January
31st
News Report No.
1
[our highlights]
Megaupload users face data deletion US prosecutors warn. (1)
US prosecutors have said
that data belonging to Megaupload
users and stored by third parties could be deleted as soon as Thursday.
Users have been unable to access data since the file-sharing service
was raided.
The warning
was made in a letter filed by the US Attorney's Office, the Associated
Press news agency reported. Megaupload's lawyer Ira Rothken told the
agency that at least 50
million users had data which could be deleted.
miguel de
Portugal comments: May this be a reminder to all that
data
stored "somewhere out there" is not a good idea. Indeed, Megaupload was
not exactly the most upright company, but was allowed to function for a
long time and the users thought of it as reliable.
Imagine the level of scurity of thr e-mails, with their attachments,
stored in, say, Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. The US
Marshals may not shut them down but a hacker can wipe the information
out or, worse,
steal all stored mail and documentation.
_______________
(1)
News Report
News Report No. 2
[our highlights]
How to keep Google from finding out everything about you. (1)
When Google's new
privacy policy goes into effect on March 1, "more than 60" Google
websites and properties will start sharing your personal data between
them. The upside of this:
When you go to, say, YouTube, it might
recommend videos based on that conversation you had with your friends
over Gmail or Google Talk, where you talked about what movies to watch.
The downside? It might show you videos based on certain other
conversations, as well.
OK, since it
hasn't happened yet we don't actually know how things will play out.
Google's FAQ goes on about how having one privacy policy (and one store
of information) shared among most of its sites makes things
"beautifully simple" and "intuitive," but I'm personally not used to
having one website know what I did on another across the Internet just
because it's owned by the same company. Your mileage may vary.
Molly McHugh
of Digital Trends wrote a great article about some ways you can keep
Google from finding out all your personal information while still using
Google services, like disabling cookies and "ad personalization" on the
Web and on your Android phone. Google also has a Privacy Tools page,
which gives you a ton of options to manage how Google uses your data
(or doesn't).
miguel de
Portugal comments: We have reviewed the tools
Google has
available to delete, control, modify, etc. the data that they have on
you. They seem reasonable enough. The problem is that most people
will not know how to use them or simply will not know that they have
such an option.
Besides, imagine what a coup it would be for one of those "Star
Hackers" to steal that data. Just keep that in mind before "you empty
your heart in Google's "confessional".
______________
(1)
News
Report
January
30th
News Report
[our highlights]
Death Valley (California) may just live up to its name...
California's Death Valley, already
one of the hottest places on Earth, may have the potential to get a
whole lot hotter - and live up to its name in a surprising (and
possibly scary) new way, according to new research. (1)
Scientists have long
known that the craters that pepper this dry landscape were formed by
long-ago volcanic eruptions, triggered when hot magma ascending from
inside the planet hit pockets of water.
Some researchers now
think the area erupted far more recently than thought, meaning the
parched swath of central California, home to desolate salt flats and
scalding temperatures, could be primed for a follow-up.
Dates for the geological
catastrophe are fuzzy, but researchers used to think that Death
Valley's largest crater, a half-mile (0.8 kilometer) wide gash in the
Earth nearly 800 feet (240 meters) deep, formed in 4000 BC.
Yet new evidence
uncovered by a team of scientists at Columbia University's
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory suggests the dramatic crater, called
Ubehebe, last erupted only 800 hundred years ago.
miguel de
Portugal comments: Mega volcanoes, mega tsunamis, asteroids
"with our name on them", Middle Eastern crisis, North Korean crisis,
worldwide financial crisis, etc...... pass the Rosary, please....
because, we repeat for the umpteenth time, prayer is our only hope. Nothing - absoultely
nothing! - will stop the world's free fall into hell. At least we can
soften the blows through prayer and voluntary sacrifices, before they
become imposed.
_________________
(1)
News
Report
January
29th
News Report No.
1
[our highlights]
Pharmacy to sell edible
microchips that will alert doctors if patients are not taking right
medicines. (1)
An edible microchip that records the
precise details of a patient's pill regime will be available in Britain
by the end of year following a commercial deal that opens the door to
an era of digital medicines.
