New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson says that President Obama’s White House is the “most secretive White House” that she’s covered during her long tenure as a political journalist.

By DYLAN BYERS |1/23/14 11:20 AM

“I would say it is the most secretive White House that I have ever been involved in covering, and that includes — I spent 22 years of my career in Washington and covered presidents from President Reagan on up through now, and I was Washington bureau chief of the Times during George W. Bush’s first term,” Abramson told Al Jazeera America in an interview that will air on Sunday.

“I dealt directly with the Bush White House when they had concerns that stories we were about to run put the national security under threat. But, you know, they were not pursuing criminal leak investigations,” she continued. “The Obama administration has had seven criminal leak investigations. That is more than twice the number of any previous administration in our history. It’s on a scale never seen before. This is the most secretive White House that, at least as a journalist, I have ever dealt with.”

The Times has been intimately involved with the government’s crackdown on leaks, both before and during the Obama administration. James Risen, a Times reporter, is currently fighting to avoid having to testify against a former CIA official accused of being his source. According to Robert Gates’s new memoir, Obama hadn’t been in office more than a month before saying he wanted a criminal investigation into disclosures on Iran policy that had been published the Times.

In the wake of the revelations about the Justice Department’s monitoring of Fox News reporter James Rosen, whom the DOJ labeled a “co-conspirator,” the Times editorial board wrote that “the Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news.”

Asked by Al Jazeera America’s John Seigenthaler whether the crackdown on leaks comes directly from the president, Abramson said, “I would think that it would have to. I don’t know that, but certainly enough attention has been focused on this issue that, if he departed from the policies of his government, I think we’d know that at this point.”

The full interview, which airs Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, is available here.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/01/jill-abramson-this-is-the-most-secretive-white-house-181742.html

Things become secretive when they will NOT bear scrutiny…and for no other reason. Any administration that attempts to hide it’s activities and restrict the public’s knowledge of same activities isn’t only secretive, it’s suppressive. Something one would expect from SA dictators who wear those kooky uniforms full of medals.

Modern dictators usually use force or fraud to gain power and then keep it through intimidation, terror, suppression of civil liberties, and control of the mass media. [MC->Obama hits a 4 out of 6!]

The NY Times has been covering Obama’ butt for the past 5 yrs, what’sup now, one might wonder. Jill’ going to get THE CALL sooooon, and if she doesn’t grovel back saying her comments were misconstrued by the evil right wing, she will get some of that transparent attention from Obama’s goons aka IRS Audits for a start.

• Artwork was  found when a major Byzantine church was excavated
• Features  Greek symbols, turtles, zebras, flowers and geometric shapes
• Church  was likely to be a major centre of Christian worship in Aluma, around 30 miles  south of Tel Aviv

By Sarah Griffiths - PUBLISHED:  06:00  EST, 23 January 2014

An ancient mosaic showing a menagerie of  animals from birds to leopards, has been unearthed in southern  Israel.

The intricate artwork was found when a  1,500-year-old Byzantine church was excavated and has Greek symbols, which  archaeologists say shows that it once served as a centre of Christian  worship.

The church ruins were discovered during  excavations ahead of an infrastructure project in Aluma, some 30 miles (50km)  south of Tel Aviv, Israel.

An ancient mosaic showing a menagerie of animals from  birds (pictured) to leopards, has been unearthed in southern Israel in a town  near Tel Aviv

Archaeologists believe the  church was an important part of a Byzantine settlement, which lay on the main  road running between Jerusalem and the ancient sea port of  Ashkelon.

‘The church  probably served as a centre of Christian worship for neighbouring communities,’ they said.

Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority  (IAA) discovered marble pillars and the mosaic floor inside the basilica, which  measures 72ft by 39ft (22 by 12metres).

Daniel Varga, director of the  IAA’s excavations, said: The ‘fine mosaic floor decorated with coloured  geometric designs’ lies in the entrance of the church and there is a ‘twelve-row  dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names Mary and Jesus, and the  name of the person who funded the mosaic’s construction.’

The intricate artwork was found when a 1,500-year-old  Byzantine church was excavated and has Greek symbols, which archaeologists said  show that it once served as a centre of Christian worship

“Usually a Byzantine village had a church, but the size of this church and its placement on the road makes it more important,”  excavator Davida Eisenberg Degen, pictured, said.

