The M+G+R Foundation
Current News CommentaryJune 29th, 2013 [Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles]
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Retired general target of leaks probe. (1)
A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is
under investigation for allegedly leaking classified information about a covert cyberattack
on Iran's nuclear facilities, according to media reports.
Retired Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright has been told he is a target of the probe, NBC News and The Washington Post reported Thursday. A "target" is someone a prosecutor or grand jury has substantial evidence linking to a crime and who is likely to be charged.
The Justice Department referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore, where a spokeswoman, Marcia Murphy, declined to comment.
The investigation of the leak about the Iran cyberattack is one of a number of national security leak investigations that have been started by the Obama administration, including ones involving The Associated Press and Fox News.
Cartwright, once considered the leading candidate to become Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, resigned from the military in August 2011.
Retired Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright has been told he is a target of the probe, NBC News and The Washington Post reported Thursday. A "target" is someone a prosecutor or grand jury has substantial evidence linking to a crime and who is likely to be charged.
The Justice Department referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore, where a spokeswoman, Marcia Murphy, declined to comment.
The investigation of the leak about the Iran cyberattack is one of a number of national security leak investigations that have been started by the Obama administration, including ones involving The Associated Press and Fox News.
Cartwright, once considered the leading candidate to become Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, resigned from the military in August 2011.
miguel de Portugal comments: As the saying goes: "The 'leaking bug' must be in the air":
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Senior Vatican cleric arrested in corruption investigation. (1)
A senior Vatican cleric suspected of trying to help rich
friends bring millions of euros into Italy illegally was arrested on Friday as part of an
investigation into the Vatican bank, police sources and his lawyer said.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, 61, worked as a senior accountant in the Vatican's financial administration and is already involved in another investigation by magistrates in southern Italy.
He was arrested in a parish in the outskirts of Rome and taken to the city's Queen of Heaven jail, his lawyer Silverio Sica told Reuters. Also arrested in the investigation were a member of Italy's secret services and a financial broker.
Sica said Scarano was accused of being involved in an attempt to help friends bring 20 million euros ($26 million) into Italy from Switzerland by plane in league with the secret service agent and the financial intermediary.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, 61, worked as a senior accountant in the Vatican's financial administration and is already involved in another investigation by magistrates in southern Italy.
He was arrested in a parish in the outskirts of Rome and taken to the city's Queen of Heaven jail, his lawyer Silverio Sica told Reuters. Also arrested in the investigation were a member of Italy's secret services and a financial broker.
Sica said Scarano was accused of being involved in an attempt to help friends bring 20 million euros ($26 million) into Italy from Switzerland by plane in league with the secret service agent and the financial intermediary.
miguel de Portugal comments: Another "air borne" infection.....
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Vatican Rentboy and Satanism Claims Revealed by Paedophile Priest Don Patrizio Poggi. (1)
Serving and former priests hired rentboys for sex in churches from
pimp who sold consecrated hosts to satanists, says
defrocked clergyman.
Italian investigators have opened an inquiry into claims by a convicted paedophile priest that an underage prostitution ring has been operating inside the Holy Roman Church with clergymen hiring rentboys for sex inside churches. Don Patrizio Poggi, 46, told Italian authorities that a former Carabinieri pimped boys for nine clergymen.
Poggi, who served a five-year sentence for abusing teenage boys while he was a parish priest at the San Filippo Neri church in Rome, said he made the allegations to "protect the Holy Church and the Christian community." The boys were paid €150- €500 (£130-£425) to perform sex acts in church premises across the capital.
Poggi also accused the former Carabinieri of selling consecrated hosts for satanic rites. Poggi reportedly presented documentary and photographic evidence to police in the company of two senior Vatican clergymen who vouched for his credibility. Poggi identified the nine clergymen, including two senior church officials and a religion lecturer. Three people have been placed under formal investigation.
Italian investigators have opened an inquiry into claims by a convicted paedophile priest that an underage prostitution ring has been operating inside the Holy Roman Church with clergymen hiring rentboys for sex inside churches. Don Patrizio Poggi, 46, told Italian authorities that a former Carabinieri pimped boys for nine clergymen.
Poggi, who served a five-year sentence for abusing teenage boys while he was a parish priest at the San Filippo Neri church in Rome, said he made the allegations to "protect the Holy Church and the Christian community." The boys were paid €150- €500 (£130-£425) to perform sex acts in church premises across the capital.
Poggi also accused the former Carabinieri of selling consecrated hosts for satanic rites. Poggi reportedly presented documentary and photographic evidence to police in the company of two senior Vatican clergymen who vouched for his credibility. Poggi identified the nine clergymen, including two senior church officials and a religion lecturer. Three people have been placed under formal investigation.
miguel de Portugal comments: We must consider the source: Poggi, who served a five-year sentence for abusing teenage boys while he was a parish priest at the San Filippo Neri.
If true, then we must highlight the fact that satanists have more faith in the transubstantiation than far too many priests and faithful. A sad state of affairs!
_________________
(1) News Report
June 28th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Europe strikes deal to push cost of bank failure on investors. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: When they recently pulled this trick on Cyprus, they swore on the proverbial stack of Bibles that such was a one time event and would never be applied as a European Union wide policy. We wrote about it back in March. (2)
Now, picture this: Eurozone, June 27th, 2013..... The Eurozone economy cannot get restarted no matter what they say and or claim to do. Credit is all but non existent since the banks "do not have enough (real) money to lend". No credit, no growth; no growth, greater unemployment; no new jobs, no new spending; no spending, no growth; and so on.
Now, they come up with this "brilliant" idea. It logically follows that all foreign nationals - individuals and corporate - will pull out all of their money from the Eurozone.... an action to be followed by the wealthy Europeans. This will leave the Banks with a few sea shells and soda pop caps to lend so that the European economy gets restarted.
Brethren, this is really troubling. Troubling because economics certainly is not my strength (actually, I am quite ignorant about economics) and I can see the monumental idiocy of the actions that the European Union rulers continue to take.... and they obviously do not.
Not only do they lie through their teeth to their citizens, but do not take any action that will really pull Europe out of the crisis.... yet they believe that they are in a position to tell the U.S. how to run our business.
Amazing; simply amazing!
_________________
(1) News Report
(2) March 28, 2013, News Report No. 2
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Federal agency finds lax regulation of chemicals. (1)
Paraphrasing a well known cliche: "Houston, we have so many problems" that only God can correct them and only by a complete "Reset".
_________________
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Europe strikes deal to push cost of bank failure on investors. (1)
The European Union agreed on Thursday to force investors
and wealthy savers to share the costs of future bank failures, moving closer to drawing a
line under years of taxpayer-funded bailouts that have prompted public outrage.
After seven hours of late-night talks, finance ministers from the bloc's 27 countries emerged with a blueprint to close or salvage banks in trouble. The plan stipulates that shareholders, bondholders and depositors with more than 100,000 euros ($132,000) should share the burden of saving a bank.
The deal is a boost for EU leaders, who meet later on Thursday in Brussels, and can show that they are finally getting to grips with the financial crisis that began in mid-2007 with the near collapse of Germany's IKB.
"For the first time, we agreed on a significant bail-in to shield taxpayers," said Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, referring to the process in which shareholders and bondholders must bear the costs of restructuring first.
The rules break a taboo in Europe that savers should never lose their deposits, although countries will have some flexibility to decide when and how to impose losses on a failing bank's creditors.
After seven hours of late-night talks, finance ministers from the bloc's 27 countries emerged with a blueprint to close or salvage banks in trouble. The plan stipulates that shareholders, bondholders and depositors with more than 100,000 euros ($132,000) should share the burden of saving a bank.
The deal is a boost for EU leaders, who meet later on Thursday in Brussels, and can show that they are finally getting to grips with the financial crisis that began in mid-2007 with the near collapse of Germany's IKB.
"For the first time, we agreed on a significant bail-in to shield taxpayers," said Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, referring to the process in which shareholders and bondholders must bear the costs of restructuring first.
The rules break a taboo in Europe that savers should never lose their deposits, although countries will have some flexibility to decide when and how to impose losses on a failing bank's creditors.
miguel de Portugal comments: When they recently pulled this trick on Cyprus, they swore on the proverbial stack of Bibles that such was a one time event and would never be applied as a European Union wide policy. We wrote about it back in March. (2)
Now, picture this: Eurozone, June 27th, 2013..... The Eurozone economy cannot get restarted no matter what they say and or claim to do. Credit is all but non existent since the banks "do not have enough (real) money to lend". No credit, no growth; no growth, greater unemployment; no new jobs, no new spending; no spending, no growth; and so on.
Now, they come up with this "brilliant" idea. It logically follows that all foreign nationals - individuals and corporate - will pull out all of their money from the Eurozone.... an action to be followed by the wealthy Europeans. This will leave the Banks with a few sea shells and soda pop caps to lend so that the European economy gets restarted.
Brethren, this is really troubling. Troubling because economics certainly is not my strength (actually, I am quite ignorant about economics) and I can see the monumental idiocy of the actions that the European Union rulers continue to take.... and they obviously do not.
Not only do they lie through their teeth to their citizens, but do not take any action that will really pull Europe out of the crisis.... yet they believe that they are in a position to tell the U.S. how to run our business.
Amazing; simply amazing!
_________________
(1) News Report
(2) March 28, 2013, News Report No. 2
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Federal agency finds lax regulation of chemicals. (1)
A federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant will tell a Senate
committee Thursday that regulation of the dangerous chemicals used in the industry fall under a
"patchwork" of standards that are decades old and
are far weaker than rules used by other countries.
The U.S Chemical Safety Board is the first federal agency to acknowledge the lax oversight of ammonium nitrate, the chemical blamed for an explosion in West so massive that it registered as a small earthquake, flattened swaths of the small town and killed 15 people. The agency, one of several investigating the April incident, made 18 recommendations in a preliminary report obtained by The Associated Press.
The West Fertilizer Co. had no sprinkler systems, stored the chemical in wooden bins and did not report to local emergency responders the potential hazards of storing tons of ammonium nitrate because the law does not require them to do so, the report states. Firefighters are given only vague guidelines on how to battle a blaze involving ammonium nitrate - a chemical often used as a cheap alternative to dynamite in mining operations that has been used in terrorist bomb attacks.
miguel de Portugal comments:
This is the chemical that almost flattened Texas City in 1947
(2) causing over 500 deaths and many
mutilations.... and it is now, 66 years later, when we find out that the official responisble
authorities have been lax in their oversight regarding that same chemical.The U.S Chemical Safety Board is the first federal agency to acknowledge the lax oversight of ammonium nitrate, the chemical blamed for an explosion in West so massive that it registered as a small earthquake, flattened swaths of the small town and killed 15 people. The agency, one of several investigating the April incident, made 18 recommendations in a preliminary report obtained by The Associated Press.
The West Fertilizer Co. had no sprinkler systems, stored the chemical in wooden bins and did not report to local emergency responders the potential hazards of storing tons of ammonium nitrate because the law does not require them to do so, the report states. Firefighters are given only vague guidelines on how to battle a blaze involving ammonium nitrate - a chemical often used as a cheap alternative to dynamite in mining operations that has been used in terrorist bomb attacks.
Paraphrasing a well known cliche: "Houston, we have so many problems" that only God can correct them and only by a complete "Reset".
_________________
June 27th, 2013 [Mary of Perpetual
Help]
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Political moves in Brazil fail to quell protests. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: We have been following this as closely as time allows. President Rousseff has responded to the street protests in a way that no other demonstration, in recent history, has succeeded in attaining.... yet it is never enough.
Every time they want something else, she makes a move to accommodate it.... then, they will dream up something else. This is an orchestrated attack upon Brazil; a fact which the Media (of course!) is choosing to ignore.
Has anyone noticed that no one has raised a discordant voice about the immense expense of the demonic altar and stage being prepared for Francis to use on July 26th?
This is how intellectually dead people are and how controlled the Media is.
Right on schedule!
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
F.T.C. Member Starts 'Reclaim Your Name' Campaign for Personal Data. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: These data brokerage companies are the ones about which everyone should be concerned and not whether the NSA has the records of our phone calling history or web pages visited.
If the government makes a mistake based on misinterpreting our records, sooner or later the matter can be corrected and even the damanges, if any, may be compensated. With the data brokers, few, if anyone, have a chance.
(Sarcasm on) We will inform Ms. Brill about the moment the temparure in hell reaches 32ºF (0ºC) because it is then when her proposal will be put in practice. If she is lucky maybe it will be before it is announced that excessive mobile phone radiation is indeed hazardous to one's health. (Sarcasm off)
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Ten Thousandth Near-Earth Object Discovered. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: Let's see..... Just the other day NASA reported that they had already catalogued 95% of the NEO's - a claim which we exposed as ridiculous (2) since it is impossible to calculate a percentage of a total that is unknown.
Now they claim that such unknown total may be as high as 10,000 times 10. Amazing; simply amazing!
_________________
(1) NASA Reports
(2) June 20th, News Report No. 3
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Political moves in Brazil fail to quell protests. (1)
Protesters from two of Rio de Janeiro's favelas took to the streets to demand investment in public
services.
They are calling too for the right to organise events in their neighbourhood without official authorisation. It is the latest street protest to hit the South American country.
The rally came as politicians struggled to deal with the raft of grievances behind the demos. President Dilma Rousseff has been told her proposal to hold a referendum asking Brazilians which political reforms they want is illegal.
Security was tight for the demonstration in one of the most affluent areas of Rio. There were no incidents and it passed of peacefully. The focus now turns to the city of Belo Horizonte where the national football team will meet rivals Uruguay in the Confederations Cup semi-finals.
They are calling too for the right to organise events in their neighbourhood without official authorisation. It is the latest street protest to hit the South American country.
The rally came as politicians struggled to deal with the raft of grievances behind the demos. President Dilma Rousseff has been told her proposal to hold a referendum asking Brazilians which political reforms they want is illegal.
Security was tight for the demonstration in one of the most affluent areas of Rio. There were no incidents and it passed of peacefully. The focus now turns to the city of Belo Horizonte where the national football team will meet rivals Uruguay in the Confederations Cup semi-finals.
miguel de Portugal comments: We have been following this as closely as time allows. President Rousseff has responded to the street protests in a way that no other demonstration, in recent history, has succeeded in attaining.... yet it is never enough.
Every time they want something else, she makes a move to accommodate it.... then, they will dream up something else. This is an orchestrated attack upon Brazil; a fact which the Media (of course!) is choosing to ignore.
Has anyone noticed that no one has raised a discordant voice about the immense expense of the demonic altar and stage being prepared for Francis to use on July 26th?
This is how intellectually dead people are and how controlled the Media is.
Right on schedule!
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
F.T.C. Member Starts 'Reclaim Your Name' Campaign for Personal Data. (1)
The revelations this month about government surveillance programs that collect the phone logs of
people in the United States and can monitor e-mail traffic abroad is provoking a larger debate on
the rights of consumers to control the collection and sharing of data about them.
One industry under the microscope is data brokerages. These are business-to-business companies that collect thousands of details - like the shopping habits, vacation preferences, estimated income, ethnicity, hobbies, predilections for gambling or smoking and health concerns - about millions of consumers, the better to help marketers identify potential new customers as well as maintain their already loyal clients.
Although some of these companies do permit people to opt out of their marketing databases, most do not have systems to allow consumers to see records held about them and correct possible errors. Because of this lack of transparency, federal regulators and privacy advocates have long warned about the potential for such data-mining to discriminate against consumers based on sensitive details like financial or health information.
Now Julie Brill, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, has proposed an industrywide initiative to give consumers access to their own records held by data brokers. She envisions an online portal where data brokers would describe their data collection practices and their consumer access policies.
"Reclaim Your Name would empower the consumer to find out how brokers are collecting and using data; give her access to information that data brokers have amassed about her; allow her to opt-out if she learns a data broker is selling her information for marketing purposes and provide her the opportunity to correct errors in information used for substantive decisions – like credit, insurance, employment, and other benefits," Ms. Brill said in a speech on Wednesday morning at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference in Washington.
One industry under the microscope is data brokerages. These are business-to-business companies that collect thousands of details - like the shopping habits, vacation preferences, estimated income, ethnicity, hobbies, predilections for gambling or smoking and health concerns - about millions of consumers, the better to help marketers identify potential new customers as well as maintain their already loyal clients.
Although some of these companies do permit people to opt out of their marketing databases, most do not have systems to allow consumers to see records held about them and correct possible errors. Because of this lack of transparency, federal regulators and privacy advocates have long warned about the potential for such data-mining to discriminate against consumers based on sensitive details like financial or health information.
Now Julie Brill, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, has proposed an industrywide initiative to give consumers access to their own records held by data brokers. She envisions an online portal where data brokers would describe their data collection practices and their consumer access policies.
"Reclaim Your Name would empower the consumer to find out how brokers are collecting and using data; give her access to information that data brokers have amassed about her; allow her to opt-out if she learns a data broker is selling her information for marketing purposes and provide her the opportunity to correct errors in information used for substantive decisions – like credit, insurance, employment, and other benefits," Ms. Brill said in a speech on Wednesday morning at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference in Washington.
miguel de Portugal comments: These data brokerage companies are the ones about which everyone should be concerned and not whether the NSA has the records of our phone calling history or web pages visited.