An American biomedical company has
signed up with a British healthcare firm to sell digestible sensors,
each smaller than a grain of sand, that can trigger the transmission of
medical information from a patient's body to the mobile phone of a
relative or carer.
The aim is to develop a
suite of "intelligent medicines" that can help patients and their carers
keep track of which pills are taken at what time of day, in
order to ensure that complex regimes of drugs are given the best
possible chance of working effectively.
miguel de
Portugal comments: Your pick: "Right on schedule!" or "I told
you so!" or "What next?".
___________________________
(1)
News
Source
January
28th
News Report No.
1
[our highlights]
Special operations expanding as wars recede. (1)
"War is going back under wraps" -
that's the next generation plan put forth by the U.S. special
operations commander who led the Osama bin Laden raid and embraced at
the highest levels of the Pentagon and the White House.
Big armies and the land
invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan will be replaced by fast and light
special operations raids that leave little trace, or better yet, raids
by friendly local forces the U.S. has trained, helping fight
mutual enemies side by side.
U.S. officials say
that's the plan offered by special operations chief Adm. Bill McRaven
and embraced at the highest levels of the Pentagon and the White House.
Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta shared few details in the new Pentagon budget he outlined
Thursday, but officials explained the nascent plan in greater detail to
The Associated Press.
As the overall military
force shrinks and special operations troops return from their
10-raid-a-night tempo in Iraq and Afghanistan, they'll be redeployed to
special operations units in areas somewhat neglected during the
decade-long focus on al-Qaida because there were simply too few of them
to go around, according to a senior defense official and to other
current and former U.S. officials briefed on the program.
miguel de
Portugal comments: First of all, the title should be:
Special
operations expanding as wars
are beig lost otherwise.
As a very graphic Americanism reads: "
You
buy 'em books and buy 'em books and
all they do is eat them!", a saying which could certainly apply
to those who
conceived this "New and Improved Idea".
Are these "brilliant strategists" so blind that they cannot see that
this has not worked either and all that it has generated
is a deep distrust and hate towards the US plus a trail of demolished
countries?
We ask them:
If such is a good and
effective idea, why are the Castro brothers still thumbing their noses
at us from only 90 miles from our coasts?
We have responded that question in full to the
competent authorities, yet they have not caught on. "You buy 'em books.... etc."
_______________________
(1)
News
Report
News Report No.
2
Corruption
scandal shakes Vatican as internal letters leaked. (1)
The Vatican was shaken by a
corruption scandal Thursday after an Italian television investigation
said a former top official had been transferred against his will after
complaining about irregularities in awarding contracts.
The show "The
Untouchables" on the respected private television network La 7
Wednesday night showed what it said were several letters that
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who was then deputy-governor of Vatican
City, sent to superiors, including Pope Benedict, in 2011 about the
corruption.
miguel de
Portugal comments: The good news is that this variety of
corruption did not involve sexually abusing innocent children. We knew
that if we looked hard enough we would find some good news coming out
of the Vatican.... relatively speaking, that is.
____________________
(1)
News
Report
January
27th
News Report
[our highlights]
Breat Britain's mobile phone service provider O2 sends your mobile phone number to
every website you visit while navigating the net with your
smart-phone.(1)
O2 mobile users
reacted furiously this morning after it was revealed that their phone numbers are sent to
every website they visit on their phone. The flaw means that
malicious sites could get hold of your mobile number and use it in a
phishing attack or scam.
Along with the usual
Host, User Agent, Referrer and Encoding data that is sent, the
flaw-discoverer found another field besides them...... It was his mobile phone number.
O2 said
this
morning that "security is our top most priority" and added that they
were investigating the matter.
miguel de
Portugal comments: Just imagine what has not been found out yet.
If security is their top most priority, why didn't they discover that
right away? As an engineer I tell you: That breach if security would
have been the first thing we would have looked for before launching the
service.
Lies, lies and more lies.... and people continue to fall for them.
________________
(1)
Source
January
25th
News Report
[our highlights]
As the Earth's magnetic field begins to calm after several days
of intense geomagnetic activity, the NOAA has announced that we
experienced the largest
solar radiation storm since 2003. (1)
"Earlier, it was stated that the
current Solar Radiation Storm was the largest since May 2005,"
said Tuesday's announcement on the NOAA Space Weather Prediction
Center's Facebook page. "After
the arrival of the CME earlier today ... this is now the largest Solar
Radiation Storm since October 2003 (The Halloween Storms)."
