Thursday, July 12, 2007

FRIDAY THE 13TH


October 13

The Knights Templars Arrested (1307):
Unlucky 13?

It was on this date, October 13, 1307 — and presumably on a Friday — that King Philip IV ("the Fair") of France arrested all of the Templar Knights. The religious order had been the subject of rumors of blasphemy and irreligious practices, but in fact the Knights of the Temple of Solomon or (from their logo) the Red Cross Knights, were "just brutal, pious, simple-minded men," who became wealthy and corrupt as soon as the Church showered blessings and money on the order.

The Templars were formed after the First Crusade as a body of knights charged with prosecuting the crusades, and with living morally upright lives in the service of their church. So unpopular was that second qualification in the Middle Ages that the core of the Templars was only nine knights. The number slowly increased until, in 1128, they were incorporated as a monastic order with the usual three vows. By 1200, they were so rich and loose in morals that a contemporary jibe for heavy drinking was "He drinks like a Templar." Their wealth increased through the same ruse the Jews used to circumvent the Church law against lending money at interest — the original meaning of usury. The party only came to an end when the Templars became so corrupt and so powerful that Philip, at the urging of Pope Clement V, had to extinguish them.

The leaders were tortured into confessing impiety and sodomy in their houses and, although the method is not conducive to extracting truth, it is clear that the practices were rampant. The methods were standard: "The feet of the accused were oiled and fired, splinters were driven under their toe- and finger-nails, weights were tied to their genital organs, and so on," says McCabe. "Some underwent torture six or seven times. A large number, including the Grand Master [Jacques DeMolay] and three other leading Masters, confessed and were burned alive."*

Knights Templar
Templar knights
from a contemporary woodcut

The popular legend that the end of the Templars took place on a Friday the 13th, and that that is the origin of the bad luck associated with the day, is just as fabulous as that it arose from the 13 Christian apostles (including the traitor Judas) at the Last Supper. The legend of Loki crashing a banquet of 12 Norse revelers in Valhalla was another, later, turn on the fable. But although there are some references to Friday being unlucky in Geoffrey Chaucer's time (14th century: "And on a Friday fell all this mischance"), there appears to be no reliable reference to the unluckiness of Friday the 13th before the 1800s.

In the Gregorian calendar, the 13th is slightly more likely to fall on a Friday than on any other day of the week, and any month beginning on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th, but rational thinkers ignore the superstition. Still, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, or fear of Friday the 13th, seems common enough to be the reason many people will skip work, refuse to travel, and not start anything new on that day — and why some buildings have no 13th floor and Room 13 often disappears. Is there something to the superstition? We might remember the troubles in 1970 during the flight of Apollo 13.

But Friday the 13th is considered unlucky only in Western, Christian-dominated cultures: there is no such superstition in Asia or the Islamic world. The superstition can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, people will engage in what logicians call "confirmation bias" when bad things happen on a day you already believe is bad. When Philip the Fair decided to arrest and torture and burn the Templars on this day in 1307, he had back of him no tradition of bad luck or good luck associated with the 13th day of the month — but it was unfortunate for about one hundred Christians!

* Joseph McCabe, A Rationalist Encyclopædia, 1948.

Want to comment on this essay? Send me an e-mail!


,


Templar Knight
A Templar knight

red cross symbol
The symbol of the Knights Templar:
a red cross (with medallion)

Jacques DeMolay burned
The burning of Templars Grand Master
Jacques DeMolay —
a stained-glass window depiction




Ronald Bruce Meyer is a freelance writer.
Wordcount 635

Source: http://www.ronaldbrucemeyer.com/rants/1013a-almanac.

HARRY POTTER DANGEROUS FOR CHILDREN

12 13th, 2006

Harry PotterFor at least four alarming reasons we should be outraged about the Harry Potter phenomenon:

  • HP is mainstreaming Witchcraft.
  • HP is aggressively recruiting our children.
  • HP is deceptive in its prosyletization.
  • HP is teaching an entire generation socially unacceptable values.

The popularization of witchcraft especially during the last few years can be directly attributed to the aggressive marketing of Harry Potter. It is mainstreaming the religion of witchcraft which, despite arguments to the contrary, is a REAL religion, with dangerous consequences and is recruiting our children. In 1986 a Federal Court of Appeals decision (Dettmer v. Landon) had effectively declared “The Church of Wicca” to be a constitutionally recognized “religion” with the same legal rights and standing as other religions (1).

Witchcraft is a legally recognized religion and has tax exempt status. Self professed chaplains in the military have the freedom to openly practice their religion in the military despite the so called separation of Church and State. Wicca is exploiting its public acceptance throughout our educational system. Children as young as six years old are being read Harry Potter books aloud by their teaches in classrooms across America while Bible reading, the teaching of Christianity and the posting of the Ten Commandments is outlawed. Schools around the nation used taxpayers’ dollars to bus hundreds of our children in school buses to movie theatres to watch Harry Potter matinees despite parents’ protests. I am confident school buses would not be permitted to be used to bus children to Mel Gibson’s “Passion of The Christ” at the time Christian’s celebrate their Messiah’s zenith celebration, The Resurrection, or to theatres this Christmas for the recent release of The Nativity movie which specifically follows the Biblical account of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. The Christian’s celebration of Christmas (specifically the birth of Christ) and Easter (representing the resurrection of Christ) are not permitted to be celebrated with their focus on Christ in schools, yet these holidays continue to be celebrated within the educational system to comply with legally framed acceptable. Such compromise in the name of so-called “tolerance” and in an effort not to be so-called “offensive” is completely offensive to believers in Christ. Yet government schools supported by tax payers allow the celebrations to continue in names preferred by pagans and nature worshipers as Spring and Winter Holidays. Schools blatantly endorse the celebration of Halloween, also known as the nature Harvest Festival, which is the major New Year holiday of witches and pagans as not only an opportunity to party during school time but also to promote pagan and wiccan beliefs in the classroom.The teaching of Wicca is encouraged through our school system and fanned by the entertainment industry which deliberately targets our children (www.caryltv.com Gods of Entertainment DVD (2).