The mosaics in what would have been the  church’s nave are decorated with vines in the shape of 40 medallions, which each  show a different animal, including a zebra, leopard, wild boar, turtle and  winged birds as well as botanical and geometric designs.

There are also Greek inscriptions that  mention two local leaders of the church, Demetrios and Herakles.

Enlarge

The mosaics in what would have been the church’s nave  are decorated with vines in the shape of 40 medallions, which each show a  different animal, including a zebra, leopard (foreground), wild boar (back  left), turtle and winged birds as well as botanical and geometric designs

On both sides of the central nave there are  two narrow halls or side aisles, which also have coloured mosaic floors depicting botanical  and geometric designs, as well as Christian symbols.

A pottery workshop, mainly  for the production of jars, was also uncovered during the excavations and  yielded numerous finds, including, amphorae, cooking pots, bowls and different  types of oil lamps.

Glass vessels typical of the Byzantine period  were also discovered at the site, and indicate a rich and flourishing local  culture, archaeologists said.

On both sides of the central nave there are two narrow  halls or side aisles, which also have coloured mosaic floors depicting botanical  and geometric designs, as well as Christian symbols. This mosaic shows vine  medallions framing birds and Greek words

It has been decided that the site (pictured) will be covered over to preserve it  for future generations and the mosaic will be removed, conserved and displayed  locally

Excavations by the IAA along  the same road have revealed other communities from the same period, but no  churches have been found until now.

It is thought people living in the area some  1,500 years ago made a living by making wine and exporting it west to the coast  so it could be sold in the wider Mediterranean area.

It has been decided that the site will be  covered over to preserve it for future generations and the mosaic will be  removed, conserved and displayed locally.

Jewish men who study in a nearby ‘yeshiva’ or religious  seminary, pass by the large Byzantine era church that archaeologists have  uncovered. Archaeologists believe the church was an important part of a  Byzantine settlement which lay on the main road running between Jerusalem and  the ancient sea port of Ashkelon

Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)  discovered marble pillars and the mosaic floor inside the basilica, which  measures 72ft by 39ft (22 by 12metres)

One of the most remarkable finds so far was a mosaic containing a Christogram, or a “type of monogram of the name of Jesus,” Degen said.

Byzantine Christians wouldn’t have put crosses on their mosaic floors so as to not step on the symbol of Christ, Degen explained. The Christogram in the mosaic may look like a cross, but it’s actually more like a “chi rho” symbol, which puts together the first two capital letters in the Greek word for Christ, which resembles an X superimposed on a P.

There is also an alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet on either side of the chi rho, which is another Christian symbol. Christ was often described as the “the beginning and the end.” Four birds also decorate the mosaic, two of which are holding up a wreath to the top of the chi rho.

In the church’s narthex, or lobby area, there is “a fine mosaic floor decorated with colored geometric designs” as well as a “twelve-row dedicatory inscription in Greek containing the names ‘Mary’ and ‘Jesus’, and the name of the person who funded the mosaic’s construction,” Varga said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2544490/Stunning-1-500-year-old-church-mosaics-displaying-exotic-birds-leopards-zebras-unearthed-Israel.html#ixzz2rOqHr4Nm Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Stunning! This awesome work was obviously done with great love and care and  demonstrates how much they loved our Lord. The words dedicating all that is beautiful to Jesus and Mary. The birds and animals symbolize His creation.

The mention of oil-lamps reminded me of St. Augustine’ de Ordine - people in the ancient Mediterranean used a food-related item of olive oil for light since wax from honey bees weren’t widely available for candles. According to The Cultural Biography of the Roman Olive a liter of olive oil provides approximately 250-300 hours of light in a terracotta lamp – not bad. Source: St.Augustine’s de Ordine  10.1.3.