If the government makes a mistake based on misinterpreting our records, sooner or later the matter can be corrected and even the damanges, if any, may be compensated. With the data brokers, few, if anyone, have a chance.
(Sarcasm on) We will inform Ms. Brill about the moment the temparure in hell reaches 32ºF (0ºC) because it is then when her proposal will be put in practice. If she is lucky maybe it will be before it is announced that excessive mobile phone radiation is indeed hazardous to one's health. (Sarcasm off)
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Ten Thousandth Near-Earth Object Discovered. (1)
More than 10,000 asteroids and comets that can pass near Earth have now been discovered. The
10,000th near-Earth object, asteroid 2013 MZ5, was first detected on the night of June 18, 2013,
by the Pan-STARRS-1 telescope, located on the summit of the Haleakala crater on Maui. Managed by
the University of Hawaii, the PanSTARRS survey receives NASA funding.
"Finding 10,000 near-Earth objects is a significant milestone," said Lindley Johnson, program executive for NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) Program at NASA Headquarters. "But there are at least 10 times that many more to be found before we can be assured we will have found any and all that could impact and do significant harm to the citizens of Earth."
"Finding 10,000 near-Earth objects is a significant milestone," said Lindley Johnson, program executive for NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) Program at NASA Headquarters. "But there are at least 10 times that many more to be found before we can be assured we will have found any and all that could impact and do significant harm to the citizens of Earth."
miguel de Portugal comments: Let's see..... Just the other day NASA reported that they had already catalogued 95% of the NEO's - a claim which we exposed as ridiculous (2) since it is impossible to calculate a percentage of a total that is unknown.
Now they claim that such unknown total may be as high as 10,000 times 10. Amazing; simply amazing!
_________________
(1) NASA Reports
(2) June 20th, News Report No. 3
June 26th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Websites in North and South Korea shut down on war anniversary. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: The most important message for the world leaders delivered by such actions is the one that they seem to be missing: They (the traditional world leaders) are no longer in charge of the World. The Manning's, the Snowden's and all the Hackers are.
Move over, Alice!, whistleblowers and hackers are taking over Wonderland!
Instead of placing the cyberspace security as a number one priority - even above any and all military matters - they (the traditional world leaders) will start a series of summits which, as usual, will only benefit the travel industry.
What a waste!
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Is Arctic Permafrost the "Sleeping Giant" of Climate Change? (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: God is even using the caribou in the hopes that our scientific "geniuses" can put 2 and 2 together and come up with 4.
By the way - even if there were not going to be a direct Divine intervention as the chastisement climax - it is too late to do anything regarding the global meltdown.
_________________
(1) NASA Reports
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
"No need to escalate 'confrontation with Russia' over Snowden": Kerry. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: (sarcasm on) Gee.... why don't we check with Snowden in case he left some data behind so that it can be shipped to him? They should not forget either the vacation pay that he has accumulated and is legally his. Am sure they can forward it to him via Western Union. (sarcasm off)
Now, seriously: If the US has, as Snowden has claimed, all internet and telephone connections under surveillance, why hasn't the NSA heard/read what Snowden has been, and is, communicating to and from his support groups from the moment he went AWOL?
(sarcasm on) Oh, yes.... they are probably using smoke signals.... (sarcasm off)
As radical as this may sound - but from a high security point of view - all system administrators involved with the security of the US should have a microchip implanted so that, should this happen again, they could be immediately tracked. This should include all who have access to the nuclear missile silos and any other highly sensitive areas of National Security. This is not a matter of Big Brother - this IS a matter of National Security!
Once the individual resign from the position which required the locator chip, the chip should be removed.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Websites in North and South Korea shut down on war anniversary. (1)
Major government and media websites in South and North
Korea were shut down for hours Tuesday on the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Korean
War. Seoul said its sites were hacked, while it was unclear what knocked out those north of the
border.
Seoul said experts were investigating attacks on the websites of the South Korean presidential Blue House and prime minister's office, as well as some media servers. There were no initial reports Tuesday that sensitive military or other key infrastructure had been compromised.
The North Korean websites that shut down Tuesday included those belonging to the national airline, Air Koryo, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the North's official Uriminzokkiri site and Naenara, the country's state-run Internet portal. All but Air Koryo were operational a few hours later.
South Korean National Intelligence Service officials said they were investigating what may have caused the shutdown of the North Korean websites. North Korea didn't make any immediate comment.
It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible.
Seoul said experts were investigating attacks on the websites of the South Korean presidential Blue House and prime minister's office, as well as some media servers. There were no initial reports Tuesday that sensitive military or other key infrastructure had been compromised.
The North Korean websites that shut down Tuesday included those belonging to the national airline, Air Koryo, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the North's official Uriminzokkiri site and Naenara, the country's state-run Internet portal. All but Air Koryo were operational a few hours later.
South Korean National Intelligence Service officials said they were investigating what may have caused the shutdown of the North Korean websites. North Korea didn't make any immediate comment.
It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible.
miguel de Portugal comments: The most important message for the world leaders delivered by such actions is the one that they seem to be missing: They (the traditional world leaders) are no longer in charge of the World. The Manning's, the Snowden's and all the Hackers are.
Move over, Alice!, whistleblowers and hackers are taking over Wonderland!
Instead of placing the cyberspace security as a number one priority - even above any and all military matters - they (the traditional world leaders) will start a series of summits which, as usual, will only benefit the travel industry.
What a waste!
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Is Arctic Permafrost the "Sleeping Giant" of Climate Change? (1)
Flying low and slow above the pristine terrain of Alaska's North Slope research scientist Charles
Miller of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory surveys the white expanse of tundra and permafrost
below. On the horizon, a long, dark line appears. His plane draws nearer, and
the mysterious object reveals itself to be a massive
herd of migrating caribou, stretching for miles.
It's a sight Miller won't soon forget.
"Seeing those caribou marching single-file across the tundra puts what we're doing here in the Arctic into perspective," says Miller, who is on five-year mission named “CARVE” to study how climate change is affecting the Arctic's carbon cycle.
It's a sight Miller won't soon forget.
"Seeing those caribou marching single-file across the tundra puts what we're doing here in the Arctic into perspective," says Miller, who is on five-year mission named “CARVE” to study how climate change is affecting the Arctic's carbon cycle.
miguel de Portugal comments: God is even using the caribou in the hopes that our scientific "geniuses" can put 2 and 2 together and come up with 4.
By the way - even if there were not going to be a direct Divine intervention as the chastisement climax - it is too late to do anything regarding the global meltdown.
_________________
(1) NASA Reports
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
"No need to escalate 'confrontation with Russia' over Snowden": Kerry. (1)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday there
was no need to raise the level of confrontation with Russia over Edward Snowden, a former
U.S. spy agency contractor charged with disclosing secret surveillance programs and believed to be
in Moscow.
miguel de Portugal comments: (sarcasm on) Gee.... why don't we check with Snowden in case he left some data behind so that it can be shipped to him? They should not forget either the vacation pay that he has accumulated and is legally his. Am sure they can forward it to him via Western Union. (sarcasm off)
Now, seriously: If the US has, as Snowden has claimed, all internet and telephone connections under surveillance, why hasn't the NSA heard/read what Snowden has been, and is, communicating to and from his support groups from the moment he went AWOL?
(sarcasm on) Oh, yes.... they are probably using smoke signals.... (sarcasm off)
As radical as this may sound - but from a high security point of view - all system administrators involved with the security of the US should have a microchip implanted so that, should this happen again, they could be immediately tracked. This should include all who have access to the nuclear missile silos and any other highly sensitive areas of National Security. This is not a matter of Big Brother - this IS a matter of National Security!
Once the individual resign from the position which required the locator chip, the chip should be removed.
_________________
(1) News Report
June 25th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
The Asian and European markets continue to crash. Following are yesterday's results:
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
'The Scariest Threat Is the Systems Administrator' (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: No, no. The truly scariest threat are the individuals like Gen. Alexander who just now realized that in such sensitive work there should be "a two man rule".
This procedure IS fundamental in any high risk operation. Doesn't he know that to launch a nuclear tipped missile it takes two keys? Doesn't he know that today - RIGHT NOW - the greatest threat for any industrialized nation is a cyber threat?
Brethren, I do not consider myself the possessor of a brilliant intellect so, I must assume, as we see the "Idiots March By", that it is not that I am getting brighter; it is that they are really getting dumber.
Lord have Mercy!
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
The Asian and European markets continue to crash. Following are yesterday's results:
Asian Indexes
| Index | Country | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Australia ASX All Ordinaries |
Australia | -1.54% |
| |
Shanghai SE Composite Index | China | -5.30% |
| |
Hang Seng | Hong Kong | -2.79% |
| |
Mumbai Sensex | India | -1.24% |
| |
Nikkei 225 | Japan | -1.26% |
| |
Taiwan TSEC 50 Index | Taiwan | -0.45% |
European Indexes
| Index | Country | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| |
FTSE 100 | England | -1.43% |
| |
Euronext 100 | Europe | -1.38% |
| |
CAC 40 | France | -1.16% |
| |
DAX | Germany | -1.28% |
| |
Swiss Market
Index |
Switzerland | -2.31% |
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
'The Scariest Threat Is the Systems Administrator' (1)
Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details about
American surveillance, personifies a debate at the heart of technology systems in government and
industry. Can the I.T.staff be trusted?
As the N.S.A., some companies and the city of San Francisco have learned, information technology administrators, who are vital to keeping the system running and often have access to everything, are in the perfect position if they want to leak sensitive information or blackmail higher-level officials.
The director of the N.S.A., Gen. Keith B. Alexander, acknowledged the problem in a television interview on Sunday and said his agency would institute "a two-man rule" that would limit the ability of each of its 1,000 system administrators to gain unfettered access to the entire system.
The rule, which would require a second check on each attempt to access sensitive information, is already in place in some intelligence agencies. It is a concept borrowed from the field of cryptography, where, in effect, two sets of keys are required to unlock a safe.
"The scariest threat is the systems administrator," said Eric Chiu, president of Hytrust, a computer security company. "The system administrator has godlike access to systems they manage."
As the N.S.A., some companies and the city of San Francisco have learned, information technology administrators, who are vital to keeping the system running and often have access to everything, are in the perfect position if they want to leak sensitive information or blackmail higher-level officials.
The director of the N.S.A., Gen. Keith B. Alexander, acknowledged the problem in a television interview on Sunday and said his agency would institute "a two-man rule" that would limit the ability of each of its 1,000 system administrators to gain unfettered access to the entire system.
The rule, which would require a second check on each attempt to access sensitive information, is already in place in some intelligence agencies. It is a concept borrowed from the field of cryptography, where, in effect, two sets of keys are required to unlock a safe.
"The scariest threat is the systems administrator," said Eric Chiu, president of Hytrust, a computer security company. "The system administrator has godlike access to systems they manage."
miguel de Portugal comments: No, no. The truly scariest threat are the individuals like Gen. Alexander who just now realized that in such sensitive work there should be "a two man rule".
This procedure IS fundamental in any high risk operation. Doesn't he know that to launch a nuclear tipped missile it takes two keys? Doesn't he know that today - RIGHT NOW - the greatest threat for any industrialized nation is a cyber threat?
Brethren, I do not consider myself the possessor of a brilliant intellect so, I must assume, as we see the "Idiots March By", that it is not that I am getting brighter; it is that they are really getting dumber.
Lord have Mercy!
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
June 24th, 2013 [Feast of the Birth of John the
Baptist]
News Report No. 1
[translated highlights]
Pope Francis will visit Rio de Janeiro on July 26th. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: It must have taken a microsecond after I viewed the images of the structure/altar to recognize the symbolic horns of satan.
As you may also notice - The large cross seems to be in a grouping of vertical columns.... which
brings to mind the saying: "One cannot see the tree for the
forest." which could not be more prophetic in this case.
To add insult to such grievous injury, the events will take place on July 26th - a date which symbolizes to all hispanics and portuguese speaking individuals Fidel Castro's communist movement - El Movimiento 26 de Julio.
Exactly what else God has to do to confirm to the world what we have been announcing for 22 years in His Name?
_________________
(1) Original News report in Brazilian Portuguese
News Report No. 2
[contributor's highlights]
miguel de Portugal comments: Again I repeat: Exactly what else God has to do to confirm to the world what we have been announcing in His Name for 22 years?
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Edward Snowden Lands in Moscow After Fleeing Hong Kong - Final destination is reportedly Ecuador via Cuba and Venezuela. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: China is indeed clever. In one simple, and legal (at the moment), stroke they got Snowden out of their territory and placed him in the hands of the Cuba-Venezuala-Ecuador axis; and axis which seems to be "protected" from any action by the U.S. - legal or military.
Perhaps if Israel were running our Security Services, Snowden would already be in a U.S. detention center and not traveling with his "legal advisers" to a Caribbean Paradise.
If we get more egg on our collective face, there will be an egg shortage in the world!
If we had been that incompetent in the early forties, Hitler would have been crowned Emperor of the World while sitting on the Throne of Peter.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 1
[translated highlights]
Pope Francis will visit Rio de Janeiro on July 26th. (1)
The set up of the structures for the main events during Pope Francis visit have commenced.
The structures have been designed so that Pope Francis is always at the highest point from every direction assuring good visibility for all attendees.
In the central stage at Copacabana the opening Mass, the official welcome to Pope Francis and the Via-Crucis will be celebrated next July 26th.
The structures have been designed so that Pope Francis is always at the highest point from every direction assuring good visibility for all attendees.
In the central stage at Copacabana the opening Mass, the official welcome to Pope Francis and the Via-Crucis will be celebrated next July 26th.
miguel de Portugal comments: It must have taken a microsecond after I viewed the images of the structure/altar to recognize the symbolic horns of satan.
To add insult to such grievous injury, the events will take place on July 26th - a date which symbolizes to all hispanics and portuguese speaking individuals Fidel Castro's communist movement - El Movimiento 26 de Julio.
Exactly what else God has to do to confirm to the world what we have been announcing for 22 years in His Name?
_________________
(1) Original News report in Brazilian Portuguese
News Report No. 2
[contributor's highlights]
Brazilian bishops support peaceful protests as World Youth Day nears.
(1)
Leaders of the Brazilian bishops' conference announced their support for the massive
demonstrations sweeping across South America's largest nation, but declined to say how they might
affect World Youth Day (WYD) activities and the visit of Pope Francis in July.
The support was expressed in a document distributed to journalists in Brasilia by Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, bishops' conference president.
The document said the conference "declares its solidarity and support to these demonstrations, as long as they are peaceful, and which have taken to the streets persons of all ages, especially the youth."
Missing from the document was any mention of World Youth Day, set for Rio de Janeiro July 23-28. But Archbishop Assis told reporters it was the government's responsibility to guarantee the safety of the pilgrims. He conceded that the events of the recent few days may discourage foreign pilgrims from attending World Youth Day.
The support was expressed in a document distributed to journalists in Brasilia by Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, bishops' conference president.
The document said the conference "declares its solidarity and support to these demonstrations, as long as they are peaceful, and which have taken to the streets persons of all ages, especially the youth."
Missing from the document was any mention of World Youth Day, set for Rio de Janeiro July 23-28. But Archbishop Assis told reporters it was the government's responsibility to guarantee the safety of the pilgrims. He conceded that the events of the recent few days may discourage foreign pilgrims from attending World Youth Day.
Earlier, Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro
said in a separate statement that the protests would not affect World Youth Day, nor the planned
visit of Pope Francis. The demonstrations are, he said, "in some
ways similar to the spirit of WYD -- the desire to work together for a new world, for a new life,
a new society."
The archbishop said the local committee planning World Youth Day events continues "to focus on the
safety of pilgrims as well as the general population during the event." He added that the military
police and municipal guard will closely monitor the situation.
"I think that there will not be any safety issues, whether for the pope or for those in attendance as we are studying everything down to the smallest details, to all of the minutiae," he said.
"I think that there will not be any safety issues, whether for the pope or for those in attendance as we are studying everything down to the smallest details, to all of the minutiae," he said.
Contributor's comments: The
only way for this to be true is if the churchmen are in control of the revolution, or are working
closely with those who are.
Government officials estimated that nearly 1.2 million people participated in protests across the country June 20. The mayors of Brazilian cities, such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, announced June 19 that they were revoking transportation tariff increases.
"These demonstrations show us that it is not possible to live in a country with such inequalities," said the bishops' document.
The document also emphasized that the church strongly opposes the violence that has erupted and the destruction of private property as the protests have grown.
Government officials estimated that nearly 1.2 million people participated in protests across the country June 20. The mayors of Brazilian cities, such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, announced June 19 that they were revoking transportation tariff increases.
"These demonstrations show us that it is not possible to live in a country with such inequalities," said the bishops' document.
The document also emphasized that the church strongly opposes the violence that has erupted and the destruction of private property as the protests have grown.
miguel de Portugal comments: Again I repeat: Exactly what else God has to do to confirm to the world what we have been announcing in His Name for 22 years?