Wicca is the fastest-growing religion in America among pre-teens and also thrives in higher educational facilities: on college campuses, classrooms and through campus associations aided by such Wiccan promoters as Anthony Paige. Paige, a graduate of SUNY Purchase College started a Wiccan student group on campus and is the successful author of the bestseller, “Rocking the Goddess: Campus Wicca for the Student Practitioner”. His publisher’s promotion states the book’s purpose – “an indispensable guide to an old religion for a new generation, one that will help you feel the mystery, experience the magick, and find the witch within (Branwen’s Cauldon).” (3)

Harry Potter: Witchcraft RepackagedMany argue that our children know the difference between the so-called fantasy of Harry Potter’s world and that of “real” witchcraft but facts show otherwise. The author of Harry Potter, Joanne “JK” Rowling, openly admits she gets hundreds of letters from fans asking to attend Hogwart’s, Harry’s occult boarding school of witchcraft and wizardry. Those mentioned in my documentary, Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repacked (www.caryltv.com) admit they want Harry’s power to be able to cast spells and put hexes on their parents, teachers or those they love in order to manipulate their devotion. When I was at Kings Cross Train Station in London recently, the stationmaster admitted hundreds of children come to see the supposed platform which Harry’s fictional school train leaves from. He also mentioned several accidents occurred when children, who mimicked Harry, run through the brick barricade to catch the Hogwart’s Express, the imaginary train Harry takes to enter his magical dimension. The Pagan Federation of England affirm they receive thousands of letters from children after the airing of such TV programs as Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Children ask for the location of local Wicca covens in the hopes of attending. They express their desires to learn the occult techniques promoted in Harry’s books and by other young witches in a plethora of movies and programs that glorify witchcraft and pagan ideology. (DVD Gods of Entertainment (4)

Supernatrual Powers: The Battle Between Good and EvilIn the documentary, Supernatural Powers: The Battle Between Good and Evil (www.caryltv.com) I interview those who, as children had been introduced to the occult by reading “fantasy” literature. Over a short time they got hooked, addicted and drawn into dangerous spirituality which changed their disposition and attitudes, making them moody and depressed.

From personal experience they warn against the child-friendly allurements that attract the vulnerable into emotional distress and an unhealthy interest in the occult. No longer relegated to dark alleys and seen as fearful occultism, “fantasy” literature openly targets our youth. Piggy backing off Harry Potter, glamorously packaged and enticingly displayed New Age, Pagan and Wiccan books for children cram the shelves of book stores such as Barnes and Noble, USA’s biggest chain bookstore.

If, as claimed, reading is the agenda, why not get children to read literature that promotes healthy social values and belief in constructive character development, the furtherance of integrity, truthfulness, honesty and social compassion towards the less advantaged?

Harry’s adventures uphold his lying, cheating, stealing and rude, rebellious nature as acceptable even by his adult occult teachers. He not only practices various alchemy magick and spell casting but is driven to improve them so that he can combat the powerful darkness his deeds pull him into. He aspires to more aggressive eastern type meditation, yogic-centering and deeper-concentration techniques to counter the nightmares, hot-sweats, violent anger and addictive pains in his stomach, some of the many symptoms occultists admit they experience as they dabble in the supernatural world of powers and principalities.

Any serious witch will openly admit to the yearning for power that benefits for supposed good and healing. Yet they also admit that that power can be abused according to each practitioner’s skill and desire.

We learn that Harry misuses his power for evil and selfish ambition, a power which interestingly is linked with the same source as his nemesis, the Evil Lord Voldemort represented as a serpent. All world religions, while admitting the power of the serpent, know it to be fearful, yet Harry is able to talk “serpent” language. There is no doubt children are being seduced into believing the dark-arts are “fun”, benign and a positive power for personal enablement. But responsible parents must be aware that while such practices may be dismissed as “fantasy” they are practices that are able to supply supernatural power through mind-changing techniques, methods that are able to awaken spiritual thoughts through the use of spiritual imagination.

The supernatural world is a reality and dabbling with occult techniques to enter the dark-side is not an harmless adventure. Our children are immersed in cruelty and depravity in a daily battle but vying for the wrong spirits to give them power to tackle their problems should be of great concern to us all.

A chilling aspect of craving supernatural power can be read in Misty Bernall’s book about her murdered daughter Cassie, who through her school-day dabbling in witchcraft got drawn into Satanism, self mutilation and a desire to kill her parents. Cassie, the 17 year old Columbine High School student who was ultimately killed, along with 13 other Columbine victims has her story compassionately described in her mother’s memoirs and through letters Cassie wrote (5).

Much of the ugliness of her spiritual battle - “dark rhymes and lyrics decorated with lurid images of vampires, drugs, and mutilated bodies, including grisly drawings…..” and “Cassie reacted with fits of anger and despair, threats of running away and killing herself…..” are sentiments strewn throughout the pages of Harry Potter.

Cassie’s story reveals a significant answer for concerned parents and troubled children trapped by the dangers of today’s growing pagan movement. Cassie’s mother tells how her daughter found faith in a powerful God Who set her free from the darkness that held her in a vice of bondage. In the end, Cassie was martyred for her faith: killed by two fellow classmates who had stormed the school, guns blazing, with murder on their minds, warped by their own deprived, satanic experiences, but hopefully Cassie’s martyrdom is not a waste if children today can be helped by Cassie’s courageous message.(3)

(1) Witchcraft Goes Mainstream: Uncovering Its Alarming Impact on You and Your Family by Brooks Alexander. Page 51. Books at www.caryltv.com .
(2) Gods of Entertainment: The Power of Mass Media to Influence and Corrupt. Plus Bonus Harry Potter TV Special. DVD at www.caryltv.com .
(3) Page 59: Witchcraft Goes Mainstream.
(4) Death By Entertainment. How the Media Manipulates the Masses. VHS at www.caryltv.com .
(5) She said yes: The unlikely martyrdom of Cassie Bernall. By Misty Bernall. Plough Publishing House. 800 521 8011. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go to a charitable foundation established in Cassie’s name. For more information on the mainstreaming of witchcraft and fantasy visit www.caryltv.com video previews for: Witchcraft Spell – Bonus Special on DVD of Supernatural Powers: The Battle between good and evil.Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repacked. Making Evil Look Innocent.

