Saturday, January 26, 2013

National Geographic:- The Desert Seas

Notice: I don't believe in the Theory of Evolution, so I do not agree with the so-called experts when they speak of millions of years ago or 10 thousand years ago.  The Earth is about 6 thousand years old.



Simon Peter


Published on May 26, 2012


National Geographic:- The Desert Seas


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Far-Reaching Influence of the Home (L'Influence considérable du Foyer)



L'Influence considérable du Foyer Emiliano RICHARDS (Restoring the Old Path - USA)


Abymes971

Published on Dec 31, 2012


Séminaire au Rocheton
Theme: La Vision
Dimanche 22/12/2012

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EEOC Settles Seventh Day Adventist Religious Discrimination Suit

LATEST NEWS


Experts say religious discrimination claims in the workplace are expected to be a growing problem for employers.

By Judy Greenwald
Published: January 2, 2013


Future Workplace,
Policies and Procedures,
Discrimination and EEOC Compliance,
Staffing and the Law,


A Birmingham, Alabama-based manufacturing company has agreed to pay $25,000 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for allegedly refusing to hire a Seventh Day Adventist, the agency said.

The EEOC said late last month that when James Wright applied for employment with Altec Industries Inc.'s Burnsville, North Carolina, manufacturing facility, he said that as a Seventh Day Adventist, he could not work on his Sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. The EEOC charged in its complaint that Altec decided not to hire him as a result, which it said violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In addition to paying the $25,000, under terms of the settlement, Altec also agreed to provide annual training on religious discrimination to all of its managers and supervisors at its Burnsville facility, among other actions.

Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC's Charlotte, North Carolina, district office said in a statement: "An employer cannot refuse to hire an applicant to avoid making a religious accommodation.

"Where there is a conflict between a religious belief and work rules, the law mandates that employers make a sincere effort to accommodate those beliefs, including at the application stage. We are pleased that the settlement with Altec provides injunctive relief that will benefit all the company's employees and future applicants."

A spokesman for Altec, which provides products and services to the electric utility, telecommunications and contractor markets, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Experts say religious discrimination claims in the workplace are expected to be a growing problem for employers.

Judy Greenwald writes for Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com.

Stay informed and connected. Get human resources news and HR features via Workforce Management's Twitter feed or RSS feeds for mobile devices and news readers.


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Untitled (In:Sight 2013 Film Festival)




unioncollegeNE

Published on Jan 17, 2013


This film was entered in the In:Sight 2013 Film Festival by Jack Sauder, a sophomore communication major at Union College. In:Sight 2013, sponsored by Christian Record Services for the Blind, challenged Union College students to create short films to help viewers understand the world of the blind. For more, check outhttp://www.ucollege.edu/insight2013.


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Now I Belong to Jesus



Lyrics and Composer: Norman J. Clayton





Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow'r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;


Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.


Once I was lost in sin's degradation,
Jesus came down to bring me salvation,
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame,
Now I belong to Him;


Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.


Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me
His precious blood, He came to redeem,
Now I belong to Him;


Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.


midi file


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Friday, January 25, 2013

Happy Sabbath


Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

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Court Rules Obama Recess Appointments Unconstitutional


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Obama to name new White House chief of staff



President Obama is expected Friday to name Denis McDonough, left, to be the new White House chief of staff. (Gustavo Amador / European Pressphoto Agency)




By Kathleen Hennessey

January 25, 2013, 7:37 a.m.



WASHINGTON -- President Obama will name Denis McDonough as the new White House chief of staff and announce other changes to his staff Friday afternoon, a White House official said.

McDonough is deputy national security advisor and a trusted advisor to the president, particularly on matters of foreign policy. He joined the Obama team during the 2008 presidential campaign after years as a Capitol Hill aide.

The new job will broaden McDonough’s role in the White House beyond diplomacy and foreign affairs. He coordinated the president’s policy to scale back the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan and was involved in the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. He also dealt with political fallout after the U.S. diplomatic mission was attacked in Libya.

McDonough will replace Jacob Lew, Obama’s nominee to lead the Treasury Department.

PHOTOS: President Obama’s second inauguration

McDonough, a Minnesota native, graduated from St. John's University and earned a master's degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. He worked as foreign policy advisor for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, before serving as a foreign policy advisor on Obama's first presidential campaign.

Obama will announce the new appointments at shortly after noon in the East Room of the White House.

Rob Nabors, the White House legislative liaison, will be named deputy White House chief of staff for policy. Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer will be named senior advisor, while Jennifer Palmieri will take Pfeiffer's title, the official said.

Staff writer Christi Parsons contributed to this report.



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Related:


File:Obama and Biden await updates on bin Laden.jpg

McDonough, seated, third from right in blue shirt, in the Situation Room during the Bin Laden raid.

Deputy National Security Advisor
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 22, 2010
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byThomas Donilon
Personal details
BornDecember 2, 1969 (age 43)
StillwaterMinnesotaU.S.
Alma materSt. John's University, Minnesota
Georgetown University
ReligionRoman Catholicism

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First Class of FEMA Corps Graduates in Anniston



The 231 FEMA Corp graduates will spend 10 months helping in disaster response.


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Community Emergency Response Team




The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program helps train people to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community.

The CERT course is taught in the community by a trained team of first responders who have completed a CERT Train-the-Trainer course conducted by their state training office for emergency management, or FEMA's Emergency Management Institute (EMI), located in Emmitsburg, Maryland. CERT training includes disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, and light search and rescue operations.

