A New Economic Order

We have learned that the Jesuits are in control of the following secret societies and more:

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Scottish-Rite Shriner Freemasonry

The Order of the Illuminati

The Knights of Columbus

The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

B'nai B'rith

The Nation of Islam and its private army called "The Fruit of Islam"

The Mafia Commission

Opus Dei along with a host of lesser Brotherhoods.......


NOTE: And we have already learned that these secret societies are dedicated to establish a One World Order for the Pope. Now if the Pope is at the head, that means that these societies are going to push the Popes agenda. What is the Popes economic agenda?

Do you remember what the Hegelian Principle was? ,The Hegelian Principle was formulated by George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher. It is a process intended to produce Oneness of Mind through a process of 1) thesis: embodying a particular view or position; 2) antithesis: providing an opposing or contrary position; and 3) synthesis: which reconciles the two previous positions and then becomes the basis of a new thesis…in accordance with the laws of dialectical materialism (Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary). In theory, through a continual process of evolution, Oneness of Mind is achieved. This process can also be used to 1) create crisis, 2) opposition to crisis, to 3) effect the wanted solution.
Communism ( Thesis) took property away and made it the states property. Capitalism (Antithesis) says that the property belongs to the individual and nobody can take it away. Now we must have a Synthesis. This Synthesis is going to be some were in the middle and will be in the name of fairness.

The Economic Thought of the Catholic Church
Quote: ...Thomas Aquinas, wrote no treatise on economics, but his thinking, based on that of Aristotle, is foundational for understanding the economic thought of the Roman Catholic Church-State.
Henry William Spiegel, The Growth of Economic Thought. 1983, p 57.


Thomas also said:

Quote: Roman Catholic economic thought, as developed by the popes in their encyclicals and by Roman Church-State councils, has been a contributer to.......
1.) Feudalism and guild socialism in Europe during the Middle Ages;

2.) fasscism in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, and Latin America in the twentieth century;

3.) Nazism in German in the twentieth century;

4.) interventionism and the redistributive state in the west, including the United States in the twentieth century; and

5.) liberation theology in Latin America and Africa in the twentieth century.



......Thomas Aquinas discussion of private property. P. 30

....the possession of all things in common is the natural law. Thomas wrote: "...'the possession of all thimgs in common and universal freedom' are said to be the natural law because, to wit, the distinction of possessions and slavery were not brought in by nature, but devised by human reason for the benefit of human life."

Summa Theologiae. ii-ii, 5th artical.

NOTE: What does this mean? That all property is for common good.


Community of Goods
Quote:

The community of goods, wrote Thomas, is ascribed the natural law, not that the natural law dictates that all things should be possessed in common and that nothing should be possessed as one's own, but because the division of possessions is not according to natural law, but rather arose from human agreement, which belongs to positive law... Hence the ownership of possessions is not contraryto natural law, but an addition thereto devised by human reason.

Summa Theologiae. ii-ii, 2nd artical.

Thomas wrote:

...Hence, whatever certain people have in superabundance is due, by natural law, to the purpose of succoring the poor.

Summa Theologiae. ii-ii, 7th artical.


NOTE: He is saying that yes you can have material possessions, but what ever you have in abundance must be given to the poor. Ok lets read on.

Because goods of some are due to others by the natural law, there is no sin if the poor take the goods of their neighbors. Thomas wrote: "In case of need, all things are common property, so that there would seem to be no sin in taking another's property, for need has made it common."

Summa Theologiae. ii-ii, 7th artical.

NOTE: Wait isn't this stealing

Not only is such taking of another's property not a sin, it is not even a crime, according to Thomas:

..........it is lawful for a man to succor his own need by means of another's property by taking it either openly or secretly; nor is this, properly speaking, theft and robbery....It is not theft, properly speaking, to take secretly and use another's property in case of extreme need: because that which he takes for the support of his life becomes his own property by reson of that need...In a case of a like need man may also take secretly another's property in order to succor his neighbor in need.

Summa Theologiae. ii-ii, 7th artical.

NOTE: Wow, so if your neighbor needs a tv or car and you have three he can come take one. Or if you have a 4 bedroom house and your not using one he can break in and live there and you can't kick him or her out. Why? Because the man had a need and the need made it common. InAfrica this a law, but it is not being implamented because the situation is not right. But what if you open the borders and allow millions of poor people who have a "need" to enter. We need to wake up America.

Need!

Quote: The Roman Catholic doctrine of private property is echoed in the nineteenth century Communist slogan, "From each according to his ability; to each according to his need."
The Universal Destination of Goods
John Paul II's expression of it in his 1987 encyclical On Social Conern:

It is nessessary to state once more the characteristic principle of Christian social doctrine: the goods of the world are originally meant for all. The right to private property is valid and necessary, but it does not nullify the value of this principle. Private property, in fact, is under a "social mortgage," which means that it has an intrinsically social function, based upon and justified precisely by the principle of universal destination of goods.

John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, On Social Concern, (1987), 42.


NOTE: Yes the Pope is saying that private property is valid, but it is void in the concern of need. So if you are growing fruit on your private property and some one with a need (hunger) come and steals your fruit you cant do anything about it.


Paul VI made the point quite clear in his 1967 encyclical On the Progress of People:

....each man has therefor a right to find in the world what is necessary for himself. The recent Council [Vatican II] reminded us of this: "God intended the earth and all that it contains for the use of every human being and people. Thus, as all men follow justice and unite in charity, created goods should abound for them on a resonable basis." All other rights whatsoever, including those of property and of free commerce are to be subordinated to this principle.

Paul VI, Populorum Progressio, On the Progress of People, (1967), p 22.


Gandium et Spes, the Vatican II Constitution that John Paul II quoted, explained at greater length:

....If one is in extreme necessity he has the right to procure for himself what he needs out of the riches of others. Since there are so many people prostrate with hunger in the world, this Sacred Council urges all, both individuals and governments, to remember the aphorism of the Fathers, "Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him, you have killed him.

The second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965), 69

Therefor because private property is immoral, all men - individuals and governments - have the moral obligation to redistribute goods held unjustly by property owners

p.40

Redistribution of Goods
Quote:

..."all goods" includes not just the goods found in nature but manufactured goods as well. John Paul II declared that all men must have "...access to those goods which are intended for common use: both the goods of nature and manufactured goods."

John Paul II, Laborem Exercens (1981), 46.


Who is pushing the Pope's agenda for redistribution?

Go to source below to see a video:

Source: http://babylonmysteryreligion.com/New%20Economic%20Order/New%20Economic%20Order.htm
. .

A Time To Protest

A Time To Protest--When there are men in the church who love riches more than righteousness, and who stand ready to take advantage of their fellow-men by unjust dealings, shall we make no protest? And when men standing in the position of leaders and teachers work under the power of spiritualistic ideas and sophistries, shall we keep silent, for fear of injuring their influence, while souls are being beguiled? Satan will use every advantage that he can obtain to cause souls to become clouded and perplexed in regard to the work of the church, in regard to the word of God, and in regard to the words of warning which He has given through the testimonies of His Spirit, to guard His little flock from the subtleties of the enemy.--Manuscript 72, 1904, p. 6.

Christian Leadership, p.62.

THE SABBATH AND THE EARLY CHURCH

Many ministers teach that the observance of Sabbath completely left the Church after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that some how it was all together replaced by Sunday. But that is not true. History testifies that the Sabbath continued to be kept strictly by the Jewish believers for centuries after the resurrection, and that the Sabbath along with Sunday was observed as days of assembly and worship by the Gentile Churches. And we shall see this plainly in the following study.

PENTECOST
Many Bible Scholars point to the day of Pentecost as the birthplace of the Christian Church. Pentecost of course is a Jewish feast day that occurs about fifty days after Passover. Christ had ascended to heaven ten days earlier, after promising the Apostles that he would send them the Holy Spirit, thus empowering them to witness to all over the world. There were one hundred and twenty disciples of Christ in the upper room that day. They were all Jewish believers and they were all Sabbath keepers.