Source: http://www.carylmatrisciana.com/caryl/?cat=12

US SENATE TO OPEN WITH HINDU PRAYERS

Lets not and say we did! ~ US Senate to open with Hindu prayers!



US Senate to open with Hindu prayers

India Times

History will be created when a Hindu prayer will be recited at the opening of the US Senate in Washington DC on July 12.

Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain, said that he had been officially asked to say the prayer. He said he believes this may be the first time any Hindu prayer is delivered in the Senate since its formation in 1789.

Zed is likely to choose the prayer from the Rig Veda, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita. He said he plans to start and end the prayer with 'Om', the mystical Hindu syllable. The full text of the prayer will be included in the Congressional Record.

There are an estimated two million Indian Americans in the US.

Followers of Hindu groups like ISKCON may add up to another one million.

“July 12 will be an illustrious day for all Americans and a memorable day for Indian Americans when prayers from ancient Hindu scriptures will be read in the great hall of democracy,” Zed said.



Source: http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2007/07/lets_not_and_say_we_did_us_sen.html

DEUTORONOMY 5

Deuteronomy 5

1And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.

2The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

3The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

4The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,

5(I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,

6I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

7Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

8Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

9Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

10And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

11Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

12Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

13Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

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.

17Thou shalt not kill.

18Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

19Neither shalt thou steal.

20Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

21Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

22These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

23And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

24And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

25Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.

26For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

27Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

28And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.

29O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

30Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

31But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

32Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

33Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.


JUST WILD ABOUT HARRY

JUST WILD ABOUT HARRY
Author calls Potter 'Christian literature'
Insists Rowling is believer who incorporates faith into books

Posted: July 12, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern


By Jennifer Carden
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com


Homeschooling mother and literature expert Nancy Brown once banned all "Harry Potter" books from her home, having heard witness after witness to the book's "evil" content. But when a trusted friend recommended she give the boy wizard a second chance, she did – with great trepidation. The results of her tests were a surprise to both the Catholic community, and to Brown herself, and are detailed in Brown's "The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide."

"I began reading the first book, and immediately, I started absorbing the plotline, the characters. The fact that they were witches immediately fell to the background. First and foremost, they were people," Brown told WND.

After she encountered the humanity of the characters, Brown found that the themes became infinitely relatable, and even spiritual.

"This was a story about good and evil," she said. "The choices that Harry Potter had to make were important. His momentary despairs, his aching feelings for his parents – these things resonated with me."

"I thought, 'Gee, these books really do have good themes, although they were couched a story about witches and wizards,'" she said.

Brown's conclusions are in opposition to the positions adopted by others regarding the books.

Caryl Matrisciana, a well-known expert on contemporary cults, paganism and the occult, agrees with Brown that parents should serve as a filter for their children, but she feels they should start by banning "Harry Potter" from the home.

"There is no doubt children are being seduced into believing the dark-arts are 'fun,' benign and a positive power for personal enablement," she said. "But responsible parents must be aware that …the supernatural world is a reality and dabbling with its dark-side is not harmless."

"Our children are immersed in its cruelty and depravity in a daily battle vying for their spirits and they want the power to tackle it," she continued.

Her acclaimed DVD program, "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged," dramatically documents Potter references to evolution, reincarnation, sorcery, divination, spells, curses and other occult influences.

Matriciana does see spiritual themes in the "Potter" books but believes they stem from the books entanglement with Wicca, not Christianity.

For instance, she said, "we learn that Harry misuses his power for evil and selfish ambition, a power which interestingly is linked with the same source as his nemesis, the Evil Lord Voldemort represented as a serpent."

Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission and publisher of MOVIEGUIDE, is choosing to focus on the sociological implications.

"These books and movies teach rebellion against authority," he said, and "when they add to this rebellious attitude the stupid aphorism that 'You're really a good person,' then one must seriously ask, 'What are these narcissistic children supposed to think?'"

Quite simply, they will think that "their rebellion is part of their goodness, and then they become part of the growing crowd of rebellious young people who are incapable of constructing and perpetuating a viable civilization," he concluded.

Brown noted in Christian circles, "It's not really okay to be pro-Potter."

But she said that when Harry makes moral mistakes, there are consequences, and as for all the magic: "It's pretend. It's like a child doing a pretend magic act and saying 'hocus pocus.' The magical element is a very small aspect of the story."

Brown said the "Harry Potter" books are great for families and especially Christian parents, "who for centuries have used literature to illustrate the struggle between good and evil when teaching their children." If parents participate in the "Potter" experience, their children won't be pulled into practicing magic, but into learning what makes Harry and his compatriots fight for the good and what makes them fight evil, she said.

She had flown through the first four books with little mind for anything but the plot, but when she came to the fifth book, "The Order of the Phoenix," which was just released in theatres, she says she suddenly noticed that the books contained deeper spiritual themes.

"At the beginning of the book, the children enrolled in a class called 'Defense Against the Dark Arts,'" she said, "in which they were practicing defending themselves against evil. In a way, I realized, the author was showing how each one of us has to battle sin and temptation. It doesn't happen by magic; it happens by force of will. We have to practice."

Brown does not believe "Harry's" abundance of Christian themes is accidental and contends author J.K. Rowling is a Christian.

"I know that she was raised a Christian in the Anglican Church. She attends the Church of Scotland. To me, the indications are that she is a Christian. If she was a member of any atheist/Wiccan organization, they would be claiming her as a member," she said.

Brown cites evidence there are Christian intentions behind Rowling's books, the most convincing of which comes from an article in American Prospect:

Rowling initially was afraid that if people were aware of her Christian faith, she would give away too much of what's coming in the series. "If I talk too freely about that," she told a Canadian reporter, "I think the intelligent reader — whether 10 (years old) or 60 — will be able to guess what is coming in the books."

In Brown's estimation, if more knowledge about Rowling's Christian beliefs would lead an intelligent reader to accurately guess where the books are going, then the plot of the entire Harry Potter series must somehow be inspired by Christianity.

But while Brown sees "Harry Potter's" positives, she suggests parents exercise caution when they give their children "Potter" as a playmate, primarily by "serving as a filter" for their children. Her book is filled with discussion questions and points to ponder for family discussion.

"We're supposed to watch what goes into our children's hearts and into their minds," said Brown. "When we do that, I don't feel there is danger in the Harry Potter books."

Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56634

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

THOMAS JEFFERSON ON RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS

"Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and
force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our
civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make
the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within
religion itself. Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state,'
therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society."

- Former US President Thomas Jefferson

President W. Bush with Benedict xvi

OTHER CHRISTIANS NOT TRUE CHURCHES


Pope: Other Christians Not True Churches


Jul 10, 8:49 AM (ET)

By NICOLE WINFIELD



LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches.

Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church.

On Saturday, Benedict revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics cheered the move, but more liberal ones called it a step back from Vatican II.

Benedict, who attended Vatican II as a young theologian, has long complained about what he considers the erroneous interpretation of the council by liberals, saying it was not a break from the past but rather a renewal of church tradition.

In the latest document - formulated as five questions and answers - the Vatican seeks to set the record straight on Vatican II's ecumenical intent, saying some contemporary theological interpretation had been "erroneous or ambiguous" and had prompted confusion and doubt.

It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, "Dominus Iesus," which set off a firestorm of criticism among Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the "means of salvation."

In the new document and an accompanying commentary, which were released as the pope vacations here in Italy's Dolomite mountains, the Vatican repeated that position.

"Christ 'established here on earth' only one church," the document said. The other communities "cannot be called 'churches' in the proper sense" because they do not have apostolic succession - the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles.

The Rev. Sara MacVane of the Anglican Centre in Rome, said there was nothing new in the document.

"I don't know what motivated it at this time," she said. "But it's important always to point out that there's the official position and there's the huge amount of friendship and fellowship and worshipping together that goes on at all levels, certainly between Anglican and Catholics and all the other groups and Catholics."

The document said Orthodox churches were indeed "churches" because they have apostolic succession and that they enjoyed "many elements of sanctification and of truth." But it said they lack something because they do not recognize the primacy of the pope - a defect, or a "wound" that harmed them, it said.

"This is obviously not compatible with the doctrine of primacy which, according to the Catholic faith, is an 'internal constitutive principle' of the very existence of a particular church," the commentary said.

Despite the harsh tone of the document, it stresses that Benedict remains committed to ecumenical dialogue.

"However, if such dialogue is to be truly constructive, it must involve not just the mutual openness of the participants but also fidelity to the identity of the Catholic faith," the commentary said.

The document, signed by the congregation prefect, U.S. Cardinal William Levada, was approved by Benedict on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul - a major ecumenical feast day.

There was no indication about why the pope felt it necessary to release the document, particularly since his 2000 document summed up the same principles. Some analysts suggested it could be a question of internal church politics, or that it could simply be an indication of Benedict using his office as pope to again stress key doctrinal issues from his time at the congregation.

RESPONSE TO CHERTOFF'S GUT

Response To Chertoff's Gut
07-11-2007

Raw Story



Following yesterday's statement by Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff's that his remarks on the increased risk of terrorism this summer were based "on a gut feeling," the Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson has sent a letter to Chertoff demanding an explanation, "what color code in the Homeland Security Advisory System is associated with a 'gut feeling?' What sectors should be on alert as a result of your “gut feeling?”

The letter states, "Over the past five years, tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been dedicated to standing up and building capacity at the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security is charged with deterring, preventing and responding to the threat of terrorism. To that end, systems have been erected to identify risks and communicate them to the American public. With all the resources you have at your disposal and all the progress that you assure us that you are making, I cannot understand why you are quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying you have a 'gut feeling' that we are entering a period of heightened risk this summer."

Thompson continues by asking Chertoff to further explain what measures the country should take based on his instincts, "What cities should be asking their law enforcement to work double shifts because of your “gut feeling?” Are the American people supposed to purchase duct tape and plastic sheeting because of your 'gut feeling?'"

Later, he stresses the importance of specific, actionable, intelligence as it relates to the function of the Department of Homeland security, and stressed how counter-productive vague warnings of terror are, "I urge you to follow up on your 'gut feeling' and share whatever information our nation’s first preventers need to be on alert and prepared. Otherwise, we run the risk of communities taking it upon themselves to mobilize for every possible threat. This not only would result in communities depleting their scarce homeland security resources but runs contrary to your efforts to move toward a risk-based approach to homeland security."

Chairman Thompson closes by offering to hold classified briefings on the subject of this summer's newly heightened terror alert.

Source: http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=2979

THE GOOD-OLD CLINTON DAYS..

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

CATHOLIC AMERICA

CATHOLIC AMERICA

(photo) Catholics in the Supreme Court.

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2005/11/07/GR2005110700054.gif

"She [Rome] is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. (This was written approx. 100 yrs. ago) We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution." - The Great Controversy (1911) p.581

Go to this article
From National Catholic Register - May 20-26, 2007 issue
by the editors

Catholics are poised to take on a historic role in America that can transform the future of our country. If we do the right thing now, we won’t just restore the sanctity of life to its proper place as the fundamental right upon which all others depend — we will also make Catholics the most important force preserving and promoting the American ideal.

Or perhaps we will do nothing, watch our country slip further away from its principles, and leave our children a worse world than the one we have enjoyed.

Our final editorial in a series on the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a federal ban on partial-birth abortion comes, appropriately, as Pope Benedict XVI returns from his trip to Brazil, a trip marked by his words promoting life.

American Catholics can learn important lessons in hope from his visit there. He taught that faith, and only faith, will win the battle for the heart of a nation.

That was the lesson of the crowds that flocked to see him — more than 400% larger than expected — and it was the subject of his address to bishops, in which he compared the enduring presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the fleeting fads of Marxism, capitalism and other ideologies.

“God is the foundational reality,” he said. Attempts to build on any other reality are destined to fail; the foundational reality of God will outlast them all. Those who choose to ignore fundamental realities are always surprised by their own defeat. We can count on that same dynamic in America, too.

The Supreme Court made abortion legal in all 50 states in 1973 — when pictures of children in the womb were almost unheard of. But simultaneously, medical science — and fetal photography — were developing at an amazing pace.

Today, the curtain has been lifted. We know that, in an embryo as small as a pinpoint, DNA has already determined whether the child is a boy or girl, how tall she’ll be, and what field position he’ll be best suited for in baseball. And today, many American parents see their children’s faces for the first time in ultrasound photos.