Situated on the eastern border of Turkey, across the Akhurian River from Armenia, lies the empty, crumbling site of the once-great metropolis of Ani [Armenia], known as “the city of a thousand and one churches.” Founded more than 1,600 years ago, Ani was situated on several trade routes, and grew to become a walled city of more than 100,000 residents by the 11th century. In the centuries that followed, Ani and the surrounding region were conquered hundreds of times — Byzantine emperors, Ottoman Turks, Armenians, nomadic Kurds, Georgians, and Russians claimed and reclaimed the area, repeatedly attacking and chasing out residents. By the 1300s, Ani was in steep decline, and it was completely abandoned by the 1700s. Rediscovered and romanticized in the 19th century, the city had a brief moment of fame, only to be closed off by World War I and the later events of the Armenian Genocide that left the region an empty, militarized no-man’s land. The ruins crumbled at the hands of many: looters, vandals, Turks who tried to eliminate Armenian history from the area, clumsy archaeological digs, well-intentioned people who made poor attempts at restoration, and Mother Nature herself. Restrictions on travel to Ani have eased in the past decade, allowing the following photos to be taken.  [27 photos]

The Monastery of the Hripsimian Virgins, in the ruins of the city of Ani, Turkey, on April 19, 2011. The monastery is thought to have been built between 1000 and 1200 AD, near the height of Ani’s importance and strength. The Akhurian River below acts as the modern border between Turkey and Armenia. (CC BY SA Georgios Giannopoulos)

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Ruins of the Mausoleum of the Child Princes in the Citadel in Ani, on April 19, 2011. Located in the Inner Fortress on Citadel Hill, this structure is thought to have been built around 1050 AD. (CC BY SA Georgios Giannopoulos) #

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The ruin of the Church of Saint Gregory of Tigran Honents on the edge of the border with Armenia, in Ani, the now-uninhabited capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom in Kars at the Turkey-Armenia border. (AP Photo) #

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Inside the Cathedral of Ani, on June 4, 2013. Construction of the structure began in 989, completed in either 1001 or 1010. Designed as a domed cruciform church, both the dome and the drum supporting it collapsed in an earthquake in 1319. Original here. (CC BY SA Flickr user MrHicks46) #

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The Virgin’s Castle, atop cliffs along the Akhurian River, photographed on June 4, 2013. Original here. (CC BY SA Flickr user MrHicks46) #

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Ani, as viewed from across the border, in Armenia. Original here. (CC BY SA Panoramio user haigoes) #

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The medieval walls of Ani, seen on July 30, 2008. Original here. (CC BY Marko Anastasov) #

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The Ani Cathedral, in the Turkey-Armenia border province of Kars, Turkey. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) #

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Inscription on an exterior wall of the cathedral. Original here. (CC BY SA Scott Dexter) #

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Damaged frescoes of the church of St Gregory of Tigran Honents, at the historical site of Ani in Kars province, on February 19, 2010. (Reuters/Umit Bektas) #

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The remains of the church of the Holy Redeemer, among the ruins of the historical city of Ani, on February 19, 2010. (Reuters/Umit Bektas) #

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Remains of an ancient bridge below Ani, photographed on June 19, 2011. Armenia is on the right, Turkey on the left. Original here. (CC BY SA Martin Lopatka) #

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The Turkey-Armenia border, on June 19, 2011. Original here. (CC BY SA Martin Lopatka) #

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Ani cathedral with Armenia’s Little Ararat in the background. Original here. (CC BY Sara Yeomans) #

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A Military warning sign with the Citadel behind, in Ani, on June 8, 2011. Original here. (CC BY SA Adam Jones) #

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The ruined church of the Holy Redeemer, seen on February 19, 2010. (Reuters/Umit Bektas) #

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The Citadel (left) and Mosque of Minuchihir (right). The mosque is named after its presumed founder, the emir Minuchihr, who ruled Ani beginning in 1072. Original here. (CC BY Flickr users Jean & Nathalie) #

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The Ani Cathedral, photographed on September 12, 2008. Turkey [MC->A Turkish NGO and the Ministry of Culture are working at Ani with a number of partners, including the American cultural heritage NGO World Monuments Fund, which is providing matching funds through, among others, the US State Department's Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. WMF and its partners are working on the conservation of the cathedral and the Church of the Redeemer] launched a project to conserve the ancient cathedral and a church in what is seen as a gesture of reconciliation toward neighboring Armenia. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) #

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Frescoes inside the Church of Saint Gregory of Tigran Honents, on June 4, 2013. Original here. (CC BY SA Flickr user MrHicks46) #

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Showing the scale of some of the ruins, an interior shot of the Ani Cathedral, on June 24, 2012. Original here. (CC BY SA Scott Dexter) #

21

Damaged frescoes of the church of St Gregory of Tigran Honents in Ani, on February 19, 2010. (Reuters/Umit Bektas) #