Although this solar
storm is subsiding, there's
little doubt that more will come.
_________________
(1)
Latest
Report
News Report
As you may have read in the above News Report: Space weather officials say the
strongest solar storm in more than amost nine years is bombarding Earth
with
radiation with more to come.
We are happy to inform you that the background gamma radiation level
reaching the surface of the planet (as monitored from our location) has
been maintained at the normal
level.
Through the courtesy (read "financing") of a cooperator, we are now
able
now to monitor the gamma radiation level
reaching the surface of the planet on an ongoing basis.
Within a week, God willing, we will also be able to: (a) monitor, on a
regular basis, the level of multi-frequency electromagnetic waves
reaching the surface of the planet from any source; (b)
monitor solar storms (before they hit the news); and (c) detect minute
changes of the Earth's magnetic field.
There is probably much more that we could do with the financial
assistance of
others; others who may also be willing to extend their hand to assist
the world in the many different ways through which it may still be
possible.
January
24th
(Old, but
relevant now) News Report
[our
highlights]
Fr. C. John McCloskey recently returned home to
Washington, D.C.
to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his priesthood. A somewhat shy
man, McCloskey has been
responsible for many conversions to the Catholic Church, including
Judge Robert Bork, Newt
Gingrich, Lawrence Kudlow and Dr. Bernard Nathanson. (Before his
conversion, Nathanson had been a NARAL founder and abortionist who was
responsible for the deaths of thousands of babies.)
A few years ago, McCloskey was assigned by his
order, Opus Dei, to Chicago. So he was only back for a visit. He
has been missed. Many of us are still wondering what he is doing in
Chicago. (1)
miguel de
Portugal comments: As anyone who has been informed about the
activities of Opus Dei knows, once you are "captured" you are "owned",
even if you are not a "card carrying" Opus Dei member.
The reason why it is so easy to capture high-profile individuals is
because Escrivá twisted the Scriptures in a manner where he
"proved" that you can serve Mammon if the alleged ultimate purpose is
to serve God.
(2)
We must admit, it is a devilish clever concept (which will land most in
hell and a few with long sentences in purgatory).
What is also devilish clever is to pit a card carrying Opus Dei man,
former Senator Santorum, against a captured, but not card carrying,
Opus Dei man, former Speaker N. Gingrich.
All anti-Opus Dei energies will be spent against Mr. Santorum while
opening an eight lane highway for Mr. Gingrich nomination as the
Republican candidate to the White House. Of course, once an Opus Dei
infected Republican is nominated as an official candidate, only God,
running as a Democratic candidate will defeat him.
Clever, isn't it? We shall see what God does about this. Remember, God
allowed Hitler to finish out the destruction of Europe; therefore, do
not count on God necessarily running as the Democratic candidate
to the White House....
____________
(1)
Report
by another McCloskey "alumni"
(2) The fallacy in the
theological foundation of Opus Dei
January
23rd
News Report
Space
weather officials say the
strongest solar storm in more than six years is bombarding Earth with
radiation with more to come. (1)
The radiation is mostly an
issue for satellite disruptions and astronauts in space. It can cause
communication problems for polar-traveling airplanes.
The Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado observed
the flare Sunday at 11 p.m. EST. (0400 GMT). Physicist Doug Biesecker
says the biggest concern is the radiation, which arrived on Earth an
hour later. It will likely continue through Wednesday.
Biesecker said the storm's radiation levels are considered
strong but other storms have been more severe. It is the strongest
level since May 2005.
____________
(1)
Source
Three
reminders......
January
22nd
News Report
Benedict XVI
praises Neocatechumenate's missionary zeal. (1)
Benedict XVI says that
the Neocatechumenal Way is a "special gift that the Holy Spirit has
given our time," and he lauded the members of the Catholic lay group
for their commitment to the proclamation of the Risen Christ, at the
cost of "abandoning personal and material safety, even leaving your own
countries."