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Edward Snowden Lands in Moscow After Fleeing Hong Kong - Final destination is reportedly Ecuador via Cuba and Venezuela. (1)
Edward Snowden left Hong Kong today "through a lawful and normal channel," and
has now landed in Moscow, though that's not his final
destination.
WikiLeaks tweeted that it had helped the former NSA contractor flee, just after the United States filed extradition papers, securing him "political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers (and) safe exit from Hong Kong."
WikiLeaks says Snowden is in the company of its legal advisers. From Moscow, Russia's ITAR-Tass news service is reporting that Snowden will take a plane for Cuba Sunday night, then fly to Caracas, Venezuela.
Hong Kong acknowledged the White House's extradition request, reports the AP, but said in a statement that it failed to "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law" and that in the absence of "sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.
WikiLeaks tweeted that it had helped the former NSA contractor flee, just after the United States filed extradition papers, securing him "political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers (and) safe exit from Hong Kong."
WikiLeaks says Snowden is in the company of its legal advisers. From Moscow, Russia's ITAR-Tass news service is reporting that Snowden will take a plane for Cuba Sunday night, then fly to Caracas, Venezuela.
Hong Kong acknowledged the White House's extradition request, reports the AP, but said in a statement that it failed to "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law" and that in the absence of "sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.
miguel de Portugal comments: China is indeed clever. In one simple, and legal (at the moment), stroke they got Snowden out of their territory and placed him in the hands of the Cuba-Venezuala-Ecuador axis; and axis which seems to be "protected" from any action by the U.S. - legal or military.
Perhaps if Israel were running our Security Services, Snowden would already be in a U.S. detention center and not traveling with his "legal advisers" to a Caribbean Paradise.
If we get more egg on our collective face, there will be an egg shortage in the world!
If we had been that incompetent in the early forties, Hitler would have been crowned Emperor of the World while sitting on the Throne of Peter.
_________________
(1) News Report
June 22nd, 2013
News Report No. 1
[contributor's highlights]
25,000 Dead Bumblebees Fall From Trees in Oregon. (1)
Contributor's comments: From personal experience I now know how important bees are to fruit and vegetable crops.
I have been harvesting blueberries , blackberries as well as raspberries. I will have peaches, pears, apples and figs soon. I am not even using ant killer because sometimes my chickens get out and I don't want them to eat the ants if there were poison on the ant hills. To read the above quoted story is the notification of another nail in our coffin.
miguel de Portugal comments: Yes indeed, He is Great and He is Good; we also know that you are attentive and responsive to His promptings which, in turn, produces much fruit - no pun intended.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Considering that Spain's economy is the fifth in the European Union.... (1)
90 % of Spaniards consider that Spain is a corrupt country.
That is the headline of the news reporting an official survey by the Real Instituto Elcano. (2)
In addition, 75 % consider that Spain's image abroad has not improved in the last months. Such horrid numbers are followed by concerns of the Spaniards broken down by sectors. It follows:
Not at all 33.8 %
Not much 51.4 %
Much 2.6 %
A lot 8.8 %
In other words - about 85 % negative vs 11 % positive
Considering that Spain's unemployment rate is somewhere bewteen 26 and 27 %, with no let up in sight, it is impacting that the general populace is doubly concerend about the level of corruption, with the State of the Economy having a "worry index" of only a third of that of institutional corruption.
Naturally, this is downplayed by many in the Spanish and European media.
_________________
(1) European Union Statistics
(2) Spanish daily La Gaceta, Thursday, June 20, 2013, p. 38
News Report No. 1
[contributor's highlights]
25,000 Dead Bumblebees Fall From Trees in Oregon. (1)
A Wilsonville, Oregon, Target parking lot has seen what could be the biggest-recorded mass
bumblebee die-off in the Western US.
The 25,000 deaths were first noticed on Saturday, as bees tumbled from 55 linden trees in bloom, the Oregonian reports. "They were literally falling out of the trees," a biologist tells the Portland Tribune, who calculated that some 150 colonies likely met their end. Adds an agriculture official: "I've never encountered anything quite like it in 30 years in the business."
Pesticides - particularly a neonicotinoid called Safari that may have been sprayed by a landscape company on the trees on Saturday - could be to blame, though test results might not be in until the weekend. A Safari product label apparently warns that it's "highly toxic" for bees and shouldn't be used when they're around.
Officials are now putting bee-blocking nets over the trees to halt the deaths, the Oregonian reports. Honeybee deaths have been widely reported, but bumblebees have also been in decline, the paper notes. "Bumblebees are the single most important natural pollinator in Oregon," says a conservation advocate. Interestingly, it's currently National Pollinator Week.
The 25,000 deaths were first noticed on Saturday, as bees tumbled from 55 linden trees in bloom, the Oregonian reports. "They were literally falling out of the trees," a biologist tells the Portland Tribune, who calculated that some 150 colonies likely met their end. Adds an agriculture official: "I've never encountered anything quite like it in 30 years in the business."
Pesticides - particularly a neonicotinoid called Safari that may have been sprayed by a landscape company on the trees on Saturday - could be to blame, though test results might not be in until the weekend. A Safari product label apparently warns that it's "highly toxic" for bees and shouldn't be used when they're around.
Officials are now putting bee-blocking nets over the trees to halt the deaths, the Oregonian reports. Honeybee deaths have been widely reported, but bumblebees have also been in decline, the paper notes. "Bumblebees are the single most important natural pollinator in Oregon," says a conservation advocate. Interestingly, it's currently National Pollinator Week.
Contributor's comments: From personal experience I now know how important bees are to fruit and vegetable crops.
I have been harvesting blueberries , blackberries as well as raspberries. I will have peaches, pears, apples and figs soon. I am not even using ant killer because sometimes my chickens get out and I don't want them to eat the ants if there were poison on the ant hills. To read the above quoted story is the notification of another nail in our coffin.
My neighbors used to call me the city slicker until they saw my sweet potato and tomato
crops - so generous that I needed a ice chest with wheels to harvest them because I had so
many. Now they say that I could stick my finger in the soil and it would grow.
God is Great ! God is good !
miguel de Portugal comments: Yes indeed, He is Great and He is Good; we also know that you are attentive and responsive to His promptings which, in turn, produces much fruit - no pun intended.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Considering that Spain's economy is the fifth in the European Union.... (1)
90 % of Spaniards consider that Spain is a corrupt country.
That is the headline of the news reporting an official survey by the Real Instituto Elcano. (2)
In addition, 75 % consider that Spain's image abroad has not improved in the last months. Such horrid numbers are followed by concerns of the Spaniards broken down by sectors. It follows:
Political Corruption 40.4 %
Unemployment 18.8 %
State of the Economy 13.5 %
International Crisis 11.5 %
To the question: Do you believe that Europe is helping Spain out
of the crisis? The response is:Unemployment 18.8 %
State of the Economy 13.5 %
International Crisis 11.5 %
Not at all 33.8 %
Not much 51.4 %
Much 2.6 %
A lot 8.8 %
In other words - about 85 % negative vs 11 % positive
Considering that Spain's unemployment rate is somewhere bewteen 26 and 27 %, with no let up in sight, it is impacting that the general populace is doubly concerend about the level of corruption, with the State of the Economy having a "worry index" of only a third of that of institutional corruption.
Naturally, this is downplayed by many in the Spanish and European media.
_________________
(1) European Union Statistics
(2) Spanish daily La Gaceta, Thursday, June 20, 2013, p. 38
June 21st, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
New MERS virus more deadly than SARS. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: Do we have here a "Made to order apocalyptic virus"?
Unknown origin, like that of the so called Spanish Flu; more deadly than SARS; spreads easily bewteen people; and, last, but not least, from the Middle East.
The only thing that seems to be missing is that the virus, under a microscope, has the shape of a horse.... [Revelations 6]
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports and FOX News Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Drones used on US soil, admits FBI director. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: I do not want to appear Pro-Police State but.... it seems that we are making mountains out of mole hills.
In my "old days" - while driving my silver Porsche (2) in Florida, confident that my state-of-the-art radar detector was protecting my unlawful speeding - I was nabbed by a Florida State Patrol helicopter.... and fined.
So what is the difference between helicopter patrolling the skies and drones doing it? If a drone had spotted my speeding, would that have been any different from the helicopter doing it?
I deserved it - I was breaking the law. I paid the fine and shut up!
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports
(2) Yes, in those days I did not drive a Volare with the paint peeling off. (I make this statement for the Glory of God and not as a derogatory remark toward those who drive modest cars. I do not even own one now - I drive a borrowed '92 VW Polo and, as the saying goes, "clams could not be happier than I am now!")
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
The Most Honest Person Award goes to.... (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: Thank God! for refreshing good news.... and a reminder that there are still a few upright citizens running the streets!
May God find a suitable job for her soon!
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
New MERS virus more deadly than SARS. (1)
Epidemiologists investigating a new respiratory
virus that has killed 38, say it spreads easily between people and is
more deadly than SARS.
More than 60 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome have been reported so far, mostly in Saudi Arabia. The new coronavirus is related to SARS, which claimed 800 lives following the 2003 pandemic .
Researchers probing MERS say it can spread quickly, particularly in hospitals and one sufferer can infect many. The fatality rate of the MERS in Saudi Arabia stands at 68 percent, 60 percent higher than SARS.
The origin of the virus is unknown, but it is thought that animals are involved, either bats, camels or goats.
One hypothesis is that infected bats may be contaminating foods like dates. Medics admit a reliable method of treatment is yet to be found.
More than 60 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome have been reported so far, mostly in Saudi Arabia. The new coronavirus is related to SARS, which claimed 800 lives following the 2003 pandemic .
Researchers probing MERS say it can spread quickly, particularly in hospitals and one sufferer can infect many. The fatality rate of the MERS in Saudi Arabia stands at 68 percent, 60 percent higher than SARS.
The origin of the virus is unknown, but it is thought that animals are involved, either bats, camels or goats.
One hypothesis is that infected bats may be contaminating foods like dates. Medics admit a reliable method of treatment is yet to be found.
miguel de Portugal comments: Do we have here a "Made to order apocalyptic virus"?
Unknown origin, like that of the so called Spanish Flu; more deadly than SARS; spreads easily bewteen people; and, last, but not least, from the Middle East.
The only thing that seems to be missing is that the virus, under a microscope, has the shape of a horse.... [Revelations 6]
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports and FOX News Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Drones used on US soil, admits FBI director. (1)
The FBI are using drones on US soil. The
admission by the agency's director has sparked further debate over privacy vs security in the
USA.
FBI director Robert Mueller was put on the spot at a Senate hearing by a Republican senator on Wednesday.
Charles Grassley asked plainly: "Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on US soil?" "Yes," replied Mueller curtly.
Grassley continued, "I want to go onto a question..." as Mueller cuts in, "Well let me just put it in context now, in a very, very minimal way and very seldom."
FBI director Robert Mueller was put on the spot at a Senate hearing by a Republican senator on Wednesday.
Charles Grassley asked plainly: "Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on US soil?" "Yes," replied Mueller curtly.
Grassley continued, "I want to go onto a question..." as Mueller cuts in, "Well let me just put it in context now, in a very, very minimal way and very seldom."
miguel de Portugal comments: I do not want to appear Pro-Police State but.... it seems that we are making mountains out of mole hills.
In my "old days" - while driving my silver Porsche (2) in Florida, confident that my state-of-the-art radar detector was protecting my unlawful speeding - I was nabbed by a Florida State Patrol helicopter.... and fined.
So what is the difference between helicopter patrolling the skies and drones doing it? If a drone had spotted my speeding, would that have been any different from the helicopter doing it?
I deserved it - I was breaking the law. I paid the fine and shut up!
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports
(2) Yes, in those days I did not drive a Volare with the paint peeling off. (I make this statement for the Glory of God and not as a derogatory remark toward those who drive modest cars. I do not even own one now - I drive a borrowed '92 VW Polo and, as the saying goes, "clams could not be happier than I am now!")
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
The Most Honest Person Award goes to.... (1)
An unemployed teacher was driving home after
dropping her cat off at a veterinarian when she noticed
a bag on the street. She stopped but doubted it contained anything, but soon discovered
the bag was holding about $20,000.
Candace Scott said the bag had a Chase bank label, so she promptly delivered it to a nearby branch. She pound on the glass around 8 a.m. Tuesday to get the branch manager to come to the door before the bank opened for business, The Eagle newspaper reported. The banker thanked Scott for returning the cash.
"She told me I'm the most honest person in the world, and I said 'or the dumbest,'" Scott said.
Candace Scott said the bag had a Chase bank label, so she promptly delivered it to a nearby branch. She pound on the glass around 8 a.m. Tuesday to get the branch manager to come to the door before the bank opened for business, The Eagle newspaper reported. The banker thanked Scott for returning the cash.
"She told me I'm the most honest person in the world, and I said 'or the dumbest,'" Scott said.
miguel de Portugal comments: Thank God! for refreshing good news.... and a reminder that there are still a few upright citizens running the streets!
May God find a suitable job for her soon!
_________________
(1) News Report
June 20th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
One person dies in flash flooding at the Sanctuary of Lourdes. (1)
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
One person dies in flash flooding at the Sanctuary of Lourdes. (1)
A husband was unable to save his wife after their car
was submerged by flash floods near the famous French pilgrimage site of Lourdes.
The authorities have been forced to close the shrine temporarily due to the torrential rain. More than 200 people have also been evacuated from a nearby camp site.
The authorities have been forced to close the shrine temporarily due to the torrential rain. More than 200 people have also been evacuated from a nearby camp site.
miguel de Portugal comments: Do we need to call Daniel to read the writing that continues to be appearing on the wall?
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits 49th state. (1)
A heat wave hitting Alaska may not rival the blazing heat of Phoenix or Las Vegas, but to
residents of the 49th state, the days of hot weather feel like a stifling oven...
With temperatures topping 80 degrees in Anchorage, and higher in other parts of the state, people have been sweltering in a place where few homes have air conditioning.
They're sunbathing and swimming at local lakes, hosing down their dogs and cleaning out supplies of fans in at least one local hardware store. Mid-June normally brings high temperatures in the 60s in Anchorage, and just a month ago, it was still snowing.
On Tuesday, the official afternoon high in Anchorage was 81 degrees, breaking the city's record of 80 set in 1926 for that date.
Other smaller communities throughout a wide swath of the state are seeing even higher temperatures.
All-time highs were recorded elsewhere, including 96 degrees on Monday 80 miles to the north in the small community of Talkeetna,.... One unofficial reading taken at a lodge near Talkeetna even measured 98 degrees, which would tie the highest undisputed temperature recorded in Alaska.
That record was set in 1969, according to Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the online forecasting service Weather Underground. "This is the hottest heat wave in Alaska since '69," he said. "You're way, way from normal."
With temperatures topping 80 degrees in Anchorage, and higher in other parts of the state, people have been sweltering in a place where few homes have air conditioning.
They're sunbathing and swimming at local lakes, hosing down their dogs and cleaning out supplies of fans in at least one local hardware store. Mid-June normally brings high temperatures in the 60s in Anchorage, and just a month ago, it was still snowing.
On Tuesday, the official afternoon high in Anchorage was 81 degrees, breaking the city's record of 80 set in 1926 for that date.
Other smaller communities throughout a wide swath of the state are seeing even higher temperatures.
All-time highs were recorded elsewhere, including 96 degrees on Monday 80 miles to the north in the small community of Talkeetna,.... One unofficial reading taken at a lodge near Talkeetna even measured 98 degrees, which would tie the highest undisputed temperature recorded in Alaska.
That record was set in 1969, according to Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the online forecasting service Weather Underground. "This is the hottest heat wave in Alaska since '69," he said. "You're way, way from normal."
miguel de Portugal comments: More of the same writing on the wall.... which will continue to be ignored by those who need to pay attention to them the most.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
NASA Announces Asteroid Grand Challenge. (1)
NASA announced Tuesday a Grand Challenge focused
on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them.
The challenge, which was announced at an asteroid initiative industry and partner day at NASA Headquarters in Washington, is a large-scale effort that will use multi-disciplinary collaborations and a variety of partnerships with other government agencies, international partners, industry, academia, and citizen scientists. It complements NASA's recently announced mission to redirect an asteroid and send humans to study it.
"NASA already is working to find asteroids that might be a threat to our planet, and while we have found 95 percent of the large asteroids near the Earth's orbit, we need to find all those that might be a threat to Earth," said NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. "This Grand Challenge is focused on detecting and characterizing asteroids and learning how to deal with potential threats. We will also harness public engagement, open innovation and citizen science to help solve this global problem."
"I applaud NASA for issuing this Grand Challenge because finding asteroid threats, and having a plan for dealing with them, needs to be an all-hands-on-deck effort," said Tom Kalil, deputy director for technology and innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The challenge, which was announced at an asteroid initiative industry and partner day at NASA Headquarters in Washington, is a large-scale effort that will use multi-disciplinary collaborations and a variety of partnerships with other government agencies, international partners, industry, academia, and citizen scientists. It complements NASA's recently announced mission to redirect an asteroid and send humans to study it.