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Church of Saint Gregory of Tigran Honents, Ani, on June 19, 2011. Original here. (CC BY SA Martin Lopatka) #

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The meager remains of King Gagik’s church of St Gregory, a structure built between 1001 and 1005, but collapsing soon thereafter, photographed on June 24, 2012. Original here. (CC BY SA Scott Dexter) #

24

A gorge below Ani, showing numerous caves dug into cliffs, as well as fortifications. A modern border fence can be seen at bottom center, Armenia is on the left, Turkey, on the right, photographed on June 8, 2011. Original here. (CC BY SA Adam Jones) #

25

Careless restoration of the Merchant’s Palace, adding mismatched modern materials to ancient ruins. Original here. (CC BY Flickr users Jean & Nathalie) # [MC-> I guess one should be grateful that this was the only one the Turks attempted to “restore”!!!

26

An overview of Ani, on June 24, 2012. Original here. (CC BY SA Scott Dexter) #

27

The Virgin’s Castle, visible at center, on cliffs above the Akhurian River, at the ancient city of Ani, on June 24, 2012. Original here. (CC BY SA Scott Dexter) #

Virtual Ani – Complete overview of the site and its history

Ani – Wikipedia entry

Jan 24, 2014

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/01/the-ancient-ghost-city-of-ani/100668/

MORE:

January 13, 2014

Some thousand years ago, the old Armenian capital Ani rivaled the likes of Constantinople, Baghdad and Cairo in size and influence. Historically Ani has been an Armenian settlement from the times immemorial. It is first mentioned in the 5th century Armenian chronicles as a strong castle built on a hilltop. Ani was made capital of the Bagratuni Kingdom in 961 AD. and by the 11th Century had grown to over one-hundred-thousand people. Renowned for its splendor and magnificence, Ani was known as “the city of 40 gates” and “the city of 1001 churches.” It would later become the battleground for various contending Empires, leading to its destruction and abandonment. Today Ani largely remains a forgotten ancient Armenian ghost town in modern day Turkey.  Travelers, writers, and other adventurers through ages have described Ani with high regard. I think there is no better way to describe Ani but through the words of the people who have visited the site. Therefore bellow a selection of these heartwarming accounts.

Konstantin Paustovski a Russian Soviet writer, a Nobel prize nominee described Ani in 1923 with the following quotes:

“What is Ani like? There are things beyond description, no matter how hard you try.”

“On the other bank we saw basilicas, tiled Armenian domes and a complete absence of human beings. It was the ruins of the ancient Armenian capital, Ani – one of the real wonders of the world.”

The British member of parliament and businessman H. F. B. Lynch in 1893 also describes the city of Ani in his book “Armenia, travels and studies.”:

“But a lesson of wider import, transcending the sphere of the history of architecture, may be derived from a visit to the capital of the Bagratid dynasty, and from the study of the living evidence of a vanished civilization which is lavished upon the traveller within her walls. Her monuments throw a strong light upon the character of the Armenian people, and they bring into pronouncement important features of Armenian history. They leave no doubt that this people may be included in the small number of races who have shown themselves susceptible of the highest culture.”

“The roofs as well as the walls are composed of stone, and, as usual in Armenian churches, no wood or metal has been used. Even at the present day the Armenian masons are possessed of exceptional skill; and their natural gifts have been here directed by the conceptions of genius.

The merits of the style are the diversity of its resources, the elegance of the ornament in low relief, the perfect execution of every part.”

“We admire these buildings in much the same state and condition as when they delighted the eyes of Armenian monarchs nine centuries ago. Such a site would in Western lands be at least occupied by a small town or village; the solitude of Ani is not shared by creations of a culture that has disappeared.”

Church of the Redeemer, in Ani

An Italian historian, traveler and diplomat Luigi Villari in 1905 recounts Ani as follows:

“We walked over one or two brown ridges, and suddenly the walls of Ani came in sight. There they stood, massive piles of masonry extending for nearly a mile, with huge round towers at short intervals, mute testimony to the deeds of the Armenians in the brave days of old.”

“Nowhere, except at Constantinople, have I seen more splendid defences of a mediaeval city. For about two-thirds of a mile they are still standing, and broken fragments of them extend along the whole length of the circumference of the city and descend into the ravine of the Arpa Chai.”