When the Holy Ghost fell upon them and they began to speak in new tongues and prophesy there were three thousand men added to the Church of God on that day two-thousand years ago. What kind of men were these?

Acts 2:5 ¶ And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

They all were Jews, in fact for the first ten years after Christ’s ascension, the church was made up of nothing but Sabbath keeping Jews. The Apostles didn’t even know that gentiles could be saved, until Jesus sent Peter to Cornelius’ house about ten years after this Pentecost.

How did the converted Jews (Messianic Jew) feel about the Ten Commandments? And the ordinances of the law?

Acts 21:20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:

The Jewish believers, which included the Apostles themselves, were zealous over the law of GOD. Not only the Ten Commandments, but they also continued in the ordinances of Moses. You can read the whole history of the Apostles’ work after Christ’s ascension and not once were they ever accused of breaking the Sabbath. The Lord had taught the Apostles to do only that which was lawful on the Seventh Day. And it is clear that they respected and kept the Sabbath for the whole of their life.

These men who accepted Christ on that day of Pentecost, soon returned to their homes in all of these foreign countries, there they shared Christ with their loved ones, and home churches were formed. What kind of home churches? Sabbath keeping home churches. At this time followers of Christ were not called Christians but Nazarenes [Acts 11:26].

THE NAZARENES

The Jewish Christians [who were called Nazarenes - Acts 24:5] continued to keep Sabbath and to be zealous over the law of Moses even down to the fifth century. As seen in the following article from the Encyclopedia.

“The earliest Christians were sometimes referred to as Nazarenes, particularly by their Jewish contemporaries. In later church history, the term was [still] applied to a sect of Jewish Christians of the 4th century who observed Jewish ritual, including circumcision, the Sabbath, and the dietary laws. They also believed in the divinity of Christ and the apostleship of St. Paul. The Nazarenes differed from another group of Jewish Christians, the Ebionites, in both their beliefs and in their refusal to require that Gentile Christians observe the Jewish rituals.” – Encarta Encylopedia.

Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin, in 404 AD wrote of these believers saying:

“In our own day there exists a sect among the Jews throughout all the synagogues of the East... The adherents to this sect are known commonly as Nazarenes; they believe in Christ the Son of God, ‘born of, the Virgin Mary; and they say that He who suffered under Pontius Pilate and rose again, [and] is the same as the one in whom we believe.” AD 404 Letter 75 of Jerome’s answer to Letters XXVIII., XL, and LXXI.

*Please notice the Nazarenes taught that the Jewish Rituals were not binding on Gentiles. This is the doctrine laid down at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.


THE ETHIOPIAN CHURCH

In Acts 8:26-29 Philip was commanded to go and join himself to the Chariot of an Eunuch from Ethiopia, who was the treasurer under Candace the Queen. The Eunuch was a Jew who had risen to authority under the Queen of Ethiopia. We know that he was a Jew because he was converted before Cornelius. As all Jews he was a Sabbath keeper, and looked forward to the promises that was made to him by the Lord.

Isaiah 56:4-5 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

After his conversion he returned to Ethiopia and shared the good news of Christ. Some credit his evangelism to the formation of the Coptic Church of that nation, others credit it to the gospel writer Mark. But the Coptic Church remains today, and its history can be traced back to the first century. The Coptic Church has always been a Sabbath keeping Church.

New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia states the following about the Ethiopian Coptic Church:

“Deprived of religious instruction, the Ethiopian people mingle with their Christianity many practices which are often opposed to the teaching of the gospel; some of these seem to have Jewish origin, such, for instance, as the keeping of the Sabbath [and] the distinction of animals as clean and unclean....”

HISTORIC QUOTES CONCERNING THE CONTINUING OBSERVANCE OF SABBATH

"The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be doubted but they derived this practice from the Apostles themselves, as appears by several scriptures to the purpose." – Dialogues on the Lord's Day, p. 189. London: 1701, By Dr. T.H. Morer (A Church of England divine).

"The Gentile Christians observed also the Sabbath," Gieseler's "Church History," Vol.1, ch. 2, par. 30, 93.

"The primitive Christians did keep the Sabbath of the Jews;...therefore the Christians, for a long time together, did keep their conventions upon the Sabbath, in which some portions of the law were read: and this continued till the time of the Laodicean council." "The Whole Works" of Jeremy Taylor, Vol. IX,p. 416 (R. Heber's Edition, Vol XII, p. 416).

"It is certain that the ancient Sabbath did remain and was observed by the Christians of the East Church, above three hundred years after our Saviour's death." "A Learned Treatise of the Sabbath," p. 77

"The seventh-day Sabbath was...solemnized by Christ, the Apostles, and primitive Christians, till the Laodicean Council (364 AD) did in manner quite abolish the observations of it." Dissertation on the Lord's Day, pp. 33, 34

"From the apostles' time until the council of Laodicea, which was about the year 364, the holy observance of the Jews' Sabbath continued, as may be proved out of many authors: yea, notwithstanding the decree of the council against it." "Sunday a Sabbath." John Ley, p.163.

"Down even to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian church." -- Ancient Christianity Exemplified, Lyman Coleman, ch. 26, sec. 2, p. 527.

ACTUAL QUOTES FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS

The observations of these historians are seen to be correct by the following quotes from those who actually lived during these early days of the Church.

Ignatius [107 AD] – "Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them." Ignatius - To the Magnesians chapter 9 (about 107 AD)

Clement of Alexandra [153 AD]– " Thus the Lord did not hinder from doing good while keeping the Sabbath; but allowed us to communicate of those divine mysteries, and of that holy light, to those who are able to receive them." Clement of Alexandria - Stromata, Bk 1, Chap. 1

Oxyrhynchus Papyri [225 AD] – "Except ye make the sabbath a real sabbath ye shall not see the Father." The oxyrhynchus Papyri, pt,1, p.3, Logion 2, verso 4-11 (London Offices of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1898).

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles [250AD] – "Thou shalt observe the Sabbath, on account of Him who ceased from His work of creation, but ceased not from His work of providence: it is a rest for meditation of the law, not for idleness of the hands." "The Anti-Nicene Fathers," Vol 7,p. 413. From "Constitutions of the Holy Apostles," a document of the 3rd and 4th Centuries.

Archaleus [277AD] – “Again, as to the assertion that the Sabbath has been abolished, we deny that He has abolished it plainly; for He was Himself also Lord of the Sabbath.”Archaleus Acts of Disputation

"it is fitting for whoever is righteous among the saints to keep also the festival of the Sabbath. There remaineth therefore a sabbatismus, that is, a keeping of the Sabbath, to the people of God (Hebrews 4:9)." "Homily on Numbers 23," par.4, in Migne, "Patrologia Graeca," Vol. 12,cols. 749, 750.

Athanasius [circa 290AD] – "On the Sabbath day we gathered together, not being infected with Judaism, for we do not lay hold of false sabbaths, but we come on the Sabbath to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath," Athanasius, Homilia de Semente, Sec. 1, in MPG, Vol. 28 Col. 144, Greek.

Socrates [439 AD] --: "For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this. The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebais, hold their religious assemblies on the Sabbath, but do not participate of the mysteries in the manner usual among Christians in general: for after having eaten and satisfied themselves with food of all kinds, in the evening making their offerings they partake of the mysteries." (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series, Vol. 2, p. 132.)

Sozomen [460 A.D.] – "The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria. There are several cities and villages in Egypt where, contrary to the usage established elsewhere, the people meet together on Sabbath evenings, and, although they have dined previously, partake of the mysteries." (Ecc. History, Book 7, chap. 19. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series, Vol. 2, p. 390.)

*NOTE: The testimonies of Socrates and Sozomen are very important because these men lived in the fifth century, and had access to all the existing material, and yet they bear testimony to the fact that it was the almost universal custom of the church at that time to assemble on the Sabbath.

Source

.

Therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day

14But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

16Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.


