Saturday, December 09, 2006

BUSH TRASHES CONSTITUTION


Bush Trashes Constitution, Few Notice

Saturday December 10th 2005, 10:46 am

Here in Oceania, if something does not appear in the New York Times or mentioned on Fox News, it did not exist. For instance, it is reported that our fearless leader believes the Constitution is little more than a worthless piece of paper. “Last month, Republican Congressional leaders filed into the Oval Office to meet with President George W. Bush and talk about renewing the controversial USA Patriot Act,” writes Doug Thompson for Capitol Hill Blue. “GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.” Thompson reports the following exchange:
“I don’t give a xxx*damn,” Bush retorted. “I’m the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.”
“Mr. President,” one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.”
“Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a XXX*damned piece of paper!”
“I’ve talked to three people present for the meeting that day and they all confirm that the President of the United States called the Constitution ‘a xxx*damned piece of paper.’” Thompson adds.
Of course, for Bush, the neocons, the corporate neolibs, and the authoritarian rabble currently in control of the United States, the Constitution is indeed a worthless “xxx*damned piece of paper” of use only on the Fourth of July. Instead of constitutionally limited government, the Bushcons advocate “democracy,” in other words mob rule—and the mob is brainwashed by the corporate media and “entertainment” industry. “We have the freedom to elect our dictators every four years,” remarked a friend of Jacob Hornberger’s from Latin America. Here in Oceania—thanks to Diebold voting machines and vote rigging—we don’t even have the “freedom to elect our dictators every four years,” they are basically appointed by the plutocrats who control the government and run it for their own gain.
If you defend the Constitution, you’re now considered a terrorist. Consider this FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force brochure. “Defenders of the US Constitution and the common law from which it grew are being classified on the same level as the bottom-feeding Skinheads, Nazis and the KKK,” notes Angel Shamaya.
“Each Fourth of July, the speeches are filled with oratory about how fortunate Americans are to live under ‘free enterprise.’ And now that the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights is approaching, the platitudes of freedom will inevitably increase,” Hornberger wrote in 1990. Of course, most of us here in Oceania are oblivious to such oratory nor do we realize “free enterprise” means the freedom for a small raptorial class to rape, pillage, and steal from people who cannot defend themselves against the onslaught of neoliberal capitalism.
“Unlike their counterparts in the 20th century,” Americans in the 1700s “did not trust politicians, democracies, or governments—and especially not their own! They required the passage of the first ten amendments to further expressly restrict the powers of their democratically elected authorities,” writes Hornberger.
Before he was “elected” (appointed) in 2000, Bush “joked” about dictatorship and said it would be fine and dandy by him so long as he was the dictator. Now we have this authoritarian cretin on record trashing the Constitution and the corporate media does not take note and for obvious reason—the corporate media is owned by the same “free trade” (unhindered depredation) marauders and amoral charlatan neolibs that own the government and just about every whore (politician) in Congress.
*edited for decency.
Source:.http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=156

TRUE OBEDIENCE


Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest our knowledge? Behold, in the day of our fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and acceptable day to the Lord?
Is not this fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppresed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Isaiah 58: 1-7.

Friday, December 08, 2006

ANOTHER JESUS


Another Jesus


Scriptures warn us to beware of those preaching "another Jesus""...if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."
Sol Invictus / Mithra
What would be considered "another Jesus"? The Greek word used in this scripture verse is"allos" meaning different. So what we are considering is a different Jesus; not the Jesus of the Bible, not the only begotten Son of God, but another Jesus -- an impostor.
Today there are worldly wise, philosophers "vain in their imaginations" who using the example of Jesus teach men to disobey Gods commandments. They are preaching "Another Jesus". Many pagan practices that have absolutely no scriptural basis have been accepted, by many believers as the worship of Christ. These practices have not only been accepted but have become commonplace in the organized church. Those who refuse to participate in these practices are considered strange.
These practices, introduced gradually by false teachers, have been accepted through tradition and have absolutely no scriptural basis. We have no excuse for ignorance. We have been fairly warned:
"there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies."
We must search the scriptures to find out the truth. The truth that the ways of the LORD prescribed for His people have not changed, nor will they change. Activities unacceptable to the Lord 6000 years ago are still unacceptable today.
Christ said: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
The prophesies of the Bible have come true: The time has come when sound doctrine is not endured. People receive teachers who tell them what they want to hear. Things that are wrong are justified, explained away: disregarding the warning, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
Fables and the traditions of men are substituted for the truth: "After their own lusts they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they turn away their ears from the truth, and are turned unto fables."
"Christianized" pagan activities, traditional inventions of men, are not in honor of the Biblical Jesus.
What Jesus do they honor? "another Jesus".

TO HEAR A 2 MIN. JUST THE FACTS AUDIO SEGMENT RELATING TO THIS SUBJECT: CLICK HERE for RealAudioDownload Times: Streaming RealAudio File 12 seconds

COMPROMISE IS NOT LOVE
Today, intolerance of compromise is considered lack of love for one another. It is just the opposite. If one really cares about someone, he should tell them the truth, whether it makes him popular or not.
We are told that: "Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."
Those who are willing to stand for the truth must remember: "He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."
It is very difficult to proclaim error in a way that is pleasing to those who, through the traditions of men, participate in activities never prescribed nor authorized by God. Many teachers, who have studied the Bible and secular history, are well aware of the origin of the quote "Christianized" pagan practices which we have discussed - yet they proclaim them to be acceptable to the Biblical Jesus: These are Teachers "Whose mouths must be stopped."
Those concealing the truth in order to uphold the traditions of men should not be told in a pleasing way: Pagan tradition was never authorized by the Jesus of the Bible - you are preaching "another Jesus".
Do we really love the truth? Those that do will not be satisfied to remain like those, who, "willingly are ignorant". They will study in order to search out the truth and then respond to it.
The truth must be proclaimed: "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" .......The Biblical Jesus
In accordance with Biblical instructions we must hold fast the faithful word of sound doctrine. The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.and sin is the transgression of that law.
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:.....John 10:27

This segment is excerpted from the book, "Too Long in the Sun". Please click the ORDER button to secure a copy for yourself and learn even more on this topic!

