Tuesday, November 06, 2007

THE SUPPRESSION OF THE FATIMA MESSAGE?



Source: http://www.devilsfinalbattle.com/preface.htm

P.S. My observations on these staments above:
So now we are to suffer because The Virgin's Message isn't accepted worldwide? As far as I am concerned we are to heed God's will and warnings, and no one else's. Where did you get this belief in Mary demanding conditions be met or else from? The mother of Jesus, Mary, died a long time ago, and she will not be ressurected until the Lord Jesus returns in the clouds, triumphantly, soon. Mary isn't making any demands right now, it has to be another spirit pretending to be Mary. The disasters that occur daily are the work of Satan and his thirst for blood. Satan is reaping souls for damnation. See, John 10:10 (Steal, kill and destroy). The Lord allows destruction to occur, but will cut short the destruction to save His elect. Then, there will be widespread destruction to punish mankind for rejecting "Jesus salvation". No other being died on a cross for humanity, not Mary, not Joseph. Jesus is the only means to the Father. He needs no middlemen or women! So, please understand that, for Jesus clearly warned us long ago, Be ye not deceived; Or Look out that no one misleads you.

SENATE PROBES '6 TOP TELEVANGELISTS'

Senate Panel Probes 6 Top Televangelists

Sen. Charles Grassley Asks Ministries To Turn Over Financial Records Within One Month

Senator Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has asked six televangelist ministries to provide, by Dec. 6th, financial statements and records for an investigation into possible impropriety. (AP)






(CBS) This story was written and reported by Laura Strickler of the CBS News Investigative Unit.



CBS News has learned Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six prominent televangelist ministries for possible financial misconduct.

Letters were sent Monday to the ministries demanding that financial statements and records be turned over to the committee by December 6th.

According to Grassley's office, the Iowa Republican is trying to determine whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles.

The six ministries identified as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Three of the six - Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar - also sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University.

A spokesperson for Joyce Meyer Ministries provided CBS News with an IRS letter to the ministry dated October 10, 2007, that stated: "We determined that you continue to qualify as an organization exempt from Federal income tax." The letter could not be independently verified in time for this story. The ministry also pointed to audited financial statements for the last three years that are posted on the organization's Web site.

In a statement, Benny Hinn's spokesperson, Ronn Torossian, said the ministry was in the process of determining the best course of action in response to the Senate investigation. "World Healing Center Church complies with the laws that govern church and non-profit organizations and will continue to do so," Torossian wrote.

In a statement to CBS News, Creflo Dollar called his ministry an "open book" and said he would comply with any "valid request" from Grassley. But he noted that the inquiry raised questions that could "affect the privacy of every community church in America."

The other three ministries did not respond to requests for comment from CBS News on Monday.

Because they have tax status as churches, the ministries do not have to file IRS 990 forms like other non-profit organizations - leaving much financial information largely behind closed doors.

The letters sent Monday were the culmination of a long investigation fueled in part by complaints from Ole Anthony, a crusader against religious fraud who operates the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation, which describes itself as a watchdog monitoring religious media, fraud and abuse. "We've been working with them for two years," Anthony told CBS News. "We have furnished them with enough information to fill a small Volkswagen."

Anthony said after twenty years of working with media organizations to expose televangelists, he saw little reform. He says that's why he turned to another tactic, going straight to Grassley. He is confident that Grassley's inquiry will be different, "What we hope is that this will lead to reform in religious nonprofits."

The structure of many televangelist organizations - in which the leadership is often concentrated in one person or one family - has itself been the target of criticism. "Churches like these are ruled as a dictatorship," says Rod Pitzer, who directs research at Ministry Watch in North Carolina, which provides advice for donors to Christian organizations.

Pitzer welcomes the Senate committee investigation. Ministries lacking accountability, he says, "give a black eye to churches and Christians who are trying to do things in the right manner."


Monday, CBS News recieved statements of response from two of the ministries under investigation. They are as follows:

“Bishop Long has received the request for information from the US Senate, he plans to fully comply. New Birth Ministries has several safeguards put in place to ensure all transactions are in compliance with laws applicable to churches.” - New Birth Ministries

“We take our financial responsibilities to our partners very seriously and to the best of our knowledge we comply with all tax laws. Our audited financial statements appear on our website. However, we are concerned about the possible precedent and ramifications of this request. We will be reviewing the request and its implications in detail over the coming weeks as we prepare our response.” - Paula White


NUMBER '1' YANKEES FAN


POPE & SAUDI MONARCH HISTORIC MEETING

Pope, Saudi monarch hold historic meeting

Benedict XVI raises plight of Christians in Muslim kingdom in first ever talks

Pope Benedict XVI (R) shows the way to Saudi Arabi...

Pope Benedict XVI, right, greets Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah at the Vatican on Tuesday.

Updated 11:20 a.m. ET, Tues., Nov. 6, 2007




VATICAN CITY - The king of Saudi Arabia met Tuesday with Pope Benedict XVI — the first ever between a pontiff an a reigning Saudi monarch — amid Vatican concerns about restrictions on Christian worship in the Muslim kingdom.

The Vatican said the "positive presence and work of Christians was raised" during the talks between Benedict and King Abdullah, who is protector of Islam's holiest sites.

The talks were "warm" and allowed a wide discussion on the need for interreligious and intercultural dialogue among Christians, Muslims and Jews "for the promotion of peace, justice and spiritual and moral values, especially in support of the family," the Vatican said in a statement.

Both sides also emphasized the need for a "just solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Vatican said.

Benedict has said he wants to reach out to all countries that still don't have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, which include Saudi Arabia and China.

At the same time, Benedict and other Vatican officials have often protested that Christians are unable to worship openly in Saudi Arabia and are barred from opening churches in the desert kingdom.

The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano said the Vatican hoped the meeting would produce a frank dialogue between the two sides over the issue, noting that there are more than 1 million Christian guest workers in Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah also met separately with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Warm greeting
At the start of the audience, Benedict warmly greeted Abdullah, grasping both his hands before heading into 30 minutes of private talks in his library.

The Vatican said Abdullah had requested the audience, which came during his European tour. He had visited the Vatican twice before, as crown prince and deputy prime minister.

At the end of the meeting, Abdullah presented Benedict with a traditional Middle Eastern gift — a golden sword studded with jewels — as well as a gold and silver statue of a palm tree and man riding a camel.

The pope admired the statue but merely touched the sword.

