Saturday, February 28, 2015

Examining America’s First Foray into the Middle East (REVIEW)


FEBRUARY 17, 2015 1:19 AM

Author:


Asaf Romirowsky




Headquarters of the U.S. Department of State. Photo: wiki commons.



At the turn of the 21st century through today, American involvement in Middle Eastern politics runs through the Central Intelligence Agency.

In America’s Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East, historian Hugh Wilford shows this has always been the case.

Wilford methodically traces the lives and work of the agency’s three most prominent officers in the Middle East: Kermit “Kim” Roosevelt was the grandson of president Theodore Roosevelt, and the first head of CIA covert action in the region; his cousin, Archie Roosevelt, was a Middle East scholar and chief of the Beirut station; while Miles Copeland was a covert operations specialist who joined the American intelligence enterprise during World War II.

Skillfully drawing on personal papers, autobiographies and other primary sources, Wilford illustrates the diplomatic history that created America’s Great Game. More importantly, he underscores the political and ideological dogmas of these individuals – specifically, the rabidly pro-Arab and anti-Zionist views that shaped the CIA in its early years.

The CIA was created in 1947 and drew on the remains of the wartime Office of Strategic Services, which had been dissolved in 1945. Leaders of the new CIA were drawn from OSS veterans, but they were also members of a fading patrician class of American Protestants – with deep ties to elite universities like Harvard and Yale, and to missionaries with connections throughout the Middle East.

Navigating the organizational labyrinth of American bureaucracy was easier with family and social ties like that of the Roosevelts. Moreover, controlling the CIA’s Middle East agenda – opposing Zionism and Communism, supporting Arab regimes in its early years – was made possible by connecting the agency to outside groups, through what today would be called “astro-turfing.”

In 1948, Roosevelt and leading anti-Zionist Virginia Gildersleeve, a former dean of Barnard College, had formed the Committee for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land, which warned that “extreme Zionist pressure” was in “danger of disruption of our national unity and encouraging anti-Semitism.” The group worked in close coordination with the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism, and with State Department officials.

Roosevelt kept forming anti-Israel groups, such as 1949′s Holy Land Christian Committee, ostensibly to assist Christians in Israel. Careful to include anti-Zionist Jews, “HELP” featured Lessing J. Rosenwald, former chairman of the board of Sears and Roebuck and onetime president of the American Council for Judaism; and Allen Dulles, a former State Department and OSS official and future director of the CIA. HELP was directed by CIA employee William A. Eddy, a former US minister plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and consultant to Aramco.

In its press releases, HELP warned that “lasting peace is not possible until relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction are effected,” and that the “hundreds of thousands of starving, sick and shelterless create a fertile field for Communist intrigue.”

As Bronson Clark of the American Friends Service Committee, then doing refugee relief work in Gaza, noted after a meeting with HELP: “This body, composed entirely of pro-Arab, anti-Zionist elements, was not to be an operating agency but was to serve as a publicity front for the operating agencies.

“This meeting represents another move in a series of moves which, like an iceberg, show only one-quarter on the surface what goes on, while three-quarters of the maneuverings are hidden.”

Finally, in 1951, Roosevelt – together with two dozen pro-Arab American educators, theologians and writers, including Gildersleeve and Harry Emerson Fosdick – founded an anti-Zionist group called American Friends of the Middle East (AFME). It was Roosevelt who used his role at the CIA to ensure the organization would fund the group through the CIA and Aramco.

It was through groups like the AFME and anti-Zionist activists like Rabbi Elmer Berger, a leader of the American Council for Judaism, that the Roosevelts were able to shape the CIA’s prism of the Middle East. With Kim Roosevelt’s blessing, the AFME led the way in educating policy- makers, journalists and others as to the Middle Eastern “reality” – which coincided with their political biases.

As Wilford writes, “In December 1958, AFME drafted a pamphlet, ‘Story of a Purpose,’ which eloquently articulated the group’s founding values: sympathy towards Arab nationalism and the drive toward Arab unity, rejection of the last vestiges of colonialism and imperialism, and the belief that the Palestine Question is the very heart of the Middle East problems, requiring a US policy of friendly and sympathetic impartiality.”

The AFME organization still exists today as AMIDEAST, “a leading American nonprofit organization engaged in international education, training and development activities in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Wilford’s historical account helps explain how modern NGOs’ evergreen anti-Zionist views remain cornerstones today, along with the convenient core belief that all Middle East problems reside in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Characterizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other Zionist groups as the center of a nefarious “Israel lobby” is also not new.

Times may have changed, but the seeds of the Great Game laid out by the CIA Arabists remain visible today.

This article was originally published by The Jerusalem Post.


Source
.

New York churches face questions about afterlife



The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, citing declining attendance, rising costs and a looming priest shortage, announced plans to merge scores of parishes and close dozens of churches this year. USA TODAY’s Rick Hampson reports on the reaction Robert Deutsch and Matthew Colby, USA TODAY

Rick Hampson, USA TODAY

6:15 p.m. EST February 27, 2015





(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)





NEW YORK – Our Lady of Vilnius Church, built by families of immigrant Lithuanian longshoremen, started out a century ago as a beloved worship space. Now, it's a coveted real estate asset.

In 2013, six years after the church was closed, it was sold for $13 million to one of the city's biggest developers. The following year that company flipped it like a pancake to another developer for $18.4 million.

Now the yellow brick church near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel awaits demolition to make way for an 18-story luxury apartment house.

"It makes you cynical,'' says Christina Nakraseive, a former parishioner who supported the legal case against the church closing until it was rejected by the state's highest court. "It seems like it's all about real estate.''

The issue has taken on added significance since the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, citing declining attendance, rising costs and a looming priest shortage, announced plans to merge scores of parishes and close dozens of churches this year.


The move raises an issue that has been faced by thousands (no one seems to know exactly how many) of shuttered houses of worship across the Northeast and Midwest: What to do with buildings that are often architecturally important and always sentimentally important, especially since a church's shape, age and location makes the building hard to reuse?

The booming residential real estate market in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn offers a solution, albeit controversial: Demolish them for -- or even convert them to – housing.

Several closed churches have been torn down to make way for apartment houses, including Mary Help of Christians in the East Village, which preservationists failed to save.

A few have been converted to apartments. A developer who paid $13.8 million in 2011 for St. Vincent de Paul Church in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn turned it into The Spire Lofts, a 40-unit apartment house. A former Pentecostal church in the Greenpoint section was converted into three apartments, each renting for about $100,000 a year. Wood-beamed ceilings and peaked windows remind residents of the building's ecclesiastical roots.

Several other such projects are in the works. The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Brooklyn probably will be torn down, and St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church in the same borough will be converted into apartments, with a triplex in the steeple.

There are worries that real estate values might undercut Gospel ones.



The Our Lady of Peace Church on East 62nd Street in New York City was established by Italian immigrants who felt unwelcome in other parishes. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)


Robert Corti worships at Our Lady of Peace, whose red brick 1866 building will close when the parish merges with another on the East Side under the archdiocesan program called "Making All Things New" (which skeptics have dubbed "Making All Things Condo'' or "Making All Things Revenue").