Source: http://toolong.com

MYTH OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tounge, and hands that shed blood,
A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 6: 16-19.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

THE WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND


And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
And I heard, but understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Many shall be purified, made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.


Daniel 12: 3,4, 8-10.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY


The Great Controversy gives a startling overview of the mighty conflict between Christ and Satan from its origins in heaven thousands of years ago to its conclusion on earth in the days just ahead of us. This still-timely book reveals how God will ultimately rid the universe of evil and make all things new.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

FROM THE SHADOWS


Robert M. Gates is a shoe-in (shoo-in) for the nomination for Secretary of Defense. His father before him, Thomas Gates was Secretary of Defense during the Eisenhower administration. With an impressive career begun as an U. S. Air Force officer with the Strategic Air Command (SAC trained killer), then a prolonged period with the NSA, and CIA, where he was (twice) director under G. H. W. Bush. He also acquired a PHD ( in Russian and Soviet History) at Georgetown (home of the Jesuit "Hoyas") University, and has served on the board of trustees of several respectable corporations. He has also worked with the CFR, Council on Foreign Relations, a Think- tank that has been so prominent in the federal government since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eventually he lectured at many universities, then became Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A & M. In August 2002 he became President of Texas A & M; Where he has been ever since.
All these achievements are remarkable by any standards, and well deserved. My concern is the proliferation of dignitaries bearing the credentials of the CFR, and Georgetown University instruction. This combination is pervasive among the movers and shakers in Washington, D.C. Vigilance is required when NSA, CIA, CFR, and Georgetown University, are all used to refer to a public servant's curricullum vitae.
(SAC trained killer): Cliche used among Air Force personnel.
*"From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won The Cold War". Title of Robert M. Gates's memoirs 1996.

TRILLION$ MI$$ING


Bush Thugs Steal Trillions From American People To Purposely Bring Down Economy
Wanta $4.5 Tillion at the crux of trillions stolen by last three presidential administrations.
Media and Congress complicit in treason for trillion dollar heist and should be ousted, according to Michael C. Cottrell, treasurer of the Wanta group trying to repatriate trillions back to American people
.
5 Dec 2006

By Greg Szymanski

The common thieves in the White House and its illegal occupant, George W. Bush, are engaged in treasonous acts on a daily basis, according to Michael C. Cottrell, treasurer of an American corporation trying to repatriate $4.5 trillion in off shore money.

Cottrell is helping former U.S. Treasury agent and Ambassador Leo Wanta recover the stolen trillions earmarked for the American economy but hijacked by the black squad of Vatican-led Bush Illuminati thugs firmly in control of the fascist U.S. government.

Wanta has been trying to repatriate the money for years, while alerting Americans how three presidential administrations have stolen more than $70 trillion dollars of off shore and off-the-books money used for covert operations.

For his efforts, Wanta has been threatened, tortured and jailed simply for not giving into George H. Bush who has personally led a campaign to steal trillions from the American people for his New World Order agenda.

Recently, Wanta entered into an agreement with New World Order minions to get back only a portion ($4.5 trillion) of the estimated $27.5 trillion under his financial control according to the Reagan protocols.

However, the Bush administration under recently appointed U.S. Treasury Secretary, Henry M. Paulson, have stolen the Wanta money that Cottrell traced to being illegally transferred for New World profits in several large U.S. and German banks.

Once the money is released, if ever, approximately $1.5 trillion is earmarked for the U.S. Treasury for taxes and the remainder to be reinvested to jump start the American economy. But as the months pass Wanta and Cottrell have been unable to penetrate a media and Congressional black out on the massive theft by three presidential administrations, indicating both entities remain firmly in the pocket of the Vatican-led New World Order.

"Paulson and Bush have proved to be nothing more than thieves guilty of treason for purposely bringing down the American economy," said Cottrell in an extended conversation Monday from his East Coast home. "The dollar is tanking and it is directly related to the thievery of trillions of this off shore money.

"The country is about to experience the worst financial nightmare since the 1920s. The economy is tanking because of the idiocy of Bush and Paulson. By Jan. 1 2007, you will see heavy mortgage defaults as prices skyrocket since the dollar has no value.

"These criminals in power are stealing the cash and without the war in Iraq they have no way to mask their thievery. All I can say is we are doing everything in our power to secure the $4.5 trillion for the betterment of the American people before it's too late. These traitorous acts by Bush, Paulson and others deserve strong and decisive action and this is exactly what we are trying to do."

Asked what was the real importance of the Wanta story, he said it clearly showed how the Bush administration has violated the rule of law by not honoring its financial commitments, demonstrating the administration was more concerned with lining the pockets of global banksters and "privateers" with trillions of dollars instead of doing the right thing by enforcing offshore tax payments and stabilizing the American economy.

Cottrell added that since President Reagan passed Executive Order 12333, the last three presidential administrations have illegally used offshore money for their own nefarious purposes without paying U.S. taxes to the tune of more than $100 trillion dollars.

He also said the thievery continues on a large scale, including the illegal use of the $4.5 trillion earmarked for Wanta.

"Instead of the U.S. officials honoring the Wanta agreement and the rule of law entered into last May, we have caught them using the money illegally and filling financial holes to cover their tracks," said Cottrell.

As background, Wanta has been at odds with the powers that be ever since he was declared legal trustor of more than $27.5 trillion accumulated as a result of his financial efforts on behalf of President Ronald Reagan to destabilize the Russian currency at the end of the Cold War.

Furthermore, Wanta was jailed for the better part of a decade for trying to return trillions to the American people, as Reagan had dictated, but later was backstabbed by the following three presidential administrations who instead wanted to illegally pocket the money for their own personal use, according to Wanta.

