Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Compromise



14Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

College Frats as Satanic Romish-Masonry?

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Research upon the prestigious well- connected Washington, D.C. law firm Covington & Burling -- to wit its founder, former U.S. Congressman J.H. Covington -- led me to his fraternity and its interesting symbolism:



Symbol appears to be a cross between Masonic Orders of Shriners and the Order of the Eastern Star

Follow the red dot from Italy to Virginia:

Kappa Sigma Official Site

Doug

that's an amazing find, I hope that Eric gets to see that one too. Man, all those frat movies that they made for idiots to go see in the 80's that made a mockery of the whole thing are the perfect cover for these psycho-fraternities.

The upside-down pentagram is unbelievable in its shamelessness - just like priests & ministers doing the horned hand (disguised as Texas Longhorns sign) at Lady Bird's funeral. As for that Rome to America red spot: says it all really. ...

Troy
Covington & Burling- a true nexus of power, involved with so much in government policy domestically and internationally, including:

Parkland subversion:
Washington, D.C. was to get a South Capitol Mall, the cancellation of which would ultimately save a sole building: St Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church. Covington & Burling would serve as the law firm for Major League Baseball's insistence upon the new Nationals Ballpark Stadium's location directly in the proposed South Capitol Mall's path 2 blocks south of the church, in concert with Jesuit affiliated Mark Touhey of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission. Subversion of the South Capitol Mall occurred in concert with the "Committee of 100" which was founded by brother in law of Covington & Burling co-founder Ed Burling: Frederic A. Delano (uncle of 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt).

http://wwwsouthcapitolstreet.blogspot.com/2006/04/national-capital-planning.html

http://wwwsouthcapitolstreet.blogspot.com/2006/04/who-got-involved-2002-efforts-to-bring.html

Transport network subversion:
stopping the DC highways- particularly the vital northern radial -- the B&O Route North Central Freeway -- that would have gone next to Catholic University of America.

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2008/01/physical-realities-undermining-north.html
(Georgetown and Covington & Burling are old allies)
http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2007/02/sampling-of-attitudes-towards-dc-i-95.html
(look at the end of that one!)
http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/search/label/highway%20routing%20mysteries
(see how highway planning is undermined when the highway would go next to Catholic University)

Food and Drug Policy:
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2008/03/drug-policy-foundation-legal-connection.html
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2008/03/drug-policy-foundation-advised-by-c.html
(yes- C&B also involved with drug policy- with lawyer assigned to advise Drug Policy Foundation involved with GMO plant made pharmaceuticals)

And all located at the intersection described by Ovalson as the spiritual center of the universe, having something to do with the She Goddess of the stuff that grows, born on the winter solste (dec 22-23).

http://savethecapitalcity.blogspot.com/

This Is Not News It's Propaganda

by Kevin Gosztola Page 1 of 5 page(s)



(4.9 from 1 ratings)

David Lindorff, an ardent advocate for impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, posted an article this morning detailing the media’s coverage of the current relatively small war between Russia and Georgia. He accurately stated, “This is not news. This is propaganda.”

When comparing current coverage of the conflict to the lack of media coverage of the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars, it’s hard not to question what we are reading and wonder if media is giving us the truth. In fact, a passing glance at the stories about the current Russia-Georgia conflict show a clear anti-Russian sentiment even though Georgia is responsible for igniting this bloody mess.

The U.S. and other allied powers may be intentionally making it difficult for the world to understand the history of this volatile region or the who, what, where, when, and why of the current situation.

Georgia is U.S.-backed and has been since US-educated Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili took power. Saakashvili came to power on a platform of reclaiming South Ossetia and Abkhazia for Georgia and there is no way that the U.S. could not have seen this coming.

While the U.S. called for a ceasefire in the conflict as it condemned Russia’s “disproportionate response,” the U.S. airlifted Georgian troops out of Iraq and into the combat zone. (Georgia, until the conflict began, had the third most troops of any country deployed in Iraq.)

All of this should come as no surprise if you aware of this chain of events, which Asia Times details:

As an economic crisis and lawlessness grew in Georgia in the recent past, Russian diplomacy began shifting gear in Tbilisi, encouraging the elements that stood for better relations with Moscow. Up to a point, Moscow was right in doing so. But it failed to see that from Saakashvili's perspective, as his authoritarian regime became more and more unpopular and the debris of misgovernance, corruption and venality began to accumulate, it paid to whip up xenophobia. Russia was the best target, as nothing inflames Georgian passions better than the issue of the country's integrity.

That is why Moscow protested when it began to be known that with encouragement from the United States, Tbilisi was embarking on a plan to dramatically increase its military budget 30 times. This Georgian move went side-by-side with growing US assistance in training the Georgian army. Moscow began asking a pertinent question as to who it was that Tbilisi visualized getting into a war with.

Moscow proposed that an agreement could be signed committing all protagonists to commit to non-use of force in settling differences. But Tbilisi wouldn't have such an agreement. Nor would Washington prevail on Tbilisi to accept one. Not only that, Washington closed its eyes when clandestine supplies of weapons began pouring into Tbilisi. In July, the US Department of Defense funded a military exercise with Georgia. In retrospect, the turning point came when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Tbilisi last month.

Saakashvili drew inspiration from Rice's statements endorsing Georgia's claim for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and open backing of the Georgian stance in its standoff with Russia. It is a moot point whether Saakashvili unilaterally drew conclusions from Rice's diplomatic gesture or a tacit Washington-Tbilisi understanding came about.

At any rate, Saakashvili let loose the dogs of war within a month of Rice's visit to Tbilisi. And he acted with immaculate timing - when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was on summer vacation and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had left Moscow to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics. On balance, it is inconceivable Washington was in the dark about how Saakashvili's mind was working.