Mending ties with Islamic world
Benedict sparked anger in the Muslim world in 2006 when he delivered a speech linking Islam to violence.

He said he was misunderstood and regretted offending Muslims. Since then, he has met a number of Islamic leaders and a year ago visited predominantly Muslim Turkey.

The Vatican has said it wants to pursue a dialogue with moderate Muslims.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21653027/








RON PAUL SETS ONE-DAY FUNDRAISING RECORD

Paul sets one-day GOP fundraising record

White House hopeful and Iraq war critic hauls in $4.2 million

Image: Ron Paul

Orlin Wagner / AP file
Updated 10:46 a.m. ET, Tues., Nov. 6, 2007

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, aided by an extraordinary outpouring of Internet support Monday, hauled in more than $4.2 million in nearly 24 hours.

Paul, the Texas congressman with a libertarian tilt and an out-of-Iraq pitch, entered heady fundraising territory with a surge of Web-based giving tied to the commemoration of Guy Fawkes Day.

Fawkes was a British mercenary who failed in his attempt to kill King James I on Nov. 5, 1605. He also was the model for the protagonist in the movie “V for Vendetta.” Paul backers motivated donors on the Internet with mashed-up clips of the film on the online video site YouTube as well as the Guy Fawkes Day refrain: “Remember, remember the 5th of November.”

Paul’s total deposed Mitt Romney as the single-day fundraising record holder in the Republican presidential field. When it comes to sums amassed in one day, Paul now ranks only behind Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, who raised nearly $6.2 million on June 30, and Barack Obama.

Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said the effort began independently about two months ago at the hands of Paul’s backers. He said Paul picked up on the movement, mentioning it in speeches and interviews.

“It’s been kind of building up virally,” Benton said.

The $4.2 million represented online contributions from more than 37,000 donors, fundraising director Jonathan Bydlak said Monday night.

Paul has been lagging in the polls behind Republican front-runners. But he captured national attention at the end of September when he reported raising $5.2 million in three months, putting him fourth among Republican presidential candidates in fundraising for the quarter.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21646939/

"SANTA MUERTE" SPOOKS U.S. CHURCH

Boo: "Santa Muerte" Spooks US Church

To all the kiddies out there -- and, well, those of us who still have a bit of that young spirit on the inside -- Happy Halloween. Now, be careful and check your candy for razors, alright?

To weightier things -- and with All Souls Day (known in the Spanish-speaking world as the "Day of the Dead") at hand -- the arrival of the Mexican cult of the Grim Reaper has sent something of a chill through the pastoral ranks in Latino Catholicism's emergent hotspots north of the border.

TIME takes a look at the rise of "Santa Muerte":
In a small shop in one of this city's largest Mexican neighborhoods, Laura Martinez scans rows of candles bearing the images of Saint David, Saint Raphael, and Saint Jude. But she overlooks those and grabs two candles featuring Santa Muerte — Saint Death. "She's my patron saint," says Martinez, 24, who arrived here from a town outside Mexico City about six years ago. "You worship her," she says of Santa Muerte. "It's my religion."

Now appearing in New York, Houston and Los Angeles: Santa Muerte. The personage is Mexico's idolatrous form of the Grim Reaper: a skeleton — sometimes male, sometimes female — covered in a white, black or red cape, carrying a scythe, or a globe. For decades, thousands in some of Mexico's poorest neighborhoods have prayed to Santa Muerte for life-saving miracles. Or death to enemies. Mexican authorities have linked Santa Muerte's devotees to prostitution, drugs, kidnappings and homicides. The country's Catholic church has deemed Santa Muerte's followers devil-worshiping cultists. Now Santa Muerte has followed the thousands of Mexicans who've come to the U.S., where it is presenting a new challenge for American Catholic officials struggling with an increasingly multicultural population.

Santa Muerte's precise origins are a matter of debate. Some experts say its roots lie with Aztec spiritual rituals that mixed with Catholicism during Spanish colonial rule. What is clear, however, is that Santa Muerte developed a large following only in the last quarter century among Mexicans who had become disillusioned with the dominant Church and, in particular, the ability of established Catholic saints to deliver them from poverty. Residents of crime-tossed neighborhoods like Mexico City's Tepito began revering Santa Muerte more than Jesus Christ, experts say. Some of its devotees eventually split from the Catholic church and began vying for control of Catholic buildings. That's when Mexico's Catholic church declared it a cult.
...only when the real estate was at stake, of course.
Santa Muerte began appearing in U.S. neighborhoods with large Mexican populations only in the last decade. Walk down 26th Street in Little Village, one of Chicago's largest Mexican neighborhoods, and you'll notice the tiny shops, or botanicas, selling statues, candles and palm-sized prayer cards bearing Santa Muerte's image. There are references to Santa Muerte in Spanish-language newspapers. Young Mexican-American men are marking their bodies with Santa Muerte tattoos to prove their devotion. Middle-class, suburban-bred Mexican-Americans are snapping up black T-shirts bearing Santa Muerte's image to reconnect with what they perceive to be part of their heritage. Recently a Chicago art gallery opened an exhibit showcasing images from Tepito — with Santa Muerte figuring prominently. And Santa Muerte may gain even more credibility with the release of Saint Death, a new documentary about the phenomenon, narrated by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

"It's become commercialized," observed Isabel Montalbo, manager of a botanica here. On a recent afternoon, Montalbo stood behind rows of oils with names like gota de amor (oil of love) and across from several jars of herbs, like epazote, cuassia chips and anise. Not far away were several large statues of Santa Muerte, some costing as much as $300.

Nearly 40% of the Chicago Catholic archdiocese's 2.3 million members are Latino, most of them Mexican. Catholic officials here have certainly taken notice of Santa Muerte's growing popularity: the archdiocese has encouraged priests with large Mexican populations to address the so-called saint's rise from the pulpit.
...and in Mexico itself, the hierarchy of its primatial see is battling the emergence of the hot import from the north: Halloween, itself.
"Those who celebrate Halloween are worshipping a culture of death that is the product of a mix of pagan customs," the Archdiocese of Mexico published in an article on its Web site Monday. "The worst thing is that this celebration has been identified with neo-pagans, Satanism and occult worship."

The archdiocese urged parents not to let their children wear Halloween costumes or go trick-or-treating — instead suggesting Sunday school classes to "teach them the negative things about Halloween," costume parties where children can dress up as Biblical characters, and candy bags complete with instructions to give friends a piece while telling them "God loves you."