Reality is overtaking the abortion debate. Each year, a larger majority of Americans reports to pollsters that they are pro-life. It is only a matter of time before revulsion against abortion will reach a critical mass — a “tipping point,” to use a marketing phrase. At that point, predominant cultural attitudes toward abortion will swing so far so fast, it will appear to have changed “overnight,” whereas in reality this respect for life will have been growing incrementally for years.

If this sounds far-fetched, it shouldn’t. God is always performing the same trick. From the fall of Adam to the crucifixion of Christ to the age of martyrdom in the Church, the forces of evil keep convincing themselves that at last they have won. And they are always learning that they have put all their eggs in the wrong basket as God neatly turns their own momentum against them.

When this happens in America, Catholics will find themselves in a leading cultural role, for three reasons.

First, because Catholic theology uniquely understands the interrelationship between natural law and divine revelation, the power of persuasion will be on our side. Just as Thomas Aquinas was the great defender of both theology and common sense, the Church today uniquely understands aspects of natural law the world has forgotten: Our teachings on abortion, marriage and even contraception are defenses of what man can know without Scripture. Like the Declaration of Independence, Catholic moral thinking examines “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.”

Second, Catholics will dominate in the future of America because of sheer numbers. Immigration from Mexico and family sizes mean the old Protestant America is throwing itself off a demographic cliff. Tomorrow’s America will be far less Protestant and far more Catholic.

And last, Catholics will have a prominent role in the future of America because we are the Church founded by Christ on the rock of Peter, the one Church that Christ promised would prevail against the gates of hell. Certainly, other Christian denominations rightly worship God, as the Second Vatican Council said. But Christ founded one Church, not many denominations, and our doctrines have the best expression of the “foundational reality” of God that will prevail.

What does this “Catholic future” mean for Catholics today? It certainly shouldn’t mean that we can feel proud or presumptuous. After all, previous generations of Catholics had these same advantages and squandered them scandalously and ignominiously — often precisely while they were feeling most triumphal.

It doesn’t mean that our fight will be easy, either — in the age of martyrdom, it never is. Rather, these “Catholic advantages” mean we have a grave responsibility to promote the culture of life and to defend the family — and that, no matter how hard the fight gets, we shouldn’t lose heart. God always wins.

Source: http://www.mountainmediaministries.com/endTimes/latest/catholicAmerica.htm
Note: Highlights added for emphasis. Blogmaster.

LIVE EARTH 2007: GLOBAL WARMING

THOUSANDS FLEE INDONESIA VOLCANO

Last Updated: Tuesday, 10 July 2007, 09:49 GMT 10:49 UK
Thousands flee Indonesia volcano
Ash clouds spew from Mount Gamkonora, in North Maluku province, Indonesia - 09/07/07
Mount Gamkonora is one of 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia

Thousands of Indonesians have been evacuated from the slopes of a volcano that is spewing out hot ash and smoke in the east of the country.

The alert around Mount Gamkonora, in North Maluku province, has been raised to its highest level amid fears a major eruption could be imminent.

Scientists have reported seeing fire and ash clouds rising as high as 4,000m (13,100ft) since Monday.

Some 8,400 villagers have been moved to special camps away from the volcano.

However, scientists are warning that lava could still reach the camps if there is a large eruption - and have advised residents to wear face masks to protect themselves from the ash clouds.

Some 2,000 people are reported to have chosen to remain within the 8km (five mile) danger zone marked out by officials.

'Ring of Fire'

Activity at the 1,635m mountain rose sharply on Monday, prompting scientists to raise the alert level.

Saut Simatupang of Indonesia's Vulcanological Survey told Reuters news agency that the volcano was spitting out volcanic ash as high as 4,000m at its peak on Monday.

Map

He said there had been less smoke and ash on Tuesday "but that does not mean the volcano is safe".

Mt Gamkonora is the highest peak on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, some 2,400km east of the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

It is one of at least 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is part of the Asia-Pacific "Ring of Fire", a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and South East Asia.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6286946.stm

GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS EMERGING

Global Food Crisis Emerging
Lowest Food Supplies In 50-100 Years

6-15-07

NATIONAL FARMERS UNION National Office
2717 Wentz Ave. Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 4B6
306 652-9465 Fax 306 664-6226

SASKATOON, Sask -- Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its first projections of world grain supply and demand for the coming crop year: 2007/08. USDA predicts supplies will plunge to a 53-day equivalent- their lowest level in the 47-year period for which data exists. "The USDA projects global grain supplies will drop to their lowest levels on record. Further, it is likely that, outside of wartime, global grain supplies have not been this low in a century, perhaps longer," said NFU Director of Research Darrin Qualman.

Most important, 2007/08 will mark the seventh year out of the past eight in which global grain production has fallen short of demand. This consistent shortfall has cut supplies in half-down from a 115-day supply in 1999/00 to the current level of 53 days. "The world is consistently failing to produce as much grain as it uses," said Qualman. He continued: "The current low supply levels are not the result of a transient weather event or an isolated production problem: low supplies are the result of a persistent drawdown trend." In addition to falling grain supplies, global fisheries are faltering.

Reports in respected journals Science and Nature state that 1/3 of ocean fisheries are in collapse, 2/3 will be in collapse by 2025, and our ocean fisheries may be virtually gone by 2048. "Aquatic food systems are collapsing, and terrestrial food systems are under tremendous stress," said Qualman.

Demand for food is rising rapidly. There is a worldwide push to proliferate a North American- style meat-based diet based on intensive livestock production - turning feedgrains into meat in this way means exchanging 3 to 7 kilos of grain protein for one kilo of meat protein. Population is rising-2.5 billion people will join the global population in the coming decades. "Every six years, we 're adding to the world the equivalent of a North American population. We' re trying to feed those extra people, feed a growing livestock herd, and now, feed our cars, all from a static farmland base. No one should be surprised that food production can't keep up," said Qualman.

Qualman said that the converging problems of natural gas and fertilizer constraints, intensifying water shortages, climate change, farmland loss and degradation, population increases, the proliferation of livestock feeding, and an increasing push to divert food supplies into biofuels means that we are in the opening phase of an intensifying food shortage.