Deuteronomy 5:14-16 (KJV)

.

Hundreds of Thousands Protest Across Mideast

Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press
Protesters in Sana, Yemen, called for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. More Photos »

By SHARON OTTERMAN and J. DAVID GOODMAN
Published: February 25, 2011

CAIRO — Hundreds of thousands of protesters turned out in cities across the Middle East on Friday to protest the unaccountability of their leaders and express solidarity with the uprising in Libya that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi is trying to suppress with force.

The worst violence of the day appeared to be in Libya, where security forces shot at protesters as they left Friday prayers to try to launch the first major anti-government demonstration in the capital. Demonstrations in recent days have been in other cities, and several of those have fallen to armed rebels determined to oust Colonel Qaddafi.

Protests in Iraq also took a violent turn, with security forces firing on crowds in Baghdad, Mosul, Ramadi and in Salahuddin Province, killing at least ten people. Unlike in other Middle Eastern countries, the protesters in Iraq are not seeking to topple their leaders, but are demanding better government services after years of war and deprivation.

Religious leaders and the prime minister had pleaded with people not to take to the streets, with Moktada al-Sadr saying the new government needed a chance to improve services and Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki warning that insurgents could target the gatherings. But on Friday, the deaths came at the hands of government forces.

Demonstrations elsewhere — in Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia — were almost exclusively peaceful.

In Bahrain, pro-democracy demonstrations on a scale that appeared to dwarf the largest ever seen in the tiny Persian Gulf nation blocked miles of downtown roads and highways in Manama, the capital. The crowds overflowed from Pearl Square in the center of the city for the second time in a week, but the government once again allowed the demonstration to proceed.

Late Friday, in what appeared to be a concession to the protesters, the king fired three ministers. But he did not fire the prime minister — one of the opposition’s main demands.

Government forces had cracked down brutally last week, killing at least seven, but backed down under intense pressure from the United States. Since then, the country appears to be locked in a battle of wills between mostly Shiite protesters and their Sunni monarch. Shiites are a majority in Bahrain, a United States ally, and they say they have long faced discrimination from the country’s minority Sunni elite.

In a shift, it was the country’s Shiite religious leaders who called for people to take to the streets Friday, rather than the political opposition. Although some of the chants and symbols Friday had a religious cast, protesters’ demands remained the same — emphasizing a nonsectarian call for democracy and the downfall of the government.

“We are winners, and victory comes from God,” protesters chanted in Manama.

A few of the protesters carried black flags — a Shiite mourning symbol — but they appeared in a vast sea of red and white, the colors of Bahrain.

Crowds stretched two miles to the Bahrain Mall, east of Pearl Square, and about another two miles southwest of the square to the Salmaniya Medical Complex, which has treated wounded protesters and been a focal point of demonstrations.

The violence in Iraq came after demonstrators responded to a call for a “day of rage,” despite attempts by the government to keep people from taking to the streets. Security officials in Baghdad banned all cars from the streets until further notice.

In Yemen, more than 100,000 people poured into the streets of the city of Taiz, a center of the protests, after the country’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, pledged on Wednesday not to crack down on demonstrators. Protesters in recent weeks have faced sporadic violence from security forces and government supporters.

The protest in Taiz was dubbed “Martyrs’ Friday,” in honor of two protesters who died in a grenade attack last week.

While weeks of protests in the capital, Sana, have been tense, with repeated clashes between pro and antigovernment forces, the demonstration in Taiz, the intellectual hub of the country, took on a hopeful, exhilarated feel Friday. Along with the youth who organized the protests on Facebook, older residents of the countryside flowed into the area of the town that protesters have dubbed Freedom Square.

“There are no parties, our revolution is a youth revolution,” read one banner. In emulation of Egypt’s Tahrir Square, the center of the protest zone in Taiz was filled with some 100 tents, where people had spent the night for more than a week.

A cleric delivered a morning speech, reminding the people that the revolution was not against a single person but against oppression itself. And as noon prayers ended, the people broke out into the roaring chant that has now become familiar around the Arab world: “The people want to topple the regime.”

At the same time in the capital, tens of thousands of people were pouring into a square near the main gates of Sana University amid a tight security presence, The Associated Press reported.

1 2 Next Page »

Sharon Otterman reported from Cairo and J. David Goodman from New York. Michael Slackman contributed reporting from Manama, Bahrain; Jack Healy, Michael S. Schmidt and Duraid Adnan from Baghdad; Laura Kasinof from Taiz, Yemen; Liam Stack from Cairo; Ranya Kadri from Amman, Jordan, and Isabel Kershner in Jerusalem.
.
Source
.

TWO-YEARS SINCE NORTONS DISAPPEARED: Memories

Photo (Courtesy) http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jan/27/search-pilot-missing-venezuela-resume/


February 2010

TWO-YEARS SINCE NORTONS DISAPPEARED: Memories
The Norton and the Gates family go back a long way. Our parents were friends while we were still young. In 1980, after graduating from college I landed at Keene, TX for the General Conference session in Dallas, and Bob’s dad’s plane was on the ramp ready for the trip to Mexico. A few months later Elwyn Norton lost his life along with three others, in the mountains of Southern Mexico.

In the mid-1980s, Bob and I worked together at the same small hospital and school in Southern Mexico where his parents had worked. Bob was director of maintenance. He could fix anything. Way back then he let me know that someday he wanted to fly.

Nearly 20 years later, in early 2002, I met Bob at the Collegedale Airport. Very happy to see him, I asked him what he was doing. He told me that he was carrying out his dream, and was finally finishing his professional flight training, but he didn’t know what God had in mind after that. When he told me that he had just married Neiba, a Venezuelan Nurse, I immediately told him that Gospel Ministries International had just purchased an aircraft in Southeast Venezuela and invited him to pray about serving with his wife as pilot and nurse there.

When he called me back a few days later to let me know of their acceptance, little did we know what a great impact that decision would have on thousands of people throughout Southern Venezuela and an inspiration to the world. He did indeed follow in his father’s footsteps. God used both Bob and Neiba to spread God’s love through GMI’s AMA program (Adventist Medical Aviation). In doing this they gave everything they had; their resources and their time. Then, two-years ago, they gave up even more.

On February 16, 2009, while on a routine flight, accompanied by Neiba, our secondary school director Gladys and four indigenous patients, the plane disappeared after departing from the small village of Karum. An intensive search for the airplane was immediately begun and included over 140 persons doing ground searches, the Governor’s helicopter, and high-resolution satellite images. Special thanks must be given to Celso Benavides, AMA’s indigenous ground search coordinator, and Bob Edwards, volunteer strategist and coordinator from North America. These two have never stopped in their efforts to locate the plane and/or the crew and passengers. Yet, in all these brave efforts no aircraft or accident site has yet been located. This is very unusual, especially in light of the fact that most aircraft that crash in the jungles of Southeast Venezuela have been found within a few days. The questions remains, “Where are Bob and Neiba Norton?”

Within a month of the plane’s disappearance, especially in the abnormal absence of any plane wreckage or bodies, I began to suspect that there might be some other factors involved in the disappearance. Having suffered a hijacking myself years ago in Mexico, I was convinced that such a scenario should not be ruled out, especially in an environment where there was highly vocal opposition to the growing influence of the loved AMA program.

Over the last years, GMI has assisted in funding the ground search teams and kept up monthly stipends to the AMA team. I have stayed in close communication with team leaders and regularly met with them in Venezuela to coordinate further search strategies. At the request of the Norton family, due to the pain of the unknown, I have not written regarding our work or any alternate explanations to the plane’s disappearance. During the entire time GMI has been deeply concerned over the loss of our missionaries, for the pain of their family members and has been quietly very active behind the scenes.

As I am writing this, it is the two-year anniversary of their disappearance and has been a tearful time of year for many of our GMI staff. We loved Bob, Neiba and Gladys, and we miss them greatly. Now, after one year of silence, it is time to share with you some of the findings and what direction the evidence has taken us.