Over the next two years, the CERT program aims to double the number of participants, with over 400,000 individuals completing the 20 plus hours of training. Train-the-Trainer sessions will be held in all 56 states and territories over the next year to expand the program throughout the United States.

Learn more by visiting the CERT homepage.


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A Great Weekend for National Service


By Wendy Spencer

This weekend was a major moment for national service, and I want to share some of the many highlights that inspired me.

As the federal agency that leads the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, we worked closely with the Presidential Inaugural Committee to make the President’s National Day of Service and MLK Day into a Weekend of Service.

The result: Americans in all 50 states came together to make a difference. They delivered meals, refurbished homes and schools, collected food and clothing, signed up mentors, promoted nonviolence, supported veterans and military families, and much more.




On Saturday, I had the honor of serving alongside President Obama, Mrs. Obama, their daughters, and members of City Year, an AmeriCorps program, at the Burrville Elementary School in Washington, DC. It was remarkable to see the President and First Lady’s passion and commitment to service up close.

It was also great to see so many Administration officials and elected leaders at all levels of government engaged in and promoting service over this weekend.

Another example comes from a service project for our military families. Vice President Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, and members of their family joined thousands of volunteers, including Senior Corps and CNCS employees, at the D.C. Armory. They spoke with AmeriCorps NCCC members who helped organize the project.

It was a remarkable experience, and we must give a special thanks to our partners Target and Points of Light, as well as Operation Gratitude. Thousands of volunteers prepared care packages and sent messages of support to our troops, military families, and first responders.

Watch this short video and check out our photo gallery that capture the energy from this event and others.

As we reflect on the Weekend of Service, we want to build on this momentum. Let's remember the sense of accomplishment and collaboration that we felt, and bring more Americans into service.

Whether you're an individual who wants to serve your community, or an organization that wants to recruit volunteers, please visit Serve.gov. This site is our year-round resource where you can find a service project near you or register your group's event.

You can also share your service experience with us on facebook.com/serve and on Twitter via@servedotgov.

I'm fired up, and I hope that you are too. Join me in making service an even bigger part of your life.


Posted on 1/24/2013


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Geithner Exits Treasury as Lew Prepares for Senate Scrutiny



Friday, 25 Jan 2013 07:54 AM



U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, the most senior Obama administration official remaining from the team that grappled with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, leaves office today as his likely successor seeks Senate approval.

Geithner, 51, hands a more stable economy to Jack Lew, President Barack Obama’s nominee, as the administration bounces from one confrontation to another with Republican lawmakers on issues including the budget and the debt ceiling. Geithner hasn’t said publicly what his next career move will be.

As Obama’s former budget chief, Lew “is going to have a harder time than Geithner” in dealing with Congress, said Joseph Engelhard, a former Treasury official who is now senior vice president at Capital Alpha Partners LLC, a Washington-based consultant and investment advisory firm. “Probably the most polarizing question on Capitol Hill right now is when are they going to balance the budget.”

The House of Representatives voted this week to suspend the $16.4 trillion federal borrowing limit until May 19, removing for now the most contentious fiscal issue facing Obama. Republicans are trying to prompt the Democratic-controlled Senate to approve an annual budget, something it hasn’t done in four years, by withholding lawmakers’ pay if a spending package isn’t passed by April 15.

Key Negotiator

Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin will be acting secretary after Geithner leaves today. Wolin, 51, was a key negotiator with Congress on the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law. He’s a former chief operating officer of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and was a legal adviser to the White House National Security Council during President Bill Clinton’s administration.

Lew, 57, who ran a surplus for three consecutive years as U.S. budget chief under Clinton, has been meeting this week with senators who will vote whether to confirm him. The Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Lew’s nomination, hasn’t set a date for a confirmation hearing.

Senate Democrats including Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, Charles Schumer of New York and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan said they will support Lew. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama has said he will oppose him and Utah’s Orrin Hatch, the Finance Committee’s ranking Republican, said he hadn’t decided.

Lew is less familiar than Geithner with financial regulatory issues such as systemic risk and the so-called Volcker rule ban on proprietary trading, said Brian Gardner, a senior vice president and Washington analyst at investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. The rule is named for former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, an early proponent.

‘Fully Prepped’

“By the time he gets to the Senate Finance Committee he will have been fully prepped on all this and no one will notice that he doesn’t have a long history,” Gardner said. “I would be very surprised if he fumbled anything.”

While the budget is “going to be front and center,” Lew also will have to address how he plans to deal with foreign- currency issues such as how hard to press China on strengthening the yuan, said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. Lew will probably continue Geithner’s approach of quiet diplomacy rather than confront China, he said.

Since Geithner took office in January 2009 he has overseen the Troubled Asset Relief Program bailouts of companies including Citigroup Inc. and General Motors Co., steered the financial rules revamp, and negotiated with congressional leaders on the budget and raising the debt limit.

Decision-Maker

He departs after almost a decade as a top decision-maker on U.S. economic and monetary policy. He went to the Treasury after more than five years as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In 2008, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Geithner initiated the bailouts of Wall Street banks and insurer American International Group Inc., and allowed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to go into bankruptcy.

The bank portion of TARP, criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for being too generous to Wall Street, has been profitable. The Congressional Budget Office projected in October that TARP overall will cost taxpayers $24 billion, down from an estimate of $109 billion in March 2010.

