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, I was not interested in any institutional role within that organization, so I limited myself to achieving the Degree of Master, limiting myself to the esoteric and initiatory path, which was still a positive path, having been lucky enough to find myself in a Lodge of people sincerely interested in the spiritual aspect. In fact, it is not with them that I have it, but with their "Pastor" and on this occasion, I will explain why.
For the moment I do not want to reveal the name of the institution in question, but only the reason that led me to distance myself from it, namely the unforgivable guilt of endorsing this crime against man and against God, giving solidarity to these ignoble and grotesque totalitarian narratives that in addition to heavily offending the intellect, have exploited Covid-19 to undermine civil rights and the dignity of the person. They did not denounce this crime, so they proved to be no different from the butlers we find in the current Italian Parliament or in Brussels and since originally, according to tradition, the "Free and Accepted Masons" could move without having to show permits and were precisely men completely free, while the representatives of this Masonic institution have shown that they are not, and considering myself a free man and without masters – just as I consider myself an authentic Freemason – I do not allow them to say that I am such or validate in any way my being a Freemason, because from my point of view, they simply cannot afford it, so I have resigned.
QUESTION – Coming to your novel, where you also talk about Freemasonry and Chivalric Orders, can you tell us about your work, Covid 1984 – The inviolable invisible cage?
RIGAMONTI – Covid 1984, The Inviolable Invisible Cage, is a political fiction novel developed as an intellectual and spiritual provocation. Essentially, the novel puts the reader in front of the question that consists in asking himself if today's man is such a limited and unaware creature that he has to abdicate rights and freedoms conquered over hundreds of years, to appease the neurosis induced by a form of contemporary sub-culture, which invokes (physical) security at all costs, putting any other aspect of existence in the background, as if the human species were comparable to forms of life devoid of consciousness, devoid of potential to express, as if it could be acceptable and sensible to reduce modern man to the existence of an intensively farmed chicken, in a cage where his free will is reduced only to being able to choose when to eat and when to sleep, because he does not know how to administer his freedom, becoming a threat to himself and to others.
QUESTION – In the novel, however, there are also references to secret, illegal rituals, where lives are sacrificed and minors abused, is it all invention or is there something true?
RIGAMONTI – This novel, like any literary work that has value, must somehow be linked to something true and this is an attempt to highlight uncomfortable things, which are known, but which the media for now desert to give prominence, but the news is there, just look at Brussels, where there is the Babylonian Tower of the European Parliament, how many cases of pedophilia and presumably ritual murders have been recorded.
I recommend a research on Marc Dutroux. that he was an unemployed Belgian electrician, but that in a few years, he had accumulated wealth impossible for him to justify, such as several vehicles and at least nine houses, not all apartments, but also houses. It was precisely in the residences equipped with gardens that Dutroux had buried his little victims. The findings amount to as many as 600 child pornography videotapes, in which Dutroux, his wife and others are seen raping and torturing children between the ages of six and eight. This video material was then sold by Dutroux himself at prices that reached today's equivalent of 50,000 euros.
A repeat offender, already convicted of pedophilia in 1989 to 13 years of which he then, almost inexplicably, served only three, Dutroux was able to continue to carry out his crimes undisturbed for years, demonstrating that he was indeed an untouchable, at least for a considerable period of time, which reasonably, is unlikely to be attributed to chance.
On October 20, 1996, 350,000 people took to the streets to participate in what was called the "White March", following the last of the sexual murders of minors. The Belgian government wavered heavily on that occasion and two ministers suddenly resigned. Those who were present today assure that at that time, among the people, there was an unequivocal voice, namely that those videotapes seized in Dutroux's garbage showed, as spectators and actors of sexual crimes, characters of the highest political and institutional caliber. The name of one was often repeated, as he was considered a "Father of United Europe", who, however, since then, has become a rather fugitive father, well withdrawn from the limelight.
On 26 November 1996, a right-wing MP, Margherite Bastien, waved a video in Parliament that showed, according to her, a certain Luc Michel while performing unmentionable acts on a child; seized on the spot, the box is, Bastien said, "buried in the basement of Parliament," along with many others. A journalist, Jean Nicholas, wrote "Les protecteurs sont parmi nous" insinuating the existence of relations between that Michel, di Rupo and the State Security.
In light of all this, it is not surprising that the European Union and several progressive pro-EU politicians are committed to supporting pedophilia to the point of the grotesque inversion of every natural right by law. We have reached the point that heterosexuals, those who judge the innate and regular sexuality practiced between individuals of different genders, have become sick subjects or those who need to be re-educated.
Yet, it would be enough to reread some of the statements, past and present, of numerous exponents of the homosexual movement, to realize that this relationship exists, and it is significant. One of the founders and theorists of the Italian homosexual movement, Mario Mieli, wrote in his 1977 book, "Elements of Homosexual Criticism" (published by Feltrinelli):
"We revolutionary checche know how to see in the child not so much the Oedipus, or the future Oedipus, but the potentially free human being. We, yes, can love children. We can desire them erotically by responding to their desire for Eros, we can grasp with open faces and arms the intoxicating sensuality they deepen, we can make love to them. This is why pederasty is so harshly condemned: it addresses loving messages to the child that society, on the other hand, through the family, traumatizes, castrates, denies, lowering the Oedipal grid on his eroticism".
Daniele Capezzone, former spokesman for the PDL, also did not shy away from supporting pedophilia, commenting on the Radicals' decision to promote the conference "Pedophilia and the Internet":
"Like any sexual orientation and preference, pedophilia cannot be considered a crime."
Nichi Vendola in a "memorable" interview with La Repubblica ("Il gay della Fgci", published on March 19, 1985, – probably it was not a random choice, that the day of publication was the now apparently inconvenient, Father's Day, on page 4, had expressed himself as follows:
"It is not easy to deal with an issue such as pedophilia, that is, the right of children to have their own sexuality, to have relationships with each other or with adults – an even more difficult theme – and to deal with it with those who have always seen sexuality as a function of the family and procreation."
It seems to be dreaming (or rather of being in a nightmare) but Vendola says exactly that: "children's right to have sexuality with each other or with adults".
These are just a few examples of the cultural, moral and social pollution that is trying to degrade modern man to take away all dignity in order to subjugate him, even making it lawful and therefore possible, the sexual abuse of minors, thus burdening them with a further load of psychological violence to be swallowed in the street to become adults, in addition to compulsory vaccinations, Green Passes and all the current mortification systems in the individual sphere.
QUESTION – So can this be considered a novel of denunciation?
RIGAMONTI – It is a novel that wants to open our eyes not only to the dangerous anthropological and cultural turn of moral laxity and indifference, but also to the fact that corruption and pedophilia exist in the highest institutional spheres and are often used as a weapon of blackmail, to leave no choice to connivers, making silence inescapable, for nothing worse could happen to the compromised individual than the coming to light of faults like that.
QUESTION – What would you answer to those who want to define your novel as a "conspiracy theorist"?
RIGAMONTI – The so-called "conspiracy" is a product of intelligence, aimed at shaping in public opinion a certain model of decoding in one's own perception of the facts. With everything they had on their agenda, the only solution to avoid being overwhelmed even judicially, was to neutralize public opinion in advance, narcotizing it through cultural pollution, so that it would not react even in the face of evidence, so as not to be accused of being gullible or foolish who see evil everywhere. It was a move, tactically very brilliant, because it took root on the masses, consequently neutralizing even that (until recently) minority that had not accepted to buy this conditioning, from the beginning.
Conspiracies do exist, and if perpetrated against the State, they also include high treason, on the other hand, the term lobby, has been known by everyone for decades as it is a universally recognized phenomenon, understood as that dynamic that sees large companies interfere in the decisions of the State, in order to be favored to an extent that would never be granted to them by playing in the light of day, and for this reason, it seems crystal clear that we are faced with a very serious abuse to the detriment of the community, since the interest of the same automatically takes a back seat, being bypassed with will and malice, all those filters that would have prevented decisions, by the institutions of the State, where their interests (therefore those of the citizen), had not been in the foreground. I can't find any other term than conspiracy to define such dynamics.
QUESTION: Why write a novel and not an essay?
RIGAMONTI – I expected this question. You see, I find it much more stimulating for both me and the reader to mix truth with fantasy, so that one arrives at it with intuition, with research and with one's own judgment, so that the result is a process of individual awareness and reflection, and not a mere list of notions, stuffed with some opinion. In addition to this, I find the appeal of a novel much more attractive and intriguing than that of an essay, especially if you have to deal in detail with thorny and emotionally difficult to digest topics such as the above.
https://agenparl.eu/2022/07/23/intervista-al-gran-maestro-del-priorato-di-sion-marco-rigamonti/
By the time of the success of the First Crusade in 1099, the Hospital of St John was already well known among pilgrims and was regarded as a separate organization from the monastery of St Mary. The monastic brothers at the hospital saw it as their duty to provide the best possible treatment to the poor. They were given an endowment by Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the First Crusade, before he died in 1100. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Ghibbelin of Arles, formally recognized it as a separate entity from the monastery when he reformed the Catholic hierarchy in Palestine, and a step towards this was taken by Pope Paschal II when he recognized the abbey of St Mary as a church of the Holy See, placing it under his protection and exempting it from paying tithes on its land, on 19 June 1112. The monastic Hospitaller Order was formally created when the Pope issued the papal bull Pie postulatio voluntatis on 15 February 1113 to the head of the Hospital of St John, Blessed Gerard de Martigues. The Pope subordinated the hospital to his own authority and exempted it from paying tithes on the lands it owned, and gave the right to its professed brothers to elect their master. He also placed several other hospitals and hospices in southern Italy under the governance of the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem, as they were located at port cities from which pilgrims traveled to the Holy Land.[7][8][9]
Knights Hospitaller in Jerusalem
Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond. Under his successor, Raymond du Puy, the original hospice was expanded to an infirmary[10] and by then was subordinated to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Around this time the Hospital of St John became connected with that Church, and documents often referred to "the Holy Sepulchre and the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem."[11] Initially, the Hospitallers cared for pilgrims as well as others (including Muslims and Jews) in Jerusalem,[7] but the order soon extended to provide pilgrims with an armed escort before eventually becoming a significant military force. Thus, the Order of St. John imperceptibly became militaristic without losing its charitable character.[10]
It is possible that the Hospital of St John hired knights or foot soldiers after the First Crusade to provide security, before it formally established its own military organization. Knights in western Europe left their horses and weapons to the Hospitallers in their wills in the 1120s, and in the early 1140s Pope Innocent II mentioned that the Hospitallers had "servants" to protect pilgrims. An account from a Hospitaller priest in 16th century stated that as the Order of St John became more wealthy it hired knights to defend its hospitals and pilgrims, and these knights eventually became Hospitallers themselves. It is known that secular knights and soldiers were hired by institutions in Jerusalem to provide protection after 1099, including churches, and some of them later joined military orders. The Order of Knights Templar was founded around 1119-1120 and it is likely that the Hospitallers were inspired by them to have their own knights. A charter made for a gift to the Hospital of St John in a Christian army on 17 January 1126 recorded that a brother from the Order was present as a witness and that he held a military title.[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Hospitaller
THE 17 OF JANUARY AND THE "BLUE APPLES" - Priory of Sion
On 17 January every year, near the statue of St. Anthony the Hermit, from 11.00 A.M., a suggestive and ethereal composition, always invisible, during every other day of the year, appears projected on the wall; those are the famous "blue apples" of the church in Rennes le Château.
The phenomenon is the result of a formidable creation by Bérenger Saunière, which exploits a highly elaborate combination of deep geometrical and astronomical knowledge, the result reaches its peak around 13.00 on the 17th of January every year, and from that moment, for a few days more, this phenomenon repeats itself.
The intention of the priest was to celebrate and underline, with the usual allegorical veil, a series of recurrences, which he considered important; among them the date of Marie de Negri of Ables d'Hautpoul's death, the Marquess of Blanchefort-Hautpoul, the last noble whose burial is in the church and besides that, also the date of the death of Saint Anthony the hermit and of Saint Germain from Pibrac, both represented within the church itself, as already mentioned; this particular date has many meanings also for the Priory of Sion, both for the reasons listed above, and for being the day defined as the date of the success of the "Great Work" by the past Grand Master of the Order, Nicolas Flamel, as it was January 17 that he and his wife are said to have obtained the Philosopher's Stone; January 17 is also the date of the death of Bérenger Saunière, so January 17, 1917, death declared by Marie Denarnaud only a few days later (January 22).
http://www.prieure-de-sion.com/4/church_of_rennes_le_chateau_1051503.html#pr_1870288
The Priory of Sion is an initiatory Order of chivalry, founded on July 15 1099 in Jerusalem, by Godfrey of Bouillon, at the Abbey "Our Lady of Mount Sion" as "Order of our Lady of Mount Sion."The Order, after being registered for the first time in history, in 1956, and then being dissolved in 1993, was newly registered in 2015, perpetuating the legitimate Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair's lineage, through the actual Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti.The Priory of Sion is characterized by a gnostic and rosicrucian influence, who sets himself the task of supporting and nurturing personal growth, moral and spiritual, with respect and in harmony with the personal objectives that each of us, by nature, has to carry through in life experience.It's also our purpose the esoteric research as the study and experience related to the transcendent and mystical in an environment of communion with our Brothers and Sisters, Members of the Order.The Priory of Sion today inherits a tradition of esoteric, philosophical, spiritual and cultural legacy, which favors the cultivation of values and principles that offers the way to live a more aware and noble personal dimension.We work through symbols, ancient rituals, theurgic practice and traditions, in order to live a personal and collective sprirituality in communion with our Brothers and Sisters. The Order is apolitical and forbids its members to be made a place of political debate, or even worse, to be exploited for such purposes."
http://www.prieure-de-sion.com/
The Order – A Brief History
The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem date back to the First Crusade, when its leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, liberated Jerusalem. As part of his operations to organize the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, he founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. According to accounts of the Crusades, in 1103 the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order, and reserved the right for himself and his successors, as agents of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to appoint Knights to it, should the Patriarch be absent or unable to do so.
The Order’s members included not only the Regular Canons (Fratres) but also the Secular Canons (Confratres) and the Sergentes. The latter were armed knights chosen from the crusader troops for their qualities of valor and dedication; they vowed to obey Augustinian Rule of poverty and obedience and undertook specifically, under the command of the King of Jerusalem, to defend the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Places.
Very soon after the First Crusade the troops – including the Knights of the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre – began to return to their homelands. This led to the creation of priories all over Europe, which were part of the Order as they came under the jurisdiction of the noble knights or prelates who had been invested on the Holy Sepulchre itself and who, although they were no longer in the direct service of the King of Jerusalem, continued to belong to the Order of Canons.
The Order first began to fail as a cohesive military body of knights after Saladin regained Jerusalem in 1182, and completely ceased to exist in that format after the defeat of Acre in 1291. The passing of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem left the Order without a leader, though it continued to survive in the European priories thanks to the protection of sovereigns, princes, bishops and the Holy See. The priories kept alive the ideals of the Crusader Knights: propagation of the Faith, defense of the weak, charity towards other human beings. With the exception of events in Spain, it was only rarely that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ever took part again in military action to defend Christianity.
In the 14th century, the Holy See made an extremely high payment to the Egyptian Sultan so that he would grant the right to protect the Christian Sanctuaries to the Franciscan Friars Minor. Throughout the whole period of the Latin Patriarchate’s suppression, the right to create new Knights, was the prerogative of the representative of the highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land: the Custos.
In 1847 the Patriarchate was restored and Pope Pius IX modernized the Order, issuing a new Constitution, which placed it under the direct protection of the Holy See and conferred its government to the Latin Patriarch. The Order’s fundamental role was also defined: to uphold the works of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whilst preserving the spiritual duty of propagating the Faith.
In 1949, Pius XII decreed that the Grand Master of the Order should be a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and assigned the position of Grand Prior to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1962 Pope John XXIII and, in 1967, Pope Paul VI reorganized and revitalized the Order by adding more specific regulations to the Constitution with the intention of making the Order’s activities more co-coordinated and more effective.
In February 1996, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II enhanced the Order’s status. Today it is a Public Association of faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1.
https://eohsjeastern.org/a-brief-history/
Horses: the extent to which they can be possessed in our houses [575, 576]; the extent to which they can be used on missions [574, 625]
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 Hospitallers and the Knights Templar became the most formidable military orders in the Holy Land. Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, pledged his protection to the Knights of St. John in a charter of privileges granted in 1185.[24][25] In order to protect the road of the Camino de Santiago, the Order of Saint John generously received the hospital, commandery and convent of San Juan de Acre in Navarrete, La Rioja, founded in 1185 by María Ramírez de Medrano, Lady of Fuenmayor, built by her son Martín de Baztán y Medrano, bishop of Osma in Soria.[26] Active in the Kingdom of Toledo (a border area with Islam from the 12th to the 13th centuries) since 1144, the order had their largest holding in the kingdom in the Campo de San Juan.[27]
A Hospitaller depicted in a church painting
The statutes of Roger de Moulins (1187) deal only with the service of the sick; the first mention of military service is in the statutes of the ninth grand master, Fernando Afonso of Portugal (about 1200). In the latter, a marked distinction is made between secular knights, externs to the order, who served only for a time, and the professed knights, attached to the order by a perpetual vow, and who alone enjoyed the same spiritual privileges as the other religious. The order numbered three distinct classes of membership: the military brothers, the brothers infirmarians, and the brothers chaplains, to whom was entrusted the divine service.[10]
In 1248, Pope Innocent IV (1243–1254) approved a standard military dress for the Hospitallers to be worn during battle. Instead of a closed cape over their armour (which restricted their movements), they wore a red surcoat with a white cross emblazoned on it.[28]
Many of the more substantial Christian fortifications in the Holy Land were built by the Templars and the Hospitallers. At the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Hospitallers held seven great forts and 140 other estates in the area. The two largest of these, their bases of power in the Kingdom and in the Principality of Antioch, were the Krak des Chevaliers and Margat in Syria.[8] The property of the Order was divided into priories, subdivided into bailiwicks, which in turn were divided into commanderies.