After several months of searching for the missing plane, the team leaders and I met down in Venezuela to evaluate any information that might lead toward alternate explanations for the missing plane. Within a couple of days some significant leads begin to develop, including a phone call from a well-connected person stating that the plane had not crashed but had been forced to fly elsewhere. Further information came from several villages. Though the plane disappeared early in the morning, around 10am, several villages report having seen and heard the AMA plane flying overhead in the same direction, with the engine surging. Most villagers know our plane by the sound of its engine. Lately, it has been confirmed that the plane landed twice in a nearby town. The registration numbers on the plane were left untouched, but the blue stripe was painted with black. The pilot and three passengers on both occasions were clean-cut young people wearing identical shirts and dark glasses. The villagers with whom they were speaking state that they joked sarcastically about Bob Norton and the Adventist Medical Aviation program and that they now were going to take over the work of providing the medical flights themselves. Then they flew off. Further evidences ruling out a crash scenario include several phone calls from Gladys’ own cell phone to students and her own daughter and brother. Sometimes the caller was a male and sometimes female claiming to be in different parts of the country. If they had crashed in the jungles, there could have been no phone calls made from her cell phone.

The above information I can share as it is known publically. There are further pieces of information, some of which have been confirmed, others still to be confirmed, that cannot be shared at this time. When analyzing “chatter” the individual pieces of information may not be as important as the general direction to which they point. In evaluating the information, it is my opinion that nearly all the “chatter” points in only one direction, a hijacking.

Everywhere I have traveled in the world, I have encouraged people to pray for Bob, Neiba, Gladys and the patients who were aboard the plane. We don't know where they are now or what their condition is. If Bob and any of the passengers are still alive, their release back to us would only be through a miracle of Heaven. We do know that nothing can happen to them without God’s permission. We also know that God’s work in Venezuela is not finished but just beginning. Because of this painful situation His work will be strengthened and many more souls will be saved.

Will you please join me in daily prayer that God will continue to protect and return them to us and their families? What ever God’s will may be, their commitment to service will prove an inspiration to those of us still working and the growing number of volunteers which are taking positions of responsibility and risk in God’s work on the front lines.

A big thank you to each of you who have supported and are supporting our frontline volunteers. If you would like to join the growing army around the world, you can apply online at www.gmivolunteers.org. The work in Venezuela is not static, it is still growing. If you wish to continue supporting the AMA program in Venezuela, please call our office in Tennessee at 423-473-1841 and leave your name and number, and I will call you back with an update.

From the front lines in the Andes mountains and jungles of Bolivia,

Uncle David
President
Gospel Ministries International
874 S McDonald Rd SW
Mc Donald, TN 37353
Office: +1-423-473-1841

*******************************************************************************
“The very means that is now so sparingly invested in the cause of God, and that is selfishly retained, will in a little while be cast with all idols to the moles and to the bats. Money will soon depreciate in value very suddenly when the reality of eternal scenes opens to the senses of man.

God will have men who will venture anything and everything to save souls. Those who will not move until they can see every step of the way clearly before them will not be of advantage at this time to forward the truth of God. There must be workers now who will push ahead in the dark as well as in the light, and who will hold up bravely under discouragements and disappointed hopes, and yet work on with faith, with tears and patient hope, sowing beside all waters, trusting the Lord to bring the increase. God calls for men of nerve, of hope, faith, and endurance, to work to the point.

In these perilous times we should leave untried no means of warning the people. We should be deeply interested in everything that will stay the tide of iniquity. Work on. Have faith in God.” Evangelism, p. 62-63.
*******************************************************************************



Gospel_Ministries_International@mail.vresp
.

3rd St. Petersburg, Fla., officer killed this year

AP – Nicholas Lindsey, 16, stands before a Pinellas County judge in a St. Petersburg, Fla. courtroom during …

By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Tamara Lush, Associated Press – Tue Feb 22, 5:42 pm ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – City police officers are mourning their third colleague slain in the line of duty in 30 days, but they have been forced to put their emotions on hold as they work overtime to search for the suspected killer.

Officer David Crawford was shot Monday night investigating a report of a suspicious person in a neighborhood just south of Tropicana Field — where the Tampa Bay Rays play baseball.

"You have a job to do, you're a professional," said St. Petersburg Detective Mark Marland. "You kind of have to push a little bit of the somberness and the heavy heart to the back."

So far, there are few leads. The suspect left behind his Nike flip-flops and witnesses gave detectives a vague description of a young man wearing dark shorts and white socks. Officers at the department of about 540 people are working 12-hour shifts to help the investigation.

"We're torn between grieving and our jobs and the mission," said St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon. "But everybody is committed to the mission at this point."

Officials said the shooting happened after two officers were called to investigate a report of a prowler.

Crawford, 46, spotted a suspect and got out of his vehicle. At 10:37 p.m., another officer, Donald J. Ziglar, reported an exchange of gunfire and told dispatchers an officer was down.

Ziglar found Crawford lying on the pavement near his cruiser, police said. He had been shot multiple times at close range. Officials said Crawford was not wearing a bullet proof vest.

Helicopters, SWAT teams, dozens of law enforcement and dogs searched for the gunman. There was no evidence that the suspect was injured during the gunfire exchange, Chief Harmon said.

An entire swath of the city was inaccessible to traffic; Harmon said the department will keep the perimeter "until we knock on every door."

The FBI, the St. Petersburg Police and other groups also were offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the suspect.

Crawford, who was married, eligible for retirement and the father of an adult daughter, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Officers saluted the van that carried his body to the medical examiner's office Tuesday morning.

On Jan. 24, two St. Petersburg officers — Jeffrey A. Yaslowitz and Thomas Baitinger — were killed as they helped serve a warrant on a man with a long criminal history. Their killer died in the seige. Prior to that, the St. Petersburg Police department hadn't had an officer killed in the line of duty in more than 30 years.

"We're not even done healing from the first tragedy, then boom, we have a second one," said Marland, who is also the St. Petersburg police union president.

Lorie Fridell, an associate professor of criminology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said such tragedies reinforce the resolve of the officers.

"I don't think that there are many officers that are rethinking their careers," said Fridell. "They understand the danger. If anything, tragedies like this strengthen their commitment, particularly the commitment they have for fellow officers.

"I expect that particularly right now, officers are ever vigilant, maybe even increasingly vigilant, in the Tampa-St. Pete area as a result of these tragedies."

Maki Haberfeld, chair of the Department of Law & Police Science at John Jay College in New York, said she suspects officers in St. Petersburg will be more anxious in the coming months.

"Certainly there is always a level of preparedness that the police officers have to be ready for," said Haberfield. "Of course now they will be more on guard. The issue is whether or not they are going to be more willing to use force, lethal force."

Crisis counselors have been called to help officers in the department.

"Officers unfortunately don't get downtime to show their emotions," said Michael Krohn, the executive director of the Suncoast Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents St. Petersburg officers. "They have to get the job done and be safe. The time to break down is after the shift, at home."

.

Source

.

Related

Fla. police-killing suspect known as quiet teen
16 minutes ago

Police have sealed off dozens of blocks in St. Petersburg to search for the man who shot and killed St. Petersburg police Officer David Crawford, 46, ...
.

Four Americans Killed on Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates

Four Americans Killed on Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates

Published February 22, 2011
FoxNews.com


Four Americans aboard a yacht hijacked by Somali pirates were gunned down by their captors Tuesday.

U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the yacht Quest at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday, but discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors. Despite attempts to save their lives, all four hostages died of their wounds.

“We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,” said Gen. James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander in a news release.

Two pirates died during the confrontation and U.S. forces found the remains of two other pirates already dead aboard the vessel. Thirteen pirates were captured and detained, along with two already in custody. A total of 19 pirates were involved in the hijacking.

The remains of the four Americans were taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, as were the 15 pirates in custody. There is no word yet on where the pirates will be taken for trial. They could go to Kenya or they could come back to the U.S. There is a precedent for both.