In the quarter Geithner took office, the U.S. lost more than 2.3 million jobs and gross domestic product was shrinking at a 5.3 percent annual rate. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2012, 453,000 jobs were added, and the economy grew at a 1.2 percent annual rate, according to projections from economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

‘Terribly High’

Still, the U.S. has suffered what Geithner referred to in July 2011 as “unacceptably high, terribly high” unemployment. The jobless rate has fallen from 9 percent that month to 7.8 percent in December, matching the lowest rate in four years.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has more than doubled since reaching a 12-year low on March 9, 2009. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes declined from 2.84 percent at the end of January 2009 to 1.85 percent yesterday.

Even so, the deficit has surpassed $1 trillion in each of the last four fiscal years, and public debt as a percentage of GDP is the highest since 1950.

Spending as a share of the economy dropped last year to 22.8 percent, the lowest level since 2008, according to Congressional Budget Office data. That’s down from 24.1 percent in 2011 and a 64-year high of 25.2 percent in 2009, when Obama pushed through an $831 billion stimulus package.

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Flu Shot?



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"Let me be clear"



Four Years of Speeches, One Signature Phrase



TimeMagazine 


Published on Dec 21, 2012


President Obama is known for his eloquent speeches, but above all, he just wants to be clear

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It Is Well With My Soul






Uploaded on Jan 27, 2010


This song is from the album, "Together for the Gospel Live" from Sovereign Grace Music. ~


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The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy


Day Star

September, 1998

by Larry Wilson


Unfortunately, many Christians scorn the study of Bible prophecy. In other words, they do not appreciate or value the study of Bible prophecy and consider it a complete waste of time. How sad that so many people maintain a wrong spirit about this subject and regard Bible prophecy as though it were an unnecessary element included in the Bible. Through the years, many people have said to me: Understanding Bible prophecy is not essential to my salvation. The only issue that is important to my salvation is my relationship with Jesus. This incomplete statement condemns those who defend it simply because people cannot have a meaningful relationship with a God they do not understand. What I mean is that prophecy uniquely reveals the plans, purposes and ways of God. Our relationship with Jesus will lack a meaningful perspective if we do not understand His corporate plans, His role as man’s High Priest, His dramatic end-time rescue, and how He plans to extend the good news of salvation to every person on Earth. To say that we love Jesus, yet refuse to understand all that He has done and is going to do in the future is a surface-type relationship that lacks depth. Few people consider that the first advent and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary was also a fulfillment of prophecy!



.© Wake Up America Seminars, Inc., September, 1998

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Archbishop Forte on the Pontiff's Hand in Supporting Unity


ZE13012205 - 2013-01-22
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-36387?l=english

BENEDICT XVI'S ROLE IN ECUMENISM (PART 2)

Luca Marcolivio

ROME, January 22, 2013 (Zenit.org).


Ecumenism is taking great steps forward, thanks in part to a pontiff such as Benedict XVI, who is reforming the Church in accordance with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, says Archbishop Bruno Forte.

The archbishop of Chieti-Vasto recently made his five-yearly "ad limina" visit to the Holy Father, together with the other bishops of the Italian regions of Abruzzi and Molise. During his time in Rome, ZENIT spoke with about ecumenism, as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is under way.

Part 1 was published Monday.

ZENIT: Can instruments such as the ordinariates, established by the Holy Father for the reintegration of Anglicans, be a solution for other non-Catholic communities?

Archbishop Forte: Underlying this is an intuition of John Paul II who, in Ut unum sint, declared himself disposed to review the exercise of the primacy, so that it could be accepted by baptized persons of other Christian traditions. The idea is that there is a need to distinguish between the content of theological truth of the unity of the Church, entrusted to the Bishop of Rome, and the way it is exercised, which of course can be different as historical experience demonstrates.

There can be a spirit of unity that has made the Latin Church mature and there can be a spirit of unity as that which links the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Holy See. Moreover, there can be other ways such as the experimental form of the ordinariate for Anglicans. The formula of the ordinariate could be useful for those Anglicans who are particularly attached to the specifics of the Anglican tradition in the liturgy, in the way of prayer, without compromising, because of this, the full doctrinal and pastoral communion with the Church of Rome. Hence, we must be open to a plurality of possibilities, that is, to a communion that is realized, as for the Anglicans, in a simple and full communion with the Catholic Church, without reneging the good received in the Anglican Communion but bringing this good to fulfillment in the Catholic Church. There could be Anglicans who wish to find a communion with Rome that passes through a visible retaining of some elements that are characteristic of their identity and tradition. With his choices, Benedict XVI has shown that he is open to all possibilities, supporting them and encouraging them so that Jesus' prayer for Christian unity is realized.

ZENIT: How can Benedict XVI’s ecumenical successes be explained?

Archbishop Forte: In answering this question the Pope would say that if there are successes, they are solely the work of the Holy Spirit and that what has been attained is still probably too little in relation to what the Lord expects from his Church. This is one of his characteristics as a man of faith who sees things in the ultimate horizon and never exalts too much the goals attained to date. In other words, there is still so much to do. Ecumenism is still a great promise and a great call, in certain aspects also a great challenge. The worst temptation would be discouragement, to think that this unity can never be attained. Therefore, the Pope calls to react with great trust in God's work and in his will. The opposite temptation could be to hasten unity at all costs with steps that could be justified more by conciliation than by obedience to the truth. On this point, Benedict XVI puts us on guard: unity can only be built in truth. Moreover, Christian unity is inseparable from truth, hence unity-truth-charity are the three poles of a sole path that holds them together.

