Friday, October 25, 2013

End Time Prepping ~ Forever FREE By Bob Trefz



End Time Prepping ~ Forever FREE By Bob Trefz



MrPioneerlight2011

Published on Oct 21, 2013


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Perils of the Emerging Church by Steve Wohlberg




Perils of the Emerging Church



White Horse Media


Published on Oct 18, 2013


Pastor Steve Wohlberg speaks on the controversial topic of the Emerging Church, revealing the dangers that exist in the core teachings of the Emerging Church, how they are diametrically opposed to the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-14 (which represent God's last message of warning to a perishing world before Jesus returns), and how this threat has entered many Protestant churches today.

For more resources, visit http://www.whitehorsemedia.com

Copyright ©2013 AudioVerse.
Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US) license.

The ideas in this recording are those of its contributors and may not necessarily reflect the views of AudioVerse.
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It's no time to raise children

In my opinion: That time has passed!
But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
 Luke 21:23

As I hear the recent fatal incidents involving young men (boys) in the United States of America; I confirm my assumption that it's no longer a time for raising children.




To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.


Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Increasingly young men are involved in various types of atrocious crimes; and each new one surpasses our understanding of what humans are capable of doing when they are not guided by the Spirit of God; The True God, the God of Abraham, Issac and Israel.


But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Matthew 24:20-22



Cops release name of 12-year-old gunman in Sparks Middle School shooting in Nevada

Police have identified Jose Reyes as the seventh-grader who brought a 9-mm. handgun from home to kill math teacher, Michael Landsberry, and wound two 12-year-olds before turning the gun on himself at the Nevada school on Monday.

By Joe Kemp / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, October 25, 2013, 6:44 AM



Marilyn Newton/REUTERS


Officials said they tried to avoid releasing the name of the boy who shot up his school to protect his family.


The 12-year-old gunman who fatally shot a teacher and wounded two children before killing himself in a Nevada middle school has been identified as Jose Reyes.

The seventh-grader brought a 9-mm. Ruger semi-automatic from his home to kill beloved math teacher Michael Landsberry, 45, and shoot two other 12-year-olds in Sparks Middle School on Monday, police said.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/cops-id-12-year-old-gunman-sparks-middle-school-shooting-nevada-article-1.1496283#ixzz2ikNPuZKE


14-year-old followed teacher into bathroom, slashed her throat before she was found dead in woods: report

Philip Chism admitted to police that he followed math teacher Colleen Ritzer, 24, into a second-floor bathroom at Danvers High School — where he attacked her, according to a report. The teen used a recycling bin to bring her body to the wooded area behind the school.

 By Beverly Ford In Danvers, Mass. AND Joe Kemp / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Thursday, October 24, 2013, 7:57 AM
Updated: Friday, October 25, 2013, 8:34 AM


Twitter


Colleen Ritzer, 24, was reportedly killed after Chism followed her into a secoond-floor bathroom.


The 14-year-old boy accused of killing a beloved Massachusetts teacher has allegedly confessed to slashing her throat with a box cutter in a school bathroom before dumping her body in a nearby patch of woods, according to a report.

Philip Chism admitted to police that he followed math teacher Colleen Ritzer into a second-floor bathroom at Danvers High School — where he punched her in the face and sliced her throat, a source told FOX 25 News.



Patrick Whittemore/Boston Herald

Philip Chism, 14 — wearing a jail-issued white jumpsuit — was ordered held without bail after he was arraigned for the murder of Colleen Ritzer. Police did not provide any motive.

The teen stuffed the teacher’s body into a recycling bin, which he used to drag the dead woman to the wooded area behind the school on Tuesday, the news station reported. Students at the school told the Daily News that they spotted a blue garbage can with wheels along the edge of the parking lot, near where Ritzer's body was found.




Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/14-year-old-teacher-bathroom-slashed-throat-found-dead-woods-report-article-1.1495047#ixzz2ikNxegz5



California cops shoot dead 13-year-old boy armed with toy gun

Andy Lopez refused to drop his friend’s a plastic AK-47 rifle replica when police in Santa Rosa ordered him to on Tuesday, authorities say. 

By Michael Walsh / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, October 23, 2013, 1:22 PM



AP Photo/Courtesy of Lopez family

Andy Lopez was shot and killed by sheriff's deputies in Santa Rosa, Calif. after repeatedly telling him to drop what turned out to be a replica assault rifle.


Californian police officers fatally shot a teen boy Tuesday afternoon because was armed with what looked like an assault rifle — but it was a toy gun.

Andy Lopez, 13, was struck with several rounds from the sheriff's deputies' handguns and fell onto the replica in southwest Santa Rosa, authorities said.

He was declared dead at the scene.


Sonoma County Sheriffs Office


This fake gun was found on the boy after he was killed. The officers who shot him have been placed on administrative leave.

RELATED: INSTAGRAM USED AS GUN MARKET WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS

"Why did they kill him? Why?" the teen's tearful mother, Sujey Annel Cruz Cazarez, said to The Press Democrat after returning from identifying the body.


"I told him what I tell him every day," his father, Rodrigo Lopez, said. "Behave yourself."


CBS San Francisco

Officers handcuffed Lopez after they shot him, then cordoned off the area.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/calif-cops-shoot-13-year-old-boy-armed-toy-gun-dead-article-1.1494144#ixzz2ikPFJSoq

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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The New Testament Gospel of John in Farsi (Persian)



Gospel of John Farsi



Dave Flang

Uploaded on Jan 28, 2009

God's Story Farsi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwptN-...

FARSI - Gospel of John
A new Gospel of John for the people of Iran and the many Farsi speaking peoples throughout the world
Pictorial Cover- Page size: 210 x 145mm (8¼"x 5¾")
Product Code: FARJN
ISBN: 9781862281776
£0.60 VAT sales tax not applicable
http://www.tbs-sales.org/show_page.as...

Listen to a free Audio Bible online, or download a Free MP3 Bible - http://www.audio-bibles.com

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms 119:105

Albanian New Testament Hear the New Testament in Albanian.

Cantonese New Testament Hear the New Testament in Chinese Cantonese.

English King James New Testament Hear the New Testament in King James English.

Farsi New Testament Hear the New Testament in Persian (Farsi).

Foochow New Testament Hear the New Testament in Foochow (Farsi).

Hebrew Old Testament Hear the Old Testament in Hebrew.

Hindi New Testament Hear the New Testament in Hindi.

Hmong New Testament Hear the New Testament in Hmong (Blue Meo).

Khmer New Testament Hear the New Testament in Khmer (Cambodia).

Spanish New Testament Nuevo Testamento.

Russian Bible, Both Old and New Testament Hear the Entire Bible in Russian.

Teochow New Testament Hear the New Testament in Teochow.