The church suggested holding these activities Nov. 1 — the Catholic All Saints' Day — but didn't endorse the Day of the Dead, a traditional Mexican holiday that also appears to have "pagan" roots.

Pre-Hispanic cultures celebrated a similar holiday in August, but after the Spanish conquest, historians say the date was changed to Nov. 1 to coincide with the Catholic holiday.

Meanwhile, the conservative Internet magazine Yo Influyo called on teachers to "eradicate" Halloween and "defend our culture."

"Halloween has not only invaded our daily lives, but what's worse, our workplaces," wrote columnist Roger Aguilar, referring to the Halloween decorations that are now common in offices and schools.
A senior Vatican official once gave a memorable reaction when he first learned what Wicca was...

If only we could publicize that, maybe our lives could be a good bit easier.

PHOTO:
Efe/Zumapress

THE GRAND DESIGN: EXPOSED



Vatican Design: EXPOSED!


Vatican Design: EXPOSED! is dedicated to expose man’s proposed global kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth as a counterfeit and deception, and give explicit proof by the highest authority above all other authority in the universe — the Holy Word of GOD — that when Jesus Christ sets up HIS Eternal Kingdom on earth, HE will do it personally Himself, with no help from man.



Vatican Design: EXPOSED! is dedicated to show by that same highest authority — the Holy Word of GOD — prophecy given in only five chapters of the Holy Bible by GOD, the blueprint given to mankind of all the world empires that would rise up and fall upon the earth, from after the flood until the very end of time. To give credibility to HIS Holy Word, and so mankind would not grope in utter darkness, GOD gave this profound revelation 2500 years ago. Search the world over, and see if you can produce another book capable of performing such a miracle. And to speak of the end of time, is a concept that originated with the Word of GOD. For Godless people neither know about, nor do they want to know about, the time when it will be no more.



Vatican Design: EXPOSED! is dedicated to make those five prophecy chapters of GOD’s Holy Word so perfectly clear and so simple that even a child could understand them if there is an honest interest and a love for the truth. So what you are about to study, is profoundly the truth and can not be interpreted truthfully in any other way, in spite of false teachers and deceivers who will say otherwise. But for sheer necessity, study for yourself, to prove all things and be approved unto GOD.

Source: http://www.vaticandesignexposed.com/intro.htm

ROTHSCHILD SUPPORT HILLARY'S PRESIDENCY

Posted: Wed Oct 31st, 2007 05:17 pm



Lynn Forrester de Rothschild has thrown the immense support of her family behind the Presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

ROTHSCHILD FAMILY SUPPORTS HILLARY'S PRESIDENCY

by Kentroversy

Just as I have been telling people through my writings and interviews -- Hillary Clinton is the Global Elite's choice for President of the United States in the 2008 election. In fact, in my report HILLARY CLINTON'S HIDDEN AGENDA OF MANIPULATION -- which I published on February 5, 2007 -- I included a screenshot of a September 26, 2002 message board posting where I describe her as the first woman President of the United States!!

On October 5, 2007, a member of the oligarchical Rothschild family -- Lynn Forrester de Rothschild had gushed incessantly about how great Hillary will be for America "and her fellow capitalists." This was part of an interview with Conde Nast's Portfolio.com website (see link below) where she simply could not stop talking about how great Hillary will be for our nation.

Here is an excerpt of that interview for Conde Nast's Portfolio.com website:

L.G. is Lloyd Grove
L.R. is Lynn Rothschild

L.G.: Let me ask you, when your fellow capitalists come to you and express worries and fears about what Hillary Clinton will do in terms of raising taxes on capital gains and hedge fund operators, and income taxes, what do you tell them to reassure them that Hillary will be good for business?

L.R.: First of all, Hillary will be good for America. And so if we care about our country —which all of my fellow capitalists do —we'll be very pleased that she's president. And second of all, if we look at what is best for the economy, remember, she is a Clinton, and our economy under Clinton was strong, dynamic, productive, exciting. And the same kinds of people who advised Bill Clinton will be around Hillary Clinton. And she understands the importance of the business community, and it's not going to be about raising taxes or doing any one specific thing. It's going to be, What is in the best interest of all Americans? And I think if history is our guide, we've had stronger economies, more wealth creation, under Democratic presidents than we have under Republican presidents. So I don't understand why all my capitalist friends aren't Democrats.

L.G.: Really? Are they buying this argument, Lynn?

L.R.: Well, you know, it's funny. As people are getting a better and better look at Hillary, they're understanding that Hillary is talking in a way that is so positive for America. We can think we live in elite circles, but we don't. I mean, America is about Main Street, and Main Street is coming around to Hillary. And Wall Street and the C.E.O.'s can't buck that tide, and if they think they have some vested interest in their tax rate, those are a very limited number of people who think only about that.

L.G.: By the way, you may also have seen that Hillary reported an eye-popping $27 million raised in the third quarter, which was beyond expectations and far and away the most of anybody. How much of that can we credit you with?

L.R.: [Laughs.] I am—full disclosure—I'm always doing everything I possibly can for Hillary Clinton.

L.G.: Have you made a dollar commitment to the campaign? Have you said, "I'll raise a million bucks" or something like that?

L.R.: I don't really do that. I do everything that I can, and I have been waiting for this since Bill Clinton left office, frankly.

The full interview is linked below, in the SOURCES section ...

Sources:

The following sources were used in the creation of this Kentroversy Paper . . .

The World According To Lynn Forrester de Rothschild (October 5, 2007) Portfolio.com

Hillary Clinton's Hidden Agenda of Manipulation (February 5, 2007)

2008 Presidential Election

Hillary Clinton

Kentroversy

Kentroversy Papers

Kentroversy Tapes

Kentspiracy Kronicles Newsletter

President of the USA

Rothschild Family

Rothschild Family $300 TRILLION Net Worth

posted by Kentroversy

http://kentroversypapers.blogspot.com/2007/10/rothschild-family-supports-hillarys.html


© 2007 Kentroversy Papers
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Source: http://www.hyperspacecafe.com/view_topic.php?id=3306&forum_id=13&jump_to=24418

WILLIAM "BILL" COOPER MEMORIAL

Memorial

Dear Friends,

William Cooper was a sincere Patriot. When he foretold that there would be a great attack on America and that the attack would be blamed on Osama Bin Laden he explained exactly why.