Previously, Wanta came forward with these allegations, presenting documentation of more $745 billion in misdirected and stolen money, attributing the thievery to those occupying the White House after Reagan left office.
Greg Szymanski
Greg also has his own daily show on the Genesis Communications Network. Go to http://www.gcnlive.com/ Greg Szymanski is an independent investigative journalist and his articles can been seen at www.LewisNews.com. He also writes for his own site www.arcticbeacon.com
Listen to my Radio Broadcast live Monday night at 8pm Pacific time on LewisNews, returning Jan. 1 2006 Radio http://webs.lewisnews.com/radio/index.htm. Greg is also regular on Rense.com the first Thursday of every month at 9-10 pm pacific time.

IS HE THE WORST PREZ?




Washington Post editorials debate if Bush is worst president ever
Raw Story December 3, 2006 Ron Brynaert
Five editorials in Sunday's edition of The Washington Post argue whether or not George W. Bush is the worst president ever.
As Editor & Publisher notes, "The Washington Post editorial page has been a strong backer of the Iraq war from the beginning," and the five editorials "may set off an intriguing debate, pro and con."
In one editorial, Michael Lind, a Whitehead senior fellow at the New America Foundation, argues that it's "unfair" to call Bush the worst, since the policies of presidents James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and James Madison "were even more disastrous."
"By contrast, George W. Bush has inadvertently destroyed only Baghdad, not Washington, and the costs of the Iraq war in blood and treasure are far less than those of Korea and Vietnam," Lind writes.
"He's Only Fifth Worst" by Michael Lind can be read at this link .
Rutgers University professor David Greenberg agrees that Bush ranks ahead of Nixon, but adds that "it's conceivable that the consequences of the invasion of Iraq may prove more destructive than those of Nixon's stubborn continuation of the Vietnam War."
"Should those things happen, Bush will be able to lay a claim to the mantle of U.S. history's worst president," Greenberg writes. "For now, though, I'm sticking with Dick."
"At Least He's Not Nixon" by David Greenberg can be read at this link .
On the other hand, University of Massachusetts professor Vincent J. Cannato, believes that it's too early to tell, and slams the "left-leaning historical profession" for rushing to judgement.
"Much of Bush's legacy will rest on the future trajectory of the fight against terrorism, the nation's continued security and the evolving direction of the Middle East," Cannato writes. "Things may look grim today, but that doesn't ensure a grim future."
Cannato admits that he "worked briefly as a speechwriter in 2001" for the Bush Administration.
"Time's On His Side" by Vincent J. Cannato can be read at this link .
The last two contributors both rank Bush at the bottom.
Columbia University professor Eric Foner notes that although it's "impossible to say with certainty how Bush will be ranked in, say, 2050...somehow, in his first six years in office he has managed to combine the lapses of leadership, misguided policies and abuse of power of his failed predecessors."
"I think there is no alternative but to rank him as the worst president in U.S. history," Foner writes.
"He's The Worst Ever" by Eric Foner can be read at this link .
But historian and author Douglas Brinkley isn't ready to commit to Bush being the absolute worst, though he believes that he "has joined Hoover as a case study on how not to be president."
"Though Bush may be viewed as a laughingstock, he won't have the zero-integrity factors that have kept Nixon and Harding at the bottom in the presidential sweepstakes," Brinley writes. ***** Source: http://infowars.com

Monday, December 04, 2006

GOD OR CAESAR














Matthew 22:17-21 (King James Version)


17Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

18But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

19Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

20And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

21They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

S. BACCHIOCCHI'S LETTER NO. 139


Correcting Samuele Bacchiocchi'sENDTIME ISSUES NEWSLETTER No. 139


In newsletter 139, Dr. Bacchiocchi makes the following assertion:


... "it has been wise for our Adventist church to abandon the traditional numeric interpretation of VICARIUS FILII DEI which lacks both exegetical and historical support."


The Exegetical Support
Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Note that this "name of blasphemy" is associated with the heads of the sea beast. The word translated "name" in that verse is onoma:
G3686. onoma, on'-om-ah; from a presumed der. of the base of G1097 (comp. G3685); a "name" (lit. or fig.) [authority, character]:--called, (+ sur-) name (-d).
The same word is translated "name" in the following verse:
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
This "name of blasphemy" of the sea beast is again mentioned in the following verses
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
So the blasphemous name of the beast from the sea equals 666. A key piece in this mystery is the next verse:
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
The same Greek word is used in that verse for "name". Note that it refers to a Title of Jesus. So Revelation 13:1, 6, 17 and 18 can refer to a blasphemous title assumed by the heads of the sea beast.
The same wisdom that unlocks the name/number of the sea beast is mentioned in Revelation 17:
Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
That points us directly to the woman (church) seated in Rome, the Roman Catholic Church.
So, now let's let scripture tell us a definition of blasphemy:
John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
VICARIVS FILII DEI (Taking the place of the Son of God) is a blasphemous title that has a long history in Roman Catholic documents (whether it ever appeared on a tiara or not), and it does equal 666 when the Roman numeral value of the letters are added up. See http://biblelight.net/666.htm for the historical documentation.
It is also worth noting that Roman Catholics, while denying any "official" standing for VICARIVS FILII DEI, will readily admit that the synonymous VICARIVS CHRISTI is the proper and official papal title (it does not add up to 666). Well, let's notice this next verse:
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
So there are many blasphemous titles assumed by the sea beast, not just the one that adds up to 666. Well, another perfectly valid way of saying VICARIVS CHRISTI is ANTICHRIST, both of which mean "Taking the place of Christ".
So, there is both historical and biblical exegetical support for blasphemous papal titles being the name associated with the sea beast in Revelation 13.
I have corresponded via email with Dr. Bacchiocchi, and asked him to show me any flaw in the above page, and he flatly refuses to do so. He responds with ad hominem. All he wants to do is sell me his material, saying I obviously do not wish to learn if I do not immediately order his study, that I am "afraid of being enlightened", if I do not send him money for his pearls of wisdom. He is obviously running a business, and that is his priority.


Saturday, December 02, 2006

THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR AMERICA


Olbermann Addresses the Military Commissions Act in a Special Comment

By Keith Olbermann
MSNBC
Countdown

Wednesday 18 October 2006

We have lived as if in a trance.

We have lived as people in fear.

And now - our rights and our freedoms in peril - we slowly awake to learn that we have been afraid of the wrong thing.