Since Saakashvili let loose, George W. Bush and policy advisers have done everything possible to conflate the conflict in a way so that it would seem like Russia is entirely responsible for the fiasco. McCain and Obama have also issued quotes that lead one to believe Russia is primarily to blame for the problems in the volatile region.

CNN and MSNBC are using an AP article that quotes President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia saying, “I have reached a decision to halt the operation to force the Georgian authorities to peace…The aggressor has been punished and has incurred very significant losses. Its armed forces are disorganized." And has made sure people are aware of the fact that Russia supports separatists in South Ossetia that have been giving Georgia trouble.

FOX News’ headline, “Georgia Reports Attacks Continue as Russia's Medvedev Orders Troop Withdrawal,” is enough to foster anti-Russian sentiments. While it works hard to maintain objectivity, if one reads the entire article, you can see such objectivity fizzle as a brief history of how Russia, as one Polish leader is quoted at the end, “has once again shown its face, its true face” unfolds without mentioning past U.S. involvement in Georgia.

The Daily Telegraph from the UK maintains the same type of coverage as FOX News. It features various accounts of the carnage in this article on the current situation, accounts that primarily focus on Russian shelling of buildings.

One intriguing paragraph is the following:

1 2 3 4 5

Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/This-Is-Not-News-This-Is-by-Kevin-Gosztola-080812-431.html

United States: First Adventist woman commissioned to serve as Navy chaplain

Townsend calls military 'mission field'



Adrienne Townsend accepts the oath of office to serve as the first Adventist woman chaplain for the U.S. Navy during a July 24 ceremony. Townsend brings a background in education and psychology to military chaplaincy, which she calls a "mission field." [photo: courtesy Andrews University Office of Integrated Marketing & Communication]

Adrienne Townsend accepted the oath of office and was officially sworn in July 24 as the first Seventh-day Adventist woman to serve as an active duty chaplain in the United States Navy.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Townsend said her four years as associate dean of women at Adventist-owned Andrews University prepared her for chaplaincy and called her new post a "huge mission field" where she could minister to similarly aged young people.

"I feel God has laid the foundation for me here to go out into the military and reach those who need to hear about Christ," Townsend said. "I want Christ to be glorified and God to be seen as real for everyone I come in contact with."

Townsend, who holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews, brings a background in education and psychology to her new position. While studying theology, Townsend met a Navy recruiter and first felt called to chaplaincy.

Townsend's post is an "encouragement" to other Adventist women feel similarly called to ministry within the military and who "find the traditional roles limited," said Chaplain (Colonel) Gary R. Councell, director of Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries for the world church.

Councell worked with Townsend over the past two years to prepare her to meet the military and denominational requirements of her post.

Lieutenant Christopher Carmichael, a Navy representative from the Navy Officer Recruiting Station in East Lansing, Mich., presented Townsend with her Presidential Appointment signed by President George W. Bush. Seminary Chaplain James North delivered the oath of office.

Once stationed, Townsend's duties will include leading worship services, providing counseling and visitation services and performing ceremonies such as weddings and funerals.

--Andrew Campbell contributed to this story

"Source: Adventist News Network" must appear under the headline or immediately following the article.


Source: http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1218212383/index.html.en

Note: Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis.......... Performing weddings???....Arsenio.

Burke's move reverberates in St. Louis




Burke's move reverberates in St. Louis

Jo Mohan>

Issue date: 7/17/08 Section: News

  • Page 1 of 1

On June 27, the Vatican named Archbishop Raymond Burke as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's equivalent of the Supreme Court, ending his four-year tenure as archbishopship of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

He will begin his new position in Rome at the end of August.

Burke is known publicly for his staunch support of the Catholic anti-abortion policy, as well as other church traditions.

A few examples of such issues include his resignation from the Cardinal Glennon Board of Directors, after they featured Sheryl Crow-an abortion rights supporter-at a benefit concert. His public statement claiming he would refuse Communion to politicians who actively vote for abortion rights and his call for the termination of Saint Louis University's Head Basketball Coach Rick Majerus after Majerus released an abortion rights statement.

While Burke's tenure has affected SLU with regards to his conflict with Majerus, he has also affected the university in other ways.

According to Director of C mapus Ministry Lisa Reiter, "the archbishop's role … with Catholic students at SLU is about insuring that they have access to the sacraments."

When discussing the transition to a new archbishop, Reiter refers back to the transition from former Archbishop Justin Rigali to Burke: "There wasn't a blip. [SLU's Catholic identity is] probably manifested more in the overall church."

However, as a Catholic university in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, there will certainly be some changes-albeit more with the Catholic community as a whole, rather than the university.

There will be a farewell Mass at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 17 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, on Lindel Blvd. with a reception in his honor to follow.



Source: http://media.www.unewsonline.com/media/storage/paper953/news/2008/07/17/News/Burkes.Move.Reverberates.In.St.Louis-3392170.shtml

Note: Bolds and highlights added for emphasis...........Arsenio.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Civilian Genocide, Dead Americans Cost Of U.S.-Russia Proxy War

Published on 11-08-2008

Source: Prison Planet - Paul Joseph Watson

The truth behind who is primarily responsible for the bloodshed unfolding in South Ossetia and surrounding areas has been buried by the western corporate media. Georgian forces, with a green light from NATO and the support of American and Ukrainian mercenaries, launched a brutal attack targeting civilians and Russian peacekeepers timed to coincide with the opening of the Beijing Olympics so as to temporarily deflect attention before the inevitable Russian response, by which time the global media machine kicked into high gear to smear Russia as the villains of the entire piece.

Georgia
Georgia is being used as a proxy client state through which the U.S. and NATO are advancing their geopolitical motives — to the cost of Ossetian, Georgian and Russian civilians alike caught in the middle of the carnage.