"NASA already is working to find asteroids that might be a threat to our planet, and while we have found 95 percent of the large asteroids near the Earth's orbit, we need to find all those that might be a threat to Earth," said NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. "This Grand Challenge is focused on detecting and characterizing asteroids and learning how to deal with potential threats. We will also harness public engagement, open innovation and citizen science to help solve this global problem."
"I applaud NASA for issuing this Grand Challenge because finding asteroid threats, and having a plan for dealing with them, needs to be an all-hands-on-deck effort," said Tom Kalil, deputy director for technology and innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
miguel de Portugal comments: It is getting harder to not laugh (or cry) at the level of idiocy of these people. Even if they had one year's notice of an impending collision, they could not act in time to prevent it.
By the way, how can anyone claim to have found 95 % of an unknown quantity? If one is seeking what one does not know exists, how can it be quantified in order to be able to report a percentage? Amazing! Truly amazing!
I hope that the NASA boys are just trying to "snow" the general public and not that they - NASA Administrators - are that stupid.
_________________
(1) NASA Reports
June 19th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[contributor's highlights]
miguel de Portugal
comments: Brethren, when one see Brazilians (or Portuguese, Spaniards, Italians, etc.)
displaying this level of displeasure displeasure regarding any sport related situation,
it is obvious that it is a staged,
and well manipulated, event.
What happened to that deep and sincere love and approval they had for Lula da Silva, which was transferred to the new President, Dilam Rousseff ? Only the blind or those who want to be blind cannot see that this, just as what is taking place in Indonesia, and a very long etc., are just staged with an agenda.
Wait until those "agenda managers" find themselves faced with God's Agenda. Our Christian advise to them now is to start wearing their shoes on their knees.
_________________
(1) News Source
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Google pledges $5 million to fight child porn. (1)
News Report No. 1
[contributor's highlights]
Protestors flood Brazilian cities. (1)
Youths clashed with police in central Rio de Janeiro yesterday as more than 200,000 people
marched in major Brazilian cities to protest the billions of dollars spent on the Confederations
Cup and higher public transport costs.
The nationwide demonstrations, the most extensive since the unrest began 10 days ago, were relatively peaceful. However acts of vandalism were reported in Rio and Porto Alegre.
Police used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse small groups of masked
youths engaging in acts of vandalism near Rio's state legislative assembly. Some of the young
people broke into the building and television showed a small fire.
"I am here to show that Brazil is not just about football and partying. We have other concerns, like the lack of investments in things that really matter, like health and education," said Daiana Venancio, a 24-year-old lawyer marching in Rio.
Earlier, Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo warned that that authorities would not allow the protests to disrupt international football tournaments Brazil has pledged to host - the Confederations Cup and next year's World Cup.
"The government assumed the responsibility and the honor to stage these two international events and will do so, ensuring the security and integrity of the fans and tourists," Rebelo said.
But the spreading unrest is tainting the image of South America's dominant power as it hosts the Confederation Cup through June 30, in a dry run for the World Cup.
The protests over a hike in mass transit fares from $1.5 to $1.6 began 10 days ago in Sao Paulo, days before the opening of the Confederations Cup. The tournament brings together eight national teams from around the world in six Brazilian host cities.
The unrest rapidly spread to other cities with demonstrators focusing their anger not just on the transport fares but also on $15 billion the government is allocating for the Confederations Cup and the World Cup.
The demonstrators want these resources to be earmarked instead for health care and quality education in a country with vast economic disparity between rich and poor.
What happened to that deep and sincere love and approval they had for Lula da Silva, which was transferred to the new President, Dilam Rousseff ? Only the blind or those who want to be blind cannot see that this, just as what is taking place in Indonesia, and a very long etc., are just staged with an agenda.
Wait until those "agenda managers" find themselves faced with God's Agenda. Our Christian advise to them now is to start wearing their shoes on their knees.
_________________
(1) News Source
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Google pledges $5 million to fight child porn. (1)
American multinational corporation Google has
announced a $5 million (3.75 million euro) effort
to eradicate child abuse imagery online, which it described as "a global problem that needs
a global solution".
The company, which already uses "hashing" technology to tag child sexual abuse images, said that it was working to incorporate encrypted "fingerprints" of images into a cross-industry database.
This would allow law enforcement, charities and businesses to better collaborate to detect and remove such images, as well as to take action against the criminals.
The pledge includes a $2 million (1.5 million euro) Child Protection Technology Fund for the development of more effective tools to combat such content.
The company, which already uses "hashing" technology to tag child sexual abuse images, said that it was working to incorporate encrypted "fingerprints" of images into a cross-industry database.
This would allow law enforcement, charities and businesses to better collaborate to detect and remove such images, as well as to take action against the criminals.
The pledge includes a $2 million (1.5 million euro) Child Protection Technology Fund for the development of more effective tools to combat such content.
miguel de Portugal comments: I knew that if I looked "long and hard" we would finally find some good news in the world... and this is the best news I have read in a long time!
_________________
(1) Euronews Report
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Hunting web child sex predators. (1)
Demand for child sex abuse material is at an all time
high, with more than half of all explicit content
being hosted in Europe. Several high profile cases, most recently the conviction of Mark
Bridger in the UK for the murder and abuse of five-year-old April Jones, have brought the issue
into the public consciousness again.
Along with the higher volumes of material being distributed, experts say the victims are getting younger - including toddlers and babies. Head of Interpol's Crimes Against Children Unit, Michael Moran, attributes this to the fact that younger children are less able to expose their abusers. He says: "pre-speech children cannot disclose, pre-speech children can't tell on you basically".
Along with the higher volumes of material being distributed, experts say the victims are getting younger - including toddlers and babies. Head of Interpol's Crimes Against Children Unit, Michael Moran, attributes this to the fact that younger children are less able to expose their abusers. He says: "pre-speech children cannot disclose, pre-speech children can't tell on you basically".
miguel de Portugal comments: That is how sick our society has become.
Maybe the following words from Jesus will make more sense now:
[11] And into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, inquire
who in it is worthy, and there abide till you go thence. [12] And when you come into the house,
salute it, saying: Peace be to this house. [13] And if
that house be worthy, your peace shall come upon it;
but if it be not worthy, your peace shall return
to you. [14] And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words: going forth out of that
house or city shake off the dust from your feet. [15] Amen
I say to you, it shall be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that
city. [Matthew 10]
"That city" signifying a culture which has rejected His Peace. A sin that is magnified many times over when His Holy Name and Messages have been used to exploit the world population, instead of leading it to Him!
If someone has difficulty understanding why would Jesus make such statement - "shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment" - we will explain it using something else He said:
But he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be
beaten with few stripes. And unto whomsoever much is
given, of him much shall be required: and
to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more.
[Luke
12:48]
In the heyday of Sodom and Gomorrah, no one there had
had the opportunity that God gave the rest of humanity with Jesus' manifestation in Time. As
we have said before, Jesus, The Word of God, was the way of God, The Father, was telling the Jews
something like: "Exactly what part of the Law and the Prophets
can't you understand and live?"
Jesus made clear what the Law and the Prophets transmitted to the people of God. Let us not forget that He also said:
Jesus made clear what the Law and the Prophets transmitted to the people of God. Let us not forget that He also said:
Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets.
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. [Matthew
5:17]
All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets. [Matthew 7:12]
All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets. [Matthew 7:12]
As all that is truly from God, is perfectly coherent and simple (after He explains it, of course!).
________________
(1) Euronews Reports
June 18th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Messages Galore, but No Time to Think. (1)
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Messages Galore, but No Time to Think. (1)
I'm old enough to remember a simpler time in the office, when talking - whether in person or on
the phone - was the main way to communicate. I once had a job where I filled out those pink "While
You Were Out" slips for employees who had stepped away from their desks.
Then, in the 1990s, came e-mail, and things were never the same. .... e-mail made communicating with people incredibly - and, at first, delightfully - easy.
Now, a few decades later, people constantly complain that their e-mail in-boxes are unmanageable. And many more technologies have joined the workplace party. We can now use cellphones, texts, instant messaging, text messaging, social media, corporate intranets and cloud applications to communicate at work.
Something may have been lost as we adopted these new communication tools: the ability to concentrate.
"Nobody can think anymore because they're constantly interrupted," said Leslie Perlow, a Harvard Business School professor and author of "Sleeping With Your Smartphone." Workers fear the repercussions that could result if they are unavailable, she said.
The intermingling of work and personal life adds to the onslaught, as people communicate about personal topics during the workday, and about work topics when they are at home.
...let's never forget the value of face-to-face, or voice-to-voice, communication. An actual unrehearsed conversation - requiring sustained attention and spontaneous reactions - may be old-fashioned, but it just might turn up something new.
Then, in the 1990s, came e-mail, and things were never the same. .... e-mail made communicating with people incredibly - and, at first, delightfully - easy.
Now, a few decades later, people constantly complain that their e-mail in-boxes are unmanageable. And many more technologies have joined the workplace party. We can now use cellphones, texts, instant messaging, text messaging, social media, corporate intranets and cloud applications to communicate at work.
Something may have been lost as we adopted these new communication tools: the ability to concentrate.
"Nobody can think anymore because they're constantly interrupted," said Leslie Perlow, a Harvard Business School professor and author of "Sleeping With Your Smartphone." Workers fear the repercussions that could result if they are unavailable, she said.
The intermingling of work and personal life adds to the onslaught, as people communicate about personal topics during the workday, and about work topics when they are at home.
...let's never forget the value of face-to-face, or voice-to-voice, communication. An actual unrehearsed conversation - requiring sustained attention and spontaneous reactions - may be old-fashioned, but it just might turn up something new.
miguel de Portugal comments: In simple terms: More communication tools and less communication quality, as well as a reduction in creativity due to the lack of concentration/focusing.
No question about it - satan keeps peddling his apples and people keep buying them.
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Belgium on verge of legalizing child euthanasia. (1)
Belgium might become the first country in the world to
allow seriously ill children the right to choose to
die if lawmakers in the Federal Parliament decide to expand on the already controversial
euthanasia laws.
While the Netherlands has also stopped prosecuting doctors who perform euthanasia on minors, as long as strong medical guidelines are followed, Belgium could become the first country in the developed world to openly embrace the practice, according to a report in Belgian daily newspaper Der Morgen, translated by French news agency Presseurop.
Current laws in Belgium allow euthanasia only on people over 18 years of age. The new law would apparently allow doctors to decide on a case-by-case basis if the child is mature enough to make a decision on his or her life, but they will also consider whether a child's condition truly is hopeless enough to warrant euthanasia.
Statistics showed that 1,333 people were euthanized in the European country in 2011, accounting for about one percent of all deaths. "The lessons are clear. Once you relax the law on euthanasia or assisted suicide steady extension will follow as night follows day," Peter Saunders, director of campaign group Care Not Killing, has said.
Christian groups, including the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium, are getting ready to protest this new proposal.
While the Netherlands has also stopped prosecuting doctors who perform euthanasia on minors, as long as strong medical guidelines are followed, Belgium could become the first country in the developed world to openly embrace the practice, according to a report in Belgian daily newspaper Der Morgen, translated by French news agency Presseurop.
Current laws in Belgium allow euthanasia only on people over 18 years of age. The new law would apparently allow doctors to decide on a case-by-case basis if the child is mature enough to make a decision on his or her life, but they will also consider whether a child's condition truly is hopeless enough to warrant euthanasia.
Statistics showed that 1,333 people were euthanized in the European country in 2011, accounting for about one percent of all deaths. "The lessons are clear. Once you relax the law on euthanasia or assisted suicide steady extension will follow as night follows day," Peter Saunders, director of campaign group Care Not Killing, has said.
Christian groups, including the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium, are getting ready to protest this new proposal.
miguel de Portugal comments: Considering the fact that such decision (to kill oneself) is most difficult for a well adjusted adult, imagine finding a child who is "mature enough" to make such decision.
Also keep in mind that Belgium is often used as an example of a highly developed and mature - intellectually y politically - country; and example to emulate.....
As we do not tire of saying: Man, without God in his/her heart, occupies the firs rung in the zoological ladder.
(sarcasm on) Pass 'them apples, please! (sarcasm off)
_________________
(1) Radio Vaticana Reports
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Facebook Made Me Do It. (1)
A few weeks ago I was skimming through my Instagram feed when my mouth dropped open. Sandwiched
between images of sunny afternoon outings and boozy brunches was a photo of my friend in a hotel
room, wearing lime green thong underwear and very little else. It was scandalous, arguably over
the top for a photo posted in public where, in theory, anyone who wanted would be able to see it.
But people loved it. It had dozens of likes as well as some encouraging comments.
That feedback loop of positive reinforcement is the most addictive element of social media. All those retweets, likes and favorites give us a little jolt, a little boost that pushes us to keep coming back for more. It works whether or not we post the typical social media fodder of lush vacation pictures and engagement announcements or venture into realms that showcase our most daredevilish antics and risqué behavior.
It is one way to understand why people upload things that make us gasp, from my friend's playful bare-all portrait to more sinister, illegal activities, like the defacing of parks and monuments with graffiti and other acts of outright vandalism.
Our growing collective compulsion to document our lives and share them online, combined with the instant gratification that comes from seeing something you are doing or experiencing get near-immediate approval from your online peers, could be giving us more reason to act out online, for better or for worse.
We are, in other words, one another's virtual enablers.
That feedback loop of positive reinforcement is the most addictive element of social media. All those retweets, likes and favorites give us a little jolt, a little boost that pushes us to keep coming back for more. It works whether or not we post the typical social media fodder of lush vacation pictures and engagement announcements or venture into realms that showcase our most daredevilish antics and risqué behavior.
It is one way to understand why people upload things that make us gasp, from my friend's playful bare-all portrait to more sinister, illegal activities, like the defacing of parks and monuments with graffiti and other acts of outright vandalism.
Our growing collective compulsion to document our lives and share them online, combined with the instant gratification that comes from seeing something you are doing or experiencing get near-immediate approval from your online peers, could be giving us more reason to act out online, for better or for worse.
We are, in other words, one another's virtual enablers.
miguel de Portugal comments: How sad.... "Our growing collective compulsion to document our lives and share them online,".
If most realized that the reason that they spend so much time "sharing" and reading/viewing "what others share" is really because they do not have a much of prayer life, they would be embarrassed to tears.
Of course, all of those tools could be very valuable if used judiciously. Unfortunately, most cannot even spell the word "judiciously", much less acting in such manner.
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
June 17th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[highlights by contributor]
Contributor's comments: I consider the author (Damian Thompson) to be a reliable source; he is a conservative Catholic writer in the UK. However, I do not know about the "anti-fascist campaigners" who may be his source.
This May 25th story refers to an SSPX conference in early June.
_________________
(1) Source
News Report No. 2
[highlights by contributor]
Contributor's comments: In the last Private FYI&R Mr. KF wrote...
News Report No. 1
[highlights by contributor]
Far-Right supporters of the disgraced rebel Catholic bishop Richard Williamson are
planning a takeover of the ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X (SSPX),
according to the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight. (1)
Williamson, a convicted Holocaust denier, had his excommunication lifted by Pope Benedict XVI along with that of the SSPX's three other bishops as a prelude to possible reconciliation with Rome. But the unity plans fell apart after Williamson was exposed as a Holocaust denier – and after Bishop Bernard Fellay, the "moderate" leader of the SSPX, failed to grasp Pope Benedict's olive branch.
Williamson was eventually expelled from the SPPX – but now, according to Searchlight, his supporters are trying to wrest control of the body, alienated from Rome since the 1970s, from Fellay. The following is from a Searchlight document which provides detailed claims of links between allies of the English-born Williamson and former supporters of the British National Front and the BNP:
A coup within Catholicism is imminent. The target is The Society of Pius X (SSPX), an ultra-traditionalist group founded in 1970 out of opposition to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The plotters intend to make a major step towards their takeover at a conference on the weekend of 1 and 2 June, which we can reveal will be held at Earlsfield Library Hall, 276 Magdalen Road, Earlsfield London SW18 from 9am to 5pm. The key players in this plot are a bunch of neo-Nazis, fascists and others with disreputable backgrounds. Their objective is to replace SSPX’s current Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, with the convicted Holocaust-denier Bishop Richard Williamson. This plot is a very worrying turn of events.
SSPX is no stranger to controversy. Its members have supported the French Front National and given sanctuary to a Nazi collaborator and war criminal. A previous District Superior... removed Nazi sympathisers from the Society, but our sources inform us that they have re-infiltrated it ... This has left many decent members shocked and fearful for its future. They do not want to see it fall into the hands of neo-Nazis.
The SSPX is, in my opinion, more trouble than it's worth: mainstream Catholic bishops use its extreme stance as an excuse to persecute traditionalists within the official Church and deny them their canonical right to celebrate the traditional Latin liturgy. That said, far-Right views have hitherto been confined to a (fairly significant) anti-Semitic fringe within the SSPX. But now that hardliners in the Society have set their face against reunion with Rome, the dynamics of sectarianism are taking over and the fringe risks becoming the SSPX mainstream
Contributor's comments: I consider the author (Damian Thompson) to be a reliable source; he is a conservative Catholic writer in the UK. However, I do not know about the "anti-fascist campaigners" who may be his source.