As early as the late 12th century, the order had begun to achieve recognition in the Kingdom of England and Duchy of Normandy. As a result, buildings such as St John's Jerusalem and the Knights Gate, Quenington in England were built on land donated to the order by local nobility.[29] An Irish house was established at Kilmainham, near Dublin, and the Irish Prior was usually a key figure in Irish public life.
The Knights also received the "Land of Severin" (Terra de Zeurino), along with the nearby mountains, from Béla IV of Hungary, as shown by a charter of grant issued on 2 June 1247. The Banate of Severin was a march, or border province, of the Kingdom of Hungary between the Lower Danube and the Olt River, today part of Romania, and back then bordered across the Danube by a powerful Bulgarian Empire. The Hospitaller hold on the Banate was only brief.[30]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Hospitaller
The Prieuré was cited by name in references extending from the twelfth to the early seventeenth century. Then, in documents dating from 1619, it was stated to have incurred the displeasure of King Louis XIII of France, who evicted them from their seat at Orléans and turned the premises over to the Jesuits.5 After that, the Prieuré de Sion seemed to vanish from the historical record, at least under that name, until 1956, when it appeared again, registered in the French Journal officiel. And yet the present-day Order had repeatedly cited certain of its activities between 1619 and the twentieth century, certain historical events in which it had played a role, certain historical developments in which it had some sort of vested interest. When we examined the events and developments in question, we found indisputable evidence attesting to the involvement of an organised and coherent cadre working in concert behind the scenes, sometimes using other institutions as a façade. This cadre was not named specifically, but everything indicated that it was indeed the Prieuré de Sion. What was more, it proved to involve precisely the same network of interlinked families claiming Merovingian descent. Whether it was the intrigues and the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century, the insurrection known as the Fronde in the seventeenth century or the Masonic conspiracies of the eighteenth century, successive generations of precisely the same families were implicated, operating in accordance with a single consistent pattern."
The Messianic Legacy
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UV7FwghOOhdkp4fdk2SzG7oem2nRleW0/view?usp=sharing
The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as OH), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning "Do-Good Brothers", and elsewhere as the "Brothers of Mercy", the "Merciful Brothers" and the "John of God Brothers". The order carries out a wide range of health and social service activities in 389 centres and services in 46 countries.
Founder
St. John of God, the founder of the order, was born 8 March 1495 at Montemor-o-Novo in Portugal. Twice he enlisted in the Spanish army against the French and later the Turks.[1] After years of living a highly religious way of life in Spain resulting from a conversion experience, in 1535 he founded his first hospital at Granada, where he served the sick and afflicted. After ten years spent in the exercise of charity, he died 8 March 1550 of pneumonia after he had plunged into a river to save a young man from drowning.[2] He was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690 and was declared the patron saint of the dying and of all hospitals by Pope Leo XIII in 1898.[3]
History
John of God's first companion, Antón Martín, O.H., was chosen to succeed him as prior general of the order. Thanks to the generosity of King Philip II of Spain, a hospital was founded at Madrid, another at Córdoba and several others in various Spanish towns. Pope Pius V approved the Order of the Brothers Hospitallers in 1572 under the Rule of St. Augustine. The order spread rapidly into the other countries of Europe, and even into the distant colonies. For example, the Order provided staff to the Fortress of Louisbourg in New France (now Canada) during the mid 1700s; one of their roles was the operation of the hospital.[4]
In 1584, Pope Gregory XIII called some of the Brothers to Rome and gave them the Hospital of St. John Calybita, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, located on an island in the Tiber, which then became the motherhouse of the whole order. Brother Sebastiano Arias founded the Hospital of Our Lady at Naples and the famous Hospital of Milan. Another Brother Hospitaller at this time was John Grande, O.H., who was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1852.[3] The first general of Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God was Pedro Soriano.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Hospitallers_of_Saint_John_of_God
Augustinians and Cistercians | Church and Society in the Medieval West
One newly founded order broke with the rule of Benedict, finding its inspiration in a letter of Augustine is that prescribed simply that monks share all their property, pray together at regular intervals, dress alike, and obey a superior. Some of the “Augustinians,” as they called themselves, interpreted these general rules severely, living in silence, performing manual labor, eating and drinking sparingly, and singing psalms; others ate meat, conversed among themselves, and did not insist on manual labor.
https://bigsiteofhistory.com/augustinians-and-cistercians-church-and-society-in-the-medieval-west
The Teutonic Order, or Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital at Jerusalem, grew out of the establishment of a field hospital during the siege of Acre in the winter of 1190-91, by pious merchants of Bremen and Lubeck. When these merchants returned to Germany in 1191 they turned over the hospital to the chaplain Conrad and the chamberlain Burkhard.
With the model of the Hospitallers or Knights of St. John the Baptist, later known as Knights of Malta, before them, these men together with other Germans, formed a brotherhood, adopted the rules of the Hospitallers, and named their hospital “The Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem” “in the hope and confidence that when the Holy City was reconquered they would there establish a house which should become the mother, head and mistress of the entire Order.” The new Order was confirmed by popes Clement III in 1191 and Celestine in 1196; it won as a patron the emperor, Henry VI, who bestowed upon it its first possessions in the West. In 1198 it was changed into a military Order by the adoption of the rules of the Knights Templars in addition to those of the Hospitallers. Unlike both of these older Orders, the Teutonic Knights were a strictly national organization, none but Germans of noble birth being admitted to it. “Like the knights of other orders, the Teutonic Knights lived a semimonastic life under the Augustinian rule, and in the same way they admitted priests and half-brothers (servientes) into their ranks. Like the other two orders, the Teutonic Order began as a charitable society, developed into a military club, and ended as something of a chartered company, exercising rights of sovereignty on the troubled confines of Christianity. Even in its last phase the Order did not forget its original purpose: it maintained several great hospitals in its new home on the southeast shore of the Baltic, in addition to an hotel des invalides at Marienburg for its sick or aged brethren.” F550 Under its fourth grand master, Hermann von Salza, 1210-39, the Order grew rapidly and made the most important advance in its history. After having aided the king of Hungary against the Comans, and receiving from the king the district of Burzenland in Transylvania, which it did not long retain, the Order was invited to assist in subduing the heathen Prussians. A Cistercian monk named Christian had succeeded in establishing the Church among the Prussians, and in 1212 was made bishop of Prussia. When the heathen arose and destroyed his churches, Christian called upon the Teutonic Knights for help and bestowed upon them Kulm, some of the frontier towns and such lands as they should conquer (1228). After driving the enemy out of Kulm and founding the cities of Kulm, Thorn and Marienwerder, the Order began the task of conquering and Christianizing Prussia. In 1235 it absorbed the Order of Dobrzin, which had been founded by bishop Christian, and in 1237 the Knights of the Sword of Livonia, founded by Albert, bishop of Riga, became a province of the Order.
Its successes in Prussia changed the character of the Teutonic Order. It lost all connection with the East, its grand master moved his seat from Acre, first to Venice in 1291, then in 1308 to Marienburg on the Vistula. The Order became a governing aristocracy, its statutes were altered to suit the new conditions. “The Order was at once supreme ecclesiastical and political authority .... The lay subjects of the Order consisted of two classes: on the one hand there were the conquered Prussians, in a position of serfdom, bound in time of war to serve the brethren in foreign expeditions; on the other hand there were the German immigrants, both urban and rural, along with the free Prussians, who had voluntarily submitted and remained faithful.” f551 By the middle of the fourteenth century the Teutonic Knights had become a world power. Their cities belonged to the Hanseatic League and shared in its power; Poland had been deprived of its outlet on the Baltic; the ships of the Order were a power on the sea; Marienburg with its brilliant court was not merely a school of chivalry, but for a time a literary center. Yet the downfall of the Order was close at hand. It alienated its subjects, who allied themselves with Poland; its missionary work was completed when the Lithuanians became Christians and also made common cause with Poland; the Slav reaction made the Germanizing efforts of the Knights still more unpopular. Internally the success of the Order brought with it a secularization which was disastrous. Poland regained a foothold on the Baltic. The Prussian League was formed in 1440 with the real purpose of opposing the Knights, and in 1454 offered Prussia to the Polish king. The peace of Thorn, 1466, left to the Order only East Prussia and made the knights vassals of Poland. But the German master and the Landmeister for Livonia would not serve Poland, and the Order in East Prussia adopted the policy of electing German princes as grand masters in the hope of again regaining independence, without success. The first of these German grand masters was Frederick of Saxony, 1498 to 1511. He was succeeded by Albert of Brandenburg. f552 Albert became involved in a devastating war with Poland, which was provisionally ended by a four years’ truce made in 1521. In September of that year Albert suggested the possibility of a revision of the statutes of the Order by Luther, probably in harmony with the plans outlined in the Open Letter to the German Nobility. So far as known Luther was not consulted at that time. Albert continued to take his place with the Roman Catholic princes. But when in April, 1522, he returned to Germany he came under the influence of Lazarus Spengler and Andreas Osiander and was won for the evangelical party. During the Diet at Nuremberg, 1522- 23, he protested that it was not the proper way to proceed against Luther, “if evident truth be condemned and books burned.”
Pope Hadrian VI urged upon Albert a reformation of the Order. In June, 1523, Albert secretly turned to Luther for advice concerning the reformation of the Order in head and members. On November 29th the two met at Wittenberg, and Luther advised Albert “to throw aside the foolish and absurd rules of the Order, to marry, and to convert the religious state into a secular state, either a principality or a duchy.” Melanchthon, who was present at the interview, gave the same advice. The grand master smiled and said nothing. But “with that evangelical protestant advice Luther laid the foundations for the development of the Prussian state, of the Prussian kingdom, and of the German empire which is inseparable from the development of the Prussian kingdom.” f554 Soon after this meeting Luther prepared the following treatise, intended, as Kawerau suggests, to be a “feeler, which should test the attitude of the knights of the Order as well as of the Prussian bishops, and prepare them for coming events.” The older collected editions of Luther’s works date the treatise March 28, 1523. But, as Kawerau points out, it is improbable that the treatise was written before the last month of 1523, and the date may be a mistake for December 12th. The original prints are undated; the editors may have confused the festivals of the Annunciation and of the Conception of the Virgin Mary, the latter of which may have been the date attached to the manuscript.
After the evangelical principles had been gradually introduced into Prussia by the two bishops, Georg von Polentz and Erhard von Queiss, the grand master returned to Prussia and carried out Luther’s suggestion. Peace was made with Poland, Prussia was converted into a duchy held as fief of the king of Poland and hereditary in the family of Albert. July 1, 1526, Albert was married to Dorothea, the daughter of the Danish king, and thus was founded the evangelical house of the Hohenzollern.
The progress of the Gospel in Prussia gave Luther much joy. In 1525 he wrote to the Bishop of Samland, Georg von Polentz: “Behold the wonder!
In rapid course, with full sails, the Gospel hastens to Prussia, whither it was not called, and where it was not sought after, while in Upper and Lower Germany, whither it came of its own accord, it is blasphemed, repelled and put to flight with all rage and madness.” f556 The Teutonic Order in its German and Livonian branches continued to exist, and laid claim to the rights of the Order in Prussia. It was finally suppressed in 1809, and its lands passed into the hands of the secular princes within whose territories they lay. But in 1840 the Order was resuscitated in Austria, and again engaged in hospital service, in which it is presumably active during the present war. But this Teutonic Order is not the same as that which became secularized at the time of the Reformation.
The Prussian branch passed into the Prussian kingdom, not into the restored Order. A Protestant branch exists in the ancient bailiwick of Utrecht, the members of which must profess the Calvinistic faith, and are dispensed from celibacy. See Catholic Encyclopedia, xiv, 542.
The subject of the monastic vows and of the marriage of monks had been discussed at great length before this treatise was written. For the development of that discussion we must refer here to the introduction to the Treatise on Monastic Vows, which was excluded from this volume because of its size. But the careful student will find that Luther has not merely repeated older arguments nor restated older positions. He has gone farther, his position is more advanced. In fact, upon the advance beyond the position taken in the Formula Missae Kawerau bases an argument for the later date of our treatise. “For the writing of this treatise immediately after the FormuIa Missae we find an argument in the remarkable agreement between the statements in the two concerning those who want to wait for decrees of a council and desire permission to be given them (to use the two kinds in the Lord’s Supper, or, in the later treatise, to marry) by such decrees. He who reads the analogous portions in the two treatises will easily recognize in the Exhortation to the Teutonic Knights the bold heightening of the thought to a paradox, and thus see in the Formula Missae the older form.” f558 The German text is found in Weimar Ed., xii, 232-244; Walch Ed., xix, 2157-76; Erlangen Ed., xxix 16-33; St. Louis Ed., xix, 1730-45; Berlin Ed., iv, 32-47. Literature : Introduction by KAWERAU in Weimar Ed., xii, 228-31; Prot. Realencyklopadie, 3d ed., Arts., Albrecht von Preussen, I, 310-23; Deutschorden, iv, 589-95; Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Arts., Albert, i, 497, and Teutonic Order, xxvi, 676-9. The literature is given fully in all these articles. Compare also Schaff, Church History, vi, 588-600, and Kostlin-Kawerau, Martin Luther, i, 620-623. W. A. LAMBERT. LEBANON,PA.
WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER - TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER AN EXHORTATION THAT THEY LAY ASIDE FALSE CHASTITY AND TAKE UPON THEM THE TRUE CHASTITY OF WEDLOCK (godrules.net)
https://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_c8.htm
AI Overview
Henry VIII and Martin Luther were contemporaries who initially opposed each other, with Henry VIII writing a defense of Catholic doctrine against Luther, for which he was granted the title "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope. However, Henry VIII later broke with the Catholic Church for personal reasons (his desire for an annulment), initiating the English Reformation and establishing the Church of England, though his initial theological opposition to Luther was genuine. While Luther sought to reform the Church's doctrines, Henry VIII's motivations were primarily political and personal, despite his later adoption of some Protestant ideas for the Church of England.
Initial conflict: Henry VIII as a Catholic defender
When Luther first challenged the Catholic Church in 1517, Henry VIII was a devout Catholic.
In response to Luther's attacks on the Church's theology, Henry VIII wrote Defence of the Seven Sacraments in 1521.
For this work, Pope Leo X granted Henry VIII the title "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor).
Henry VIII saw Luther's actions as heresy and publically denounced him.
Later divergence: Henry VIII's political break
Despite his earlier stance, Henry VIII's relationship with the Catholic Church deteriorated due to his desire for an annulment from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn.
When the Pope refused the annulment, Henry VIII decided to break from Rome for political and personal reasons.
He passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, which declared him the Supreme Head of the Church of England.
This marked the beginning of the English Reformation, which was initiated by political and personal motives rather than a theological dispute with the papacy.
Contrast in motives
Martin Luther: Driven by a desire to reform the Catholic Church's doctrines and practices, which he saw as corrupt.
Henry VIII: Driven primarily by his desire for a male heir and an annulment from his marriage, leading him to pursue political and personal control over the church in England.
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Katharina von Bora (German: [kataˈʁiːnaː fɔn ˈboːʁaː]; 29 January 1499? – 20 December 1552), after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ('the Lutheress'),[1] was the wife of the German reformer Martin Luther and a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. Although little is known about her, she is often considered to have been important to the Reformation, her marriage setting a precedent for Protestant family life and clerical marriage.[2]
Ancestry
Katharina von Bora was the daughter to a family of Saxon lesser nobility.[3][4][5] According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499 in Lippendorf, but there is no evidence of this in contemporary documents. Due to there being multiple branches in her family and the uncertainty of her birth name, there are diverging theories about her place of birth.[6] One of them proposes that she was born in Hirschfeld and that her parents were Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld and his wife, born Anna von Haugwitz.[7][8] It is also possible that Katharina was the daughter of Jan von Bora auf Lippendorf and his wife Margarete, both of whom were only mentioned in 1505.[9]
Early life
A portrait of Martin Luther in 1526 by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Her father sent five-year-old von Bora to a Benedictine convent in Brehna in 1504 to be educated, according to a letter Laurentius Zoch sent to Martin Luther in 1531.[10] At the age of nine, she was moved to Nimbschen Abbey, Cistercian community named Marienthron ('Mary's Throne') near Grimma, where her maternal aunt was a nun.[11] Von Bora's presence is in the financial accounts of 1509/10.[12]
Plaque on the ruins of Nimbschen Abbey, commemorating von Bora's time there and her escape.