ZENIT: And what value has the attempt of reconciliation with the Society of Saint Pius X?

Archbishop Forte: Also in regard to this Pope Benedict has shown great charity and great openness. Summorum Pontificum and its applicative norms make it possible for someone who, in a manner open to Catholic fullness, wishes to live what has been the liturgical patrimony of the past. Personally, I am convinced that Vatican II's liturgy is truly rich and "traditional"; hence, I don’t understand how these nostalgias can ever be born; however, they exist, and the Pope has shown great respect and acceptance. However, there is an inalienable point on which the community founded by Archbishop Lefebvre will have to measure itself: the full and convinced acceptance of Vatican II in its doctrinal contents. The rejection of the Council is not the rejection of an individual moment of the life of the Church: its acceptance is an integral part of the acceptance of the Catholic Church as a whole.

ZENIT: How is ecumenical dialogue being lived at the diocesan and parish level?

Archbishop Forte: Ecumenism certainly entered the Catholic Church as something essential. Of course, every community lives it in a different way: there are churches that must confront Orthodox and Evangelicals daily on their terrain, and others that live this reality less. There are, however, basic principles that are followed by all. In my opinion, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, for example, will always be valued. Also in youth and adult ministries and in catechesis increasing importance is attributed to the prayer for unity.

In my diocese of Chieti-Vasto, there being many Orthodox, I have adhered to a request of Metropolitan Dervos, entrusting a church to an Orthodox parish priest. In an Adventist community, the pastor came to receive me with moving attention and love, inviting me later to talk to their theological faculty in Florence, on the Word of God. At the lived level, the ecumenical experiences are very serene: the same is true for the Waldensian communities, which have been in our midst for centuries.

There are only some fundamentalist communities, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, with whom no dialogue is possible because they don’t want it and flee from it, especially if they have before them persons with a good Christian formation. In that case, it's the maturation of Christian life that must be more eloquent than any word. I see, for example, that in some parishes one witnesses the return of many former Jehovah's Witnesses or their outright conversion. When, on the occasion of a pre-marital course, I asked former Jehovah's Witnesses why they returned, the answer was: "Because we feel free in the Church." The Christian God is not a God who scares us or imposes his will, but he is a God who calls us with bonds of love, and this gives much joy.

ZENIT: What is the profound significance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year?

Archbishop Forte: This year the subject of the prayer for Christian unity is based on a phrase of the Book of the prophet Micah: "With what shall I come before the Lord?" (Micah 6:6-8). The foundation of this reflection, chosen by a mixed commission of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, is the will to realize what the Lord wants for us. There are three fundamental indications: the first is the indication of piety, the Lord asks mercy of his own. Piety is that profound attitude of abandonment in God and entrustment to his absolute primacy. Micah asks that this primacy of the Lord be recognized as source and reference of all our choices. This point is the essential idea on which the Pontiff insists so much. In Micah entrustment to mercy is the sign of the continual search to measure oneself on the will of God.

In the second place, there is justice. As ecumenical commentaries show, justice is also understood in its strongly social dimension. The rights of the poor and the weak are recognized. Often cooperation in the service of the poor and achieving justice is possible, where doctrinal communion can't be carried forward, because the instruments are lacking.

Finally humility: we are not the protagonists of unity: it comes from God and what is asked of us above all is to invoke the work of God. I think that without humility it will never be possible to realize the unity the Lord asks for. This is why Micah's text becomes an important ecumenical program, especially at a time when some talk of an "ecumenical winter," when instead there is need to look with eyes of faith, because, on the eve of spring, the seed is dying to give its fruit.

[Translation by ZENIT]


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We Are in the LAST DAYS! ALL SIGNS FULFILLED!!




mark122west

Published on May 22, 2012

All the Biblical signs of the end times have been fulfilled and we are living in the last days. See this video for evidence of this generation living in the end times.

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While you were focused on the trivia...

Bread and Circus



People making noise over Beyonce lip-sync

Albany Times Union - ‎1 hour ago‎
No one is certain whether Beyonce Knowles lip-synced "The Star-Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's Inauguration on Monday. But everyone seems to have an opinion about it. A spokeswoman for the United States Marine Band said Tuesday ...

Katie Couric's Manti Te'o interview: instant reaction and analysis

Yahoo! Sports (blog)-by Jay Busbee-41 minutes ago
Earlier this week, Katie Couric scored the first on-camera sit-down interview with Notre Dame'sManti Te'o. The interview will air on Thursday on ...

Michelle Kwan's Wedding: The Skating Champ says 'I Do'

People Magazine-30 minutes ago
... Michelle Kwan mastered the art of keeping her emotions in check. ... "I thought I would at least make it to the vows," a laughing Kwan, 32, told ...

Michelle Obama has bangs: Let the analyzing begin

The Grio-3 hours ago
First lady Michelle Obama acknowledges the crowd as President Obama speaks to supporters and donors at an inaugural reception for the ...

Michelle Obama's eye roll: What was she thinking?

CNN-Jan 22, 2013
Washington (CNN) -- If President Barack Obama's relationship with House Speaker John Boehner was contentious in the past, he certainly ...

Michelle Obama's Jason Wu Dress for the 2013 Inaugural Ball—See ...