To accept such a characterization is not parroting Russian military propaganda, it is a reflection of the stone cold fact that Georgia was responsible for the first provocation - which itself amounted to a war crime - that launched the conflict.

That is not to hide from the fact that Russia’s unrelenting response continues to slaughter untold numbers of innocent people.

The initial Georgian bombardment of the provincial capital Tskhinvali was primarily directed to achieve maximum civilian casualties, with residential areas, hospitals and the university being targeted, leading to at least 1500 civilian deaths according to both western and Russian sources.

“The air and artillery bombardment left the provincial capital without water, food, electricity and gas. Horrified civilians crawled out of the basements into the streets as fighting eased, looking for supplies,” reported the Associated Press.

Reports of the initial carnage metered out by Georgian forces and the slaughter of Russian peacekeepers are difficult to find, because they have already been buried under the deluge of condemnation about Russia’s heavy-handed response.

An American man living in South Ossetia says U.S. and Georgian leaders are responsible for the violence that has killed 2,000 people in the region.

American citizen and resident of South Ossetia Joe Mestas described the war crimes he witnessed being carried out by Georgian forces, back by U.S. support, against innocent civilians.

“I thought that since U.S. is supporting Georgia there would be some control over the situation in South Ossetia and that there would be a peaceful solution to the conflict. But what is happening there now it’s not just war, but war crimes. George Bush and [Georgian president] Mikhail Saakashvili should answer to the crimes that are being committed – the killing of innocent people, running over by tanks of children and women, throwing grenades into cellars where people are hiding,” Mestas said.

“The war is when military fight against military. But the Georgian army is killing innocent civilians. This is genocide,” he added.

A prime example of media bias in shielding Georgia from responsibility for the carnage is the fact that news outlets like the BBC continue to report that 1500 civilians have been killed in Georgia, with the obvious inference being that these are victims of the Russian onslaught. But these victims were not killed in Georgia, they were killed in Ossetia - by Georgian forces.

As the Chimes of Freedom Blog elaborates, “While the Ossetians claimed over 1000 dead the BBC neither reported this or any newsreel coming out of Ossetia showing the destruction caused by the Georgian shelling of the breakaway republic. All we are getting is one-sided reports of the destruction being caused by the Russians.”

“The BBC is giving carte blanche to the Georgian point-of-view to be aired on its services while nothing whatsoever is being heard from the Ossetian side. The BBC’s repetitive playing of a statement by George Bush, given several days ago, without balancing these against statements from the Russian side indicates where the BBC is coming from.”

Other mainstream news outlets are either aping the portrayal of Georgia, which enjoys the support of the American empire and NATO, as a poor isolated little country under brutal assault by the big bully Russia, or simply ignoring events altogether and obsessing about John Edwards’ extramarital affair.

In reality, Georgia is being used as a proxy client state through which the U.S. and NATO are advancing their geopolitical motives - to the cost of Ossetian, Georgian and Russian civilians alike caught in the middle of the carnage.

As Professor Michel Chossudovsky explains, “Georgia is an outpost of US and NATO forces, on the immediate border of the Russian Federation and within proximity of the Middle East Central Asian war theater. South Ossetia is also at the crossroads of strategic oil and gas pipeline routes.”

“Georgia does not act militarily without the assent of Washington. The Georgian head of State is a US proxy and Georgia is a de facto US protectorate.”

The price of the U.S. and NATO’s latest proxy war is already being paid with the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians - along with American mercenaries supporting Georgian forces.

According to the president of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, the bodies of black men were found at the site of one battle near a school.

Russian envoy Dmitry Medoyev indicated the men may have been American mercenaries.

“In yesterday’s attack, the advancing tanks were supposedly crewed by Ukrainians. Two unidentified bodies found today are said to have black skin. Possibly they are Americans but we can’t say for sure yet. We will be able to publish the official conclusions after carrying out special tests,” Medoyev said.

Last month, the United States, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Ukraine conducted Immediate Response 2008, a joint training exercise said to be in “spirit of the NATO Partnership for Peace program,” according to Blackanthem Military News. Immediate Response 2008 was held at the Vaziani Military Base in Georgia.

In another report, a woman interviewed by Russia Today in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia, talked about the presence of Georgian troops with American insignias. “There are lots of bodies over there, a lot of people have been killed, mostly Ossetians, but also Georgians, they had American emblems on their forearms and they were in black uniforms,” she said.

Black uniforms are a trademark of Blackwater and DynCorp mercenaries (see Chris Hedges, America’s Holy Warriors). DynCorp’s presence in Eastern Europe is well documented, particularly in occupied Bosnia where it engaged in sex-trafficking and prostitution.

In a Friday press conference, Chairman of Russia’s State Duma Security Committee Vladimir Vasilyev said without U.S. aid, Tbilisi would have been unable to start military operation in South Ossetia. “The further the situation unfolds, the more the world will understand that Georgia would never be able to do all this without America,” said Vasilyev. “In essence, the Americans have prepared the force, which destroys everything in South Ossetia, attacks civilians and hospitals.”

It is entirely feasible the U.S. has “prepared the force” with mercenaries as well.

Michel Chossudovsky explores the reasoning behind Georgia’s act of provocation that launched the conflict.

US-NATO military and intelligence planners invariably examine various “scenarios” of a proposed military operation– i.e. in this case, a limited Georgian attack largely directed against civilian targets, with a view to inflicting civilian casualties.

The examination of scenarios is a routine practice. With limited military capabilities, a Georgian victory and occupation of Tskhinvali, was an impossibility from the outset. And this was known and understood to US-NATO military planners.