Our Lady of Peace was established by Italian immigrants who felt unwelcome in other parishes. Corti's grandparents were married there; he, his mother, his aunt, his sister and his grandchildren were all baptized there. He walks eight blocks to go there, even though another church is closer.

Corti, a former CFO of Avon Products, understands cost cutting and downsizing. But he says closing a church in good physical and fiscal condition will alienate its loyal and generous parishioners.

The church sits in an official city historic district. Its façade is protected, but the building could be sold and its interior changed or demolished. Corti notes that the ongoing, five-year renovation of the 137-year-old St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan will cost $180 million, of which about $70 million has yet to be raised. That's a big gap,'' he says. As for a possible connection between his church's real estate value and the decision to close it, he wonders, "Could it be a factor? They say not.''



Robert J. Corti, a former CFO of Avon Products, worships at Our Lady of Peace Church on East 62nd Street in New York City. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA Today)


The archdiocese says that some churches in merged parishes will not totally close (Our Lady of Peace may be used on unspecified "special occasions''); those that are closed will not be sold any time soon; and that any sale proceeds will be used to endow things like Catholic schools and religious education -- not for archdiocesan operating expenses or St. Patrick's.

A church closing is not a quick way to turn real estate into cash, if only because it takes time to deconsecrate a church when the process is contested. The 2007 closing of St. Vincent de Paul in Manhattan is still on appeal to the Vatican.

About a mile uptown from Our Lady of Peace, St. Thomas More parish also finds itself endangered (even though it's not yet clear the parish will be merged with another or what might happen to its buildings, which are not city landmarks).

St. Thomas More is a rich church in a rich neighborhood. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis worshiped there, and it was the site of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s memorial service. Its building, which has a 19th century pastoral elegance, is usually filled on Sunday.

It's also the parish of The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan, who wrote a testy column in which she reported that parishioners wonder if "the archdiocese is driven by what drove Henry VIII, politics and real estate.''

She wrote that the church and its land "could bring in $50 million, maybe $100 million, adding: "Any developer would jump at the chance.'' Instead, she suggested that Cardinal Timothy Dolan sell his palatial residence on Madison Avenue.

In a testy rebuttal, Bishop John O'Hara, a Dolan aide who has supervised the consolidation, wrote that "the process has nothing to do with real estate.''

Dolan says his archdiocese can't keep spending $40 million a year to support "unneeded'' parishes. "We have too many parishes!'' he wrote in a pastoral letter. "We no longer need 368 parishes in their current locations! … There are 29 parishes in the South Manhattan Vicariate alone — all concentrated on 14th Street or below!''

It's not just money, Dolan says. The archdiocese will soon face a critical shortage of priests to administer its parishes.

They no longer include Our Lady of Vilnius, once a touchstone of Lithuanian Catholic identity and closed in 2007 because of what the archdiocese described as a dwindling congregation, a weak roof and a pastor who could not "understand, read or speak Lithuanian.''



Candles at Our Lady of Peace Church in New York City. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)


Former parishioners like Chris Nakraseive still gather occasionally on Sunday to pray outside their old church's locked front doors. They came Thursday, the eighth anniversary of its closing, to display icons, burn candles, sing hymns in Lithuanian and say the Hail Mary.

They're not the only ones who mourn the church. A neighborhood resident, Laura Barker, also stopped by. "I still miss the sound of the bells,'' she said.


.

MARK OF THE BEAST UPDATE





Published on Feb 26, 2015
.

"Emerging Errors" - Steve Wohlberg



"Emerging Errors" - Steve Wohlberg


Published on Jan 12, 2015

sermon

.

When religious teachers are pointing forward to long ages of peace and prosperity,..



The sins that called for vengeance upon the antediluvian world exist today. The fear of God is banished from the hearts of men, and His law is treated with indifference and contempt. The intense worldliness of that generation is equaled by that of the generation now living. Said Christ, "As in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matthew 24:38, 39. God did not condemn the antediluvians for eating and drinking; He had given them the fruits of the earth in great abundance to supply their physical wants. Their sin consisted in taking these gifts without gratitude to the Giver, and debasing themselves by indulging appetite without restraint. It was lawful for them to marry. Marriage was in God's order; it was one of the first institutions which He established. He gave special directions concerning this ordinance, clothing it with sanctity and beauty; but these directions were forgotten, and marriage was perverted and made to minister to passion.

A similar condition of things exists now. That which is lawful in itself is carried to excess. Appetite is indulged without restraint. Professed followers of Christ are today eating and drinking with the drunken, while their names stand in honored church records. Intemperance benumbs the moral and spiritual powers and prepares the way for indulgence of the lower passions. Multitudes feel under no moral obligation to curb their sensual desires, and they become the slaves of lust. Men are living for the pleasures of sense; for this world and this life alone. Extravagance pervades all circles of society. Integrity is sacrificed for luxury and display. They that make haste to be rich pervert justice and oppress the poor, and "slaves and souls of men" are still bought and sold. Fraud and bribery and theft stalk unrebuked in high places and in low. The issues of the press teem with records of murder--crimes so cold-blooded and causeless that it seems as though every instinct of humanity were blotted out. And these atrocities have become of so common occurrence that they hardly elicit a comment or awaken surprise. The spirit of anarchy is permeating all nations, and the outbreaks that from time to time excite the horror of the world are but indications of the pent-up fires of passion and lawlessness that, having once escaped control, will fill the earth with woe and desolation. The picture which Inspiration has given of the antediluvian world represents too truly the condition to which modern society is fast hastening. Even now, in the present century, and in professedly Christian lands, there are crimes daily perpetrated as black and terrible as those for which the old-world sinners were destroyed.

Before the Flood God sent Noah to warn the world, that the people might be led to repentance, and thus escape the threatened destruction. As the time of Christ's second appearing draws near, the Lord sends His servants with a warning to the world to prepare for that great event. Multitudes have been living in transgression of God's law, and now He in mercy calls them to obey its sacred precepts. All who will put away their sins by repentance toward God and faith in Christ are offered pardon. But many feel that it requires too great a sacrifice to put away sin. Because their life does not harmonize with the pure principles of God's moral government, they reject His warnings and deny the authority of His law.

Of the vast population of the earth before the Flood, only eight souls believed and obeyed God's word through Noah. For a hundred and twenty years the preacher of righteousness warned the world of the coming destruction, but his message was rejected and despised. So it will be now. Before the Lawgiver shall come to punish the disobedient, transgressors are warned to repent, and return to their allegiance; but with the majority these warnings will be in vain. Says the apostle Peter, "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning." 2 Peter 3:3, 4. Do we not hear these very words repeated, not merely by the openly ungodly, but by many who occupy the pulpits of our land? "There is no cause for alarm," they cry. "Before Christ shall come, all the world is to be converted, and righteousness is to reign for a thousand years. Peace, peace! all things continue as they were from the beginning. Let none be disturbed by the exciting message of these alarmists." But this doctrine of the millennium does not harmonize with the teachings of Christ and His apostles. Jesus asked the significant question, "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8. And, as we have seen, He declares that the state of the world will be as in the days of Noah. Paul warns us that we may look for wickedness to increase as the end draws near: "The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. The apostle says that "in the last days perilous times shall come." 2 Timothy 3:1. And he gives a startling list of sins that will be found among those who have a form of godliness.


