The M+G+R Foundation
Current
News Commentary
(1)
April 2013
To
translate this text into any major language Click Here
April 30th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Hoax on Twitter That
Moved Markets Raises Worries.
Could the global economy hinge on
140 characters?
That is the question the financial industry and government regulators
are trying to answer after a Twitter hoax on Tuesday that claimed
President Obama was injured in an explosion at the White House.
That report caused the Dow Jones industrial average to drop temporarily by 150 points,
erasing $136 billion in
market value, Amy Chozick and Nicole Perlroth report in The New
York Times on Monday. (1)
The markets recovered in minutes, but the episode has heightened concern
among regulators about the combination of social media and
high-frequency trading.
The vulnerability, in part, stems from the Securities and Exchange
Commission's decision this month to let companies and executives use
social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to broadcast market-moving
news.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Well, well, well.... "Little Suzie" is waking
up!
(2)
Now, let's see if "Suzie" has enough sense to do something about it it,
lest she miss the "coffee call".
(3)
_________________
(1)
New York Times Reports
(2)
Who is
"Little
Suzie"?
(3) Referring to
"Wake
up and smell the coffee!" saying
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
When Your Data
Wanders to Places You've Never Been.
(1)
A few weeks ago, a friend of this
article's author received a flier in the mail inviting her to an event
in Manhattan for patients with multiple sclerosis.
The thing is that his friend,
who requested that her name be kept out
of his column, does not have
multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease
that affects the central nervous system.
It so happens that last year,
she did search online for information
about various diseases, including M.S., on a number of consumer
health
sites. She also subscribed to an online recommendation engine where she
looked up consumer reviews of local physicians.
Now she wondered whether one
of those companies had erroneously profiled her as an M.S. patient and
shared that profile with drug-company marketers.
She worried about the potential ramifications: Could she, for instance, someday
be denied life insurance on the basis of that profile?
She wanted to track down the source of the data, correct her profile
and, if possible, prevent further dissemination of the information. But
she didn't know which company
had collected and shared the data in the first place, so she
didn't know how to have her entry removed from the original marketing
list.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Now let's see if some of the "Suzies" in our
readership wake up and understand now what we meant recently about the
problem
(2)
with some search engines.
Do you realize that unless that lady makes a proverbial Federal Case
out of
it she will carry that label the rest of her life? Even if she tried
the courts, we sincerely believe that she will get nowhere in trying to
track down every algorithm where her non existent disease is included.
_________________
(1)
New
York Times Reports
(2)
You are being "followed"
Other News
Reports
Other important news reports appear today in our
FYI&R Page
April 29th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Data Mining Students
Through Common Core.
(1)
Awareness is growing rapidly about the
recent initiative to bring Common Core Standards to schools across
America. Although the standards were supposedly proposed by the
National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State
School Officers (CCSSO) - giving
the illusion that the agenda is "state-led," it was the federal
government that endorsed the plan by offering $4 billion in grant
money....
Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) recently decided to take
action and write a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary
Arne Duncan... - and in the last half of his letter he emphasized the crux of the
problem: data mining.
"We understand that as a condition of applying for [Race to the Top]
grant funding, states obligated themselves to implement a State
Longitudinal Database System (SLDS) used to track students by obtaining
personally identifiable information," Luetkemeyer said.
Parents might reasonably assume that the "personally identifiable
information" collected for the database will include students' test
scores and perhaps other measures of academic proficiency. But they
would be much less likely to imagine that.... something far more
extensive and invasive than merely tracking academic performance.
According to the Department of Education's February 2013 report
Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance: Critical Factors for
Success in the 21st Century, "Researchers
are exploring how to gather complex affective data and generate
meaningful and usable information to feed back to learners, teachers,
researchers, and the technology itself. Connections to neuroscience are
also beginning to emerge."
miguel
de
Portugal comments: The problem with this data mining
will
become painfully obvious if one understands how a computer is
taught.
For the scientific minded reader, we recommend a review of
the
Scientific American June 20, 2012, article titled "How to Teach Computers to Learn on Their
Own - New techniques for teaching computers how to learn are beating
the experts". (2)
(3)
The article is about teaching computers, however, what we want to point
out to our readers is
- Where is the information
being taught coming from?
Data mining allows the development of algorithms for specific
situations or individuals which - if based on enough data - will allow
the very accurate prediction of the outcome of a situation or behavior
of an individual. Taking it one step further, once you can accurately
predict an outcome, the situation and/or individual can be influenced
so that the predicted outcome is the desire one.
The only consoling note may be found in the potential improvement of
our (US) abysmal Foreign Policy. If
we would apply ourselves in developing accurate algorithms on the key
nations of the world, our Foreign Policy would be a success. Obviously
Google is great at generating algorithms but the Feds are not.
We will share with our readers two perfect examples of what we are
talking about:
(a) Since the time I started studying history and progressed through it
at
different scholastic levels, I always wondered: "How could Spain lose
the North
and South American continents placed in their hands by Providence via
Christopher Columbus.?"
Once I have lived immersed in their
culture - most specifically in the region of Spain which was
spearheading
the conquest of the Americas - I understood why. The "algorithm" of
these people has not changed in 500 years! The ruling class and the
people can be very predictable today because the key elements of their
culture (algorithms) have not changed in at least 1,000 years.
(b) How could Portugal, such a small European country, which amassed
the enormous world wide empire they controlled, became a third world
country by the mid 18th century?
The Portuguese people's self worth and
power "algorithm", up to 1755, was based on their belief of an almighty
Roman Catholic Church (not God, but on the Church as is the case
amongst most Catholics) and the Royal House - thus they felt very
secure.
Secure enough to have amassed such an Empire considering the tiny size
of their Kingdom in Europe.
In 1755 earthquakes, tsunamis and fires destroyed Lisbon - the capital
of the Empire. The "almighty" local Roman Catholic Church and Royal
House
were overwhelmed and crumbled, and the Portuguese people saw their complete inability to face
what had taken place. Their security was
shattered and they dropped to the level I found in my first visit to
Portugal on
1991 - a third world country.
As I walked around - whether Lisbon, Santarem or Fatima - I felt that I
had been
transported back at least 50 years. This is not an exaggeration. It
almost felt like a Twilight Zone experience - broken every time I saw a
late model automobile drive by.
Having been also immersed into Portuguese culture, I have no doubt that
with a political and religious leadership that the Portuguese could
admire and respect
(something that they have not had for probably a
century or more) they would again become a nation that would command
respect, thus, attention, on the world stage. The Portuguese make-up
(algorithms) has not changed at all.
Frankly, I am amazed that our State Department has not made an all out
effort to develop the algorithms on the key nations of the world. With
what I now know about their effectiveness in predicting behavior,
we
would consider it a No. 1 National Security priority.
_________________
(1)
Source
(2)
Abstract
of Article
(3) If
you are serious about understanding this matter
Click Here
April 27th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
U.S. options limited
on Syria despite weapons report.
(1)
The White House disclosure that
the Syrian government has twice used chemical weapons still leaves the
Obama administration stuck with a limited choice of military
options to help the rebels oust President Bashar Assad.
Arming the rebels runs smack into the reality that a military group
fighting alongside them has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida.
Establishing a no-fly zone poses a significant challenge as Syria
possesses an air defense system far more robust than what the U.S. and
its allies overwhelmed in Libya two years ago.
President Barack Obama had
declared that the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons in the
two-year civil war would be "game changer" that would cross a "red
line" for a major military response, but the White House made
clear Thursday that even a quick strike wasn't imminent.
Yet it also underscored the difficulties of any step for war-weary
lawmakers horrified by a
conflict that has killed an estimated 70,000 but guarded about
U.S. involvement in a Mideast war.
"There's no easy choice here," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a
member of the Armed Services Committee. "All the alternatives are flawed.
It's just finding the least flawed among them that will get Assad out."
miguel
de
Portugal comments: President Obama should have never threatened
with serious consequences for crossing the "red line" if he did not
have a
plan already to implement. Now, with egg dripping from our faces, we
keep hearing the echoes of when China referred to us as a "Paper
Tiger". Such gelatin like spine only brings more calamities with many
nations and groups of insurgents "pushing the envelope" more an more.
As all of regular readers should know,
we are against war in any form
or fashion. We do not even acknowledge nor accept the Blessed by
the
Vatican "Just Wars" and our proposed solution for this horrific Syrian
situation is the same one we propose for anything:
Prayer and honest
and practical dialogue. It has worked in the past
(2) and always will as long
as we do not fall in the category mentioned in the first chapter of
Isaiah.
_________________
(1)
News Report
(2) The
saving of
Constantinople
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
E-tattoo monitors
brainwaves and baby bump.
(1)
An electronic patch can analyse complex
brainwaves and listen in on a fetus' heart
Mind reading can be as simple
as slapping a sticker on your forehead. An "electronic tattoo"
containing flexible electronic circuits can now record some complex
brain activity as accurately as an EEG. The tattoo could also provide a
cheap way to monitor a developing fetus.
Because its electronic
components are already mass-produced, the tattoo can also be made very
cheaply.
That means it might also lend
itself to pregnancy monitoring in developing countries. With
help from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coleman's group is
working on an unobtrusive version of the tattoo that monitors signals
such as maternal contractions and fetal heart rate.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Just what we needed - a mind-reading tattoo!
_________________
(1)
New
Scientist Reports
April 26th, 2013 [Mary,
Mother of Good Counsel (0)]
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Texas Fertilizer
Plant Fell Through Regulatory Cracks.
(1)
In the moments after a fire broke out
at a fertilizer plant here last week, some of the volunteer firefighters
and other first responders who rushed to the scene appeared to have
known that there were tons of dangerously combustible ammonium nitrate
inside, but others
did not.
The uncertainty over who was aware of the chemical at the plant and who
was not, both at the site and in Washington, illustrates the patchwork
regulatory world the plant operated in and the ways in which it slipped
through bureaucratic cracks at the federal, state and local levels.
One week after the blast, investigators
were still not sure how much ammonium nitrate was stored there...,
"The whole thing may have
fallen through a number of regulatory cracks," said a federal
official whose agency helped regulate the plant.
The blast occurred shortly
before 8 p.m. on April 17, about 20 minutes after a fire was
reported at the plant, the West Fertilizer Company, in this rural town
north of Waco, in McLennan County.
The plant did not make
ammonium nitrate, but was a retail distribution center; the chemical was brought in by
train and stored and sold out of large bins.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: The real tragedy is that man
does not seem to
have the capacity to learn what he should, even though it has
the
capacity to learn any number of facts and figures of no value
whatsoever.