After years of being a nun, von Bora became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with cloistered life. Conspiring with several other sisters, she contacted Luther and begged for his assistance.[13] On 4 April 1523, Holy Saturday, Luther sent Leonhard Köppe, a merchant and councillor of Torgau who regularly delivered herring to the convent. The nuns escaped by hiding in his covered wagon among the fish barrels, and fled to Wittenberg.[14]
Luther asked the families of the nuns to admit them into their houses, but they declined, possibly because this would have made them accomplices to a crime under canon law.[15]
Within two years, Luther was able to arrange marriages or find employment for all of the escaped nuns except von Bora. She was first housed with the family of Philipp Reichenbach, the municipal clerk of Wittenberg, then with Lucas Cranach the Elder and his wife, Barbara. Von Bora had a number of suitors, including Hieronymus Baumgartner from Nuremberg, and a pastor, Kaspar Glatz from Orlamünde, but none of the proposals resulted in marriage. She told Luther's friend and fellow reformer, Nicolaus von Amsdorf, that she would be willing to marry only Luther or von Amsdorf.[16]
Marriage to Luther
Three depictions of Katharina von Bora
Martin Luther, as well as many of his friends, was at first unsure of whether he should marry. Philip Melanchthon thought that this would hurt the Reformation by causing scandal. Luther eventually decided that his marriage would 'please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep'.[16] 26-year-old Von Bora and 41-year-old Luther married on 13 June 1525, before witnesses including Justus Jonas, Johannes Bugenhagen, and Barbara and Lucas Cranach.[17] A small wedding breakfast was held the next morning, and a more formal, public ceremony on 27 June, presided over by Bugenhagen.[18]
The couple took up residence in the former dormitory and educational institution of Augustinian friars studying in Wittenberg (known as the 'Black Monastery'), a wedding gift from John, Elector of Saxony, brother of Luther's protector Frederick III, Elector of Saxony.[19] Katharina immediately took on the task of managing the monastery's vast holdings. She bred and sold cattle and ran a brewery to provide for their family, the numerous students who boarded with them, and her husband's visitors. In times of epidemics, she operated a hospital with nurses, working alongside them. Luther called her the 'boss of Zulsdorf', after the farm they owned, and the 'morning star of Wittenberg' for her habit of rising at 4 a.m.[2]
Based on Luther's descriptions, his wife, whom he nicknamed 'Herr Käthe', exerted much control over his life. She might have even influenced his decisions to a degree; Luther said that his wife 'convince[d] [him] of whatever' she pleased', and explicitly afforded her 'complete control' over the household, as long as 'his rights' were 'preserved', since '[f]emale government has never done any good'.[20] She thus assisted her husband with running their estate and directed renovations when necessary.[21] Anecdotal evidence suggests that Katharina Luther played a wife's role as taught by her husband's movement: she depended on him financially (although she also increased their estate's profits), and respected him as a 'higher vessel', always calling him 'Herr Doktor'. He reciprocated by occasionally consulting her on church matters.[22]
Katharina bore six children: Hans (1526–1575), Elisabeth (1527–1528), Magdalena (1529–1542), Martin (1531–1565), Paul (1533–1593), and Margarete (1534–1570). She also suffered a miscarriage on 1 November 1539. The Luthers raised four orphaned children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian.[23]
Significance of the marriage
The marriage of von Bora to Luther is very important in the history of Protestantism, specifically in regard to the development of its views on marriage and gender roles. While Luther was not the first cleric to marry because of Reformation ideas, he was one of the most prominent. As he argued publicly for clerical marriage and produced much anti-Catholic propaganda, his marriage became a natural target for his enemies.[24]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Bora
The Cistercian Order
Main article: Cistercians
In 1075 Robert de Molesme, a Benedictine monk from Cluny Abbey, had obtained the permission of Pope Gregory VII to found a monastery at Molesme in Burgundy. At Molesme, Robert tried to restore monastery practice to the simple and severe character of the original Rule of Saint Benedict, called "Strict Observance". Being only partly successful in this at Molesme, Robert in 1098 led a band of 21 monks from their abbey at Molesme to establish a new monastery. The monks acquired a plot of marsh land just south of Dijon called Cîteaux (Latin: "Cistercium") and set about building a new monastery there which became Cîteaux Abbey, the mother Abbey of the newly founded Cistercian Order.[10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluniac_Reforms
Finally, the Constitutions train us all for perfection, instructing us in the weapons to be used in combatting our three fierce and raging adversaries. They teach us how to counter the lust of the flesh with chastity, the lust of the eyes with poverty, and the pride of life with obedience. I shall say nothing of our observance of chastity (in which we should imitate the purity of the angels so far as our frailty allows), or of our OBSERVANCE of poverty (which is so STRICT that neither churches nor professed houses may acquire any rents, lands, or even perpetual endowments). As for obedience, however, by which we consecrate the chief and noblest part of ourselves to God, our Constitutions require of us that it be so prompt, eager, perfect, and integral that we do not swerve even a hairsbreadth from our superiors commands. In matters falling under obedience, not only must our action be guided by the superior s command and our will by his will, but even something much more difficult our understanding by his understanding.
To sum up: men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified[7] such would our Constitutions have us to be; new men, I say, who have put off their affections to put on Christ;[8] dead to themselves to live to justice; who, with St. Paul in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, show themselves ministers of God[9] and by the armor of Justice on the right hand and, on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, by good success finally and ill success, press forward with great strides to their heavenly country. This is the sum and aim of our institute.
And so I beseech you, brothers in the Lord, that we may walk in a manner worthy of our vocation,[10] and, in order to know that vocation, may read and reread these Constitutions that have been bestowed upon us by the gift of God. Let us study them day and night. Let us vie with each other in learning them, pondering them, and keeping them. If we do so, our name will be matched by our lives and our profession made manifest in deed.
Farewell in Christ.
Rome, the house of the Society of Jesus, 1559 [7]
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
Rosicrucianism is a theosophy advanced by an invisible order of spiritual knights who in spreading Christian Hermeticism, Kabbalah,
and Gnosis seek to enliven and to preserve the memory of Divine
Wisdom, understood as a feminine flame of love called Sofia or
Shekhinah, exoterically given as a fresh unfolded rose, yet, more akin to the blue fire of alchemy, the blue virgin. Rosicrucians have no organisation and there are no recognizable Rosicrucian individuals, but the order makes its presence known by leaving behind engrammatic writings in the genre of Hermetic-Platonic Christianity.
The historical roots of Hermeticism is to be located in Ancient
Egypt. Long before the rise of Christianity, Hermetic texts were structured around the belief that organisms contain sparks of a Divine mind unto which they each strive to attend. Things easily transform into others, thereby generating certain cyclical patterns, cycles that periodically renew themselves on a cosmic scale. These transformations of life and death were enacted in the Hermetic Mysteries in Ancient Egypt through the gods Isis, Horus, and Osiris. In the Alexandrian period these myths were reshaped into Hermetic discourses on the transformations of the self with Thot, the scribal god. These discourses were introduced in the west in 1474 when Marsilio Ficino translated the Hermetic Pimander from the Greek. The story of Christian Rosencreutz can be seen as a new version of these mysteries, specifically tempered by German Paracelsian philosophy on the Lion of the darkest night, a biblical icon for how the higher self lies slumbering in consciousness."
Rose Cross Over The Baltic: The Spread of Rosicrucianism In Northern Europe
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vWI_uTVg5lzNCDm16itq-PLSavozNR_F/view?usp=sharing
“Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to). This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."
Rosa jesuitica, oder, Jesuitische Rottgesellen (1620) - Google Drive
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view
The Knight’s Templar was expelled from the Papacy in 1312 by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France. The few Templars who escaped went to the powerful kingdom of Aragon and became known as the Order of the Calatrava, who would later align with the the Montessa. In 1534, a Spanish nobleman by the name of Ignatius Loyola would revive the Templars and call them the "Society of Jesus." Loyola was a Templar, and a member of a secret society called the "Alumbrados." The third Superior General and co-founder of the order was Francis Borgia. The Borgia bloodline is part of the notorious "Black Nobility" which dates back to the ancient Ptolemaic period in history."
Exposing the Jesuits and the Papacy: The Jesuits are the revived Knights Templar (jesuitinquisition.blogspot.com)
http://jesuitinquisition.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-jesuits-are-revived-knights-templar.html
"The Order of Calatrava (Spanish: Orden de Calatrava, Portuguese: Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164. Most of the political and military power of the order had dissipated by the end of the 15th century, but the last dissolution of the order's property did not occur until 1838.'
Modern Times
In 1931, once again unilaterally, the Second Spanish Republic suppressed the Spanish Orders. To survive, they had to resort to the Ley de Asociaciones Civiles ("Law of Civil Associations"), leading a precarious existence until the Concordat of 1953 recognized the Priory. Afterward, by the papal bull Constat militarium, the Priory was reduced to a mere title of the Bishop of Ciudad Real.In 1980, upon request by his august father, who was appointed Dean President of the Council, King Juan Carlos I by royal initiative caused the rebirth of the Orders. Under the Apostolic Pastoral Tertio millennio adveniente, the Spanish Orders began their renewal in 1996.Today, the aim of the Spanish Orders is basically the same as they had when founded: the defense of the Catholic faith. The sword has been put aside, but their doctrine, example, self-sanctification, and divine worship remain active, aside from their cultural and social activities.Their two hundred and fifty members guard the spirit and life of the Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara, and Montesa under their Grand Master, King Felipe VI, and the Real Consejo de las Órdenes (Royal Council of the Orders) presided over by his Royal Highness Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria.[4]The Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe took the cross of the order in 1887 and established it as its company logo as a tribute to the knights, which remains until today.[5][6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Calatrava
The Oculus was positioned as part of the World Trade Center masterplan by Daniel Libeskind and designed by SANTIAGO CALATRAVA. The structure’s white metal-clad steel ribs reach up and out in a monumental move symbolic of a hand releasing a dove.The structure's orientation serves as a lasting reminder of the attacks of September 11, 2001. It is in alignment with the sun’s solar angles on each September 11, from 8:46 am, when the first plane struck, until 10:28 am, when the second tower collapsed. Its central skylight fits this alignment and washes the Oculus floor with a beam of light."
World Trade Center Oculus
50 Church Street New York, NY 10007
Oculus Transportation Hub | World Trade Center (officialworldtradecenter.com)
https://www.officialworldtradecenter.com/en/local/learn-about-wtc/oculus-transportation-hub.html
Todd Morgan Beamer was an American passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked and crashed as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was one of the passengers who attempted to regain control of the aircraft from the hijackers."
"Following this, the passengers and flight crew decided to act.[1] According to accounts of cell phone conversations, Beamer, along with Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, and Jeremy Glick, formed a plan to take the plane back from the hijackers.[10] They were joined by other passengers, including Lou Nacke, Rich Guadagno, Alan Beaven, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Linda Gronlund, and William Cashman, along with flight attendants Sandra Bradshaw and CeeCee Lyles, in discussing their options and voting on a course of action, ultimately deciding to storm the cockpit and take over the plane.[1] Beamer told Jefferson that the group was planning to "jump on" the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground before the hijackers' plan could be followed through.[7][8] Beamer recited the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm with Jefferson, prompting others to join in. Beamer requested of Jefferson, "If I don't make it, please call my family and let them know how much I love them." After this, Jefferson heard muffled voices and Beamer clearly answering, "Are you ready? Okay. Let's ROLL." These were the last words spoken by Beamer heard by Lisa Jefferson.[1][8][9]"
Todd Beamer - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Beamer
Jefferson Airplane - House at Pooneil Corners - Manhattan Rooftop Concert (1968) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuwMEiNg3B8
Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams" is an assertion made by September 11th, 2001 attack conspiracy theorists that the burning fuel from crashed planes would not have been able to melt the supporting beams of the World Trade Center. The claim is widely mocked online for being based on flawed evidence."
Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams | Know Your Meme
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/jet-fuel-cant-melt-steel-beams
Six months after the Twin Towers fell, they returned in the form of two blue beams of light illuminating the Manhattan skyline. Since then, they have lit the sky annually as a Sept. 11 commemoration known as Tribute in Light. The tradition will continue this year to remember the 14th anniversary of the attacks."
A Look at Tribute in Light | National September 11 Memorial & Museum (911memorial.org)
https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/look-tribute-light
A Blue Mass is a Mass celebrated annually throughout the United States[1] in the Catholic Church for those employed in the "public safety field" (i.e. police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, 911 operators and EMS personnel).[2] The color blue relates to the blue-colored uniforms predominantly used by these services.[3] Similar to the Red Mass, the service honors those who have died in the line of duty and those currently serving as first responders.[4] The Mass is an opportunity for the community to show gratitude to first responders and their families.[5]"
Blue Mass - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mass
The story behind this image of slain Davis police officer Natalie CORONA
By Lisa Fernandez and KTVU Published January 12, 2019 Updated December 28, 2020 California KTVU FOX 2
DAVIS, Calif. (KTVU) - In the image, she's wearing a royal BLUE gown, carrying a black-striped American flag with a thin blue line streaked across it.
Her heels are high. Her hair is done. Her smile is beaming. And she's standing in the middle of Leesville Grade Road next to a field in Williams, Colusa County, population 21,000, in California's Central Valley, where her father was a sheriff's deputy and now a county supervisor.
It's this compelling photograph of slain Davis police officer Natalie Corona that circulated throughout the country on Friday, hours after the 22-year-old was shot to death by a suspect identified on Saturday as Kevin Douglas Limbaugh, 48. A note found on his bed inside his home, where he later killed himself, stated that he believed Davis police bombarded him with ultrasonic waves."
The story behind this image of slain Davis police officer Natalie Corona (ktvu.com)
https://www.ktvu.com/news/the-story-behind-this-image-of-slain-davis-police-officer-natalie-corona
Serge Monast (1945 – 5 or 6 December 1996[1][2]) was a Canadian investigative journalist, poet, essayist and conspiracy theorist. He is known to English-speaking readers mainly for the originating the conspiracy theory Project BLUE BEAM, which concerns an alleged plot to facilitate a totalitarian world government by destroying traditional religions and replacing them with a new-age belief system using NASA technology.[3][unreliable source?]"
Serge Monast - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Monast
SEPTEMBER 11, 1990 | CLIP OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS ON PERSIAN GULF
George H.W. Bush describes the New World Order in his address to the US Congress on the Crisis in the Persian Gulf.
User Clip: George Bush defines the New World Order | C-SPAN.org
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4528359/user-clip-george-bush-defines-world-order
ROLLback of governments hostile to the U.S. took place during World War II (against Fascist Italy in 1943, Nazi Germany in 1945, and Imperial Japan in 1945), Afghanistan (against the Taliban in 2001), and Iraq (against Saddam Hussein in 2003). When directed against an established government, rollback is sometimes called "regime change".[2]"
Rollback - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollback
Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris.
The title has been in use since at least the early medieval period. Purportedly arising from a scribal error in a supposed etymology of the name Mary, it came to be seen as allegorical of Mary's role as "guiding star" on the way to Christ. Under this name, the Virgin Mary is believed to intercede as a guide and protector of seafarers in particular. Many coastal churches are named Stella Maris or Star of the Sea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady,_Star_of_the_Sea
Genesis in the Land of the Pharaohs
Isis ("Aset" in the native language) had her start as a comparatively minor deity of Egypt. She was a protector of the throne of Egypt, perhaps in some ways the personification of Royal Power. But she had been subordinate in the official Egyptian pantheon to deities more intimately connected with the great king, like Ra and Horus.
AD
The collapse of the Old Kingdom brought about several sweeping changes in Egyptian religion. Eternal life, which had once been viewed as the sole province of the King, came to be seen as the reward for all those willing to submit to the proper cults.
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In this new paradigm, Isis took center stage and became the central goddess in the popular religion of the Egyptian people.
Myth tells how Osiris, the first god-king of Egypt, introduced laws and agriculture to humankind. He was then deceived and murdered by his scheming brother Seth, god of chaos. Seth hacked Osiris' body into pieces and scattered them across Egypt, intending to rule Egypt himself.
Isis collected the pieces and magically revived her brother-husband Osiris, who became King of the Underworld. She also magically conceived a son, Horus. Isis and her supporters warred against Seth for the throne of Egypt. A council of gods eventually decided that Horus, as son of Osiris, was the rightful ruler, and Seth was demoted to fighting nocturnal demons.
A new paradigm emerged in which Osiris ruled the underworld, Horus ruled Egypt (and the Pharaohs were considered the incarnation of Horus) and Ra the sun god ruled the heavens.
But Isis as mistress of magic resurrected Osiris, and thus was superior to him. She conceived her son Horus magically and was superior to him. With her magic, she even had power over Ra the sun god.
In short, she was the real power behind the universe, which lead her cult adherents to proclaim her as Mistress of Heaven. More importantly, she had the power over life and death and could resurrect her followers in the same manner that saved her husband from oblivion.
As the myth of Isis and Osiris grew, Isis began displacing other deities in the loyalties of the Egyptian population.
The Hellenes Conquer and are Conquered by Egypt
The conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great opened a new era for the cult. In trying to find a religious cult that would unite both Egyptian and Hellenic subjects, Ptolemy Soter crafted the Isis cult as it would be introduced into Greco-Roman society.
AD
Osiris was renamed Serapis and identified with a variety of Egyptian and Hellenic gods (Osiris, Apis, Dionysus, Hades). He became a god of healing and the underworld.
Isis was identified with Hellenic deities such as Demeter or Aphrodite.
Greek iconography was introduced to the cult which made it visually appealing to the Hellenes. In those days when the provincial city-states of the Hellenic world fell to Alexander's universal empire, the traditional gods of the city-state no longer sufficed. Gods like Isis and Serapis were not connected with any specific town and were truly universal in scope.
More importantly, the exotic Egyptian mysticism could offer the Greeks of the Hellenistic age something their own gods could not: a way to cheat fate and death.
Isis and Osiris were honored by the Greeks and by Egyptian emigrants as a kind of holy trinity, but always it was Isis who was the dominant member of the trio.
Isis became the protector of family (especially women), the protector of newborns, the goddess of fertility and good fortune, and the goddess whose magic could cheat fate and death.
She was also thought to be a protector of sailors, and sailors sailing from the great port of Alexandria took her cult all over the Mediterranean.
Backed by the Ptolemaic regime, the new cult spread throughout the Hellenistic Kingdoms.
The Nile Flows into the Tiber
The Roman Senate was not amused with Ptolemy's attempt to craft a universal religion.
When the cult of Isis swept into Rome via Hellenistic sailors and Egyptian emigrants, it became extremely popular with women and the lower classes, including slaves.
AD
Fearing a religious unification of the lower strata of Roman society, and fearing the loss of piety in the traditional Roman gods of the state, the Senate repeatedly placed restrictions on the new cult.
Private chapels dedicated to Isis were ordered destroyed. When a Roman Consul found that the demolition team assigned to him were all members or sympathizers of the cult and refused to destroy their chapel, he had to remove his toga of state and do the deed himself.
How Did Different Roman Emperors View the Cult of Isis?
Augustus found the cult "pornographic," though the cult was known to proscribe periods of sexual abstinence to its adherents.
The real reason for Augustus' wrath was that the cult was linked to Egypt and thus the power base of his rival, Mark Antony. Cleopatra had even gone so far to declare herself Isis reincarnated.