Vietnamese New Testament Hear the New Testament in Vietnamese.
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The Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel According to Matthew (KJV)





tmantz625


Published on Feb 28, 2013


This is "The Sermon on the Mount", also known as "The Sermon in the Mount", from the holy book "The Gospel According to St Matthew", dramatized, from the King James Bible, set to some verse-by-verse KJV wallpapers I found online.

This is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful recording of the King James Bible in existence.

Thanks, blessings, honor, glory, and power to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the almighty creator, God, and Saviour, and author of these books.

For those who doubt these claims, please carefully examine the evidence set forth in the following documentaries.

"Non-Christian Historical Evidence for the Existence of Jesus" by Chris White, "The Bible - The Word of God? - Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary Evidence", "The Bible on Trial - Beyond A Reasonable Doubt", which is split into six ~10 minute parts, "Darwin's Dilemma - The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record" (2009), "Secrets of the Bible Code Revealed", Parts 1 & 2 (1998), "The Case for a Creator" (2006), the sequel "The Case for Christ" (2007), and it's sequel "The Case for Faith" (2008), and this next one not from Lee Strobel, "The Case for Christ's Resurrection" (2007), "The Privileged Planet" (2004), "The Star of Bethlehem" (2007), "Unlocking the Mystery of Life" (2002), "Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution" (2000), it's sequel "Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution II" (2000), and it's sequel "Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution III" (2004), "God of Wonders" (2008), "Finger of God" (2007), and the sequel "Furious Love" (2010), Chuck Missler's "What Is Truth - The Case for Biblical Integrity", Parts 1 & 2 (2006), "A Lamp in the Dark - The Untold History of the Bible" (2009), the sequel "Tares Among The Wheat" (2012), "Aquarius - The Age of Evil" (2010), "Age of Deceit - Fallen Angels and the New World Order", "Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings - Volume 1 - The New Atlantis" (2006), it's sequel "Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings - Volume 2 "- Riddles In Stone - The Secret Arcitecture of Washington D.C." (2007), the next sequel "Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings - Volume 3 - Eye of the Phoenix - Secret of the Dollar Bill" (2009), and the final sequel "Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings - Volume 4 - Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers" (2010), "Megiddo - The March to Armageddon" (2004), and it's sequel "Megiddo II - The New Age" (2006), "Countdown to Eternity" (2005), "Zeitgeist Refuted & Debunked", and many, many more; if you want more, just ask.
I found all of these for free on the internet, most of them here on YouTube but a few on torrent websites.

PDF → http://www.bibleprotector.com/KJB-PCE...
High Resolution 1611 → http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/sceti/...
Normal Resolution 1611 + Tons More → http://www.bibles-online.net/

If you want to follow Jesus Christ, write his words on your hearts and in your minds. Watch this video a million times over if you have to.
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Aaron's Rent-To-Own Chain Settles FTC Charges That it Enabled Computer Spying by Franchisees



22 Oct 2013 12:20

Written by Press Release



Aaron's Prohibited from Using Monitoring Technology, Must Obtain Consumer Consent Before Using Location-Tracking Software

Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--October 22, 2013. Aaron’s, Inc., a national, Atlanta-based rent-to-own retailer, has agreed to settle FTC charges that it knowingly played a direct and vital role in its franchisees’ installation and use of software on rental computers that secretly monitored consumers including by taking webcam pictures of them in their homes.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Aaron’s franchisees used the software, which surreptitiously tracked consumers’ locations, captured images through the computers’ webcams – including those of adults engaged in intimate activities – and activated keyloggers that captured users’ login credentials for email accounts and financial and social media sites.

“Consumers have a right to rent computers free of cyberspying and to know when and how they are being tracked by a company,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “By enabling their franchisees to use this invasive software, Aaron’s facilitated a violation of many consumers’ privacy.”

The complaint alleges that Aaron’s knew about the privacy-invasive features of the software, but nonetheless allowed its franchisees to access and use the software, known as PC Rental Agent. In addition, Aaron’s stored data collected by the software for its franchisees and also transmitted messages from the software to its franchisees. In addition, Aaron’s provided franchisees with instructions on how to install and use the software.

The software was the subject of related FTC actions earlier this year against the software manufacturer and several rent-to-own stores, including Aaron’s franchisees, that used it. It included a feature called Detective Mode, which, in addition to monitoring keystrokes, capturing screenshots, and activating the computer’s webcam, also presented deceptive “software registration” screens designed to get computer users to provide personal information.

Under the terms of the proposed consent agreement with the FTC, Aaron’s will be prohibited from using monitoring technology that captures keystrokes or screenshots, or activates the camera or microphone on a consumer’s computer, except to provide technical support requested by the consumer.

In addition, Aaron’s will be required to give clear notice and obtain express consent from consumers at the time of rental in order to install technology that allows location tracking of a rented product. For computer rentals, the company will have to give notice to consumers not only when it initially rents the product, but also at the time the tracking technology is activated, unless the product has been reported by the consumer as lost or stolen. The settlement also prohibits Aaron’s from deceptively gathering consumer information.

The agreement will also prevent Aaron’s from using any information it obtained through improper means in connection with the collection of any debt, money or property as part of a rent-to-own transaction. The company must delete or destroy any information it has improperly collected and transmit in an encrypted format any location or tracking data it collects properly.

Under the agreement, Aaron’s will also be required to conduct annual monitoring and oversight of its franchisees and hold them to the requirements in the agreement that apply to Aaron’s and its corporate stores, and to terminate the franchise agreements of franchises that do not meet those requirements.

The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement package containing the proposed consent order for public comment was 4-0. The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through Nov. 21, 2013, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Interested parties can submit written comments electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the “Invitation To Comment” part of the “Supplementary Information” section. Comments in electronic form should be submitted online by following the instructions on the web-based form. Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form near the end of the public comment period be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for the latest FTC news and resources.

Source: ftc.gov
 
 
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Obama Administration Spurns Contact with Journalists


Veteran journalists say the pervasive government surveillance and leak investigations are making people afraid to talk to them

By Gary Feuerberg, Epoch Times | October 23, 2013
Last Updated: October 23, 2013 1:50 pm



Leonard Downie (l), former executive editor of the Washington Post and currently Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, spoke at the New America Foundation, Oct. 17 on his report, “The Obama Administration and the Press.” (Gary Feuerberg/ Epoch Times)



There is a systematic effort to marginalize and undermine the work of the press.  Joel Simon, executive director, Committee to Protect Journalists



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WASHINGTON—A report written by the Washington Post’s former executive editor, Leonard Downie Jr., charges that American press freedom has deteriorated. The report blames the Obama administration’s aggressive stance against leaks and broad electronic surveillance in what was promised to be the most transparent administration in American history.