This May 25th story refers to an SSPX conference in early June.
_________________
(1) Source
News Report No. 2
[highlights by contributor]
Pope confirms faith encyclical nearly done. (1)
Pope Francis put aside his prepared remarks this morning and told members of the
Synod of Bishops that the encyclical on faith is almost ready and the exhortation on
evangelization will be finished before the Year of Faith is over.
“Now the four hand encyclical should be released, which Pope Benedict XVI had begun,” Pope Francis said June 13.
“He handed it to me, it is an intense document,” he told the bishops. “He has been the one to do the great work,” he added.
Pope Francis made his comments during a meeting with 25 members of the Synod of Bishops on June 13 in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
The group gathered in Rome today to help him choose the theme of their next general assembly, which will take place in 2015.
“I thought that the Year of Faith should not end without a nice document that can help us,” said Pope Francis, referring to the exhortation from the new evangelization synod that was held in Oct. 2012.
The Pope issues post-Synodal Exhortations after a synod of bishops is held. The documents are the fruit of the discussion and prayer that takes place during the gathering, combined with the unique contributions of the Holy Father. “I liked the idea and I will take that road,” Pope Francis said of the synod.
“Now the four hand encyclical should be released, which Pope Benedict XVI had begun,” Pope Francis said June 13.
“He handed it to me, it is an intense document,” he told the bishops. “He has been the one to do the great work,” he added.
Pope Francis made his comments during a meeting with 25 members of the Synod of Bishops on June 13 in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
The group gathered in Rome today to help him choose the theme of their next general assembly, which will take place in 2015.
“I thought that the Year of Faith should not end without a nice document that can help us,” said Pope Francis, referring to the exhortation from the new evangelization synod that was held in Oct. 2012.
The Pope issues post-Synodal Exhortations after a synod of bishops is held. The documents are the fruit of the discussion and prayer that takes place during the gathering, combined with the unique contributions of the Holy Father. “I liked the idea and I will take that road,” Pope Francis said of the synod.
Contributor's comments: In the last Private FYI&R Mr. KF wrote...
"Ratzinger usurped him and now works secretly
in the shadows using Bergoglio as his shiny, smiley puppet."
....and the above news provide another
confirmation of what is indeed taking place.
A "four hand encyclical" ... who could make this up? I have a vision of a multi-armed Hindu "god" on the throne.
A "four hand encyclical" ... who could make this up? I have a vision of a multi-armed Hindu "god" on the throne.
The Great Work is, before all things, the creation of man by himself, that is to say, the
full and entire conquest of his faculties and his future; it is especially the perfect
emancipation of his will. (Eliphas Levi, the French occultist of the 19th century).
June 14th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
The bee-ginning of the end? (1)
According to the British Beekeepers Association,
a third of all bee colonies have died over the last
year, and in some parts of the country the number
of colonies has even halved.
The alarming figures raise the question of whether the EU’s decision in May to ban bee-killing pesticides was a case of 'too little too late'. Experts are saying that the poor summer of 2012, followed by the lengthy and cold winter is the main cause of the loss; the inclement weather prevented honey bees from being able to gather pollen and forage and also stopped queen bees from mating.
Unfortunately this in not an isolated incident. All across Europe and the rest of the world similar declines in bee numbers are being recorded. One beekeeper in the UK, who lost around a quarter of his colonies, told the BBC: "We are in a different era; quite frankly the bees haven't got the resistance and reserves that they once did because of various illnesses and viruses."
So what does it mean?
In addition to the 70% drop in the honey crop this year, the knock-on effect from a decline in the bee population could prove catastrophic. Einstein is reported to have once said "If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live."
The alarming figures raise the question of whether the EU’s decision in May to ban bee-killing pesticides was a case of 'too little too late'. Experts are saying that the poor summer of 2012, followed by the lengthy and cold winter is the main cause of the loss; the inclement weather prevented honey bees from being able to gather pollen and forage and also stopped queen bees from mating.
Unfortunately this in not an isolated incident. All across Europe and the rest of the world similar declines in bee numbers are being recorded. One beekeeper in the UK, who lost around a quarter of his colonies, told the BBC: "We are in a different era; quite frankly the bees haven't got the resistance and reserves that they once did because of various illnesses and viruses."
So what does it mean?
In addition to the 70% drop in the honey crop this year, the knock-on effect from a decline in the bee population could prove catastrophic. Einstein is reported to have once said "If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live."
miguel de Portugal comments: There are a number of theories and counter theories about the cause, but the only thing that is known for certain is that: "All across Europe and the rest of the world similar declines in bee numbers are being recorded. "
It does not take an expert in any field to realize that the bees are a key element in the ecosystem and their unstoppable demise will have severe consequences for humanity - Einstein or no Einstein. The "good" news are that at this point in the End of These Times schedule, it really does not matter any more.
_________________
(1) EuroNews Reports
News Report No. 2
[contributor's highlights]
Grim
New Number for Syria: 92,901
(1)
Almost
93,000 people have been confirmed killed in the Syrian
conflict,
the United Nations' human rights office said today - but
the
real
number is likely to be far
higher.
The analysis found 92,901 documented killings in Syria between March 2011 and the end of April 2013, said the UN's top human rights official, Navi Pillay. But she acknowledged that it was impossible to put an exact figure on the death toll from Syria's upward spiral of violence. The last such analysis, in January, had documented nearly 60,000 killings through the end of November.
The analysis found 92,901 documented killings in Syria between March 2011 and the end of April 2013, said the UN's top human rights official, Navi Pillay. But she acknowledged that it was impossible to put an exact figure on the death toll from Syria's upward spiral of violence. The last such analysis, in January, had documented nearly 60,000 killings through the end of November.
"The constant flow of killings continues at shockingly high levels, with more than 5,000 killings
documented every month since last July," said Pillay. And "this is most likely a minimum casualty
figure," she added. Among the victims were at least
6,561 children, including 1,729 children younger than 10.
"There are also well-documented cases of individual children being tortured and executed, and entire families including babies being massacred."
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that a top rebel commander has pleaded with the White House to send weapons, asserting that the rebels "cannot hold on to Aleppo without" them; he claims Assad's forces are gathering in parts of a city for a possible attack, on the heels of this regime victory.
"There are also well-documented cases of individual children being tortured and executed, and entire families including babies being massacred."
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that a top rebel commander has pleaded with the White House to send weapons, asserting that the rebels "cannot hold on to Aleppo without" them; he claims Assad's forces are gathering in parts of a city for a possible attack, on the heels of this regime victory.
miguel de Portugal comments: God knows that if Syria were a strategic oil country for the West, some sort of "coalition action" would have been railroaded past the UN Security Council and those revolting numbers and actions would not have reached the point that they have.
He knows.... and the actions that He Will allow upon the responsible parties amongst the Western Powers will be proportional to such crime-by-omission.
_________________
(1) Source
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Leaker Snowden alleges NSA hacking on China, world. (1)
[our highlights]
Leaker Snowden alleges NSA hacking on China, world. (1)
For months, China has tried to turn the tables on the U.S. to counter accusations that it hacks
America's computers and networks. In an interview with
the South China Morning Post newspaper, Snowden claims the U.S. has long been attacking a Hong
Kong university that routes all Internet traffic in and out of the semiautonomous Chinese
region.
Snowden said the National Security Agency's 61,000 hacking targets around the world include hundreds in Hong Kong and mainland China, the paper reported late Wednesday. The Post, Hong Kong's main English-language newspaper, said Snowden had presented documents to support those claims, but it did not describe the documents and said it could not verify them.
The Post cited Snowden as saying the NSA has been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and mainland China since 2009, citing documents he showed the paper, which it said it could not verify. It didn't provide further details about the documents.
He said that among the targets was the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which hosts the Hong Kong Internet Exchange, the main hub for the city's Internet traffic. Set up in 1995, it allows all data between local servers to be routed locally instead of having to pass through exchanges in other countries, including the United States.
"We hack network backbones - like huge Internet routers, basically - that gives us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers without having to hack every single one," Snowden told the Post.
Snowden said the National Security Agency's 61,000 hacking targets around the world include hundreds in Hong Kong and mainland China, the paper reported late Wednesday. The Post, Hong Kong's main English-language newspaper, said Snowden had presented documents to support those claims, but it did not describe the documents and said it could not verify them.
The Post cited Snowden as saying the NSA has been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and mainland China since 2009, citing documents he showed the paper, which it said it could not verify. It didn't provide further details about the documents.
He said that among the targets was the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which hosts the Hong Kong Internet Exchange, the main hub for the city's Internet traffic. Set up in 1995, it allows all data between local servers to be routed locally instead of having to pass through exchanges in other countries, including the United States.
"We hack network backbones - like huge Internet routers, basically - that gives us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers without having to hack every single one," Snowden told the Post.
miguel de Portugal comments:
After Manning's case and now Snowden's, we must assume that the crime of "High Treason Against the
State" must have been redefined or erased from the books.
_________________
(1) News Report
_________________
(1) News Report
June 13th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Unusually massive line of storms aim at Midwest. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: ...and the Hand of God continues to be felt..... and explained away by most.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Travel Tips Tuesday: Safely Packing Batteries for Your Trip. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: Whether one likes TSA or not, it is best to know what their guidelines to avoid unpleasantness at the airport. That is why we are bringing to our reader's attention these guidelines.
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Pope confirms 'gay lobby' at work at Vatican, in remarks reported by priests and nuns. (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: What next? (sarcasm on) The sphericity of the planet Earth will soon be acknowledged too? .... and, will they soon admit that our planet orbits the Sun. So much wisdom! So much light! It is hard to know what to do with all of it. (sarcasm off)
These people must think that most catholics are intellectually challenged!
Let's see.... so far Francis has acknowledged and/or condemned that: (a) the Church should be a church of and for the poor; (b) the Vatican should get out of the money laundering business; and, now, (c) there is a 'gay lobby' at work at the Vatican, but it is business as usual.... and will continue to be until God brings it to an end.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Unusually massive line of storms aim at Midwest. (1)
A gigantic line of powerful thunderstorms could affect
one in five Americans on Wednesday as it rumbles from Iowa to Maryland packing hail,
lightning and tree-toppling winds.
Meteorologist are warning that the continuous line of storms may even spawn an unusual weather event called a derecho (duh-RAY'-choh), which is a massive storm of strong straight-line winds spanning at least 240 miles. Wednesday's storms are also likely to generate tornadoes and cause power outages that will be followed by oppressive heat, said Bill Bunting, operations chief at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.
The risk of severe weather in Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, is roughly 45 times higher than on a normal June day, Bunting said. Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Louisville, Ky., have a risk level 15 times more than normal. All told, the area the weather service considers to be under heightened risk of dangerous weather includes 64 million people in 10 states.
"It's a pretty high threat," Bunting said, who also warned that the storms will produce large hail and dangerous lightning. "We don't want to scare people, but we want them to be aware."
For Washington, Philadelphia and parts of the Mid-Atlantic the big storm risk continues and even increases a bit Thursday, according to the weather service.
Meteorologist are warning that the continuous line of storms may even spawn an unusual weather event called a derecho (duh-RAY'-choh), which is a massive storm of strong straight-line winds spanning at least 240 miles. Wednesday's storms are also likely to generate tornadoes and cause power outages that will be followed by oppressive heat, said Bill Bunting, operations chief at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.
The risk of severe weather in Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, is roughly 45 times higher than on a normal June day, Bunting said. Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Louisville, Ky., have a risk level 15 times more than normal. All told, the area the weather service considers to be under heightened risk of dangerous weather includes 64 million people in 10 states.
"It's a pretty high threat," Bunting said, who also warned that the storms will produce large hail and dangerous lightning. "We don't want to scare people, but we want them to be aware."
For Washington, Philadelphia and parts of the Mid-Atlantic the big storm risk continues and even increases a bit Thursday, according to the weather service.
miguel de Portugal comments: ...and the Hand of God continues to be felt..... and explained away by most.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Travel Tips Tuesday: Safely Packing Batteries for Your Trip. (1)
If you're traveling on vacation this summer, you'll most likely need to bring some batteries
along, whether they're for your camera, personal electronics or other battery-operated
equipment.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented safety guidelines for batteries being transported on airplanes designed to prevent fire-related incidents from occurring. TSA works closely with the FAA on potential aviation safety and security issues, and TSA security officers are trained to identify potential safety and security battery-related threats in carry-on and checked bags.
Here is the breakdown on what batteries are allowed and prohibited in carry-on and checked bags, along with some packing tips for safe travel with batteries.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented safety guidelines for batteries being transported on airplanes designed to prevent fire-related incidents from occurring. TSA works closely with the FAA on potential aviation safety and security issues, and TSA security officers are trained to identify potential safety and security battery-related threats in carry-on and checked bags.
Here is the breakdown on what batteries are allowed and prohibited in carry-on and checked bags, along with some packing tips for safe travel with batteries.
miguel de Portugal comments: Whether one likes TSA or not, it is best to know what their guidelines to avoid unpleasantness at the airport. That is why we are bringing to our reader's attention these guidelines.
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Pope confirms 'gay lobby' at work at Vatican, in remarks reported by priests and nuns. (1)
Pope Francis lamented that a 'gay lobby' was at work at
the Vatican in private remarks to the leadership of a key Latin American church group -
a stunning acknowledgment that appears to confirm
earlier reports about corruption and dysfunction in the Holy See.
The Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious - the regional organization for priests and nuns of religious orders - confirmed Tuesday that its leaders had written a synthesis of Francis' remarks after their June 6 audience. The group, known by its Spanish acronym CLAR, said it was greatly distressed that the document had been published and apologized to the pope.
The Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious - the regional organization for priests and nuns of religious orders - confirmed Tuesday that its leaders had written a synthesis of Francis' remarks after their June 6 audience. The group, known by its Spanish acronym CLAR, said it was greatly distressed that the document had been published and apologized to the pope.
miguel de Portugal comments: What next? (sarcasm on) The sphericity of the planet Earth will soon be acknowledged too? .... and, will they soon admit that our planet orbits the Sun. So much wisdom! So much light! It is hard to know what to do with all of it. (sarcasm off)
These people must think that most catholics are intellectually challenged!
Let's see.... so far Francis has acknowledged and/or condemned that: (a) the Church should be a church of and for the poor; (b) the Vatican should get out of the money laundering business; and, now, (c) there is a 'gay lobby' at work at the Vatican, but it is business as usual.... and will continue to be until God brings it to an end.
_________________
(1) News Report
June 12th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[contributor's highlights]
Whistleblower's
Employer Has Cozy Ties to Uncle
Sam.
(1)
If you haven't previously heard of
Booz Allen Hamilton, the
employer of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, it's not for its lack of ties with
Washington, DC.
Some 98% of the company's revenue in the past fiscal year came from its government contracts, and 23% of that - or $1.3 billion - came from intelligence work, including for the NSA, the New York Times reports.
It's not just contracts that link the private firm to Washington: President Obama's top intelligence official, James Clapper, used to be a Booz Allen executive, and the man who held Clapper's job in the Bush administration works there now.
Some 98% of the company's revenue in the past fiscal year came from its government contracts, and 23% of that - or $1.3 billion - came from intelligence work, including for the NSA, the New York Times reports.
It's not just contracts that link the private firm to Washington: President Obama's top intelligence official, James Clapper, used to be a Booz Allen executive, and the man who held Clapper's job in the Bush administration works there now.
Close to half of Booz Allen's 25,000 workers have top secret
security clearance: They have "access to
information that would cause 'exceptionally grave
damage' to national security if disclosed to the public," in the company's
words.
The Washington Post figures a leak was bound to happen thanks to the speedy post-9/11 outsourcing of intelligence jobs; a 2010 analysis by the paper found 1,931 private companies engaged in national security-related work.
And the system in place for quietly reporting concerns is less clear to contractors than to government workers, a former NSA official tells the Times.
The Washington Post figures a leak was bound to happen thanks to the speedy post-9/11 outsourcing of intelligence jobs; a 2010 analysis by the paper found 1,931 private companies engaged in national security-related work.
And the system in place for quietly reporting concerns is less clear to contractors than to government workers, a former NSA official tells the Times.
miguel de Portugal comments: As we said elsewhere - If the unthinkable has not happened yet, it only is because God has not allowed it.
Statistiscally speaking there must be more than one Soviet and Chinese mole well imbedded where Edward Snowden was.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
500 years later, theological debate still simmers. (1)
The debate over the Christian concept of Calvinism is about 500 years old. That's not stopping it
from causing division in the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Calvinism is named for the 16th-century theologian John Calvin. Among other things, it teaches that Jesus died only for those who have been elected by God for salvation. That idea does not sit well with many Southern Baptists, who believe Jesus died for the whole world.
Some Calvinists believe that professors on their side have been forced out of positions at seminaries controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention.
Convention leaders say there is room for both sides and recently issued a statement trying to unite the factions ahead of their annual meeting next week in Texas.