Therefore, tonight have we truly become the inheritors of our American legacy.

For, on this first full day that the Military Commissions Act is in force, we now face what our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and melodramatic fear-mongering:

A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from.

We have been here before - and we have been here before led here - by men better and wiser and nobler than George W. Bush.

We have been here when President John Adams insisted that the Alien and Sedition Acts were necessary to save American lives, only to watch him use those acts to jail newspaper editors.

American newspaper editors, in American jails, for things they wrote about America.

We have been here when President Woodrow Wilson insisted that the Espionage Act was necessary to save American lives, only to watch him use that Act to prosecute 2,000 Americans, especially those he disparaged as "Hyphenated Americans," most of whom were guilty only of advocating peace in a time of war.

American public speakers, in American jails, for things they said about America.

And we have been here when President Franklin D. Roosevelt insisted that Executive Order 9066 was necessary to save American lives, only to watch him use that order to imprison and pauperize 110,000 Americans while his man in charge, General DeWitt, told Congress: "It makes no difference whether he is an American citizen - he is still a Japanese."

American citizens, in American camps, for something they neither wrote nor said nor did, but for the choices they or their ancestors had made about coming to America.

Each of these actions was undertaken for the most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And each was a betrayal of that for which the president who advocated them claimed to be fighting.

Adams and his party were swept from office, and the Alien and Sedition Acts erased.

Many of the very people Wilson silenced survived him, and one of them even ran to succeed him, and got 900,000 votes, though his presidential campaign was conducted entirely from his jail cell.

And Roosevelt's internment of the Japanese was not merely the worst blight on his record, but it would necessitate a formal apology from the government of the United States to the citizens of the United States whose lives it ruined.

The most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

In times of fright, we have been only human.

We have let Roosevelt's "fear of fear itself" overtake us.

We have listened to the little voice inside that has said, "the wolf is at the door; this will be temporary; this will be precise; this too shall pass."

We have accepted that the only way to stop the terrorists is to let the government become just a little bit like the terrorists.

Just the way we once accepted that the only way to stop the Soviets was to let the government become just a little bit like the Soviets.

Or substitute the Japanese.

Or the Germans.

Or the Socialists.

Or the Anarchists.

Or the Immigrants.

Or the British.

Or the Aliens.

The most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And, always, always wrong.

"With the distance of history, the questions will be narrowed and few: Did this generation of Americans take the threat seriously, and did we do what it takes to defeat that threat?"

Wise words.

And ironic ones, Mr. Bush.

Your own, of course, yesterday, in signing the Military Commissions Act.

You spoke so much more than you know, Sir.

Sadly - of course - the distance of history will recognize that the threat this generation of Americans needed to take seriously was you.

We have a long and painful history of ignoring the prophecy attributed to Benjamin Franklin that "those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

But even within this history we have not before codified the poisoning of habeas corpus, that wellspring of protection from which all essential liberties flow.

You, sir, have now befouled that spring.

You, sir, have now given us chaos and called it order.

You, sir, have now imposed subjugation and called it freedom.

For the most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And - again, Mr. Bush - all of them, wrong.

We have handed a blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who has said it is unacceptable to compare anything this country has ever done to anything the terrorists have ever done.

We have handed a blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who has insisted again that "the United States does not torture. It's against our laws and it's against our values" and who has said it with a straight face while the pictures from Abu Ghraib Prison and the stories of Waterboarding figuratively fade in and out, around him.

We have handed a blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who may now, if he so decides, declare not merely any non-American citizens "unlawful enemy combatants" and ship them somewhere - anywhere - but may now, if he so decides, declare you an "unlawful enemy combatant" and ship you somewhere - anywhere.

And if you think this hyperbole or hysteria, ask the newspaper editors when John Adams was president or the pacifists when Woodrow Wilson was president or the Japanese at Manzanar when Franklin Roosevelt was president.

And if you somehow think habeas corpus has not been suspended for American citizens but only for everybody else, ask yourself this: If you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an alien or an undocumented immigrant or an "unlawful enemy combatant" - exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not? Do you think this attorney general is going to help you?

This President now has his blank check.

He lied to get it.

He lied as he received it.

Is there any reason to even hope he has not lied about how he intends to use it nor who he intends to use it against?

"These military commissions will provide a fair trial," you told us yesterday, Mr. Bush, "in which the accused are presumed innocent, have access to an attorney and can hear all the evidence against them."

"Presumed innocent," Mr. Bush?

The very piece of paper you signed as you said that, allows for the detainees to be abused up to the point just before they sustain "serious mental and physical trauma" in the hope of getting them to incriminate themselves, and may no longer even invoke The Geneva Conventions in their own defense.

"Access to an attorney," Mr. Bush?

Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift said on this program, Sir, and to the Supreme Court, that he was only granted access to his detainee defendant on the promise that the detainee would plead guilty.

"Hearing all the evidence," Mr. Bush?

The Military Commissions Act specifically permits the introduction of classified evidence not made available to the defense.

Your words are lies, Sir.

They are lies that imperil us all.

"One of the terrorists believed to have planned the 9/11 attacks," you told us yesterday, "said he hoped the attacks would be the beginning of the end of America."

That terrorist, sir, could only hope.

Not his actions, nor the actions of a ceaseless line of terrorists (real or imagined), could measure up to what you have wrought.

Habeas corpus? Gone.

The Geneva Conventions? Optional.

The moral force we shined outwards to the world as an eternal beacon, and inwards at ourselves as an eternal protection? Snuffed out.

These things you have done, Mr. Bush, they would be "the beginning of the end of America."

And did it even occur to you once, sir - somewhere in amidst those eight separate, gruesome, intentional, terroristic invocations of the horrors of 9/11 - that with only a little further shift in this world we now know - just a touch more repudiation of all of that for which our patriots died -- did it ever occur to you once that in just 27 months and two days from now when you leave office, some irresponsible future president and a "competent tribunal" of lackeys would be entitled, by the actions of your own hand, to declare the status of "unlawful enemy combatant" for - and convene a Military Commission to try - not John Walker Lindh, but George Walker Bush?