Nonetheless, Augustus' scorn did little to stem popular opinion. Officials and servants of the imperial household were members of the cult. It seems even his own infamous daughter was a member; whether her belief was genuine or merely another aspect of her defiance against her father cannot be determined.
https://www.unrv.com/culture/isis.php
The Islamic State (IS),[a][b] is a transnational Salafi jihadist group and unrecognized quasi-state. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and many countries around the world, including Muslim countries.[162]
IS gained global prominence in 2014, when its militants conquered large territories in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the ongoing civil war in Syria and the disintegrating local military forces of Iraq. By the end of 2015, its self-declared caliphate ruled an area with a population of about 12 million,[117][118][163] where they enforced their extremist interpretation of Islamic law, managed an annual budget exceeding US$1 billion, and commanded more than 30,000 fighters.[164] After a grinding conflict with American, Iraqi, and Kurdish forces, IS lost control of all its Middle Eastern territories by 2019, subsequently reverting to insurgency from remote hideouts while continuing its propaganda efforts. These efforts have garnered a significant following in northern and Sahelian Africa,[165][166] where IS still controls a significant territory.[167][168]
Originating in the Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004, the organisation (primarily under the Islamic State of Iraq name) affiliated itself with al-Qaeda in Iraq and fought alongside them during the 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency. The group later changed their name to Islamic State of Iraq and Levant for about a year,[169][170] before declaring itself to be a worldwide caliphate,[171][172] called simply the Islamic State (الدولة الإسلامية, ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyya).[173]
As a caliphate, IS demanded the religious, political, and military obedience of Muslims worldwide,[174] despite the rejection of its legitimacy by mainstream Muslims and its statehood by the United Nations and most governments.[175] During its rule in Syria and Iraq, the group "became notorious for its brutality".[173] Under its rule of these regions, IS launched genocides against Yazidis and Iraqi Turkmen; engaged in persecution of Christians, Shia Muslims, and Mandaeans; publicised videos of beheadings of soldiers, journalists, and aid workers; and destroyed several cultural sites. The group has perpetrated terrorist massacres in territories outside of its control, such as the November 2015 Paris attacks, the 2024 Kerman bombings in Iran, and the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Russia. Lone wolf attacks inspired by the group have also taken place.
After 2015, the Iraqi Armed Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces pushed back IS and degraded its financial and military infrastructure,[176] assisted by advisors, weapons, training, supplies, and airstrikes by the American-led coalition,[177] and later by Russian airstrikes, bombings, cruise missile attacks, and scorched-earth tactics across Syria, which focused mostly on razing Syrian opposition strongholds rather than IS bases.[178] By March 2019, IS lost the last of its territories in West Asia, although its affiliates maintained a significant territorial presence in Africa as of 2024.[167][168]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State
Ignatius of Loyola: Apostle to the Muslims
Posted on: 26th July 2016 |Author: Damian Howard SJ
Category: The Jesuits
Tags: Feast of St Ignatius, Ignatius, Islam, interreligious, Jesuit history
To educate the youth of Europe? To fight the spread of Protestantism? While many people would guess that one or both of these ambitions drove Ignatius of Loyola to found the Jesuits, he actually had something else in mind: a mission to the Muslim world. For the feast of St Ignatius, Damian Howard SJ considers how ‘Islam haunted Ignatius’s understanding of his calling’ and celebrates the fruitful work of the many Jesuits who have tried to realise Ignatius’s vision in their engagement with Muslims.
Ask the average Catholic why St Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus and they will likely say one of two things. First, remembering the Jesuits as bastions of the Counter-Reformation they might assume that Ignatius, militant Catholic that he was, had set out with a dream of a new religious order capable of defeating Protestantism. But whilst it was the case that the Jesuits would be active in efforts to reform the Catholic Church from within and to take on the growing power of Protestant theology and culture as it spread across Europe, this was never Ignatius’s underlying vision. Second, they might suppose that Ignatius had planned from the start a vast network of new schools which would revolutionise education throughout the continent. It’s true that this is indeed what Jesuit schools ended up doing, earning the order’s members the epithet of the ‘schoolmasters of Europe’, but this huge and innovative project came about as the result of a proposal made to Ignatius after he had already become Superior General of the new order; it was never education per se that he saw as its prime mission.
So the following claim may be unexpected: Ignatius’s original apostolic orientation was actually defined in relation to the Muslim world.
This shouldn’t be entirely surprising given the state of Europe at that time in history. Ignatius was born in the Basque country in 1491. Just one year later, the Reconquista reached its conclusion with the Catholic Kings finally ousting the last Muslim rulers from their vestigial Andalusian states, giving Christian princes possession of the whole Iberian Peninsula. The year 1492 was also notable for another major geopolitical event involving Spain: the European discovery of the New World. It was all but impossible to avoid the thought that America was the reward for Spanish triumph against the Moors. Now, the energy which had propelled the Spanish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula would be released outwards; the colonial age of conquest and exploitation was dawning for a new Catholic Spain and it was to be a golden age for Spanish Catholicism. We may rightly harbour ambiguous feelings about this aggressively Christian state but this was a moment when Spanish Catholics must have felt like masters of the world.
https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/ignatius-loyola-apostle-muslims
Jesuit Website Refers to Fr. Sosa as the First Superior General to “Baptize Himself a Buddhist”
Steve Skojec
July 20, 2017
‘It is not permitted to be present at the sacred rites of infidels and heretics in such a way that you would be judged to be in communion with them’.
– St. Alphonsus Liguori, Theologia Moralis, Lib.5, Tract. 1, Cap. 3.
I don’t even know where to start.
Thanks to a tip from a reader this morning, I headed over to the official website of the Conference of Jesuit Provincials in Latin America and the Caribbean.
While there, I did some looking around. I followed the link to their Facebook page. It’s colorful. Colorful in a way that carries its own possibly troubling meaning these days:
The specific article I was alerted to was this one, about Fr. Arturo Sosa, the always controversial new Superior General of the Jesuits, who recently participated in a conference in Cambodia “between Buddhists and Christians who work for peace.”
He gave a homily, according to the article, on the themes of diversity, fear of difference, the “building of walls” that results from fear, and violence.
He then visited a Buddhist temple, where he addressed the 80 monks gathered there as follows:
Thank you so much for your time and the wisdom you shared today.
I have learned many things from you, and you have given me many things to think about and pray about. It is deeply consoling to see how we are united in our desire to promote peace and reconciliation in our world. It is also comforting to see how we share the belief that the path to peace begins from within, from the deep transformation of the inner person, from growth into detachment and loving-kindness.
I am grateful for what my Jesuit brethren do to promote dialogue with Buddhism here in Cambodia, whether at the level of academic exchange, prayer together or in the shared standard of living and common action at the service of the poor. Thank you for the meaningful and inspiring testimony of how you live our Jesuit mission of reconciliation.
Among the many things I have learned from Pope Francis, one is his insistence on the importance of creating a culture of encounter. He uses this phrase all the time. He believes that in our divided world, where some want to build walls, what we must do is to promote the encounter, without fear and respect, people who meet people, listening deeply and respectfully to each other, building relationships and friendships.
Thank you for this meeting event this afternoon, which has enriched me, and I hope it will bear fruit in service.
[Translation by Google]
It was an entirely pedestrian address. Sanitized. No mention of Jesus Christ. No indication of Fr. Sosa’s desire to bring souls to the fullness of Truth, as so many of his forebears in the Society of Jesus were known for. As I finished reading through it, in fact, I couldn’t help but think of St. Francis Xavier, the apostle to Asia. One of the first Jesuits, he worked tirelessly in India, Malaysia, Japan, and had he not fallen ill before reaching the mainland, would have become a missionary to China as well. The Catholic Encyclopedia says of St. Francis Xavier:
It is truly a matter of wonder that one man in the short space of ten years (6 May, 1542 – 2 December, 1552) could have visited so many countries, traversed so many seas, preached the Gospel to so many nations, and converted so many infidels. The incomparable apostolic zeal which animated him, and the stupendous miracles which God wrought through him, explain this marvel, which has no equal elsewhere. The list of the principal miracles may be found in the Bull of canonization. St. Francis Xavier is considered the greatest missionary since the time of the Apostles, and the zeal he displayed, the wonderful miracles he performed, and the great number of souls he brought to the light of true Faith, entitle him to this distinction.
What the Jesuits of 2017 present us with instead in the example of their leader, Fr. Sosa, is the following image, with a bizarre caption that appears when one holds their mouse over the photo:
If you can’t read it, it says, “Father Sosa is officially the first Superior Jesuit in Buddhist Baptism.” This is a rough machine translation of the caption written into the code of the page, which reads, in Spanish, “Padre Sosa es oficialmente el primer Superior Jesuita en bautizarse budista.” More clearly put: “Father Sosa is officially the first Jesuit Superior to baptize himself Buddhist.”
Now, I have no idea what it means to “baptize oneself Buddhist.” Probably because it doesn’t. Mean anything, that is. Buddhists don’t baptize. Buddhists don’t really even believe in God. As Carl Olson and Anthony Clark explained in this piece on Catholicism and Buddhism from Ignatius Insight:
It is sometimes said that Buddhism is atheistic. Yet Buddhism is not interested in the question of God, so it is more accurate to describe it as agnostic. Buddhism “works” whether or not there is a God. A Buddhist allows others to believe in a God or gods, but such beliefs are merely convenient means to the final end, which has nothing to do with a God or gods. “God is neither affirmed nor denied by Buddhism,” wrote Merton in Mystics and Zen Masters, “insofar as Buddhists consider such affirmations and denials to be dualistic, therefore irrelevant to the main purpose of Buddhism, which is emancipation from all forms of dualistic thought.”
It was the common teaching of the Church before the heady days of ecumenism and interfaith mania following the Second Vatican Council that Catholics were to avoid the majority of ecumenical prayer and of course, interfaith gatherings.
In the excellent catechetical text, My Catholic Faith: A Manual of Religion, we read:
How does a Catholic sin against faith?
A Catholic sins against faith by infidelity, apostasy, heresy, indifferent to them, and by taking part in non-Catholic worship.
We may lose our faith by: (a) not learning well the doctrines of the church; space (b) willfully doubting trues that have been revealed to the church; (c) reading books and other literature against our religion; space (d) space attending assemblies of people who are opposed to our religion; and space (e) space neglecting the practice of our religion.
And further:
Persons who do not believe in Christianity as a divinely revealed religion, whether they have been baptized or not, are commonly referred to as quote infidels”. Infidelity is refusal to believe in anything that cannot be perceived with the senses, or comprehended with the understanding.
But is it not utterly reasonable to have faith in Almighty God Who knows much more than we can ever hope to know and Who can do things beyond our understanding? It is necessary that we serve God in the way He requires, not in the way it pleases us to do so. For this reason we must practice the religion revealed by God, and avoid making up our own religions according to our wins and innumerable fancies. Buddhists, Mohammedans, Hindus, Jews, and pagans, are infidels. As explained, Christians can also become infidels.
[…]
Why does a Catholic sin against faith by taking part in non-Catholic worship?
A Catholic sins against faith by taking part in non-Catholic worship, because he thus professes belief in a religion he knows is false.
1.) It is wrong to be present at Protestant or Jewish services even when we do not participate in them, because such services are intended to honor God in a manner he does not wish to be honored in. If he instituted the church of his own he must wish to be honored in the ways of that church. In addition we then give bad example, and expose ourselves to the danger of losing our faith.
When necessary, for social obligations, a Catholic may be present at a non-Catholic wedding or funeral, but he must not participate in the services. In no case may he attend other services of non-Catholic churches, such as the installation of their ministers, sermons, etc.
Now, look again at the picture above. Does Fr. Sosa appear to be “taking part in non-Catholic worship”?
It certainly does.
And now the members of his own order see nothing wrong in saying that he has “baptized himself a Buddhist.”
Those of you who’ve been paying attention for a long time will no doubt be able to point to other similar examples in the not-too-distant past, perhaps most notably the so-called “ecumenical” prayer gatherings at Assisi, under the leadership of Pope John Paul II. Converts and those who’ve come recently to study the Church’s traditional teachings may not be aware of these things. For the sake of space, and my own sanity, I won’t begin listing them here. An exhaustive treatment would span many pages.
This kind of thing has to stop. As I’ve written before, as Catholics, we can’t be indifferent to indifferentism. And though we may be tempted to say, “What’s the big deal, this happens all the time now!”, we should resist that temptation. It’s always a big deal. It’s a big deal that we’ve become so cynical that it barely raises an eyebrow these days.
At times like these, I reflexively reach for the Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Pope Pius XI), which I’ve shared with you before:
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart.
Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to Thy Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of the race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.
Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: “Praise be to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor for ever.” Amen.
And please pray for Fr. Sosa. He leads the deeply troubled order of which our own pope is a member.
https://onepeterfive.com/jesuit-website-refers-to-fr-sosa-as-the-first-superior-general-to-baptize-himself-a-buddhist/
THE CONFLICT: PRIORY OF SION VERSUS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
Secret societies by virtue of their very secrecy have often kept historians at bay, and the historians, reluctant to confess their ignorance, prefer to diminish the consequence of their subject. Freemasonry.. is of vital importance to any social, psychological, cultural or political history of eighteenth-century Europe, and even to the founding of the United States; but most history books don't even mention it. It is almost as if an implicit policy obtained: If something cannot be exhaustively documented, it must be irrelevant and thereby not worth discussing I at all. Investigators of the Holy Grail' Freemasonry, French and English, as we know it today, finds its loots in two organizations of the Middle Ages - the Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. What follows is the fascinating, if sometimes complicated and obscure history, of how these two modern, anti-Christian secular secret societies - English and French Freemasonry - developed from two groups that themselves had roots in the occult. We will see how the Priory of Sion desired to rule the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem through its counterfeit Jewish Merovingian bloodline, and how its own creation, the Knights Templar, moved beyond its role as police and protector of Sion to financial masters of medieval Europe. We will trace the alliance of Sion and the Templars, their dispute over the discovery of Solomon's treasures, and the terrible intrigues which followed that led to the undoing of the Templars in their struggle over wealth, power, and politics. We will reveal the beliefs of these two groups: that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene; that a spiritual god of good (Satan) battles a material god of evil; that Lucifer, not Jesus, deserves worship; that a "Spear of Destiny" (later sought and possessed by Hitler) allows the holder to rule the world. We will also present data about the whereabouts of King Solomon's wealth, the plan to one day return it to Jerusalem, and reveal that the ultimate goal of these two groups is world government, and that their descendants, English and French Freemasonry, desire the same. The Historical Trail: The Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail In 1982 and 1986 three secular revisionist authors, Michael Baigent~ Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln published Holy Blood, Holy Grail followed by The Messianic Legacy. These two books dramatically reveal a secret order structured in the manner of Freemasonry, and founded in Europe twelve centuries before the Grand Lodge was officially formed in 1717. This order protects both the Holy Grail and the Merovingian bloodline, which bloodline carried Mystery Babylon into the Catholic Church in 496 A.D. 56 The Holy Grail, of course, is the so-called cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The Merovingians, owners of the Holy Grail, teach that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene. The Merovingians claim to be the offspring of that "holy" union, and as such, assert they are Jews of the Davidic line.
In Revelation 17:3-5 the apostle John describes a vision, which Rev. J. R. Church in Guardians of the Grail believes is fulfilled in the Grail legend. The Whore of Babylon is holding in her hand a golden cup full of blasphemy. Church believes the cup is the blasphemous Holy Grail Another element of the Grail legend is the spear supposed to have pierced the side of Jesus, also known as the Spear of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny. Whoever possesses this spear, so the legend goes, will rule the world. The Merovingians, whose descendants are the Habsburg pretenders to the Austrian throne today, are in possession of the spear. It is on display in the Habsburg museum in Vienna, Austria~ No one, however, knows the location of the Holy Grail. At least no one is telling. Although heretical, this secret society should not be discounted, for it is alive and well today. In fact, in 1956, an Order calling itself the Prieure de Sion, or Priory of Sion, registered itself publicly for the first time with the French government. (Sion is French for Zion.) It is from this Order that the legend of the Holy Grail originated five centuries after Christ's death. Rev. Church remarks of this organization: This mysterious group is presently made up of over 9,000 men, including Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Moslems. The members of this secret sect should be considered unfaithful to their respective beliefs, for in reality they are neither Christian nor Catholic, they are neither Jew nor Moslem. Their doctrine sidesteps the basic tenets of those beliefs and replaces them with the teachings of their greatest prophet - whom they believe to be Buddha.2 From this secret order J. R. Church believes will come the Anti-Christ, for he writes, "Their ultimate goal is world government!'"
Scarlet and the Beast
by John Daniel
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCd0nFuvnM4OYWuVW5QUBCpsTfBv5bYx/view?usp=sharing
The Bear Flag is the official flag of the U.S. state of California.[2] The precursor of the flag was first flown during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt and was also known as the Bear Flag. A predecessor, called the Lone Star Flag, was used in an 1836 independence movement;[3] the red star element from that flag appears in the Bear Flag of today.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_California
Arturo Marcelino Sosa Abascal SJ (born 12 November 1948) is a Venezuelan Catholic priest who has served as the 31st superior general of the Society of Jesus since 2016. He was elected by the Society's 36th General Congregation to succeed Adolfo Nicolás. He is the first person born in Latin America to lead the Jesuits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Sosa
Etymology of Arturo
What does the name Arturo mean?
The surname Arturo is an Italian patronymic surname; that is, it was a name created from the first name of the father. Arturo is derived from the Breton given names Artuir and Arthur. This personal name is of very ancient origin and is derived from the Celtic word art, which means bear. The name Arthur is also related to the Greek Arcturus, which means bear or guardian and is the name of the bright star in the constellation Bootes.
Arturo Spelling Variations
Italian surnames come in far more variations than the names of most other nationalities. Regional traditions and dialects are a decisive factor in this characteristic. For example, northern names tend to end in "o", while southern in "i". Also important, but not unique to Italy, was the fact that before dictionaries and the printing press most scribes simply spelled words according to their sounds. The predictable result was an enormous number of spelling variations. The recorded spellings of Arturo include and others.
https://www.houseofnames.com/arturo-family-crest
Arcturus is a red giant star in the northern constellation of Boötes, and the brightest star in the constellation. It has the Bayer designation α Boötis, which is Latinized to Alpha Boötis and abbreviated Alf Boo or α Boo. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05,[2] it is the fourth-brightest star in the night sky and the brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere. Arcturus forms one corner of the Spring Triangle asterism.
Located relatively close at 36.7 light-years from the Sun, Arcturus is a red giant of spectral type K1.5III—an aging star around 7.1 billion years old that has used up its core hydrogen and evolved off the main sequence. It is about the same mass as the Sun, but has expanded to 25 times its size (around 35 million kilometers) and is around 170 times as luminous.