It was because about five months before 9/11 a CNN reporter walked right in on Osama and got an interview where Osama allegedly stated that there would be a huge attack on America and/or Israel.

Cooper pointed out that Osama was a wanted man and had been successfully hiding from the "world's greatest intelligence apparatus" as Cooper put it.

Common sense like this is not needed in the spin driven, historically bankrupt "Alternative media" that has been so completely hijacked that it's a total joke at this point. Ha! and I get called cointelpro for pointing out highly suspicious aspects of "Alternative media". that tells me that there is no cointelpro against Jones. Or the Cointelpro is the Alex Jones movement itself.

Cooper was onto the biggie 'agent' in the movement. Alex Jones. He called Jones a liar. If you are in the patriot movement which is synonymous with exposing 'TRUTH' and a great patriarch like William Cooper calls you a liar you can pretty much expect that Alex Jones would not be able to 'take off' the way his movement did.

Cooper's legacy is turning out to be an important one. The spotting and outing of a phony in our midst. Alex Jones, this one's for you. You lied about Cooper to the patriot movement. You are the liar, the divider, the wolf in sheeps clothing. You are the phony, the entertainer, the magician and ringleader of a multi ringed circus.

You are the Jesuit infiltrator so carefully groomed and placed in out midst with falsities guiding your every move from the very beginning.

I've come to see how the people who follow you are incredibly mentally challenged. I see this from the attacks i receive from your cult members.

I followed Jones for years but I wasn't a cult member. When I came across layer after layer of inconsistencies in his reporting I had to make the decision to back off. Then from and observational stance of his work. I was able to piece together so much information on him that it is impossible for me to look at anything he says or does as truth at all.

I wanted to concentrate on remembering William cooper today. But for me personally, I thank in my heart the truth that Cooper told. Which got him killed in a tremendously treasonous and suspicious manner outside his home on Nov 6th 2001.

In Cooper's book, "Behold the pale horse", Cooper pointed out that Pope JPII was a salesman of the chemical Zyklon B gas when he worked for IG Farben during WWII. That chemical was used to gas hundreds of thousands of Jews at Auschwitz. Yet Ron Paul sent a public letter to Pope JPII praising him as a "Pro Life figure".

I tell you something is desperately wrong. I also tell you that so much of this confusion can be straightened out if you take some time off and study into the Vatican and Jesuits and the Knights of Malta. Who the Knights of malta were and are and where they are and what they're doing.

If you do this simple thing. You will see who is of truth and who are deceived and or agents and or are passing disinformation all over the place.

Your Brother in Truth, in Patriotism, in Love of Freedom,

Thomas Richards
(spirituallysmart.com)


Source: http://spirituallysmart.com/cooper.html

MUSHARRAF NEEDS TO LOSE THE UNIFORM?

LOSE THE UNIFORM?


The latest barrage of instructions from the White House for President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan includes: Restore the Constitution and lose the uniform! As David Letterman would say, "What"???

What shall he wear?

A Shalwar Kameez;
a Kurta Salwar.

Or maybe:


A Brooklyn Galabiyya?



A Yasin pocketed shirt?


And for head gear:




An embroiedered cotton Kufi?
***
Does the administration have something a little more western,
more contemporary in mind? Like a New York Yankees uniform? Or an Armani suit and Dolce and Gabbana shoes?
Perhaps, a Beefeater uniform?


Or a Cricket players uniform?

This request is not only perplexing, it's flabbergasting. It's preposterous to ask a President of an autonomous and sovereign nation to dress in a particular manner. Not only that, Pakistan is in what is called central Asia. What, does the Monroe Doctrine have a corollary that covers Asia?
Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Somalia, Panama, Grenada, Afghanistan, and Iraq, are not enough???
Are we to be the policemen of the world? In a time of mind-boggling domestic social and financial perplexities? Isn't it time to keep the focus on "the homeland", instead of straying off to foreign tribal rivalries?
If you want to see more animosity towards Uncle Sam, continue on you wanton path meddling in other people's business. Yet, everyday another Chinese manufactured product is added to the recall list because it's toxic or tainted. But, we do not 'boss' China around, they are our favorite trading partner? What hypocrisy? Can you hear the "Sucking sound" of your economy being outsourced/exported for cheap goods from Cathay?
Here goes another case of meddling in someone else's domestic affairs. Remember what happened when we deposed Saddam Hussein, and now we have the continuing chaotic saga called Iraq? Where we also have the never ending 'Democratization' process?

Well, what shall 'he' wear a Hazmat suit?


Arsenio
.

Monday, November 05, 2007

VERICHIP, ANY ONE?


VeriChip's VeriTrace Platform Sees Sales Boost

The system, which employs implantable tags to identify and track the remains of deceased individuals, is seeing gains in sales as states acquire it for disaster preparedness.

By Mary Catherine O'Connor

Nov. 5, 2007—In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina—which devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast in 2005—Gary Hargrove, the coroner of Harrison County in southern Mississippi, used RFID tags to track human bones unearthed after the flooding. Marc Poulshock, VP of implantable and emergency management divisions for RFID solutions provider VeriChip, says Hargrove duct-taped a tag to each bone. According to Poulshock, Hargrove utilized VeriChip's VeriTrace platform, designed to help identify and track the remains of deceased individuals—particularly during large-scale disasters with hundreds or thousands of fatalities.

VeriChip is better known for its VeriMed product, in which embedded tags are used to retrieve a living person's medical history. In its third-quarter financial results, VeriChip reported that its implantable segment, which includes VeriMed and VeriTrace, generated $53,000, primarily through sales of its VeriTrace products. (VeriChip also sells RFID patient-tracking systems for health-care facilities that do not use implantable tags.)


VeriChip's VeriMed microchip, which is implanted beneath the skin.
This is the first revenue posted by the division since its initial public offering, announced in February, and beats the company's earlier projections that it would not generate revenue until next year. (The company used to market its implantable tags as part of an access-control system called VeriGuard, but has since discontinued that product, choosing instead to focus only on health-care and forensic applications, according to Allison Tomek, VeriChip's VP of investor relations and corporate communications.)

The VeriTrace system garnered interest after being used to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT) identify and track the remains of those who died as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Since then, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Hawaii Department of Health, the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System (FEMORS) and the medical examiner's office in the Department of Heath in Erie County, New York, have all purchased the system.