A humanitarian disaster rather than a military victory was an integral part of the scenario. The objective was to destroy the provincial capital, while also inflicting a significant loss of human life.

If the objective were to restore Georgian political control over the provincial government, the operation would have been undertaken in a very different fashion, with Special Forces occupying key public buildings, communications networks and provincial institutions, rather than waging an all out bombing raid on residential areas, hospitals, not to mention Tskhinvali’s University.

The Russian response was entirely predictable.

Georgia was “encouraged” by NATO and the US. Both Washington and NATO headquarters in Brussels were acutely aware of what would happen in the case of a Russian counterattack.

The question is: was this a deliberate provocation intended to trigger a Russian military response and suck the Russians into a broader military confrontation with Georgia (and allied forces) which could potentially escalate into an all out war?

With rhetoric from figures like President Bush and Condoleezza Rice becoming increasingly heated towards Russia, the potential for an escalation in tensions is readily apparent.

Only the most naive would believe that the U.S. missile defense shield is anything other than a bulwark against Russian military expansion, and Russia’s response in resuming bomber patrols across the Atlantic sends a clear message.

Knowing that Americans remain completely unconvinced about the necessity of attacking Iran, have the Neo-Cons in control of the White House lit the blue touch paper for a wider war that could swing the U.S. election in favor of pro-war candidate John McCain?

Or is this merely payback for Russia lending their expertise in building Iranian nuclear reactors?

The motives will become clear in due course but what’s certain is that innocent lives will continue to be lost as the American empire lurches into its next theatre of conflict and the Neo-Cons play a deadly game that could have devastating wider consequences.

Source: http://blacklistednews.com/?news_id=1035

NAFTA Inspired Trucking Program Rolls On



Source: http://intelstrike.com/?p=291

By: Dana Gabriel - 7 August, 2008

The cross-border trucking program, which allows 100 Mexican trucking companies to operate beyond the current 25 mile commercial zone has been extended two more years. Some American trucking companies are also participating in the program and are running loads across the Mexican border. Allowing Mexican long haul trucks full access to U.S. roadways is a component and commitment of NAFTA. This pilot program is seen as a first step in enacting this provision of the agreement. It is designed to further open the borders and facilitate the freer flow of goods and services. Through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and the push for a North American Union, there is a move to further open the border to labor mobility. Since NAFTA’s inception, there have been safety and security concerns which have delayed Mexican trucks from gaining full access. Opponents of the program also fear that thousands of American jobs could be lost if it becomes permanent.

In advance of the announcement to extend the trucking program, the executive vice-president of Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) Todd Spencer said, “There is little doubt the administration will try to extend the program beyond its anniversary. They’ve consistently ignored Congressional directives to terminate it.” There is already a federal law in place that bans funding to the program, but because of an apparent loophole, it continues. In fact, Congress has already voted more than one time to halt the program. The decision by the Bush administration to extend the program was done despite pending legislation designed to stop it for good.

Conveniently, the announcement to further extend the trucking program was done while members of Congress, many of who oppose the plan, had left for their August break. It also came after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee had tabled a bill to stop it, which was supported by both Democrats and Republicans. It is expected to be voted on in September. This bill would require congressional authority to restart the program and would stop it no later then its anniversary date of September 6. The bill would also prohibit the secretary of transportation from granting Mexican trucks access beyond the 25 mile commercial zone.

Some organized labor unions, highway safety and consumer groups oppose the trucking program because of safety and security concerns. Teamsters, along with Public Citizen and the Sierra Club, have filed a suit challenging the legality of the program. Judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco have yet to release their decision. Teamsters and the OOIDA have both praised the recent bill put forth by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The president of Teamsters, James Hoffa said, “This bill makes it as clear as day that Congress wants the border closed to dangerous trucks.”

To this date, the Bush administration, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have not adequately proven that Mexican drivers and trucks will meet the same standards as their American counterparts. There is little doubt that Mexican standards are not equal to those of the United States. There are concerns over drug testing, language barriers, and overall highway safety. Mexican drivers are also pushed to drive very long hours. It has also been reported that Mexican truckers could be granted access across the border in as little as 15 seconds. This would be part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Free and Secure Trade system. This trucking program is a national security issue and could lead to an increase in drug and human smuggling.

Much like NAFTA and the SPP, this cross-border trucking program will further benefit multinational corporations. It could all but destroy small and medium-sized independent trucking companies, and lead to thousands of American drivers losing their jobs. This is all part of a much bigger agenda, which includes destruction of the middle class, the construction of the NAFTA Superhighway and the creation of a North American Union.

You can contact Dana @ newworldordermustbestopped@hotmail.com

..Nothing happens by accident...

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happened, you can bet it was planned that way."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd US President

Aldous Huxley's lecture to The California Medical School in San Francisco in 1961

"There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods. And this seems to be the final revolution."

Aldous Huxley's lecture to The California Medical School in San Francisco in 1961

Clashes with Muslim rebels in Philippines displace thousands

Muslim guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) raise their weapons during a formation in Camp Darapanan, the rebel base in southern Maguindanao province on Wednesday

Fighting began after the Supreme Court halted a historic deal to expand a Muslim autonomous zone in the region.



Renewed fighting between Muslim rebels and the Army in the southern Philippines has caused at least eight deaths and forced nearly 130,000 people to flee their homes. The clashes have been sparked by a controversial deal to expand a Muslim autonomous zone in the region, which was created in 1996 as part of a peace accord between the Filipino government and Muslim rebels. The fighting highlights the sectarian tensions that plague the country.

According to the BBC, troops began their attack on Sunday, after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels failed to leave North Cotabato Province, which is not included in the five-province Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Troops began their attack on Sunday, after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in North Cotabato ignored a 24-hour deadline to leave the area.