Sponsored by the Committee to Protect Journalists and released Oct. 10, the report finds that information on issues of great public concern is drying up as sources have become too afraid to talk to reporters.

Government employees and contractors—the primary source for government wrong doing—have become unwilling to talk to reporters under the government’s watchful eyes of their email and telephone conversations, according to Downie, who currently is professor of journalism at Arizona State University.

“The Obama Administration officials and employees are increasingly afraid to talk to the press. Every single journalist I talked to said that’s the case for their sources in government and whether or not they yielded classified information, but especially if it involves classified information,” said Downie, who summarized his report at a panel discussion at the New America Foundation, Oct. 17.

Article Continues after the discussion. Vote and comment

Downie writes in the report that numerous journalists told him that officials are reluctant to talk of even unclassified information, which may be regarded as unauthorized disclosures, because of the presence of the National Security Agency extensive surveillance programs of telephone and email communications exposed by Edward Snowden as well as the zeal of this administration to investigate and prosecute leakers.

Most troubling of all is the emerging belief taking hold that reporters can’t protect their sources.

Downie quoted several journalists, including national security journalist R. Jeffrey Smith: “I worry now about calling somebody because the contact can be found out through a check of phone records or e-mails.”

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Senior Correspondent and Associate Editor, The Washington Post, said on the panel, “Government employees refuse to engage not just on the record but even to speak on background till it’s cleared by the press office.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney dismissed journalists’ concerns, saying, “The idea that people are shutting up and not leaking to reporters is belied by the facts.” He attributed the complaints to a “natural tension” existing between any administration and the press.
Aggressive Prosecution

The Justice Department is using an old law, the 1917 Espionage Act, that was originally intended to prohibit spying for foreign governments. Today, it’s used to prosecute persons who disclose classified information, including Edward Snowden.

“Six government employees, plus two contractors including Edward Snowden, have been subjects of felony criminal prosecutions since 2009 under the 1917 Espionage Act, accused of leaking classified information to the press—compared with a total of three prosecutions in all previous U.S. administrations,” writes Downie.

In the course of coming down hard on the leakers, journalists who are recipients of the information become tainted and sometimes subject to criminal investigations and prosecution “for doing their jobs as journalists,” writes Downie.

Joel Simon, executive director, Committee to Protect Journalists, said that taking together all the various ways in which the administration discourages contact with the press, he must conclude, “There is a systematic effort to marginalize and undermine the work of the press.”

Exasperating the challenge to reporters is the “Insider Threat Program,” instituted by executive order, which is being implemented in every federal government department and agency, “which not many people know about,” said Downie. Casting a Big Brother chill, federal employees have been “ordered to monitor reports of any suspected insider threat activity, which includes communications with the press,” said Downie.

Officials say there is no cause for concern. In Aug. 2013, President Obama stated that his administration would work to reform some of the government’s surveillance programs, and told the American people that new tools for surveillance weren’t being abused.

“…the main thing I want to emphasize is I don’t have an interest and the people in the NSA don’t have an interest in doing anything other than making sure that where we can prevent a terrorist attack, where we can prevent information ahead of time, that we’re able to carry out that critical task,” the President said.
Ordered to Reveal Source

The report discusses several cases, and a few especially stand out that trouble free press advocates. First is the case of a former CIA officer who was indicted on charges for providing James Risen, a New York Times, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner journalist, information about a CIA attempt to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program, which was used in Risen’s book, “State of War.”

The Justice Department subpoenaed and seized dozens of telephone calls and emails between Risen and his source back in 2002. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled 2-to-1 that Risen would have to reveal his source because he was the only witness to the alleged criminal activity. Risen has vowed that he would choose jail rather than reveal his source in a courtroom. At the panel discussion, Downie announced that Risen’s appeal recently and that the case will likely go before the Supreme Court.
Justice Department’s Secret Subpoena of AP

One of the most troubling signs that the federal government had crossed a line was when the Justice Department informed the Associated Press that “it had secretly subpoenaed and seized all records for 20 AP telephone lines and switchboards for April and May of 2012,” writes Downie. The records were obtained of AP news bureau lines in New York, Washington, Hartford, Conn., and the press gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The AP had run a story in May 2012 that divulged the covert operation of the CIA in Yemen, which had penetrated al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Intelligence officials were very angry about this disclosure.

Even though only five AP reporters and an editor were involved in the Yemen story, a wide net was cast. AP President Gary Pruitt was outraged that records of thousands of newsgathering phone calls were seized of more than 100 AP journalists using newsroom, home, and mobile phones.

Another instance discussed widely is that of the secret seizure of telephone and e-mail records of Fox News reporter, James Rosen. In 2009, he interviewed Stephen Jin-Woo Kim who was later indicted for espionage. Downie referred to an FBI affidavit which asserted that Rosen had violated the Espionage Act in seeking and accepting information from Kim as if he were an accomplice, something which was quite disturbing for journalists and news organizations.

A secret subpoena was approved by Attorney General Eric Holder in May 2010. Three years later it was learned that Justice went back to court repeatedly “to avoid notifying Rosen and Fox News about the subpoenas in an apparent effort to monitor Rosen’s e-mail for other contacts with government officials. It amounted to an open-ended government surveillance of a reporter’s communications,” states Downie.
Striking a Balance

Strictly speaking, reporters don’t have special privileges different from ordinary citizens regarding awareness of criminal activity. While some states have shield laws, there is as yet no federal shield law for journalists, although there are proposed bills in both houses of the Congress. Nonetheless, an understanding has arisen between law enforcement and journalists that allow reporters to protect the identities of their sources when it “outweighs the government’s need for the reporters’ testimony to establish its case,” writes Downie.

It’s understood that journalists serve the public good by disclosing information that the government would rather keep hidden—not only exposing “waste, fraud, and abuse”—but also questionable policies and actions that the American people should know about, such as actions that are illegal or unconstitutional.

The role of the free press in a democracy is to hold our government officials accountable and often this cannot be done by reports from the press without confidential sources.

In cases where there is a conflict between a newspaper about to publish a damaging story and government officials, discussions are held and a proper balance is struck. It’s decided how best to publish the story “without causing unnecessary harm,” writes Downie based on when he was at the Washington Post.

For several decades, the Justice guidelines prescribed that issuing subpoenas was a last resort in a federal investigation. It was drawn up narrowly and news organizations were given timely notice to negotiate with Justice. Clearly, the Justice Department’s secret subpoena of thousands of AP journalists’ phone calls indicates that this policy is not being followed very closely.


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"Vietnam, Why Did We Go?” by Avro Manhattan


The Religious Beginnings of an Unholy War

The Shocking Story of the Catholic "Church's" Role in Starting the Vietnam War

By Avro Manhattan




Avro Manhattan (1914-1990).

