According to three studies released in the United States on Tuesday, experts believe the familiar sunspot cycle may be shutting down and heading toward a pattern of inactivity unseen since the 17th century.

"This is highly unusual and unexpected," said Frank Hill, associate director of the NSO's Solar Synoptic Network, as the findings of the three studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Solar Physics Division in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

"But the fact that three completely different views of the Sun point in the same direction is a powerful indicator that the sunspot cycle may be going into hibernation."

Solar activity tends to rise and fall every 11 years or so. The solar maximum and solar minimum each mark about half the interval of the magnetic pole reversal on the Sun, which happens every 22 years.

Hill said the current cycle, number 24, "may be the last normal one for some time and the next one, cycle 25, may not happen for some time.

"This is important because the solar cycle causes space weather which affects modern technology and may contribute to climate change," he told reporters.

Experts are now probing whether this period of inactivity could be a second Maunder Minimum, which was a 70-year period when hardly any sunspots were observed between 1645-1715, a period known as the "Little Ice Age." (2)

Six days after a post on the blog A Gay Girl in Damascus triggered panic among its readers by suggesting that the blog's author, who claimed to be a Syrian-American lesbian caught up in the protest movement, had been detained in the Syrian capital, a new entry appeared on Sunday that described the entire online diary as a work of fiction by an American man.

He got the idea to start a blog in the guise of his character, he said, when a Web site called Lez Get Real published two long comments about Syria that he had submitted in Amina's name in February. That Web site published a long apology on Friday, explaining that its editors had helped to start the Gay Girl in Damascus blog. In the comment thread beneath that apology, one of the editors of the site explained that the blogger's 135 contributions to Lez Get Real in recent months had all seemed to come from computers located in Scotland, not Syria. Mr. MacMaster moved to Scotland from the U.S. last year to study history.

María José Berzosa was 18 years old when she decided to leave her studies in medicine to enter a cloistered life with the Clarissa nuns at a convent in Lerma, Burgos, an order which is devoted to prayer, penance and contemplation and is seen as one of the most austere orders of the Roman Catholic Church. She was the first novice to enter the convent for 23 years.

She took the name of Sor Verónica and later became novice mistress and, by the time Sor Verónica became mother superior of the St Clare convent, while other Clarissa convents in Spain had not taken in any new novices for many years, the community had grown to such an extent that it had taken over the San Pedro Regalado Franciscan monastery in La Aguilera and had more than 180 nuns.

This vocational boom has been described as 'the miracle of Lerma'. Two other Clarissa convents are meanwhile now empty of nuns and are to be sold to the state to be converted into Paradors.

On February 12, 2011, at the age of 44, Sor Verónica became the leader of a new congregation, when the Clarissa nuns of Lerma became members of the order which was founded by Sor Verónica - the religious institute 'Jesu Communio'.

The institute was approved by Benedict XVI in December 2010, and the Vatican's representative in Spain, the Papal Nuncio, Renzo Fratini, was at the Cathedral in Burgos on Saturday afternoon to witness the birth of the new religious institute when the 181 former Clarissa nuns reaffirmed their vows.

Many of them gave up their university studies to enter the cloistered life and, with the exception of Sor Verónica, none is over the age of 40. Generally brought up in cities and from middle class families, they are seen as followers of the new evangelisation called for by Pope John Paul II. Público reports that many belong to neo-conservative groups such as the Neocatechumenal Way, Communion and Liberation, and Opus Dei.

The youth of the new order is reflected in the denim fabric which has been chosen for their habit.

The ceremony was presided by the Archbishop of Burgos, Francisco Gil Hellín, with the Archbishop of Pamplona, Francisco Pérez, and the Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo, Raúl Berzosa, who is the brother of Sor Verónica. The President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Antonio María Rouco Varela, was also there to witness the event.

In Madrid part of the time on the frequency becomes 'Astrocanal', which has more esoteric content.

The owner of Canal Català, Nicola Pedrazzoli, told El País that he does not consider it strange that a channel which defends 'traditional values' and has a 'marked Catholic identity', should produce spaces dedicated to Tarot and fortune tellers.

This is what we announced on March 19, 2002......and of course it did.