Owner Says The yacht Quest was hijacked on Friday off the coast of Oman and U.S. forces had been closely monitoring the vessel.

Unlike most pirate incidents, these pirates boarded the Quest directly from their mother ship, rather than using faster skiffs. The mother ship remains free.

Vice Admiral Mark Fox, Commander of Centcom's Naval Forces, explained the timeline of events during a press briefing with Pentagon reporters. According to Fox, there was "absolutely no warning" before the hostage situation turned deadly.

On Monday two pirates boarded the USS Sterett (one of four U.S. Naval ships monitoring the situation) to conduct negotiations for the release of the American hostages. They stayed on board overnight and it's unclear if any ransom was offered before the killing took place.

At 8:00 am local time Tuesday morning a rocket propelled grenade was fired at the Sterett from pirates on board the Quest. The shot missed, but immediately after gunfire erupted inside the cabin of the Quest.

"Several pirates appeared on deck and moved up to the bow with their hands in the air in surrender," Fox said. That's when SOF approached on small boats and boarded the yacht.

When U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) soldiers -- from a classified Navy SEALS unit -- reached the yacht, they found two pirates had already been killed by small arms fire. As they went below deck there was an exchange of fire that killed one pirate. The other pirate was killed by an SOF member who used a knife in close combat, Vice Adm. Fox said.

The SOF found some of the Americans still alive, but all four soon died of their wounds. Vice Adm. Fox called it the deadliest pirate incident to date.

"We did everything we could," said a senior military official. "But I don't think our guys would see this as a good outcome."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the killings "deplorable." She said in a statement that the killings underscored the need for international cooperation on fighting the scourge of piracy in waters off the Horn of Africa.

She urged international partners to provide material, financial and logistical support to an African peacekeeping mission in Somalia, the country the pirates use as the launching point of their attacks.

The organizers of an international yacht race called the Blue Water Rally said the Quest had been taking part in the race but left it Feb. 15 to chart an independent course from India to Oman.

The Quest is owned by Scott and Jean Adam, a couple from California. The two other Americans on board were Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, of Seattle, Washington.

At the Seattle Singles Yacht Club, where Riggle and Macay were well known, Joe Grande said the two were "great sailors, good people. They were doing what they wanted to do, but that's small comfort in the face of this."

The Adams have been sailing the world with a yacht full of Bibles since 2004. The hijacking of their yacht came two days after a Somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a New York court for the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. That case ended when Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship's captain.

Pirates have increased attacks off the coast of East Africa in recent years despite an international flotilla of warships dedicated to protecting vessels and stopping the pirate assaults. Multimillion-dollar ransoms are fueling the trade, and the prices for releasing a ship and hostages have risen sharply.

Pirates currently hold 30 ships and more than 660 hostages, not counting the attack against the Quest. Before this incident there were less than 10 pirate related deaths this year.

The best-known case of Westerners being held hostage in Somalia was that of Paul and Rachel Chandler, a British couple held for 388 days. The two, who were captured while sailing in their private yacht, were released in November.

The Adams -- who are members of the Marina del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, Calif. -- run a Bible ministry, according to their website, and have been distributing Bibles to schools and churches in remote villages in areas including the Fiji Islands, Alaska, New Zealand, Central America and French Polynesia.

Source
..

Jesse Jackson joins Ohio union workers in opposition to collective bargaining reform

Published: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 1:19 PM Updated: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 5:17 PM
By Joe Guillen, The Plain Dealer



Max Gersh, Associated Press
Jesse Jackson joins protesters last week in Wisconsin.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson revved up union workers at a downtown rally today to oppose Senate Bill 5, a Republican-backed proposal to overhaul the state's collective bargaining law.

A few hundred laborers packed the basement of a Teamsters union hall, a day after about 5,500 union supporters descended on the Statehouse to oppose the bill, which is supported by Republican Gov. John Kasich.

"Workers must not be the scapegoat for a rather profound economic crisis," Jackson said, surrounded by local elected officials, union leaders and clergymen. "Tell the governor, 'We're going to act. We're not going back!' "

Ohio has joined Wisconsin and other states in a growing debate over unions' rights. Republicans pushing to weaken unions argue current rules are tilted in public workers' favor, pushing excessive labor costs on taxpayers.

Jackson visited with protesters in Wisconsin last week.

Today, Jackson said American workers are being unfairly blamed. Instead, he pointed at greed on Wall Street and companies that move jobs to cheap labor markets overseas.

"It's easier to attack workers than to attack cheap labor," Jackson said.

Throughout his 20-minute speech, Jackson led the workers in call-and-response chants. His words drew consistent applause and calls of "That's right!" from the crowd.

"We together make America strong," Jackson said.


Source
.

White House: Obama 'grappling' With Gay Marriage

AssociatedPress February 23, 2011
The White House says President Barack Obama is "grappling" with his personal views on gay marriage even as he's ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of a law that bans it. (Feb. 23)
.

The comedian-elect: Rahm jokes about reporters, residency — and himself

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Feb 23, 2011 03:55PM


Rahm Emanuel’s first full-blown news conference as Chicago’s mayor-in-waiting was a showcase for his sense of humor.

Mayor Daley could be funny at times, too. He loved to laugh at his own jokes. He was at his best when he had an audience of underlings who laughed along with him — often at the expense of the press.

But Emanuel’s humor was less biting and more playful.

He opened the 40-minute news conference — while standing on a riser at the Union League Club — by joking about his height.

“This is the first time I’ve actually seen you from this perspective. ... I’m 5-8, man. I can’t see you like this,” he said.

When a reporter noted that the view was “not any prettier” from above, Emanuel said, “I don’t think I’m any prettier, [either]. And I can say that from this perspective looking out.”

WBBM-TV Channel 2 reporter Jay Levine began the questioning by congratulating the mayor-elect.

“That sounded so heartfelt, Jay. Thank you,” Emanuel said.

Levine replied, “I speak on behalf of the entire room, Mr. Mayor-elect.”

Emanuel countered, “Are you sure? You guys want to have a secret ballot on that?”

The subject turned to Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) and whether Emanuel planned to replace Burke as chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee.

“I’m so proud of you guys. It only took three questions for that” to come up, he said.

Emanuel also joked when Fox Chicago’s Mike Flannery asked about the forensic audit that the mayor-elect talked about ordering during a morning radio interview.

“I’m very proud that you were up early listening to the radio. [But,] you weren’t at the gym working out with me,” Emanuel said.

When asked how it felt to be Chicago’s first Jewish mayor, Emanuel joked about the residency challenge that nearly knocked him off the ballot.

“I got elected as a person from Chicago, a resident. I’m gonna use that word now,” he said.

The mayor-in waiting also teased reporters for asking a series of two-part questions.

“Does it make you feel like you’re back in Washington?” asked WBBM-AM Radio reporter Craig Dellimore.

Emanuel replied, “No. Those are three-part questions.”

Source

.

Mr. Harlem - Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Picture (Courtesy) http://www.safran-arts.com/powell.html

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was a prominent African American congressman, serving his district in New York City's Harlem neighborhood from 1945 to 1970. A flamboyant and often controversial political figure, Powell played a key role in passing many federal education and social welfare programs in the 1960s. Near the end of his tenure, however, Powell was embroiled with the House of Representatives over alleged ethical lapses.

Powell was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on November 29, 1908. When he was less than a year old, his father moved the family to New York City's Harlem neighborhood to accept the ministry at the Abyssinian Baptist Church. The church, which was a hundred years old, expanded under the elder Powell's leadership, in time becoming one of the largest congregations in the United States.

Powell graduated from Colgate University in 1930 and received a master of arts degree in religious education from Columbia University in 1931. He served as assistant minister and business manager of the Abyssinian Church in 1930 and succeeded his father as minister in 1936. He remained minister of the church for thirty-five years.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Powell acted aggressively to address racial and social injustice in New York City. In 1930 he organized picket lines and mass meetings to demand reform of Harlem Hospital, which had fired five African American doctors because of their race. Powell also used the church as an instrument of social welfare, distributing food, clothing, and temporary jobs to thousands of Harlem's destitute residents.