Nomenclature
The traditional name Arcturus is Latinised from the ancient Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος (Arktouros) and means "Guardian of the Bear",[9] ultimately from ἄρκτος (arktos), "bear"[10] and οὖρος (ouros), "watcher, guardian".[11] As ἄρκτος also came to mean "north", the name can also translate to "Guardian of the North".[12]
The designation of Arcturus as α Boötis (Latinised to Alpha Boötis) was made by Johann Bayer in 1603. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN, which included Arcturus for α Boötis.[13][14]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcturus
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
Head:
1. See Illness, mental
2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]
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 13:16-18
New International Version
16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a] That number is 666.
Read full chapter
Footnotes
Revelation 13:18 Or is humanity’s number
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A16-18&version=NIV
Star Trek Generations is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the Star Trek film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show Star Trek and the 1987 sequel series The Next Generation, including William Shatner and Patrick Stewart. In the film, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D joins forces with Captain James T. Kirk to stop the villain Tolian Soran from destroying a planetary system in his attempt to return to an extra-dimensional realm known as the Nexus.
Generations was conceived as a transition from the original cast of the Star Trek films to the cast of The Next Generation. After developing several film ideas concurrently, the producers chose a script written by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga. Production began while the final season of the television series was being made. The director was David Carson, who previously directed episodes of the television series; photography was by franchise newcomer John A. Alonzo. Filming took place on the Paramount Studios lots, and on location in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, and Lone Pine, California. The film's climax was revised and reshot following poor reception from test audiences. The film uses a mix of traditional optical effects alongside computer-generated imagery and was scored by regular Star Trek composer Dennis McCarthy.
Star Trek Generations was released in the United States on November 18, 1994. Paramount promoted the film with merchandising tie-ins, including toys, books, games, and a website—a first for a major motion picture. The film opened at the top of the United States box office its first week of release and grossed a total of $118 million worldwide. Critical reception was mixed, with critics divided on the film's characters and comprehensibility to a casual viewer. It was followed by Star Trek: First Contact in 1996.
Plot
In 2293, retired Starfleet officers James T. Kirk, Montgomery Scott, and Pavel Chekov attend the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B. During the shakedown cruise, the starship is pressed into a rescue mission to save two El-Aurian refugee ships that a massive energy ribbon has snared. Enterprise saves some of the refugees before their ships are destroyed, but becomes trapped by the ribbon, and Kirk goes to a control room to help the ship escape. While Enterprise is freed, Kirk is presumed lost in space and dead after the trailing end of the ribbon tears open the ship's hull.
In 2371, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D is in a holodeck computer simulation, celebrating the promotion of shipmate Worf to lieutenant commander. Captain Jean-Luc Picard learns his brother and nephew have been killed in a fire, and is distraught that the Picard family line will end with him. Enterprise receives a distress call from a stellar observatory, where an El-Aurian, Dr. Tolian Soran, launches a probe at the nearby star. The probe causes the star to implode, creating a shockwave that destroys its planetary system. Soran kidnaps Enterprise engineer Geordi La Forge and is transported off the station by a Klingon Bird of Prey belonging to the Duras sisters.
Enterprise crewmember Guinan tells Picard that she and Soran were among the El-Aurians rescued in 2293. Soran—who lost his family when their homeworld was destroyed—is obsessed with returning to the energy ribbon to reach the "Nexus", an extra-dimensional realm of wish fulfillment outside normal space-time. Picard and Data determine that Soran, unable to safely fly a ship directly into the ribbon, is altering its path by removing the gravitational effects of nearby stars. Soran plans to destroy another star to bring the ribbon to the planet Veridian III, consequently killing millions on a nearby inhabited planet.
Upon entering the Veridian system, Picard offers himself to the Duras sisters in exchange for La Forge but insists on being transported to Soran directly. La Forge is returned to Enterprise, but unwittingly exposes the ship's defense details through the transmitter installed in his VISOR device. The Duras sisters attack, and Enterprise sustains critical damage before destroying the Bird of Prey by triggering its cloaking device, and firing photon torpedoes when its shields drop. When La Forge reports that the starship is about to suffer a warp-core breach as a result of the attack, Commander William Riker evacuates everyone to the forward saucer section of the starship, which separates from the engineering section just before the breach occurs. The resulting shockwave sends the saucer-section crashing onto the surface of Veridian III.
Picard fails to stop Soran from launching another probe. The Veridian star's resulting destruction alters the ribbon's course, and Picard and Soran enter the Nexus before the shockwave destroys Veridian III. Picard is surrounded by an idealized family, but realizes it is an illusion. He is confronted by an "echo" of Guinan left behind in the Nexus. Guinan sends him to meet James T. Kirk, who is safe in the Nexus. Though Kirk is initially entranced by the opportunity the Nexus offers to atone for past regrets, he realizes it lacks danger and excitement. Having learned that they can travel whenever and wherever desired through the Nexus, Picard convinces Kirk to return with him to Veridian III, shortly before Soran launches the probe.
Working together, Kirk and Picard distract Soran long enough for Picard to lock the probe in place; it explodes on the launchpad and kills Soran. Kirk is fatally injured in the effort, and Picard buries him at the site. Three Federation starships arrive to retrieve the Enterprise survivors from Veridian III. Picard muses that, given the ship's legacy, the Enterprise-D will not be the last vessel to carry the name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Generations
Nova music festival massacre
On 7 October 2023, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization Hamas, initiated a sudden attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas also took 40 people hostage, and men and women were reportedly subject to sexual and gender-based violence.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_music_festival_massacre
A nova (pl. novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. The main sub-classes of novae are classical novae, recurrent novae (RNe), and dwarf novae. They are all considered to be cataclysmic variable stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova
Revelation 16:8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 [a]And the fourth Angel poured out his vial on the sun, and it was given to him to torment men with heat of fire,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2016%3A8-10&version=GNV
SpaceX Roadster is not a natural celestial object, but rather a man-made object launched by SpaceX in February 2018 as part of the Falcon Heavy test flight. It is a red sports car owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and was launched as a demonstration of the Falcon Heavy's capabilities. The Roadster is not in a stable orbit around the Sun, but is instead on a heliocentric orbit that will take it to the asteroid belt and then back to the inner Solar System in the future. The Roadster also carries a mannequin named Starman, dressed in a spacesuit, in the driver's seat. The name "Roadster" refers to the type of car that is used as the payload for the Falcon Heavy, while "SpaceX" is the name of the private space exploration company founded by Elon Musk in 2002.
https://theskylive.com/roadster-info
416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]
L. D. S. "
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses (M☉)) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around 5,000 K [K] (4,700 °C; 8,500 °F) or lower. The appearance of the red giant is from yellow-white to reddish-orange, including the spectral types K and M, sometimes G, but also class S stars and most carbon stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant
Revelation 16:8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 [a]And the fourth Angel poured out his vial on the sun, and it was given to him to torment men with heat of fire,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2016%3A8-10&version=GNV
CHAPTER SEVEN – SHABTAI, SHIMON AND SHARON – DESTROYING THE JEWS
ALM 1 - THE DEUTSCH DEVILS
Rabbi Marvin Antelman was right all along. Way back in 1974, he identified the source of all the evil against Jews and humanity but his message and style were too unaccessible to get through to anyone but the most advanced students of antisemitism. What he lacked most was simplicity, a common enough failure of thinkers decades in advance of their contemporaries. What he needed was someone to put out a Cliff's Notes simplified explanation of his thesis...and someone, without intention, just did. The name of the book is, 50 Jewish Messiahs by Jerry Rabow (Gefen Publishing, Jerusalem). It is an informative but shallow overview of just what the title says, but in its shallowness lies vital depth. We begin with Chapter 17, about the "most damaging messiah to the Jewish people," Shabbatai Zvi. First we'll read Rabow and then add commentary opening Rabbi Antelman's work to the wide world. Recall that there are various accepted English spellings for Shabtai Tzvi, and the Sabbataians. The spelling presented depends on the writer:
pp 91 - Shabbatai Zvi was born in Smyrna, Turkey on the ninth of Av, 1626. The ninth day of Av is the day of a triple tragedy for the Jewish nation. According to tradition, the First Temple, the Second Temple and Bar Kokhba's Betar fortress all fell on this day.
pp 93 - He changed the holiday celebrations and violated the dietary prohibitions. All of this followed from his declaration that the usual rules were inapplicable to messianic times.
pp 95 - He declared that the coming of the messianic era meant that the biblical commandments were no longer binding. He proclaimed that God now permitted everything. ** This is Rabbi Antelman's central assertion; that Shabbataism was the polar opposite of Judaism. That Shabbatai Zvi's program was to destroy all the tenets of the Torah and replace them with their opposites. Incredibly, more than half the Jews of the world at the time, believed he would be revealed as their promised messiah: **
pp 101 - Then he finally made the announcement for which the Jewish community had been waiting for 1600 years - he would begin the Redemption on the 15th day of the month of Sivan, June 18, 1666. ** There are many who will recognize the significance of the date. June is the sixth month, 18 divided by three is 6+6+6 and 1666 is clear enough. Either he knew what he was doing or the prophesies of the emergence of an evil false messiah or anti-Christ are right, and Shabbatai Zvi was him. **
pp 110 - Through all of this, Shabbatai continued to issue proclamations of the theological changes wrought by the coming of the messianic age. Shabbatai's new prayer was, "Praised be He who permits the forbidden." Since all things would be permitted in the age of the messiah, Shabbatai declared many of the old restrictions of the Torah no longer applicable. He abolished the laws concerning sexual relationships. He eventually declared that all of the thirty six major biblical sins were now permitted and instructed some of his followers that it was their duty to perform such sins in order to hasten the Redemption.
Shabtai Tzvi, Labor Zionism and the Holocaust
by Barry Chamish
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B66Pc9x2hkIrV2Y3QWxPbkpKYWc/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-5ak831cRNQohyyjZYfFKvw
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet"[1][2] – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs, as the term sustainable development implies.
These goals are ambitious,[according to whom?] and the reports and outcomes to date indicate a challenging path. Most, if not all, of the goals are unlikely to be met by 2030. Rising inequalities, climate change, and biodiversity loss are topics of concerns threatening progress. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to 2023 made these challenges worse, and some regions, such as Asia, have experienced significant setbacks during that time.
There are cross-cutting issues and synergies between the different goals; for example, for SDG 13 on climate action, the IPCC sees robust synergies with SDGs 3 (health), 7 (clean energy), 11 (cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 14 (oceans).[3][4]: 70 On the other hand, critics and observers have also identified trade-offs between the goals,[4]: 67 such as between ending hunger and promoting environmental sustainability.[5]: 26 Furthermore, concerns have arisen over the high number of goals (compared to the eight Millennium Development Goals), leading to compounded trade-offs, a weak emphasis on environmental sustainability, and difficulties tracking qualitative indicators.
The political impact of the SDGs has been rather limited, and the SDGs have struggled to achieve transformative changes in policy and institutional structures.[6] Also, funding remains a critical issue for achieving the SDGs. Significant financial resources would be required worldwide. The role of private investment and a shift towards sustainable financing are also essential for realizing the SDGs. Examples of progress from some countries demonstrate that achieving sustainable development through concerted global action is possible. The global effort for the SDGs calls for prioritizing environmental sustainability, understanding the indivisible nature of the goals, and seeking synergies across sectors.
The short titles of the 17 SDGs are: No poverty (SDG 1), Zero hunger (SDG 2), Good health and well-being (SDG 3), Quality education (SDG 4), Gender equality (SDG 5), Clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), Reduced inequalities (SDG 10), Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), Responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), Climate action (SDG 13), Life below water (SDG 14), Life on land (SDG 15), Peace, justice, and strong institutions (SDG 16), and Partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals
2030-2031 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS
Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2031 Mars apparition is considered Transitional (between Aphelic and Perihelic) because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 68.4° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls and 111.6° Ls from perihelion (250° Ls).
https://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jbeish/2031_MARS.htm
Easter in 2030
Date: April 21, 2030
Day: Sunday
Pope Francis[b] (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;[c] 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family of Italian origin, Bergoglio was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 papal conclave elected Bergoglio as pope on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Throughout his papacy, Francis was noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility, commitment to interreligious dialogue, and concern for the poor, migrants, and refugees. Francis believed the Catholic Church should demonstrate more inclusivity to LGBTQ people, and stated that although blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, individuals in same-sex relationships can be blessed as long as the blessing is not given in a liturgical context.[2] Francis made women full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia.[3][4] Francis convened the Synod on Synodality, which was described as the culmination of his papacy and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.[4][5][6] Francis was known for having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors by, for instance, choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes. In addition, due to both his Jesuit and Ignatian aesthetic, he was known for favoring simpler vestments devoid of ornamentation, including refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as cardinal.
Concerning global governance, Francis was a critic of trickle-down economics, consumerism, and overdevelopment;[7] he made action on climate change a leading focus of his papacy.[8] He viewed capital punishment as inadmissible in all cases,[9] and committed the Catholic Church to its worldwide abolition.[10] Francis criticized the rise of right-wing populism and anti-immigration politics, calling the protection of migrants a "duty of civilization".[11] Francis supported the decriminalization of homosexuality.[12] In international diplomacy, Francis helped to restore full diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, negotiated a deal with the People's Republic of China to define Communist Party influence in appointing Chinese bishops, and encouraged peace between Israel and Palestinians, signing the Vatican's first treaty with the State of Palestine. In 2022 he apologized for the Church's role in the cultural genocide of Canadian Indigenous peoples in residential schools. From 2023 he condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza, calling for investigations of war crimes. Francis made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday before dying on 21 April 2025, Easter Monday.[13][14] The 2025 papal conclave elected Leo XIV as Francis's successor on 8 May. Leo XIV became the second pope from the Americas, after Francis.[15]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
Avril Ramona Lavigne CM (/ˈævrɪl ləˈviːn/ AV-ril lə-VEEN; French: [avʁil ʁamɔna laviɲ]; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. Her accolades include ten Juno Awards and eight Grammy Awards nominations.
At age 16, Lavigne signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut album, Let Go (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21st century by a Canadian artist. It yielded the successful singles "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi", which emphasized a skate punk persona and earned her the title "Pop-Punk Queen", "Pop Punk Princess" and "Teen-Pop Slayer" from music publications.[1] Her second album, Under My Skin (2004), became Lavigne's first to reach the top of the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, going on to sell 10 million copies worldwide.
Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing (2007), reached number one in seven countries worldwide and saw the international success of its lead single "Girlfriend", which became her first single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Her next two albums, Goodbye Lullaby (2011) and Avril Lavigne (2013), saw continued commercial success and were both certified gold in Canada, the United States, and other territories. After releasing her sixth album, Head Above Water (2019), she returned to her pop punk roots with her seventh album, Love Sux (2022).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avril_Lavigne
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
"The Day Called 'X' is a dramatized CBS documentary film set in Portland, Oregon, in which the entire city is evacuated in anticipation of a nuclear air raid, after Soviet bombers had been detected by radar stations to the north; it details the activation of the city's civil defense protocols and leads up to the moment before the attack (the ending is left intentionally unknown). The operations were run from the Kelly Butte Bunker, which was the emergency operations center at that time. It was filmed in September 1957[1] and aired December 8 of that year.[2][3] Apart from presenter/narrator Glenn Ford, none of the people shown are actors. They are locals of Portland shown in their real jobs, including Mayor Terry Schrunk.
Its local re-broadcast in 2004[4] and appearance in the on-line Prelinger Archives attracted interest among local history buffs due to its extensive outside shots of the city, and the use of non-actor participants (local officials and broadcasters). Whenever one of these individuals is heard uttering warnings or statements regarding attack, the words "AN ATTACK IS NOT TAKING PLACE" are superimposed over the picture.[2]
On September 27, 1955, Portland actually conducted an exercise evacuation of downtown called "Operation Greenlight",[5][6] and the film is often misattributed to that year. Ford's narration, however, does make direct reference to the 1955 exercise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_Called_%27X%27
PART X THE PRESERVATION AND INCREASE OF THE SOCIETY
410 §1. As a sign of gratitude and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let that feast be solemnly celebrated; and on that day is to be renewed the consecration by which the Society on January 1, 1872, dedicated and consecrated itself totally and perpetually.
§2. The consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to be renewed each year on the feast of the Immaculate Heart.[1]
411 The sense of belonging and responsibility that each individual one of Ours has toward the whole Society should be manifested in a knowledge of our spirituality, our history, our saints, our apostolic labors, and our men, especially of those who are suffering difficulties for the sake of Christ; it is to be manifested as well by maintaining Ignatian mobility and flexibility with a view to helping any region of the Society whatsoever.[2]
412 §1. All our members should have at heart a shared concern for attracting new members to the Society, especially by prayer and the example of their lives as individuals and in community.[3]
§2. Therefore, we must do everything possible actively to present the Society in such a way that those whom God calls will know and appreciate who and what we are and what is our distinctive way of proceeding in the following of Christ.[4]
§3. We must also promote vocations as widely as possible, in order to reflect the culture and experience of those we seek to serve, including minority cultures, immigrants, and indigenous people.[5]
413 The Society should always show itself bound to its benefactors in charity and gratitude. Superiors should ensure that prayers are offered for them and other appropriate signs of our gratitude are shown them.[6]
414 In the perfect observance of all the Constitutions and in the particular fulfillment of our Institute, our formed members should excel, setting a good example and spreading the good odor of Christ, keeping before their eyes the serious obligation they have of giving edification especially to our younger members.[ 7]
415 All by earnest reading and meditation (in particular, at the time of the annual Spiritual Exercises, renewal of vows, monthly recollection, beginning of the year, and so forth) should strive ever to know, esteem, and love better our Constitutions and the special nature of our Institute,[ 8] which are to be faithfully observed, and which for each and all of us are the one, true, and safe way that surely leads to the perfection to which our Lord calls and invites all sons of the Society.[9] §2. Major superiors, especially at the time of the annual visitation, should see that this is faithfully observed.