The Pope
said this on January 20th to the crowds of members of the
Neocatechumenal Way who packed Paul VI Hall. An official degree formally
approving the celebrations of the Way was proclaimed, the
culmination of roughly 15 years of careful study by the Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
Regarding
Sunday Eucharist.... With regard to the
celebrations in the "Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal
Way," which "are not strictly liturgical, but are part of the itinerary
of growth in faith," the Pope, quoting Article 13 of the statutes, confirmed the possibility that
members of the Way "may celebrate the Sunday Eucharist in small
communities, after the first Vespers of Sunday in order to facilitate
the rapprochement to the wealth of the sacramental life by people who
have strayed from the Church, or have not received adequate training."
miguel de
Portugal comments: Escriva's Way,
Kiko's Way but... what about
the ONLY Way, Jesus Christ?
[15]
When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that
readeth let him understand. [16] Then they that are in Judea, let them
flee to the mountains: [17] And he that is on the housetop, let him not
come down to take any thing out of his house: [18] And he that is in
the field, let him not go back to take his coat. [19] And woe to them
that are with child, and that give suck in those days. [Matthew 24]
Which brings us to one of the Mass readings for today:
I
tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out. From now on,
let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not
weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is
passing away. [1 Cor 7:29-31]
A message which we expanded in
this
document and hope that most take it seriously.
___________________
(1) Source
January
21st
News Report
No.
1
[from
NYT 01-20-12]
One
hundred sixty-four soldiers took their own lives in 2011, and there was
also a sharp increase in violent sex crimes by active-duty troops last
year, according to Army officials.
The
Army also reported a sharp increase, nearly 30 percent, in violent sex
crimes last year by active-duty troops. More than half of the victims
were active-duty female soldiers ages 18 to 21.
News Report
No. 2
[from
NYT 01-20-12]
Santorum
rose quickly from
Reformer to
Insider.
When
Rick Santorum entered the House in 1991, he joined with a group of
other freshmen to shame the House leadership into releasing the names
of those who bounced checks at the House bank.
Over
beers with rebellious Republican newcomers who became known as the Gang
of Seven, Mr. Santorum helped plot a freshmen's revolt. They would take
to the House floor, one by one, to shame Democratic leaders into
releasing the check-bouncers' names.
miguel de
Portugal comments: Neither report surprise us at all, yet most
will not be able to connect the dots to discover the sad picture each
one generates. Right on schedule.
January
20th
News Report No.
1
The crashing (again?) of the
European Union economy.
As most of you have heard/read, the
Rating Agencies like Standard and
Poor's, Moody's, Fitch etc. have been pounding the
European Union with financial downgrade after downgrade and, although
most have been agenda-motivated we must fully agree with the latest
wave of downgrades.
Why? Because all that European Union countries, except Germany, have
been doing is reducing real and imaginary expenses and tigthening the
belt to the point where there is no longer a belt to tighten, while
some countries (Portugal, for example) have even lost its pants!
Nothing is being done
to generate work and/or GNP.
The following is a real life situation (in Portugal) which best
reflects this scenario.
Portugal - formerly a sea fearing country - is known for its shipyards.
One of its major shipyards has a signed contract in hand
to build two ships for Venezuela, however, they are already six months
behind schedule.
Why? No bank nor the Portuguese government will give them the credit
needed to buy the steel to start fabricating the contracted-for
vessels. All the while the shipyard workers are slipping into
despair because their last hope is just about dead.
Granted, if in the current economic situation a bank denies credit to
start a new business or to expand a current business with hopes (not
with contract in hand) of increasing business, it would be
understandable, but not to make a loan on a sure-bet business?
Multiply that by as many industries per country and the number of
countries in the European Union, except Germany, and you will
understand the latest European "buzz" is that their whole economy will
have another "2008 occurrence" very soon.
News Report No. 2
Rick
Santorum Finishes Ahead Of Mitt Romney: Iowa Caucus Results (1)
From (Mr.) LP @ US
Just as you said this might happen, it did
...
More than
two weeks after the 2012 Iowa caucus, a final certified tally showed former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum finishing
with 29,839 votes and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 29,805.
After the initial results came in following the Jan. 3 Iowa
event, Romney was believed to have won the caucus by a mere 8 votes.