"Now is the time, the abyss is opening. Here is the king of kings of darkness, here is the Beast with his subjects, calling himself the Savior of the world. He will rise proudly into the air to go to Heaven. He will be smothered by the breath of the Archangel Saint Michael. He will fall, and the earth, which will have been in a continual series of evolutions for three days, will open up its fiery bowels; and he will have plunged for eternity with all his followers into the everlasting chasms of hell. And then water and fire will purge the earth and consume all the works of men's pride and all will be renewed. God will be served and glorified."

They embrace her defense of laissez-faire capitalism and individualism. In many respects, she is the godmother of all libertarians.

What some put aside, however, is the inconvenient fact that she was also an outspoken atheist.

A group of left-leaning Christians have decided to make an issue of this disconnect, putting some leading Republicans on the spot about the woman they think of as an intellectual hero.

A new political ad, created by the faith-based advocacy group American Values Network (AVN) and provocatively titled “Ayn Rand & GOP vs. Jesus,” attempts to drive a wedge into the Republican coalition by drawing attention to Rand’s anti-religious rhetoric. The ad is directed primarily at Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican whose budget plan was championed by Republicans and decried as overly austere by Democrats.

And while observers say that efforts to use the admiration that Ryan and others have expressed for Rand to sow discontent in the party’s conservative Christian base will gain little traction, there are some signs that Democratic groups like AVN are not the only religious Christians focusing on Rand.

Martin E. Marty, a prominent professor of the history of modern Christianity at the University of Chicago Divinity School, has also written recently on Rand and the acceptance of her ideas by some Christian conservatives.

“I don’t know anybody, including the well-known circle of atheists, that has been more overt, open and blunt in their denunciation of religion and also Christianity,” Marty told the Forward. “That’s just a puzzle to me that it’s just so overt, and yet they can sort of slice it out and say you can be selfish all you want, but it has nothing to do with your faith.”

The National Police identified the three as the local leadership of the shadowy international network of computer hackers known as Anonymous.

Anonymous is made up of people from various countries organized into cells that share common goals, the police said, with activists operating anonymously but in a coordinated fashion.

One of the three "hacktivists", a 31-year-old Spaniard ... had a computer server in his apartment in the northern port city of Gijón, from which the group attacked the Web sites of the Sony PlayStation online gaming store.

The same computer was also employed in coordinated cyber-attacks against two Spanish banks, BBVA and Bankia, the Italian energy company Enel, and government sites in Spain, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand, the police said.

.xxx (known as "dot triple-X") is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) intended as a voluntary option for pornographic sites on the Internet. The ICANN Board voted to approve the sTLD on March 18, 2011. It went into operation on April 15, 2011. (1)

The storied domain name sex.com is set to be sold for $13m, The Register has learned. ..... The price then was variously reported as being between $12m and $14m, making it one of the most expensive domains of all time. ..... Sex.com is a domain with history. Originally registered by entrepreneur Gary Kremen in 1994, it was soon hijacked by convicted conman Stephen Cohen. The theft was challenged in court, but it took Kremen five years to recover the domain, during which time Cohen was reportedly making up to $500,000 a month from advertising on the site. (2)

 
IW

A.  You kind words of encouragement replenish our "fuel tanks".

 Thank you for sharing with us this "window to your soul".

It should not come as a surprise to you that the words you wrote (from Point (A) to Point (B) above) could have also been written by miguel de Portugal.

The more one (truly) becomes of God the less one is of the world. At this point in my journey as m de P, the world - as is - holds absolutely nothing that could possibly be of interest to me with the exception of the souls who are expecting their call to awake to Him; the only reason m de P exists.

Regarding "it is becoming increasingly difficult with those I love who do not wish to hear or see, and continue down the road of consumption and denial" - we could write the proverbial book on that; therefore, we fully understand how you feel.

No, it is not easy, but all we can do for them is pray on their behalf.  In this type of situation, prayer on their behalf is the ultimate manifestation of Love.

Love is our burning desire that a soul sees the Light and makes the right move as the Prodigal son did (1). Thus the "love thy enemy, pray for thy persecutor" [Matt. 5:44], exhortations from Jesus. Love does not mean that we want to spend time with someone who is completely out of tune with our God-enhanced Reality. Love is our desire for their spiritual betterment, and then act upon it through prayer and example.