Soldiers continued to bomb Muslim rebel positions for a second day on Monday.

They regained control of two villages, and are still aiming to regain 13 others, military vice chief of staff Lt Gen Cardozo Luna told the Associated Press.

At least one soldier and seven rebel fighters have been killed since the attack began.

The fighting has caused many families to be displaced, reports the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a leading Filipino newspaper.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno acknowledged the situation in North Cotabato has worsened as he lamented the government's failure so far to return thousands of families who have fled the fighting.... The fighting has displaced 18,633 families or 129,000 people in the affected areas, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

According to Asia News, trouble began last week when the Supreme Court issued an order to halt the signing of a deal between the government and MILF rebels following a wave of protests throughout the Philippines. Earlier this month, government and MILF negotiators were expected in Malaysia to sign an agreement laying down new borders for the ARMM. Acting on a petition filed by Christian politicians in North Cotabato who fear losing land and power to the Muslims, the Supreme Court stopped the deal, even though the government insisted it would end the 10-year-long conflict with the Muslim rebel group.

Last month, both sides agreed to expand an existing six-province Muslim autonomous region to include 712 villages, subject to the agreement of residents in a plebiscite within a year. Some local leaders complained however about the danger of electoral fraud.

Catholics expressed their concern that a deal between the MILF and the government would lead to renewed sectarian violence and vowed to obstruct the government's plan to conclude the peace accord.

The deal would have been a major step toward the peaceful resolution of a long-running Islamic insurgency, which has claimed some 100,000 lives, reported the BBC.

A larger autonomous region is something the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has sought for decades....

The MILF is the largest of several Muslim separatist groups battling the government in the predominantly Catholic country.

Formal talks between the government and the MILF began in 2003, after the rebel group, which is thought to have around 11,000 members, signed a fragile truce with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government.

The government had given approximately 1,000 MILF insurgents until Friday morning to vacate 15 villages in five North Cotabato townships that the rebels have occupied for more than a month. Although the MILF initially agreed to the withdrawal, rebels stayed put, prompting the government to launch an assault, reports the Associated Press.

MILF rebels claim, however, that the current fighting began when the government violated a cease-fire agreement with the rebels and went against the decided upon pullout process in the North Cotabato region, reports The Daily Tribune, a Filipino newspaper.

A commander of the separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) accused the government of treachery on the agreed process for the pullout of MILF forces from occupied territories in North Cotabato and said yesterday rebel forces were staying put "no matter what."

While all the negotiations and repositioning of the MILF forces were ongoing, the government forces were actually fortifying their strength and even maneuvering, according to the MILF....

The military, in turn, said instead of an orderly withdrawal, MILF units asked to vacate several occupied barangays in five towns in North Cotabato, shot three soldiers through sniper fire, and torched houses igniting fresh fighting as thousands of villagers fled their homes in terror.

Spurring further confusion about why fighting began Sunday, MILF rebels point out that their "repositioning" within the region was not in response to the deadline mandated by the Army and was instead in compliance with a joint resolution signed with the government on Aug. 1, reports GMA News.

According to the Associated Press, scheduled elections in ARMM continued despite the violence.

About 1.5 million Filipino Muslims in the autonomous region voted under heavy security Monday for a new governor, vice governor and other posts in the regional assembly. The five-province region has a history of insurgent and factional violence, but the fighting in nearby North Cotabato did not immediately affect the election.

An editorial in The Philippine Star, another leading newspaper, highlights the importance of the local ARMM elections in the context of renewed fighting between the government and MILF rebels.

Every electoral exercise in the ARMM is held with the hope that the winners can make the promise of Muslim autonomy work to bring lasting peace and prosperity to one of the most volatile and impoverished regions in the country....

[T]he people of the ARMM need better governance from their local officials. Those who are voted into office today should not betray the trust placed in them by their constituents. The people's participation in the elections, amid serious security threats posed by rampaging members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, will signify the ARMM residents' continuing belief that autonomy holds the promise of making their life better.

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0811/p99s01-duts.html

LA authorities: 'Rockefeller' is wanted German

In this Aug. 5, 2008 file photo, a man who uses the name Clark Rockefeller is seen during his arraignment at a Boston municipal court. A kidnapping suspect being held in Boston is a German man who lived in the guesthouse of a San Marino couple who disappeared in 1985, a sheriff's spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday Aug. 11, 2008. Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators have positively identified Christian Gerhartsreiter as the same man who used the aliases Clark Rockefeller and Christopher Chichester, spokesman Steve Whitmore said. (AP Photo/ Essdras Suarez, File, Pool)

By THOMAS WATKINS – 1 hour ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man charged with kidnapping his daughter in Boston is a German who lived in the guesthouse of a Los Angeles-area couple who disappeared in 1985, a sheriff's spokesman said Monday.

Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators have identified Christian Gerhartsreiter as the same man who used the aliases Clark Rockefeller and Christopher Chichester, spokesman Steve Whitmore told The Associated Press.

Homicide detectives "are confident that Rockefeller is Christian Gerhartsreiter and the person named Christopher Chichester who was living in the Los Angeles area in 1985," Whitmore said.

Gerhartsreiter has been identified as a "person of interest" in the 1985 disappearances of Jonathan and Linda Sohus. Under the Chichester name, Gerhartsreiter rented a guesthouse at the couple's home in San Marino, a wealthy Los Angeles suburb.

Investigators were able to confirm Gerhartsreiter's identity after interviews with people who knew him in California in the 1980s, Whitmore said.

At the time of his Aug. 2 arrest in Baltimore, Gerhartsreiter had been living under the Rockefeller name. Police have said he snatched his daughter from a Boston street on July 27 in an elaborately planned kidnapping in which he hired two people to drive them to New York.