Republican officials indicated Santorum
finished ahead of Romney by 34 votes on Thursday. The Des Moines
Register reports that votes from eight precincts will never be counted,
however, and therefore the ultimate tally remains inconclusive.
I
wonder if "someone" has already tallied the November votes.
LP
_________________
(1)
Rick
Santorum Finishes Ahead Of Mitt Romney: Iowa Caucus Results
January
18th
News Report No.
1
RealCatholicTV's Michael Voris calls for a world wide
Catholic Government/Dictatorship.
A few choice quotes follow:
(1)
"Only virtuous people should be allowed
to vote." (at 2:01-2:03)
"The only way to prevent a democracy from committing suicide is to
limit the vote to faithful Catholics." (at 2:57-3:03)
"The only way to run a country is by benevolent dictatorship: a
Catholic monarch who protects his people from themselves and bestows on
them what they need, not necessarily what they want." (at
3:43-3:56)
"It was this political system that caused Europe to emerge from the
morass of marauding barbarians and create Western Civilization." (at
3:58-4:04)
"A noble Catholic monarch advances the common good while loving and
caring for his people. If you think about it, this is exactly how the
Universe is governed, isn't it?" (at 4:05-4:17)
Believe it or not, Mr. Voris makes
other, even worse (and more
denigrating to non-Catholics) statements in this same video.
________________
(1) Source
January
16th
There
have been... some very interesting hidden news as
of late. We will cove two of them today.
News Report No.
1
Who has not heard that the Argentinean President's much announced
cancer did not exist when she was operated on?
miguel
de
Portugal comments: First of all, in an average human being the
confirmation of the malignancy of a tumor before surgery is a foregone
conclusion (unless, of course, the surgeon needs to get a new Mercedes).
In the case of a prominent or quite affluent patient, this confirmation
would exceed 100% were that mathematically possible.
In the case of a Head of State, considering all the ramifications
associated with any surgery and cancer, surgery would not even be
considered until the certainty was absolute, yet, in the case of Mrs.
Fernández it is claimed that a mis-diagnose was made.
Brethren, we are looking at two possible scenarios and none of them is
an analytical error.
Case 1: "They" intended to kill her during surgery. It is so easy and
completely undetectable since it can "legitimately" occur in many
different ways. Yet, at the last minute, there was a change of
plans (very common on these matters) and they chose to claim a
mis-diagnose.
Or, an even more sinister plot.....
Case 2: Stage was set, with her masterminding it, for a a miraculous
cure so that she would become for most Argentineans a "living saint" or
a "living miracle" who could just do no wrong.
Far fetched? Hardly! (a) Argentina is the home country of "Saint
Evita", remember? Evan Perón would have been shown walking on
water if the hologram techniques had been well advanced in her time;
and (b) Argentina was already used years ago as a full blown pilot
program for when the whole world finance system would crash.
Taking this pilot program to a worldwide scale: What would a desperate
world do (as desperate as Argentina was when its whole economic system
collapsed) if a "living saint" or a "living miracle" rose to save
it.... just as the False Christ is planning to do.
In other words - the disappearing cancer probably the second part of
a two part pilot program before springing it upon humanity.
News Report No.
2
Who has missed the concerted effort by Iranian authorities to really
"rattle the West's cage"?
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Within a week or two they have
announced (and practiced) the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz,
announced that they have started enriching uranium in a well protected
facility, condemned to death a US citizen (of Iranian background) for
espionage... all while the Iranian President was boarding a plane to
renew his honeymoon with Venezuela's Chavez and Cuba's Castro
brothers. It seems that the only thing he did not do was to
relieve himself on a US flag - on direct - during a prime time Newscast.
This behavior is well beyond of the usual press conference speeches by
all politicians where they rattle their sabers and then go to play
golf. So "well beyond" s that the US warned Iran Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Khamenei
directly
not to close Strait of Hormuz
via
unofficial lines of communication. Which goes to show that: (a)
Iran is really up to something by "pushing the envelope" so
shamelessly; and (b) The Us using the real lines of communications for
ultimatums and not the babble that airs in the news day in and day out.
January
9th
From
(Mr.) TJ @ US
[our
underscoring and highlighting]
I have just now found the time to view the video with the English
translation of what Gorbachev allegedly said (qualified only because it
is one person's translation so it's subject to manipulation).