Take a look....
The Texas City disaster of April
16, 1947 was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history,
and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions.
Originating with a
mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS
Grandcamp (docked in the Port of Texas City), its cargo of approximately 2,300
tons (approximately 2,100 metric tons) of ammonium nitrate detonated,
with the initial blast and subsequent chain-reaction of further fires
and explosions in other ships and nearby oil-storage facilities killing at least 581 people,
including all but one member of the Texas City fire department. (2)
An event billed as the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history,
and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions, having taken place
barely 200 miles apart, in the same State and separated by only sixty
six years.... and the same mistakes are made.
_________________
(0)
A
Good Counsel indeed; unfortunately it is wasted by most humans
(1)
New York Times Reports
(2)
Texas City
Disaster
details
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Greece to pursue
wartime damage claim from Germany to ease economic woes.
(1)
Greece says it plans to pursue Germany
for billions of euros in compensation for damage suffered during World
War II as a way of easing its debts. The move is likely to put a
further strain on relations between Athens and Berlin.
Media reports say Greek
experts have concluded the country should receive 162 billion euros;
108 billion for wartime damage to infrastructure and 54 billion for a
loan that the occupying Nazis obliged Athens to take to pay Berlin. It supposedly adds up to 80
percent of Greek GDP.
"We will exhaust all means that exist to reach a result, and for as
long a time and with as much effort as is needed," the Greek Foreign
Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos told parliament. He added that the
finance ministry has put together a dossier with six decades of
documentary evidence.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Obviously, the Greek government is serious
about this.
The Greek man-on-the-street is already
furious with Germany due to the almost inhumane belt tightening
measures imposed upon them, and mostly dictated by Germany, therefore,
anything could happen as the
population digest the above reality.
The European "Union" continues to crumble while the leadership
continues to "look the other way". As we were saying..... man is indeed
incapable of learning
what he must.
(2)
_________________
(1)
Euronews
Reports
(2) The French Revolution and
the End of These Times - An
Amazing Parallel
April 25th, 2013 [Feast
Day of St. Mark the Evangelist]
Mr. IW comments
on News
Report of April 24th
[Mr. IW's highlights]
In reference to your post in the New Commentary page regarding the
"Serbian Orthodox
Church Rocked By Sex Scandal".
This is very sad. Yet the general
outline of this situation is identical with what Cardinal Edward Egan
was publicly accused of being a part of in Chicago: A ring of clerics
AND prominent businessmen in Chicago who regularly held orgies with
young boys as the 'guests of honor'.
Egan is not alone in this. Another example is Bishop Howard
Hubbard o Albany, NY. Both Prelates 'investigated themselves' ....and
found themselves to be innocent.
My own limited
professional experience with the Eastern churches (i.e.. Greek and
Serbian Orthodox, and Eastern Greek, Maronite) put me in contact with
clerics whom I would not let be alone in a room with anyone!!! The
'problem' seems to be quite widespread, yet most are blind to it.
In one case, the pastor of a parish was away, and a
Franciscan was sent in to 'mind the store' for 2 weeks. One evening I
came through the rectory to find the chubby, ugly little cleric having
the start of a 'boy party' - complete with teen boys and weird young
men. How did this cleric know these boys/men? From where? They all
seemed quite familiar to each other. While some or all of them could
have been 'rent boys', if nothing else this priest was a 'regular
customer'. Yet he is on a vow of poverty....
In all these cases we are not speaking of clerics who made
"one moral failing", but serial pedophiles and lechers. All of whom
exhibit not one iota of interest in reforming themselves, much less
sorrow for their sins. Their seeming networking makes matters are the
more interesting.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Thank you for your
feedback.
Indeed, indeed, the greatest problem after clerical perversion is the
state of self-imposed blindness of those who are around and cannot miss
that reality, including other clerics, hierarchy and even lay members
of the
parishes/schools/camps etc.
m de P worked with a couple many years ago who discovered that the
baseball coach of their 16 year old son had been molesting him and up
to fifty other boys. Once they alerted the other parents, they had to
almost fight with them to drag the man to court. The other parents
wanted to fire the coach and let him find work elsewhere.... coaching
boys, of course!
Thanks be to God they succeeded and the abuser was indicted, judged and
jailed. This level of blindess/denial/refusal to act is much, much
greater when a cleric is involved.
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
FBI looks into
hacker attack on Associated Press. (1)
America's Federal Bureau of
Investigation has opened an inquiry into how hackers took control of the
Associated Press Twitter account and managed to send shockwaves
through financial markets.
A false tweet on the account also reported that two explosions at the
White House left President Barack Obama injured.
In a video released on the net, a man from a group calling itself the
Syrian Electronic Army, which supports President al-Assad, said the
action was a protest against the western media's coverage of Syria’s
opposition.
Although the White House
took only three minutes to issue a denial, virtually all US markets dropped on
the false news in what one trader described as "pure chaos."
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Now imagine if the hackers had managed to,
somehow, block the deactivation of AP's Twitter account and it had been
active, with updates, for a while.
_________________
(1)
Euronews
Reports
April 24th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Serbian Orthodox
Church Rocked By Sex Scandal.
(1)
The Serbian Orthodox Church has
approved the resignation of a powerful cleric amid sex-scandal
claims that culminated this
week with the publication of a graphic video appearing to show him
engaged in sexual activity with young men.
Vasilije Kacavenda, the bishop of Tuzla and Zvornik in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, retreated from his clerical duties months ago as
allegations mounted that he
had used his position for years to stage frequent orgies and rape
underage boys and girls.
But the April 22 decision by the Holy Synod to accept his resignation
appears to be the first
acknowledgment of the church's growing unease with the crush of lurid
accusations that seem better suited to Caligula's court than an
Orthodox diocese.
Bojan Jovanovic, a former
theological student in Bijeljina, the seat of Kacavenda’s
diocese, says he observed
numerous orgies organized by the 74-year-old bishop and attended by
fellow clerics and prominent businessmen.
Jovanovic says Kacavenda personally appealed to him to supply young
children for sexual purposes and frequently called on high-ranking
church officials to organize trysts with young theological students.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: In case someone thought that evil was only
running rampant in the West and in the Roman Catholic Church, the above
news should dispel any notions of that. It is obvious
that swine acting individuals are everywhere.
Be sure and take a look at the
lavish,
gilt-edged lifestyle
of these filthy and revolting creatures.
Now then, what better object for our prayers than for the conversion of
these swine acting clerics?
And
pray we must!
If you can sincerely pray for their conversion, then you are
really
making progress in imitating our Lord Jesus Christ.
_________________
(1)
Radio Free Europe Reports
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Israeli official:
Syria's Assad used chemical arms.
(1)
A senior Israeli military intelligence
official said on Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons last
month in his battle against insurgent groups.
Israel's assessment, based on visual evidence of alleged attacks, could
raise pressure on the U.S. and other Western countries to intervene in
the Syrian conflict. Britain and France recently announced that they
had evidence that Assad's government had used chemical weapons.
Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, the head of research and analysis in Israeli
military intelligence, told a security conference in Tel Aviv that
Assad has used chemical weapons multiple times.
"To the best of our professional understanding, the regime used lethal
chemical weapons against the militants in a series of incidents over
the past months, including
the relatively famous incident of March 19," Brun said. "Shrunken pupils, foaming at the
mouth and other signs indicate, in our view, that lethal chemical
weapons were used."
He said sarin, a lethal nerve agent, was probably used. He also said
the Syrian regime was using less lethal chemical weapons, and that Russia has continued to arm the
Syrian military with weapons such as advanced SA-17 air defense
missiles.
"The fact that chemical weapons were used without an appropriate
response is a very
disturbing development because it could signal that such a thing is
legitimate," he said.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Recognizing the reality that "Charity starts
at home" we still must ponder:
"Are the victims -
specially the civilian victims (of any faith) - of Assad's
atrocities less loved by God than those massacred at Boston?"
"Why should He take special care to look upon our people when we allow
such atrocities to be committed on a wholesale basis?"
Our leadership better ponder upon those questions very carefully. God
is perfectly Just and
only
shows favor upon those who sincerely strive
to live His Word and start his/her return to Him as the Prodigal
Son did.
We can only lead the proverbial horse to the water but we cannot force
the horse to drink!
Here is the reader's second great opportunity to show God that you love
Him. Pray for the conversion of Assad and his squad of assassins and
that the Will of God prevails upon the Syrian crisis - a crisis
abandoned by the West
since
it is not really financially profitable.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
The Year (2012) in Hacking, by the Numbers. (1)
Security experts like to say that there
are now only two types of companies left in the United States: those
that have been hacked and those that don't know they’ve been hacked.
Their latest supporting evidence comes in the form of an annual Verizon report, which counted 621
confirmed data breaches last year, and more than 47,000 reported
"security incidents." Those include distributed denial of
service (DDOS) attacks, in which hackers flood a site with traffic
until it falls offline, but do not necessarily break into a company's
network.
The victims spanned a wide range of industries. Thirty-seven percent of breached
companies were financial firms; 24 percent were retailers and
restaurants; 20 percent
involved manufacturing, transportation and utility industries;
and 20 percent of the
breaches affected organizations that Verizon qualified as "information
and professional services firms." (The totals exceed 100 percent
because of rounding.)
miguel
de
Portugal comments: The "security" of it all!
As we often say:
In God we trust
while every other security system is under suspicion.
Just wait until someone hacks Pay Pal and carts away the largest cache
of credit card information in the world. Such a "plum" is just waiting
to be picked.
_________________
(1)
New
York Times Reports
April 23rd, 2013 [Feast
Day of St. George]
Commenting
About the Boston Massacre
Do not be surprised
if we do not highlight any details about the recent Boston massacre and
the mailing of poison containing envelopes.
To our eyes, there are enough similarities/parallelisms and number of
incoherence
with events like: The assassinations of JKF, RFK and Martin Luther
King; the Oklahoma Bombing; and the 9-11 Events, anthrax envelope
mailing included, to recognize that the same spirit and mentality are
behind the Boston Massacre.
As any informed individual would acknowledge - there is enough
confirmed information about the above listed events to debunk the
official
theories that, even if a tape recording of a discussion among those
planning the
events would surface, it would add nothing to what is already known and
is
being officially denied. (1)
Therefore, it would be a waste of our time to follow the staged
developments of the Boston massacre.
It really does not matter any longer - the wheels of the
Divine Chastisement are already in motion and nothing will stop them or
delay
them any more.