As the time of their probation was closing, the antediluvians gave themselves up to exciting amusements and festivities. Those who possessed influence and power were bent on keeping the minds of the people engrossed with mirth and pleasure, lest any should be impressed by the last solemn warning. Do we not see the same repeated in our day? While God's servants are giving the message that the end of all things is at hand, the world is absorbed in amusements and pleasure seeking. There is a constant round of excitement that causes indifference to God and prevents the people from being impressed by the truths which alone can save them from the coming destruction.

In Noah's day philosophers declared that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by water; so now there are men of science who endeavor to show that the world cannot be destroyed by fire--that this would be inconsistent with the laws of nature. But the God of nature, the Maker and Controller of her laws, can use the works of His hands to serve His own purpose.

When great and wise men had proved to their satisfaction that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by water, when the fears of the people were quieted, when all regarded Noah's prophecy as a delusion, and looked upon him as a fanatic--then it was that God's time had come. "The fountains of the great deep" were "broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened," and the scoffers were overwhelmed in the waters of the Flood. With all their boasted philosophy, men found too late that their wisdom was foolishness, that the Lawgiver is greater than the laws of nature, and that Omnipotence is at no loss for means to accomplish His purposes. "As it was in the days of Noah," "even thus shall it be in the days when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:26, 30. "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 3:10. When the reasoning of philosophy has banished the fear of God's judgments; when religious teachers are pointing forward to long ages of peace and prosperity, and the world are (is) absorbed in their (its) rounds of business and pleasure, planting and building, feasting and merrymaking, rejecting God's warnings and mocking His messengers--then it is that sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

Patriarchs and Prophets, pp.101-104
.
/

Friday, February 27, 2015

EndrTimes: Redmond Washington Blog?





EndrTimes: Redmond Washington Blog?:

As I check my blog and the Feedjit traffic feed on it... I notice that Redmond Washington is 9 of the 10 last visitors to EndrTime...

Seventh-day Adventists Urged to Leave the United States.






Seventh-day Adventists Urged to Leave the United States.

A statement that "the day is coming, and is not far off, when every Seventh-day Adventist will wish . . . that he were out of the United States," has been incorrectly attributed to Ellen G. White.

It is part of a sermon by Alonzo T. Jones, published in the General Conference Bulletin, April 16, 1901, pages 265, 266.
.
.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

FCC Approves Net Neutrality





FCC approves new net neutrality rules
USA Today‎ - 3 hours ago
FCC approves net neutrality rules to assert more govt authority over the Internet & provide ...

Net Neutrality Begs A Big Legal Question: What Changed About The Internet?
Forbes‎ - 1 hour ago

Charlie Hebdo And The Pope's Visist To Congress





Published on Feb 19, 2015


The Charlie Hebdo attack. While Parisians by the millions took to the streets to pour out their grief and support a free press, the Pope took a different tack. David Mould explores the Pope's reaction.

.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Nothing But The Truth: The Greatest Deception Since The Garden Of Eden






Published on Feb 12, 2015


Another part of this series, 'a conversation with joggler66' from Talkshoe internet broadcast platform with Michael Adams and Jörg Glismann (joggler66) featuring Tom Friess from http://wwfar.com/inquisitionupdate/ and https://inquisitionupdate.wordpress.com/

Why the title 'the greatest deception since the Garden of Eden?'

Because there, for the first time in man's history, Satan deceived the WHOLE WORLD and ever since the proclamation of the futurist ANTICHRIST LIE again Satan twists the WORD of GOD and deceives the WHOLE WORLD for the second time.

Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice shame on YOU (SATAN)!
What does this embody?

The founding of ISRAEL after WW2 by deceiving the people through faked persecution and real inquisition to have a reason to have a nation state of Israel and jews living in that area as there was in Daniel's prophecy:

Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

The building of the Temple that is being planned in Jerusalem now, the allowance given to the jews to worship under the trees between the buildings of the Temple are the next steps.

This deception will convince the world we are NOW living in the 70 week prophecy.

This is the denial of Christ Jesus's FIRST coming so that the ANTICHRIST who claims to BE CHRIST will be accepted by the whole world as Messiah!

John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

The fulfillment of the 1590 founded jesuitical futurist deception of the ANTICHRIST being a single individual in the (then) distant future taking the heat of the refomers interpretation of the papacy being the biblical, historical and prophetic ANTICHTIST!

Dispensational futurism versus historicism!

The truth that is written all along in the bible will prevail and will be understood by minds reading the word of GOD who are intellectually honest!

Rapture vs. Resurrection?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pPL0...

The Rapture will be Cancelled!
https://nicklasarthur.wordpress.com/g...

Almost forbidden books (PDF library!)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?i.

.

Hindu leader questions Mother Teresa's motives



By Ed Adamczyk | Feb. 24, 2015 at 3:11 PM




Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa at the White House, June 13, 1986. File Photo by Vince Mannino/ UPI
|License Photo



NEW DELHI, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A prominent Hindu leader in India was criticized Tuesday for suggesting Mother Teresa's humanitarianism was aimed at converting India's poor to Christianity.

Mohan Bhagwat, leader of Rashtriya Sawyamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group, made his remarks Monday at the opening of an orphanage and home for poor women in the Indian state of Rajasthan. "There are no services like Mother Teresa's here," Mr. Bhagwat said, noting the Catholic nun's work among India's poor had "a motive behind it, that those who are rendered the service should become Christian. It is their question if somebody wants to convert and make someone Christian or not, but if that is done under the garb of service, then that service is devalued."

Mother Teresa devoted her life to the poor and sick of Kolkata, then called Calcutta, receiving global admiration. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and died in 1997. The Catholic Church beatified her, the third of four steps leading to sainthood, in 2003.

Bhagwat's comments came as India deals with attacks on Christian churches, and campaigns of Hindu nationalists urging those who converted to other faiths to return to Hinduism. The tension was noted last week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata party has ties to Bhagwat's organization; Modi said India believes "not only in religious tolerance, but we accept all religions as true."

Other political leaders have demanded Baghwat's apology. Sunita Kuma, of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa's religious order in Kolkata, commented, "Mother believed in all faith, there was never any attempt to convert, the tradition continues even today. We are not worried about the RSS chief's comment, we have nothing to hide, we live in peace."


Source
.
.
.

Nothing But The Truth – Satan’s Paradise






Published on Feb 18, 2015

The entire title should read as follows:
Nothing But The Truth – Satan’s Paradise: The Consequences Of The Greatest Deception Since The Garden Of Eden

In this broadcast we will go into the consequences we ALL have to face when not understanding the greatest deception since the garden of Eden as explained in part 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxtSm... ) of this vital to understand subject. Please read the description from that video for further understanding.