Calvinism is named for the 16th-century theologian John Calvin. Among other things, it teaches that Jesus died only for those who have been elected by God for salvation. That idea does not sit well with many Southern Baptists, who believe Jesus died for the whole world.
Some Calvinists believe that professors on their side have been forced out of positions at seminaries controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention.
Convention leaders say there is room for both sides and recently issued a statement trying to unite the factions ahead of their annual meeting next week in Texas.
miguel de Portugal comments: These poor people continue to grapple, meet and confer and get nowhere. If they would just come to our pages, their hysteria would be over.
In the Time Frame (2) - Jesus died for the Salvation of the Whole World.
In the Eternal Frame (2) - Jesus only died for those who have been elected by God since, in Eternity, all is finished. Those who were destined for hell are there and those who were destined for Heaven are also there.
And I entreat thee also, my sincere companion, help those women
who have laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement and the rest of my fellow labourers, whose
names are in the book of life.
Philippians 4:3
He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Apocalypse 3:5
And all that dwell upon the earth adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, which was slain from the beginning of the world. Apocalypse 13:8
The beast, which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruction: and the inhabitants on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast that was, and is not. Apocalypse 17:8
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Apocalypse 20:12
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire. Apocalypse 20:15
There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb. Apocalypse 21:27
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book. Apocalypse 22:19
and last, but not least, to the chagrin of satan (notice the verse number)....He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Apocalypse 3:5
And all that dwell upon the earth adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, which was slain from the beginning of the world. Apocalypse 13:8
The beast, which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruction: and the inhabitants on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast that was, and is not. Apocalypse 17:8
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Apocalypse 20:12
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire. Apocalypse 20:15
There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb. Apocalypse 21:27
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book. Apocalypse 22:19
And he said: Therefore did I say to you, that no man can come to
me, unless it be given him by my Father.
John 6:66
As you can see, we settled that 500 year long argument, years ago, without having to be a "whatever century" theologian. God reveals His secrets to those He Wills and for His purpose - not to pin medals on one's chest or "wear" titles.
_________________
(1) News Report
(2) About Time and Eternity
Regarding former CIA's Edward Snowden
miguel de Portugal comments: As we view that poor child's video interview, I cannot help but feel sorry for him - even though, as we have clearly stated, I strongly disagree with his actions.
He thinks of himself as being smart. He thinks of himself "Intelligence" savvy. Yet....
If he had come down to Earth long enough to read Tim Weiner's book Enemies: A History of the FBI (1), he would have realized that the only different thing he saw was the use of more sophisticated equipment.... doing the exact same things that has been done for decades upon decades. Activities which have been known to most in positions of leadership in the US and abroad.
In other words - he has taken a plunge, with no return, for nothing. Just like with the Vatican, the Intelligence Services - of all countries - will continue to function as always; wasting their time, because it is God Who calls the proverbial shots.
How boring; how terribly boring and wasteful.
_________________
(1) Enemies: A History of the FBI
June 11th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Koreas just days away from renewed high-level talks. (1)
North and South Korea head towards ministerial level
talks this Wednesday in Seoul, following the
weekend breakthrough at a meeting in historic Panmunjon, where the 1953 armistice was
signed between the two then-warring nations.
It will be the first talks at this level in six years, and will end a period of frosty and sometimes violent relations which culminated earlier this year with all contacts suspended and telephone hotlines cut.
South Korea's president has held a special cabinet meeting to prepare the agenda for talks, and set priorities.
It will be the first talks at this level in six years, and will end a period of frosty and sometimes violent relations which culminated earlier this year with all contacts suspended and telephone hotlines cut.
South Korea's president has held a special cabinet meeting to prepare the agenda for talks, and set priorities.
miguel de Portugal comments: That is how intellectually challenged the Western Powers leadership is.
What the North Korean leadership is now feeding to its totally uninformed masses is that: "The West capitulated after being faced with an attack by North Korea fearless and powerful military."
Not only we have not won any wars since World War II; we are not even able to win wars of words. How sad! What a poor example to our youth.
Of course, those are just rhetorical comments since it no longer matters.
_________________
(1) Euronews Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Erdogan calls Turkish protesters 'those who burn and destroy'. (1)
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited several cities to verbally challenge the
mass demonstrations against his rule.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the most inflammatory of his speeches as he arrived in the capital, Ankara. Erdogan belittled the protesters, again calling them "capulcu," the Turkish word for looters or vandals. He made his speech in Ankara on an open-top bus, which then drove into the city in a motorcade.
"If you look in the dictionary, you will see how right a description this is," Erdogan said, speaking to thousands of supporters who greeted him at the airport. "Those who burn and destroy are called capulcu. Those who back them are of the same family."
"All they do is to break and destroy, to attack public buildings ... They didn't stop at that," Erdogan said. "They attacked daughters who wear headscarves. They entered Dolmabahce mosque with their beer bottles and their shoes."
Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the most inflammatory of his speeches as he arrived in the capital, Ankara. Erdogan belittled the protesters, again calling them "capulcu," the Turkish word for looters or vandals. He made his speech in Ankara on an open-top bus, which then drove into the city in a motorcade.
"If you look in the dictionary, you will see how right a description this is," Erdogan said, speaking to thousands of supporters who greeted him at the airport. "Those who burn and destroy are called capulcu. Those who back them are of the same family."
"All they do is to break and destroy, to attack public buildings ... They didn't stop at that," Erdogan said. "They attacked daughters who wear headscarves. They entered Dolmabahce mosque with their beer bottles and their shoes."
miguel de Portugal comments: Do notice.... less than two months ago the "hot button" used to cause unrest in Turkey - the Kurdistan separatist movement - was resolved in a harmonious matter.
"They" needed something else to replace the Kurdistan "hot button" so that "they" could also bring the only stable country in the area (except for Israel) to its boiling point as the intial program fro the establshiment of the New World Order called for:
Step 1: The whole world, country by country
is brought into great turmoil. Propitiated by political, financial, ethnic or religious
confrontations or whatever is the best means in each country to achieve the desired purpose:
Generalized chaos.In Summary: "Bring the world up to its boiling point".
The fools do not know that "their plans" will never come to pass for so has been Decreed by God. (2)
_________________
(1) News
(2) Where their silly plans stand.
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
According to Mr. Snowden: "The greatest fear that I have (after revealing the NSA operating secrets) is that nothing will change." (1)
miguel de Portugal comments: The question, knowing as he really does, that nothing will really change is: "Why did you do it? An ego trip?"
If he did not agree with what his work was all about, while living in "paradise" - Hawaii - and making "a ton of money" (using his words), then he should have resigned.
But in this situation, just like in pedophile scandals, the real blame rests upon his superiors. He said that he repeatedly brought the issues which he considered improper and illegal to his superiors and they repeatedly ignored him.
Any superior who is worth "half his salt", would have let him go or relocated him under whatever excuse after the second complaint. Said "superior(s)" (what a misuse of a term!) are more responsible for what happened than Snowden is.
_________________
(1) Interview with the former NSA/CIA contract worker - Mr. Snowden
June 10th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[contributor's r highlights]
Obama: 'Nobody Is Listening to Your Phone Calls' (1)
President Obama tried to defuse the growing surveillance controversies during a speech in San Jose
today, reiterating that anything the government does is limited in scope and necessary
to keep the country safe, reports the Washington Post. (Pretty much
the argument that the New York Times bashed him about.) He added that he came to
office with a "healthy skepticism" of the programs but is now on board with the
safeguards in place.
Some highlights:
Some highlights:
• "Nobody is listening to your phone calls."
• "I know that the people involved in these programs operate like professionals," he said. They are “looking at phone numbers and durations of
• "I know that the people involved in these programs operate like professionals," he said. They are “looking at phone numbers and durations of
calls. They are not looking at people’s names, and they are not looking at content.”
• In the same vein, he said the government isn't reading your email. The Internet surveillance program “does not apply to US citizens and it
• In the same vein, he said the government isn't reading your email. The Internet surveillance program “does not apply to US citizens and it
does not apply to people living in the US.”
• "You can't have 100% security and then also have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. We're going to have to make some choices."
• Obama also criticized the leaks that have led to the recent spate of stories. "There's a reason why these programs are classified."
• "You can't have 100% security and then also have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. We're going to have to make some choices."
• Obama also criticized the leaks that have led to the recent spate of stories. "There's a reason why these programs are classified."
Contributor's comments: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5
[1] But of the times and moments, brethren, you need not, that we should write to you; [2] For
yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the
Lord shall so come, as a thief in the night. [3] For when they shall say, peace and
security; then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as
the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. [4] But you, brethren,
are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you
as a thief. [5] For all you are the children of light, and children of
the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
miguel de Portugal comments: Luke 8:17
For there is not any thing secret that shall not be made
manifest, nor hidden, that shall not be known and come abroad.
________________________
(1) Source
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Asteroid the size of a small truck buzzes Earth: NASA. (1)
An asteroid the size of a small truck
zoomed past Earth four times closer than the moon on
Saturday, the latest in a parade of visiting celestial objects that has raised awareness of
potentially hazardous impacts on the planet.
NASA said Asteroid 2013 LR6 was discovered about a day before its closest approach to Earth, which occurred at 12:42 a.m. EDT (0442 GMT on Saturday) about 65,000 miles over the Southern Ocean, south of Tasmania, Australia.
The 30-foot-wide (10-metre-wide) asteroid posed no threat.
A week ago, the comparatively huge 1.7-mile-wide (2.7-km-wide) asteroid QE2, complete with its own moon in tow, passed 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) from Earth.
While on February 15, a small asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, leaving more than 1,500 people injured by flying glass and debris. That same day, an unrelated asteroid passed just 17,200 miles from Earth, closer than the networks of communication satellites that ring the planet.
The U.S. space agency and other research organizations, as well as private companies, are working on tracking smaller objects that fly near Earth.
NASA said Asteroid 2013 LR6 was discovered about a day before its closest approach to Earth, which occurred at 12:42 a.m. EDT (0442 GMT on Saturday) about 65,000 miles over the Southern Ocean, south of Tasmania, Australia.
The 30-foot-wide (10-metre-wide) asteroid posed no threat.
A week ago, the comparatively huge 1.7-mile-wide (2.7-km-wide) asteroid QE2, complete with its own moon in tow, passed 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) from Earth.
While on February 15, a small asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, leaving more than 1,500 people injured by flying glass and debris. That same day, an unrelated asteroid passed just 17,200 miles from Earth, closer than the networks of communication satellites that ring the planet.
The U.S. space agency and other research organizations, as well as private companies, are working on tracking smaller objects that fly near Earth.
miguel de Portugal comments: I continue to place my trust in God and not in NASA. Obviously, their surveillance efforts is only nice to create employment... and for nothing else. Imagine what would they have done if the asteroid was on course to hit our planet? What if they discover one that will hit our planet within two weeks?
They can do absolutely nothing short of praying. Well, I believe that is better to remain in the "prayer mode", thus, be ready for any and all eventualities: asteroids, tsunamis, tornadoes, snipers, freeway accidents and, of course, a Gamma Ray Burst! (2)
_________________
(1) News Report
(2) About a Gamma Ray Burst
June 8th, 2013 [Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary]
News Report No. 1
[highlights by contributor]
Wealth of Roman Catholic Church impossible to calculate.
(1)
It is impossible to calculate the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church. In truth, the church
itself likely could not answer that question, even if it wished to.
Its investments and spending are kept secret. Its real estate and art have not been properly evaluated, since the church would never sell them.
There is no doubt, however, that between the church’s priceless art, land, gold and investments across the globe, it is one of the wealthiest institutions on Earth.
Since 313 A.D., when Catholicism became the official religion of the Roman Empire, its power has been in near-constant growth.
The church was able to acquire land, most notably the Papal States surrounding Rome, convert pagan temples and claim relics for itself. Over 300 years, it became one of Europe’s largest landowners.
For the next thousand years, tithes and tributes flowed in from all over Europe. Non-Christians and even fellow Christians were killed and their property confiscated. For example, the Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople in the early 13th century brought it gold, money and jewels.
But by the beginning of the 20th century, the church had faced several hundred years of turbulence. Protestantism had claimed many of its members. The French Revolution at the end of the 18th century outlawed the church and though Napoleon allowed it to return, his relationship with various popes was stormy.
Despite this, the church retained great influence in Europe and the Jesuit order focused on missionary work, spreading Catholicism to other countries.
In the 1870s, the Papal States were annexed by the new kingdom of Italy and the pope’s territorial influence dwindled to the Vatican.
In 1929, the Church received compensation for its lost land in an agreement with the
fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Under the Lateran Accords, it was paid about $92-million and,
in return, recognized his government.
Investing that money helped fill the Holy See’s coffers, ensuring its financial security.
According to Britain’s Guardian newspaper, the nest egg has grown to at least $655-million.
The Vatican’s portfolio includes property in London, including the building housing
Bulgari Jewelers, and apartment buildings in Paris and Switzerland.
716,290 is the amount of Church-owned land,
in square kilometres, across the globe - an area
slightly bigger than Alberta. Properties include Vatican embassies, churches, cathedrals,
monasteries, some schools and convents. (276,560 square miles)
(2)
miguel de Portugal comments: "Impossible to calculate" does not even come close to its reality. The prime real estate is so vast that it defies comprehension, yet, in yesterday's local paper - front page - we were told that the local Cathedral needs donations to prevent fine works of art from getting damaged further. The unmitigated gall of the RCA Administration is as vast as their real estate holdings.
_________________
(1) Source
(2) For comparison purposes: Alaska: 663,266 sq mi; Texas: 268,581 sq mi; California: 163,696 sq mi
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
The former archbishop of Buenos Aires was speaking at a gathering of children from Jesuit schools after being asked whether he had wanted to become leader of the Roman Catholic Church. (1)
"Anyone who wants to be pope doesn’t care much
for themselves, God doesn't bless them. I didn't
want to be pope," he said.
Francis, who has rejected much of the pomp and circumstance of office since his election in March, said his choice was also motivated by wanting to lead a simple life and to set an example.
"These days there is a lot of poverty in the world and that's a scandal when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone," he said.
“We all have to think about how we can become a little poorer."
Earlier in the week the Argentinian Pope, the first from outside Europe for 1,300 years, said that throwing food away was akin to stealing food from the plates of those with not enough to eat.
Francis, who has rejected much of the pomp and circumstance of office since his election in March, said his choice was also motivated by wanting to lead a simple life and to set an example.
"These days there is a lot of poverty in the world and that's a scandal when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone," he said.
“We all have to think about how we can become a little poorer."
Earlier in the week the Argentinian Pope, the first from outside Europe for 1,300 years, said that throwing food away was akin to stealing food from the plates of those with not enough to eat.
miguel de Portugal comments: According to Francis, most Popes were not Blessed by God. We have to give him credit him for that, because it is true.
Now that he has defined as a scandal "...when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone,....", when is he going to convert the unnecessary and obscene riches of the Church into means for the poor to feed, clothe and house themselves?
If we go by his performance as the head of the Argentinean Roman Catholic Church regarding the conversion of riches into rice and beans for the poor, hell will freeze over before we see the example coming from Francis' Vatican.
As we just stated in the commentaries for News Report No. 1: The unmitigated gall of the RCA Administration is as vast as their real estate holdings. It seems that brother Francis is no exception to this.
_________________
(1) News Report
June 7th, 2013 [Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and First Friday of the Month]
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Wi-Fi Signals May Stunt Plant Growth, Study Suggests (1)
A science experiment completed by a group of ninth graders in Denmark is gaining worldwide
interest from biologists and radiation experts, and may lead to a change in how we view wireless
devices in the home.
Because the school did not have the equipment to test the effects of mobile radiation on humans, the girls instead devised an experiment using cress seeds and Wi-Fi routers. Six trays of cress seeds were placed in a room with no radiation, while another six trays were placed in a different room near two routers emitting approximately the same type of radiation emitted by mobile phones.
After a period of 12 days, the girls determined that while the cress seeds not exposed to radiation grew normally, the seeds exposed to radiation from the routers appeared less healthy than the other group - in fact, they did not grow at all. The experiment secured the five girls a place in the “Young Researchers” competition.
Several researchers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Sweden have already shown interest in the research project...
"Within the limitations of their understanding and ability, the girls have carried out and documented a very elegant piece of work. The wealth of detail and precision is exemplary, the choice of the right cress is very intelligent, and I could go on," Johanson told DR.
Because the school did not have the equipment to test the effects of mobile radiation on humans, the girls instead devised an experiment using cress seeds and Wi-Fi routers. Six trays of cress seeds were placed in a room with no radiation, while another six trays were placed in a different room near two routers emitting approximately the same type of radiation emitted by mobile phones.
After a period of 12 days, the girls determined that while the cress seeds not exposed to radiation grew normally, the seeds exposed to radiation from the routers appeared less healthy than the other group - in fact, they did not grow at all. The experiment secured the five girls a place in the “Young Researchers” competition.
Several researchers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Sweden have already shown interest in the research project...