Of these, the Erie County purchase is the largest, involving more than 2,000 VeriChip implantable passive RFID tags, along with three handheld interrogators and three Ricoh Pro G3 digital cameras, to document the remains. The tags operate at 134 kHz and conform to the ISO 11784 and 11785 standards.

"Different states have different organizations that handle disaster preparedness functions," says Poulshock, explaining why VeriTrace purchases have been made from a variety of state organizations. They are also variously funded, he adds. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations acquired the VeriTrace product as part of a government emergency preparedness grant, for instance, while Hawaii used funds secured to prepare for a pandemic flu outbreak.

1 2 >" href="http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3729/2/1/">Next Page >>

Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3729/1/1/

P.S. Today, WFLA Tampa Bay 8, on its 6PM News Program covered a similar story: @ http://www.wfla.com/

"Verichip" We take a look at the pros and cons of a new technology that allows you to inject a tiny mirco chip into your arm with your medical records in it.

OVER THERE, OVER THERE.


Over There

Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Take it on the run,
On the run, on the run.
Hear them calling, you and me,
Every son of liberty.
Hurry right away,
No delay, go today,
Make your daddy glad
To have had such a lad.
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her boy's in line.
(chorus sung twice)

Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Johnnie show the Hun
Who's a son of a gun.
Hoist the flag and let her fly,
Yankee Doodle do or die.
Pack your little kit,
Show your grit, do your bit.
Yankee to the ranks,
From the towns and the tanks.
Make your mother proud of you,
And the old Red, White and Blue.
(chorus sung twice)

Chorus
Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there -
That the Yanks are coming,
The Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming
Ev'rywhere.
So prepare, say a pray'r,
Send the word, send the word to beware.
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back till it's over
Over there.




Written by George M. Cohan the song was widely performed by various artists (initially by Charles King) from its publication in 1917.




Three versions of the song are available here: the first by Billy Murray recorded in 1917 (MP3 format 628kb) - click here; the second by Nora Bayes, similarly recorded in 1917 - click here; and a version recorded by the renowned tenor Enrico Caruso in 1918 (MP3 format 421kb).




SOURCE: http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/overthere.htm




IT ALL OVER THERE:




Has all our news gone over there?




For example: In Myanmar priests protest, refugees flee Dar fur Province, Turkey amassing troops at Iraqi border ready to fight the PKK Kurdish militants, and now Martial Law in Pakistan. Since it's been rather quiet in Iraq proper since the Petraeus Report, our 'embedded media' has found new third world subjects to cover!




The militaristic overtones of the news has reached a fever pitch. Wars and rumors of wars, mainly in the "Old World". Starting from the African Continent to the Korean Peninsula, we're constantly fed a steady diet of struggles and conflicts. Over there, Over there!




The Marines' Hymn




From the halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marines.




Our flag's unfurl'd to every breeze
From the dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.




Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And have never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.




The Marines' Hymn is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. It is the oldest official song in the U.S. Armed Forces.[1] The song has an obscure origin—the words date from the 19th century, but no one knows the author. The music is from the Gendarmes' Duet from the opera Geneviève de Brabant by Jacques Offenbach, which had its début in Paris in 1859. The Marine Corps secured a copyright on the song on August 19, 1919, but it is now in the public domain.




Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marines




Well, the drums of war are calling us, over there , over there!




Meanwhile, gas reaching $4 per gallon, the ever deafening propagandized noise of 'Global Warming', thousands out of work, the growing crime rate, foreclosures and bankruptcies looming, food contamination, etc. Yet, they go to the extreme to point out:


Over there, Over there!

Here's a new ditty:

Hoopla hooray,

Hoopla hooray,

Our boys are on their way!


Arsenio

THE VIOLENT RADICALIZATION AND HOMEGROWN TERRORISM PREVENTION ACT


Thought Crime Bill, HR1955, Passes House; 404 Traitors Voting Yes


Although blatantly unconstitutional under its vague guidelines, once rubber stamped by Senate and Bush, it can be easily proven that the traitors passing it into law are, in fact, 'homegrown terrorists.'


By Lee Rogers
October 25, 2007


The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed HR 1955 titled the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.


This bill is one of the most blatant attacks against the Constitution yet and actually defines thought crimes as homegrown terrorism.


If passed into law, it will also establish a commission and a Center of Excellence to study and defeat so called thought criminals. Unlike previous anti-terror legislation, this bill specifically targets the civilian population of the United States and uses vague language to define homegrown terrorism.


Amazingly, 404 of our elected representatives from both the Democrat and Republican parties voted in favor of this bill. There is little doubt that this bill is specifically targeting the growing patriot community that is demanding the restoration of the Constitution. First let’s take a look at the definitions of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism as defined in Section 899A of the bill.

The definition of violent radicalization uses vague language to define this term of promoting any belief system that the government considers to be an extremist agenda.


Since the bill doesn’t specifically define what an extremist belief system is, it is entirely up to the interpretation of the government. Essentially they have defined violent radicalization as thought crime. The definition as defined in the bill is shown below.
Read More


Source: http://www.arcticbeacon.com/

THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

The Struggle For Freedom

While many professed Christians believe that they are living the Christian life of freedom, the reality is that they are fighting a losing battle, as they will honestly and consciously admit, of an experience of being in bondage to sin. Until delivered from such a deception, they shall continue to remain in this condition of struggling for freedom. Here is where we may draw the line between a genuine Christian experience of victory in Jesus Christ and the experience of unwilling slaves but still in bondage to sin. In this study we shall prove that the experience described in Romans Chapter 7 is not the true Christian experience as many suppose but one of an intellectually enlightened conscience struggling to do what is right but still being brought into bondage to sin and wrong. Paul the Apostle in Romans 7 is simply giving us a flashback to his previous struggle with sin as an unregenerate unconverted man. He then proceeds in the next chapter (Romans 8) to describe the true genuine Christian experience of victory and freedom.

Let us read Romans chapter 7 verse 9 through 25. Let us consider now the following points:

1. In the fifth verse of the chapter Paul said,

When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”

While married to the first husband, the flesh or the body of sin, the only fruit which could be produced from this union is the dead works of the flesh. ( Gal 5:19-21).

2. Paul then gives us a flash back to his experience; when he was in bondage to sin. In verse 9 he said,

“For I was alive without the law once .” This means that he lived his life without reference to the commandments of God, had no conviction, and as such was a willing sinner. He was not conscious of the deep spiritual claims of the law upon his life. He lived in carnal security.

but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.”