Qualman cautioned, however, that there are no easy fixes. "If we try to do more of the same, if we try to produce, consume, and export more food while using more fertilizer, water, and chemicals, we will only intensify our problems. Instead, we need to rethink our relation to food, farmers, production, processing, and distribution. We need to create a system focused on feeding people and creating health. We need to strengthen the food production systems around the world. Diversity, resilience, and sustainability are key," concluded Qualman. - 30 - For More Information:

Darrin Qualman, Director of Research

Stewart Wells, NFU President

Backgrounder to the NFU's May 11, 2007 news release

The United States Department of Agriculture reports recent grain supply and demand numbers on its World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) website at

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/Mann...ocumentID=1194

The longer-term data on world grains supply and demand is at Production, Supply, and Demand Online (PSD) at

http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdhome.aspx



Source: http://www.endtimesreport.com/Global_Food_Crisis.html

Monday, July 09, 2007

CHRISTIAN SINGLES

Christian Singles and the Challenge of Finding a Godly Mate

I had dinner with a young friend of mine Thursday night. She is 26 and a lovely Christian young woman in every way. She graduated from college but continues to live with her parents, operating a home business. She is talented at the business end of what she does, but that isn’t really what she wants. In college she was jeered at because she defended Titus 2’s biblical model of home and family. Her desire to be a homemaker and raise her own children was subjected to frequent scorn. She told me over dinner that she refuses to lower her standards. She wants to marry a man who has saved himself for marriage, as she has, and who loves the Lord and who will lead a Christian home. Despite her involvement in various conservative church college/career groups, she has yet to find even one with this vision for his life. We talked about the rampant immaturity, the adolescence that now extends well into the 30’s for many men and how difficult it is to wait sometimes for the Lord’s timing. She is not alone. My heart aches for those fine Christian young adults who refuse to accept the slovenly, carnal standards of the day and yet who are deeply lonely. They long to begin a Christian family and they have honored the Lord in their commitment to Him. I have asked my friend to write an article for Slice on this issue—the challenge of remaining faithful to the Lord while waiting for a Christian mate. Clearly, some are given the gift of singleness. I don’t mean to imply that every Christian single is pining to get married. I am referring to those who would like to marry. When I have the article I will run it. It would be a great thing if some dedicated Christian singles who have all but given up on finding someone who shares their love for Christ and family vision could find that they are not alone out there. Stay tuned.

Posted on July 2007

Source: http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/?p=413

PLEDGE TO CUT POPPY CROP



July 8, 2007 at 14:38:48

Karzai, Bush Pledges to Cut Poppy Crop Turn Out to be Pipe Dream


by Sherwood Ross Page 1 of 1 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com/



By Sherwood Ross


Just a little over two years ago, at a White House press conference on May 23, 2005, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan said his country’s poppy crop was shrinking and, “if this trend continues, we’ll have no poppies, hopefully, in Afghanistan in another five or six years.”



“That’s a promise we have given to the world and to the Afghan people,” Karzai added, “and that’s a promise that we will deliver on. Hold us accountable on that.” President Bush chimed in that President Karzai was “very forthcoming” about the desire to eradicate the poppy, the raw ingredient of heroin.


Yet, far from reducing, much less eradicating, the poppy crop, and in defiance of U.S. and NATO military pressure, Afghan farmers planted about 400,000 acres of opium poppies last year, a 59% increase over 2005, while the war swirling around the opium harvest has also grown--- in intensity. Looking back, the Bush-Karzai conference was a pipe dream.


According to author Jon Lee Anderson in the July 9th “The New Yorker” magazine, “The debilitating and corrupting effects of the opium trade on the government of President Karzai is a significant factor in the Taliban’s revival.” Another factor aiding the Taliban is the rise in U.S. and NATO air strikes. Reuters reported July 7th that in Farah province the district leader lamented an air attack in Bala Boluk that killed 108 civilians. Reuters said, “Western unwillingness to accept casualties among their own soldiers and a shortage of ground troops means commanders often turn to air power to beat the Taliban, and that almost inevitably leads to civilian deaths.”


The situation in Afghanistan is reminiscent of U.S. and British air strikes against Nazi targets in occupied France during World War II. These killed an estimated 70,000 French civilians, so many the Nazis put up posters of a smirking President Roosevelt dropping bombs on a small French girl clutching a doll. The French resistance begged to be allowed to take out German targets from the ground.


Anderson writes, “Karzai has complained publicly about the civilian deaths, but he is dependent on the foreign forces to prop him up.” Presently, 35,000 troops from 37 countries, about half of them American, are fighting under the NATO banner, with 8,000 more U.S. soldiers under Pentagon command. Despite this support, “Karzai seems isolated and weak, and his authority barely extends beyond the capital,” Anderson says.


“People are getting very angry with Karzai,” Soona Niloofar, a member of Afghan’s parliament was quoted as stating. “At the beginning of the year, he promised to sack the governors where opium is grown. Nothing has been done.” One governor, Abdul Hakim Munib of Uruzgan province, has poppy fields growing within sight of his palace.


Dissuading farmers from planting poppies is tough. One farmer told Anderson a four-kilo package of opium from a half acre brings him 21,000 Pakistani rupees compared with 1,000 rupees for wheat.


The poppy eradication ops, Anderson writes, “tend to set up confrontations between armed men and poor farmers” who do not want their lucrative crops chopped down. Eradication is also time-consuming and, as a top-ranking UN official in Afghanistan said, “The per-acre cost of forced eradication is also excruciatingly high.” The job is done by ATV’s that drive across the fields dragging metal bars behind them that knock down the poppies.


The UN official, Chris Anderson, added, “The Taliban have partnered in intimate ways with the drug networks over the past two years. Their alliance deserves to be exposed for the opportunism and criminality it represents.” In Helmand and Uruzgan provinces, he said, eradication has been subject to political manipulation and corruption and has proved to be virtually impossible in districts where the Taliban is strong. This seemed to be confirmed when a poppy-eradication squad Anderson was accompanying got into a firefight in which 20 were killed.