"Within the limitations of their understanding and ability, the girls have carried out and documented a very elegant piece of work. The wealth of detail and precision is exemplary, the choice of the right cress is very intelligent, and I could go on," Johanson told DR.
miguel de Portugal comments: The question is: How soon, and how, the mobile phone and wireless internet industries "prove" such "nonesense" wrong.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
German city copes after worst flood in 500 years. (1)
Germany dispatched thousands of soldiers Tuesday to help cities and towns cope with flooding from
the rain-soaked Danube and other southern rivers - reinforcements that came a day after the
Bavarian city of Passau saw its worst flooding since
1501.
The death toll rose to at least 10, including seven in the neighboring Czech Republic, where a man was found dead in the water in eastern Bohemia. Another nine people have been reported missing in the floods that have also swept through Austria and Switzerland.
Chancellor Angela Merkel toured flooded German regions, pledging €100 million ($135 million USD) in immediate federal help and holding out the possibility for more. She told reporters in Passau, a city of 50,000 on the Austrian border, that the damage looked even worse than during the massive flooding that hit central Europe in 2002.
The death toll rose to at least 10, including seven in the neighboring Czech Republic, where a man was found dead in the water in eastern Bohemia. Another nine people have been reported missing in the floods that have also swept through Austria and Switzerland.
Chancellor Angela Merkel toured flooded German regions, pledging €100 million ($135 million USD) in immediate federal help and holding out the possibility for more. She told reporters in Passau, a city of 50,000 on the Austrian border, that the damage looked even worse than during the massive flooding that hit central Europe in 2002.
miguel de Portugal comments: Another part of the chastisement.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Nuke missile crews cite morale-sapping pressures. (1)
Officers with a finger on the trigger of the Air Force's
most powerful nuclear missiles are complaining of a wide array of morale-sapping pressures,
according to internal emails obtained by The Associated Press.
The complaints shed fresh light on dissatisfactions roiling this critical arm of the Air Force, an undercurrent that has captured the attention of the service's leaders.
Key themes among the complaints include working under "poor leadership" and being stuck in "dead-end careers" in nuclear weapons, one email said.
The sentiments were expressed privately by members of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.,.... The complaints also said there was a need for more experienced missile officers, a less arduous work schedule and "leaders who will listen."
The 91st at Minot operates 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles - one-third of the entire ICBM force.
The missiles stand in underground silos on constant alert for launch within minutes of a presidential order.
The complaints shed fresh light on dissatisfactions roiling this critical arm of the Air Force, an undercurrent that has captured the attention of the service's leaders.
Key themes among the complaints include working under "poor leadership" and being stuck in "dead-end careers" in nuclear weapons, one email said.
The sentiments were expressed privately by members of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.,.... The complaints also said there was a need for more experienced missile officers, a less arduous work schedule and "leaders who will listen."
The 91st at Minot operates 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles - one-third of the entire ICBM force.
The missiles stand in underground silos on constant alert for launch within minutes of a presidential order.
miguel de Portugal comments: Is anyone surprised?
_________________
(1) News Report
June 6th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Pacific Fears Spread of Sorcery-Killings. (1)
A conference being held at Australia's National University generally would fly under the radar -
but when the topic is witchcraft, the equation changes.
What experts are talking about: The fear that sorcery-related violence could spread from Papua New Guinea to other parts of the Pacific.
Time reports that deaths from diseases like AIDS tend to spur witchcraft accusations. And the former head of the Solomon Islands National Museum tells the AFP, "The reason why it’s growing is because there is some kind of economic benefits people are receiving from these practices."
Ignore the problem, and that country "might end up in the same situation as in Papua New Guinea where they are actually physically killing people." It's those killings - including this horrific February example in which a 20-year-old accused witch was burned alive - that led PNG to last week bring back the death penalty (to deter those would would commit these murders) and repeal the 1971 Sorcery Act, which outlawed "evil sorcery," reports Time.
But Richard Eves, an Australian anthropologist who is co-convening the conference, notes that legislative changes "don’t necessarily mean an end to the problem because the ratio of police to population is quite low. When you’ve got an armed mob screaming for blood, there's nothing much a few policemen can do. And the fact is that police in PNG are just as likely to believe the accused are guilty as charged."
What experts are talking about: The fear that sorcery-related violence could spread from Papua New Guinea to other parts of the Pacific.
Time reports that deaths from diseases like AIDS tend to spur witchcraft accusations. And the former head of the Solomon Islands National Museum tells the AFP, "The reason why it’s growing is because there is some kind of economic benefits people are receiving from these practices."
Ignore the problem, and that country "might end up in the same situation as in Papua New Guinea where they are actually physically killing people." It's those killings - including this horrific February example in which a 20-year-old accused witch was burned alive - that led PNG to last week bring back the death penalty (to deter those would would commit these murders) and repeal the 1971 Sorcery Act, which outlawed "evil sorcery," reports Time.
But Richard Eves, an Australian anthropologist who is co-convening the conference, notes that legislative changes "don’t necessarily mean an end to the problem because the ratio of police to population is quite low. When you’ve got an armed mob screaming for blood, there's nothing much a few policemen can do. And the fact is that police in PNG are just as likely to believe the accused are guilty as charged."
miguel de Portugal comments: Those are the "fruits" of over a century and a half of "Evangelization" of PNG.
In 1844, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Vicariate Apostolic of
Micronesia and Melanesia entrusting it to the Missionary congregation of the Society of Mary. A
vicariate Apostolic is a mission territory under the pastoral care of a Bishop. The vicariate of
Melanesia included Papua New Guinea. Jean-Claude Collin, founder and superior of the Marist
Fathers, was in close negotiations with his agent in Rome, Bishop Jean Baptiste Epalle, about the
proposed missionary endeavors. The proposals for the twin vicariates were launched on 16th July,
1844. Bishop Epalle, together with seven priests and six lay brothers, immediately set sailed from
Europe, in the beginning of February 1845, their eyes and hearts were set on the Pacific
Islands. (2)
But as the highest profiled prelate in Spain, Cardinal Rouco Varela, told me in a letter: The failed Evangeliztion is the people's fault. Not the Church's fault.
"Pass the salt, please", the one on the shelf has obviously lost its savour....
You are the salt of the earth. But
if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it
be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be
cast out, and to be trodden on by men.
[Matthew 5:13]
_________________
(1) News Report
(2) Source
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
The Bilderberg Group gathering will this week take place at the Grove Hotel, a golf resort in Watford, Hertfordshire. (1)
The annual gathering of royalty, statesmen and business leaders, will this week take place at the
Grove Hotel, a golf resort in Watford, Hertfordshire.
Guests will include George Osborne, the Chancellor; Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor; and Ken Clarke, the Cabinet Minister who also sits on the group's steering committee, according to a list of participants published on www.bilderbergmeetings.org.
Other attendees include Lord Mandelson, the former Labour First Secretary; Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State; Timothy Geithner, the former Secretary of the US Treasury, and Gen David Petraeus, the former Allied commander in Afghanistan and head of the CIA.
Delegates from business include Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google; Peter Sutherland, the chairman of Goldman Sachs; Robert Dudley, the chief executive of British Petroleum; Douglas Flint, the chairman of HSBC and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com.
The group will discuss how the US and Europe can promote growth, the way 'big data' is changing 'almost everything', the challenges facing the continent of Africa and the threat of cyber warfare, according to an agenda published today.
The concentration of politicians and business leaders has meant the organisation, founded at the Bilderberg Hotel near Arnhem in 1954, has faced accusations of secrecy. It has been at the centre of a number of conspiracy theories.
More conventionally, the group is likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos and provides an opportunity for leaders to discuss the challenges facing Europe and the United States free from the constraints of public office.
Meetings take place behind closed doors, with a ban on journalists. There is no agenda and no votes are taken or public statements issued.
Delegates are able to speak on an informal, off-the-record basis and are not bound by their public, "pre-agreed" positions. This, the organisers say, allows delegates to "take time to listen, reflect and gather insights."
Guests will include George Osborne, the Chancellor; Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor; and Ken Clarke, the Cabinet Minister who also sits on the group's steering committee, according to a list of participants published on www.bilderbergmeetings.org.
Other attendees include Lord Mandelson, the former Labour First Secretary; Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State; Timothy Geithner, the former Secretary of the US Treasury, and Gen David Petraeus, the former Allied commander in Afghanistan and head of the CIA.
Delegates from business include Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google; Peter Sutherland, the chairman of Goldman Sachs; Robert Dudley, the chief executive of British Petroleum; Douglas Flint, the chairman of HSBC and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com.
The group will discuss how the US and Europe can promote growth, the way 'big data' is changing 'almost everything', the challenges facing the continent of Africa and the threat of cyber warfare, according to an agenda published today.
The concentration of politicians and business leaders has meant the organisation, founded at the Bilderberg Hotel near Arnhem in 1954, has faced accusations of secrecy. It has been at the centre of a number of conspiracy theories.
More conventionally, the group is likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos and provides an opportunity for leaders to discuss the challenges facing Europe and the United States free from the constraints of public office.
Meetings take place behind closed doors, with a ban on journalists. There is no agenda and no votes are taken or public statements issued.
Delegates are able to speak on an informal, off-the-record basis and are not bound by their public, "pre-agreed" positions. This, the organisers say, allows delegates to "take time to listen, reflect and gather insights."
miguel de Portugal comments: It is obvious the the salt without savour is everywhere.
These folks have been at it since 1954 and look at the state of the world today - much worse than it was in 1954 by overall standards.
Don't the world political and religious leaders ever get tired of spinning their wheels with no other result outside of spinning wheels? What a waste! Most specially when one considers the awesome power that God placed in man's hands via His Son, Jesus Christ.
_________________
(1) Source
June 5th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Malware (a virus-like program) That Drains Your Bank Account Thriving on Facebook. (1)
In case you needed further evidence that the White Hats are losing the war on cybercrime, a
six-year-old so-called Trojan horse program that drains bank accounts is alive and well on
Facebook.
Zeus is a particularly nasty Trojan horse that has infected millions of computers, most of them in the United States. Once Zeus has compromised a computer, it stays dormant until a victim logs into a bank site, and then it steals the victim's passwords and drains the victim's accounts.
In some cases, it can even replace a bank's Web site with its own page, in order to get even more information - such as a Social Security number - that can be sold on the black market. The Trojan, which was first detected in 2007, is only getting more active.
Mr. Feinberg (founder of the advocacy group Fans Against Kounterfeit Enterprise) has tried to alert Facebook to the problem, with increased urgency, but wasn’t satisfied with their response.
Mr. Feinberg said that after-the-fact approach was hardly sufficient. "If you really want to hack someone, the easiest place to start is a fake Facebook profile - it's so simple, it's stupid."
"They're not listening," Mr. Feinberg added.
Zeus is a particularly nasty Trojan horse that has infected millions of computers, most of them in the United States. Once Zeus has compromised a computer, it stays dormant until a victim logs into a bank site, and then it steals the victim's passwords and drains the victim's accounts.
In some cases, it can even replace a bank's Web site with its own page, in order to get even more information - such as a Social Security number - that can be sold on the black market. The Trojan, which was first detected in 2007, is only getting more active.
Mr. Feinberg (founder of the advocacy group Fans Against Kounterfeit Enterprise) has tried to alert Facebook to the problem, with increased urgency, but wasn’t satisfied with their response.
Mr. Feinberg said that after-the-fact approach was hardly sufficient. "If you really want to hack someone, the easiest place to start is a fake Facebook profile - it's so simple, it's stupid."
"They're not listening," Mr. Feinberg added.
miguel de Portugal comments: This is a very serious matter since more and more people are banking via internet.
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Manning wanted to enlighten US about war. (1)
Sitting almost motionless, Pfc. Bradley Manning listened to his attorney argue that the soldier
was young and naive and only wanted to enlighten the public about the bitter reality of America's
wars when he gave a massive amount of classified material to WikiLeaks.
Prosecutors, though, contend the 25-year-old Army intelligence analyst effectively put U.S. military secrets into the hands of the enemy, including Osama bin Laden, and they want to send Manning to prison for the rest of his life.
"This is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from classified databases and then dumped that information onto the Internet into the hands of the enemy," prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said.
He said the case is "about what happens when arrogance meets access to sensitive information."
Prosecutors, though, contend the 25-year-old Army intelligence analyst effectively put U.S. military secrets into the hands of the enemy, including Osama bin Laden, and they want to send Manning to prison for the rest of his life.
"This is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from classified databases and then dumped that information onto the Internet into the hands of the enemy," prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said.
He said the case is "about what happens when arrogance meets access to sensitive information."
miguel de Portugal comments: I do not understand what this fuss is all about. A very serious crime was committed - no lengthy trial is needed to establish that. The only thing that needs to be determined is the length of the sentence which should be based on the level of sanity of this young man.
Where we need to "fuss about" is: Who placed Manning, whose psyche is an obvious security risk, in that position? and Why was he not caught at the early stages of his crime?
The answer to those questions, and then, a permanent solution, is what is really important.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Top political appointees use secret email accounts. (1)
Some of President Barack Obama's political
appointees, including the secretary for Health and Human Services,
are using secret government email accounts they say are
necessary to prevent their inboxes from being overwhelmed with unwanted messages, according
to a review by The Associated Press.
The scope of using the secret accounts across government remains a mystery: Most U.S. agencies have failed to turn over lists of political appointees' email addresses, which the AP sought under the Freedom of Information Act more than three months ago. The Labor Department initially asked the AP to pay more than $1 million for its email addresses.
Google can't find any reference on the Internet to the secret address for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Congressional oversight committees told the AP they were unfamiliar with the non-public government addresses identified so far by the AP.
Ten agencies have not yet turned over lists of email addresses, including the Environmental Protection Agency; the Pentagon; and the departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Treasury, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security, Commerce and Agriculture. All have said they are working on a response to the AP.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz declined to comment.
The scope of using the secret accounts across government remains a mystery: Most U.S. agencies have failed to turn over lists of political appointees' email addresses, which the AP sought under the Freedom of Information Act more than three months ago. The Labor Department initially asked the AP to pay more than $1 million for its email addresses.
Google can't find any reference on the Internet to the secret address for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Congressional oversight committees told the AP they were unfamiliar with the non-public government addresses identified so far by the AP.
Ten agencies have not yet turned over lists of email addresses, including the Environmental Protection Agency; the Pentagon; and the departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Treasury, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security, Commerce and Agriculture. All have said they are working on a response to the AP.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz declined to comment.
miguel de Portugal comments: Is everyone losing their intellectual capabilities?
As a taxpayer I prefer "my employees" to have unlisted e-mail accounts so that they may get some work done.
If anyone has a serious complaint which they want to bring to the attention to a government official, they can write a letter - on paper; place it in an envelope and send it by the US Postal Service. If it is not worth that little effort, it certainly not worth e-mailing about it!
With the exception of an e-mail or two - as requested by a US Embassy here and there - all of our communications with government and religious officials, which over 28 years may have run into the thousands, have been using the traditional paper-envelope-stamp technique.
_________________
(1) News Report
June 4th, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
China Is Reaping Biggest Benefits of Iraq Oil Boom. (1)
Since the American-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has
become one of the world's top oil producers, and China
is now its biggest customer.
China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and is angling for an even bigger share, bidding for a stake now owned by Exxon Mobil in one of Iraq's largest oil fields.
"The Chinese are the biggest beneficiary of this post-Saddam oil boom in Iraq," said Denise Natali, a Middle East expert at the National Defense University in Washington. "They need energy, and they want to get into the market."
Before the invasion, Iraq's oil industry was sputtering, largely walled off from world markets by international sanctions against the government of Saddam Hussein, so his overthrow always carried the promise of renewed access to the country's immense reserves. Chinese state-owned companies seized the opportunity, pouring more than $2 billion a year and hundreds of workers into Iraq, and just as important, showing a willingness to play by the new Iraqi government's rules and to accept lower profits to win contracts.
"We lost out," said Michael Makovsky, a former Defense Department official in the Bush administration who worked on Iraq oil policy. "The Chinese had nothing to do with the war, but from an economic standpoint they are benefiting from it, and our Fifth Fleet and air forces are helping to assure their supply."
Notably, what the Chinese are not doing is complaining. Unlike the executives of Western oil giants like Exxon Mobil, the Chinese happily accept the strict terms of Iraq's oil contracts, which yield only minimal profits. China is more interested in energy to fuel its economy than profits to enrich its oil giants.
China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and is angling for an even bigger share, bidding for a stake now owned by Exxon Mobil in one of Iraq's largest oil fields.
"The Chinese are the biggest beneficiary of this post-Saddam oil boom in Iraq," said Denise Natali, a Middle East expert at the National Defense University in Washington. "They need energy, and they want to get into the market."
Before the invasion, Iraq's oil industry was sputtering, largely walled off from world markets by international sanctions against the government of Saddam Hussein, so his overthrow always carried the promise of renewed access to the country's immense reserves. Chinese state-owned companies seized the opportunity, pouring more than $2 billion a year and hundreds of workers into Iraq, and just as important, showing a willingness to play by the new Iraqi government's rules and to accept lower profits to win contracts.
"We lost out," said Michael Makovsky, a former Defense Department official in the Bush administration who worked on Iraq oil policy. "The Chinese had nothing to do with the war, but from an economic standpoint they are benefiting from it, and our Fifth Fleet and air forces are helping to assure their supply."