Since by the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20, Rom. 5:13, Rom. 7:7), when the commandment came, it brought the conviction of sin and showed him his guilt. He became conscious (sin revived) or aware of sin and the fact that he was a sinner and deserved only death. His life without the law is also mentioned in Acts 26:5 and Phil. 3:6.

3. In verse 14, the Apostle admits

“For we know that the law is spiritual: BUT I AM CARNAL, SOLD UNDER SIN.”

Paul possessed about everything that he needed, a knowledge of the law, a deep hatred of sin, a recognition of his own desperate condition of sinfulness, a firm decision to serve the Lord, and a putting forth of utmost effort to serve the Lord, but lacking the knowledge of God’s way of righteousness, he could only confess himself as being “carnal, sold under sin” still.

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A person who is sold is a slave and one sold under sin is under bondage to sin as a slave.

4. What is the evidence of this slavery or bondage? It is plainly described in this language:

“For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I …. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Verses 15-21.

Free men do that which they wish to do. Only slaves do that which they do not wish to do, and are continually prevented from doing what they wish to do.

The Reformer E J Waggoner commented on this experience thus:-

“Have we ever had any such experience as that in our so-called Christian experience? Yes; we have fought, but with all our fighting, did we keep the law? No, we have made a failure, and it is written upon every page of our lives. It is a constant service, but at the same time it is a constant failure. I fail, I make a new resolution, - I break it and then I get discouraged, then I make another resolution, and break that again. We cannot make ourselves do the thing we want to do by making a resolution. We do not want to sin, but we do sin all the time. We make up our minds we will not fall under that temptation again, and we don’t – till the next time it comes up, and then we fall as before.” Bible Studies on the Book of Romans pg 53-54.

If a person has the law before him and acknowledges that it is good, and yet does not keep it, is his sin any less in the sight of God than the sin of the man who cares nothing for the law? No.

What is the difference between the would-be Christian, who knows the law, but does not keep it, and the worldling who does not keep the law, and does not acknowledge that it is good? Simply this; We are unwilling slaves, and they are willing slaves but both are still slaves. Better to be a willing slave than an unwilling one. The fact that we do not wish to do the sins that we are committing shows that we acknowledge the righteousness of the law which forbids them. BUT conviction is not conversion. It is not enough to wish to do right or even to try to do them. We must be doing right all the time. 1 John 3:7,8; 1 John 2:29; 1 John 5:4.

Now all of us will allow that a Christina must do what is good, at least some of the time. But this experience in Romans 7:21, “When I would do good, evil is present with me,” shows that the man having that experience does not do good at all. Yet he wants to do good.

5. All this language in Romans 7:15-21 describes one who is unable to do good and instead does what he hates.

Is this the true Christian experience? Jesus Christ is the only perfect example of the true Christian experience. Therefore the Christian experience can only be explained in terms of Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. ( John 14:6).

Paul describes the true Christian experience in these words, found in Galatians 2:20:

I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

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(See also 1 Cor 15:34, 57; 2 Cor 4:10,11; 1 John 2:1; Phil 4:13; 2 Cor 2:14)

So the Christian life is a reproduction of the life of Jesus Christ in and through us. It is a dynamic victorious life, full of faith, trust and confidence in God and obedience to His will.

6. Was Jesus Christ in His life on this earth ever known to have said, “the things I would I do not, and the evil I hate that I do…” No! Was this the experience of Jesus Christ in any way? NO!

Therefore the experience and struggle described in Romans 7:14-24 is not the experience or struggle of the Christian but one of a man in bondage to sin, seeking and struggling for freedom, one of defeat, sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting,

It is the experience of the average church member of today and is an exact picture of the lives of the majority of professed Christians in the world today. Should any man in this spiritual condition come to the end of his life’s probation, he would be lost for he has not yet gained salvation or deliverance from the bondage of sin.

7. The root cause of the problem of the man in this experience is found in verses 17 and 20:

“Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me …. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sinthat dwelleth in me.”

The real problem is not the sins which are being committed by the person but INDWELLING SIN. We commit sins because of the power of sin in us. (See booklet on the Law of Freedom in Justification by Faith” by same author).

8. This Man of Romans 7 knows what is right and desires to do what is right, hates what is wrong and has even set his will to do the right but he finds he cannot get the good and right done. He is forced to do that which is wrong against and contrary to his will, because the performance aspect of his will is paralyzed.

“… for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Verse 18.

Intellectually this man is converted or persuaded of the rightness of God’s truth but spiritually unconverted. He confesses

“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” Verse 22.

His inability to do that which is good, and which he knows he ought to do, is due wholly to the indwelling sin of the carnal mind which produces or results in war within him.

9. The Apostle next proceeds to outline to us the struggle which he was experiencing before he got the freedom for which he longed in verses 23 and 24:

“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

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Here in this verse, three entities which make up the unconverted man are distinguished.

(i)another law”

(ii) “my members’ and

(iii) “the law of my mind .”

The “another law” is not the members because it dwells in the members. Neither is the “another law” the law of the mind because it is warring against the law of the mind. So long as there is war , there cannot be peace at the same time. This “another law” in his members forces Paul to cry out, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” verse 24.

The “my members” which Paul refers to, is his FLESH and BLOOD BODY which can be used either as instruments of righteousness or as instruments of unrighteousness, all dependent upon whom they are yielded to. (See Romans 6:12,13,19).

The “law of my mind” refers to Paul’s own intellectual thinking mind, with the will to do good and which delights in the law of God. This involves the learning, the choices and the will. This is the mind which knows good and hates the wrong but just can’t get the good done, simply because it is controlled by the “another law” or mind which is the carnal mind.

This “carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. But Paul’s will (mind) delights in the law of God, therefore it cannot be enmity against the law of God. (See also James 4:4) The carnal mind, then, is another power apart from and within the intellectual thinking mind which controls a person against his will as a disease does in the body of a man. Whatever a person may want to do, he finds it impossible to do it because the disease (carnal mind) which dwells within the flesh and blood body is a power much stronger than the person’s own will power. Remember that the disease is not the flesh but it dwells within the flesh.

10. This experience then, is one in which the mind is brought into captivityto the law of sin which is in the members. It is also a description of a war that is transpiring in the mind. (Compare with Romans 5; Isaiah 32:17 and Psalms 119:165). In this experience the man is crying out for deliverance, and the only person who cries out for deliverance is a man who is in bondage or slavery.