E! Online-Jan 22, 2013
Showing major brand loyalty, Michelle Obama stunned in yet another breathtaking Jason Wudress Monday night at the 2013 Inaugural Ball.




...............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,...................




JUST ONE SHORT DAY AFTER Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton appeared before the Senate and Congress defending her handling of Benghazi attack... after Hillary Clinton was put through the ringer.... WHAT A SHAM? she went out huffing and pounding...


There is another hearing on Capitol Hill: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds confirmation hearings on Obama's nominee for secretary of state John Kerry. 


Watch More News Videos at ABC | Technology News | Celebrity News

John Kerry Tears Up During Smooth Confirmation Hearing



And to round out THE POLITICALLY CORRECT -- SOCIAL JUSTICE WEEK:


Panetta Opens Combat Roles to Women




Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has announced his decision to open more than 230,000 battlefront posts to women. (Jan. 24)


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Now women can celebrate because they can die in combat in any country of their choice; there are no more obstacles for them if they chose to fight... freedom at last ...  

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Religious beliefs


Congressional portrait with U.S. flag in the background
Roman Catholic, Kerry was said to carry a rosary, a prayer book, and a St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of travelers) when he campaigned. However, while Kerry is personally against abortion, he supports a woman's legal right to have one, which puts him at odds with the Catholic Church. Discussing his faith, Kerry said, "I thought of being a priest. I was very religious while at school in Switzerland. I was an altar boy and prayed all the time. I was very centered around the Mass and the church." He also said that the Letters of Paul moved him the most, stating that they taught him to "not feel sorry for myself."[22]


2. Leon Panetta (1963)[27] – current Secretary of Defense; former Director of the Central Intelligence AgencyWhite House Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton
The Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara Law) is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, in the Silicon Valley region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_University_School_of_Law#Notable_Alumni

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Dem Rep to Hillary During Benghazi Hearing: ‘You Are a Hero’



By Andrew Johnson
January 23, 2013 4:45 P.M.


 

During this afternoon’s hearing in the House on the Benghazi attack that left four Americans dead, Democratic representative Juan Vargas took the time to lavish praise on Hillary Clinton: “You are a hero to many, especially women. You seem to bring out these deep aspirations that they have in ways that I’ve never seen before.”


Source


Related:

P.S. Finally found it on Thursday 1/24/2013 -

4:14 PM: Rep. Juan Vargas: "My daughter wouldn't let me in the house [if I didn't say] you are a hero to women." (Also: "I was a Jesuit for five years.")

Source: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/01/live-hillary-clinton-testifies-benghazi-hearing/61306/

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How the Vatican built a secret property empire using Mussolini's millions

Papacy used offshore tax havens to create £500m international portfolio, featuring real estate in UK, France and Switzerland


David Leigh, Jean François Tanda and Jessica Benhamou
The Guardian, Monday 21 January 2013 15.23 EST



Behind Pope Benedict XVI is a porfolio of property that includes commercial premises on London's New Bond Street. Photograph: Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis


Few passing London tourists would ever guess that the premises of Bulgari, the upmarket jewellers in New Bond Street, had anything to do with the pope. Nor indeed the nearby headquarters of the wealthy investment bank Altium Capital, on the corner of St James's Square and Pall Mall.

But these office blocks in one of London's most expensive districts are part of a surprising secret commercial property empire owned by theVatican.

Behind a disguised offshore company structure, the church's international portfolio has been built up over the years, using cash originally handed over by Mussolini in return for papal recognition of the Italian fascist regime in 1929.

Since then the international value of Mussolini's nest-egg has mounted until it now exceeds £500m. In 2006, at the height of the recent property bubble, the Vatican spent £15m of those funds to buy 30 St James's Square. Other UK properties are at 168 New Bond Street and in the city of Coventry. It also owns blocks of flats in Paris and Switzerland.

The surprising aspect for some will be the lengths to which the Vatican has gone to preserve secrecy about the Mussolini millions. The St James's Square office block was bought by a company called British Grolux Investments Ltd, which also holds the other UK properties. Published registers at Companies House do not disclose the company's true ownership, nor make any mention of the Vatican.

Instead, they list two nominee shareholders, both prominent Catholic bankers: John Varley, recently chief executive of Barclays Bank, and Robin Herbert, formerly of the Leopold Joseph merchant bank. Letters were sent from the Guardian to each of them asking whom they act for. They went unanswered. British company law allows the true beneficial ownership of companies to be concealed behind nominees in this way.

The company secretary, John Jenkins, a Reading accountant, was equally uninformative. He told us the firm was owned by a trust but refused to identify it on grounds of confidentiality. He told us after taking instructions: "I confirm that I am not authorised by my client to provide any information."

Research in old archives, however, reveals more of the truth. Companies House files disclose that British Grolux Investments inherited its entire property portfolio after a reorganisation in 1999 from two predecessor companies called British Grolux Ltd and Cheylesmore Estates. The shares of those firms were in turn held by a company based at the address of the JP Morgan bank in New York. Ultimate control is recorded as being exercised by a Swiss company, Profima SA.

British wartime records from the National Archives in Kew complete the picture. They confirm Profima SA as the Vatican's own holding company, accused at the time of "engaging in activities contrary to Allied interests". Files from officials at Britain's Ministry of Economic Warfare at the end of the war criticised the pope's financier, Bernardino Nogara, who controlled the investment of more than £50m cash from the Mussolini windfall.