Avro Manhattan was the world's foremost authority on Roman Catholicism in politics. A resident of London, during World War II he operated a radio station called "Radio Freedom" broadcasting to occupied Europe.

He was the author of over 20 books including the best-seller The Vatican in World Politics, twice Book-of-the-Month and going through 57 editions. He was a Great Briton who risked his life daily to expose some of the darkest secrets of the Papacy. His books were #1 on the Forbidden Index for the past 50 years!!

More About the Author:



With an immense collection of facts, photos, names and dates, Manhattan proves that the Vietnam War began as a religious conflict. He shows how America was manipulated into supporting Catholic oppression in Vietnam supposedly to fight communism.

Manhattan explains:


How religious pamphlets and radio broadcasts convinced one million Catholics to leave North Vietnam and live under Catholic rule in the South, overwhelming the Buddhists.


How brutal persecution of Vietnamese Buddhists led to rioting and suicides by fire in the streets.


Why the reports of what was really happening, written by American military and civil advisers, failed to reach the U.S. President.


Why the project backfired, and as U.S. soldiers continued to die, the Vatican made a secret deal with Ho Chi Minh.
Contents

Publisher's Foreword
Preface

Chapter 1

Preliminaries.

World War II, the Provisional Partition of Vietnam, and the Beginning of the Vietnamese Conflict.

Defeat of France and Japan - Vietnamese freedom-fighters declare the independence of Vietnam - A French Vietnamese puppet Prime Minister - Vietnamese Catholic Bishops appeal to the Vatican - The U.S. sends two warships to Saigon - Eisenhower helps the French in Vietnam - The Geneva Agreement - The l7th Parallel as "a provisional demarcation line" between North and South Vietnam - The Catholic lobby in the U.S. prevents a free election in Vietnam - Fear of a communist electoral take-over - President Eisenhower's candid comment.


Chapter 2

The Vatican-American Grand Alliance

Reasons Which Prompted the U.S. to Commit Herself to the War in Vietnam.

U.S. global policy following World War II - "Belligerent peace between the U.S. and Soviet Russia - Russian territorial expansionism after World War II - The U.S., Korea and the Cold War - The Vatican fear of world communism - The launching of political Catholicism against left-wing Europe - Religious mobilization against Marxism.


Chapter 3

Fatimaization of the West

Religious and Ideological Preliminaries to the Vietnamese War.

The "Cold War" as a step to the "Hot War" - The U.S. and the Vatican make ready for "THE DAY" - The conditioning of Catholics for the oncoming "Hot War" - The message of the Virgin of Fatima - The conversion of Soviet Russia to the Catholic Church - The political implications of the cult of Fatima - The pope and the Virgin encourage Catholic volunteers for the Russian front.


Chapter 4

The Pope's Blessing for a Preventive War

The Secretary of the U.S. Navy, Secret Chamberlain of the Pope, Prepares for World War III.

The crown which weighs 1,200 grams of gold - Our Lady appears 15 times to a nun in the Philippines - The American Jesuit and the miraculous rose petals - The American Secretary of Defense jumps from a window on the l6th floor - Cardinal Spellman, Senator McCarthy and the American Secretary of the Navy - The Boston speech and the call for an American "preventive atomic war."


Chapter 5

The Miraculous Zig-Zagging Sun

Pope Pius XII Uses Religious Emotionalism as an Incitement to War.

The Virgin Mary visits the pope at the Vatican - Pius XII sees the sun "zig-zag" - The prodigy and its political meaning - One million pilgrims want the conversion of Russia - The first U.S. ambassador designate at the Vatican attends atomic exercises in Nevada - The U.S. ambassador to Moscow prepares for the invasion of Russia - Description of the forthcoming invasion of Soviet Russia by "Colliers " - Making ready for the war of liberation The "Osservatore Romano" authenticates a miracle -The divine message to the Vicar of Christ.


Chapter 6

The Pope's "Preventive War" Miscarries.

U.S. Admirals, Generals and Diplomats Troop to the Vatican, President Truman's Despairing Comments.

Papal warning of the "barbaric invasion" - The American leader of the "Free Russia Committee" - Dulles appeals for "an atomic striking force" - Eisenhower and 12 War Ministers - 100 Divisions on the "ready" - Saturation bombing experts see the pope - Russian agents steal "the cipher books" of the Vatican - Vatican diplomats and their secret spying via religion - The CIA - 100 million dollars to train spies and terrorists - Uniforms with regulation shoulder flashes marked USSR, instead of USA - Anybody here who can speak Russian? - The pope promises the liberation of' Soviet Russia - Mystical conditioning of Catholicism for the outbreak of an atomic conflict - President Truman's despairing comment.


Chapter 7

The Men Behind the Vietnamese War.

Politicians, Generals, and Prelates and their Selection of the "Savior of Vietnam."

The U.S. and 400,000 tons of war material - The fateful compromise of the 17th Parallel - Joint Vatican-U.S. Asian strategy - Catholic anti-communist crusade, McCarthy and Dulles - A cardinal as a linchpin between Washington and Rome - J.F. Kennedy and the Catholic lobby - U.S. preparation for intervention in Vietnam - The U.S. signs the fatal Vietnam agreement with France - The U.S. takes over military duties in South Vietnam - Foster-child of the Washington-Vatican sponsorship of South Vietnam - A would-be Catholic monk for an American grey eminence - Diem's messiah-like complex - Diem becomes the premier of South Vietnam.


Chapter 8

The Virgin Mary Goes South.

The Catholic Imponderable in the Escalation of the Vietnamese
War.

Diem begins to create a Catholic administration - Diem refuses to hold elections as commanded by the Geneva Agreement - Diem's refusal is supported by the U.S. and the Vatican - The plan for the mass dislocation from the North - The Catholics of North Vietnam, a state within a state - The communist leader of North Vietnam appoints a Catholic bishop to his government - Catholics want preferential treatment - Scheme for mass exodus of Northern Catholics toward South Vietnam - "Why has the Virgin Mary left the North?" - Catholic mass evacuation from North Vietnam - Results of the Catholic-CIA -Diem propaganda campaign - Catholic priests as Diem's agents - A personal message to Eisenhower - The Seventh Fleet is sent to help Diem - Flight for Freedom with the American Navy - The pope's representatives meet the first refugees - Humbug fanfare from Washington - The greatest phony refugee campaign promoted by the CIA and the Vatican.


Chapter 9

The Pius-Spellman-Dulles Secret Scheme.

The U.S. Taxpayer Finances the Creation of a "Catholic Dictatorship" in South Vietnam.