The world has been run by the roman catholic church since 538 AD now, assisted by their Knighthoods (The Knights Of the Temple of Jerusalem during the crusades and the society of Jesus to name the most important).

Since the whole world today is living in a system created by the society of Jesus (the Jesuits) to fit their agenda (…that the end justifies the means…) all of education, formation, information, economics and politics is controlled by this still growing Luciferian secret society that is not at all so secret anymore.

Their actions lay the foundation of how we perceive the world and they handle us from cradle to grave in such a manner that people don’t even recognize it.

Only when you are prepared to question the ‘facts’ presented to you and question them you will have a chance to see the system many refer to as a kind of ‘Matrix’ that makes you go along because it’s comfortable – even though you face many problems and don’t understand why they are not being taken care of.

The answer has been given to us by the WORD of GOD that the roman catholic church so desperately wants to get rid of once and for all.

If GOD is silenced in our hearts and minds all we can hear is Satan and we’ll be dancing to his music until we die and he stole our god given right of eternal life by our ignorance to the love that GOD offers freely to everyone who listens and obeys him.

The choice everybody has to make for himself, that’s why we were given free will.
But we also have to live with the consequences of our decision…

Another part of this series, 'a conversation with joggler66' from Talkshoe internet broadcast platform with Michael Adams and Jörg Glismann (joggler66) featuring Tom Friess from http://wwfar.com/inquisitionupdate/ and https://inquisitionupdate.wordpress.com/

Rapture vs. Resurrection?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pPL0...

Almost forbidden books (PDF library!)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?i...
.
.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

As Republicans Concede, F.C.C. Is Expected to Enforce Net Neutrality




By JONATHAN WEISMAN

FEB. 24, 2015




Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, conceded that Democrats are lining up with President Obama in favor of the F.C.C. position on net neutrality. 
Credit Jabin Botsford/The New York Times



WASHINGTON — Last April, a dozen New York-based Internet companies gathered in the Flatiron Building boardroom of the social media website Tumblr to hear dire warnings that broadband providers were about to get the right to charge for the fastest speeds on the web.

The implication: If they didn’t pay up, they would be stuck in the slow lane.

What followed has been the longest, most sustained campaign of Internet activism in history, one that the little guys appear to have won. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote to regulate the Internet as a public good. On Tuesday, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, all but surrendered on efforts to overturn the coming ruling, conceding Democrats are lining up with President Obama in favor of the F.C.C.

“We’re not going to get a signed bill that doesn’t have Democrats’ support,” he said, explaining that Democrats have insisted on waiting until after Thursday’s F.C.C. vote before even beginning to talk.





How Net Neutrality Works

Video by Natalia V. Osipova and Carrie Halperin on May 15, 2014.

The future of protecting an open Internet has been the subject of fierce debate, and potential changes to the rules by the Federal Communications Commission could affect your online experience.

“I told Democrats, Yes, you can wait until the 26th, but you’re going to lose the critical mass I think that’s necessary to come up with a legislative alternative once the F.C.C. acts,” he said.

In the battle over so-called net neutrality, a swarm of small players, from Tumblr to Etsy, BoingBoing to Reddit, has overwhelmed the giants of the tech world, Comcast, Verizon and TimeWarner Cable, with a new brand of corporate activism — New World versus Old. The biggest players on the Internet, Amazon and Google, have stayed in the background, while smaller players — some household names like Twitter and Netflix, others far more obscure, like Chess.com and Urban Dictionary — have mobilized a grass-roots crusade.

“We don’t have an army of lobbyists to deploy. We don’t have financial resources to throw around,” said Liba Rubenstein, Tumblr’s director of social impact and public policy. “What we do have is access to an incredibly engaged, incredibly passionate user base, and we can give folks the tools to respond.”

In mid-October, the technology activist group Fight for the Future acquired the direct phone numbers of about 30 F.C.C. officials, circumventing the F.C.C.’s switchboard to send calls directly to policy makers at the agency. That set off a torrent of more than 55,000 phone calls until the group turned off the spigot Dec. 3.

In November, President Obama cited “almost four million public comments” when he publicly pressured the F.C.C. to turn away from its paid “fast lane” proposal and embrace a new regulatory framework.

Since then, the lobbying has only grown more intense. Last week, 102 small Internet companies, including Yelp, Kickstarter and Meetup, wrote the F.C.C. to say the threat of Internet service providers “abusing their gatekeeper power to impose tolls and discriminate against competitive companies is the real threat to our future,” not “heavy-handed regulation” and possible taxation, as conservatives in Washington say.

On Feb. 5, the Mozilla Foundation, makers of the popular Firefox web browser, posted a pro-net neutrality banner just below its search window, proclaiming, “In just a few days, the web could change forever,” and imploring users to sign the firm’s petition; close to 300,000 have signed, said Dave Steer, Mozilla’s director for advocacy, who has helped mobilize Silicon Valley for Net Neutrality.

“This is not East Coast-West Coast thing. It’s not a for-profit company versus nonprofit thing. It’s all of us,” he proclaimed. “We came together under the banner of Team Internet.”

Republicans who had branded net neutrality “Obamacare for the Internet” have grown much quieter under the barrage.

“Tech companies would be better served to work with Congress on clear rules for the road. The thing that they’re buying into right now is a lot of legal uncertainty,” said Senator Thune, who warned that the F.C.C.’s new rule would face litigation from opponents and a possible reversal from a future, more Republican F.C.C. “I’m not sure exactly what their thinking is.

The cable and broadband companies that have fought the new regulations are even more dazed. Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, said the pro-net neutrality activists have somehow turned a complex and technical debate over how best to keep the Internet operating most efficiently into a matter of religion. The forces for stronger regulation are for the Internet. Those opposed are against it.

Mr. Dietz said in no way were the Internet service providers trying to silence the Internet content companies. “They have a right to have an active voice in the public policy arena,” he said.

But, he said, the Internet companies in some case are misleading their customers, and in some cases, are being misled on the intricacies of the policy.

,
,

Monday, February 23, 2015

Feds Hold Hearing On Whether They Should ‘Regulate’ Sites Like Drudge, Infowars And The Economic Collapse Blog



By Michael Snyder, on February 11th, 2015




The control freaks that run our government always seem to want to “regulate” things that they do not like. And so it should be no surprise that there is a renewed push to regulate independent news websites. Sites like the Drudge Report, Infowars.com and The Economic Collapse Blog have been a thorn in the side of the establishment for years. You see, the truth is that approximately 90 percent of all news and entertainment in this country is controlled by just six giant media corporations. That is why the news seems to be so similar no matter where you turn. But in recent years the alternative media has exploded in popularity. People are hungry for the truth, and an increasing number of Americans are waking up to the fact that they are not getting the truth from the corporate-controlled media. But as the alternative media has grown, it was only going to be a matter of time before the establishment started cracking down on it. At the moment it is just the FEC and the FCC, but surely this is just the beginning. Our “Big Brother” government ultimately wants to control every area of our lives – and this especially applies to our ability to communicate freely with one another.