_________________
(1) This statement does not mean that the U.S.
government is behind such atrocities. It means that a non-partisan
group with an agenda, which has been imbedded within the U.S.
government for decades, is behind them all. We pray that all of our
security agency members keep an eye open for individuals linked to said
group who are, right now, in their very midst.
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Google fined by
German data protection agency for illegally recording unsecured WiFi
info.
(1)
A German data protection agency fined
Google Inc. 145,000 euros ($189,000) for illegally recording
information from unsecured wireless networks — an amount
it
acknowledged is "totally inadequate" as a deterrent to the
multinational giant.
Hamburg's state data protection agency said Monday that Google admitted collecting data
including emails, passwords, photos and chat protocols from 2008-2010
as it prepared to launch its Street View service. Google says it
never intended to store personal data and the agency says it has been
deleted.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: In spite of news like the above which seem to
be regularly in the daily reports, anyone who is overly concerned
about the lack of privacy - in all areas - in today's world is accused
of being paranoiac.
___________________
(1)
News
Report
April 22nd, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Russia asked FBI to
investigate Boston bomb suspect in 2011.
(1)
Russia asked the FBI to
investigate Boston Marathon bomb suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011, a
U.S. law enforcement source told Reuters on Saturday.
The FBI said on Friday that
its interview of Tsarnaev, following a tip from a foreign
government two years ago, and checks of travel records, Internet
activity and personal associations, "did not find any terrorism activity"
at that time.
Tsarnaev, 26, was killed on Thursday in a shootout with police and his
brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured late on Friday after
daylong manhunt.
and
Boston suspect was under FBI surveillance, mother says.
(2)
One of the two ethnic Chechens
suspected by U.S. officials of being behind the Boston Marathon
bombings had been under FBI surveillance for at least three years, his
mother said.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva told the English-language Russia Today state
television station in a phone interview, a recording of which was
obtained by Reuters, that she believed her sons were innocent and had
been framed.
"He (Tamerlan) was
'controlled' by the FBI, like, for three to five years," she said,
speaking in English and using the direct English translation of a word
in Russian that means monitored.
"They knew what my son was
doing, they knew what sites on the Internet he was going to," she
said in what Russia Today described as a call from Makhachkala, where
she lives in Russia's Dagestan region after returning from the United
States.
"I do not believe that my sons could have planned and organized the
terrorist act, because they knew U.S. national security services were
keeping an eye on them," Anzor Tsarnaev told Russia's Channel One
television.
"They (the security services)
said 'We know what you eat, what you read on the Internet'," he
said, without making clear how the security officers had made contact.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: May the reader draw his/her own conclusions.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
(2)
News
Report
Commenting
on a past News
Report...
..... dated April 17th. We wrote:
The
only comment
that we have at this time (regarding the Boston bombing) is that - in
our opinion (just
an educated opinion) - it was a home made job by US local gun
fanatics
trying to neutralize any law that may be in the making and
that would limit gun ownership in the US.
We need to clarify that statement in case someone sped-read it and came
to the wrong conclusion:
Regarding the reference to "gun fanatics": Just like the term
"religious fanatics"
does not imply that all religious
individuals (even the very devout ones) are fanatics, the term
"gun fanatic"
does not imply that all law abiding gun owners,
hunters and marksmen are fanatics either. We regret if someone
misunderstood
such statement as an all encompassing generalization.
News
Report No. 2
[conributor's highlights]
The very long
list
of recent earthquakes that have struck Chinaon April 20th should be
noted:
2.5 80km ESE of Old Iliamna, Alaska
2013-04-20 17:22:56 59.356°N 153.729°W 200.1
3.3 3km S of Delta, Mexico 2013-04-20 16:55:15 32.320°N
115.191°W 9.1
4.6 59km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 16:14:35 30.253°N 102.873°E 16.1
4.7 99km ESE of Khash, Iran 2013-04-20 15:37:14 28.013°N
62.202°E 30.2
4.4 10km NNE of Yerri, Spain 2013-04-20 15:18:22 42.793°N
1.899°W 25.4
2.5 14km NE of Pahala, Hawaii 2013-04-20 14:06:16 19.293°N
155.379°W 3.7
4.6 104km SE of Severo-Kuril'sk, Russia 2013-04-20 13:34:28
50.048°N 157.217°E 10.0
5.3 117km SE of Severo-Kuril'sk, Russia 2013-04-20 13:18:08
50.018°N 157.413°E 9.6
6.1 98km SE of Severo-Kuril'sk, Russia 2013-04-20 13:12:51 50.140°N
157.225°E 20.2
4.8 34km W of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 11:12:49 30.370°N 103.108°E 10.0
4.5 27km W of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 10:59:00 30.417°N 103.170°E 10.0
4.2 74km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador 2013-04-20 10:19:42
12.640°N 88.765°W 35.2
4.4 33km W of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 09:45:13 30.457°N 103.111°E 10.1
4.4 112km S of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador 2013-04-20 09:33:37
12.281°N 88.708°W 35.2
4.5 80km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador 2013-04-20 08:55:45
12.571°N 88.700°W 35.2
4.6 158km SSW of Sungaipenuh, Indonesia 2013-04-20 07:47:00 3.355°S
100.728°E 39.4
4.6 39km W of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 07:18:32 30.385°N 103.054°E 10.1
3.0 40km WSW of Trinidad, Colorado 2013-04-20 06:47:16 36.982°N
104.889°W 5.0
4.6 38km SW of Kuripan, Indonesia 2013-04-20 06:35:53 5.310°S
103.557°E 69.2
2.6 50km SE of Old Iliamna, Alaska 2013-04-20 06:16:11 59.421°N
154.292°W 201.6
4.3 38km S of Cuajinicuilapa, Mexico 2013-04-20 05:19:43 16.119°N
98.404°W 18.6
2.7 36km ENE of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska 2013-04-20 05:18:38
60.631°N 152.153°W 86.7
5.4 145km WSW of Bouvet Island, Bouvet Island 2013-04-20 05:11:57
54.765°S 1.179°E 8.6
4.6 35km SSE of Cuajinicuilapa, Mexico 2013-04-20 05:05:12 16.159°N
98.315°W 9.7
5.7 221km NW of Saumlaki, Indonesia 2013-04-20 04:51:10 6.314°S
130.156°E 86.8
4.5 63km ENE of Su'ao, Taiwan 2013-04-20 04:36:29 24.802°N
122.435°E 125.9
5.6 76km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2013-04-20 03:42:03 5.037°S
152.142°E 72.6
5.1 57km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 03:34:16 30.181°N 102.928°E 12.3
4.6 36km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 02:38:35 30.260°N 103.129°E 12.1
4.5 42km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 02:19:04 30.297°N 103.040°E 12.4
5.1 46km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 01:37:28 30.283°N 103.001°E 12.0
4.6 41km WNW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 01:26:02 30.503°N 103.037°E 12.4
4.8 35km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 01:20:10 30.294°N 103.121°E 11.9
5.0 60km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 01:11:51 30.218°N 102.876°E 10.0
4.7 46km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 01:02:56 30.281°N 103.002°E 10.3
2.8 64km NW of Nikiski, Alaska 2013-04-20 00:45:54 61.025°N
152.258°W 134.3
4.8 42km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 00:37:11 30.275°N 103.045°E 10.1
4.8 31km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 00:31:36 30.352°N 103.142°E 10.0
3.1 9km NNE of East Foothills, California 2013-04-20 00:30:39
37.460°N 121.773°W 8.2
5.0 58km WSW of Kigorobya, Uganda 2013-04-20 00:30:29 1.496°N
30.795°E 23.2
6.6 50km WSW of Linqiong,
China 2013-04-20 00:02:47 30.284°N 102.956°E 12.3
April 20th, 2013
Emergency
Advisory
[courtesy of US.gov Team]
Weather emergencies, such as tornadoes, floods,
and lightning, can occur without a lot of warning. However, you can
prepare for
different types of
severe weather.
One of the basic recommendations to help you prepare for any emergency
is to assemble a
disaster supplies kit,
which includes water, food, a first-aid kit, and many other items.
Knowing what to do in different circumstances may save your life and
the lives of others.
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
There was a secret
meeting
between Julian Assange (of
Wikileaks fame) and
Google
CEO Eric
Schmidt.
(1)
On the 23 of June, 2011, a secret five
hour meeting took place between WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange,
who
was under house arrest in rural UK at the time, and Google CEO Eric
Schmidt.
Also in attendance was
Jared Cohen, a former
Secretary of State advisor
to Hillary Clinton and Lisa Shields of the Council for Foreign
Relations.
Schmidt and Cohen requested the meeting, they said, to discuss ideas
for "The New Digital World", their forthcoming book to be published on
April 23, 2013.
Through the New York Times Wikileaks provides
a
verbatim transcript of the majority of the meeting. A close
reading,
particularly of the latter half, is revealing.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: We have not read the transcript. The link is
provided should any of our readers wish to review it.
April 19th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Are the European austerity programs based on an Excel
error? (1)
The economic theory underpinning
austerity policies being followed by governments world wide may be flawed.
That is the
allegation made in a study by the University of Massachusetts.
It claims to have found
coding errors on the Excel spreadsheet used by the academics who
produced the theory which could invalidate their conclusions.
It was economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart
who
found that economic growth normally slows when a government’s debt
exceeds 90 per cent of the country’s annual economic output.
The observation and the subsequent conclusion that
countries must cut public spending has meant hardship for millions.
Policy makers around the world have imposed austerity measures in a
desperate bid to ensure a growing economy.
However analysts do not expect government to the discard
the theory as the saying 'you should not spend more than you earn'
rings true.
Even though...
Reinhart and Rogoff have
admitted to a "coding error" in the spreadsheet that meant some
countries were omitted from their calculations. But the economists
denied they selectively omitted data or that they used a questionable
methodology. (2)
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Am not surprised at all!
Allow us another trip down "Memory Lane".
When I graduated as a Chemical Engineering - all calculations used in
the design of all chemical processing equipment were done by hand using
a slide rule and a none electric calculator (to add, subtract, multiply
and divide - Period!)
This required a very intimate knowledge of the theory behind all
designs. Then came computers and the "new and improved" engineers were
using more and more the computers. By 1970 a word had already been
coined to to explain the reasons for faulty designs: "
GIGO" - Garbage In (the computer)
- Garbage Out (the computer).
By 1980 the new wave of "engineers" were great with computers, but
vastly
ignorant at the fundamental theories behind the designs. Therefore,
when
in their ignorance of fundamental theories they fed the computer
"Garbage", the output of the computer would also be "Garbage". Not
having enough technical sense to spot the "Garbage", they would use the
results.