The district attorney's office and FBI in Boston said Monday they were not ready to declare that Rockefeller and Gerhartsreiter are the same person.

In the San Marino case, skeletal remains were unearthed at the Sohus property in 1994 when new owners were putting in a swimming pool. Investigators at the time were unable to identify the bones but believed they probably belonged to Jonathan Sohus. Investigators have requested a new round of forensic tests, Whitmore said.

Two women who were friends with Christopher Chichester in the mid-1980s told the Los Angeles Times they noticed that much of the backyard at the Sohuses' home had been dug up around the time they disappeared. Chichester told them there had been plumbing problems.

Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators tried to question Gerhartsreiter in Boston last week, but he declined. No charges have ever been filed in the missing-people case.

Rockefeller's Boston attorney, Stephen Hrones, said at a news conference Monday that his client has acknowledged using the name Christopher Chichester while living in California, and that he remembers the Sohuses.

Hrones said Rockefeller told him that he barely knew the couple and that they left while he was still in California.

"He was aspiring to be an actor out there. He was trying to get into the acting business and he thought it was a more appropriate name," Hrones said.

"There is nothing wrong with using aliases as long as you don't use it to defraud," said the attorney, who said Rockefeller also remembers using the alias Christopher Crowe while he worked on Wall Street.

Hrones said his client remembers little of his past, believes his real name is Clark Rockefeller and has no memory of being Christian Gerhartsreiter.

When told that Los Angeles County investigators had identified Rockefeller as Gerhartsreiter and Chichester, Hrones said, "They can do what they want with it, but he doesn't remember anything. He remembers nothing before 1993, except for little bits and pieces."

Los Angeles County investigators' findings appear to support an account by Alexander Gerhartsreiter, who said he is the brother of the man being held in Boston.

Found at his home in Bergen, Germany, Alexander Gerhartsreiter told Boston Herald reporters that his brother was the son of an artist and homemaker in Upper Bavaria who felt he was better than his modest upbringing.

He said his older brother is 47 and was born in Siegsdorf, Germany, then raised until 1978 in the same house where his family lives today.

Alexander Gerhartsreiter said his brother moved to Connecticut as a student and never returned, initially keeping in contact but out of touch since he called his parents in 1985.

After Christian Gerhartsreiter moved to Connecticut, he married a young woman in Wisconsin in 1981 and left her after the wedding, the Boston Globe reported. The woman's sister told the newspaper that she believed the wedding was orchestrated so Gerhartsreiter could get a green card.

Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hGbAirbzAI5iGCtDGLR58A4-gYQwD92GC9IG0

Sunday, August 10, 2008

White supremacists say an Obama win may offer them a boost

August 10, 2008

They're not exactly rooting for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., but prominent white supremacists anticipate a boost to their cause if he becomes president. His election, they say, would trigger a backlash -- whites rising up, a revolution of sorts -- that they think is long overdue

He'd be a "visual aid," says former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, in trying to bring others around to the group's view that whites have lost control of America. Obama's election, says another, would jar whites into action, writing letters and handing out pamphlets rather than sitting around complaining.

While most Americans have little or no direct contact with white supremacists, organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center keep close tabs. The law center estimates some 200,000 people nationwide are active in such groups. These observers think the prospect of a white revolution is fantasy.

White supremacists -- many call themselves nationalists or White activists, with a capital W -- have had limited political success: Duke served in the Louisiana Legislature. And the public has periodically been unsettled by their events, such as the effort by uniformed Nazis to march through Skokie, Ill., the annual Aryan Nations meetings in Idaho and elsewhere or the FBI's clashes with armed white supremacists in several Western compounds.

Source: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080810/NEWS15/808100442

Filipino Muslims vote as army battles rebels

The Associated Press

Published: August 11, 2008

Philippine Army soldiers line up to board a military plane bound for Mindanao, southern Philippines during a deployment at Villamor airbase in Manila August 10, 2008. Around 17,000 soldiers and police have been deployed to guard the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections and two additional infantry battalions will be dispatched this weekend to reinforce security after the military was distracted by the standoff in North Cotabato. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

MANILA, Philippines: Filipino Muslims voted in regional elections Monday amid tensions across the southern Philippines as troops battled hundreds of Islamic guerrillas who defied an ultimatum to withdraw from Christian villages in one province.

Government troops unleashed artillery fire and airstrikes Sunday on Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas in North Cotabato province's farming villages of Aleosan and Pikit, which the rebels occupied last month despite a 2003 cease-fire, officials said.

The army said at least six soldiers were wounded, and the government's disaster agency reported about 130,000 people have been displaced.

The government had given the estimated 800-1,000 guerrillas until Friday morning to vacate the villages. But instead of withdrawing, the rebels spread into other areas and are now in about two dozen North Cotabato villages, Gov. Jesus Sacdalan said.

The rebels were ordered by their leaders to pull back after discussions between MILF and Philippine officials on Saturday, but they later complained that their withdrawal was hampered by government troops and armed villagers.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said pro-military militias shot and wounded one rebel Saturday, prompting others to delay their withdrawal. Kabalu said a key rebel commander, Ameril Umbra Kato, told him in a meeting Sunday that his forces were willing to withdraw if there was a government assurance they would not be attacked.

The fighting in the predominantly Christian agricultural province of more than 1 million people on the main southern island of Mindanao did not directly affect Monday's election for a governor, vice governor and a regional assembly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

North Cotabato itself is not voting because it is not part of the five-province Muslim region, which was created after a landmark 1996 peace accord between the government and another large Muslim rebel group.

The MILF rebels rejected that accord and went on to negotiate with the government a broader autonomy for minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation's south.

The two sides had reached an agreement that would expand the territory of a future Muslim homeland but the signing of the accord was stopped last week by the Supreme Court, acting on a petition filed by Christian politicians in the south.