Powell soon was recognized as a charismatic Civil Rights leader, adept at forcing restaurants, retail stores, bus companies, utilities, and phone companies either to hire or begin promoting African American employees. He transferred his efforts into the political arena in 1941, when he was elected as an independent to the New York City Council. During World War II he worked for the New York State Office of Price Administration and the Manhattan Civilian Defense, as well as publishing a weekly newspaper, The People's Voice.

In 1944 he was elected as a Democrat to Congress, representing the Twenty-second (later Eighteenth) District. In 1947 he took a seat on the Education and Labor Committee, which was to become the base of his power and prestige. During the 1940s and 1950s, Powell challenged racial Segregation in and out of the halls of Congress. He took black constituents to the House dining room that had been informally restricted to white representatives. He introduced legislation to outlaw Lynching and to ban discrimination in the armed forces, housing, transportation, and employment. He became famous for attaching an antidiscrimination amendment to many pieces of legislation. The so-called Powell Amendment was always unsuccessful, but it was a way to raise the issue of racial inequality before a House that was generally hostile to Powell's stand on civil rights.

"These are the days for strong men to courageously expose wrong."
—Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

His frustration at the Democratic Party's reluctance to move forward on civil rights led him in 1956 to endorse Republican President dwight d. eisenhower for a second term. New York City Democratic Party leaders were outraged at this act of disloyalty and waged a hard-fought campaign to defeat him in the 1958 primary election. Powell's loyal Harlem constituents rebuffed this effort.

In 1961 Powell became chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. He proved to be an effective, if at times difficult, point man for the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. More than fifty pieces of major legislation were passed out of Powell's committee, including the school lunch program, education and training for the deaf, student loan programs, vocational training, and Minimum Wage increases. Powell was instrumental in passing legislation to aid elementary and secondary education.

By 1966, however, Powell had alienated many House members because of his poor management of the committee budget, numerous and well-publicized government-funded trips abroad, and excessive absenteeism. These congressional problems were compounded by problems in his private life. Powell, despite being a minister, liked the high life. Married three times and attached to other women, he enjoyed his playboy image. Many members of Congress were shocked by this attitude.

More seriously, Powell had been charged with income Tax Evasion in 1958, but the trial ended in a hung jury. In 1960 he appeared on a New York City television show and lambasted police corruption. He had previously charged on the floor of the House that a constituent, Esther James, worked for Organized Crime in Harlem. Statements made on the House floor are covered by congressional Immunity, and Powell knew he could not be sued for slander. On the television show he repeated his charge and labeled James a Mafia "bag woman."

James proceeded to sue Powell, setting in motion a chain of legal and political misfortunes for him. After James won her slander suit and obtained damages of $46,000, Powell refused to pay the judgment. He also ignored subpoenas to appear and explain his financial records. Finally the court issued two civil Contempt arrest warrants for his recalcitrance.

After the warrants were issued, Powell would only return to his Harlem district to preach on Sundays, when it was illegal to serve a civil contempt warrant. The trial court then imposed a thirty-day jail sentence for failing to appear. On appeal, the New York state appellate court allowed Powell more time to comply with the subpoena but agreed with the trial court that Powell's jail sentence was not barred by congressional immunity (James v. Powell, 26 A.D. 2d 295, 274 N.Y.S. 2d 192 [1966]). Powell was not to settle the case with James until 1969.

The James episode and allegations of congressional misconduct led the House to strip

Powell of his committee chair in January 1967. In addition, the full House refused to seat him until the Judiciary Committee completed its investigation of his affairs. In February 1967 the committee recommended that Powell be censured, fined, and deprived of seniority. The full House disagreed, voting 307 to 116 to exclude him from Congress. Powell then ran in the special election to fill his vacant seat. When he won in April, he refused to take his seat. He ran again in the November 1968 election and was reelected. This time the House seated him but denied him his seniority. Powell refused to take his seat under this condition.

Following his exclusion in 1967, Powell filed a lawsuit against the House of Representatives, arguing that the House had no constitutional basis for excluding him. Typically federal courts do not entertain such lawsuits, because they deal with matters constitutionally delegated to the legislative branch. Although it appeared Powell's lawsuit was barred by the "political question" doctrine, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately decided that it could intervene. In Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 89 S. Ct. 1944, 23 L. Ed. 2d 491 (1969), the Court held that the House of Representatives could not exclude Powell, a duly elected member, who met all the constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship, and residence prescribed by the Constitution.

Powell took his House seat after the Supreme Court decision, but he lost his twenty-two years of seniority. His victory was short-lived. He lost in the June 1970 primary election and failed to get on the ballot as an independent. He retired as minister at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in 1971 and died in Miami, Florida, on April 4, 1972.

Further readings
Hamilton, Charles V. 1992. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.: The Political Biography of an American Dilemma. New York: Collier Books.

Haskins, James. 1993. Adam Clayton Powell: Portrait of a Marching Black. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press.

Haygood, Wil. 1993. King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Powell, Adam Clayton, Jr. 1994. Adam by Adam: The Autobiography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol.

Source

.

The Message Given by the Lord

“Out of the cities; out of the cities!”—this is the message the Lord has been giving me. The earthquakes will come; the floods will come; and we are not to establish ourselves in the wicked cities, where the enemy is served in every way, and where God is so often forgotten. The Lord desires that we shall have clear spiritual eyesight. We must be quick to discern the peril that would attend the establishment of institutions in these wicked cities. We must make wise plans to warn the cities, and at the same time live where we can shield our children and ourselves from the contaminating and demoralizing influences so prevalent in these places.—Life Sketches, 409, 410 (1906).

Country Living, Page 32,33.

He's Alive!

Recently, I expressed my doubts on this medium about Ban Ki-Moon's lack of involvement in the tension between the KOREAs after a ship was sunk and soldiers killed; The situation escalated and simmered for several (at the time it seemed endless) days. Especially troublesome is the fact that North Korea has on several occasions launched long distance missiles, and is believed to posses nuclear capabilities.

Voila, Ban Ki-Moon is alive! He revived from his self imposed silence yesterday by adding his two cents by criticizing Lybia's Stronman Kaddafi and his attempt to remain in power in the midst of the phenomenal spiraling out of control insurrection. What a hypocrite Ban-Ki is? Here it matters to him as the Secretary of the United Nations; But, when it came to his "home" country Korea he was MUM. Shame, shame, shame!

Kamsahamnida...

.

Doctors Writing Sick Notes for Teachers

wluk | February 19, 2011

Several school districts around the state had to shut down this week because too many teachers were no shows. They turned up at the capitol instead to protest.

New Zealand dollar tumbles after strong earthquake

TOKYO Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:04pm EST

TOKYO Feb 22 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday after Christchurch was struck by a second major tremor in five months.

The quake had a magnitude of 6.3 and its epicentre was just 10 km southwest of Christchurch, the country's second biggest city. The New Zealand dollar fell to as low as $0.7541 NZD=D4, down about 1.2 percent from late U.S. levels. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Edmund Klamann)


Source

US gives fresh details of CIA agent who killed two men in Pakistan shootout

US reveals that CIA agent Raymond Davis worked for private security firm Xe, formerly known as Blackwater


Ewen MacAskill and Declan Walsh
guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 February 2011 21.48 GMT


Raymond Davis, held in Pakistan on double murder charges for a shooting in Lahore last month, is employed by the CIA as a contractor. Photograph: Reuters

US officials have provided fresh details about Raymond Davis, the CIA agent at the centre of a diplomatic stand-off in Pakistan, including confirmation that he had worked for the private security contractor Xe, formerly known as Blackwater. They also disclosed for the first time that he had been providing security for a CIA team tracking militants.

Davis was attached to the CIA's Global Response Staff, whose duties include protecting case officers when they meet with sources. He was familiarising himself with a sensitive area of Lahore on the day he shot dead two Pakistanis.