The Federal Election Commission is an example of a federal rule making body that has gotten wildly out of control. Since just about anything that anyone says or does could potentially “influence an election”, it is not difficult for them to come up with excuses to regulate things that they do not like.

And on Wednesday, the FEC held a hearing on whether or not they should regulate political speech on blogs, websites and YouTube videos…

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is holding a hearing today to receive public feedback on whether it should create new rules regulating political speech, including political speech on the Internet that one commissioner warned could affect blogs, YouTube videos and even websites like the Drudge Report.

If you do not think that this could ever happen, you should consider what almost happened at the FEC last October

In October, then FEC Vice Chairwoman Ann M. Ravel promised that she would renew a push to regulate online political speechfollowing a deadlocked commission vote that would have subjected political videos and blog posts to the reporting and disclosure requirements placed on political advertisers who broadcast on television. On Wednesday, she will begin to make good on that promise.

“Some of my colleagues seem to believe that the same political message that would require disclosure if run on television should be categorically exempt from the same requirements when placed in the Internet alone,” Ravel said in an October statement. “As a matter of policy, this simply does not make sense.”

“In the past, the Commission has specifically exempted certain types of Internet communications from campaign finance regulations,” she lamented. “In doing so, the Commission turned a blind eye to the Internet’s growing force in the political arena.”

As our nation continues to drift toward totalitarianism, it is only a matter of time before political speech on the Internet is regulated. It is already happening in other countries all around the globe, and control freak politicians such as Ravel will just keep pushing until they get what they want.

The way that they are spinning it this time around is that they desperately need to do something “about money in politics”

Noting the 32,000 public comments that came into the FEC in advance of the hearing, Democratic Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said, “75 percent thought that we need to do more about money in politics, particularly in the area of disclosure. And I think that’s something that we can’t ignore.”

And it isn’t just a few control freak Democrats that want these changes.

The Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign Legal Center, the League of Women Voters and Public Citizen were all expected to testify in favor of more government regulation on the Internet at the hearing.

Fortunately, other organizations are doing what they can to warn the general population. For example, the following comes from the Electronic Frontier Foundation


Increased regulation of online speech is not only likely to chill participation in the public debate, but it may also threaten individual speakers’ privacy and right to post anonymously. In so doing, it may undermine two goals of campaign finance reform: protecting freedom of political speech and expanding political participation.

As we stated in our joint comments to the FEC back in 2005[pdf], “the Internet provides a counter-balance to the undue dominance that ‘big money’ has increasingly wielded over the political process in the past half-century.” We believe that heightened regulation of online political speech will hamper the Internet’s ability to level the playing field.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama and the FCC are using net neutrality as an excuse to impose lots of new regulations on Internet activity.

Ajit Pai is an FCC commissioner who is opposed to this plan. He recently sent out a tweet holding what he calls “President Obama’s 332-page plan to regulate the Internet“…

Ajit Pai’s description of “President Obama’s 332-page plan to regulate the Internet” sounds Orwellian. He tweeted a picture of himself holding the 332-page plan just below a picture of a smiling Barack Obama with a comment, “I wish the public could see what’s inside.” The implication depicted Obama as George Orwell’s “Big Brother.”

Pai also released a statement: “President Obama’s plan marks a monumental shift toward government control of the Internet. It gives the FCC the power to micromanage virtually every aspect of how the Internet works,” he said. “The plan explicitly opens the door to billions of dollars in new taxes on broadband… These new taxes will mean higher prices for consumers and more hidden fees that they have to pay.”

Here is the photo that he posted with his tweet…



After what we went through with Obamacare, one can only imagine what is inside that monstrosity of a document.

Regulation of the Internet is here, and it is only going to get worse.

But at least we are not like Saudi Arabia just yet. Recently, a Saudi blogger was sentenced to 1,000 lashes for “insulting Islam“.

So we should be thankful for the freedoms that we still have. But without a doubt, governments all over the world are slowly but surely cracking down on Internet freedom.

If we do not stand up for our rights now, one day we may wake up and find that our freedom to communicate with one another over the Internet is totally gone.


,
.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

WORLD LEADERS GATHER FOR G20 INTERFAITH SUMMIT



Photo Source: Record staff | "James Standish (far left) with parliamentarians."


By Record Staff

Published on: 18 November, 2014


Queensland, Australia

An interfaith summit organised by Griffith University to coincide with the G20 is underway in Queensland. The summit’s focus is on the connection between economic development and religious freedom.

“This event will bring together scholars, lawyers and political leaders with faith and interfaith leaders from around the world for three days of discussion and dialogue,” says Dr Brian Adams, director of the university’s Centre for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue.

Yesterday, James Standish, director of the communication and public affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific, chaired a conference session consisting of parliamentarians from Turkey, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and the ACT.



Australian Human Rights commissioner Tim Wilson with South Pacific Division Communication and Public Affairs director James Standish.


“We live in an age where religious freedom questions are being asked with increasingly urgency,” notes Standish.

“How far should societies go to crack down on religious extremism? How do we balance competing claims to rights? How much religion is too much religion in public life? What can we do to promote social stability in religiously diverse societies? Parliamentarians struggle with these questions. It was good to have a place for them to share their diverse experience and visions.”

The G20 Interfaith Summit concludes today.



Source
.

Related:


Samoan Minister comes to Brisbane for the G20 Interfaith Summit




L to R Executive Director Law Firm Leota Theresa Potoi, Hon Lautafi Purcell, Director Interfaith Centre Griffith Uni Nathan Campus QLD,

By Helen Lauaki and Emma Soloai

The G20 Interfaith Summit organised by Dr. Brian Adams, the Director for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue for Griffith University Nathan Campus, Queensland played host to an international group of Religious and political leaders from around the world. Dr. Adams, PHD envisioned a conference whereby leaders from different faiths could meet and discuss openly and without criticism their ideology and perspectives on life. He said, "It has been rewarding to have about 180 people from North America, Egypt, United Emirates, Europe to Asia and South America to the Pacific come to this. From Muslims, Bhuddists, Bahai, Hindu, Seik, and many different Christians Is a dream for someone like me who is at the Centre of Faith and Intercultural Dialogue. When we work together for a common goal we have a working dialogue. There is so much everyone brings to the table."

Ideas one never would have thought of if one stuck to their own religious and cultural beliefs are presented in this open forum. Dr. Adams explains, "Having this type of open dialogue helps us to find solutions better to the world's problems. And we can find solutions faster and get things done quicker." He stated that one of his aims was to help build Economic structures in the Pacific.




Hon Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell MP with Emma Soloai

The Minister of Aborigines & Torres Strait Islanders and Multi-Cultural Affairs, Glenn Elmes supported this summit and got behind Dr. Adams and his Team. The conference was well represented by Ministers from the host nation, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa.

The Samoan Minister of Public Enterprises, Public Service Commission & Samoa Bureau of Statistics, Hon. Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell stated that for Samoa the topic of the summit is relevant to Samoan political affairs. He said, "What we have learned from this conference Samoa can use going forward." He agreed that there is an important correlation with the relationship between religious freedom and economic development, which is the Theme of the G20 Interfaith Summit. "Religion is an integral part of Samoa." And when asked does religion clash with Fa'a Samoa, he replied, "No. The two integrate into each other and merge together creating 'Samoanised' Christianity." He further mentioned, "The freedom of religion is stated in the Constitution and maintained by all."