___

Associated Press writer Hrvoje Hranjski contributed to this report.


Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/11/asia/AS-Philippines-Muslim-Rebels.php

'Knights Templar' file suit against pope

A replica of one of three seals used by inquisitors at a trial 700 years ago, in which Pope Clement V absolved the Knights Templar of charges of heresy, is seen in Rome.
By Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters
A replica of one of three seals used by inquisitors at a trial 700 years ago, in which Pope Clement V absolved the Knights Templar of charges of heresy, is seen in Rome.


By Francis X. Rocca, Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY — A Spanish group claiming to be the heirs of the Knights Templar have filed a law suit against Pope Benedict XVI, seeking the "rehabilitation" of the once-powerful Catholic religious order that was disbanded 700 years ago.
The Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ also demands recognition — though not restitution — of $156 billon in assets that it claims the original Templars lost upon their dissolution.

The Knights Templar, officially known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, were founded in the early 12th century to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. But their growing military and economic power inspired envy, suspicion and accusations of heresy. Pope Clement V, under pressure from King Philip IV of France, disbanded the order in 1312.

The Templars' glorious and tragic history has figured prominently in legend and popular culture, including Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.

Last year, the Vatican published a document only recently discovered in its archives showing that Clement had actually absolved the order of heresy before dissolving it for political reasons.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Christian Madrid Vatican Catholic Pope Benedict XVI Da Vinci Code Holy Land Dan Brown Clement Knights Templar Templars Temple of Solomon King Philip IV of France

According to statements appearing on the plaintiffs' website, the current law suit was originally submitted to a Madrid court last December, and dismissed two months later. The group says it has appealed the dismissal, and expects a decision in October.

A report by the EFE news agency said the first judge dismissed the case on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction, since events so far in the past are "properly the subject of historians."



Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-08-05-knights-templar_N.htm

Georgia (S.S.R.) On My Mind

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Photos (Courtesy):
1:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00788/georgia-injured-mai_788251c.jpg
2:http://media.monstersandcritics.com/galleries/1328611/0143647150085.jpg

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Isaiah 53: The Forbidden Chapter

ISAIAH 53:
THE
FORBIDDEN
CHAPTER

copyright 1999 Rabbi Walter Leiber

Source: http://www.tikvatcleveland.com/Isaiah53.html

ISAIAH

52 13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up highly and exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him -
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man,
and his form marred beyond human likeness -
15 so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut
their mouths because of him. For what they were not told,
they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

53 1 Who has believed our message and to whom has
the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root
out of dry land. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows,
and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide
their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed
for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we were healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us turned to his own ways;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And who can
speak of his descendents? For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgressions of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was their deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer and
though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering. He will see his offspring
and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge my servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide
the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death and
was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many and
made intercession for the transgressors.

ISAIAH 53: THE FORBIDDEN CHAPTER

Forbidden! Human nature being what it is, what is forbidden intrigues us. It tends to make us desire something more than if it had received no special attention. Often to ignore something produces a more effective insulation against it for one who wants to screen someone else from examining it or knowing about it. When it comes to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the rabbis have utilized the more subtle strategy of avoidance to keep the Jewish people in ignorance of perhaps the most important chapter in all our Scriptures. So while technically Isaiah 53 has not been “forbidden” the effect has been virtually the same.

When was the chapter written and what was its purpose? The prophetic ministry of Isaiah last from roughly 740 - 680 BCE. A detailed elucidation of his historical setting isn’t necessary here except to point out that it led Isaiah to set before us more information about the coming Messiah than any other prophet in our history. The above chapter is justifiably one of the best known, except among our Jewish people, to whom it was originally addressed.

Most people who have even a vague acquaintance with the life of Yeshua (Jesus) see a profound correspondence between the description of the person in Isaiah 53 and the life and treatment of Yeshua. My own father-in-law is a good example. Many years ago I asked him if he would read the chapter and then tell me of whom he thought it was speaking. His reply, without hesitation or equivocation, was that it spoke of Jesus. I then asked him when he thought it was written. He was certain that I had shown him some 1st century “Christian” writing. When I said that it had been written by the Jewish prophet around 700 BCE, he was speechless. What could he say? He had just admitted that Isaiah described Yeshua centuries before he lived.

O.K., you may say, it does seem to have some correspondence with what I know about Yeshua, but I am sure that there must be an alternative explanation. I mean, what do the rabbis says? If it was really that obvious wouldn’t they have known it and told us, the ordinary Jewish people? The sad answer is, “Yes, it is that obvious, and no, they didn’t tell you.”

If you ask virtually any rabbi today, “Of whom does Isaiah 53 speak?” his answer will be that it speaks of the nation of Israel. In fact if you suggest any other explanation it will be given short shrift. It will be treated as if virtually the only possible “Jewish” explanation is Israel. Supposedly it speaks of the suffering of the Jewish people over the millennia. That is a plausible explanation. It does have a superficial likeness, but it ultimately fails for several reasons.