For the most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And doubtless, Sir, all of them - as always - wrong.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15321167/

THE WATCHMAN


Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he will surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

Ezekiel 3: 17-21.

Friday, December 01, 2006

THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS


"SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES; FOR IN THEM YE THINK YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE: AND THEY ARE THEY WHICH TESTIFY OF ME.

AND YE WILL NOT COME TO ME, THAT YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE.

I RECEIVE NOT HONOR FROM MEN.

BUT I KNOW YOU, THAT YE HAVE NOT THE LOVE OF GOD IN YOU.

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.

HOW CAN YE BELIEVE, WHICH RECEIVE HONOUR ONE OF ANOTHER, AND SEEK NOT THE HONOUR THAT COMETH FROM GOD ONLY?

DO NOT THINK THAT I WILL ACCUSE YOU TO THE FATHER: THERE IS ONE THAT ACCUSETH YOU, EVEN MOSES IN WHOM YE TRUST.

FOR HAD YE BELIEVED MOSES, YE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED ME: FOR HE WROTE OF ME.

BUT IF YE BELIEVE NOT HIS WRITINGS, HOW SHALL YE BELIEVE MY WORDS?"


JOHN 5: 39-47. KJV.

100,000,000,000 REASONS TO JUST SAY NO!


$100 BILLION IS WHAT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS ASKING CONGRESS TO APPROVE FOR THE NEVER-ENDING BATTLE CALLED IRAQ.
WHEN THE ECONOMY IS ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF. WHEN FORD MOTOR CORP. HAS JUST BOUGHT OUT 30,OOO+ EMPLOYEES TO TAKE EARLY RETIREMENT. WHEN THE PRICE OF GAS IS SPIRALING (SOME SAID THE WAR WAS FOR OIL) UPWARD. WHEN IT TAKE $1.35 TO PURCHASE ONE EURO. WHEN THE US DOLLAR IS SO INFLATED IT WILL BUST AT ANY MOMENT. WITH ALL THE SPIN A.K.A. 'LIES' THAT ARE PASSING FOR NEWS.
AND MR. PRESIDENT, HOW CAN YOU (WITH A STRAIGHT FACE) ASK FOR ONE MORE RED CENT FOR THE MESS IN IRAQ? YOU CAN'T SQUEEZE BLOOD OUT OF IRAQ, ANY LONGER.

CUT AND RUN IS MY VERDICT. PERIOD... NO SOUP FOR YOU!

YOU ARE A DEMOCRAT AFTER ALL: TO THROW MONEY ON A PROBLEM IS THEIR RATIONALE.

DOLLAR SLIDES


Dollar slides as US business slows

Financial Times November 30 2006 Richard Beales

The dollar suffered sharp falls on Thursday, hit by reports of weak US business activity and a benign inflation picture.
The euro rose 0.7 per cent against the dollar to $1.3247 by late afternoon in New York after data from Chicago purchasing managers indicated that business activity in the Midwest unexpectedly fell last month.
Sterling rose to its highest level against the dollar since its ejection from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992 as UK house prices continued to show rapid growth. The pound rose to $1.9699 before edging back to $1.9658, almost 1 per cent up on the day. The yen also gained, up 0.5 per cent against the dollar to Y115.77.
A report revealed that inflation in US personal consumption expenditure excluding food and energy, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation benchmark, held steady in October at 2.4 per cent year-on-year. Data suggested further inflation-fighting interest rate rises by the Fed, which could support the dollar, were even less likely to be needed.
The slide in the dollar was briefly arrested on Wednesday following an upward revision to official estimates of US third-quarter growth.
Michael Woolfolk, foreign exchange strategist at Bank of New York, said: “[The] personal income and spending report and Chicago PMI were the one-two punch that knocked the dollar back on the ropes, leaving little doubt over near-term direction in the beleaguered greenback.”
The Chicago purchasing managers' index is regarded as a leading indicator of the national manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management, due today. The Chicago PMI index fell to 49.9 last month from 53.5 in October. Many economists had expected it to rise. The core personal consumption expenditure deflator, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2 per cent, against a consensus forecast of 0.1 per cent.
Simon Hayley of Capital Economics said risk aversion could start playing a greater role in the dollar's decline, as traders shied away from the carry trade, in which traders borrow cheaply in yen and buy higher-yielding currencies: “The risk of short-term dollar weakness may now be greatest against the yen.”
But Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital, said: “Ultimately the lesson from recent days and many other past events is that a weaker US dollar is highly unlikely to turn into a freefall [and] tends not to have a lasting negative impact on US asset markets,” he said.


Thursday, November 30, 2006

CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC

NOW THAT KATIE COURIC HAS BEEN AT THE HELM OF THE CBS EVENING NEWS, FOR A SHORT PERIOD, I FEEL A CRITIQUE OF THE PROGRAM IS WARRANTED.


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2006, KATIE INTERVIEWED (ON THE SET, ACROSS THE DESK) RICHARD HAASS, DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, RHODE SCHOLAR, LONG TIME ASSOCIATE OF BUSH 41, PREVIOUS DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING FOR THE U.S. STATE DEPT., AND THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE CFR. HE STATED THE FIASCO (NOT WINNABLE) THAT THE WAR IN IRAQ HAD BECOME, SOMETHING THAT PRESIDENT BUSH REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE.


HERE A PRESIDENT OF THE CFR, WAS INTERVIEWED AS IF HE WERE A BENIGN, NEUTRAL PARTY IN THE IRAQ CONFLICT. HOW CAN A PERSON AT THE HEAD OF SUCH AN ORGANIZATION BE CONSIDERED AN UNBIASED OBSERVER OF THE EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN IRAQ? WHEN MOST PEOPLE "KNOW" THAT THE CFR AND OTHER SUCH ORGANIZATIONS DICTATE AND IMPLEMENT MEASURES IN WORLD AFFAIRS? AND THIS IS A FEATURED AUTHORITY TO INTERVIEW AT COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM, AND THEN DRESS IT UP AS NEWS? ARE THE PEOPLE THAT IGNORANT NOWADAYS? CFR COMMENTING ON THE NEWS? WHEN THEY SHAPE THE NEWS.