Nogara's "shady activities" were detailed in intercepted 1945 cable traffic from the Vatican to a contact in Geneva, according to the British, who discussed whether to blacklist Profima as a result. "Nogara, a Roman lawyer, is the Vatican financial agent and Profima SA in Lausanne is the Swiss holding company for certain Vatican interests." They believed Nogara was trying to transfer shares of two Vatican-owned French property firms to the Swiss company, to prevent the French government blacklisting them as enemy assets.

Earlier in the war, in 1943, the British accused Nogara of similar "dirty work", by shifting Italian bank shares into Profima's hands in order to "whitewash" them and present the bank as being controlled by Swiss neutrals. This was described as "manipulation" of Vatican finances to serve "extraneous political ends".

The Mussolini money was dramatically important to the Vatican's finances. John Pollard, a Cambridge historian, says in Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: "The papacy was now financially secure. It would never be poor again."

From the outset, Nogara was innovative in investing the cash. In 1931 records show he founded an offshore company in Luxembourg to hold the continental European property assets he was buying. It was called Groupement Financier Luxembourgeois, hence Grolux. Luxembourg was one of the first countries to set up tax-haven company structures in 1929. The UK end, called British Grolux, was incorporated the following year.

When war broke out, with the prospect of a German invasion, the Luxembourg operation and ostensible control of the British Grolux operation were moved to the US and to neutral Switzerland.

The Mussolini investments in Britain are currently controlled, along with its other European holdings and a currency trading arm, by a papal official in Rome, Paolo Mennini, who is in effect the pope's merchant banker. Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which handles the so-called "patrimony of the Holy See".

According to a report last year from the Council of Europe, which surveyed the Vatican's financial controls, the assets of Mennini's special unit now exceed €680m (£570m).

While secrecy about the Fascist origins of the papacy's wealth might have been understandable in wartime, what is less clear is why the Vatican subsequently continued to maintain secrecy about its holdings in Britain, even after its financial structure was reorganised in 1999.
The Guardian asked the Vatican's representative in London, the papal nuncio, archbishop Antonio Mennini, why the papacy continued with such secrecy over the identity of its property investments in London. We also asked what the pope spent the income on. True to its tradition of silence on the subject, the Roman Catholic church's spokesman said that the nuncio had no comment.


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The best article ever written about ‘sybaritic gabfest’ Davos

Posted by Max Fisher on January 23, 2013 at 1:40 pm


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Prime Minister of Georgia Bizdina Ivanishvili, left, talks with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at Davos. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)


The World Economic Forum, also known as “Davos” for the Swiss mountain town where it is held, also known as the largest annual gathering of political and business elites up to and including heads of state, is impossible not to mock.

Maybe it’s the way that so many smart and powerful people seem to always end up saying so little of consequence. Maybe it’s incongruity, as this Dealbook article pointed out last year, of the rich and powerful gathering in cloistered splendor at a time of rising income inequality. Or maybe it’s just the mental image of former Russian President Dimitri Medvedev sharing a hot cocoa with Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat.

Whatever the reason, do not expect anyone this year to surpass the pinnacle of World Economic Forum satire, achieved in 2011 by Reuters blogger Felix Salmon with “The Triumph of Davos.” Writing from Davos itself, Salmon seemed bothered by the wide gap between the mood at the conference and the events in Cairo, where protesters were on day three of a Tahrir Square sit-in that eventually became the Egyptian revolution.

Salmon’s post (satirically) congratulated Davos on its “effective and timely intervention in Egypt,” which he said had finally disproven “cynics” who saw the conference as a “sybaritic alpine gabfest.” In reality, of course, despite Davos’s self-image as a world-changing collective of benevolent elites, the conference didn’t do much of anything for Egypt. Here’s more from Salmon:

With money from a large number of the Davos rich and communications expertise from broadcast, telecommunications, and social-media representatives, the manifesto put together in the space of just two days at the Congress Center became a clear rallying point not only for Egypt’s disaffected youth but also for their counterparts across the region. And with radical and democratic change now just a matter of timing, Arab countries saw that a peaceful transition to stable democracy was both possible and necessary. The rest is history.

Salmon asks of the Davos critics, “Did they think that the Forum’s commitment to improving the state of the world was simply a veneer designed to make an astonishingly expensive professional-networking event look vaguely respectable? Of course it wasn’t.” Ouch.

Substitute Egypt with Syria, for example, or the Sahel, or whatever other major global crisis you like, and Salmon’s post might still hold up. He concluded, “The triumph of Davos in 2011 has confirmed the World Economic Forum as an indispensable gathering-point for global leadership for decades to come.”


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Sinister Sites: IRS Headquarters, Maryland


Nov 28th, 2012



The IRS headquarters in New Carrollton, Maryland is a government building that, despite being constructed with public funds, contains art referring to elite secret societies. More importantly, the art conveys a strange message about the U.S. Constitution, and the American people in general. We’ll look at the symbolic meaning of the art found in front of the IRS headquarters in Maryland.



The IRS is probably the most hated institution in America – mainly because its primary role is to force people to hand over their hard-earned cash. This modern equivalent of the proverbial tax collector indeed collects money from American workers and gives it to a government that will, in turn, use this money to send drones abroad or to build information superstructures to better monitor these same workers. What’s not to like?