"
If it came out of the computer, it
had to be right" - they thought
and
argued.
In case you doubt my word, take a look at a news report (below) from
September 30, 1999
_________________
(1)
EuroNews Reports
(2)
Reuters Reports
News
Report No. 2 (from
September 30, 1999)
[our highlights]
Metric mishap caused
loss of NASA orbiter.
(1)
NASA's Climate Orbiter was lost
September 23, 1999
NASA lost a $125 million Mars
orbiter because a Lockheed Martin engineering team used English units
of measurement while the agency's team used the more conventional
metric system for a key spacecraft operation, according to a
review finding released Thursday.
The units mismatch prevented
navigation information from transferring between the Mars Climate
Orbiter spacecraft team in at Lockheed Martin in Denver and the
flight team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: I rest my case....
_________________
(1)
CNN
Reports
April 18th, 2013
It was certainly News to
us that....
[our highlights]
John Paul II and Benedict
XVI have appointed Jesuits to powerful positions in the Church. (1)
John Paul II appointed
Roberto Tucci, S.J., to the College of Cardinals, after serving as the chief
organizer of papal trips and public events.
Popes John Paul II and
Benedict XVI have appointed
10 Jesuit Cardinals to notable jobs.
Benedict XVI appointed
Jesuits to notable positions in his curia, such as Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer,
S.J. as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
and Rev. Federico Lombardi,
S.J., Vatican Press Secretary.
and that....
Pope Paul VI entrusted the Society of Jesus with the mission of
combating atheism in the modern world. Pope Paul's charge, which came
at the outset of the Order's 31st General Congregation in 1965.
Some highlights of Paul VI's charge follow:
(2)
We gladly take this opportunity to lay
serious stress, however briefly, on a matter of grave
importance: We mean the fearful danger of atheism threatening
human society.
....
It is the special characteristic of the Society of Jesus to be champion
of the Church and holy religion in adversity. To it We give the
charge of making a stout, united stand against atheism, under the
leadership, and with the help of St. Michael, prince of the heavenly
host. His very name is the thunder-peal or token of victory.
......
We bid the companions of Ignatius to muster all their courage and
fight this good fight, making all the necessary plans for a
well-organized and successful campaign.
.....
You will carry it out with greater readiness and enthusiasm if you keep
in mind that this work in which you are now engaged and to which you
will apply yourselves in the future with renewed vigor is not something
arbitrarily taken up by you, but a task solemnly entrusted to you by
the Church and by the Supreme Pontiff.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Considering that Francis is the first Jesuit
ever elected as the Bishop of Rome, all of the above seems very
interesting, to say the least.
_________________
(1)
Source
(2)
Source
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
American Airlines
reservations system down, flights grounded nationwide.
(1)
American Airlines flights across
the country are grounded because of computer problems.
American asked the Federal
Aviation Administration to halt its flights until 5 p.m. EDT.
Flights on regional affiliate
American Eagle heading to Dallas, Chicago or New York's
LaGuardia Airport have been
stopped until 3:30 p.m. EDT.
Some passengers are stuck on
planes while others can't make reservations.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Those news are nothing new to our readers -
we are sure that you
have heard about it many times.
Our point is to remind everyone - again - about how computer dependent
we are and how can a major airline can be shut down by a computer
glitch - natural or man made.
Do not count on man made high tech devices in an emergency.... count on
God.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
April 17th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Catholic Religious Orders'
abuse files may go public. (1)
Less than three months
after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles released the files
of priests accused of sex abuse, attorneys for alleged victims are back
in court seeking similar records kept by more than a dozen religious
orders.
A hearing Tuesday will begin the process of determining
if - and in what form - the
records kept by religious orders such as the Jesuits, Vincentians,
Salesians and Dominicans, among others, will be made public.
Ray Boucher, a coordinating
attorney for the plaintiffs, said the records kept on accused priests
by the religious orders are critical to understanding the scope of the
sex abuse scandal and the internal dynamics that contributed to it.
Franciscan
files released last year revealed a pervasive culture of abuse over
generations at a Santa Barbara seminary dedicated to training future
Franciscans. The file
included a rarely seen "sexual history" written by one priest for a
therapy session that detailed how he formed a boys' choir and selected
his victims from among its ranks.
Religious orders whose files will be discussed at the hearing include small groups
such as the Piarist Fathers and larger, more well-known
organizations such as the Jesuits
and Dominicans.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: How can anyone believe that the Superiors of
these orders believe in God? Jesus could not have been clearer about
this problem and its consequences. The abusers are to be taken out of circulation
and treated; their Superiors should serve time behind bars, just like
all the Successors of Judas Iscariot should; they are the real
criminals.
_________________
(1) News
Report
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Violence against
women: "
We can't take it anymore"
(1)
It is estimated that up to 70 percent of women are the
victims of violence at some point in their lives. It is a
massive problem that governments are struggling to address, with
help
organisations calling for better prevention programmes and support
services.
Governments are under pressure to tackle all kinds of gender-based
attacks including domestic violence, but also rapes and sexual assaults
and the likes of trafficking and forced marriages.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: I wonder how fast that percentage would drop
if a saturation publicity campaign were to be launched - on a worldwide
scale -
pointing out to men that the more they abuse or desire to abuse a
woman, the more they are proclaiming to the world that they are
very insecure males.
All that men are doing when they abuse women is making up for
their total lack of male
self worth.
Once they become aware
that "their slip is showing", so to
speak, they will make a very great effort to stop. The implied public
shame will "do the trick".
Do you have any idea how fast this societal scourge would be reduced if
every man convicted of abusing a woman would have to
wear a scarlet
"A" on his forehead for
whatever length of time the
judge determined.
Do you know what brought to a screeching halt the passing bad checks in
the Houston Metroplex, a practice that had reached a scandalous level
back in the eighties? A very simple solution: The bounced checks were
placed on a bulletin board on the checkout
lanes of the stores so that the offenders could conveniently stop by
and pick them up with cash in their hands. Considering that the checks
had the name, address
and phone number of the offender for all to see, they would be picked
up very, very quickly. End of problem!
________________
(1)
News
Report
Regarding
the Boston Tragedy News
Reports
The only comment
that we have at this time is that - in our opinion (just
an educated opinion) - it was a home made job by US local gun
fanatics
trying to neutralize any law that may be in the making and
that would limit gun ownership in the US.
We encourage prayers for the souls of the deceased as
well as for the recovery of the wounded - without forgetting the
criminals, just as Jesus Christ taught His followers to do.
NOTE Added on April 21, 2003:
Regarding the reference to "gun fanatics" - Just like the term
"religious fanatics" does not imply that all religious
individuals (even the very devout ones) are fanatics, the term
"gun fanatic" does not imply that all law abiding gun owners,
hunters and marksmen are fanatics. We regret if someone misunderstood
such statement as an all encompassing generalization.
April 16th, 2013
News
Advisory
[Courtesy of usa.gov]
If a disaster struck your neighborhood, you would
only have seconds or minutes to react.
Is that enough time to find your
homeowners insurance policy, bank account information, or backup your
financial software?
These
4 steps can help you - financially - prepare for a disaster.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Let's not leave for later what we will not be
able to do then.
News
Report No. 1
[contributors' highlights, comments and references]
Pope Francis sets up a
group of eight cardinals to advise him. (1)
Francis has taken a most significant
decision by setting up a group of eight cardinals from all continents
to advise him in governing the Catholic Church and reforming the Roman
Curia
In
a highly significant and ground-breaking move, indicating a new, more
collegial style of leadership, Pope Francis has chosen a group of eight
cardinals, from all continents and the Roman Curia, to act as his
special advisors in governing the Catholic Church and reforming the
Roman Curia.
The Vatican revealed
the names of the eight
cardinals chosen by Pope Francis:
- AFRICA:
Cardinal Laurent Monswengo Pasinya, 73, archbishop of
Kinshasha in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, former president of
SECAM (the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar
(1997-2003) and co-president of Pax Christi International
(2007-2009); (2)
- ASIA:
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, 68, archbishop of Bombay, India, the
current President of the FABC, the Federation of Asian Bishops'
Conferences; (3)
- EUROPE:
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, 69, Archbishop
of Munich and Freising, in the Federal Republic of Germany; Since 2012
he has been president of COMECE - the Bishops
Conferences of the European Community; (4)
- LATIN AMERICA:
Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa,
79, emeritus Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, Chile, he was president
of CELAM - the Council of Episcopal Conferences of
Latin America ( 2003-2007); (5)
- NORTH AMERICA: Cardinal
Sean Patrick O'Malley, OFM, 66, archbishop
of Boston, US Bishops Conference; (6)
- OCEANIA: Cardinal George Pell, 71, the archbishop of
Sydney, Australia; (7)
- ROMAN CURIA:
Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, 70, the Italian-born Holy See diplomat and
currently President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State; (8)
- COORDINATOR: Cardinal Oscar Andres
Rodriguez Maradiaga, S.D.B.,70, archbishop of Tegucigapla, Honduras,
will coordinate the Group. (9)
- SECRETARY: Bishop
Marcello Semeraro of Albano diocese, Italy, will serve as the
secretary of the group.
[Contributor's comments:
Pell is in the Opus Dei camp. Maradiaga has made
some unfortunate comments in the past about very sensitive matters.]
In the pre-conclave
meetings, several cardinals
spoke about the challenges the new pope would face in governing the
Catholic Church and reforming the Roman Curia. Some suggested that it
would be good if the new pope could develop a more collegial system of
government... Pope Francis listened carefully and has
taken the decision to establish a group of eight to act as his
counselors.
Pope Francis
is a man of government. He
knows how to take decisions, as his performance as Jesuit superior and
later archbishop bishop in Argentina has shown. Now he
brings that skill to the Vatican, where it is much needed.
An analysis of
the eight cardinals chosen
shows that seven have wide pastoral experience in governing dioceses
and one is an experienced Holy See diplomat; they bring with them a
rich and diverse field experience. They are not all like-minded men,
and that too is a point in his favor. As in Buenos Aires, so too in
Rome, he does not want to surround himself with "Yes" men, he wants to
avoid the "Groupthink" syndrome.
Pope Francis is already in contact with
the cardinals, and the Group will meet for the first time on October
1-3, the Vatican said.
April 15th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Opus Dei Spanish
Minister of the Interior probes police over sister act.
(1)
Many Spaniards are questioning the
motives of Interior Minister
Jorge Fernández Díaz after his office called up police
officers who had asked a nun to remove her headgear during an ID check.