For a concrete example of that: As of late we have been offering many prayers for Mexicans; no, not the victims of the drug wars - although they are included in other global prayers we offer for those who die sudden and violent deaths - we pray for the criminals, the murderers and the drug lords since only God can change them. No government, no security forces, no threats can or ever will.

So, you see - you are on the right track, moving on the right direction, at a beautiful and encouraging rate and getting very close where He wants you to be.

Thank you for the opportunity to address this critical issue for the benefit of many.

__________________
(1) The Prodigal Son

About 200,000 Citibank credit card customers in North America have had their names, account numbers and email addresses stolen by hackers who broke into Citi's online account site.

Citigroup Inc. said it discovered that account information for about 1 percent of its credit card customers had been viewed by hackers. Citi has more than 21 million credit card customers in North America, according to its 2010 annual report. The New York-based bank, which discovered the problem during routine monitoring, didn't say exactly how many accounts were breached. Citi said it was contacting those customers.

The bank said hackers weren't able to gain access to social security numbers, birth dates, card expiration dates or card security codes. That kind of information often leads to identity theft, where cyber criminals empty out bank accounts and apply for multiple credit cards.

The M+G+R Foundation comments:

[80] And the child (John the Baptist) grew, and was strengthened in spirit; and was in the deserts until the day of his manifestation to Israel. [Luke 1]

[39] And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their city Nazareth. [40] And the child (Jesus) grew, and waxed strong, full of wisdom; and the grace of God was in him. [Luke 2]

Should you believe what miguel de Portugal says through the pages of The M+G+R Foundation? You do not have to believe it. What is written is only for those who have Eyes to see and have Ears to hear. Woe to miguel if he does not speak loud and clear. Nothing has changed in the manner in which God has communicated with His children in the last 6,000 years.

2.      The Vatican has given the doctrine of infallibility a very wide interpretation, so as to cover almost any Papal teachings with the mantle of infallibility.  Pope John Paul II said in 1993:

 

"Alongside this infallibility of ex cathedra definitions, there is the charism of the Holy Spirit's assistance, granted to Peter and his successors so that they would not err in matters of faith and morals, but rather shed great light on the Christian people. This charism is not limited to exceptional cases, but embraces in varying degrees the whole exercise of the Magisterium.  ...  We will close by noting that the exercise of the Magisterium is a concrete expression of the Roman Pontiff's contribution to the development of the Church's teaching."[5]

 

Therefore, as article 2037 of the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

 

"The law of God entrusted to the Church is taught to the faithful as the way of life and truth. ...  They have the duty of observing the constitutions and decrees conveyed by the legitimate authority of the Church. Even if they concern disciplinary matters, these determinations call for docility in charity."[6]

 

In other words, the Vatican says the faithful are to obey all teachings issued by the Catholic Church, in matters of discipline as well as in faith and morals.

The Vatican now extends its claim of infallibility even to the canonization of saints.  A 1997 decree by Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) says that "truths connected to revelation by historical necessity and which are to be held definitively" by Catholics include "the canonizations of saints (dogmatic facts)."[8]

If this ruling means what it says, those who deny that the founder of Opus Dei is a saint are out of communion with Rome.  Meanwhile, there's the counter-example of Joan of Arc, who was burned as a heretic in 1431, found innocent in a Church re-trial in 1456, and canonized in 1920.[12]

 

3.      In conjunction with this new doctrine on Papal authority, the trend since Pius IX has been to promote the Pope as a living icon and a media star, and to make him the center of Catholicism. 

4.      With the media-star status of current Popes goes encouragement of adulation of the Pope, and uncritical support for his teachings and actions. 

 

Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid says: "We call the Pope 'The Holy Father' because he extends heaven's paternal presence."[23] He adds, "The Lord kept His promise to be with the Church always, and this promise has been kept, par excellence, in the office of the Papacy."[24]  Madrid describes St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican as "the universal focal point of the Christian religion"[25]- even though the Basilica was funded, in part, by the sale of indulgences.  (It was these sales, directed by Julius II and Leo X, that sparked Luther's protest in 1517).  In the conclusion of his book-length defense of the Papacy against its critics, Madrid says that Peter "was the first in a two-thousand-year line of bishops of Rome who stand at the center of the Christian Church.  In a sense you can say the popes are its center."[26]  (Do you see the bait-and-switch being done: the substitution of a human ruler for God as the head and center of the Church?)