(1)
I don't know if you've had a chance likewise to view it, but I suspect
not.
Gorby speaks extensively about the dangers of the west's
military-industrial complex, citing Eisenhower, etc. It's old
news, but it's still very relevant. He is alarmed at how the
missile shield being deployed in Eastern Europe threatens Russia, and
how Russia will undoubtedly respond with some countermeasures. It
is in this context that he seems to suggest that the West and Russia
have to cooperate or face WW III.
I did not see a link to Soviet socialism, only a reaction to a renewed
threat that he thought had been neutralized. There is a segue
then to the theme of extending European integration to the world, and
an allusion to order coming out of the current chaos, noted by the
poster. Yes, that is the globalist theme that has sinister
elements, and
it's not news
either that Gorby is a proponent. But he makes it clear he
believes it is a solution to the confrontation he sees leading to war.
Again stating the case, he never appears to threaten war, only to
caution against its inevitability if military confrontations re-emerge.
So in summary, reading
the alleged translation,
I
saw nothing to make me fall off my chair. It was simply
warning against confrontation, calling for cooperation as an
alternative, and favoring globalist mechanisms to achieve it.
TJ
A. Thank you for
sharing with us your views after viewing the whole video. We are glad
that you did not see anything that would make you fall your chair. If
you had, it would mean that you are not conversant enough with what we
have
published about Mr. Gorbachev.
(2)
We published the information about the speech, with the warning about
the individual
(1)
making the translation, as reminder to our readership that he (and his
group)
(3) have
not changed their agenda at all.
Considering the fact that we are getting feedback like we did from Mr.
TK on January 2nd,
(4)
who had been a long time reader, it seems important that we repeat the
same information, over and over again, with the hopes that some of
it will sink in
before is
too late.
It is precisely because of this situation that we are evaluating the
time spent with the
Private FYI&R
and
News Commentary pages, as
we
have announced today, January 9th, on the Private FYI&R page.
Again, thank you for the review.
__________
(1) See the post on this
same page dated January 3rd.
(2) Gorbachev Index
(3) The
Threesome of Saviors
(4) All
Private
FYI&R Posts for First
Half of January
January
8th [The Baptism of the Lord]
News Report No.
1
[our
underscoring and highlighting]
Western powers this week readied a
contingency plan
to tap a record volume from emergency stockpiles to replace nearly all
the Gulf oil that would be lost
if Iran blocks the
Strait of
Hormuz, industry
sources
and diplomats told Reuters.
(1)
They said senior executives of the
International
Energy Agency
(IEA), which advises 28 oil consuming countries, discussed Thursday an
existing plan to release up to 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of
government-owned oil stored in the United States, Europe, Japan and
other importers....
Tehran announced plans Friday for new military exercises in the world's
most important oil shipping lane, through which some 16 million barrels
of crude pass each day. Iranian officials have threatened to block the
strait if new sanctions, aimed to discourage Iran's nuclear program,
harm Tehran's
oil exports. Many oil experts believe the threats are rhetoric
aimed at pushing up oil prices in a bid to avert sanctions.
__________________
(1) West
readies oil plan in case of Iran crisis
miguel de
Portugal comments: Time will tell if it is just rhetoric. Let us
not forget what Iran did in the US Embassy and what they did with
Embassy personnel and for how long.
News Report No.
2
[our
underscoring and highlighting]
Escriva has been proposed (tongue in cheek, of course) as the
patron saint of electronic eavesdroppers. (1)
With all this phone hacking
around, I think it's time electronic eavesdroppers had their own patron
saint, don't you? As it happens, I have the perfect candidate: St
Josemaria Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.....
A few years ago, I interviewed a distinguished priest who,
as a young man, had been a member of Opus Dei and close associate of
Escrivá. My jaw dropped when, half way through our conversation,
he mentioned casually that
"The Father" had installed bugs in Opus's Rome headquarters in
order to tape-record the conversations of visitors waiting to see him.
I asked him how he knew.
"Because I helped
him do it," came the reply.