The seemingly minor incident occurred last February when a nun in the
town of Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) was renewing her ID at her
local police station. To confirm that the sister had indeed
provided a photo of herself, police officers asked her to remove her
headgear to make her face visible, as common protocol stipulates.
News of the routine check somehow went on to reach the archbishopric
and then the upper echelons of Spain's interior ministry. Interior Minister Férnandez
Díaz, himself a devout Catholic and member of the influential
religious group Opus Dei, then ordered an investigation into the
matter.
When the policemen who asked the sister to remove her veil were
questioned, the ministry
established that the agents had indeed behaved
in the appropriate manner.
What has shocked the Spanish public is the importance given to the
incident.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Perhaps Minister Fernández Díaz
should no be judged so hastly.
The general public does
not have all the facts. We can oicture/imagine a cloistered elderly nun
be
really traumatized if ordered to uncover her face/head. Therefore, if
that was the case, her report to her superior would have been colored
by such trauma. Also, there is a great anti Catholic Church spirit in
Spain. How many countries do you know where Church members take their
parish authorities to court
to
force them to actually remove their
names from the Baptismal Records? Such attitude could have
colored how the nun was treated.
Anyone familiar with us know that we are not "Opus Dei lovers", but one
must have all the facts before making "a case" out of an incident which
may have been just a misunderstanding - as it was obviously proven to
be.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Pope Francis asks
Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon to consecrate his pontificate to Our Lady
of Fatima.
(1)
Pope Francis asked, on two
different occasions, His Eminence José Policarpo, Cardinal
Patriarch of Lisbon and President of the Bishops Conference of
Portugal, to consecrate his Petrine Ministry to Our Lady of Fatima.
The revelation was made by Cardinal Policarpo on the afternoon of April
8, at the Shrine of Fatima, during the opening remarks of the 181st
Plenary Assembly of the Bishops Conference of Portugal (CEP).
Towards the end of the opening speech, Cardinal Policarpo revealed:
"Pope Francis has asked me twice to consecrate his new ministry to Our
Lady of Fatima. It is a command I can fulfill in silent prayer. But it
would be nice if the whole Bishops Conference joined me in fulfilling
this request. Mary will guide us in all our work and also in the way we
may fulfill this desire of Pope Francis".
The Plenary Assembly runs through April 11 at the Retreat House of Our
Lady of Sorrows. The President of CEP focused his opening speech
on two events: the Resurrection of Christ and the election of Pope
Francis.
"This Pope is a sign of hope!" Cardinal Policarpo Says
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Although it sounds very moving and very
proper, the theo-truth is that such consecration is not possible. Only
Francis can consecrate his term of office to Our Lady of Fatima. No one
else can do so.
Yes indeed, anyone can pray for an illuminated and productive term of
office. To have the whole Bishops Conference of Portugal pray for this
purpose would be commendable, but that is about all they can do.
The only valid "Consecrations by proxy" that we are aware of are: (a)
Consecrating one's child to God or Mary; (b) Or, in a generalized
manner, for those who, due to their ignorance or failed Evangelization
effort, will not do it and, if they had known, they would have done it.
On another matter. Cardinal Policarpo states that "
This
Pope is a sign of hope!",
which infers that the last one was not. Interesting, isn't it?
_________________
(1)
Fatima
Sanctuary News
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
NSA dismisses claims Utah Data Center watches average Americans.
(1)
What would you think if someone
told you personal emails, voicemails and web searches, basically your
electronic footprint, could be viewed and stored by a government
official? The feds say that would never happen but some say it
is, and by 2013 it will all be funneled into the Utah Data Center.
A more formal description of the center is the First Intelligence
Community Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative Data Center.
It is not a stretch to say Utah is quickly becoming the data center
capitol of the U.S., especially now that the state will be home to what
some say is one the largest spy centers in the nation. Plans for the
facility are nothing new. ...So why is it making headlines now?
In a bombshell article
published this month in WIRED Magazine, author James Bamford interviews
a whistleblower claiming the NSA has software that searches domestic
folks. This software can reveal everything from target
addresses, to web searches to social media sites to email and phone
calls.
It claims any communication that looks suspicious are automatically red
flagged. Basically, we're all at risk for being watched. The response
from the NSA? That's simply, not true. "Many allegations have been made
about the planned activities of the Utah Data Center," NSA public
information officer Vanee' Vines wrote in an email.
"What it will be is a state-of-the-art facility designed to support the
Intelligence Community's efforts to further strengthen and protect the
nation. NSA is the executive agent for the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence, and will be the lead agency at the center," she
said.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Frankly, I rather have our government do it
for security reasons than Google and others for profit.
(2)
Of course, NSA data could fall in the wrong hands like the
enormous amount of classified information that found its way to
Wikileaks but, as the saying goes: "I rather take my chances with our
government" as opposed to with for-profit undercover data miners and
hackers.
For the scientific minded reader, we recommend a review of the
Scientific American June 20, 2012, article titled "How to Teach Computers to Learn on Their
Own - New techniques for teaching computers how to learn are beating
the experts". (3)
(4)
The article is about teaching computers, however, what we want to point
out to our readers is
- Where is the information
being taught coming from?
You will then see
that, practically, short of one's DNA "they" have just about
everything they
need to know about the average Internet visitor. What is even worse -
you will learn how "your next move" can be predicted with frightening
accuracy based on what "they" may already have on you.
That is why our Utah Data Center is not such an earthshaking violation
of our privacy.
_________________
(1)
FoxNews
Reports
(2) Take a
look
(3)
Abstract
of Article
(4) If
you are serious about understanding this matter
Click Here
April 13th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
North Korea:
Birthday celebrations with a nuclear bang?
(1)
Monday, April 15 is what would have
been North Korean leader Kim Il-sung's 105th birthday. It is also the
day Seoul is bracing itself for a missile test in the North.
The commemorations of Kim Il-sung's birthday are usually a time for
attention-grabbing military parades and there was a failed satellite
launch around the same time last year.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Would not be surprised, even if their young
leader see it as a suicidal move. He has to do something; he cannot
afford to lose face before his people.
__________________
(1)
EuroNews
Reports
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Gold, long a secure
investment, loses its luster.
(1)
Below the streets of Lower Manhattan,
in the vault of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the world's
largest trove of gold - half a million bars - has lost about $75
billion of its value. In Fort Knox, Ky., at the United States Bullion
Depository, the damage totals $50 billion.
.....
Granted, gold has gone through booms and busts before, including at
least two from its peak in
1980, when it traded at $835, to its high in 2011. And anyone
who bought gold in 1999 and held on has done far better than the
average stock market investor. Even after the recent decline, gold is
still up 515 percent.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Just to show you how careful one has to be
when reading information published in the most revered sources....
If we adjust
(2)
the gold price to the value of the dollar, gold price has not even been
close to its high in 1980. In 1980 gold peaked at
$835 which would be $2,352.65
today.
Today's market price, $1,559.61/oz,
rolled back to 1980 dollars would
only be: $553.53/oz
Needless to say, the rest of the conclusions reached by the columnist
may be just as flawed, considering that he responded to our comments as
follows: "
We were aware of that but
probably should have been more explicit about it in the story."
_________________
(1)
NYT
Reports
(2)
Source of dollar
conversion
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Spain: New law protects Andalusia's vulnerable from eviction.
(1)
A left wing regional government in
Spain has approved a law that will stop banks from repossessing homes
from the most needy people, even if there is an eviction notice.
Spain's dire economic crisis has sent unemployment rocketing, and with
it arrears on rents and mortgages.
Elena Cortés, the regional housing minister said: "To have
justice, and to avoid suffering, the change needs to be radical because
we are going to the root of the problem. There are now 45 evictions a day
in Andalusia, and there
are between 700,000 and one million empty homes because of
excessive commercialism that reduces a house to just a financial
product and something to be speculated on."
In Madrid, a member of Spain's General Council of the Judiciary,
Gabriela Bravo, said it was positive that the regional government was
raising awareness about social exclusion that is making people
homeless. "A home is a
fundamental right," she said.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: First, know that if you are evicted in Spain
because you cannot pay your mortgage, you still owe the money!!
Secondly, after reviewing a sampling of some of the loan conditions and
the financial state of the borrowers in question, it is obvious that
what the banks were doing was squeezing whatever they could (in down
payment, plus a few monthly payments) from their victims, throw them
out, keep the property (to resell it) and make the evictees still pay
the loan -
even if the bank
resold the property.
In most cases of the sampling reviewed, the finances of these
individuals were so flimsy that they could not have been able to lease
- not buy, just lease - a reasonable apartment in Houston. Now imagine
bamboozling them to buy properties in excess of 200,000 US dollars!
_________________
(1)
Euronews
Reports
April 12th, 2013
Hot
Off the Press
The Christian Science Monitor claims that...
(1)
Lawmaker drops bombshell: North Korea
may have nuclear missiles
An unclassified Pentagon
report not yet released to the public suggests that North Korea can arm
missiles with nuclear warheads, a lawmaker revealed Thursday.
The results of a classified Defense Intelligence Agency report indicate
that "North Korea now has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by
ballistic missiles."
It came when Rep. Doug
Lamborn (R) of Colorado began quoting from what he said was an
unclassified version of the DIA report, which has not yet been
made public.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, the nation's top military officer,
appeared caught off-guard. The Pentagon has in recent days
sought to strike a balance between words of warning to the North and
attempts to calm the situation.
But, almost simultaneously, the White House announces that....
(2)
"In
today's House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of
Defense budget, a member of the committee read an unclassified passage
in a classified report on North Korea's nuclear capabilities. While I cannot speak to all the
details of a report that is classified in its entirety, it would be
inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested,
developed, or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced
in the passage. The United States continues to closely
monitor the North Korean nuclear program and calls upon North Korea to
honor its international obligations." - Statement by Press
Secretary George Little on North Korea's Nuclear Capability
Published by theU.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
miguel
de
Portugal comments: As the decades old and much used phrase
implies: "Houston, we have a problem!"
We live submerged in a sea of lies
Now then, do you really see why we keep "harping on" the fact that
without a working relationship
with the Holy Spirit of God anyone is lost?
In case that you have forgotten how this "working relationship with the
Holy Spirit of God" is achieved, allow us to remind you:
A well established and ample prayer life.
There is no other way.
________________________________
(1)
CSM
Reports
(2)
DOD Reports
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Women arrested for praying out loud at Jerusalem's sacred Western Wall.
(1)
Five Jewish women have been arrested at
Jerusalem's sacred Western Wall for wearing prayer shawls and praying
out loud in defiance of a court order forbidding them to do so.