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2006, KATIE INTERVIEWED ZALMAY KALILZAD, DOCTOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE (AFGHAN EXCHANGE STUDENT), CFR FELLOWSHIP WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT, CARTER ADMINISTRATION CRONY, SIGNER/MEMBER OF PNAC: PROJECT FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY,ADVISOR TO RAND CORP., UNOCAL CORP. ADVISOR, CURRENT U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ. AMBASSADOR KALILZAD EXPRESSED CONCERNS OVER THE IRAQ CONFLICT, AND THE AL-MALIKI ADMINISTRATION'S FAILURE TO END SECTARIAN VIOLENCE.


AGAIN, WE HAVE ANOTHER "INSIDE" MAN APPEARING AS AN NON-ALIGNED OBSERVER OF THE EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN THE IRAQ. CAN ANYONE DOUBT THAT THIS GENTLEMAN IS BEHIND THE EXECUTION OF MOST MEASURES THAT HAVE PRODUCED THE CONDITIONS THAT NOW EXIST IN THE MIDDLE-EAST? CAN CBS PORTRAY THIS MAN AS AN IMPARTIAL EXPERT, WHEN HE POSSIBLY DREW THE PLANS THAT HAVE BROUGHT CHAOS TO SUCH LEVELS? HAS CBS, CHANGED ITS NAME TO COMATOSE BRODCASTING SYSTEM? AND IS NOW CATERING TO SUCH AN AUDIENCE; LACKING AWARENESS OF WHO IS WHO ON THE WORLD STAGE?


KATIE COURIC, THE BABY BOOMER SOLUTION FOR ACQUIRING THE LION'S SHARE OF THE EVENING NEWS RATINGS, IS NOT PROVIDING "THE NEWS". KATIE IS SPINNING A SANITIZED VERSION OF NEWS FOR MASS CONSUMPTION. IF WHAT IS INTENDED IS A GENTLER AND KINDER NEWS FORMAT? YOU HAVE A HIT. BUT, NEWS IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT, ITS A SERIOUS AND SOLEMN SUBJECT. PEOPLE WANT THEIR NEWS UNADULTERATED AND UN-BIASED. THAT INCLUDES THE "EXPERTS" PORTRAYED ON YOUR "SHOWS".
WHEN WE SEE CLARK KENT ON THE SCREEN, WE ALL KNOW HE'S "REALLY" SUPERMAN!


P.S. ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS CBS NEWSCASTS ARE ROUTINELY PREMPTED BY FOOTBALL, GOLF, BASKETBALL, OR CBS SPORTS.

HOPE FOR THE WICKED


The master plan to rule the world exposed

'Hope of the Wicked' reveals greatest deception in modern history

Posted: July 9, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Is there a conspiracy to rule the world?
Is there a master plan to bring America under the spell of a one-world order?
Who are the Bilderbergers and the members of the Council on Foreign Relations and Trilateral Commission? Do they really wield powers over commerce and government around the world?
In "Hope of the Wicked: Master Plan to the Rule the World," Ted Flynn reveals the greatest deception in modern history – the way corporations, foundations and governments are converging to bring about a New World Order.
This is not mere conjecture and speculation. It is 550 pages with 82 photographs and 1,200 footnotes and a strong historical basis to make the case that a global elite is indeed working to end the sovereignty of nations – including the U.S.
Flynn also lays out the utopian dream of the United Nations and shows how its tentacles are now reaching into your life – no matter where you live. He reveals the plans for world taxation and world courts with absolute jurisdiction over every person living on the planet.

-What is the Federal Reserve and who owns it?
-What are the authority and mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency?
-What is the role of the New Age movement and environmentalism in a world religion?
-What is the real agenda of secret societies and are they real?

It's all covered in "Hope of the Wicked."
And, most important of all, what developments are right around the corner? "Hope of the Wicked" makes a great companion to one of the best-selling books ever in the WND store – "Brotherhood of Darkness" by Dr. Stanley Monteith.

http://worldnetdaily.com

Note: This article used here not as an ad, but as an manifestation of the extent of the deception around us.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

CONSTITUTION OVERTURNED BY HR 6166




CONSTITUTION OVERTURNED BY HR 6166

Posted by iusbpreface on October 11th, 2006

Enemy Combatant
Concerned Citizen

“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Still think America is the ‘Land of the Free’? We’re free to do as we’re told. Effective September 27, American citizens who dissent and protest the unconstitutional practices of the Bush Administration are subject to be labeled ‘enemy combatants’ and indefinitely detained and tortured without due process of law.
While our mass media syndicates were distracting you with the Mark Foley pedophilia scandal, the House discreetly passed House Resolution 6166: The Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as “the torture bill”. 219 Republicans and 34 Democrats voted to strip basic human and legal rights from U.S. citizens.
More specially, HR 6166 will effectively:
give the President amnesty for committing war crimes.
-provide amnesty to war criminals in the military.
-revoke habeas corpus rights, which allows U.S. military detainees a right to appeal charges.
-render the Geneva Conventions null and void.
-allow the police to search your home without a warrant.
-revoke legal protection from self-incrimination.
-eliminate the idea of rape and sexual assault as torture.
-allow the government to use testimony extracted through torture.
-allow the government to imprison people based on secret evidence without telling them the charges.
-remove the right to cross-examine witnesses.
-allow the records of trials to be kept secret from the public.
-take away the right to a speedy trial.
-enable trials to begin before a thorough investigation.
-allow people to be put on trial in front of a military tribunal, even if they aren’t in the military.
-create a secret committee appointed by Bush and Rumsfeld that has the power to declare any person an enemy combatant’, depriving them of basic human rights, legal rights, or an appeal.
-label a legal resident of the U.S. ‘legal’ and ‘illegal enemy combatant’ subject to indefinite detainment without an appeal.
-label a foreign citizen living in their own country ‘illegal enemy combatant’ subject to indefinite detainment without an appeal.