The Vatican refused to hear this priest's testimony when
Escriva was being assessed for sainthood; conveniently, the role of Devil's
Advocate had been abolished. Of course, all saints had flaws.
It's just that you don't expect them to share the same ones as Richard
Nixon (a far more sympathetic character than Escriva, in my book).
miguel
de
Portugal comments: Amazing, simply amazing.... yet not
surprising at all. A theological aside: That shows the level of faith
Escriva really had.
_____________________
(1)
News
Report
January
7th
News Report No.
1
[our
underscoring and highlighting
UK secular campaigners have criticised reports that
ministers are considering making it easier for the Church of England to
take control of state-funded schools. (1)
Campaigners for secularism
in the UK have also drawn attention to plans by a
Catholic group linked to the conservative organisation Opus Dei to open
two new secondary schools. The schools will be fee-paying and are due
to open by September 2013.
The PACT Educational Trust, which already runs two prep
schools in
south London, says the new schools will be non-selective on academic
grounds, and as "affordable as possible".
In a statement, the trust said: "In PACT schools, which are inspired by
the teachings of the founder of Opus Dei, St Josemaría
Escrivá, parents
are seen as the primary educators and are strongly involved in the
schools."
It emerged last year that every state school in England is
to receive a
new copy of the King James Bible from the government – with a brief
foreword by Gove, to mark the 400th anniversary of its translation.
Every primary and secondary school will be sent a new copy of the 1611
translation by Easter.
The Department
for Education estimates the cost of the Bible scheme at
£375,000, and is
seeking philanthropic sponsorship.
miguel de
Portugal comments: If you wonder what happened to the teachings
of Jesus Christ, wonder no more: Our Lord's teachings are, primarily,
to
lead a soul to Salvation and
not to generate cash. (2)
These activities seem to have the finger prints of Ruth Kelly, anOpus
Dei Minister during Mr. Blair's Administration, as well as Mr. Blair's
own fingerprints.
_______________________
(1)
News
Report
(2) The inherent
fallacy of
Opus Dei teachings
News Reports
No. 2
[our
underscoring and highlighting
Hundreds of members of Istanbul's tiny Greek
Orthodox community and tourists from neighboring Greece attended the Epiphany ceremony of
the Blessing of the Waters. (1)
The spiritual leader of the
world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, led a
procession to the Golden Horn after a morning ceremony at the
gold-crusted Cathedral of St. George. More than a dozen Greek Orthodox faithful
dived into the wintry waters of the Golden Horn to retrieve a wooden
cross thrown by Bartholomew I.
In Bulgaria, hundreds of young men have also plunged into
rivers and lakes across Bulgaria to retrieve crucifixes cast by
priests. It is believed that
the person who retrieves the cross will be freed from evil spirits that
might have troubled him.
Some also believe that
if the waters freeze over, there will be an abundant harvest later in
the year that might help them survive the economic turmoil.
while.....
The annual cleaning of one of
Christianity's holiest churches deteriorated into a brawl between rival
clergy Wednesday, as dozens
of monks feuding over sacred space at the Church of the Nativity
battled each other with brooms until police intervened. (2)
The ancient church, built
over the traditional site of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, is shared by
three Christian denominations - Roman Catholics, Armenians and Greek
Orthodox. Wednesday's fight erupted between Greek and Armenian clergy,
with both sides accusing each other of encroaching on parts of the
church to which they lay claim.
The monks were tidying up the church ahead of Orthodox
Christmas celebrations in early January, following celebrations by
Western Christians on Dec. 25. The fight erupted between monks along
the border of their respective areas. Some shouted and hurled brooms.
miguel de
Portugal comments: It does not matter - East (Orthodox Church)
or West (Roman Catholic Church) - institutionalized paganism, under the
guise of Christianity, is alive
and well, testifying to the completely failed Evangelization effort by
all!
_________________________
(1)
News
Report
(2)
News
Report
January
5th
News Report No.
1
[our
underscoring and highlighting]
Los Angeles auxiliary bishop resigns, admits fathering kids. (1)
The resignation of a Los
Angeles bishop who fathered two children has shocked the nation's most
populous Roman Catholic archdiocese, where Auxiliary Bishop Gabino
Zavala grew up and was an outspoken supporter of causes dear to the
huge Hispanic population.