The preparation for a massive Catholic community in South Vietnam - The setting up of a model Catholic state - The U.S. Catholic lobby begins to milk the U.S. taxpayer to help Diem - 40 million dollars to resettle the Catholics from North Vietnam - State officials and Catholic priests - U.S. aid, "to Catholics only" - Mobile Catholic unit to defend Christendom - A rural Catholic militia - Rapid Catholicization of South Vietnam - Catholics to the top - Become a Catholic for a quick promotion - Mishandling of U.S. aid to Vietnam - Buddhists persuaded to become Catholics - A top U.S. general becomes a Catholic - Discrimination against non-Catholics - The strengthening of Catholics from the communist North.


Chapter 10

The Promotion of Catholic Totalitarianism.

"Individuals Considered Dangerous May Be Confined to a Concentration Camp."

Discrimination against non-Catholic religions - Bribes, threats, agents and bitterness - Battles, riots and arrest of members of "hostile" religions - Further consolidation of the Catholic presence - Diem is given "dictatorial" power - Executive orders for concentration camps - American advisors support the new measures - Buddhists arrested without warrants - Interrogation, deportation, and torture of Buddhists - "Open" detention camps - Massacre and mass elimination of Buddhists - Buddhists become Catholic to save their lives.


Chapter 11

Consolidation of Terrorism

Anti-Protestant Legislation - Detention, Arrests, Tortures and Executions.

Catholic totalitarianism for a model Catholic state - Diem and the pope's teaching - The Church should NOT be separated from the state - Refusal of license to preach - A Catholic state cannot tolerate Protestant dissidents - Blue print for the elimination of Protestantism - Catholic education for a Catholic state - South Vietnam built upon the social doctrines of ten popes - "It is an error to believe the Catholic Church has not the power of using force" - The cult of personalism - Diem's American "civil advisors" send gloomy reports to Washington - Altars and shrines for President Diem - Catholic "commando squads" of South Vietnam trained at Michigan University - Identification cards for dissident Catholics - Arrests and executions of Buddhist rebels - 24,000 wounded and 80,000 executed - 200, 000 Buddhists demonstrate in Saigon - Diem decides to eliminate the religion of the majority.


Chapter 12

A CIA Spy Plane Cancels a Summit Meeting

The Cardinal Spellman War Replaces the "Preventive War" Planned by the Dulles Brothers and Pope Pius XII.

The two partners and their global objectives - Soviet Russia invades Hungary - Impending outbreak of World War III - The true foreign policy makers of the U.S. - The CIA promotion of American foreign policies - Collapse of the American-Russian summit meeting - The CIA and the spy plane - On the brink of atomic warfare "three times" - The U.S. threatens to use atomic weapons - The Church prays for "the liberation" - The "third" secret of the Virgin of Fatima - The Pope faints with "horror" - He calls for a war "of effective self-defense" - Communist expansion in Europe and Southeast Asia.


Chapter 13

The Vatican Attempts to Prevent Peace

Pope John XXIII Rejects Geneva Agreement While a U.S. Catholic President Goes for "Unlimited Commitment."

The Viet-Minh upsets the Catholic Church - The Geneva Agreement is anathema for the Vatican - Why the Vatican encouraged the U.S. to intervene in Vietnam - Why Diem refused to hold a 'free" election - Why North Vietnam wanted the "free" election" - What an American senator has to say about it - The cardinal who flew in American military aircraft - American troops the "soldiers of Christ" - Vietnam is consecrated to the Virgin Mary - The Pope creates an archdiocese in communist Vietnam - Pope John XXIII - ecumenism-versus-realism - The Vietnamese Catholic Mafia and the three brothers - Kennedy escalates the war - "Unlimited"commitment in Vietnam.


Chapter 14

Religious Persecutions and Suicides by Fire

World Opinion Forces U.S. to "Deplore Repressive Actions" of Diem.

The Catholic minority and the Buddhists - The sectarian volcano bursts out into the open - The Vatican flag in a Buddhist city - Celebration for Buddha's birthday forbidden - The giant gong of Xa Loi Pagoda - The Buddhists burn a Catholic village - The monk's message - Suicides by fire - Mass demonstration against Diem - Orders to close all pagodas - Buddhists killed by the Diem police - Buddhist students arrested and tortured - Refuge in the American embassy - The Americans are shocked at Diem's ruthlessness - The U.S. "deplores repressive actions" - The Catholic-CIA-Diem lobby minimize the Buddhist agitations.


Chapter15

End of the Catholic Dictatorship

Assassinations of Two Catholic Presidents.

Why the American embassy was against Diem's appointment - A disastrous choice - Kennedy's double dilemma - Diem's religious political priorities - Catholic dictatorships of Croatia and Vietnam compared - Diem and Pavelich's main objectives - Diem's religious operations endanger the U.S. war efforts in Vietnam - Buddhist deserters leave the Vietnamese army - Steps to avoid the disintegration of the army - American subsidies to Vietnam are suspended - CIA chief recalled - A free hand for a "Coup" against Diem - Diem and his brother are shot to death - President Kennedy is killed - Ten additional years of Vietnamese war - The final price, 58,000 young American lives.


Chapter 16

Catholic Expansionism in Southeast Asia in the 19th Century

Historical Background of the U.S. War of Vietnam.

Catholic elites with a Buddhist background - The brothers Diem, inheritors of ancient Catholic exclusiveness - Stepping stones to the Catholic conquest of Indo-China - The Emperor Thieu Tri and the revolt of 1843 - French gunboats and Catholic emissaries - The 1862 "Friendship" imposed upon Vietnam - Friars, nuns, and their civil and military protectors - Massive Catholic conversions to the "true church" - The Catholicization of French Vietnam during the last century.


Chapter 17

Early History of Catholic Power in Siam and China

Characteristic Precedents of Repression.

The French East India Company and the missionaries - The conversion to Catholicism of a Siamese king - Catholic discrimination against Buddhists - Ghastly deeds of a Catholic Mafia in Siam - Catholic and Frenchmen expelled and executed - End of the Vatican bid for the control of Siam - Siam forbids all Catholics for a century and a half - The Empress of China who became a Catholic - Empress Helena sends a mission to the pope - The Empress and the Jesuits plan to make China Catholic - Rebellion of the Mandarins - The end of a dream for a Catholic China.


Chapter 18

History of Catholic Aggressiveness in Japan

Conversions, Rebellions, Political Unrest and Civil War

Catholic missionaries welcomed to Japan in the 16th century - Japanese rulers, protectors of the Catholic Church - The Catholic Church begins to meddle in Japanese politics - Japanese Catholics fight the authorities - Civil unrest and civil war promoted by the Church - Catholic sieges and battles - Catholic persecutions in Kyoto and Osaka - Battles between the Jesuits, Franciscans and the Japanese Catholics - The Spanish captain and the Japanese ruler of Hideyoshi - Imperial ban against all Catholics - The Catholics of Japan take up arms against the Japanese government - The Jesuits lead an army of 30,000 Japanese Catholics against the Japanese rulers - The murder by the Catholics of the Governor of Shimbara - Bloody battles between Catholics and Buddhists - The Dutch help the Japanese to fight the Catholics - The Edict: All Christians forbidden to enter Japan for 250 years.