E. J. Waggoner in his book “ Christ and His Righteousness” pages 86 and 87 correctly concludes,

“Call you this a true Christian experience? There are some who imagine that it is. Why then did the apostle in the anguish of his soul cry out, ‘O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Romans 7:24. Is a true Christian experiencing a body of death so terrible that the soul is constrained to cry out for deliverance – nay verily….

“What this bondage and captivity are has already been shown. It is the bondage of sin, the slavery of being compelled to sin even against the will by the power of inherited and acquired evil propensities and habits. Does Christ deliver from a true Christian experience? No, indeed! Then the bondage of sin of which the apostle complains in the seventh of Romans is not the experience of a child of God, but of the servant of sin.

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So the Bible makes it abundantly clear, that while the man in Romans 7 has gained much, he has not yet gained salvation. True, he has a knowledge of the law of God, he has deep personal conviction of his own sin, he is repentant so far as he hates the sin and with his own power has turned away from it. He has frankly and openly confessed his problem, but because he still has the carnal nature (mind) he is still a slave to sin. The realization that the experience is not one of a true child of God, can be a very disappointing and distressing revelation to those who have prided themselves for years that they have been God’s true children. The whole experience of Romans 7 is designed by divine providence to bring us to such a realization of ourselves and our needs that we will be led to take hold of the wonderful gift of salvation which is freely offered to us. Blessed is the man that accepts this revelation and not reject or refuse it. Without the Romans 7 experience we would never learn to give up trying to save ourselves, we would never learn what our real trouble or problem is and so would never be able to seek and to find a solution to it.

There are many who have never been delivered from this experience. This experience brings us to the point of conviction and seeing our great need of deliverance from bondage. It was only intended to be a transition point before yielding or surrendering all to Jesus, but many have been content to remain at this stagnated position, assuming that it is the genuine experience.

The Apostle Paul does not leave us in doubt as to the solution and how it can be achieved. More than this he reveals to us the nature of the real, true, genuine Christian experience. The solution is outlined as follows:

(a) First, there is an awareness of our true condition as sinners in God’s sight by the Holy Spirit.

(b) There is awaken in us a desire to do what is right and good, and the need for a change.

(c) We recognize our condition of wretchedness.

(d) We confess and repent of our sins which crucified the Son of God. We abhor or loathe the sin.

(e) We cry out for deliverance from bondage. We ask God to break the power of the carnal mind over our will and set us free.

(f) We believe that God has already done it for us because He has promised and because we have asked. (Mark 11:24; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 5:14-15; John 6:37; Isaiah 65:24)

(g) We claim the promise as our own.

(h) We thank God through Jesus Christ for having granted us deliverance from bondage and we go our way rejoicing. Hebrews 10:35.

We then enter the true genuine Christian experience of victory which is described in Romans Chapter 8: In this experience our minds are nowset free from the bondage and condemnation of the law of sin by a new law, even the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. (Romans 8:1-4; Romans 6:12,14,17,18,22). See booklet on “Man on Romans 8”

THANKS BE TO GOD, WHICH GIVETH US THE VICTORY THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!!!

Elder Saul Leacock

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Source: http://www.truthinjesus.org/articles/freedom.php

BLACKWATER COUNSEL J. SCHMITZ (SMOM)

Friday, November 2, 2007

Knight of Malta Joseph Schmitz is a Blackwater Counsel
[Joe-Schmitz-&-Michael-Nov-2005.jpg]
Also see: "NAZI CONNECTIONS TO 9/11 - THE SCHMITZ BROTHERS" And: "The Bush Administration's Ties to Blackwater"

" ... Joseph Schmitz--the former Pentagon Inspector General turned general counsel to Blackwater's parent, The Prince Group--lists on his résumé membership in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta ... ... "

Blackwater Contractors Involved in Suspect Baghdad Shooting Get State Department Immunity.
By Marie Therese
October 31, 2007

Erik Prince, CEO of Blackwater, may find himself and his company in a lot more hot water as new details emerge in the aftermath of the allegedly unprovoked killing of at least 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater security guards that took place on September 16, 2007. According to Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, the Iraqi men, women and children who were gunned down died as part of a tactic known as "spray and pray." According to Wikipedia, "spray and pray" is "a derisive term for firing an automatic firearm towards an enemy in long bursts, without aiming. This may be done especially when quick reaction is needed to achieve a form of suppressive fire, either when aiming proves too difficult (for example due to a moving shooting platform) or when the location of an opponent is not exactly known." With video.

Iraqi anger over the September 16th incident has not died down and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Iraqi Parliament have demanded that Blackwater leave Iraq. According to a story aired on yesterday's Special Report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has approved a "transparent" FBI investigation into the incident. The British paper, The Independent, notes that Blackwater has a bad reputation in Iraq and that this incident is just the latest in a series of similar occurrences.

Shortly after the incident, Blackwater's notoriously camera-and-interview-shy CEO, Erik Prince, suddenly started making the rounds of the talk shows, giving essentially the same story, i.e., that the Blackwater guards were completely innocent of any overreaction, that they responded to gunfire. However, several investigations into the shooting have not corroborated the Blackwater version of events.

Yesterday, with the release of the news that the Blackwater guards had been given immunity by the State Department, the likelihood of prosecution faded. According to reports just released, the State Department granted the immunity under something called the "Garrity Clause," which was designed to protect federal employees.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dutifully denied that the State Department can give anyone immunity from prosecution, but others disagree, contending that the immunity offered to the guards by the State Department will hamper future investigations.

However, evidence obtained in a different Congressional investigation may throw a monkey-wrench into what looks suspiciously like an orchestrated attempt by the State Department to whitewash Blackwater and protect its guards from facing trial here in the United States.

On October 22nd, Rep. Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a thirteen-page letter to Erik Prince regarding Blackwater's disputed claim that its guards are all "independent contractors" and therefore responsible for their own tax payments. The IRS - and Waxman - believe that Blackwater has been playing fast and loose with the tax code, thus saving the company millions in social security, disability, liability and workman's compensation outlays.

By definition, an independent contractor is not an employee, but a sole proprietor of his/her own business, who contracts to do work. Unless the federal government signed a separate contract with each and every Blackwater security guard in Iraq, it seems to me that there is no way they can be designated as "federal employees." With their immunity gone, the mercenaries will be hung out to dry, both by the State Department and by Blackwater. At that juncture, the first defendant to cop a plea gets a reduced sentence while the rest of the men will get the book thrown at them. ...