 

What Madrid says, many have echoed- including the current Pope.  On the day after his election, Benedict XVI told the Cardinals that during "the death and the funeral of the lamented John Paul II ... the entire world looked to him with trust. To many it seemed as if that intense participation, amplified to the confines of the planet by the social communications media, was like a choral request for help addressed to the pope by modern humanity which, wracked by fear and uncertainty, questions itself about the future."[27] 

 

Ratzinger seemed to put himself forward as the one to answer that "request for help," by reason of his election by God to the Papacy:

 

"If the weight of the responsibility that now lies on my poor shoulders is enormous, the divine power on which I can count is surely immeasurable: 'You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.' Electing me as the Bishop of Rome, the Lord wanted me as his Vicar, he wished me to be the 'rock' upon which everyone may rest with confidence."[28] 

 

These, indeed, are new teachings!  Who knew that "everyone may rest with confidence" in the God-appointed Bishop of Rome, or that the mass interest in the funeral of John Paul II constituted a "choral request for help addressed to the pope by modern humanity"

From (Mr.) JR  @ US

I have been accessing your web site for a number of years.  I have also been through most of your web site which has been extremely educational to me.  I
have never corresponded, and at this point am moved to introduce myself.

I have been considering for quite some time whether I should contribute financially to your organization, as from reading on the site you clearly have financial needs that aren't met.  I already contribute to a number of charities, so it isn't a matter of whether I should give, I just never felt like I had the spiritual "green light" to do so with The M+G+R Foundation.

Is there something you could share about the organization, how the money is used, etc., that would help me here?


A. Thank you for your interest, kind words and consideration. However, if a refresher about our function (1) and about the person of miguel de Portugal (2) does not provide you with the information/inspiration necessary to assist us, we prefer that you do not - even though we could use it as you have noted.

____________________
(1) Our Function
(2) About miguel de Portugal


Did you know that.... the NutriSmart system would put RFIDs (Radio Frequency ID) into your food for enhanced information? (1)

 
The M+G+R Foundation comments: Since these are edible RFD tags it does not take the proverbial Rocket Scientist to explain "what happens to the tags when you are finished with them".

But not to worry, there is not enough time for that.
________________
(1) News Report

Have you heard that.... current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more? (1)

In a recent study entitled Vitamin D and Prevention of Breast Cancer, that shocked the medical world, the findings suggest Vitamin D could prevent up to 50 percent of breast cancer. Women in the study who had the highest levels of Vitamin D had the lowest levels of breast cancer.

... a new research study has determined that drinking milk - the main vitamin D fortified food – does not raise vitamin D levels. This is because it is fortified with the less effective form of Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).

... sunscreen doses not prevent cancer – even melanoma. In fact, research suggests that sunscreen may actually cause the deadly skin cancer called melanoma which kills more than 8400 Americans each year. And we now know that many of the ingredients in sunscreen actually cause cancer themselves. Furthermore, sunscreen prevents 99% of the vitamin D production from the sun.

... in a complete overview of all the studies on sun exposure and melanoma, researchers found that while sunburn was associated with increases in melanoma, regular exposure to sunlight decreased the risk of melanoma by 18%.

...  non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) rarely spreads, is rarely lethal, and is easily removed with simple surgery. ... The sun prevents up to 16 other types of deadly cancer -- which do spread and do kill. So the benefits of the sun may far outweigh the small risks of skin cancer.

_________________________
(1) Source

From (Mr.) IW  @ US

In reference to the post of June 3rd (1) about the dangers associated with the use of cell phones....


IW

A. Thank you for sharing your professional opinion with our readership. The solution seems simple enough.

We wonder how many will put it into practice.
____________________
(1)  FYI&R Posts for First Half of June 2011

From (Mr.) WO  @ US

The priests of the sex abuse collective known as the Society of St. John (which abused boys in St. Gregory's Academy - run by the FSSP in the Scranton, PA Diocese - causing scandals, lawsuits, and broken lives) have re-surfaced.  In Paraguay. With the knowing approbation of the local bishop, Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano, of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. (1)

The bishop just happens to be a priest of Opus Dei. (2)

Am I surprised? No. From observation of the persons and details of this scenario, the link with the Opus Dei was obvious to me.