The IRS was originally created as a “temporary measure” during wartime (funny how the Canadian Revenue Agency was also supposed to be “temporary”), but there is nothing temporary about it now. In fact, the gigantic IRS complex in New Carrollton, Maryland was built in 1997 and is still growing today, indicating that this institution is indeed here to stay. This modern building has all of the state-of-the-art amenities one can think of, but it is the odd public art in front of it that is the most noteworthy. As is the case for many government buildings, the art displayed means absolutely nothing to most people, but to those who are versed in secret society symbolism, its implications are manifold and profound. In fact, fully understanding the origins and the meaning of the symbols in front of the IRS building means understanding who are truly in power in America (and around the world), what they believe in and what they truly think about us, the masses.

The IRS is not known to be a very artistic institution and likewise there is not much art present at its headquarters in Maryland. However, the few pieces that are on display manage to convey everything that needs to be known about the occult elite.
General Layout

The entrance to the IRS headquarters is guarded by two black and white pillars made of the highest quality marble, topped with white hands. Between the two pillars is a dark pyramid with a metallic capstone on which is written “We the People”. What does all of this represent? Here’s an “official” description:


“The most striking elements are the huge, white marble hands atop each column. Each hand points skyward, one with the forefinger extended; the other is an open hand, the fingers ever so slightly cupped.

The 1997 work is called “Vox Populi,” which is Latin for “the voice of the people.” The hand with the raised index finger represents deliberation, argument, the gesticulation of a speaker giving his or her opinion. The hand with an open palm represents the act of voting or taking an oath.”
- The Washington Post, “The Big Hands of the Law”

That is all well and good, but what does “Vox Populi” have to do with the IRS? Can citizens weigh in or vote on anything about the IRS? Why are the pillars black and white? Why is there a pyramid with a capstone between them? As it is the case for most occult symbols, there’s as basic (and unsatisfactory) interpretation given to the masses and a “real” meaning for those in the know. For those in the know, the art is a nod to the highest degrees of Freemasonry, the true source of power in America – not unlike what the Washington monument stands for.



The art in front of the IRS Headquarters features a pyramid with a capstone between two pillars. The black and white stripes refer to the Hermetic concept of duality.



This Masonic monument in Israel bears exactly the same elements: A pyramid with a capstone between two pillars. The stripes on the ground represent duality.

Let’s look at each element of this (not so) public art.

Twin Pillars

The symbolism of the twin pillars is ancient and very meaningful as it refers to the core of hermetism, the basis of secret society teachings. In short, the pillars represent duality and the union of opposites:


“The right Tablet of the Law further signifies Jachin – the white pillar of light; the left Tablet, Boaz – the shadowy pillar of darkness. These were the names of the two pillars cast from brass set up on the porch of King Solomon’s Temple. They were eighteen cubits in height and beautifully ornamented with wreaths of chainwork, nets, and pomegranates. On the top of each pillar was a large bowl – now erroneously called a ball or globe – one of the bowls probably containing fire and the other water. The celestial globe (originally the bowl of fire), surmounting the right-hand column (Jachin), symbolized the divine man; the terrestrial globe (the bowl of water), surmounting the left-hand column (Boaz), signified the earthly man. These two pillars respectively connote also the active and the passive expressions of Divine Energy, the sun and the moon, sulphur and salt, good and bad, light and darkness. Between them is the door leading into the House of God, and standing thus at the gates of Sanctuary they are a reminder that Jehovah is both an androgynous and an anthropomorphic deity. As two parallel columns they denote the zodiacal signs of Cancer and Capricorn, which were formerly placed in the chamber of initiation to represent birth and death – the extremes of physical life. They accordingly signify the summer and the winter solstices, now known to Freemasons under the comparatively modern appellation of the “two St. Johns.”

In the mysterious Sephirothic Tree of the Jews, these two pillars symbolize Mercy and Severity. Standing before the gate of King Solomon’s Temple, these columns had the same symbolic import as the obelisks before the sanctuaries of Egypt. When interpreted Qabbalistically, the names of the two pillars mean “In strength shall My House be established. “In the splendor of mental and spiritual illumination, the High Priest stood between the pillars as a mute witness to the perfect virtue of equilibrium – that hypothetical point equidistant from all extremes. He thus personified the divine nature of man in the midst of his compound constitution – the mysterious Pythagorean Monad in the presence of the Duad. On one side towered the stupendous column of the intellect; on the other, the brazen pillar of the flesh. Midway between these two stands the glorified wise man, but he cannot reach this high estate without first suffering upon the cross made by joining these pillars together. The early Jews occasionally represented the two pillars, Jachin and Boaz, as the legs of Jehovah, thereby signifying to the modern philosopher that Wisdom and Love, in their most exalted sense, support the whole order of creation – both mundane and supermundane.”
- Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages





The same way Masonic pillars guard the entrance of Masonic temples, two pillars guard the entrance of the IRS building.




Masonic art depicting the twin pillars named Jachin and Boaz guarding the entrance of a Masonic temple.


While not all pillars are necessarily Masonic, those in front of the IRS building contain other features that leave no doubt regarding their secret society connection.



The IRS pillars feature exactly 13 black and white stripes and a very significant hand sign.


Sharply contrasting with the rest of the building, the pillars are stripped in black and white, a pattern evoking duality, a concept that is visually represented on the Masonic mosaic pavement.



Probably the most important feature in Masonic lodges, the black and white checkerboard pattern is meant to be a visual representation of the concept of duality. Variations of this pattern do exist.