Under Israeli law women are permitted to pray at the Western Wall, but
only in silence.
The activists belong to a group called the 'Women of the Wall' and are
engaged in a campaign to win the right to perform the same rituals as
men at Judaism's most religious site.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Although we do not agree with such law, it is
a State Law. Therefore, it should be obeyed while they silently pray
before the Wall
so
that such sexist law be changed.
_________________
(1)
Euronews
Reports
April 11th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Under the radar,
Cuba and US often work together. (1)
Cuba and the United States may be
longtime enemies with a bucket list of grievances, but the fast return
of a Florida couple who fled U.S. authorities with their
two kidnapped children in tow shows the Cold War enemies are capable
of remarkable cooperation on many issues.
Indeed, diplomats and
observers on both sides of the Florida Straits say American and Cuban
law enforcement officers, scientists, disaster relief workers, Coast
Guard officials and other experts work together on a daily basis,
and invariably express professional admiration for each other.
"I don't think the story has been told, but there is a real warmth in just the
sort of day to day relations between U.S. and Cuban government officials,"
said Dan Whittle, who frequently brings scientific groups to the island
in his role as Cuba program director for the Environmental Defense Fund.
"Nearly every time I talk to American officials they say they were
impressed by their Cuban counterparts. There really is a high level of
mutual respect."
Almost none of these technical-level interactions make the headlines,
but examples are endless.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: May this be another reminder, and example,
that:
"What
we see, is not what we get"
and "What we get, is not what we saw"
in everything!
The sheep-like masses are perpetually lied to.
This is another perfect
example that, without the illumination of the Holy Spirit,
no one has
the proverbial prayer!
_________________
(1)
News
Report
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Syrian rebel group
pledges allegiance to al-Qaida.
(1)
The leader of the most formidable rebel group in
Syria pledged allegiance Wednesday to al-Qaida but distanced
himself from a claim that his Islamic extremist faction had merged with
the terror network's Iraqi branch.
Al-Qaida in Iraq said Tuesday that it had joined forces with Jabhat
al-Nusra or the Nusra Front — the most effective force among the
disparate rebel factions fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar
Assad. It said they had formed a new alliance called the Islamic State
in Iraq and the Levant.
Talk of an alliance raised fears in Iraq, where intelligence officials said
recently that increased cooperation was already evident in a number of
deadly attacks.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: This is what happens when politicians,
sitting
on the proverbial fence, wring their well manicured hands while holding
"ain't it
awful" sessions and do nothing else about the new world crisis which
are piling upon existing crisis.
Vacuum does not exists anywhere - not even in the spiritual domain.
Since the sworn enemies of al-Qaida did nothing to help the Syrian
rebels, al-Qaida was more that delighted to fill the vacuum.
And we pay these people to run our institutions? Lord have Mercy!
_________________
(1)
News
Report
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Alert to Congress: Nuclear evacuation may bog down.
(1)
A new government report challenges
a pillar of planning for disasters at American nuclear power plants,
finding that people living beyond the official 10-mile evacuation zone
might be so frightened by the prospect of spreading radiation that they
would flee of their own accord, clog roads, and delay the escape of
others.
For more than 30 years,
community readiness has been based on the belief that evacuation
planning isn't needed beyond 10 miles from nuclear sites. But
the Government Accountability Office report - to be released later
Wednesday but obtained in advance by The Associated Press - found that
regulators have never properly studied how many people beyond 10 miles
would make their own decisions to take flight, prompting what is called
a "shadow evacuation."
As a result, the GAO report
says, "evacuation time
estimates may not accurately consider the impact of shadow evacuations."
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency in charge of
nuclear safety, disputed the findings.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: And again we say:
And we pay these people to run our
institutions? Lord have Mercy!
Aren't some of these people embarrassed at being so
incompetent? No wonder there is "mutual respect" between (certain)
American officials and their Cuban counterparts! (See News Report No. 1)
_________________
(1)
News
Report
April 10th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Egypt's Christian
pope blasts Islamist president. (1)
The leader of Egypt's Coptic
Orthodox Church on Tuesday blasted the country's Islamist president
over his handling of recent deadly sectarian violence, including an
attack on the main cathedral in Cairo.
The remarks by Pope Tawadros II underscore rising Muslim-Christian
tensions in Egypt. They were his
first direct criticism of President Mohammed Morsi since he was
enthroned in November as the spiritual leader of Egypt's Orthodox
Christians. They are also likely to fuel political turmoil that
has been roiling the country since the ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak
two years ago.
Egypt is already divided between two camps, with Morsi and Islamist allies
in one and moderate Muslims, Christians and
liberals in the other. The political schism is essentially over
Egypt's political future after decades of dictatorship, a divide that
has been compounded by a worsening economy and tenuous security.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Let us continue to pray - there is nothing
else that we can do.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
North Korea urges foreigners to vacate South Korea.
(1)
North Korea on Tuesday urged all
foreign companies and
tourists in South Korea to evacuate, saying the two countries are on
the verge of nuclear war. The new threat appeared to be an attempt
to keep the region on tenterhooks over its intentions.
Analysts see a direct attack on Seoul as extremely unlikely,
and there are no overt signs that North Korea's 1.2 million-man army is
readying for war, let alone a nuclear one.
South Korea's military has reported missile movements on North Korea's
east coast but nothing pointed toward South Korea.
Still, North Korea's earlier warning that it won't be able to guarantee
the safety of foreign diplomats after April 10 has raised fears that it
will conduct a missile or nuclear test on Wednesday, resulting in U.S.
retaliation.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: The more the North Korean saber
rattling is mocked or discounted, the greater the probability of them
making it good. It is basic Psychology 101. The new NK leadership
cannot afford to "lose face" because that is the only thing that they
have. Let us
not forget the hara-kiri and kamikaze mentality of some oriental
cultures. The
West would have much to gain by staging a "We take you very seriously"
scenario and much to lose otherwise.
_________________
(1) News
Report
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Iran cranks up uranium capacity after talks stumble.
(1)
Iran has opened two new uranium
mines and a plant to process the ore, just days after talks with
western powers over its controversial atomic programme ended
fruitlessly. On the country's National Nuclear Technology Day,
President Ahmadinejad stressed the need to speed up the work, in direct
defiance of many international calls.
The Iranians claim the processing plant is capable each year of
producing 60 tonnes of yellow cake, a vital stage in the uranium
purifying process. Iran has
admitted refining uranium to 20 per cent, which is way above the level
needed to fuel an atomic power station.
Ahmadinejad said that
attempts by world powers to prevent Iran from 'going nuclear' were too
late. Iran had already 'gone
nuclear' he said.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Was anyone out there who believed that we
were going to stop Iran's nuclear plans with incessant chit-chat?
The answer is, of course, "Yes".... and most of them live and work in
Washington,
D.C.; therefore, let us continue to pray!
_________________
(1)
Euronews
Reports
April 9th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Korea: war talk
tension clouds the facts. (1)
There is confusion surrounding
whether or not North Korea is preparing for a fourth nuclear test.
Earlier reports suggested increased activity around the North's main
underground test site. It now appears that that is not the case.
Kim Min-seok, from South Korea's defence ministry said: "We all know
about the possibility that North Korea would fire a ballistic missile,
so we are closely monitoring with the US the North's movement and the
chances of a ballistic missile launch."
China, one of North Korea's few allies, has called for peace in the
region. Japan
meanwhile said its armed
forces have orders to shoot down any North Korean missiles en route to its territory.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: One thing we are sure of:
Whatever is done to
contain North Korea will be
the wrong thing. No prophecy - just post World War II experience.
With that said - allow us to open the eyes of the slumbering military
leaders of the Western Powers and Japan.
But, first of all allow us to remind one and all that
we are against war
in any form or shape, but, since that is not the way the world
works -
and hasn't in the annals of recorded history (with the apparent
exception of the Minoan Civilization
(2)), let us talk war
strategy.
If the North Korean armed forces launch a nuclear tipped missile
towards US territory, or that of any of its allies, and it hits its
territory, any North Korean strategic center should be
completely erased from the
map with just one single hit. That will bring to an end any further
problems with North Korea - and neither China nor Russia will
retaliate.
They have far too
much to lose.
That method worked to end the war with Japan,
which could have lasted
indefinitely with horrific casualties in both sides. It worked
because "
Pain is the megaphone that
God uses for the deaf to hear" and,
the greater the pain, the
faster the desired response.
The "collateral effect" would be that neither Iran, nor Pakistan nor
India
would even think
using nuclear weapons against the US or its allies.
As we said - we are against war
(3)
but, if those who have been losing wars since World War II still want
to
"play war", they should
do it right!
Is that clear, high ranking
boys and girls in uniform?
_________________
(1)
News
Report
(2)
Minoan
Peace
(3) If I were in charge,
I
would certainly NOT do it; but I am not. What we have done is to offer
the merits of yesterday's Mass for the pacification of the North Korean
leaders - but always deferring to the Will of God . We encourage our
readers to do the same. Who knows? Maybe God was waiting for someone to
do that to pacify North Korea.
News
Assesment of the European Union
[our highlights]
'TOP SECRET' report
may reveal Germany owes Greece billions of euros.
(1)
Greek newspaper To Vima claims
a secret report
details millions of euros owed to Athens by Germany for
World War Two reparations and unpaid loans.
The story has been picked up by the online edition of German
newspaper Der Spiegel, who quote Greek organisations calculating
the value of loans from Athens to Berlin taken by the Nazis between
1942 and 1944 at 54 billion euros.
Der Spiegel also puts the figure owed to Greece for reconstruction
after the Second World War at 108 billion euros.
Though the details of the report are being kept under wraps by the
Greek Finance Ministry and Greek paper To Vima refusing to print
any specific figures, the sentiment is likely to anger those in the
debt-stricken country facing austerity.
Germany is often a target of protesters in Athens, as cuts are made to
ensure Greece gets two more bailout payments from the EU and IMF worth
nine billion euros.
To prevent more anti-German sentiment, for now, the report is
classified 'TOP SECRET', but To Vima is urging the Greek government to
publish it.
miguel de Portugal comments: The REAL news -
assuming that the information is correct
(and it has all the signs of being so) - is why has the Greek
governments kept this secret when the German led European Union has
all but financially crushed Greece?
This new development may turn into the "most viewed soap opera in the
European Union".
In another front, the Portuguese Constitutional Court has struck down
the key measures made by the Center-Right-Right government of Portugal
to reduce expenses. (2) This has the Portuguese
government scrambling to keep its promises to the European Union.