Clever. The bill both permits the Bush Administration to violate international rules of war and protects them from any repercussions for doing so by prohibiting the court from striking down the entire Act preemptively, and retroactively, ex post facto defines new crimes and punishments. Therefore, this legislation provides amnesty for unreliable WMD and 9/11 data extracted from illegal simulated death-burials in Egypt and the treatment of Guantanamo Bay POWs during 2001-06 which failed to meet Geneva requirements. Can we expect U.N. intervention? Not likely, especially considering the U.S. retains the power to veto.
Anyone who donates to a charity considered by the Bush Administration as a ‘terrorist organization’ could be declared an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ and imprisoned indefinitely. In times of war and national crisis, the government has targeted immigrants and dissidents. Anyone who speaks out against the government’s policies is subject to the same treatment in our generation’s version of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
The dissidents of today are tomorrow’s political prisoners. Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer warned Americans, “They better watch what they say, watch what they do.” And if they don’t? No problem. Halliburton’s subsidiary KBR announced on January 24 that it had been awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps in the U.S.
Still not worried? Please to take the time to consider why the Bush Administration felt it necessary to pass HR 6166, destroy our Constitution, and legalize torture and war crimes. The Founding Fathers understood that the biggest threat to a country comes not from an external enemy, but from the government itself. “They hate our freedoms,” President Bush is so fond of saying. With bills such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the Military Commissions Act, doesn’t it make you wonder who the real terrorists are?


Source: http://iusbpreface.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

BLESSED ARE THE SILLY

Blessed are the silly

October 14, 2006

Christian clowns remind us that we find God in the funniest places. Or, to paraphrase Jesus: Blessed are the silly for they make people laugh. To the Rev. Jonathan Baker, the 24 folks in Delaware's Merrimakers Clown Ministry are gifted at evoking the holy emotion of laughter at picnics, children's parties and seniors' homes. The clowns are so serious about spreading joy that Baker has commissioned them as a ministry of Wilmington's......

Photo: http://www3.calvarychapel.com

Article: http://www.delawareonline.com

Sunday, November 26, 2006

TURK DISAPPROVAL OF POPE VISIT


Turks whip up storm of disapproval over Pope's Istanbul visit

By Peter Popham in Istanbul
Published: 27 November 2006

Pope Benedict was given another warning yesterday of what lies ahead for him in Turkey when more than 20,000 people demonstrated against his coming visit in central Istanbul and urged him to stay at home.
Huge banners stretched across the road screamed "Papa Gelmesin" - "The Pope should not come"- and placards carried caricatures of the Pope and his Christian Orthodox counterpart Bartholomew I scheming together to recreate the Byzantine empire - all signs of the paranoid fear that campaigners against the visit are stirring up.
"The Crusades - what a very peaceful walk!" said one placard; another, "The Pope - the man who stuck out his tongue at the Prophet Mohamed and Islam."
The demonstration, which was peaceful, was the latest in a series of protests against the visit, which begins in Ankara tomorrow. First a man fired a gun outside the Italian consulate in Istanbul and yelled that he wanted to strangle the Pope. Last week, members of the so-called Grey Wolves, the Nationalist Movement Party to which Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who tried to assassinate Benedict's predecessor in 1981, belongs, invaded Hagia Sophia, the ancient cathedral-turned-mosque-turned museum in Istanbul, and ostentatiously prayed (which is forbidden) in protest.
The Pope's first visit to a majority Muslim country was never going to be straightforward, but the pontiff made it much more difficult for himself in September when, during an address in the German city of Regensburg, he quoted a 13th-century Byzantine emperor as describing Islam as "evil and inhuman" because it countenanced conversion by the sword. After Ali Bardakoglu, director of Turkey's Department of Religious Affairs, drew attention to the insult, the chorus of anger rose to a crescendo. Ali Bardakoglu is the first important Turk the Pope will meet.
"Pope Benedict XVI ... alienated a billion Muslims with his speech," wrote one Turkish columnist. In Turkey "he will find very few real sympathisers ... and a lot of non-welcomers".
Yesterday's protest was organised by the Sadat ("Happiness") party, an Islamist group from which the party that rules Turkey today, the Justice and Development Party, split away during the 1990s. Today Happiness is a marginal player in Turkish politics, gaining only 3 per cent of votes at the last election. But opponents of the visit comprise a broad coalition, from Islamists to secular nationalists.
The decision by the Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, not to meet the Pope - he will be away at a Nato summit - shows how much of a hot potato the visit has become. The tension and hostility is partly Benedict's fault, but it is largely the result of a very ugly history. When Pope Paul VI visited in 1965, he became the first pope to come to Istanbul in nearly a millennium.
The Crusades, especially the Fourth, during which Crusaders killed, cooked and ate the population of a village in their path, convinced Muslims and Orthodox Christians that the Christians of the West were malign barbarians. The privileges for Christians extracted by the great powers early in the 20th century and plans to divide Turkey between Greeks, French and Italiansconfirmed the opinion.
During his Sunday words to the crowd in St Peter's Square yesterday, the Pope said: "I want to send a cordial greeting to the dear Turkish people, rich in history and culture ... To this people and their leaders I express feelings of esteem and of sincere friendship."
In a last-minute change to the schedule, the Vatican announced that as well as visiting Hagia Sophia, the Pope will also call in on the Blue Mosque nearby, as a gesture of respect. But the Turks are taking no chances: Benedict, they say, will be given the same level of protection that would be given to President Bush.
The itinerary
* ANKARA
The Pope opens his Turkish tour tomorrow in the capital, where, after seeing the President, he will have a meeting with Ali Bardakoglu, the first important Muslim to denounce his Regensburg address. Demonstrations are expected in the city, and thousands of riot police are on standby.
* EPHESUS
The Pope is flying on Wednesday to the place where, according to tradition, St John the Evangelist brought the Virgin Mary in her old age and where she is said to have been assumed into heaven. He will celebrate mass nearby.
* ISTANBUL
Benedict then flies to Istanbul to meet the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Bartholomew I, whose invitation was the reason for the trip. He will also visit the Blue Mosque.
* HAGIA SOPHIA
The most delicate moment of the visit is on Thursday, when he goes to the ancient church, now a museum, which is regarded as one of the greatest buildings in the world. Many nationalists and Islamists will be watching keenly: if the Pope prays here (which is forbidden), it will confirm their grimmest suspicions about his desire to rebuild the Byzantine empire.