Jeremy Scahill reported on Erik Prince's religious connections in the following excerpt from The Nation magazine:

Blackwater founder Erik Prince shares [President George] Bush's fundamentalist Christian views. He comes from a powerful Michigan Republican family and social circle, and his father, Edgar, helped Gary Bauer start the Family Research Council. According to a report prepared for The Nation by the Center for Responsive Politics, in all of Erik Prince's political funding generosity since 1989, he has never given a penny to a Democrat running for national office. Company president Jackson has also given money to Republican candidates. For his part, Joseph Schmitz--the former Pentagon Inspector General turned general counsel to Blackwater's parent, The Prince Group--lists on his résumé membership in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a Christian militia formed before the First Crusade. Like Prince, he comes from a right-wing family; his father, former Congressman John Schmitz, was an ultraconservative John Birch Society director who later ran for President. Joseph Schmitz was once in charge of investigating private contractors like Blackwater, but he resigned amid allegations of stonewalling investigations conducted by his department. He now represents one of the most successful of those contractors.

http://www.newshounds.us/2007/10/31/blackwater_contractors_involved_in_suspect_baghdad_shooting_get_state_department_immunity.php

1 comments:

M. Bouffant said...

Yo, glad you're allowing comments. We might also mention that Schmitz is married to the sister of Jeb Bush's wife, Colomba, & that Schmitz' own sister is the infamous Mary Kay LeTourneau.
As shown here:
http://mbouffant.blogspot.com/2007/09/ome-more-interesting-blackwater-fact.html

BOOK UNVEILS 'MISOGYNIST' OPUS DEI

Book lifts cowl on 'misogynist' Opus Dei


By Susan Bell in Paris
Last Updated: 2:25am GMT 05/11/2007

Defector tells of threats and humiliation she suffered during 13 years in secret sect

A mother of nine has lifted the lid on Opus Dei, the controversial Catholic organisation featured in Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, which portrayed it as a mysterious and cult-like -institution.

  • 87,000 members spreading the word

    Véronique Duborgel re-counts in a new book, Inside the Hell of Opus Dei, the 13 years she spent as a member of the group, which she describes as rigid, insensitive, sectarian and misogynistic.

    Paul Bettany and Audrey Tautou,  Book lifts cowl on 'misogynist' Opus Dei
    Paul Bettany as Silas and Audrey Tautou as
    Sophie Neveu in the film 'The Da Vinci Code'

    The 44-year-old kindergarten teacher describes techniques of psychological isolation similar to those sometimes used by sects, and claims that Opus Dei intrudes into the most intimate areas of members' private lives, encourages them to inform on each other and drains their financial resources.

    Mrs Duborgel writes that she was instructed not to tell family or friends that she was a member of Opus Dei.

    "I was told they might ask awkward questions and it would avoid family conflicts if they didn't know," she told The Sunday Telegraph.

    She had also been told to drop friends who had no inclination to join the organisation. Each year she was required to give the names of three friends, known as St Joseph's List, whom she would have to try to persuade to join Opus Dei over the next 12 months.

    Members were encouraged to look upon each other as "a family", but Mrs Duborgel said she was forbidden to share intimate confidences with her "sisters" – other female members of Opus Dei. Instead, she had to discuss personal matters with a spiritual director, "someone we had not chosen and whom we were obliged to report to."

    Members were instructed to appear joyful, even when sad or depressed. "It was a form of psychological isolation," she said, adding that she had survived by concealing the existence of some friends she made through her children's school. "With them I could talk about the normal stuff, but I was obliged to live a double life, otherwise I would have got my knuckles rapped," she said.

    Every 15 days, Mrs Duborgel's spiritual director questioned her about her faith, and occasionally about the most intimate details of her marriage. "Once she warned me not to buy sexy underwear because it led men into temptation," she added.

    She added that her spiritual director also asked her to spy on other women to find out if they used contraception – labelled a sin by the Catholic Church. She refused, but was denounced by fellow members for crossing her legs at Mass ("disrespectful and immodest"), for wearing trousers ("too provocative") and for not wearing enough make-up.

    On being upbraided because she had not re-dyed her hair, she objected that she had never done so, but was told the unfounded reprimand had been "good for her humility".

    "I realised then that Opus Dei was more about humiliation than humility," she said.

    When Mrs Duborgel confided to two Opus Dei priests that her then husband, a 48-year-old former university professor who now lives in a monastery, beat and insulted her, she was told: "It's your cross, you must bear it."

    Opus Dei has opted to turn the other cheek over Mrs Duborgel's book. A spokeswoman, Beatrice de la Coste, said: "We sympathise with the suffering expressed in this work. It gives us great sadness. This woman was not sufficiently listened to."

    The organisation would not pursue the author or the book legally, she said, adding: "We are not going to attack someone who is suffering."

    "I am not suffering at all," retorted Mrs Duborgel. "The suffering was when I was in Opus Dei."

    Véronique Duborgel
    Insider: Véronique Duborgel was asked to inform on others

    Mrs Duborgel was drawn into the organisation by her future husband, who kept his own membership secret until after she joined. She says the secrecy governing Opus Dei is illustrated by a Latin prayer, which members must recite daily on their knees. "I was told to learn it off by heart so if I was surprised by anyone there would be no written trace of the prayer," she said.

    The couple gave €400 (£275) a month and a bigger contribution at Christmas to Opus Dei, whose worth is estimated to be £1.4?billion. "We were told to consider Opus Dei as an extra child we had to support. But it cost me more than all my children put together," said Mrs Duborgel, who lives in Strasbourg with six of her nine children.

    The Da Vinci Code vividly portrays the practice of "corporal mortification" by Silas the Albino, the murderous, self-flagellating monk, but Mrs Duborgel said she was encouraged only to take cold showers and forego treats.

    "Dan Brown's novel is not very accurate about the organisation of Opus Dei, but where he got it exactly right is in his portrayal of a group who are prepared to do anything to maintain their power."

    The last straw came at an Opus Dei conference at which a senior member said women were the equals of dogs. "He was not joking," she said.

    She finally summoned up the courage to leave in 1996 when her husband, who opposed her plan, was away. From her anger at her treatment, her book was born – a book she expects Opus Dei members will be forbidden to read.