What your rabbi probably won’t volunteer is that the universal opinion of the ancient rabbis was that the passage spoke of the Messiah, and that opinion was only changed in response to centuries of Christians pointing out the fulfillment of the passage in the person of Yeshua. For instance, the Targum (a paraphrased translation from Hebrew into Aramaic) of Jonathan, a 1st century or earlier work, begins with, “Behold my servant the Messiah shall prosper.” The 14th century commentator Rabbi Moshe Cohen Iben Crispin states that those who for controversial reasons apply the prophecy of the suffering servant to Israel find it impossible to understand the true meaning of this prophecy, “having forsaken the knowledge of our teachers and inclined after the stubbornness their own opinions.” Their misinterpretation, he declares, “distorts the passage from its natural meaning,” for “it was given of God as a description of the Messiah, whereby when any should claim to be the Messiah, to judge by the resemblance or non-resemblance to it whether he were the Messiah or no.” 1

Isaac Abrahanel (1475-1508), a bitter opponent of Christianity, in his explanation of Isaiah 53, makes the following statement. “The learned among the Nazarenes expound it of the man who was crucified in Jerusalem at the end of the second Temple, and who according to them was the Son of God and took flesh in the virgin’s womb, as is stated in their writings. Jonathan Be Uzziel interprets it in the Targum of the future Messiah, and this is also the opinion of our learned men in the majority of their midrashim.” 2

Alshech (Rabbi Moshe el Sheikh, second half of the sixteenth century), who was the Chief Rabbi of Safed, makes this statement in his Commentaries on the Earlier Prophets, “Our rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of the King Messiah, and we shall ourselves also adhere to the same view.” 3

And even more penetrating view was expressed by Rabbi Elijah de Vidas, Cabbalist Scholar at Safed in the sixteenth century. He affirms that “the meaning of ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, …. bruised for our iniquities,’ is, that since the Messiah bears our iniquities, which produce the effect of his being bruised, it follows that whoso will not admit that the Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer for them himself.” 4 We’ll want to return to that comment later.

It should be clear from these profound rabbis comments that the “natural” explanation of Isaiah 53 had to be the congruence with the known facts of Yeshua’s life. During Yeshua’s life he offered the kingdom of God, the Messianic Age of Peace to Israel. The leadership of that day rejected him, whereupon he clearly prophesied that destruction would come to Jerusalem and the Jewish people would be carried away captive to every nation. The fulfillment of that is a simple matter of the historical record. Since then we have been suffering for and enduring the pains of our iniquities. Even when these things became more and more obvious, our rabbis became harder and harder to the truth. And we suffered more and more. By the way, if you have ever thought “Jesus can’t be the Messiah, because there isn’t peace in the world.” Don’t blame it on him. He made the offer. We said no. End of that debate!

But this is today. We can’t change the past. Besides, you may look at Isaiah 53 and think that it would be speaking of Israel. Maybe all of those earlier rabbis were wrong and we just had to suffer long enough as a people for it to become apparent that it really was speaking of the nation’s suffering. If you will give adequate consideration to the following points you’ll see the impossibility of that position being tenable.

1) There is no hint of anything like the plural in the passage at all. It clearly identifies one individual throughout.

2) The nations and kings recognizing this person connects with many other messianic passages, eg. Psalm 2, Psalm 72, Isaiah 11, etc.

3) If the prophesy speaks of Israel, who is the “my people” in Verse 8? Was Isaiah the prophet a goy?

4) How did Israel become a guilt offering? Verse 10 calls this person an “asham,” the Hebrew word for guilt offering. Does Israel’s suffering remove the guilt of the nations?

5) In the Scriptures an offering to God had to be without spot or blemish. Can anyone say that that is the case with Israel?

6) Israel is said to suffer for their own sins, not because of someone else’s faults or vicariousness.

7) Was Israel and unresisting sufferer? Hardly. Too many examples to the contrary are readily available from our history?

8) If the rabbis really believed this passage gave an explanation for the suffering of Israel over the last 2,000 years, you can believe that every Jew would be very familiar with it. Instead of being shunned it would be the most popular passage in the synagogue. Imagine if we really believed this passage explained the cause of all or our suffering, including the Holocaust. What if instead of meaningless agony we believed that these sufferings were being used by God to bring forgiveness and peace to all of the world. What profound meaning that would invest our history with! We would be shouting it ……..(is there supposed to be something after this?)

9) Lastly, try this experiment for yourself. Read the passage out loud twice. The first time substitute Israel every it says he, him, etc. Then the second time substitute Yeshua in each of those instances. Determine for yourself which has the ring of truth!

If you find that you do believe it truly speaks of Yeshua, what should you do? First, acknowledge to God that you were one of those sheep going astray and that you want to repent. T’shuva, repentance, means to turn from your own ways to God’s way. Our sin, going our own way, is what was laid on him to be atoned for. Then, acknowledge Yeshua as your atonement. His death in your place is what will enable you to escape the punishment due you for your sins and bring you to eternal life. Remember the comments of Rabbi Elijah de Vidas! Ask God to forgive you through Yeshua the Messiah and tell him you will no longer go your own way, but with God’s help, will only walk in obedience to his will for you as expressed in the Scriptures, Old and New Covenants. It would not be inappropriate to meditate on the infinite love of God that motivated him to send his Son to die in your stead and then allow your emotions to respond, as well as your intellect and will. You may even find that the love of God begins to break your heart and leave you in tears.

If you do not feel quite that deeply just yet, don’t worry. If you truly commit your life to the Messiah, you will have a lifetime, even an eternity, of going deeper in the love and peace and aloowing him to radically change you from the inside out.

  1. Quoted in The Messianic Hope, Dr. Arthur Kac, Baker Book House. pp 75 & 76
  2. IBID
  3. IBID
  4. IBID

Jesus Tried and Crucified



1And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.


2And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto them, Thou sayest it.

3And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.

4And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.

5But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.

6Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.

7And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.

8And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.

9But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

10For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.

11But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.

12And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?

13And they cried out again, Crucify him.

14Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

15And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

16And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

17And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

18And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

19And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

21And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

22And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

23And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.

24And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.

25And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

26And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.

28And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

29And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

30Save thyself, and come down from the cross.

31Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.

32Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

33And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

35And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.

36And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.

37And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

38And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

39And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

40There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

41(Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.

42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

43Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

44And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.

45And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.

46And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.

47And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.



Mark 15