To make things even more explicitly Masonic (for those in the know) each pillar is comprised of exactly 13 stripes, a number that is of the utmost importance in Masonic lore (research the omnipresence of the number 13 on the American dollar bill). Considering the constant attention to occult numerology in Masonic art, this fact alone should be very telling.

Above each pillar are white marble hands. It is interesting to know that formal Masonic attire requires white gloves. One of the hands points upwards, towards the sky. While the official meaning claims that it refers to the act of public discussion and discourse, this hand sign, place in the esoteric context of the artwork, takes on a much more ancient and mystical meaning.

Named the “hand to god”, the “sign of Preservation” or the “hand of the Mysteries”, the sign of the hand pointing upwards can be found in many works of art that bear an esoteric meaning. It appears to be always associated with figures that are seen to possess “knowledge from the gods”.



The classic depiction of Hermes always depicts him pointing towards the heavens. Known as the “messenger of God”, Hermes is a central figure in Masonic lore. He is considered to be the teacher of theurgic sciences, therefore helping humanity ascend towards godhood (the word Hermetism derives from Hermes).



“Plato, an initiate of one of these sacred orders, was severely criticized because in his writings he revealed to the public many of the secret philosophic principles of the Mysteries.” – Manly P. Hall. In this classic depiction of Plato by Raphael, he is pointing upwards – probably because he “initiated” the world to some of the secret teachings of Mystery schools.



This Masonic item for sale at 1stdibs.com features the same hand sign as found in front of the IRS building.

In the context of esoteric teachings, a human pointing towards God can represent the ultimate goal of the Mysteries: Ascending from the state of mere mortal to achieve godhood.

The hand above the other pillar does not point towards the sky, but is rather opened. While pointing towards somewhere means moving into that direction, an opened palm is traditionally associated with “stop” or “halt”. In Masonic symbolism, the twin pillars are often topped with contrasting symbols (the sun and the moon or globes representing earth and heavens). Could the white hands above the pillars represent the same opposite notions of godhood (pointing towards god) and earthly materiality (halt sign)?

On these Masonic pillars are etched various quotes regarding the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Some of them are quite odd in the context of today, such this one by Barbara Jordan:



“The Bill of Rights was not ordained by Nature or God. It’s very human, very fragile.” Hmmm, that’s … unsettling.

Considering the fact that a bunch of laws blatantly violating the Bill of Rights (notably the First and Fourth Amendment) were enacted shortly after this building was erected, one can ask if this quote wasn’t some kind of a warning. As we see new police-state-style laws violating privacy, free speech and encouraging oppression, we can definitely conclude that the elite views the Bill of Rights as something “very human, very fragile” that can easily be violated. While the above quote can be interpreted as a reminder to not take the Bill of Rights for granted, in the context of its location, it conveys an unsettling message about how it can easily be tampered with … and even disappear. Think I’m going too far? Check out this next piece.

The Pyramid



Between the two pillars is the most recognizable symbol representing the occult elite: A pyramid with a shiny capstone. On the pyramid is written the US Constitution, which famously starts with “We the People”. Looking closer at this sculptures, several questions come to mind.

First, why is the U.S. Constitution etched on a symbol that is associated with occult secret societies whose highest degrees are restricted to “elite men”? Isn’t there a contradiction here? Second, it is somewhat clear that the charcoal-colored base of the pyramid represents the masses (it is written “We the People” right on it), while the shiny, illuminated capstone represents the “illuminated” elite. Isn’t this … elitist? Does the capstone that is standing above the pyramid and the U.S. Constitution mean that the elite is above the law? Finally, why isn’t the Bill of Rights on the pyramid? Is it because it is “very human, very fragile”? Is it considered outdated by the NWO elite? As it is the case for many Sinister Sites described on Vigilant Citizen, this barely noticeable artwork contains an infinitely of dark implications.
In Conclusion

In this edition of Sinister Sites, we looked at a relatively small amount of items that nonetheless conveyed a massive amount of symbolism. Far from being merely decorative, the art in front of the IRS building in Maryland describes in a symbolic matter the true source of power behind the American (and world) government, its spiritual and political philosophy, its perception of the masses and so forth. But while the symbolism is unmistakably Masonic, your local front-porch Freemasons have nothing to do with the occult elite. Those in power are part of the highest, hidden levels of the order – what we like to call the Illuminati.

While the IRS doesn’t shy away from collecting money from every single American worker in the United States, the occult symbols in front of its headquarters is not definitely not meant for every single American worker. It is meant to be understood by a very few “select” ones – the same way real power is owned by a very few “select” ones. Why are there symbols associated with secretive and elite groups displayed on buildings that are supposedly public? Isn’t this a contradiction?

While some might say that the true, mystical meaning behind these symbols is not inherently evil, the real upsetting part is that those “in the capstone” are clearly telling us that those at the base of the pyramid are not meant to understand these things. They are meant to be distracted and controlled in order to fund the elite while not causing too much damage … and that’s about it. And the IRS is part of the equation.

Contrarily to the “official” meaning of the pointing hand, no citizen has a say on the policies of these institution or even what they display in front of their building. It is rather those in the capstone that dictate what will happening to “We the People” … even if it means making the Bill of Rights disappear. As the official IRS motto goes: Service plus Enforcement equals Compliance. In short, maybe the finger that is pointing upwards should be the middle one.


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