"Scrambling" should be understood as finding other ways to reduce
expenditures.
The problem in Portugal is as follows: When financial crisis strikes,
the first move is to tighten the proverbial belt, however, they have
lost their belt and trousers too....
Spain has seen its neighbor's (Portugal's) beard on fire and are trying
to wet down theirs by more disinformation regarding the state of their
crumbled economy.
Italy and its lack of government (3) continues to
drift into oblivion.
The latest French financial scandal (4) has all
but rendered it not very stable.
These "brilliant" European leaders have completely forgotten how the
French Revolution was triggered (5). They have
also forgotten that the Europeans of today are exactly the same as
those in the 18th century - except in that they dress and comb
their hair differently. When they wake up they will not know what to do
with an Eurozone in flames.
April 8th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Fidel Castro advises
friend North Korea against war. (1)
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned
ally North Korea against war on Friday and described the current
tensions on the Korean Peninsula as one of the "gravest risks" for
nuclear holocaust since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Saying he spoke as a friend,
Castro wrote in Cuban state media that
North Korea, led by 30-year-old Kim Jong-un, had shown the world its
technical prowess and now it was time to remember its duties to
others.
Few observers believe it will actually attack anyone, but Castro has become an anti-nuclear
advocate in recent years.
"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was always friendly with
Cuba, as Cuba always has been and will continue to be with her," Castro
wrote, using an almost paternalistic tone.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: It seems that our letter, which turned Mr.
Castro into an anti-nuclear advocate, continues to produce fruit. It is
amazing what a "peek into the future" can do to the proverbial old
dogs.
Contrary to popular lore, old dogs
can actually learn new tricks....
with the proper incentive.
Of course, I am not counted amongst his favorite individuals since we
had to point out to him - in order for him to snap into attention - how
he had been had and used
(2).
_________________
(1)
News Report
(2)
This is just one
example
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Catholic Gonzaga
University won't allow Catholic students to form Catholic group.
(1)
Roman Catholic, Jesuit-affiliated
Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington has refused to recognize the
Knights of Columbus as an official student group because - wait for it - the Knights of Columbus is a
Catholic organization.
Gonzaga administrators
notified the students who had sought the school's official seal of
approval last month, reports The Cardinal Newman Society's
Catholic Education Daily.
"The Knights of Columbus, by their very nature, is a men's organization
in which only Catholics may participate via membership," reads a letter written by Sue
Weitz, vice president for student life.
At this point it seems like a sufficiently good place to note that
Gonzaga is under the umbrella of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) — a
men's organization in which only Catholic men may participate via
membership.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: There is no doubt about it. The Opus Dei and
its affiliates continue to lose
the little ground they
still have. Their arrogance does not allow them to see that their end
(2) is approaching.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
(2)
The End of the
Opus Dei
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
North Korea may be preparing to test missile.
(1)
A top South Korean national security
official said Sunday that North
Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another
provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to
guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's
clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul.
Many nations are deciding what to do about the notice, which said their
diplomats' safety in Pyongyang cannot be guaranteed beginning this
Wednesday.
Tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang led South Korea's Joint Chiefs of
Staff to announce Sunday that its chairman had put off a visit to
Washington. ... The South
Korean defense minister said Thursday that North Korea had moved a
missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, possibly to
conduct a test launch.
His description suggests that
the missile could be the Musudan missile, capable of striking American
bases in Guam with its estimated range of up to 4,000 kilometers
(2,490 miles).
Citing North Korea's suggestion that diplomats leave the country, South
Korean President Park Geun-hye's national security director said Pyongyang may be planning a
missile launch or another provocation around Wednesday,
according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Never a dull moment around here.... or there,
for
that matter....
_________________
(1)
News
Report
First A news report from
ZENIT files
HOLY SEE DECREES DAY OF DIVINE
MERCY Proposed by Sister Faustina Kowalska
VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2000
(ZENIT.org).- Today the Vatican Press Office published a decree of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,
whose prefect is Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina, which at John Paul II's instruction,
establishes the feast of Divine Mercy to be held the Second
Sunday of Easter. The official name of this liturgical day will be
"Second Sunday of Easter or of Divine Mercy."
Devotion to the Divine Mercy is an
authentic spiritual movement within the Catholic Church promoted by St.
Faustina Kowalska, whom the Pope canonized on April 30.
The Pope chose that day to announce the surprise.
"Throughout the world, the Second
Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a
perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with
confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that
humankind will experience in the years to come," the Holy
Father explained on that occasion.
However, this statement was not
part of the Holy Father's prepared speech, so it does not
appear in the official transcript of his address for the canonization
of Sister Faustina. [The publication of this decree by the Congregation
for Divine Worship serves to announce officially to the universal
Church the Pope's desire.]
Second A quotation from St.
Faustina Diary
Section 1732 of Divine Mercy In My
Soul The Diary of St. M Faustina Kowalska. Notebook VI, Pg 612 -
English Version - Copyright 1987 - Congregation of Marians
As I was praying for Poland, I heard
the words: I bear a special love for
Poland, and if she will be obedient to My Will, I will exalt
her in might and holiness. From her
will come forth the spark that
will prepare the world for My final coming.
April 6th, 2013 [First Saturday
of the Month]
Hot Off the Press
A
federal judge has
ordered the Food and Drug Administration to
make the so-called 'morning after
pill' available as an over-the-counter drug to all ages without a
prescription.
(1)
miguel
de
Portugal comments: And to think that just yesterday we asked,
rhetorically, of course:
"
What next?"
_________________
(1)
News Report
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
North Korea warns embassies that it can't guarantee safety.
(1)
North Korea has warned diplomats in its
capital of Pyongyang that it
can't guarantee the safety of embassies in the event of a conflict and
suggested they may want to evacuate their staff, Russia's top
diplomat said Friday.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is demanding an explanation from the
North Koreans - asking whether the warning is an order to evacuate or
merely a proposal that they should consider doing so.
"This proposal has been sent to all the embassies in Pyongyang," Lavrov
said. "We are now trying to clarify the situation. We asked our North
Korean neighbors a few questions that need to be asked in this
situation."
About two dozen countries have embassies in North Korea. Lavrov was quoted during a visit
to Uzbekistan as saying that Russia is in touch with China, the United
States, Japan and South Korea - all members of a dormant talks
process with North Korea - to
try to figure out the motivation behind the warning.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
How to Shield
Yourself From Smartphone Snoops.
Your smartphone knows more about you
than any other device, and it can so easily get into the wrong hands.
If a stranger got hold of your smartphone, it would take just a few
minutes to get to know you intimately. Your apps, messages, address
book, calendar, browser history and photos tell a story about what you
do for a living, who your best friends are, where you have been and
what you like to do.
What can you do to shield yourself from snoops who gain possession of
your phone? Fortunately there are some simple settings and apps to
protect your smartphone so that if it is lost or stolen, it will be
harder to peek into your life.
Here
are some basic tips.
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
FEMA Alerts.
According to The American Red Cross,
the Internet - including online news sites and social media platforms -
is the third most popular way for Americans to gather emergency
information and let their loved ones know they are safe. Make sure you
are tech ready during an emergency with
these tips from FEMA.
You can also get text messages from FEMA sent to your phone. To sign
up, text
PREPARE to 43362
(4FEMA).
You can unsubscribe at any time by texting
STOP to 43362 (4FEMA). Text
messaging and data rates apply to this service.
Learn about using technology to prepare for disasters and emergencies.
April 5th, 2013 [First Friday of
the Month]
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
Under California
Bill Pedophilia Is A
Sexual Orientation.
(1)
California Congresswoman, Rep.
Jackie Speier CA (D), wants to federalize a state law to prohibit
counseling to change a person's sexual orientation. That doesn't
sound that extreme, but pedophilia
is a sexual orientation according to this bill as well.
Under the bill's language, a
mental health counselor could be sanctioned if there was an attempt to
get a pedophile or gay individual to change his behavior or
speak negatively about their behavior as it relates to sexuality.
The bill calls on states to
prohibit efforts to change a minor's sexual
orientation, even if
the minor requests it, saying that doing so is
"dangerous and harmful."
The text of the legislation doesn't specifically ban "gay" conversion
therapy. Instead, it prohibits attempts to change a person's sexual
orientation.
"Sexual orientation change
efforts' means any practices by mental health providers that seek to
change an individual's sexual orientation," the bill says.
Republicans attempted to add an amendment specifying that, "pedophilia
is not covered as an orientation." However, the Democrats defeated the
amendment. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) stated that all alternative
sexual lifestyles should be protected under the law, and accordingly
decided that pedophilia is a sexual orientation that should be equally
as embraced as homosexuality.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: What next?
Bestiality to be also classified as a
sexual orientation, thus, should be protected from mental health
counselors?
Legalizing the marriage between adults and children? How about between
a human and a beast?
Teaching preschoolers about all the sexual orientations available so
that they can take their pick?
As we said yesterday:
Most of
humanity does not even deserve the Mercy of God! Some for
"doing", but most for "allowing".
Besides...
[31] The queen of the south shall
rise in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn
them: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon; and behold more than Solomon here. [32] The men of Ninive
shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it;
because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas; and behold more
than Jonas here. [Luke
11]
and
[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]
...we have nothing to add other than to plead with God to bring this
perverted generation to a thundering end.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
April 4th, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[ highlights by contributor]
"The FBI Tuesday morning arrested
two high profile Queens politicians, State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D) and
City Councilman Daniel Halloran (R), and four other officials, charging
them with trying to rig the New York City mayoral race...." (1)
“That's politics,
that's politics, it's all about how much,” Halloran allegedly said to
an undercover FBI agent, according to federal prosecutors. “Not about
whether or will, it's about how much, and that's our politicians in New
York, they're all like that, all like that. And they get like that
because of the drive that the money does for everything else. You
can't do anything without the (expletive) money."
Comments by contributor: As a boy, Daniel Halloran was very
active in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in the Greater New York
Councils (GNYC).
He earned its highest rank of Eagle Scout.
He worked on staff at Ten Mile River Scouts Camps (TMR - the GNYC
summer camp) for some years. He was a Vigil Honor member of the Order
of the Arrow;
the Masonic
"honor society" of the BSA.
Raised in the Catholic faith (and a product of Catholic education),
he
left the Faith for Theodism
(2),
a type of Wiccan/Paganism.
(3)
Yet
as his web site shows
(4),
he kept up the external pretense of 'being
Catholic' (i.e. using his Catholic roots as a selling point) and of
being a loyal adult member of the BSA.