Chapter 19

Creation of a Dangerous Alliance

Retrospective Assessment of the Preliminaries of the U.S.-Vietnamese War.

The formula that worked in the past and which still works in the present - The "Cold War," the U.S. and the Vatican - U.S.-Vatican dual fear of a common enemy - Pope Pius XII, the Dulles brothers and Cardinal Spellman - Power of the Catholic lobby in the U.S. - The secret ambassador of the State Department and the pope - Messages by word of mouth only - The trio which helped the U.S. into the war in Vietnam.


Chapter 20

The Two Catholic Presidents and a Revolutionary Pope

The Collapse of the U.S.-Vatican Grand Strategy in Vietnam.

A cardinal, two brothers and Eisenhower - The prophecies of St. Malachy - The expectations of the first "American Pope" - Rift between two Catholic presidents - Politics before religion for Kennedy - Kennedy's dilemma - The election of a revolutionary pope and the shock at the State Department - The crash of the U.S.-Vatican anti-communist crusade - Pope John XXIII scolds President Diem - The Buddhist delegation goes to the Vatican - President Diem begins to endanger the U.S. war operations in Vietnam - Second thoughts in Washington - The step by step slide towards the Vietnamese precipice - President Kennedy and his desperate ambassadors - The final decision - The end of Diem and his brother.


Chapter 21

Secret Deal Between the Pope and the Communists of North Vietnam.

The Vatican Prepares for a United Marxist Vietnam.

The pope and Ho Chi Minh - Relenting of Vatican hostility toward North Vietnam - Pope John XXIII consecrates a united Vietnam to the Virgin Mary - Disapproval of the pope's dedication - Reaction of Cardinal Spellman and the Catholic lobby of the U.S. - The Vatican takes the first steps for the abandonment of the U.S. in Vietnam - Catholic mass exodus of emigrants from the North - Political implications - Ho Chi Minh outfoxes the pope.


Chapter 22

The Final Disaster

Disintegration of the Vietnam-U.S. Partnership in Vietnam.

Calamitous significance of the Pope John-Ho Chi Minh secret agreement - Their use of religion to attain political objectives The Virgin Mary to the help of a united Marxist Vietnam - The pattern of religious political exploitation - U.S. military escalation and the pope's "wind of change" - Secret cooperation between the Vatican and Vietnamese Marxism - The Catholic Church withdraws from the war in Vietnam - Adverse effects of the Vatican Moscow alliance on the war in Vietnam - The end of an American nightmare.



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Lech Walesa, former Polish president and Nobel peace winner, calls for ‘secular Ten Commandments’


By Cheryl K. Chumley



The Washington Times

Monday, October 21, 2013



Former Polish President Lech Walesa attends a news conference in Warsaw, Poland, ... more >

Story Topics

Lech Wałęsa
Poland



Question of the Day
Will the GOP's handling of the government shutdown cost them control of the House in 2014?



Lech Walesa, a past winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and former president of Poland, said on Monday that what the world needs is a new Ten Commandments that’s heavy on the worldly and light on the Judeo-Christian spirituality — a “secular Ten Commandments.”

Mr. Walesa, who won the Nobel prize 30 years ago for his leadership of Poland’s Solidarity trade union and the group’s peaceful end to communism in 1989, said the new Ten Commandments is needed to bring together the world under one basic set of principles, Newsmax reported.

“We need to agree on common values for all religions as soon as possible, a kind of secular Ten Commandments on which we will build the world of tomorrow,” he said, during the summit of Nobel Peace Prize winners in Warsaw.

He didn’t give solid examples of what those core principles would be — but the Ten Commandments already contain what many might consider principles of honest living that are pertinent to all religions, such as “do not steal” and “do not commit false witness.”

Others at the event include: the Dalai Lama, the 2003 Nobel winner Shirin Ebadi, the 1976 laureate Betty Williams and Hollywood star Sharon Stone, who’s due to receive the Peace Summit Award for her campaign against AIDS.


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German Catholics can only remain in the Church if they pay membership tax, rules court


Wednesday, October 23rd 2013 - 16:40 UTC


Germany's Roman Catholics can only remain part of the Church if they pay a membership tax, a court has ruled. All Germans who are officially registered as Catholics, Protestants or Jews pay a religious tax, worth an extra 8-9% of their income tax bill.




The German church levy was introduced in 1803 in compensation for the nationalization of religious property


This had been challenged by a retired law professor who said he wanted to remain a Catholic but not pay the tax. Last week, a new bishops' decree warned that anyone not paying the tax would be denied the right to religious rites. The German church levy was introduced in 1803 in compensation for the nationalization of religious property.

In 2011, the Catholic Church received 5bn Euros and the Protestant Church 4.5bn Euros from taxpayers, each adding up to the bulk of the churches' income, the BBC's Berlin correspondent Stephen Evans said.

He added that this arrangement, whereby the state collects taxes on behalf of religious groups and then reimburses them, was unusual in Western secular societies.

Hartmut Zapp, a retired professor of church law, filed a legal challenge in 2007, arguing that under Catholic doctrine, Church membership was determined by a person's beliefs and not by a financial relationship. The Freiburg University academic said he wanted to continue praying and receiving Holy Communion without paying the religious levy.

Judges at the Leipzig Federal Administrative Court, however, disagreed with Prof Zapp and ruled that there could not be partial Church membership. Their verdict follows a new bishops' decree issued last week, according to which anyone failing to pay the tax will no longer have the right to Holy Communion and religious burial.

Already alarmed by declining congregation numbers, the bishops were also pushed into action by Mr Zapp's legal challenge. They said refusal to pay Church tax should be seen as a serious act against the community.

Catholics make up around 30% of Germany's population but the number of congregants leaving the church swelled to 181,000 in 2010, with the increase blamed on revelations of sexual abuse by German priests.

“This decree makes clear that one cannot partly leave the Church,” Germany's bishops' conference said last week, in a decision endorsed by the Vatican.

Unless they pay the religious tax, Catholics will no longer be allowed receive sacraments, except before death, or work in the church and its schools or hospitals.

Without a “sign of repentance before death, a religious burial can be refused”, the decree states. Opting out of the tax would also bar people from acting as godparents to Catholic children.

“This decree at this moment of time is really the wrong signal by the German bishops who know that the Catholic church is in a deep crisis,” said Christian Weisner from the grassroots Catholic campaign group We Are Church.