Zavala, 60, who once urged Catholic media to report
scandals such as clergy sex abuse "in a spirit of love and mercy," had
his resignation accepted Wednesday by Pope Benedict XVI. Roman Catholic
canon law permits bishops to step down earlier than the normal
retirement age of 75 if they are sick or otherwise unfit for office.
"This is unexpected, sad and disorienting news for many
people who know and like Bishop Zavala," archdiocesan spokesman Tod
Tamberg said. "Remember, he was raised here. He has deep roots in Los
Angeles and so he's very well-known here."
miguel de
Portugal comments: We pray that Bishop Zavala is not "lumped in"
with those involved in the sexual abuse scandal in the RCC. There is a
vast difference between destroying souls through ecclesiastical sexual
abuse and slipping into a natural (inborn) human genetically-programmed
behavior: mate and reproduce.
We are not justifying his behavior or promoting it; we are just placing
his self-admitted transgression against the RCC laws in its proper
perspective. If he did not use Church funds to finance his double life,
then, his primary sin was breaking a Church rule, and nothing else. Let
us remember him in our prayers.
Let us remember what St. Paul wrote to Timothy:
It behoveth therefore a bishop to be
blameless, the husband of
one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to
hospitality, a teacher,... [1 Timothy 3:2]
______________________
(1)
News
Report
January
4th
News Report No.
1
[our
underscoring and highlighting]
Opus Dei's Rick Santorum (1)
came second to Mitt Romney in Iowa's
Republican Primary by a scant 8 votes (30,007 to 30, 015) . (2)
We wonder if "they" have already given the casting order for an
Escriva's statue to be placed in the Rose Garden. After all, the rose
is the flower associated with the Virgin Mary, the "7" (from the 30,007) is considered a Divine number and
the number associated with the difference in votes 30,015 - 30,007 = 8
is associated with the Virgin Mary.
Tragically, the eyeless (that is, beyond blind) general public worries
about Mitt Romney being a Mormon. This is like refusing to kiss aunt
Thelma to avoid catching a summer cold while willing to mud wrestle
with an individual who has the bubonic plague.
We pray (as a bumper sticker reads): "Lord
Jesus, protect us from your 'followers'!"
__________________
(1)
Opus Dei In US Government
(2)
News Report
News
Report No.
2
[our
underscoring and highlighting]
Benedict XVI will not include a stop in Mexico City on his trip to
Latin America this spring, a tour that includes Mexico and Cuba. The
reason, church officials say, is not fear about his security but rather
concern for the 84-year-old pontiff's health. The sprawling capital
sits at more than 7,000 feet, an altitude that can cause sickness in
some people. (1)
Officials of
the Roman
Catholic Church in both Mexico and Cuba released details of the pope's
itinerary (links in Spanish). He will be in Mexico, in the state of
Guanajuato, March 23-26, where he will be received by President Felipe
Calderon and preside over an outdoor Mass expected to draw up to
400,000 faithful.
It may be coincidence, but it doesn't hurt the pope's cause
that Guanajuato is a more conservative and traditionally Catholic
state, while Mexico City, governed by a leftist mayor, is the only
region in Mexico to have legalized abortion on demand and gay marriage.
After Mexico, the pope will
spend two days, March 26-28, in Cuba, where he will meet with President
Raul Castro. It's the first visit of a pontiff to the
Communist-ruled island since Pope John Paul II's landmark trip in 1998.
The church there has been
increasingly active on behalf of jailed dissidents.
miguel de
Portugal comments: The brainless
(that is, beyond stupid) Castro brothers, after destroying a country
which in 1958 had a standard of living just below the US', have placed
what was left of the country in the hands of Opus Dei, as we have
announced years ago.
This, we know.
For those readers that have difficulty in grasping the
difference between "knowing" and "believing", we are using the word
"know" as it is defined in the dictionary:
"know" : to perceive directly : have
direct cognition of
"believe" : (a) to
consider to be true or honest (believe the reports); (b) to
accept the word or evidence of (I believe you); (c) to hold as an
opinion : to suppose (I believe it will rain soon).
Let us hope that we manage to finally convey
said
difference to those who are still confused about it.
_____________
(1)
News
Report