(5)
Where did Danny go wrong? The clues are all in his BSA membership.
This writer knew him as a Scout. His adult mentors in Scouting make the
Cardinals of the Roman Curia look like saints by comparison.
Particularly those at TMR and in the Order of the Arrow. They taught
him how to rise in Masonic politics. And how "the money works". How to
get, use, and abuse power. And the tremendous power of using (phony)
public image as propaganda.
It was "good Catholic men" in Scouting who led him into Wicca - the
worship of Mammon. And stood by, wearing the hats and aprons of the
Lodge as he was raised in Freemasonry.
And those "good men"
are still grooming other Scouts to take their place on the Square and
Compass - waving both Cross and Flag as they do so.
The great irony here is that the BSA refuses to admit honest
Agnostics or Atheists, who openly admit what they believe. While
allowing incredibly hypocrisy and evil to thrive in those who use the
Holy Name of God in vain.
(6)
For the good of the souls of the boys involved, may God smash what
is left of the BSA to the ground!
_________________
(1) News
Source
(2) Theodism
(3)
Halloran is neither the first nor the only boy with a similar level of
involvement in NYC scouting to have been led into the occult. Serving
on TMR staff exposes one to many literal pagans, youth and adult. And
the knowledge that they 'hold services' out in the woods. Yet adults
involved would claim to 'be Catholic'... and are friendly with the
Diocesan chaplain (who is friendly with OD).
(4) Source
(5) Source
(6)
There are also plenty of Protestant men in NYC scouting who do
likewise. The only way such men can be on a 'level playing field' with
the Catholic adults is via a type of mutual, masonic cooperation. They
all 'speak the same language' and act in a similar mode.
News
Report No. 2
[ our highlights]
Scientists find hint of dark matter from cosmos.
(1)
A $2 billion cosmic ray detector on
the International Space Station has found the footprint of
something that could be dark matter, the mysterious substance that is
believed to hold the cosmos together but has never been directly
observed, scientists say.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Do you have any idea how many people could be
helped
to learn how to produce
the
food they so desperately need, and how many people could receive
the most basic of fluids - fresh water - with $2 billion?
Most of us do not even deserve the Mercy of God.
He taught:
Be ye therefore merciful,
as your Father also is merciful. [Luke 6:36]
How many of us could answer "Yes" if He would ask us if we have been
merciful towards those of His children in desperate need,
while we stand before His
Throne of Justice?
Then, why should most of us expect Mercy when we have not shown it to
the least of His children?
Brethren,
it is not
"a pretty sight".
_______________
(1)
News
Report
April 3rd, 2013
News
Excerpts
[our highlights]
The following are
excerpts (our translation) of a full page article in the Spanish daily "
El Mundo", Sunday, March 31, 2013,
edition, p. 25.
Title: Pope Francis' 'crosses' - The
Pope inspires rejection amongst the traditionalists and the hierarchy
who live like kings.
A handful of days (and many
revolutionary gestures) have been enough for Francis to have conquered
a good portion of the world population. For example, surveys reveal
that 83 % of the Italians are delighted with the Argentinean Pope, a
number which peaks at 95 % among Catholics. Nonetheless, francis is not
liked by all. Not at all.
(Such profound dislike by a tiny, but powerful, minority is reflected
on the following commentaries in Rome.)
"They are going to end up getting this
Pope out of the way... one of these days they will poison him."
resigned Romans predict because of their conviction that one like
Francis cannot last long in the nest of vipers that the Vatican is..
"He will end up like poor John Paul I", is the frequent statement heard
in Rome's cafés.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: The situation is that obvious to most. Of
course we know that nothing will happen unless God allows
it since even satan must serve God and His Divine timetable.
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Following is part of
the Second
Message for Good Friday
(1)
from an alleged seer
(2)
who claims to be receiving messages from Jesus.
Soon My Beloved Pope Benedict will
guide God's children from his place of exile.
The Crucifixion of My Mystical Body - My Church on Earth - commences
today, the beginning of the final persecution, as the Masonic plan to
defile My House, will now become clear to all who know the Truth.
History will now repeat itself, but the Truth will not be denied. Those
who will deny Me, however, will in time turn to Me. Those who know that
the prophecies foretold - that My Church will be the final target in
ridding the world of all traces of Me, Jesus Christ – are now
taking place, will follow Me in My Remnant army. They will remain loyal
to My Teachings to the end of time.
No one can stop the True Word of God from spreading. No one. The
reign in the House of Peter will be short and soon My Beloved
Pope Benedict will guide God's children from his place of exile.
Peter, My Apostle, the founder of My Church on earth, will guide him in
the last difficult days, as My Church fights for its Life.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Needless to say, we summarily reject such
claims and visions as being from God - in any of His Three
Manifestations - or of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Those who are behind this 21st century version of the MMP are just
paving the way to move Francis out of the way. For your information and
reference and according to public records: That Domain was
created on 25-Feb-11
and has been
paid through to:
25-Feb-22. They, who are counting/promoting the Grabandal announced
Warning
(3),
seem to have a very ample agenda; an agenda which will
be cut short by the real God.
_________________
(1a)
Alleged message
(1b)
Home Page
(2) A series of divine
prophecies relating to the Second Coming
of
Christ as revealed to a Roman Catholic European seer and prophet. She
says the messages were revealed to her by the Holy
Trinity and the Mother of God since November 8 2010. Over 650 messages
have been received and are continuing daily.
(3) The Warning
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
Pope to review Vatican bureaucracy, scandal-ridden bank.
(1)
Pope Francis, who has said he wants the
Catholic Church to be a model of austerity and honesty, could
restructure or even close
the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank as part of a broad review of
its troubled bureaucracy, Vatican sources say.
Francis, who inherited
a Church mired in scandals over priests' sexual
abuse of children and the leak of confidential documents alleging
corruption and infighting in the Vatican's central administration, is
mulling his options as he sets the tone for a reformed and humbler Holy
See.
One of the tests of his papacy will be what he does about the bank
which has regularly damaged the Vatican's image over three decades and
faces growing calls for reform.
Any significant reforms
of the IOR would not come for some time and would probably be made after
changes at the Secretariat of State, the central Church
department which was at the center of a "Vatileaks" scandal that rocked
the Holy See last year.
These changes would include
the replacement of its head, Cardinal Tarciscio Bertone, who is
number two in the Vatican hierarchy and has widely been blamed for
failing to prevent the many mishaps and infighting in Church government
during the eight-year pontificate of Pope Benedict
miguel
de
Portugal comments: It is obvious that someone must have deleted
the following warning from Jesus from the Bishop of Rome's Bible:
Behold
I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as
serpents and simple as doves. [Matthew 10:16]
Speaking from a world frame of reference - I do feel sorry for the man.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
April 2nd, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
You may now view the new Bishop of Rome honoring Escrivá.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Perhaps he had no way out. We are sure that
we will know more about this "Papal" endorsement soon.
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
Cartels dispatch
agents deep inside US.
(1)
Mexican drug cartels whose
operatives once rarely ventured beyond the U.S. border are dispatching some of their most
trusted agents to live and work deep inside the United States -
an emboldened presence that experts believe is meant to tighten their
grip on the world's most lucrative narcotics market and maximize
profits.
If left unchecked, authorities say, the cartels' move into the American
interior could render the syndicates harder than ever to dislodge and
pave the way for them to expand into other criminal enterprises such as
prostitution, kidnapping-and-extortion rackets and money laundering.
"It's probably the most
serious threat the United States has faced from organized crime,"
said Jack Riley, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chicago
office.
The cartel threat looms so large that one of Mexico's most notorious
drug kingpins - a man who has never set foot in Chicago - was recently
named the city's Public Enemy No. 1, the same notorious label once
assigned to Al Capone.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: As long as the drug demand increases, there
is nothing man -
any man
or
any government -
can do to stop drug trafficking.
As long as the entire social fabric continues to decay (and it will,
until God stops it "cold on its tracks") the drug usage, thus,
trafficking, will continue to increase.
Therefore, to such and similar news reports we respond:
Really? So?
All we can do -
and must do
- is pray for the conversion of those traffickers and users. Nothing
else will "put a dent" on it. Read my lips:
Nothing else.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
News
Report No. 3
[our highlights]
North Korea's parliament meets amid nuclear tension.
(1)
After weeks of warlike rhetoric, North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un gathered legislators Monday for an annual
spring parliamentary session that followed a ruling party declaration that nuclear bomb building and a
stronger economy were the nation's top priorities.
The meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly follows near-daily threats
from Pyongyang, including vows of nuclear strikes on South Korea and
the U.S. The United States, meanwhile, sent F-22 stealth fighter jets
to participate in annual war games with South Korea, and the new South Korean president,
who has a policy meant to re-engage Pyongyang with talks and aid, told her top military leaders to
set aside political considerations and respond strongly should North
Korea attack.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: They may be insane - which they are - but at
least they do not beat arund the bushes. I trust that their threats
are taken seriously to minimize the lenght of the after-the-fact "
Monday morning quarterbacking"
which, in this case would be, "
Monday
morning radiation count report".
_________________
(1)
News
Report
April 1st, 2013
News
Report No. 1
[our highlights]
During a visit to
Berlin on September 22, 2011, Maledict was ignored/snubbed by a number
of
Cardinals and Bishops
who
even refused to shake his extended hand.
Since that is what m de P would have
done in the same circumstances, given his position
for the End of These Times,
those Bishops and Cardinals may have been aware of that too back in
2011. It is hard to believe that such behavior would be triggered by
personal differences or "bad chemistry" between them.
This news video
is real. It is
not a "photo shop job"
News
Report No. 2
[our highlights]
North Korea launches
economic threat.
(1)
North Korea's military threats against
the South and the US have now turned into economic ones. The latest warns of a shut down of the
Kaesong factory complex.
The industrial park stands as the last significant symbol of
cooperation between Pyongyang and Seoul. It is jointly operated but is more
vital to the north’s economy as it provides 72 million euros a year in
wages for the thousands of North Koreans who work there.
Threatening to shut Kaesong comes after a build up of tension on the
Korean peninsular.
Leader Kim Jong-un has already said his country is entering a 'state of
war' with the South and has readied rockets to strike at US targets.
miguel
de
Portugal comments: We do not think that the world at large is
taking NK very serious at this time.
The point to be pondered upon is: They have taken their threats so far
now that they will have to do something or lose face, in a major way,
before their own people..... which would spell the end of the absolute
control they have on their people.
It is as if they were "painting themselves into a corner" while using a
non-drying paint.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
The Links to the past News Commentary Issues follow:
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