The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press and other media outlets reported for the first time that Davis is a CIA employee. They said they had been aware of his status but kept it under wraps at the request of US officials who said they feared for his safety if involvement with the spy agency was to come out. The officials claimed that he is at risk in the prison in Lahore. The officials released them from their obligation after the Guardian on Sunday reported that Davis was a CIA agent.

Davis shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore last month who he says had been trying to rob him. A third Pakistani man was killed by a car driven by Americans apparently on their way to rescue Davis.

Confirmation that he worked for Xe could prove even more problematic than working for the CIA, given the extent of hatred towards Blackwater, whose staff have gained a reputation in Pakistan as trigger-happy. For Pakistanis the word "Blackwater" has become a byword for covert American operations targeting the country's nuclear capability. Newspaper reports have been filled with lurid reports of lawless operatives roaming the country.

US officials have reiterated their concern about Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail where Davis is being held, saying he had been moved to a separate section of the prison, that the guards' guns had been taken away from for fear they might kill him, and that detainees had been previously killed by guards. They are also concerned about protesters storming the prison or that he might be poisoned, and that dogs were being used to taste or smell the food for poison.


However, the authorities in Pakistan stressed the stringent measures they have put in place to protect Davis in Kot Lakhpat following angry public rallies in which his effigy was burned and threats from extremist clerics.

Surveillance cameras are trained on his cell in an isolation wing, and a ring of paramilitary troops are posted outside. About 25 jihadi prisoners have been transferred to other facilities.

The revelations about Davis will complicate further the impasse between the US and Pakistan. Washington says he has diplomatic immunity and should be released but the Pakistan government is in a bind, facing the danger of a public backlash if it complies.

Until Sunday, the US had said Davis was a diplomat, doing technical and administrative work at the embassy. It says that because he has diplomatic immunity, he should be released immediately.

The Pakistani prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, told parliament on Monday he would safeguard the country's "sovereignty and dignity" as it sought to resolve the diplomatic impasse with the US. "We are firmly resolved to adopt a course that accords with the dictates of justice and the rule of law. My government will not compromise on Pakistan's sovereignty and dignity," said Gilani.

The CIA declined to comment but other US officials said Davis had been working from a safe house in Lahore and had been carrying out scouting and other reconnaissance mission for a task force of case officers and surveillance experts.

The Obama administration is exerting fierce pressure on Pakistan to release Davis. But President Asif Ali Zardari's government, faced with a wave of public outrage, has prevaricated on the issue, and says it cannot decide on immunity issue until 14 March. For many Pakistanis the case has come to represent their difficult relationship with the US, in which multibillion dollar aid packages are mingled with covert activities targeting Islamist extremists.

Davis is currently on Pakistan's "exit control list", meaning he cannot leave the country without permission. But the two men who came to his rescue in a jeep that knocked over and killed a motorcyclist are believed to have already fled the country. Davis claimed to be acting in self-defence, firing on a pair of suspected robbers. But eyebrows were raised when it emerged that he shot the men 10 times, one as he fled the scene.

Pakistani prosecutors say Davis used excessive force and have charged him with two counts of murder and one of illegal possession of a Glock 9mm pistol. There have also been claims that the dead men were working for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, with orders to follow Davis.

The military spy agency cooperates with the CIA in its tribal belt drone programme, but resents US intelligence collection elsewhere in the country.In spite of the lurid conspiracy tales in Pakistan about Blackwater, US officials say that in reality Blackwater has had two major contracts in Pakistan - loading missiles onto CIA drones at the secret Shamsi airbase in Balochistan, and supervising the construction of a police training facility in Peshawar. The Davis furore has not, however, stopped the controversial drone strike programme. News emerged of a fresh attack on a militant target in South Waziristan, the first in nearly one month. Pakistani intelligence officials told AP that foreigners were among the dead including three people from Turkmenistan and two Arabs.


Rocky relations
The CIA and Pakistan's ISI have long had a rocky relationship. It started in the 1980s jihad, when the ISI funnelled billions of dollars in CIA-funded weapons to anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan.

But the two fell out in 2001 over CIA accusations that the ISI was playing a "double game" – attacking some Islamist militants while secretly supporting others.

In August 2008 the CIA deputy chief, Stephen Kappes, flew to Islamabad with evidence suggesting the ISI plotted the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul that killed 54 people. The ISI, in turn, complained that the US came with unrealistic expectations and an aggressive attitude.

Yet at the same time the agencies co-operated closely, mostly on the CIA drone campaign against al-Qaida militants along the Afghan border.

In 2009 the ISI praised the CIA for killing the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. But recently things soured again. Last December the CIA station chief was forced to quit Pakistan after being publicly identified (US officials blamed an ISI leak); while Pakistani spies were angered that their chief, General Shuja Pasha, was named in a US lawsuit brought in a New York court by victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Declan Walsh

Source
.

NASDAQ and ICE discuss about joint bid for NYSE Euronext

Submitted by Upneet Sandhu on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 17:36 Finance Sector

It now seems to be a less probable to get the merger done between the ICE: 127.22, 0.00, 0.00% (Intercontinental Exchange Incorporation) and the NASDAQ: 29.07, 0.00, 0.00% i. e. the NASDAQ OMX Group. However the bid for NYSE Euronext cannot be fully considered as closed because there are still discussions being held about the combined bid made for NYSE.

Earlier in this weekend Fox business has come to know about from some sources that the Intercontinental Exchange Incorporation (ICE) did not want to be controlled or regulated by the Securities & Exchange Commission. It was assumed by the ICE and also NASDAQ that in order to wrest the NYSE Euronext from the Deutsche Boerse they will have to pay an amount of money of near about 11 billion dollars.

Last week the Deutsche Boerse had agreed to obtain the Big Board. It has been determined by the ICE as well as NASDAQ that the antitrust issues would not act as barrier. NASDAQ is determined to take on the stock listings of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It has been known that the Deutsche Boerse is willing for the merger with the NYSE Euronext. They have agreed to merge with plans of forming a Trans Atlantic exchange. The major hubs of the company will be at Frankfurt and New York. This deal which is soon expected to be a reality has created a fever of merger among the other major stock exchanges of the world. There have been discussions going on between the ICE and the Nasdaq OMX regarding the rival bid for NYSE.

According to some sources the ICE and NASDAQ are assumed to be making a move in the next five to seven days. In the mean time it has been known that the Bats Global Market has decided to obtain the Chi – X Europe. In other words this deal means the combing of the trading operations of Europe and the United States.
.

Source

.

Prepare To Give Up All Private Data For Any Gold Purchase Over $100

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/18/2011 20:59 -0500




A week ago, when we reported on a move by the Dutch central bank that ordered a pension fund to forcibly reduce its gold holdings, we speculated that "this latest gold confiscation equivalent event is most certainly coming to a banana republic near you." And while we got the Banana republic right, the event that we are about to describe is not necessarily identical. It is much worse. A bill proposed in the State of Washington (House Bill 1716), by representatives Asay, Hurst, Klippert, Pearson, and Miloscia, whose alleged purpose is to regulate secondhand gold dealers, seeks to capture "the name, date of birth, sex, height, weight, race, and address and telephone number of the person with whom the transaction is made" or said otherwise, of every purchaser of gold in the state of Washington. Furthermore, if passed, Bill 1716 will record "a complete description of the property pledged, bought, or consigned, including the brand name, serial number, model number or name, any initials or engraving, size, pattern, and color or stone or stones" and of course price. But the kicker: if a transaction is made for an amount over $100, which means one tenth of an ounce of golds, also required will be a "signature, photo, and fingerprint of the person with whom the transaction is made." In other words, very soon Washington state will know more about you than you know about yourself, if you dare to buy any gold object worth more than a C-note. How this proposal is supposed to protect consumers against vulture gold dealers we don't quite get. Hopefully someone will explain it to us. We do, however, get how Americans will part with any and all privacy if they were to exchange fiat for physical. And in a police state like America, this will likely not be taken lightly, thereby killing the gold trade should the proposed Bill pass, and be adopted elsewhere.