But a priest from Mannheim in south-western Germany, Father Lukas Glocker, said the tax was used to do essential good works.

“With kindergarten, with homes for elderly or unemployed, we've got really good things so I know we need the tax to help the German country to do good things.”

While the decree severely limits active participation in the German Catholic Church, it does hold out some hope for anyone considering a return to the fold. Until now, any German Catholic who stopped payment faced eventual excommunication. Although the measures laid out in the decree are similar to excommunication from the church, German observers say the word is carefully avoided in the decree.


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Amnesty report on Pakistan drone strikes contradicts US assurances of precision (+video)


The US insists that almost all drone strikes in Pakistan hit legitimate targets, but a new Amnesty International report says at least 29 civilians have been killed since 2012.

By Whitney Eulich, Staff writer / October 22, 2013




Pakistani tribal villagers hold a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, in Dec. 2010 to condemn the US drone attacks on their villages in border areas along the Afghanistan border. Amnesty International today issued a report providing new details about innocent citizens allegedly killed in the attacks.
B.K. Bangash/AP/File

Gallery The future of drones in the US


A daily summary of global reports on security issues.






Whitney Eulich

Latin America Editor

Whitney Eulich is the Monitor's Latin America editor, overseeing regional coverage for CSMonitor.com and the weekly magazine. She also curates the Latin America Monitor Blog.





Gallery The future of drones in the US

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How much do you know about Pakistan? Take this quiz.

Terrorism & Security US drone attack kills 18 in restive North Waziristan, despite Pakistan protests

Terrorism & Security Obama admits 'worst-kept secret': US flies drones over Pakistan


The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Pakistan's leader repeats calls for halting US drone program as human rights groups release a report on civilian deaths from strikes. New alleged victim details include identifying a 68-year-old grandmother hit while with her grandchildren.

US drone attacks in Pakistan have killed at least 29 noncombatants since 2012 – deaths that could be categorized as war crimes, Amnesty International said today in a report released just a day before Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is set to meet with President Obama.

The report, “‘Will I be Next?’ US Drone Strikes in Pakistan” was released by Amnesty International in conjunction with a separate report by New York-based Human Rights Watch on US drone attacks in Yemen. The Amnesty report analyzed 45 publicly known drone attacks in the most commonly targeted region of Pakistan where the Taliban has been particularly active, North Waziristan, between January 2012 and August 2013.

The timing of the report's release puts perhaps the most sensitive issue in US-Pakistan relations in the spotlight as the two leaders meet.


RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Pakistan? Take this quiz.

President Obama publicly acknowledged a drone program in Pakistan in January 2012, and promised greater transparency in May 2013. “There must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured,” Obama said, noting that civilian deaths from drone strikes would haunt him and others involved in the administration’s hierarchy “as long as we live.”

Amnesty wrote in its report release that despite this, the US “still refuses to divulge even basic factual and legal information” on its drone program, which means little opportunity for victims’ families to press for compensation or take legal action.


RECOMMENDED: Monitor Frontier Markets Free Trial. Intelligent analysis on events in frontier/emerging countries.

“Secrecy surrounding the drones program gives the US administration a license to kill beyond the reach of the courts or basic standards of international law,” said Mustafa Qadri, author of the report.

“The tragedy is that drone aircraft deployed by the USA over Pakistan now instill the same kind of fear in the people of the tribal areas that was once associated only with Al Qaeda and the Taliban,” said Mr. Qadri.

According to Reuters, the Pakistani Taliban largely controls North Waziristan, in northwestern Pakistan, offering “safe havens to Al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban who are fighting NATO troops across the border.”


The United States has carried out 376 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, the [London based] Bureau of Investigative Journalism says, with the death toll put at between 2,525 and 3,613. Local media reported that up to 926 of the dead were civilians.

Most of the time, the dead are militants although their rank is often unclear, residents, militants and Pakistani security sources have told Reuters. Government officials frequently say militant groups have killed 40,000 Pakistanis since 2001.

In the first publicized drone attack since Obama’s May speech, the Pakistani Taliban’s second in command, Wali-ur-Rehman, was killed in a strike along with at least five others.

"This is a huge blow to militants and a win in the fight against insurgents," one security official told Reuters at the time.

The Pakistani government has long condemned drone strikes, often citing civilian casualties, as well as territorial integrity and Pakistani sovereignty. Obama is set to meet Sharif at the White House tomorrow, and on Friday the United Nations is set to debate drones and transparency.

In its report, Amnesty found that US drones killed a grandmother, Mamana Bibi, in October 2012 while she was picking vegetables near her grandchildren. Another strike in July that same year killed 18 laborers near the Afghan border as they sat down to eat dinner. A subsequent missile strike killed many of those who came to the rescue of the first victims.

A big challenge in tallying civilian deaths is the difficulty of saying with certainty whether or not a military-aged victim of a strike is part of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or another extremist group, the report authors acknowledge. However, family and friends often insist their loved ones “had no connection to extremists,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

“American intelligence officials and their congressional overseers argue that in almost all cases the strikes have hit legitimate targets. Sorting out the truth in individual cases is often impossible,” the LA Times reports.

According to The New York Times, in communities often targeted by drones – for example, the northwest Pakistani town of Miram Shah, which has been hit 13 times since 2008 – the psychological stress has been palpable.

While the strike rate has dropped drastically in recent months, the constant presence of circling drones — and accompanying tension over when, or whom, they will strike — is a crushing psychological burden for many residents [of Miram Shah].

Sales of sleeping tablets, antidepressants and medicine to treat anxiety have soared, said Hajji Gulab Jan Dawar, a pharmacist in the town bazaar. Women were particularly troubled, he said, but men also experienced problems…. ...

In the aftermath of drone strikes, things get worse. Many civilians hide at home, fearing masked vigilantes with the Ittehad-e-Mujahedeen Khorasan, a militant enforcement unit that hunts for American spies. The unit casts a wide net, and the suspects it hauls in are usually tortured and summarily executed.


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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

NSA's Utah Data Center Suffers New Round Of Electrical Problems


Tech
|
10/17/2013 @ 2:09PM

 


The NSA data center in Utah has had emergencies

The NSA’s Utah data center is still struggling to get up and running. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the site slated to hold exabytes of NSA spy data has been suffering from lightning arcs and meltdowns that have destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and prevented the NSA from using the center for its intended purpose: massive data storage and mining. The WSJ reported there had been ten incidents thus far. A source familiar with the project says the center underwent yet another shutdown over the weekend after electrical problems on Thursday and Friday.

The data center was shut down through Tuesday. The source says there aren’t “arcs and fires anymore” but that the experts on the site still haven’t figured out what’s causing the problems. They have figured out how to prevent flashes of lightning, though.