Douglas Wankel, an American who helped create an Afghan Eradication Force using Afghani fighters and U.S. contractors from Virginia’s private DynCorp firm, said, “We’re not able to destroy all the poppy---that’s not the point. What we’re trying to do is lend an element of threat and risk to the farmers’ calculations, so they won’t plant next year.” Wankel said it was premature to judge the eradication program by the poppy cultivation figures as his effort is just getting off the ground.



“Distracted by Iraq, the U.S. only belatedly began serious counter-narcotics and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan,” Anderson says. In the vacuum, the Taliban returned, and most foreign experts and Afghan officials Anderson spoke with said Taliban holds the initiative.


One of Wankel’s mercenaries described the Afghan war as “redneck heaven.” He explained, “You get to run around the desert on A.T.V.s and pickups, shoot guns, and get paid for it. Man, it’s the perfect job.” DynCorp men said they became contractors because the pay was much higher than civilian jobs back in the States. That’s the same reason Afghan farmers give for growing poppies instead of wheat. Drug running in the past has also been a source of illicit cash for the CIA, which can spend as it pleases without Congressional oversight.


Since heroin users seem to be able to get their supply come what may, why not just legalize its use in America as well as its production in Afghanistan? That way, heroin could be brought in legally, taking the profit out of smuggling. Decriminalizing drug addiction in the U.S. would also empty hundreds of thousands of prison cells, at a great savings to taxpayers, and switch the emphasis from incarceration to drug treatment. Over time, this might also reduce USA’s high crime rate, much of it committed by addicts to buy heroin. Finally, Afghan farmers could make a buck off their crops and the shooting in the poppy fields might subside. The only losers in this scheme would be those “rednecks” cheated out of their unique “shoot guns” fix. Maybe Dick Cheney will take them hunting. #


(Sherwood Ross is a Miami-based writer who has worked for major dailies and wire services. Reach him at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com.)




Sherwood Ross has worked in the civil rights movement and as a reporter for major dailies and wire services.

Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_sherwood_070708_karzai_2c_bush_pledges.htm

TAX MEJICO AND THE POPE

IMMIGRATION: TAX MEXICO, TAX THE POPE

by Kent Welton Page 1 of 1 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com


The costs to the people of the United states of illegal aliens has been huge – estimated recently to be over 89 billion. The ever-climbing costs include massive health care expense, incarceration, gang control, border patrol, corruption, underground economy, depressed wages, missing taxes, social security fraud and the many billions sent home to Mexico and other countries rather than being spent in the very economies the "undocumented" are taxing by their presence.

While only employers profit the mounting costs to individual taxpayers, both explicit and hidden, are clearly enormous. The costs to our society and environment are immense and represent a tax upon future generations.

In 2006, some forty-five billion (on which little or no income taxes were paid) went back to the countries of origin, while we absorbed a bundle of costs. We’ve watched as American employees were summarily replaced with illegal cheap labor, all while this administration applauded the illegality and talked about the need to reduce labor costs.

Meanwhile, ninety American hospitals have been forced to close due to unpaid illegal alien medical services. Some thirty percent of federal prisoners are illegal aliens who remain undeported and receive expensive medical care of the kind currently serving to bankrupt middle class families. Talk about Sicko.

For years, we’ve been playing a game of "catch and release" with those caught pouring over the border – a complete charade of border protection. We even fail to keep track of those who enter the country legally and never leave. As a result, we pay and we pay and we pay.

Why should we, the legal citizens, be forced to pay these costs rather than the very countries and religious organizations which both cause and promote this massive human wave? Do we continue to do so until we run out of space, out of water, and out of peace, patience, and civility?

Clearly, the penalties for overpopulation are cruel and ongoing... and those who break the balance should be made to pay the price. Virtually all of our environmental calamities and societal strife today are due to the stress of overpopulation.

It is a simple fact that Mexico and the Catholic religion bear great responsiblity for this crush of desperate people... and yet they get off scott free. In effect, we are forced to subsidize their oligarchies, their corruption, their promotion and encouragement of illegal migration, and their dogma and ruinous birth rates. Yet they continue to threaten politicians who oppose their ruinous dogma with excommunication. In fact, they see no separation between their dogma and our state. And so we pay as the Protestant Reformation disappears before our very eyes.

Rather than taxing and penalizing this illegality, this social and environmental ruin, this promoted invasion and "reconquista," we let it continue and watch as our world turns to crap due to overpopulation and corruption. Clearly, we’ve already seen the dismal results of "compassion," now it is time for some sanity, responsibility, and taxing of those who force these costs upon us.

The actions of Mexico and the Catholic Church are quite incredible. At our expense, Mexico gains from the billions sent home and the millions of young men who otherwise might be protesting in their streets for a better society. In effect, we are complicit in keeping necessary change and revolution from happening within the virulent oligarchy to our south.

The Pope (and Ayatollahs) and Catholic Church dogma are also clearly responsible for the most irresponsible procreation, suppression of women’s rights, the breakdown of family stability, the creation of poverty, gangs, and mafia. As for "family values," almost half of Hispanic children are born to unmarried parents... children having children.

So why do we tax the very people and nations producing a balance, a better world for future generations, and subsidize those who are ruining the future?

It comes down to our own virulent OligarchyUSA, the control of society by capital, and a ruling elite scheming to merge our countries against the will of the people. Indeed, we have our own fascism to deal with but, in any case, we must begin to penalize ruinous Growth and reward Balance.

The only morality I see is leaving the next generation a world of balance – i.e., a balanced budget, society, and environment. Anything else is simply theft from our own children and future generations... the greatest of crimes.

Kent Welton,

TheCenterForBalance.org

TheCenterForBalance.org

Author, Exec. Dir. The Center For Balance. Websites: PanditPress.com, OligarchyUSA.com, PublicCentralBank.com, EditorFreedom.com, FascismUSA.COM & more

Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kent_wel_070708_immigration_3a_tax_mex.htm

P.S. Highlights and bolds added for emphasis by Blogmaster.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

OUR TERRORIST FRIENDLY BORDERS

March 21, 2005
EDITORIAL: AN INSECURE NATION

Our Terrorist-Friendly Borders

After the Sept. 11 attacks, it was shocking to learn how easily the hijackers entered the country. What is shocking today is how little progress has been made in securing our borders. Terrorists may well be entering the country by crossing from Mexico or Canada. But it is just as likely that they are coming in the way the Sept. 11 hijackers did: at airports, slipping through the Swiss-cheese security system now in place.