L to R Emma, Glenda Stanley, John and Mangere Labour MP Su'a Williams Sio



Read more
.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Joseph in Egypt



Joseph in Egypt
Continued.

By E. G. White

The Signs of the Times, January 15, 1888.

Read here
http://text.egwwritings.org/publication.phppub?type=Periodical&bookCode=ST&lang=en&QUERY=and%2Bangels&resultId=9913&year=1880&month=January&day=15
.

Islam: by Steve Wohlberg and Stephen Dickie - Islam Revisited



Islam: by Steve Wohlberg and Stephen Dickie - Islam Revisited

Islam: by Steve Wohlberg and Stephen Dickie - An Army Of Locusts (Part Five)



Islam: by Steve Wohlberg and Stephen Dickie - An Army Of Locusts (Part One)



Published on Oct 20, 2014


https://archive.org/details/IR-05
https://archive.org/details/IR-06

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

In production and development, open source as a development model promotes a universal access via a free license to a product's design or blueprint, and universal redistribution of that design or blueprint, including subsequent improvements to it by anyone. Researchers view open source as a specific case of the greater pattern of Open Collaboration, "any system of innovation or production that relies on goal-oriented yet loosely coordinated participants, who interact to create a product (or service) of economic value, which they make available to contributors and non-contributors alike". Before the phrase open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of other terms. Open source gained hold with the rise of the Internet, and the attendant need for massive retooling of the computing source code. Opening the source code enabled a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication paths, and interactive communities. The open-source software movement arose to clarify the environment that the new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues created.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source
.
.

Israel Delusion - Steve Wohlberg



Steve Wohlberg - Israel delusion




Published on Apr 8, 2012

Newsweek Magazine, Nov 1999 says: The predominant emphasis in Christian prophecy is on the return of the Jews to the Holy Land and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. This is what Christian generally believes. They look at the Middle East and looking for this to happen. Is this what the Bible prophecies will happen at the end of time?

.

Pope: 'Grave Sin' When Employers Underpay Workers, Avoid Taxes



Related Stories:



Friday, 20 Feb 2015 09:04 PM

By Cathy Burke



Employers who hire workers off the books to avoid paying taxes, Social Security, and a fair wage are committing a "very grave sin," Pope Francis says.

In a homily Friday at the Saint Martha residence in the Vatican where he lives, the Argentine pontiff harshly castigated bosses who attend church but treat their workers poorly, the Gazzetta del Sud reports.

"You cannot make donations to the Church on the back of the injustice that you commit with your employees," the Pope said, the online news site reports.

"Using God to cover injustice is a very grave sin," he said, adding: "If you go to Mass on Sunday and take communion, you should ask: What is the relationship with your employees? Do you pay them off the books? Do you pay them a fair salary? Do you pay the pension contributions?"

Though the Pope has been praised by some for his remarks on homosexuality, abortion, and divorce that appears to signal a more tolerant tone in the Catholic Church, it's a position that has rattled conservatives.

But he has also come under fire from the gay community for criticizing theories that consider people's gender identities to exist along a spectrum, comparing transgender people to "Herods"who "destroy, that plot designs of death, that disfigure the face of man and woman, destroying creation."



Source
.



French interior minister meets with Google, Facebook, Twitter about online propaganda


Published February 20, 2015
Associated Press




French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, right, gestures during a meeting with Google executives Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) (The Associated Press)



SAN FRANCISCO – The French interior minister is meeting with representatives from Google, Facebook and Twitter to encourage them to join the European Union in its fight against propaganda disseminated online by terrorist groups.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve is spending Friday in the San Francisco Bay Area.

He is calling for better coordination in the fight against online "terrorist propaganda,"
asking Internet firms to cooperate against extremism.

On Jan. 7, two gunmen killed 12 people and injured 11 more during an attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. A third gunman killed a policewoman Jan. 8 and then killed four more people a day later after taking hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris. Police killed the three gunmen in two separate shootouts Jan. 9.


.

Friday, February 20, 2015

86-story tower in Dubai in flames, officials say no one hurt




By ADAM SCHRECK, Associated Press | February 20, 2015 | Updated: February 20, 2015 9:18pm


This photo provided by Rhea Saran shows flames coming from a high rise tower in Dubai's marina district Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. The fire broke out early Saturday in the Torch tower on the northeastern end of the densely populated district, which is packed with multi-story skyscrapers. Debris from the fire cluttered nearby streets after the blaze appeared to be extinguished. Photo: Rhea Saran, AP / Rhea Saran

Photo By Rhea Saran/AP
This photo provided by Rhea Saran shows flames coming from a high rise tower in Dubai's marina district Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. The fire broke out early Saturday in the Torch tower on the northeastern end of the densely populated district, which is packed with multi-story skyscrapers. Debris from the fire cluttered nearby streets after the blaze appeared to be extinguished.



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — One of the world's tallest residential towers caught fire early Saturday in Dubai's Marina district, sending bright yellow flames several stories high, but there were no reports of casualties, civil defense officials said.

The fire broke out at about 2 a.m. in the 86-story Torch tower on the northeast end of the densely populated district, which is packed with multi-story skyscrapers. High winds whipped through the area and debris from the fire cluttered nearby streets after the blaze appeared to be extinguished.

The civil defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were no reports of deaths or injuries.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

The Marina area is home to dozens of towering apartment blocks and hotels, many of them built over the past decade. The apartments are popular with Dubai's large number of expatriate professionals.

Police blocked off areas around the Torch, which still had power. Lights were on in many of the apartments inside and multiple fire trucks and police vehicles were on the scene.


Residents of at least one neighboring tower were told to evacuate as a precaution because of strong winds, but they were later allowed back inside.

Two residents of the Torch said they were told the fire started around the 52nd floor. Flaming material falling from the initial fire then set a lower part of the building ablaze, they said.

One of the residents, Steve Short, 53, of Liverpool, England, praised the work of firefighters who arrived quickly. He said fire alarms alerted residents to the blaze and building management sent workers knocking on doors to ensure residents got out.

Resident R.J. Morlock, 33, of Houston, shot video on his phone that showed bright yellow flames reaching what appeared to be several stories on two separate parts of the building. He said residents were nervous coming out but fire crews were able to bring the situation under control.

"I was really surprised they got it under control pretty quickly," he said. "It looked like it was going to go up."

As daylight broke, residents waiting across the street to be allowed back home were able to see the extent of the blaze: External cladding on the corner of more than two dozen stories from roughly the 50th floor to the top were mangled and charred black.

Cleanup crews dressed in orange uniforms swept up pieces of shattered glass and other debris covering the street outside the building.

The Torch opened in 2011 and is one of the world's tallest residential towers, according to developer Select Group.

__

Contact Adam Schreck at adamschreck at http://twitter.com.


.
.