416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]
L. D. S.
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
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
AI Overview
As of September 2025, there has been no 37th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. The most recent assembly was the 36th General Congregation (GC 36), which met in Rome in October 2016.
What is a General Congregation?
A General Congregation (GC) is the highest governing body of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order. A GC can be called for two main reasons:
To elect a new Superior General: This happens when the previous Superior General resigns or dies. In 2016, GC 36 was called after Father Adolfo Nicolás announced his resignation.
To address important matters: A GC can be called by the Superior General to discuss and act on significant issues concerning the order, the Church, and the world.
Key outcomes of the 36th General Congregation (GC 36)
The last General Congregation made two major decisions for the Society of Jesus:
Election of a new Superior General: The delegates elected Father Arturo Sosa Abascal of Venezuela as the 31st Superior General.
Declaration on reconciliation and justice: The assembly released a decree titled "Companions in a Mission of Reconciliation and Justice," which recommitted the order to the service of faith and the promotion of justice, continuing a priority first established at the 32nd General Congregation.
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1987 Slammy Awards
The Slammy Awards returned a year later, now honoring the events and individuals involved within the professional wrestling aspect of the World Wrestling Federation. The second edition of the ceremony (referred to in commercials and on-air as the 37th annual Slammy Awards) took place on December 16, 1987, from Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It aired in syndication on December 19, 1987.[11][14][13] The ceremony was hosted by Jesse Ventura and Gene Okerlund.[15] Musical numbers were performed by Vince McMahon (singing the song "Stand Back")[16] and Jimmy Hart (singing "Girls in Cars"), with the entire WWF roster performing "If You Only Knew" as the show's closing number.[16][15]
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface.[11][14][13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slammy_Award
Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ, Named Next Provincial of the Jesuits of Canada
March 15, 2024 — The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) announced the appointment of Fr. Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ, as the next provincial of the Jesuits of Canada. This appointment is the culmination of a thoughtful, prayerful process of consultation and discernment, marking a significant milestone for the Canadian Province.
Fr. Jeffrey Burwell, SJ
Fr. Burwell will succeed Fr. Erik Oland, SJ, assuming his new responsibilities on July 31, 2024, with an inaugural Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Toronto. A special celebration will also take place at the Jesuit infirmary in Richelieu, Quebec, on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 2024.
Fr. Burwell, 48, is an educational specialist whose doctoral research took him to the Holy Land, where he focused on Catholic schools in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. A lecturer in Catholic studies, first St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba and now Campion College at the University of Regina, he balances university work with pastoral service as a chaplain to police (RCMP) and to prisoners. He dedicates his university holidays to ministering in the Dene and Cree Indigenous communities of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Holding positions as a local superior since 2017 and a province consultor since 2021, Fr. Burwell brings a profound understanding of the Jesuit mission and a significant appreciation for Canada and Haiti’s diverse cultures.
This leadership change comes at a time when the Society of Jesus seeks to deepen its engagement with contemporary challenges, oriented by their Universal Apostolic Preferences: showing the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment; walking with the excluded; journeying with youth; and caring for our common home.
A Jesuit provincial leads a specific geographic region. This role is deeply spiritual, with responsibilities that extend beyond administrative tasks to include guiding the province’s mission and providing spiritual and pastoral care for its members. Provincials generally serve a six-year term.
There are five provinces within the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. The Canadian Province of the Society of Jesus encompasses a wide range of works, including colleges/universities, secondary and pre-secondary schools, parishes, retreat houses, formation in spirituality, Indigenous ministries, social justice center and ecological endeavors.
The Jesuits of Canada, together with their partners, look forward to supporting Fr. Burwell in his new role as they continue to serve the mission of the Church and society in Canada and beyond.
https://www.jesuits.org/stories/jeffrey-s-burwell-sj-named-next-provincial-of-the-jesuits-of-canada/
https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid0mb75yVMhV87NRymgPe8meX2idZj3Hi7AnvXhBwaCgVYtyuaAz2u9jCQ5YLvxBvPMl
Vatican News
Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Gospel of the Day (Luke 17,26-37)
Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left."
They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather."
https://www.vaticannews.va/.../word-of.../2025/11/14.html
https://www.facebook.com/vaticannews/posts/pfbid0675XwkKYWEoQxdvpQXJL6vQVFkusGgJFHw5sKwrPTJZAFPsYpr7ifJ5Uidewepw5l
What is Masada? What is the history of Masada?
TL;DR:
Masada is not mentioned in the Bible but was a place where the Jewish Zealots hid when the Romans attacked. Masada calls us to trust in God and to stand for what is true.
what does the bible say?
Masada is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. The events surrounding Masada occurred during the time period between the Old and New Testaments, so it's not directly referenced in biblical texts. However, Masada is a historically significant site, particularly known for the events that took place there during the Jewish-Roman War in the 1st century AD.
Herod the Great built the mountain fortress of Masada in 31 BC above the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. He feared revolt and wanted a place to make a stand that was difficult to attack and easy to defend. The fortress, with large places to store food, vast cisterns to store water, and defensive structures, was accessed only by a narrow path up the 1,300-foot mountain.
King Herod, an Edomite appointed by Roman rulers to oversee Judea, built the fortress and made it nearly impregnable, but it was the Jewish Zealots who hid there one hundred years later who made Masada famous.
In AD 70, the Romans attacked Judea and overran Jerusalem. Masada was the last holdout and center of resistance. General Flavius Silva couldn't directly attack the fortress, so in AD 72 he put thousands of slaves to work building a siege ramp. It took months to complete and when the troops broke into the fortress in AD 73, they found 953 people dead of a ceremonial mass suicide. Two women and five children hid in a cistern and survived to tell the story. They quoted Eleazar, their leader, saying, "Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved never to be servants to the Romans, not to any other than to God himself, who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice."
from the old testament
Masada is not mentioned in the Old Testament.
from the new testament
Masada is not mentioned in the New Testament.
While Masada itself isn't mentioned in the Bible, some of the events related to the Jewish-Roman War are indirectly referenced in the New Testament, particularly in Jesus' prophecies regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Matthew 24:1–2; Mark 13:1–2; Luke 21:20–24). However, Masada is not specifically mentioned in those passages.
implications for today
The story of Masada teaches us the enduring lesson of perseverance and courage in the face of adversity. Despite being outnumbered and facing overwhelming odds, the Jewish Zealots at Masada chose to stand firm in their beliefs and resist Roman rule. While the way we hold onto what is true may vary depending on situation, God calls us to hold onto Him and to build our lives on the Rock on whom we can stand. God is our refuge and strength; in Him we find the courage we need to stand for what is right.
https://www.compellingtruth.org/history-of-Masada.html
UNDER SIEGE
#1 Amazon Bestseller
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Under Siege by Eric Trump
In his new eye-opening memoir, Eric Trump shares gripping moments from his life as a vital part of America’s most powerful family.
From his earliest memories of growing up as part of the Trump family to pivotal roles in the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections, spearheading strategies to combat lawfare, and leading the Trump Organization, Eric has been deeply invested in all aspects of his family’s legacy. As one of his father’s original apprentices, Eric has always strived to build on that foundation.
As the Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization since 2015, Eric has navigated the dual worlds of politics and business, growing the company, while battling unprecedented opposition from the media, Democrats, and ongoing legal challenges.
From raids on his childhood home, Mar-a-Lago, to near assassination attempts, from Russiagate to cold and corrupt court rooms, the fake news media, censorship, and character smears—this wasn’t just an attack on a president, or even his family. America itself was under siege.
In this book, Eric offers an unfiltered look at the highs and lows of life in the Trump world; how he took the reins of a multibillion-dollar empire at thirty-three years old; enlightening stories from real estate to the boardroom of The Celebrity Apprentice, and the chaos of the campaign trail.
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About The Author
Eric Trump is the Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, where he leads the global operations of one of the most iconic real estate empires in the world. He oversees an expansive portfolio, including Trump Hotels, Trump Golf, the Trump collection of commercial and residential properties, Trump Estates, and the award-winning Trump Winery. Eric also drives the company’s expansion into emerging industries, including leading-edge cryptocurrency ventures that are reshaping the future of finance.
A fierce defender of America First values, Eric has been a central figure in the Make America Great Again movement and served in pivotal roles during three presidential campaigns, helping shape national strategy and acting as a key spokesperson on major news networks worldwide. Passionate about giving back, he has helped raise more than $50 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to combat pediatric cancer—a cause he has championed since the age of twenty-one.
A proud graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in finance and management, Eric has a deep-rooted passion for building, skiing, the shooting sports, and the outdoors. He lives in Florida with his wife, Lara, and their two children, Luke and Carolina.
https://www.trump.com/lifestyle/books
Erika Lane Kirk (née Frantzve; born November 20, 1988) is an American businesswoman, nonprofit executive, and podcaster. She is CEO and chair of the board of the conservative organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA), which her late husband Charlie Kirk co-founded and led until his assassination in September 2025. She was appointed as his successor following his death.
Kirk previously won Miss Arizona USA in 2012 and participated in Miss USA 2012. She is the founder of Everyday Heroes Like You, a nonprofit supporting under-recognized charities, and BIBLEin365, a faith-based initiative that promotes reading the Bible. She also hosts the Midweek Rise Up podcast. She and Charlie Kirk began dating in 2019, married in 2021, and had two children together.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Kirk
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)
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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
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
“Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to). This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."
Rosa jesuitica, oder, Jesuitische Rottgesellen (1620) - Google Drive
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view
Fulcanelli’s main strategy, the key to unraveling the mystery, lies in an understanding of what he calls the “phonetic law” of the “spoken cabala,” or the “language of the birds.” This punning, multilingual wordplay can be used to reveal unusual and, according to Fulcanelli, meaningful associations between ideas. “What unsuspected marvels we should find, if we knew how to dissect words, to strip them of their bark and liberate the spirit, the divine light which is within,” Fulcanelli writes. He claims that in our day this is the natural language of the outsiders, the outlaws and heretics at the fringes of society. (See appendix A, “Fulcanelli on the Green Language,” for the complete text of this chapter.) 6 This spoken cabala was also the “green language” of the Freemasons (“All the Initiates expressed themselves in cant,” Fulcanelli reminds us) who built the art gothique of the cathedrals. “Gothic art is in fact the art got or art cot —χοτ—the art of light or of the spirit,” Fulcanelli informs us. Ultimately the “art got,” or the “art of light,” is derived from the language of the birds, which seems to be a sort of Ur-language taught by both Jesus and the ancients."
The Mysteries of the Great Cross
by Jay Weidner
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vrxcBcn4h7RRM2SA3X1SS1DsooSxfitI/view?usp=sharing
How to Speak Ignatian: Common words and phrases of the Society of Jesus
Adapted from “How to Speak Loyola,” a glossary developed by the Office of Mission &
Identity, Loyola University, Chicago.
Microsoft Word - How to Speak Ignatian.doc (jesuithighschool.org)
https://www.jesuithighschool.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/how_to_speak_ignatian_0.pdf
IF WE LOOK AGAIN TO THE BOOK OF DANIEL, this time to chapter 8, verse 25, the prophet foretold that Anti-Christ would cause "craft" to prosper: "And through his policy also he shall cause 'craft" to prosper in his hand: and he shall magnify himself..." What is "kraft"? Strong's Concordance defines the word craft (#4820) as meaning "fraud, deceit, and treachery." Thus, Anti-Christ "through" craft, deceit and treachery (viz., deception) would advance its position, influence and agenda.
But how do we know that this entity (referred to by Daniel) is indeed the dreaded Anti-Christ? We know this entity is Anti-Christ because it opposes and magnifies itself against Jesus Christ: "he shall magnify in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes" (latter part of Dan. 8: 25).
Earlier in verse 23 of Daniel 8 it says "he" shall also understand dark sentences." Strong's Concordance tells us that the word for dark is the same word for sentences (#2420). Both words mean "a puzzle," or "trick" saying. The expression "dark sentences" comes from the root word meaning "to put forth (#2330)." Thus, Antichrist would put forth, or utter dark sentences-language not readily understood by the unintiated, which language will have a double meaning designed to trick or mislead the hearer. The "puzzle, or trick" in these "dark sentence" will be the issuing of double meaning in the same statements. In other words, reader, Anti-Christ would have a double rule-"one for its private and particular use, and another to flaunt with before the world."
The agents, or spokesmen of Anti-Christ will speak with mental reservation and amphibologies. That is to say, with double sensed or ambigous words, or to use the words of Constantine Labarum "justification of the means by the end, and many other maxims,
+I say agents of Anti-Christ, because no sensible individual could really believe that Anti-Christ is a single man, for Paul says Anti-Christ (its early manifestation) was already in existence in his day and would continue till the end of time.+
subversive of honesty and morality." In short, Anti-Christ would be a system of unscrupulous duplicity, of impostors, of wolves in sheep's clothing!
Have we any example in the long anals of history of such a duplicitous system using "craft" "deceit" "fraud" and "treachery" as it crept into power over the world? William Tyndale, the great English Reformer, in his Practice of Prelates, speaks of the rise of this phenomenon by the following graphic parable:-
"To see how the holy father came up, mark the ensample of the ivy. First it springeth up out of the earth, and then awhile CREEPETH ALONG BY THE GROUND, till it finds a great tree, and creepeth up a little and a little, fair, and softly. At the begininning, while it is yet thin and small, the burden is not perceived; it seemeth glorious to garnish the tree in the winter. BUT IT HOLDETH FAST WITHAL, AND CEASETH NOT TO CLIMB UP TILL IT BE AT THE TOP, AND EVEN ABOVE ALL. And then it sendeth its branches along by the branches of the tree, and overgroweth all, and waxeth great, heavy, and thich : and sucketh the moisture so sore out of the tree and his branches that choaketh and stifleth them. And then THE FOUL, STINKING IVY waxeth MIGHTY in the stump of the tree, and becometh a seat and a nest for all unclean birds, and for blind owls, which hawk in the dark, and dare not come to the light. EVEN SO THE BISHOP OF ROME, NOW CALLED THE POPE, AT THE BEGINNING CROPE ALONG UPON THE EARTH...."
How accurate is William Tyndale's description of the rise of the pope and the popedome as predicted by prophet Daniel: "in the latter time... a king.. understanding dark sentences, shall stan up... and shall he cause craft to prosper" "and shall prosper, practice, and shall destroy..." (Dan. 8:23,24,25).
Yeah, with what clearness and boldness, and considerable amount of historical learning, does Tyndale trace the way by which the supremacy of the pope arose. It has been said of this passage by one learned author that there is "probably nowhere in the English language any passage superior in force and graphic skill o the well-known description of the rise of the Pope." And we may add here that like the stinking ivy-which plant is almost impossible to entirely kill-it is also very difficult to rid our world of popery: this requires a lot of hard work, courage and persistence, and still the dead stump may yet shoot up again.
Said historian Henry Grattan Guinness, "In the fourth century, with the the fall of paganism, began a worldly, imperial Christianity, wholly unlike primitive apostolic Christianity, a sort of Christianized heathenism: and in the fifth and sixth centuries sprang up the Papacy, in those career the apostasy culminated later on. The mighty Caesars had fallen; Augustus, Domitian, Hadrian, Diocletian were gone; even the Constantines and Julians had passed away. The seat of sovereignty had been removed from Rome to Constantinople. Goths and Vandals' had overthrown the western empire; the once mighty political structure lay delivered into broken fragments. The imperial government was slain by the Gothic sword. The Czesars were no more, and Rome was an actual desolation Then slowly on the ruins of old imperial Rome an actual desolation. Then slowly on the ruins of an old imperial Rome rose another power and another monarchy-a monarchy of loftier aspirations and more resistless might, claiming dominion, not only within the omits of the fallen empire, but throughout the entire world. Higher and higher [like the stinking ivy] rose the Papacy, till in the dark ages all Christendom was subject to its sway...."
The 'craft' of Rome, both in medieval times and today, is the art of fabrication and daring falsehoods: "Like the successive strata of the earth covering one another, SO LAYER AFTER LAYER OF FORGERIES AND FABRICATIONS HAS BEEN PILED UP IN THE CHURCH |OF ROME|," bolstered by a Jesuitical "literaryand academic flexibility and elastic versatality of pen hitherto confined to journalism."
"Anti-Christ Would Use "Craft" And Deceit To Prosper"
Codeword Barbelon book Two
by P.D. Stuart
Vatican News
October 22, 205 at 9:00 PM
Gospel of the Day (Luke 12,49-53)
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
https://www.vaticannews.va/.../word-of.../2025/10/23.html
https://www.facebook.com/vaticannews/posts/pfbid0UxLExgYGEqPVHa4xaQzs37c9cAjC8s4h48JRaU6zZf2LH5ZgjpBf8v7ktSu7aB76l
What is Masada? What is the history of Masada?
TL;DR:
Masada is not mentioned in the Bible but was a place where the Jewish Zealots hid when the Romans attacked. Masada calls us to trust in God and to stand for what is true.
what does the bible say?
Masada is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. The events surrounding Masada occurred during the time period between the Old and New Testaments, so it's not directly referenced in biblical texts. However, Masada is a historically significant site, particularly known for the events that took place there during the Jewish-Roman War in the 1st century AD.
Herod the Great built the mountain fortress of Masada in 31 BC above the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. He feared revolt and wanted a place to make a stand that was difficult to attack and easy to defend. The fortress, with large places to store food, vast cisterns to store water, and defensive structures, was accessed only by a narrow path up the 1,300-foot mountain.
King Herod, an Edomite appointed by Roman rulers to oversee Judea, built the fortress and made it nearly impregnable, but it was the Jewish Zealots who hid there one hundred years later who made Masada famous.
In AD 70, the Romans attacked Judea and overran Jerusalem. Masada was the last holdout and center of resistance. General Flavius Silva couldn't directly attack the fortress, so in AD 72 he put thousands of slaves to work building a siege ramp. It took months to complete and when the troops broke into the fortress in AD 73, they found 953 people dead of a ceremonial mass suicide. Two women and five children hid in a cistern and survived to tell the story. They quoted Eleazar, their leader, saying, "Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved never to be servants to the Romans, not to any other than to God himself, who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice."
from the old testament
Masada is not mentioned in the Old Testament.
from the new testament
Masada is not mentioned in the New Testament.