Until this year, immigration officials routinely handed phony travel documents back to people caught trying to enter illegally, and even now visitors are not always required to show the simplest of evidence that they are truly here on a visit: a return ticket. The government still does not have a workable system for monitoring whether visa holders actually leave when their visas run out.

At Senate hearings last week, it was clear that the sense of urgency the nation felt after Sept. 11 has faltered. Only 2 of the 27 "visa-waiver countries," whose citizens can enter the United States without visas, are expected to meet the Oct. 26 deadline for having new machine-readable passports - which was extended from Oct. 1, 2003. And U.S.-Visit, a much-heralded new system for tracking arrivals and departures, has been rolling out at a glacial pace.

One of the most important tasks Michael Chertoff, the new secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Congress jointly face is pulling in the welcome mat for would-be terrorists. If Mr. Chertoff does not have the resources or legal authority he needs to make the borders safe, he should say so publicly, and often. Among the areas that need to be attended to are these:

1. More Resources at the Borders - A growing number of non-Mexicans are crossing over the Mexican border. And suspected terrorists have long been entering the country from Canada. More guards need to be put in place, and there should be more use of fences and ground sensors to detect movement.

2. Better Means of Tracking People Who Overstay Their Visas - One of the biggest sources of illegal immigration is people who enter the country legally but decide not to leave. The Department of Homeland Security must push to complete work on the U.S.-Visit system so that the government can identify people whose visas have expired.

3. Better Information for Front-Line Immigration Officials - Stolen and lost passports are a major terrorist tool, and not enough is being done to detect them. There needs to be a greater international effort to centralize data about lost and stolen passports, and the data needs to be made available on computers so front-line immigration officials can consult it before admitting a visitor.

4. Shorter Lengths of Stay for Visa Holders - Most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were admitted as tourists and given automatic six-month stays, far longer than the typical vacation. Lengths of stay should be more precisely tailored to the needs of individual visitors - tourism, study or visiting relatives. This may require more resources, but it is worth it to ensure that terrorists are not guaranteed a half-year to prepare an attack.

5. Tougher State ID Requirements - The Sept. 11 hijackers obtained 13 driver's licenses. The rules need to be re-evaluated, so non-citizens cannot get such high-quality identification. This is a complicated issue. Congress needs to find an answer that would not violate civil liberties as some national ID programs would, and also gives undocumented residents access to some kind of driver's license for safety and insurance reasons.

Getting terrorists into the United States is a vital step in most of the worst terrorist scenarios. We now know that Al Qaeda has travel facilitators, who are experts at exploiting the weak points in our border security. The federal government needs to act quickly and forcefully to make their jobs harder, and the nation safer.



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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/opinion/21mon1.html?ei=5070&en=bc8dba87b33ee965&ex=1184040000&pagewanted=print&position=



THE ROAD HOME

Editorial

The Road Home

Published: July 8, 2007

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

Like many Americans, we have put off that conclusion, waiting for a sign that President Bush was seriously trying to dig the United States out of the disaster he created by invading Iraq without sufficient cause, in the face of global opposition, and without a plan to stabilize the country afterward.

At first, we believed that after destroying Iraq’s government, army, police and economic structures, the United States was obliged to try to accomplish some of the goals Mr. Bush claimed to be pursuing, chiefly building a stable, unified Iraq. When it became clear that the president had neither the vision nor the means to do that, we argued against setting a withdrawal date while there was still some chance to mitigate the chaos that would most likely follow.

While Mr. Bush scorns deadlines, he kept promising breakthroughs — after elections, after a constitution, after sending in thousands more troops. But those milestones came and went without any progress toward a stable, democratic Iraq or a path for withdrawal. It is frighteningly clear that Mr. Bush’s plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. Whatever his cause was, it is lost.

The political leaders Washington has backed are incapable of putting national interests ahead of sectarian score settling. The security forces Washington has trained behave more like partisan militias. Additional military forces poured into the Baghdad region have failed to change anything.

Continuing to sacrifice the lives and limbs of American soldiers is wrong. The war is sapping the strength of the nation’s alliances and its military forces. It is a dangerous diversion from the life-and-death struggle against terrorists. It is an increasing burden on American taxpayers, and it is a betrayal of a world that needs the wise application of American power and principles.

A majority of Americans reached these conclusions months ago. Even in politically polarized Washington, positions on the war no longer divide entirely on party lines. When Congress returns this week, extricating American troops from the war should be at the top of its agenda.

That conversation must be candid and focused. Americans must be clear that Iraq, and the region around it, could be even bloodier and more chaotic after Americans leave. There could be reprisals against those who worked with American forces, further ethnic cleansing, even genocide. Potentially destabilizing refugee flows could hit Jordan and Syria. Iran and Turkey could be tempted to make power grabs. Perhaps most important, the invasion has created a new stronghold from which terrorist activity could proliferate.

The administration, the Democratic-controlled Congress, the United Nations and America’s allies must try to mitigate those outcomes — and they may fail. But Americans must be equally honest about the fact that keeping troops in Iraq will only make things worse. The nation needs a serious discussion, now, about how to accomplish a withdrawal and meet some of the big challenges that will arise.

The Mechanics of Withdrawal

The United States has about 160,000 troops and millions of tons of military gear inside Iraq. Getting that force out safely will be a formidable challenge. The main road south to Kuwait is notoriously vulnerable to roadside bomb attacks. Soldiers, weapons and vehicles will need to be deployed to secure bases while airlift and sealift operations are organized. Withdrawal routes will have to be guarded. The exit must be everything the invasion was not: based on reality and backed by adequate resources.

The United States should explore using Kurdish territory in the north of Iraq as a secure staging area. Being able to use bases and ports in Turkey would also make withdrawal faster and safer. Turkey has been an inconsistent ally in this war, but like other nations, it should realize that shouldering part of the burden of the aftermath is in its own interest.

Accomplishing all of this in less than six months is probably unrealistic. The political decision should be made, and the target date set, now.

The Fight Against Terrorists

Despite President Bush’s repeated claims, Al Qaeda had no significant foothold in Iraq before the invasion, which gave it new base camps, new recruits and new prestige.