What the government has told us to eat — since 1940



By Catey Hill

Published: Feb 20, 2015 2:25 p.m. ET



Shutterstock.com / Brent HofackerNew dietary guidelines recommend Americans limit the amount of added sugar they eat to 12 teaspoons a day.Slide 1 of 6



Official recommendations on what you should be eating have changed again — and in some ways are a sharp departure from what we were told in past decades.

On Thursday, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released — the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture publishes these dietary guidelines every five years — and the authors had some new rules on what we should be eating. Here are a few of the highlights:

Vegetarian diets are healthy diets


The biggest takeaway from these guidelines is perhaps the group’s point that Americans should be eating foods in moderation with plenty of fruits, veggies and whole grains — not exactly groundbreaking news. It also pointed to the vegetarian diet as a healthy one — which naturally caused a wave of outrage among meat producers.

Eat far less “added sugar”

While the panel has long cautioned on sugar, this time around they were more specific with their recommendations, asking that Americans limit the amount of added sugar we eat to a max of 10% of our daily calories or about 12 teaspoons per day for adults

Don’t worry about cholesterol from foods like eggs

For many years now, foods like eggs have been shamed because of their link with cholesterol. But the new guidelines conclude that cholesterol from sources like shrimp and eggs needn’t be such a big concern, thanks to evidence showing that they don’t tend to raise cholesterol levels in most people.

Because some of these new dietary guidelines (which tend to inform other government eating initiatives, including the food pyramid and new food plate diagram) are such a departure from what Americans were told to eat in past decades, MarketWatch has pulled some USDA food guidelines from past years for comparison.



1 2 3 4 5 6



.

CAIR Welcomes DHS Report on Violent Domestic Right-Wing Extremism



For Immediate Release
Friday, February 20, 2015 - 3:15pm

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Contact:

CAIR Government Affairs Manager Robert S. McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726,ihooper@cair.com


WASHINGTON - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will issue a new intelligence assessment on the threat posed by domestic right-wing violent extremists.

According to CNN, "[T]he report, produced in coordination with the FBI, counts 24 violent sovereign citizen-related attacks across the U.S. since 2010." Sovereign citizens believe that federal, state, and local laws do not apply to them and violent extremists within the movement have targeted law enforcement officers.

In a statement, CAIR said:

"We welcome this new intelligence assessment on the threat posed by domestic right-wing violent extremists. It is the government's responsibility to address all forms of violent extremism - regardless of ideology - and in proportion to the criminal threat posed by those groups.
"We now call on the DHS and FBI to release an intelligence assessment addressing the spike in hate crimes targeting Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, Sikh, Hindu, and South Asian communities throughout the United States.
"Without an awareness of the threat posed by all forms of violent extremism, our national security will remain at risk."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
###


CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.


.

Happy Sabbath


How An Ecclesiastical Hierarchy Silences a Dissenting Movement Using Hegelian Dialectics




Pacing the Opposition

When an ecclesiastical hierarchy wants to silence a dissenting movement, dialectical praxis is often the weapon of choice. For one thing, many dissenters are simple-minded, honest-hearted people, who, when they run up against the dialectic, they are dumbfounded. For one thing, when the hierarchy starts to lay out its case, it will present the thesis, which is what the dissenter believes in heart and soul. The reaction of the dissenters is, “Wonderful!”

The Catatonic Paralysis Shock of Antithesis

Then the hierarchy’s argument shifts to the antithesis, the opposite position from the thesis, and the simple-minded, straight-thinking dissenter, whose mind is not trained in this kind of subtlety, throws up his hands and goes into a catatonic state: “I thought they were on our side, now look at this!” he says in disbelief and moral paralysis.

The Relief Offer of the Compromise Resolution of Synthesis

Then a synthesis of the thesis and antithesis is presented, and the poor, honest-hearted dissenter, seeing ultimate disaster if the antithesis is accepted, seeing utter rejection and scorn ahead if he resists, thankfully accepts the synthesis, a compromise, for he sees elements of what he had hoped for, though it has just as much of what he abhors.

The Switch That Numbs the Mind
The Inducement of the Catatonic State of Moral Paralysis

Dr. Gotcher, commenting on this phenomenon of catatonic paralysis writes: “Hegel’s dialectic was the cause fro two world wars and many wars between and since. One historian recently stated that, during this [20th] century, all governments that used this process combined have been responsible for the killing of more than 250,000,000 of their own citizens…

The Switch That Freezes Responses

“Somewhere within the process there lies a switch that confuses men’s minds, numbs their feelings, and freezes their responses. Aware that something is gaining control over them and not able to explain or define what it is, they are unable to develop any response that will stop the process. This trigger shuts off man’s awareness of impending danger (past history or depth history; depth perception [note: look at the denial of the Jews during the Holocaust]) and freezes his ability to resist the process (indecision). The numbness one experiences comes from the fear of potential alienation and loss of respect because of the inability to explain the differences between what one says he believes (black and white) and what he does or desires to do (gray zone). This produces feelings that are not based on God’s Word, but that are instead based upon the fear of losing respect in the eyes of others. This kind of fear prevents one from making an immediate or effective response. [Note: This is the catatonic state induced by the dialectic.]  This fear is not from God, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7.

“No one who has boarded this train has found brakes on it. History has shown us that once this train gets rolling, there is no stopping to get off. Rescue can only come from someone outside, at much cost to all. We had to rescue Europe from this train twice, by wrecking it. If we get on board, who can rescue us? And at what cost?” –Dr Dean Gotcher, The Dialectic & Praxis: Diaprax and the End of the Ages. Tulsa: LAR, 1996, p. 10.

Each Dialectical Stage Builds on the Previous One

Then another meeting is scheduled for later, in which the same process occurs, the hopes are raised with the thesis, which is in reality the new synthesis, then dashed with the antithesis, the person goes into a catatonic state again, and while spiritually paralyzed, a solution is offered-namely the new synthesis. Thus each time these Fabian tactics wear down the dissenter a little bit more, until he finally gives up and goes along without resisting.

From Discipleship to Pantheism

Dialectical praxis is designed to take a person who believes in obeying God by faith, and, moving him through various psychological stages, re-educate his conscience, until he ends up as a practical pantheist, accepting every form of perversion there is, in the name of unity with the group.

If you could save your souls, your families, your home churches, you must understand the nature of what you are facing with dialectical praxis, for it is a blast right out of the bottomless pit (Revelation 11), a mind-bending technique that has crumpled nations, churches, and all before it—and you must become a skilled warrior in the Lord to resist it if you would win eternal life.
You Are Not Amenable to Any Man. You are Amenable to God.

Beware of putting church “unity” above a conscience bound to the Word, for this is a fruitful field for those utilizing dialectical praxisDialectical praxis subjugates conscience to the authority of the “group” instead of a conscience subject to God alone. “You are not amenable to any man. You are amenable to God.” GCW, GCB, 4-5-01. Never, never, never, allow your conscience to be stifled, mocked, or snuffed out by peer pressure, by pressure for “unity,” or by being attacked for being “unloving” because you hold to moral absolutes on conviction.