While Masada itself isn't mentioned in the Bible, some of the events related to the Jewish-Roman War are indirectly referenced in the New Testament, particularly in Jesus' prophecies regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Matthew 24:1–2; Mark 13:1–2; Luke 21:20–24). However, Masada is not specifically mentioned in those passages.
implications for today
The story of Masada teaches us the enduring lesson of perseverance and courage in the face of adversity. Despite being outnumbered and facing overwhelming odds, the Jewish Zealots at Masada chose to stand firm in their beliefs and resist Roman rule. While the way we hold onto what is true may vary depending on situation, God calls us to hold onto Him and to build our lives on the Rock on whom we can stand. God is our refuge and strength; in Him we find the courage we need to stand for what is right.
https://www.compellingtruth.org/history-of-Masada.html
UNDER SIEGE
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As the Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization since 2015, Eric has navigated the dual worlds of politics and business, growing the company, while battling unprecedented opposition from the media, Democrats, and ongoing legal challenges.
From raids on his childhood home, Mar-a-Lago, to near assassination attempts, from Russiagate to cold and corrupt court rooms, the fake news media, censorship, and character smears—this wasn’t just an attack on a president, or even his family. America itself was under siege.
In this book, Eric offers an unfiltered look at the highs and lows of life in the Trump world; how he took the reins of a multibillion-dollar empire at thirty-three years old; enlightening stories from real estate to the boardroom of The Celebrity Apprentice, and the chaos of the campaign trail.
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Eric Trump is the Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, where he leads the global operations of one of the most iconic real estate empires in the world. He oversees an expansive portfolio, including Trump Hotels, Trump Golf, the Trump collection of commercial and residential properties, Trump Estates, and the award-winning Trump Winery. Eric also drives the company’s expansion into emerging industries, including leading-edge cryptocurrency ventures that are reshaping the future of finance.
A fierce defender of America First values, Eric has been a central figure in the Make America Great Again movement and served in pivotal roles during three presidential campaigns, helping shape national strategy and acting as a key spokesperson on major news networks worldwide. Passionate about giving back, he has helped raise more than $50 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to combat pediatric cancer—a cause he has championed since the age of twenty-one.
A proud graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in finance and management, Eric has a deep-rooted passion for building, skiing, the shooting sports, and the outdoors. He lives in Florida with his wife, Lara, and their two children, Luke and Carolina.
https://www.trump.com/lifestyle/books
Erika Lane Kirk (née Frantzve; born November 20, 1988) is an American businesswoman, nonprofit executive, and podcaster. She is CEO and chair of the board of the conservative organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA), which her late husband Charlie Kirk co-founded and led until his assassination in September 2025. She was appointed as his successor following his death.
Kirk previously won Miss Arizona USA in 2012 and participated in Miss USA 2012. She is the founder of Everyday Heroes Like You, a nonprofit supporting under-recognized charities, and BIBLEin365, a faith-based initiative that promotes reading the Bible. She also hosts the Midweek Rise Up podcast. She and Charlie Kirk began dating in 2019, married in 2021, and had two children together.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Kirk
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)
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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
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
“Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to). This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."
Rosa jesuitica, oder, Jesuitische Rottgesellen (1620) - Google Drive
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view
Fulcanelli’s main strategy, the key to unraveling the mystery, lies in an understanding of what he calls the “phonetic law” of the “spoken cabala,” or the “language of the birds.” This punning, multilingual wordplay can be used to reveal unusual and, according to Fulcanelli, meaningful associations between ideas. “What unsuspected marvels we should find, if we knew how to dissect words, to strip them of their bark and liberate the spirit, the divine light which is within,” Fulcanelli writes. He claims that in our day this is the natural language of the outsiders, the outlaws and heretics at the fringes of society. (See appendix A, “Fulcanelli on the Green Language,” for the complete text of this chapter.) 6 This spoken cabala was also the “green language” of the Freemasons (“All the Initiates expressed themselves in cant,” Fulcanelli reminds us) who built the art gothique of the cathedrals. “Gothic art is in fact the art got or art cot —χοτ—the art of light or of the spirit,” Fulcanelli informs us. Ultimately the “art got,” or the “art of light,” is derived from the language of the birds, which seems to be a sort of Ur-language taught by both Jesus and the ancients."
The Mysteries of the Great Cross
by Jay Weidner
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vrxcBcn4h7RRM2SA3X1SS1DsooSxfitI/view?usp=sharing
How to Speak Ignatian: Common words and phrases of the Society of Jesus
Adapted from “How to Speak Loyola,” a glossary developed by the Office of Mission &
Identity, Loyola University, Chicago.
Microsoft Word - How to Speak Ignatian.doc (jesuithighschool.org)
https://www.jesuithighschool.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/how_to_speak_ignatian_0.pdf
IF WE LOOK AGAIN TO THE BOOK OF DANIEL, this time to chapter 8, verse 25, the prophet foretold that Anti-Christ would cause "craft" to prosper: "And through his policy also he shall cause 'craft" to prosper in his hand: and he shall magnify himself..." What is "kraft"? Strong's Concordance defines the word craft (#4820) as meaning "fraud, deceit, and treachery." Thus, Anti-Christ "through" craft, deceit and treachery (viz., deception) would advance its position, influence and agenda.
But how do we know that this entity (referred to by Daniel) is indeed the dreaded Anti-Christ? We know this entity is Anti-Christ because it opposes and magnifies itself against Jesus Christ: "he shall magnify in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes" (latter part of Dan. 8: 25).
Earlier in verse 23 of Daniel 8 it says "he" shall also understand dark sentences." Strong's Concordance tells us that the word for dark is the same word for sentences (#2420). Both words mean "a puzzle," or "trick" saying. The expression "dark sentences" comes from the root word meaning "to put forth (#2330)." Thus, Antichrist would put forth, or utter dark sentences-language not readily understood by the unintiated, which language will have a double meaning designed to trick or mislead the hearer. The "puzzle, or trick" in these "dark sentence" will be the issuing of double meaning in the same statements. In other words, reader, Anti-Christ would have a double rule-"one for its private and particular use, and another to flaunt with before the world."
The agents, or spokesmen of Anti-Christ will speak with mental reservation and amphibologies. That is to say, with double sensed or ambigous words, or to use the words of Constantine Labarum "justification of the means by the end, and many other maxims,
+I say agents of Anti-Christ, because no sensible individual could really believe that Anti-Christ is a single man, for Paul says Anti-Christ (its early manifestation) was already in existence in his day and would continue till the end of time.+
subversive of honesty and morality." In short, Anti-Christ would be a system of unscrupulous duplicity, of impostors, of wolves in sheep's clothing!
Have we any example in the long anals of history of such a duplicitous system using "craft" "deceit" "fraud" and "treachery" as it crept into power over the world? William Tyndale, the great English Reformer, in his Practice of Prelates, speaks of the rise of this phenomenon by the following graphic parable:-
"To see how the holy father came up, mark the ensample of the ivy. First it springeth up out of the earth, and then awhile CREEPETH ALONG BY THE GROUND, till it finds a great tree, and creepeth up a little and a little, fair, and softly. At the begininning, while it is yet thin and small, the burden is not perceived; it seemeth glorious to garnish the tree in the winter. BUT IT HOLDETH FAST WITHAL, AND CEASETH NOT TO CLIMB UP TILL IT BE AT THE TOP, AND EVEN ABOVE ALL. And then it sendeth its branches along by the branches of the tree, and overgroweth all, and waxeth great, heavy, and thich : and sucketh the moisture so sore out of the tree and his branches that choaketh and stifleth them. And then THE FOUL, STINKING IVY waxeth MIGHTY in the stump of the tree, and becometh a seat and a nest for all unclean birds, and for blind owls, which hawk in the dark, and dare not come to the light. EVEN SO THE BISHOP OF ROME, NOW CALLED THE POPE, AT THE BEGINNING CROPE ALONG UPON THE EARTH...."
How accurate is William Tyndale's description of the rise of the pope and the popedome as predicted by prophet Daniel: "in the latter time... a king.. understanding dark sentences, shall stan up... and shall he cause craft to prosper" "and shall prosper, practice, and shall destroy..." (Dan. 8:23,24,25).
Yeah, with what clearness and boldness, and considerable amount of historical learning, does Tyndale trace the way by which the supremacy of the pope arose. It has been said of this passage by one learned author that there is "probably nowhere in the English language any passage superior in force and graphic skill o the well-known description of the rise of the Pope." And we may add here that like the stinking ivy-which plant is almost impossible to entirely kill-it is also very difficult to rid our world of popery: this requires a lot of hard work, courage and persistence, and still the dead stump may yet shoot up again.
Said historian Henry Grattan Guinness, "In the fourth century, with the the fall of paganism, began a worldly, imperial Christianity, wholly unlike primitive apostolic Christianity, a sort of Christianized heathenism: and in the fifth and sixth centuries sprang up the Papacy, in those career the apostasy culminated later on. The mighty Caesars had fallen; Augustus, Domitian, Hadrian, Diocletian were gone; even the Constantines and Julians had passed away. The seat of sovereignty had been removed from Rome to Constantinople. Goths and Vandals' had overthrown the western empire; the once mighty political structure lay delivered into broken fragments. The imperial government was slain by the Gothic sword. The Czesars were no more, and Rome was an actual desolation Then slowly on the ruins of old imperial Rome an actual desolation. Then slowly on the ruins of an old imperial Rome rose another power and another monarchy-a monarchy of loftier aspirations and more resistless might, claiming dominion, not only within the omits of the fallen empire, but throughout the entire world. Higher and higher [like the stinking ivy] rose the Papacy, till in the dark ages all Christendom was subject to its sway...."
The 'craft' of Rome, both in medieval times and today, is the art of fabrication and daring falsehoods: "Like the successive strata of the earth covering one another, SO LAYER AFTER LAYER OF FORGERIES AND FABRICATIONS HAS BEEN PILED UP IN THE CHURCH |OF ROME|," bolstered by a Jesuitical "literaryand academic flexibility and elastic versatality of pen hitherto confined to journalism."
"Anti-Christ Would Use "Craft" And Deceit To Prosper"
Codeword Barbelon book Two
by P.D. Stuart
Vatican News
October 22, 205 at 9:00 PM
Gospel of the Day (Luke 12,49-53)
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
https://www.vaticannews.va/.../word-of.../2025/10/23.html
https://www.facebook.com/vaticannews/posts/pfbid0UxLExgYGEqPVHa4xaQzs37c9cAjC8s4h48JRaU6zZf2LH5ZgjpBf8v7ktSu7aB76l
Luke 12:39-59
1599 Geneva Bible
39 Now understand this, that if the good man of the house had known at what hour the thief would have come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be dug through.
40 [a]Be ye also prepared therefore: for the Son of man will come at an hour when ye think not.
41 Then Peter said unto him, Master, tellest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
42 And the Lord said, Who is a faithful steward and wise, whom the master shall make ruler over his household, to give them their [b]portion of meat in season?
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his master when he cometh, shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth, I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
45 But if that servant say in his heart, My master doth defer his coming, and shall begin to smite the servants, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken,
46 The master of that servant will come in a day when he thinketh not, and at an hour when he is not aware of, and will cut him off, and give him his portion with the unbelievers.
47 ¶ And that servant that knew his master’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew it not, and yet did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes: for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required, and to whom men much commit, [c]the more of him will they ask.
49 ¶ [d]I am come to put fire on the earth, and what is my desire, if it be already kindled?
50 Notwithstanding I must be baptized with a baptism, and how am I grieved till it be ended?
51 Think ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather debate.
52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father: the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother: the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
54 ¶ [e]Then said he to the people, When ye see a cloud [f]rise out of the West, straightway ye say, A shower cometh: and so it is.
55 And when ye see the South wind blow, ye say, that it will be hot: and it cometh to pass.
56 Hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the earth, and of the sky: but why discern ye not this time?
57 [g]Yea, and why judge ye not of yourselves what is right?
58 ¶ While thou goest with thine adversary to the ruler, as thou art in the way, give diligence in the way, that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he draw thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the [h]jailer, and the jailer cast thee into prison.
59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the utmost mite.
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Footnotes
Luke 12:40 None have more need to watch, than they that have some degree of honor in the household of God.
Luke 12:42 That is, every month such measure of corn as was appointed them.
Luke 12:48 More than of him to whom so much was not given.
Luke 12:49 The Gospel is the only cause of peace between the goodly, and so is it the occasion of great trouble among the wicked.
Luke 12:54 Men which are very quick of sight in earthly things, are blind in those things which pertain to the heavenly life, and that through their own malice.
Luke 12:54 Which appeareth, and gathereth itself together in that part of the air.
Luke 12:57 Men that are blinded with the love of themselves, and therefore are detestable and stubborn, shall bear the reward of their folly.
Luke 12:58 To him that had to demand and gather the amerciaments which they were condemned unto that had wrongfully troubled men: moreover, the magistrate’s officers make them which are condemned, pay that, that they owe, yea, and oftentimes if they be obstinate, they do not only take the cost and charge of them, but also imprison them.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012%3A39-59&version=GNV
Nova music festival massacre
On 7 October 2023, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization Hamas, initiated a sudden attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas also took 40 people hostage, and men and women were reportedly subject to sexual and gender-based violence.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_music_festival_massacre
A nova (pl. novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. The main sub-classes of novae are classical novae, recurrent novae (RNe), and dwarf novae. They are all considered to be cataclysmic variable stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova
Revelation 16:8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 [a]And the fourth Angel poured out his vial on the sun, and it was given to him to torment men with heat of fire,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2016%3A8-10&version=GNV
SpaceX Roadster is not a natural celestial object, but rather a man-made object launched by SpaceX in February 2018 as part of the Falcon Heavy test flight. It is a red sports car owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and was launched as a demonstration of the Falcon Heavy's capabilities. The Roadster is not in a stable orbit around the Sun, but is instead on a heliocentric orbit that will take it to the asteroid belt and then back to the inner Solar System in the future. The Roadster also carries a mannequin named Starman, dressed in a spacesuit, in the driver's seat. The name "Roadster" refers to the type of car that is used as the payload for the Falcon Heavy, while "SpaceX" is the name of the private space exploration company founded by Elon Musk in 2002.
https://theskylive.com/roadster-info
416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]
L. D. S. "
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses (M☉)) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around 5,000 K [K] (4,700 °C; 8,500 °F) or lower. The appearance of the red giant is from yellow-white to reddish-orange, including the spectral types K and M, sometimes G, but also class S stars and most carbon stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant
Revelation 16:8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 [a]And the fourth Angel poured out his vial on the sun, and it was given to him to torment men with heat of fire,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2016%3A8-10&version=GNV
CHAPTER SEVEN – SHABTAI, SHIMON AND SHARON – DESTROYING THE JEWS
ALM 1 - THE DEUTSCH DEVILS
Rabbi Marvin Antelman was right all along. Way back in 1974, he identified the source of all the evil against Jews and humanity but his message and style were too unaccessible to get through to anyone but the most advanced students of antisemitism. What he lacked most was simplicity, a common enough failure of thinkers decades in advance of their contemporaries. What he needed was someone to put out a Cliff's Notes simplified explanation of his thesis...and someone, without intention, just did. The name of the book is, 50 Jewish Messiahs by Jerry Rabow (Gefen Publishing, Jerusalem). It is an informative but shallow overview of just what the title says, but in its shallowness lies vital depth. We begin with Chapter 17, about the "most damaging messiah to the Jewish people," Shabbatai Zvi. First we'll read Rabow and then add commentary opening Rabbi Antelman's work to the wide world. Recall that there are various accepted English spellings for Shabtai Tzvi, and the Sabbataians. The spelling presented depends on the writer:
pp 91 - Shabbatai Zvi was born in Smyrna, Turkey on the ninth of Av, 1626. The ninth day of Av is the day of a triple tragedy for the Jewish nation. According to tradition, the First Temple, the Second Temple and Bar Kokhba's Betar fortress all fell on this day.
pp 93 - He changed the holiday celebrations and violated the dietary prohibitions. All of this followed from his declaration that the usual rules were inapplicable to messianic times.
pp 95 - He declared that the coming of the messianic era meant that the biblical commandments were no longer binding. He proclaimed that God now permitted everything. ** This is Rabbi Antelman's central assertion; that Shabbataism was the polar opposite of Judaism. That Shabbatai Zvi's program was to destroy all the tenets of the Torah and replace them with their opposites. Incredibly, more than half the Jews of the world at the time, believed he would be revealed as their promised messiah: **
pp 101 - Then he finally made the announcement for which the Jewish community had been waiting for 1600 years - he would begin the Redemption on the 15th day of the month of Sivan, June 18, 1666. ** There are many who will recognize the significance of the date. June is the sixth month, 18 divided by three is 6+6+6 and 1666 is clear enough. Either he knew what he was doing or the prophesies of the emergence of an evil false messiah or anti-Christ are right, and Shabbatai Zvi was him. **
pp 110 - Through all of this, Shabbatai continued to issue proclamations of the theological changes wrought by the coming of the messianic age. Shabbatai's new prayer was, "Praised be He who permits the forbidden." Since all things would be permitted in the age of the messiah, Shabbatai declared many of the old restrictions of the Torah no longer applicable. He abolished the laws concerning sexual relationships. He eventually declared that all of the thirty six major biblical sins were now permitted and instructed some of his followers that it was their duty to perform such sins in order to hasten the Redemption.
Shabtai Tzvi, Labor Zionism and the Holocaust
by Barry Chamish
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B66Pc9x2hkIrV2Y3QWxPbkpKYWc/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-5ak831cRNQohyyjZYfFKvw
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet"[1][2] – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs, as the term sustainable development implies.
These goals are ambitious,[according to whom?] and the reports and outcomes to date indicate a challenging path. Most, if not all, of the goals are unlikely to be met by 2030. Rising inequalities, climate change, and biodiversity loss are topics of concerns threatening progress. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to 2023 made these challenges worse, and some regions, such as Asia, have experienced significant setbacks during that time.