The NSA's Hugely Expensive Utah Data Center Has Major Electrical Problems And Basically Isn't Working 

 
Kashmir Hill Forbes Staff

 

As NSA Director Alexander Plans Departure, Here's How Former Top Spooks Cashed In On 'Retirement' 


 
Andy Greenberg Forbes Staff

“They’re seeing a pattern of where it gets to the meltdown point and they stop it before it blows again,” says the source. The source says that contractors have been injured and taken to the hospital due to electrocution, but not in the most recent shutdown.

NSA spokesperson Vanee Vines provided a statement about the problems at the site that had previously been provided: “The failures that occurred during testing have been mitigated. A project of this magnitude requires stringent management, oversight, and testing before the government accepts any building.”

“As we’ve said, acceptance testing is underway,” she added.

The facility’s headaches are not limited to what’s happening inside the building. A protest group, Restore The Fourth, has adopted the highway in front of the data center.

“The group plans to carry picket signs as it picks up litter,” reports the Salt Lake Tribune. According to a Facebook event posting, the group is planning its first highway cleanup/mass surveillance protest on Saturday, October 26. With the electrical problems plaguing the billion-dollar data center, rendering it inoperable, the group might prefer protesting government waste rather than spying.


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What's in a Name? - Bill Hughes





Jesus is going to win


Published on Jul 8, 2013

Besides the name Jehovah, God has other names. In this video Pastor Bill Hughes shows that God has many different names. The names not only tell us about God's character, but also show how God is faithful and caring towards us.
..

Explain yourself: France, Mexico irate over NSA spying (+video)



France summoned the US ambassador today after Le Monde reported that the NSA intercepted 70.3 million phone calls and text messages in France over 13 months.

By Arthur Bright, Staff writer / October 21, 2013




US Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin, right, leaves the Foreign Ministry in Paris, after he was summoned Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. The French government had summoned the ambassador to explain why the Americans spied on one of their closest allies.

Claude Paris/AP

A daily summary of global reports on security issues.



Arthur Bright

Europe Editor

Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor. He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog. He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney.


Recent posts


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NSA revelations: A timeline of what's come out since Snowden leaks began

France joins the list of US allies angry over NSA spying

France: another snooping state, says Le Monde





The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition



Both the French and Mexican governments are demanding answers from the US regarding new reports that the National Security Agency has been conducting large-scale interceptions of French telecommunications and hacked the email of the last president of Mexico.

The French government summoned the US ambassador today to answer questions about a report in Le Monde that detailed the volume of NSA spying on French telecommunications in December 2012 and early January 2013 – which the French newspaper totaled at 70.3 million phone calls and text messages.


"I have immediately summoned the US ambassador and he will be received this morning at the Quai d'Orsay (the French Foreign Ministry)," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters on the sidelines of [a European Union] meeting in Luxembourg.

Earlier, France's interior minister, Manuel Valls, said Le Monde's revelations that 70.3 million pieces of French telephone data were recorded by the NSA between Dec. 10, 2012 and Jan. 8, 2013 were "shocking."

"If an allied country spies on France or spies on other European countries, that's totally unacceptable," Valls told Europe 1 radio.

The US ambassador, Charles Rifkin, declined to comment on being summoned to the French ministry, Reuters adds, though he noted that French-US relations on military and intelligence issues were "the best [they've] been in a generation."


RECOMMENDED: NSA revelations: A timeline of what's come out since Snowden leaks began

According to an English version of the report published on Le Monde's website, documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show a pattern of high-volume, though apparently targeted, spying on French telecommunications. Le Monde writes:Amongst the thousands of documents extracted from the NSA by its ex-employee, there is a graph which describes the extent of telephone monitoring and tapping (DNR – Dial Number Recognition) carried out in France. It can be seen that over a period of 30 days – from 10 December 2012 to 8 January 2013, 70.3 million recordings of French citizens' telephone data were made by the NSA. This agency has several methods of data collection. According to the elements obtained by Le Monde, when a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS messages and their content using key words. Finally, the NSA apparently stores the history of the connections of each target – or the meta-data.




Although the exact subjects of the intercepted messages are unknown, Le Monde writes that what information is available "leads us to think that the NSA targets concerned both people suspected of association with terrorist activities as well as people targeted simply because they belong to the worlds of business, politics or French state administration."

Le Monde adds that American authorities declined to comment on the report, but pointed the paper towards a June 8, 2013, document offered by US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that said foreign citizens could not be spied upon "without a valid foreign intelligence purpose."

In a separate article, Le Monde notes that almost all of the NSA's focus in France seems to be on two communications websites: wanadoo.fr and alcatel-lucent.fr. Orange and Alcatel-Lucent, the respective owners of the two sites, declined to comment on Le Monde's report.

Le Monde's revelations about the scope of NSA spying in France come on the heels of a report in Der Spiegel, published Sunday, that the US agency had also successfully hacked the email of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon while he was in office.


A report classified as "top secret" said: "[NSA division Tailored Access Operations] successfully exploited a key mail server in the Mexican Presidencia domain within the Mexican Presidential network to gain first-ever access to President Felipe Calderon's public email account."

According to the NSA, this email domain was also used by cabinet members, and contained "diplomatic, economic and leadership communications which continue to provide insight into Mexico's political system and internal stability." The president's office, the NSA reported, was now "a lucrative source."

American journalist Glenn Greenwald and Brazilian broadcaster O Globo reported last month that both Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had also been spied upon by the NSA.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Mexican government has demanded that the US investigate the spying, which Mexico calls "unacceptable, unlawful and contrary to Mexican law and international law." The Times also notes that:


Some Mexicans will consider it particularly galling that the US targeted Calderon. The conservative president, who served from 2006 to 2012, allowed US security agencies an unprecedented amount of access to Mexico in an effort to fight off the powerful drug cartels. Some here viewed the increased US presence as a breach of Mexican sovereignty. 


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HealthCare.Gov Needs Five Million Code Lines Rewritten



By Andrew Johnson
October 21, 2013 9:13 AM


Obamacare’s online exchanges have been riddled with problems since they came online three weeks ago, and those issues may continue for at least the next few weeks. Contractors said fixing the problems by the November 1 deadline set by the administration would be “unrealistic,” according to the New York Times.

From the sluggish websites to garbled enrollment information, the flaws require the extensive rewriting of code: “One specialist said that as many as five million lines of software code may need to be rewritten before the Web site runs properly,” the Times reports — that’s out of a total of approximately 500 million lines of code, according to another expert.

Others experts warned that some of the website’s problems are yet to come. One technical specialist involved in the repair effort said, “The account creation and registration problems are masking the problems that will happen later.”


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