While we are confident that representatives Asay, Hurst, Klippert, Pearson, and Miloscia have no clue why they are even proposing this bill, we would also be delighted to find out which moneyed interests they represent, and what happens to precious metal trading in America should Bill 1716 become a legal precedent which is effectively the first step before the final implementation of Executive Order 6102 version 2.

Full bill (pdf)

.

Source

.

Mayhem from Manama to Madison

Doctors protest in Manama, Bahrain on Feb. 17, 2011. http://thefastertimes.com/news/2011/02/17/manama-bahrain-protests-government-cracks-down/

Firefighters protest in Madison, Wisconsin on Feb. 16, 2011.

http://www.bargainingforbenefits.com/index.php/2011/02/16/madison-protests-day-2-once-more-into-the-breach/

Democracy or Mob Rule?

The protest are spread out all over the Islamic world; In Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, Jordan... Now, in the States at Wisconsin there have been protests and manifestations for a week.

Some have compared what's happening in Madison with what took place in Egypt. If so, can trampling by Camels and Horses be far behind?

The world seems to be swept up with a wave of militant Change, in your face Yes We can, and Hope in spite of the turmoil. Radicals and anarchists on a rampage for civil rights. As the old communist rallying cry stated: "Workers of the world unite"..... for change.

Who could be fomenting these events from behind the scenes?

Civil Unrest, protests, demonstrations, turmoil and chaos fill the air in a number of cities.

Is this the face of the New World Order? Can this disorder be a harbinger of what's to come? Is chaos the intended goal of the New World Order? Is this part of the MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS? Is this Millennial Mayhem an omen of the New Age?

Liberté, égalité, fraternité - the motto (and universal ideals) of the French Revolution has finally crossed the Mediterranean Sea, and has also reached the shores of the Great Lakes.

This time around who are the Jacobins manipulating the events in secrecy?

I'll give you my opinion in three Latin words: Ordo Ab Chao.

stay tuned: Law and Order will soon follow.

.

Proclamation of Truth Our Work

--In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light-bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the Word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import,--the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.

The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals have been given us to proclaim to the world. The proclamation of these truths is to be our work. The world is to be warned, and God's people are to be true to the trust committed to them. . . .

Shall we wait until God's judgments fall upon the transgressor before we tell him how to avoid them? Where is our faith in the Word of God? Must we see things foretold come to pass before we will believe what He has said? In clear, distinct rays light has come to us, showing us that the great day of the Lord is near at hand, "even at the door."-- Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 19, 20. (1909)

Evangelism, pp.119,120.

.

O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

3And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

4As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

5Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

6And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

7Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

9And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

10And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

11He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

12Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

13And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

14And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

15And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

16John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

17Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

18And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

19But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

20Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

21Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

22And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Luke 3:3-22.

To Preserve Our Individuality

Photo (Courtesy) http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wisconsin-protests-news-wisconsin-governor-scott-walkers-proposal/story?id=12942012

For years I have been given special light that we are not to center our work in the cities. The turmoil and confusion that fill these cities, the conditions brought about by the labor unions and the strikes, would prove a great hindrance to our work. Men are seeking to bring those engaged in the different trades under bondage to certain unions. This is not God's planning, but the planning of a power that we should in no wise acknowledge. God's Word is fulfilling; the wicked are binding themselves up in bundles ready to be burned.

We are now to use all our entrusted capabilities in giving the last warning message to the world. In this work we are to preserve our individuality. We are not to unite with secret societies or with trades unions. We are to stand free in God, looking constantly to Christ for instruction. All our movements are to be made with a realization of the importance of the work to be accomplished for God.--Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 84 (1902).

Selected Messages - Book II, p. 143.

Great Scott!

Florida Governor Rick Scott



Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

Wisconsin Democratic Senators Have Left State

GuyFaux2007 | February 17, 2011

Mystic Mess

º THE MASTER PLAN OF THE MESSAGE º

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first blast from The Mess attacks the "Lord."

The "Lord" occurs a whopping 7970 times in the KJB -- more than any other noun. Of the 8,000-plus different words used in the KJB, the "Lord" ranks 14th among the most occurrences (number 13 is the single letter "a"). Only helper words such as "the"; "of"; "in"; "to"; et. al. occur more often.

The Mess contains the "Lord" only 71 times! The "Lord" ranks 1087th among words in The Mess. It appears the same number of times as words like "question" or "reputation."

In the New Testament, (ironically, the Testament of the "Lord" Jesus Christ) the "Lord" appears a skimpy 23 times in The Mess. The Mess NEVER directly honors Jesus Christ as Lord. The "Lord Jesus" occurs 118 times in the King James Bible. The "Lord Jesus Christ" occurs 84 times in the King James Bible. The phrase "Lord Jesus Christ" or "Lord Jesus" is not in The Mess! The outright denial of the "Lord" Jesus has never occurred in ANY translation.

Let us clarify something . . . the total amputation of the "Lord Jesus" is no accident. It is not an issue of translation or Greek manuscripts. It is not a matter of updating archaic words or making it easier to understand. It was a deliberate and intentional doctrinal decision to remove the "Lord Jesus."

And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord. . .
John 20:13

It is interesting that Judas Iscariot never calls Jesus "Lord."

The Bible states 13 times Judas "betrayed" the Lord Jesus; Judas was possessed of Satan (Luke 22:3); Jesus Christ calls Judas "a devil" (John 6:70); Jesus calls Judas the "son of perdition" (John 17:12 – which is also the title of the antichrist in 2 Thess. 2:3). The Bible describes hell as Judas’ "own place" (Acts 1:25).

Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I?. . .
Matthew 26:25, KJB

Judas always addressed Jesus as "Master" -- never "Lord." Following the footsteps of Judas the "betrayer," the Mess also "betrays" the Lord, always calling Jesus "Master" – never "Lord"!

Another partner in the "Master Jesus" plan is the New Age religion. The root of the New Age Movement (NAM) teaches during various "ages," teachers or guides arise called "Masters." Helena Blavatsky, the guru of the modern-day New Age Movement, wrote extensively of these enlightened "masters." In the 1980’s, the book Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow by Constance Cumbey, exposed the New Age Movement. Mrs. Cumbey defines the mystic new age as:

A vast organizational network today, the New Age Movement received its modern start in 1875 with the founding of the Theosophical Society by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. . . Strongly propounding the theory of evolution, they also believed in the existence of ‘masters’ who were either spirit beings or fortunate men more highly ‘evolved’ than the common herd. (Cumbey, Constance, Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow, p. 44)

In his best selling book, A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, author Elliot Miller describes the new age Jesus as:

The New Age Jesus became ‘the Christ’ only after purifying himself of ‘bad karma’ through many incarnations, and even now (as many New Agers believe) he is only one of several ‘masters’. . . (Miller, Elliot. A Crash Course on the New Age Movement, p. 30)

Second only to Blavatasky in the New Age hierarchy, is Alice Bailey. Author Constance Cumbey says Bailey, ". . . did more than anyone, except perhaps H. P. Blavatsky, to build the foundations for the ‘New Age’." (Cumbey, Constance, Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow, p. 49) In 1922 Alice Bailey formed Lucifer Trust Publishing, which was later renamed to the subtle Lucis Trust Publishing. Bailey wrote extensively on the "Master Jesus." The following quote are but one of the hundreds of references to the New Age "Master Jesus":

"There is a growing and developing belief that Christ is in us, as He was in the Master Jesus. . ."
(Bailey, Alice, The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 592)
New age researchers quickly discover the Jesus of the New Age is not the "Lord" Jesus but "Master" Jesus:

Jesus to the New Age is a man who ascended to be a Master. . .
(Understanding the New Age, Watchman Fellowship Inc.)

A basic tenet of the New Age thinking is that of the Master Jesus. . .
(Yungen, Ray. A Time of Departing, p. 112)

.

Read More

.