Notably, what the Chinese are not doing is complaining. Unlike the executives of Western oil giants like Exxon Mobil, the Chinese happily accept the strict terms of Iraq's oil contracts, which yield only minimal profits. China is more interested in energy to fuel its economy than profits to enrich its oil giants.
miguel de Portugal comments: Is it necessary? The news report says it all!
_________________
(1) New York Times Reports
Commentary on European Union News (Saga?)
The overall failure of the European Union dream can be summarized as follows.
(a) A European governmental structure/body was established to run the Union. This body/structure
is comparable in size and functions to that of the US if we remove the US Department of Defense
from the comparison.
(b) The governments of each nation have not been reduced. On the contrary, additional departments have been added to interface with the new EU central government.
(c) The central EU government spends its resources in trying to homogenize a group of nations which are internally divided by history. This is a monumental and expensive effort since the meetings, the summits, etc., etc. seem to never end, only to the benefit of the travel industry.
(d) The individual governments must market their own exports to other EU nations and the world. The EU government has contributed nothing to this effort; on the contrary, as regulations upon regulations flow out of the the EU headquarters, even the local bureaucrats cannot keep up in understanding and applying them.
(e) The local (national) incentive for creativity has been all but killed, thus clouding the future further.
(b) The governments of each nation have not been reduced. On the contrary, additional departments have been added to interface with the new EU central government.
(c) The central EU government spends its resources in trying to homogenize a group of nations which are internally divided by history. This is a monumental and expensive effort since the meetings, the summits, etc., etc. seem to never end, only to the benefit of the travel industry.
(d) The individual governments must market their own exports to other EU nations and the world. The EU government has contributed nothing to this effort; on the contrary, as regulations upon regulations flow out of the the EU headquarters, even the local bureaucrats cannot keep up in understanding and applying them.
(e) The local (national) incentive for creativity has been all but killed, thus clouding the future further.
The net result, which explains the state and continued demise, of the economy of the EU is:
A very expensive to operate machinery has been established. A machinery which has not aided its
participants in any way - financially or psychologically - and which has substantially increased
their financial and social burdens, while limiting their individual worldwide horizons.
It seems that only the Chinese have benefited by being given an essentially duty free license to
import into the EU whatever they manufacture, and then blanket the EU
with Dollar-Store type of establishments to market them.
Logically, impoverished Europeans welcome the
Dollar-Store type of outlets.
Welcome to the 21st Century fiefdom! (1) The European feudal system, with heavy make up and different clothes as desguises, is back!
The only way this concept would have come close to work it would have been if forced upon the citizenry as part of the New/One World Order.... and that global dream is just that, a dream (a nightmare, really) that will never happen. Thanks be to God! (2)
_________________
(1) fiefdom
a.the estate or domain of a feudal lord.
b.anything, as an organization or real estate, owned or controlled by one dominant person or group.
b.anything, as an organization or real estate, owned or controlled by one dominant person or group.
(2) The still birth of the New/One World Order.
June 3rd, 2013
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Judge orders Google to give customer data to FBI. (1)
A federal judge has ruled that Google Inc. must comply
with the FBI's warrantless demands for customer data, rejecting the company's argument that
the government's practice of issuing so-called national security letters to telecommunication
companies, Internet service providers, banks and others was unconstitutional and unnecessary.
FBI counter-terrorism agents began issuing the secret letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress passed the USA Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The letters are used to collect unlimited kinds of sensitive, private information, such as financial and phone records and have prompted complaints of government privacy violations in the name of national security. Many of Google's services, including its dominant search engine and the popular Gmail application, have become daily habits for millions of people.
In a ruling written May 20 and obtained Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston ordered Google to comply with the FBI's demands.
In 2007, the Justice Department's inspector general found widespread violations in the FBI's use of the letters, including demands without proper authorization and information obtained in non-emergency circumstances. The FBI has tightened oversight of the system.
The FBI made 16,511 national security letter requests for information regarding 7,201 people in 2011, the latest data available.
FBI counter-terrorism agents began issuing the secret letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress passed the USA Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The letters are used to collect unlimited kinds of sensitive, private information, such as financial and phone records and have prompted complaints of government privacy violations in the name of national security. Many of Google's services, including its dominant search engine and the popular Gmail application, have become daily habits for millions of people.
In a ruling written May 20 and obtained Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston ordered Google to comply with the FBI's demands.
In 2007, the Justice Department's inspector general found widespread violations in the FBI's use of the letters, including demands without proper authorization and information obtained in non-emergency circumstances. The FBI has tightened oversight of the system.
The FBI made 16,511 national security letter requests for information regarding 7,201 people in 2011, the latest data available.
miguel de Portugal comments: As we have stated before - as long as the information is safeguarded and used in the appropriate manner, no law abiding citizen should be concerned about this.
I know that I "live in a fishbowl" - the "why" of it is a mystery to me - but am not concerned since, with me, it is as the saying goes: "You see what you get". Whatever we have not published yet it is because the time has not been available to do so.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
3-D printing goes from sci-fi fantasy to reality. (1)
Invisalign, a San Jose company, uses 3-D printing to make each mouthful of customized, transparent
braces. Mackenzies Chocolates, a confectioner in Santa Cruz, uses a 3-D printer to pump out
chocolate molds.
Once a science-fiction fantasy, three-dimensional printers are popping up everywhere from the desks of home hobbyists to Air Force drone research centers. The machines, generally the size of a microwave oven and costing $400 to more than $500,000, extrude layer upon layer of plastics or other materials, including metal, to create 3-D objects with moving parts.
Users are able to make just about anything they like: iPad stands, guitars, jewelry, even guns.
But the military, D'Aveni said, is likely to be among the first major users of 3-D printers, because of the urgency of warfare.
"Imagine a soldier on a firebase in the mountains of Afghanistan. A squad is attacked by insurgents. The ammunition starts to run out. Is it worth waiting hours and risking the lives of helicopter pilots to drop it near you, or is it worth a more expensive system that can manufacture weapons and ammunition on the spot?" he said.
In the past two years, the U.S. Defense Department has spent more than $2 million on 3-D printers, supplies and upkeep, according to federal contract records.
NASA is also wading into this arena, spending $500,000 in the past two years on 3-D printing. Its Lunar Science Institute has published descriptions of how it is exploring the possibility of using the printers to build everything from spacecraft parts while in orbit to a lunar base.
Once a science-fiction fantasy, three-dimensional printers are popping up everywhere from the desks of home hobbyists to Air Force drone research centers. The machines, generally the size of a microwave oven and costing $400 to more than $500,000, extrude layer upon layer of plastics or other materials, including metal, to create 3-D objects with moving parts.
Users are able to make just about anything they like: iPad stands, guitars, jewelry, even guns.
But the military, D'Aveni said, is likely to be among the first major users of 3-D printers, because of the urgency of warfare.
"Imagine a soldier on a firebase in the mountains of Afghanistan. A squad is attacked by insurgents. The ammunition starts to run out. Is it worth waiting hours and risking the lives of helicopter pilots to drop it near you, or is it worth a more expensive system that can manufacture weapons and ammunition on the spot?" he said.
In the past two years, the U.S. Defense Department has spent more than $2 million on 3-D printers, supplies and upkeep, according to federal contract records.
NASA is also wading into this arena, spending $500,000 in the past two years on 3-D printing. Its Lunar Science Institute has published descriptions of how it is exploring the possibility of using the printers to build everything from spacecraft parts while in orbit to a lunar base.
miguel de Portugal comments: The free fall to the bottom of the abyss continues with no let up in sight (because there will be none until God steps in).
_________________
(1) News Report
June 1st, 2013 [First Saturday of the Month]
News Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Even in church, Venezuelans face shortages. (1)
When it comes to Venezuela's growing scarcities, not even the Roman Catholic Church has received a
dispensation.
Church officials say food shortages and foreign exchange restrictions are causing a lack of ingredients needed to celebrate Mass: altar wine as well as wheat to produce communion wafers. They say the wheat flour used for the sacramental wafers is scarce and the supply of altar wine used for Holy Communion is threatened, which could force them to ration it.
"We only have enough for two months," said Archbishop Roberto Luckert, a spokesman for the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference. He said Venezuela's only producer of church-standard communion wine, Bodegas Pomar, recently informed the church that it can no longer guarantee production because it lacks some imported ingredients.
The church is considering asking the government for access to dollars, but it hasn't made a formal request so far, Luckert said. The shortage of wheat flour has compounded the problems for the church, because the host, or wafer, administered during Holy Communion must be made of wheat. The wafers are made by nuns in convents and parish houses.
"Sometimes we spend days trying to get two or three bags," said Sister Maria de los Angeles, a 49-year-old nun shopping in a small grocery store in Caracas.
Church officials say food shortages and foreign exchange restrictions are causing a lack of ingredients needed to celebrate Mass: altar wine as well as wheat to produce communion wafers. They say the wheat flour used for the sacramental wafers is scarce and the supply of altar wine used for Holy Communion is threatened, which could force them to ration it.
"We only have enough for two months," said Archbishop Roberto Luckert, a spokesman for the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference. He said Venezuela's only producer of church-standard communion wine, Bodegas Pomar, recently informed the church that it can no longer guarantee production because it lacks some imported ingredients.
The church is considering asking the government for access to dollars, but it hasn't made a formal request so far, Luckert said. The shortage of wheat flour has compounded the problems for the church, because the host, or wafer, administered during Holy Communion must be made of wheat. The wafers are made by nuns in convents and parish houses.
"Sometimes we spend days trying to get two or three bags," said Sister Maria de los Angeles, a 49-year-old nun shopping in a small grocery store in Caracas.
miguel de Portugal comments: Assuming that the lack of wafers and wine is a true story and not another staged act - why aren't they being sent - free of charge - by the I-love-the-poor Francis and/or the many sects/cults within the Roman Catholic Church who are literally rolling in money?
This, of course, could also be seen as another symbolic manifestation.
_________________
(1) News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Wal-Mart Pleads Guilty To Federal Environmental Crimes And Civil Violations And Will Pay More Than $81 Million. (1)
Retailer admits violating criminal and civil laws designed to protect water quality and to ensure
proper handling of hazardous wastes and pesticides
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pleaded guilty today in cases filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco to six counts of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its retail stores across the United States.
According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, from a date unknown until January 2006, Wal-Mart did not have a program in place and failed to train its employees on proper hazardous waste management and disposal practices at the store level. As a result, hazardous wastes were either discarded improperly at the store level – including being put into municipal trash bins or, if a liquid, poured into the local sewer system - or they were improperly transported without proper safety documentation to one of six product return centers located throughout the United States.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pleaded guilty today in cases filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco to six counts of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its retail stores across the United States.
According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, from a date unknown until January 2006, Wal-Mart did not have a program in place and failed to train its employees on proper hazardous waste management and disposal practices at the store level. As a result, hazardous wastes were either discarded improperly at the store level – including being put into municipal trash bins or, if a liquid, poured into the local sewer system - or they were improperly transported without proper safety documentation to one of six product return centers located throughout the United States.
miguel de Portugal comments: Why should anyone wonder why there is more cancer today than fifty years ago?
Walmart was caught; now imagine how many, many others are still doing it.
_________________
(1) Source
News Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Prepare for Severe Weather with Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
Recent severe weather and the start of the Atlantic hurricane season reinforce the need for
Americans to familiarize themselves with the look, sound and authenticity of
real-time Ready.gov/alerts or
Ready.gov/alertas (Spanish).
Find out how do Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) work.
Find out how do Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) work.
miguel de Portugal comments: Just because we are heading to the climax of the Chastisement does not mean that we should not behave in a a prudent manner to minimize individual harm.
May 31st, 2013
[Visitation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary (used to be on July 2nd)
]
A Report about the elusive Jesuit Oath
Courtesy of Mr. WO
A Report about the elusive Jesuit Oath
Courtesy of Mr. WO
From an article about a Jesuit (and former classmate of mine):
"...Fr, Mark Hallinan, SJ, pronounced his final vows....on October 14, 2001.....(with) these
words:
I (my name) make my profession to Almighty God, in the presence of the Virgin Mother, the whole heavenly court, and all those here present, and to you, Reverend Father (Provincial's name), representing the Superior General of the Society of Jesus and his successors and holding the place of God, perpetual poverty, chastity and obedience; and, in conformity with it, special care for the instruction of children, according to the manner of living contained in the apostolic letters of the Society of Jesus, and its Constitutions. I further promise a special obedience to the Sovereign Pontiff in regard to the missions according to the same apostoiilc letters and the Consitutions.
I (my name) make my profession to Almighty God, in the presence of the Virgin Mother, the whole heavenly court, and all those here present, and to you, Reverend Father (Provincial's name), representing the Superior General of the Society of Jesus and his successors and holding the place of God, perpetual poverty, chastity and obedience; and, in conformity with it, special care for the instruction of children, according to the manner of living contained in the apostolic letters of the Society of Jesus, and its Constitutions. I further promise a special obedience to the Sovereign Pontiff in regard to the missions according to the same apostoiilc letters and the Consitutions.
After "solemn" vows, the "fully professed" take five "simple vows", privately - after Mass,
in a side chapel or a sacristy. "(1)
Mystery solved!
These unspoken of five simple vows are the modern version of the dreaded "Jesuit Oath". So, it/they are still taken!
This finally sorts out this perplexing matter. I had personally heard the vow written above, years ago, as a participant in a 'final vows mass'. Of course, nobody mentioned what was sworn to privately in the Sacristy!
As a curious indicator of status, the above is taken from an article written by the now famous Fr. James Martin, SJ, in reference to his own profession of final vows - in 2009. Hallinan is significantly younger and far less well known then Martin, yet he is selected years before to take the vows (in 2001).
Obviously, Martin 'proved himself' by his skillful jesuitical defense of Opus Dei, in which he was both gently criticizing AND defending them, and critiques of 'Da Vinci COde'.
After not having contact with Hallinan for many years, I contacted him from the nursing home where I was recovering from surgery. He was not the same man I had once known.
In retrospect, I would have sooner invited Nosferatu to my bedside. He reeked of ...something hidden..... hidden agendas. And that he was wearing a mask for me.
I also got the distinct impression that, once contacted by me, that he was under orders to 'keep an eye on me'.
miguel de Portugal comments: We thank Mr. WO for sharing this personal, and very valuable, experience with all.
_________________
(1) Taken from the parish newspaper of St. Ignatius Loyola Church, NYC, Spring 2009
These unspoken of five simple vows are the modern version of the dreaded "Jesuit Oath". So, it/they are still taken!
This finally sorts out this perplexing matter. I had personally heard the vow written above, years ago, as a participant in a 'final vows mass'. Of course, nobody mentioned what was sworn to privately in the Sacristy!
As a curious indicator of status, the above is taken from an article written by the now famous Fr. James Martin, SJ, in reference to his own profession of final vows - in 2009. Hallinan is significantly younger and far less well known then Martin, yet he is selected years before to take the vows (in 2001).
Obviously, Martin 'proved himself' by his skillful jesuitical defense of Opus Dei, in which he was both gently criticizing AND defending them, and critiques of 'Da Vinci COde'.
After not having contact with Hallinan for many years, I contacted him from the nursing home where I was recovering from surgery. He was not the same man I had once known.
In retrospect, I would have sooner invited Nosferatu to my bedside. He reeked of ...something hidden..... hidden agendas. And that he was wearing a mask for me.
I also got the distinct impression that, once contacted by me, that he was under orders to 'keep an eye on me'.
miguel de Portugal comments: We thank Mr. WO for sharing this personal, and very valuable, experience with all.
_________________
(1) Taken from the parish newspaper of St. Ignatius Loyola Church, NYC, Spring 2009
The Links to the past News Commentary Issues follow:
February
2012
January 2012
December 2011
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
January and February 2005
November and December 2004
September and October 2004
July and August 2004
June 2004
May 2004
March and April 2004
February 2004
January 2012
December 2011
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
January and February 2005
November and December 2004
September and October 2004
July and August 2004
June 2004
May 2004
March and April 2004
February 2004
© Copyright 2013 - 2017 by The M+G+R
Foundation. All rights reserved. However, you may freely reproduce and distribute this document as
long as: (1) Appropriate credit is given as to its source; (2) No changes are made in the text
without prior written consent; and (3) No charge is made for it.
The M+G+R Foundation
About Us and Frequently Asked Questions
The M+G+R Foundation
About Us and Frequently Asked Questions
PAGE of INTRODUCTION to
DOMAIN
HOME PAGE
HOME PAGE - Español
HOME PAGE - Portugues
Back Up HOME PAGE
HOME PAGE
HOME PAGE - Español
HOME PAGE - Portugues
Back Up HOME PAGE
Our Research Department
Please Note: If the above dated image does not appear on this document, it means that you are not viewing the original document from our servers. Should you have reason to doubt the authenticity of the document, we recommend that you access our server again and click on the "Refresh" or "Reload" button of your Browser to view the original document.
If you wish to contact The M+G+R Foundation, please Click Here and follow the instructions.