There are cross-cutting issues and synergies between the different goals; for example, for SDG 13 on climate action, the IPCC sees robust synergies with SDGs 3 (health), 7 (clean energy), 11 (cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 14 (oceans).[3][4]: 70 On the other hand, critics and observers have also identified trade-offs between the goals,[4]: 67 such as between ending hunger and promoting environmental sustainability.[5]: 26 Furthermore, concerns have arisen over the high number of goals (compared to the eight Millennium Development Goals), leading to compounded trade-offs, a weak emphasis on environmental sustainability, and difficulties tracking qualitative indicators.
The political impact of the SDGs has been rather limited, and the SDGs have struggled to achieve transformative changes in policy and institutional structures.[6] Also, funding remains a critical issue for achieving the SDGs. Significant financial resources would be required worldwide. The role of private investment and a shift towards sustainable financing are also essential for realizing the SDGs. Examples of progress from some countries demonstrate that achieving sustainable development through concerted global action is possible. The global effort for the SDGs calls for prioritizing environmental sustainability, understanding the indivisible nature of the goals, and seeking synergies across sectors.
The short titles of the 17 SDGs are: No poverty (SDG 1), Zero hunger (SDG 2), Good health and well-being (SDG 3), Quality education (SDG 4), Gender equality (SDG 5), Clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), Reduced inequalities (SDG 10), Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), Responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), Climate action (SDG 13), Life below water (SDG 14), Life on land (SDG 15), Peace, justice, and strong institutions (SDG 16), and Partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals
2030-2031 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS
Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2031 Mars apparition is considered Transitional (between Aphelic and Perihelic) because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 68.4° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls and 111.6° Ls from perihelion (250° Ls).
https://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jbeish/2031_MARS.htm
Easter in 2030
Date: April 21, 2030
Day: Sunday
Pope Francis[b] (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;[c] 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family of Italian origin, Bergoglio was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 papal conclave elected Bergoglio as pope on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Throughout his papacy, Francis was noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility, commitment to interreligious dialogue, and concern for the poor, migrants, and refugees. Francis believed the Catholic Church should demonstrate more inclusivity to LGBTQ people, and stated that although blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, individuals in same-sex relationships can be blessed as long as the blessing is not given in a liturgical context.[2] Francis made women full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia.[3][4] Francis convened the Synod on Synodality, which was described as the culmination of his papacy and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.[4][5][6] Francis was known for having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors by, for instance, choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes. In addition, due to both his Jesuit and Ignatian aesthetic, he was known for favoring simpler vestments devoid of ornamentation, including refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as cardinal.
Concerning global governance, Francis was a critic of trickle-down economics, consumerism, and overdevelopment;[7] he made action on climate change a leading focus of his papacy.[8] He viewed capital punishment as inadmissible in all cases,[9] and committed the Catholic Church to its worldwide abolition.[10] Francis criticized the rise of right-wing populism and anti-immigration politics, calling the protection of migrants a "duty of civilization".[11] Francis supported the decriminalization of homosexuality.[12] In international diplomacy, Francis helped to restore full diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, negotiated a deal with the People's Republic of China to define Communist Party influence in appointing Chinese bishops, and encouraged peace between Israel and Palestinians, signing the Vatican's first treaty with the State of Palestine. In 2022 he apologized for the Church's role in the cultural genocide of Canadian Indigenous peoples in residential schools. From 2023 he condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza, calling for investigations of war crimes. Francis made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday before dying on 21 April 2025, Easter Monday.[13][14] The 2025 papal conclave elected Leo XIV as Francis's successor on 8 May. Leo XIV became the second pope from the Americas, after Francis.[15]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
Avril Ramona Lavigne CM (/ˈævrɪl ləˈviːn/ AV-ril lə-VEEN; French: [avʁil ʁamɔna laviɲ]; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. Her accolades include ten Juno Awards and eight Grammy Awards nominations.
At age 16, Lavigne signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut album, Let Go (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21st century by a Canadian artist. It yielded the successful singles "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi", which emphasized a skate punk persona and earned her the title "Pop-Punk Queen", "Pop Punk Princess" and "Teen-Pop Slayer" from music publications.[1] Her second album, Under My Skin (2004), became Lavigne's first to reach the top of the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, going on to sell 10 million copies worldwide.
Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing (2007), reached number one in seven countries worldwide and saw the international success of its lead single "Girlfriend", which became her first single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Her next two albums, Goodbye Lullaby (2011) and Avril Lavigne (2013), saw continued commercial success and were both certified gold in Canada, the United States, and other territories. After releasing her sixth album, Head Above Water (2019), she returned to her pop punk roots with her seventh album, Love Sux (2022).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avril_Lavigne
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
"The Day Called 'X' is a dramatized CBS documentary film set in Portland, Oregon, in which the entire city is evacuated in anticipation of a nuclear air raid, after Soviet bombers had been detected by radar stations to the north; it details the activation of the city's civil defense protocols and leads up to the moment before the attack (the ending is left intentionally unknown). The operations were run from the Kelly Butte Bunker, which was the emergency operations center at that time. It was filmed in September 1957[1] and aired December 8 of that year.[2][3] Apart from presenter/narrator Glenn Ford, none of the people shown are actors. They are locals of Portland shown in their real jobs, including Mayor Terry Schrunk.
Its local re-broadcast in 2004[4] and appearance in the on-line Prelinger Archives attracted interest among local history buffs due to its extensive outside shots of the city, and the use of non-actor participants (local officials and broadcasters). Whenever one of these individuals is heard uttering warnings or statements regarding attack, the words "AN ATTACK IS NOT TAKING PLACE" are superimposed over the picture.[2]
On September 27, 1955, Portland actually conducted an exercise evacuation of downtown called "Operation Greenlight",[5][6] and the film is often misattributed to that year. Ford's narration, however, does make direct reference to the 1955 exercise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_Called_%27X%27
PART X THE PRESERVATION AND INCREASE OF THE SOCIETY
410 §1. As a sign of gratitude and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let that feast be solemnly celebrated; and on that day is to be renewed the consecration by which the Society on January 1, 1872, dedicated and consecrated itself totally and perpetually.
§2. The consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to be renewed each year on the feast of the Immaculate Heart.[1]
411 The sense of belonging and responsibility that each individual one of Ours has toward the whole Society should be manifested in a knowledge of our spirituality, our history, our saints, our apostolic labors, and our men, especially of those who are suffering difficulties for the sake of Christ; it is to be manifested as well by maintaining Ignatian mobility and flexibility with a view to helping any region of the Society whatsoever.[2]
412 §1. All our members should have at heart a shared concern for attracting new members to the Society, especially by prayer and the example of their lives as individuals and in community.[3]
§2. Therefore, we must do everything possible actively to present the Society in such a way that those whom God calls will know and appreciate who and what we are and what is our distinctive way of proceeding in the following of Christ.[4]
§3. We must also promote vocations as widely as possible, in order to reflect the culture and experience of those we seek to serve, including minority cultures, immigrants, and indigenous people.[5]
413 The Society should always show itself bound to its benefactors in charity and gratitude. Superiors should ensure that prayers are offered for them and other appropriate signs of our gratitude are shown them.[6]
414 In the perfect observance of all the Constitutions and in the particular fulfillment of our Institute, our formed members should excel, setting a good example and spreading the good odor of Christ, keeping before their eyes the serious obligation they have of giving edification especially to our younger members.[ 7]
415 All by earnest reading and meditation (in particular, at the time of the annual Spiritual Exercises, renewal of vows, monthly recollection, beginning of the year, and so forth) should strive ever to know, esteem, and love better our Constitutions and the special nature of our Institute,[ 8] which are to be faithfully observed, and which for each and all of us are the one, true, and safe way that surely leads to the perfection to which our Lord calls and invites all sons of the Society.[9] §2. Major superiors, especially at the time of the annual visitation, should see that this is faithfully observed.
416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls.[11]
L. D. S.
The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms
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
Pastor John, what does it mean to be spiritually LUKEwarm?
If somebody asked me that, the first thing I would say is, Do you mean you want me to say what your pastor meant last Sunday, or what the Bible means? And I don’t know what their pastor said last Sunday, so all I have got to go on here is the Bible. And the Bible only uses this word — I mean the whole Bible: Septuagint, Hebrew Old Testament, Greek New Testament — one time. And so I know what they are talking about. They are talking about Revelation 3:15–16. So here is what it says. Jesus says to the Laodicean church, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” And that is about as scary as it gets, right? For if a Christian says, “I am lukewarm,” that means Jesus is spitting him out of his mouth. That means rejection. So I can see why the question comes up.
Boiling in Spirit
Now I will give my take on this. Some people take cold and hot to both refer to good things. Cold is good because iced tea is great, and hot is good because hot coffee is good. So, “I would that you were cold or hot” means, “I would that you were serviceable for refreshment as cold, or I would that you were warming as hot.” I doubt, frankly, that is what it means. I mean, there wouldn’t be any theological error in that, I don’t think, but I am inclined to think that when he says cold, he doesn’t mean something positive, but rather he means utter indifference to the gospel and to Christ outside the church — a person who is blatantly rejecting Christ and unbelieving. And hot are those who are utterly devoted to Christ like Paul said in Romans 12:11 — “boil.” He said, “Be fervent in spirit.” The word is literally “boil in spirit.” So Paul and Jesus want us to be red hot for God.
But, of course, the person who has that other interpretation would ask me, Well, why in the world would Jesus say, “I would that you were cold”? I mean, why would he say that if you think cold is unbelieving? And my answer is, It is Jesus’s way of saying that it is better to be totally outside the church and clearly, blatantly, unhypocritically unbelieving than to be a compromised believer who puts on all the pretenses of church membership and religiosity, but inside there is no true commitment to Christ and no sense of need for Jesus at all.
You know, I had in my mind 2 Peter 2:20–22 where it says that there are people who have escaped from the defilements of the world though the knowledge of the Lord. Then they become entangled in them again and their last state is worse for them than the first. So that is what I think Jesus has in mind. Better to be a person who has never tasted the powers of the kingdom than taste them and then play the game of churchiness and have no true zeal for Jesus, because the last state of that person is going to be worse than the first — better not to have known.
Pitiable, Poor, Blind, and Naked
So if you ask me, “Well, then, what is lukewarm?” Jesus, I think, points in the next verse to what it means. It says, “You [lukewarm people] say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). The picture of the lukewarm person is a person in church who is self-satisfied: I am rich. I have prospered. I need nothing. I have arrived. And they are not desperate. They are not desperate. They don’t have a true view of themselves.
“The picture of the lukewarm person is a person in church who is self-satisfied: ‘I am rich. I have arrived.’ And they are not desperate.”
What are they missing? They are missing the last part of that verse — “not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” So this is a group of people whose spiritual condition is in terrible shape, and they don’t know it. They think they are just fine. And that is what will be spit out of Jesus’s mouth. They are hypocrites. They are not true Christians. And what they need to do, according to the next verse, is “buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich and white garments so that you may clothe yourself . . . and salve to anoint your eyes, so you may see” (Revelation 3:18).
Buy Free Gold
And here is the paradox: He just told them that they are poor. They can’t buy anything. I remember preaching a sermon on this years and years ago. I think I entitled it, “How to Buy Gold When You Are Broke”. And the answer is faith. This is a picture of a wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, naked person waking up and saying, “God, I am naked. I don’t know anything. I don’t have anything. I am utterly wretched.” Then they fly to Jesus who has free gold and free garments and free salve for their eyes, and he will give it all to them. And they are going to wake up, and the effect is that it produces warmth toward Jesus. It produces the boiling in our spirit of gratitude and trust. So that is my take on what it means to be lukewarm.
Lukewarm does not mean true Christians don’t have seasons of languishing. It doesn’t mean that. It means true saints don’t settle in with mediocrity and say, “I am rich. I am prospered. I need nothing. I will just do this religious thing, and I will be just fine.” No, no, no. A true Christian has an ongoing sense that, in himself, he is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore, he is ever turning to Jesus for gold and for clothing and for salve for his eyes.
John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy. Read more about John.
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/am-i-lukewarm
https://www.facebook.com/4williamdunn/posts/pfbid02u3U52dTHUEKxk2tBGRQ9G91gNVeCz2x5EngdcXd4p87T8vwTAQRTfoErXWoEmTbJl
Romans 12
1599 Geneva Bible
12 1 He exhorteth 2 to that worship which is acceptable to God, 9 to love unfained, 14, 20 even towards our enemies.
1 I Beseech [a]you therefore brethren, [b]by the mercies of God, that ye [c]give up your [d]bodies a [e]living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your [f]reasonable serving of God.
2 [g]And fashion not yourselves like unto this world, but be ye changed by the renewing of your [h]mind, that ye may prove what that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God is.
3 [i]For I [j]say through the grace that is given unto me, to everyone that is among you, that no man [k]presume to understand above that which is meet to understand, but that he understand according to [l]sobriety, as God hath dealt to every man the measure of [m]faith.
4 [n]For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not one office,
5 So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one, one anothers members.
6 [o]Seeing then that we have gifts that are divers, according to the grace that is given unto us, whether we have prophecy, let us prophesy according to the [p]portion of faith.
7 Or an office, let us wait on the office: or he that [q]teacheth, on teaching:
8 Or he that [r]exhorteth, on exhortation: he that [s]distributeth, let him do it with simplicity: he that [t]ruleth, with diligence: he that [u]showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 [v]Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil, and cleave unto that which is good.
10 Be affectioned to love one another with brotherly love. In giving honor, go one before another.
11 Not slothful to do service, fervent in spirit [w]serving the Lord,
12 [x]Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing in prayer.
13 [y]Distributing unto the [z]necessities of the Saints: giving yourselves to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, I say, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be like affectioned one towards another: be not high-minded: but make yourselves equal to them of the [aa]lower sort: be not [ab]wise in yourselves.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil: procure things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as in you is, have peace with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine: I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him: if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap [ac]coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with goodness.
Footnotes
Romans 12:1 The fourth part of this Epistle, which after the finishing of the chief points of Christian doctrine, consisteth in declaring of precepts of Christian life. And first of all he giveth general precepts and grounds: the chiefest whereof is this that every man consecrate himself wholly to the spiritual service of God, and do as it were sacrifice himself, trusting to the grace of God.
Romans 12:1 By this preface he showeth that God’s glory is the utmost end of all our doings.
Romans 12:1 In times past the sacrifices were presented before the altar, but now the altar is everywhere.
Romans 12:1 Yourselves: in times past, other bodies than our own, now our own must be offered.
Romans 12:1 In times past, dead sacrifices were offered, but now we must offer such as have the spirit of life in them.
Romans 12:1 Spiritual.
Romans 12:2 The second precept is this, That we take not other men’s opinions or manners for a rule of life, but that we wholly renouncing this world, set before us as our mark, the will of God, as it is manifested and opened unto us in his word.
Romans 12:2 Why then there is no place left for reason, which the heathen Philosophers place as a Queen in a Castle, nor for man’s free will, which the Popish Schoolmen dream on, if the mind must be renewed. See Eph. 1:18 and 2:5 and 4:17 and Col. 1:21.
Romans 12:3 Thirdly he admonisheth us very earnestly, that every man keep himself within the bounds of his vocation, and that every man be wise according to the measure of grace that God hath given him.
Romans 12:3 I charge.
Romans 12:3 That he please not himself too much, as they do, which persuade themselves they know more than indeed they do.
Romans 12:3 We will be sober if we take not that upon us, which we have not, and if we brag not of that we have.
Romans 12:3 By faith he meaneth the knowledge of God in Christ, and the gifts which the holy Ghost poureth upon the faithful.
Romans 12:4 There is a double reason of the precept going afore: the one is because God hath not committed everything to be done of every man: and therefore, he doeth backwardly, and not only unprofitably, but also to the great disprofit of others, wearieth himself and others, which passeth the bounds of his vocation: the other is, for that this diversity and inequality of vocations and gifts, redoundeth to our commodity seeing that the same is therefore instituted and appointed, that we should be bound one to another. Whereupon it followeth that no man ought to be grieved thereat, seeing that the use of every private gift is common.
Romans 12:6 That which he spake before in general, he applieth particularly to the holy functions, wherein men offend with greater danger. And he divideth them into two sorts, to wit, into Prophets, and Deacons, and again he divideth the Prophets into doctors, and Pastors. And of Deacons he maketh three sorts: to wit, the one to be such as are (as it were) treasurers of the Church coffers, whom he calleth properly Deacons: the other to be the governors of discipline, who are called Seniors or Elders: the third to be such as properly served in the help of the poor, of which sort the company of widows were.
Romans 12:6 That every man observe the measure of that which is revealed unto him.
Romans 12:7 Whose office only is to expound the Scriptures.
Romans 12:8 Who in other places is called the Pastor.
Romans 12:8 To wit, the alms, that he distribute them faithfully, and without respect of person.
Romans 12:8 The Elders of the Church.
Romans 12:8 They that are busied about tending on the poor, must do it with cheerfulness, lest they add sorrow to sorrow.
Romans 12:9 Now he cometh to the duties of the second Table, which he deriveth from charity, which is as it were the fountain of them all. And he defineth Christian charity by sincerity, hatred of evil, earnest study of good things, good affection to help our neighbor, and whose final end is, the glory of God.
Romans 12:11 This piece is well put in, for it maketh difference between Christian duties, and Philosophical duties.
Romans 12:12 He reckoneth up divers other virtues together with their effects, to wit, hope, patience in tribulation, equanimity, continuance in prayer, liberality towards the saints, hospitality, moderation of mind, even in helping our enemies, a selfsame feeling with others as well in adversity as prosperity, modesty, endeavor to maintain honest concord so nigh as we may with all men, which cannot be extinguished by any man’s injuries.
Romans 12:13 A true rule of charity, when we are no less touched with other men’s wants, than with our own, and having that feeling, help them as much as we can.
Romans 12:13 Not upon pleasure, and needless duties, but upon necessary uses.
Romans 12:16 There is nothing that doth so much break concord as ambition, when as every man loatheth a base estate, and seeketh ambitiously to be aloft.
Romans 12:16 Be not puffed up, with opinion of your own wisdom.
Romans 12:20 After this sort doth Solomon point out the wrath of God which hangeth over a man.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012&version=GNV
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