How else do we explain a young priest (Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity), with no real track record of parish/pastoral experience, being enabled and showered with ample funds to establish a "pious society" of clerics and laity? As if this 'apostolate' was mandated by God Himself and gleefully enabled by Prelates?

Have we not heard this one before?

The sheer number of such clerics and laity establishing 'new apostolates', as if they materialize out of thin air. Shades of LaSalette?


('Church', by extension, could also refer to religious institutions, organizations, or apostolates)

_________________
(1) Source
(2) Source
(3) Message of La Salette

A. Thank you for providing another concrete and verifiable example that it is "Business as usual" (1).  Meanwhile, the AntiChrist (2) continues to speak with a forked tongue, and most of the almost hopelessly disoriented Faithful listen with eager and obedient ears.

_____________
(1) Business As Usual
(2) The AntiChrist


From (Mr.) LP  @ US

I recently viewed two Frank Capra films from the World War II era about the rise of fascism. They were US government-sponsored training films for the military, and were later released for general use.
 
Several things stood out, in the "Why We Fight" film and the "This is Germany" film:
 
1. The War Department was explicitly against authoritarian rule (whether by dictators, feudal lords, or autocratic kings). They praised democracy, the rule of law, constitutionalism, and freedom of speech and religion. To show the common moral code of the religions, they quoted from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Koran, and Confucius. Equality and liberty were promoted as traditional American values.
 
2. The War Department explicitly blamed the German upper classes, including the political, military, and industrial leaders, for fostering the rise of Hitler and his Nazis.
 
3. Anyone who saw the "Why We Fight" training film would know that World War II started in September 1931, with the Japanese attack on Manchuria. The film said that September 18, 1931 should be as widely known and infamous a date as Pearl Harbor.
 
September 1931 ... just a few months (or weeks) after Lucia was told by Heaven that time had run out ... (1)
 
LP
________________
(1) From the real chronology (2) of the Fatima events:

"They did not wish to heed my request. Like the King of France,  they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars, and persecutions of the Church; the Holy Father will have much to suffer."   

The definition of  "later" is established through a letter from Lucia  to Pe. Gonçalves  dated January 21, 1935, wherein she states: "Three years ago Our Lord was very unhappy because His request (about the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary) was not fulfilled. I made that known to the Bishop in a letter."

"Three years ago" would place the date signified by "later" in the year 1931.  We have not been able to find a copy of the referenced to letter Lucia wrote to the Bishop, however, other sources have placed the exact date at August 1931. Although we cannot vouch for the other sources, the date that they claim such letter was written to the Bishop is coherent with all else; therefore, we will accept it as valid.

A group of hackers took over the organization’s computer systems on Saturday night.

Not to worry. You will not lose your cell phone. Mobile phones are such a lucrative business worldwide, and so many business activities depend on them, that even if they killed humans, their use will continue to be promoted and to flourish.

The World Health Organization's cancer research agency, has said that use of cell phones and other wireless communication devices are “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”

A World Health Organization panel has concluded that cell phones are “possibly carcinogenic,’’ putting the popular devices in the same category as certain dry cleaning chemicals and pesticides, as a potential threat to human health.

The finding, from the agency's International Agency for Research on Cancer, adds to concerns among a small but growing group of experts about the health effects of low levels of radiation emitted by cell phones. The panel, which consisted of 31 scientists from 14 countries, was led by Dr. Jonathan M. Samet, a physician and epidemiologist at the University of Southern California and a member of President Obama's National Cancer Advisory Board.

The group didn’t conduct any new research but reviewed numerous existing studies that focused on the health effects of radio frequency magnetic fields, which are emitted by cell phones. During a news conference, Dr. Samet said the panel’s decision to classify cell phones as “possibly carcinogenic” was based largely on epidemiological data showing an increased risk among heavy cell phone users of a rare type of brain tumor called a glioma.