The Process of Dialectical Praxis

Here is Diaprax in a nutshell, revealed by Dr. Dean Gotcher, who read over 600 socio-psychology books, written by more than 250 authors, developed from the perspective of those who are trained in it. Night after night, the Lord woke him up with insight after insight at two or three o’clock in the morning. “The answers came from God’s Word,” Gotcher writes, “in fact, this work is nothing more than a confirmation of that Word. His Word clearly reveals the process being used today to remove our desire to trust and obey Him and His Word.” –Dean Gotcher, The Dialectic & Praxis: Diaprax and the End of the Ages, Acknowledgements. After this, we will examine critical elements of this diabolical process.

Diaprax in a Nutshell

(A look at the strategy of the other side to destroy conscience)
(Based on Dr. Dean Gotcher, “Diaprax”)

Thesis Interrogation: “Unfreezing” the person from the Thesis [faith in the authority of God]
Position: Identify person’s source for needs satisfaction. [Note: Pastors in training are taught to identify people’s “felt needs.”]

“What do you think about…? “How do you feel about…?”

Definition: Discover the source of one’s dissatisfaction-Higher Authority. [Note: This is tantamount to Satan’s words, “Yea, hath God said?…]

“Could you explain that further?” “What do you mean by…?”

Choice-Defend your position based on higher authority’s definitions and cause social disharmony (alienation-negative) or redefine your position to build social harmony (belongingness-positive.)
Realization: Maladjustment is when one defends their position with pre-set definitions which cause social disharmony. “How do you think you arrived at that view?” “Why do you think you feel that way?” “Have you considered the alternatives?” In other words, ‘Can’t you think for yourself?’

Antithesis Dialogue: ‘Moving’: (Environment-Group Dynamics)

Negation of Negation: Putting aside pre-set standards (‘Thou shalt not’) in a diverse group produces an environment of equality of opportunity where everyone can discover their full ‘group think,’ socialist potential.

“How might this be approached in another way?” “What are the alternatives to your position?” (What would happen if you refused to participate?)

Chaos: Learning to accept the Gray Zone of the super-ego for the sake of belonging. ‘Most agree…..Most disagree.’ Learning how to redefine your position in changing times for the sake of group acceptance and social harmony.

“What might be the result if…?” “What effect might that have on…?” “What are the consequences?”

Mediation: Evaluation is non-scientific in that it is controlled by the fear of the loss of group approval. One cannot evaluate through compromise based upon fear of social rejection. ‘Is’ has become clouded with ‘should.’“Which is best? Right? Most desirable? Most functional? Most practical?” “Why”

Synthesis Decision: ‘Refreezing’ (Life-long learning-Reinventing truth)

Determination: The individual is now a change agent, determined to help others into the process so he can justify his compromise while developing relationships with them. All who practice the dialectic are out to convert everyone they meet, neutralizing those who resist, and work to remove those who have any type of authority who threaten or attack the process.

Necessity: The group members no longer see themselves subject to any higher authority who attempts to resolve social issues with an ‘I know’ attitude. In fact the social crisis no longer is the issue to be solved but is instead to be used to bring the traditional thinking person into the group think process. Traditional thinking is now the social crisis which needs to be solved for it is not readily adaptable to social change and produces social maladjustment.

Causation: No longer is ‘First Cause’ a higher authority, such as God, parents, the Laws of Nature (true science), the Laws of the Land, but now society is the first cause. Therefore, one’s concern is ‘What will the group (society) think?’ When you meet a ‘Group Think’ individual and present him with Truth and facts, if he does not have the group there to put pressure on you (group dynamics) he will ‘glass over’ to protect himself from you, the truth, and the need to repent of his use of this process.

Dr. Dean Gotcher, Diaprax. Institute for Authority Research.

Dialectical Praxis at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Thesis: “Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it…lest ye die.” Genesis 3:3

Thesis Interrogation: “Yea hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1.

Antithesis: “Ye shall not surely die.” Genesis 3:4. [Opposite of the Thesis]

Synthesis: “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis [Supposed Higher Order Thinking Skills-Hots]

Negation of the Negation (Putting aside pre-set standards): “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise [Chaos], she took of the fruit [Moving] thereof, and did eat [Refreezing], and gave also unto her husband with her [Determination: She becomes “converted” change agent seeking to “evangelize” or “convert” others to her new position]: and he did eat [Necessity]…And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God [Causation].

The Science of How Diaprax Works

Thesis Interrogation: “Unfreezing” From the Thesis of “Pre-set” Convictions

The very first work of dialectical praxis is the effort to “unfreeze” you from your “pre-set” principles of conviction. To shake you up is the goal. To prepare the groundwork for this process the person must be “interrogated” regarding their inner thoughts, in order to help the “facilitator” in selecting questions that will most efficiently break down your confidence in your convictions.
An Example: Journaling and “Women’s” Groups

This is why, for instance, the Bible teachers in Structure academies are having their students do journaling. Journaling, promoted by the Jesuits, is a written confessional, giving the teacher tools to undermine conviction by discovering where the student’s gray areas are of doubt. This is why you see “women’s” or “men’s” church groups. The women or men get together and discuss their family and marital difficulties, thus giving church leaders the knowledge of their weak areas, or gray zones, and how to defeat them and “take them out” when a power struggle erupts in the church over new innovations. This happens in marriage counseling and any “conflict resolution” process.

“Unfreezing” By Destroying Confidence in Your Convictions

Those who hold to their “pre-set” convictions are declared to be “unloving,” “maladjusted.” They are denounced as being under a curse because of their “unloving” spirit. Your ideas (which have been formed by the Spirit of God in submission to the Word) are getting in the way of church unity. You are holding the church back from its mission of evangelization. You are standing up against church authority. You are going against the authority of God vested in the church. In the military it would be: “Your convictions regarding the Sabbath would break down all military discipline, and destroy the army.” They tried [unsuccessfully] to use that on many Sabbath keepers in World War II.
Choice

You are presented with the need to decide: Where did you get those ideas from? Will you hold on to convictions that are declared to be outdated, to a concept of the Church that you no longer see anywhere, to ideas that seem not to fit the new environment? Are you going to be the only person who does not go along with the new ideas on the church board, or in the social group, or in basic training? Are you really going to stand up against all the elders and pastors? Are you going to really oppose the entire Christian world, going against governments and church authority (Martin Luther)? Are you really going to resist the Mark of the Beast? Will you make a fool of yourself? Are you going to really stand things on end? What makes you so different?

Thus is the soul assaulted with dialectical praxis.


Antithesis Dialogue: The Negation of the Negation: Negating the “Thou Shalt Nots”

Then the process proceeds to the negation of the negation, getting you to negate “Thou shalt nots,” in an effort to resolve your distress at being different, and to get you to accept a new standard-acceptance by the group instead of conviction based on the Word which puts you at variance with the “group.” Group dynamics are carefully arranged to overwhelm you with an authority and power of your opposition, to attempt to make you look ridiculous because of your ideas, to make you think that you are the only holdout, as you see all around you people crumpling under that assault.



page 1 l page 2 l





Source
 .