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2018690.ece

US TO IMPLEMENT PASSPORT REQUIREMENT



U.S. to implement passport requirement

AP November 22, 2006
BEVERLEY LUMPKIN

WASHINGTON - The Homeland Security Department will require virtually all air travelers entering the United States after Jan. 23 to show passports — even U.S. citizens.

Until now, U.S. citizens, travelers from Canada and Bermuda, and some travelers from Mexico who have special border-crossing cards for frequent visitors were allowed to show other proofs of identification, such as drivers' licenses or birth certificates.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff disclosed the effective date of the initiative in an interview with The Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department was planning to announce the change on Wednesday.

Chertoff said the change was a crucial next step to helping ensure the nation's security.

"Each of these steps raises the bar to an attack. None of this is perfect. None of them is foolproof. But we're always better off when we build higher levels of security," he said.

"Right now, there are 8,000 different state and local entities in the U.S. issuing birth certificates and driver's licenses," Chertoff said. Having to distinguish phony from real in so many different documents "puts an enormous burden on our Customs and Border inspectors," he said.

In a few cases, other documents still may be used for air entry into the U.S. by some frequent travelers between the U.S. and Canada, members of the American military on official business and some U.S. merchant mariners.

Under a separate program, Homeland Security plans to require all travelers entering the U.S. by land or sea, including Americans, to show passports or an alternative security identification card when entering the U.S. starting as early as January 2008.

The Homeland Security Department estimates that about one in four Americans has a passport. Some people have balked at the $97 price tag.

The Sept. 11 Commission said in its report, "For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons."

The commission recommended strengthening security of travel documents. A 2004 law passed by Congress mandated the change to require passports as the only acceptable travel document, with few exceptions, but the exact date had been in question.

Canadian officials and some members of Congress from border states have expressed concern that the changes could interfere with travel and commerce.

Chertoff said his agency's data revealed that in September 2006, 90 percent of passengers leaving from Canadian airports had passports. The department estimated that 69 percent of U.S. air travelers to Canada, 58 percent of U.S. travelers to Mexico, and 75 percent of U.S. travelers to the Caribbean hold passports.

"Could James Bond and Q come up with a fake passport?" Chertoff asked, referring to the fictional British spy and his espionage agency's technical genius. Of course, he replied, because "nothing is completely perfect."

Still, he said, with new technology, it is increasingly difficult to forge passports, and having just one document to scrutinize should make inspection easier for both inspectors and travelers.


Saturday, November 25, 2006

PROFILE: POPE BENEDICT XVI


Profile: Pope Benedict XVI
As a cardinal, Pope Benedict took an uncompromising stance
Pope Benedict XVI was elected in April 2005, after the death of his predecessor Pope John Paul II.
As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - once known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition - from 1981 until his election, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had developed a reputation as a tough theologian.
He campaigned against liberation theology, which had gained ground among priests in Latin America and elsewhere as a means of involving the Church in social activism and human rights issues.
He also described homosexuality as a "tendency" towards an "intrinsic moral evil" and has previously called for pro-choice politicians to be denied Communion.
In his first year in office, he upheld a ban on men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" becoming priests, but was said to be considering relaxing the church's ban on condoms to allow their use by people with Aids.
He paid respects to the memory of John Paul II, his much-loved Polish predecessor, calling for his canonisation during a visit to the country that drew vast crowds.
Seventeen months into his Papacy, his quotation of a 14th century Byzantine emperor -who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things - provoked anger in the Muslim world. The Vatican denied that he had intended to offend Muslims.

Conservative
Joseph Ratzinger was born into a traditional Bavarian farming family in 1927, although his father was a policeman.
The eighth German to become Pope, he speaks 10 languages and is said to be an accomplished pianist with a preference for Beethoven.
At the age of 14, he joined the Hitler Youth, as was required of young Germans of the time, but was not an enthusiastic member.
His studies at Traunstein seminary were interrupted during World War II when he was drafted into an anti-aircraft unit in Munich.
He deserted the German army towards the end of the war and was briefly held as a prisoner of war by the Allies in 1945.
His supporters say his experiences under the Nazi regime convinced him that the Church had to stand up for truth and freedom.
The Pope's conservative, traditionalist views were intensified by his experiences during the liberal 1960s.
He taught at the University of Bonn from 1959, and in 1966 took a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of Tuebingen.
However, he was appalled at the prevalence of Marxism among his students.

'Abuse of faith'
One incident in particular at Tuebingen, in which student protesters disrupted one of his lectures, seems to have particularly upset him.
In his view, religion was being subordinated to a political ideology that he considered "tyrannical, brutal and cruel".
"That experience made it clear to me that the abuse of faith had to be resisted precisely," he later wrote.
In 1969 he moved to Regensburg University in his native Bavaria - where he would return as Pope to make his controversial remarks on Islam in September 2006 - and eventually rose to become its dean and vice-president.
He was named Cardinal of Munich by Pope Paul VI in 1977.
His appointment as Pope was greeted with some scepticism by Catholic commentators.

"I think if Cardinal Ratzinger was Pope, a large distance could grow between the leadership of the Church and the faith," German commentator Wolfgang Cooper predicted before the result was known.
The Pope is a "scientist" who "prefers intellectual discussions", said Mr Cooper, predicting that many Catholics want priests and bishops "who will touch the hearts".

But John Allen, Vatican correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter, said his first year in office was notable for its continuity.
"There is no discernible drift towards radically conservative figures and there has been no earthquake in either liturgy or doctrine," he said.

Friday, 15 September 2006, 12:29 GMT 13:29 UK

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

STEPHEN'S CONDEMNATION OF THE COUNCIL


Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Acts 8: 51-53.

Friday, November 24, 2006

THE GULF


When Protentantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvellous working of Satan and that the end is near.
Testimonies for the Church, 451, (1885) Ellen G. White.