“The marvelous city shows evidence of a building power and architectural skill on the part of the ancient Armenians of the highest order, and enables us to realize that this people, in spite of the lamentable history of the last six centuries, is a nation with a noble past.

Today this spot, where proud kings once dwelt in splendid courts and held sway over prosperous lands and civilized subjects, where public life was active and vigorous, is a crying wilderness. None but the old priest and the peasant family dwell within the enclosure, and even the neighbouring country, formerly so fertile and well-peopled, is now almost uninhabited, and has become to a great extent barren desert. Is the state of Ani symbolical of that of the Armenian nation, and are they destined at last to disappear or be absorbed into other races, other religions? I do not think so, for with all the sufferings and persecution they have undergone they still preserve a vigorous national life. Many of them have been massacred, but the survivors are not absorbed. Their industry is more active than ever, and education is making great progress. They have built up the oil trade of Baku, they monopolize the commerce of Tiflis, and at Rostoff-on-the-Don, Baku, Odessa, Moscow, Kishinieff, Constantinople, Bombay, Calcutta, and many another city far removed from their ancestral homes, they form industrious, intelligent, and prosperous commercial communities. A people with such a past and such a present need surely not despair of its future.”

Little did Villari know that only 10 years after these words Armenians would endure maybe the darkest of days in their entire history. The horrible events of the Armenian Genocide. Yet almost prophetic his words came true when Armenians overcame even these horrendous events and today there is still such a country (albeit smaller than its historic territory) that is called Armenia.

Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, London 1928. recounts the visit of of Nestorian Christian monks Sawma and Markos to Ani in the 1270s:

“And when they arrived at the city of Animto (Ani) and saw the monasteries and the churches therein, they marvelled at the great extent of the buildings and at their magnificence.”

Yet another highly memorable quote comes from an English artist, author, diplomat and traveller Sir Robert Ker Porter in 1817:

“In the western extremity of this great town, in which no living beings except ourselves seemed breathing, we saw the palace, once of the kings of Armenia; and it is a building worthy the fame of this old capital. Its length stretches nearly the whole breadth between the walls of the city on one side, and the ravine on the other. Indeed, it seems a town in itself; and so superbly decorated within and without, that no description can give an adequate idea of the variety and richness, of the highly wrought carvings on the stone, which are all over the building; or of the finely-executed mosaic patterns, which beautify the floors of its countless halls.”

“The farther I went, and the closer I examined the remains of this vast capital, the greater was my admiration of its firm and finished masonry. In short, the masterly workmanship of the capitals of pillars, the nice carvings of the intricate ornaments, and arabesque friezes, surpassed anything of the kind I had ever seen, whether abroad, or in the most celebrated cathedrals of England.”

Church of the redeemer from about 1040 AD.

William J. Hamilton in 1836 too described the outstanding building techniques of the Armenian craftsman, being able to build structures that would last for centuries. He describes:

“There was something impressive and almost awful in the sight of a Christian town, built in a style so peculiar to itself, and unknown to modern Europe, now nearly in the same state in which its destroyers had left it eight centuries ago.”

“There is hardly a building in Anni of any consequence which is not covered with Armenian inscriptions.”

Church of Ani, st. Gregory of Tigran Honents

Foreign travelers are not the only once to have recorded Ani in such regard. Armenians who have visited the site of the ancient abandoned Armenian capital often had a hard time holding back their emotions.  Basmadjian in 1903 describes the sites as follows:

“The traveler or the pilgrim, whether coming by horseback, by carriage, or even on foot, before arriving at this city in mourning, looks towards the site with a thousand thoughts. He is impatient; he strains to see it – even for just a moment – from afar, one doesn’t know if it is to feel an inner contentment or to satisfy the longings of many years. It is a powerful feeling, an unexplainable desire, that burns, that strains at the hearts of all Armenians and even those of foreign travellers.

And then your companions cry out “ANI!” It is as if a bomb had suddenly exploded, or an electrical current had crossed your body! You tremble; the regular flow of your breathing is altered; your heart pounds; your nerves soften; you are filled with emotions and your eyes begin to moisten with tears; you are no longer your own master; the tears that you initially held back you now allow to flow, to pour down your cheeks. You cry like a child, in front of these crumbling walls, these half destroyed buildings, these heaps of moss covered stones that awaken old and powerful memories in you.”

British army officer Major-General Charles Gordon in his letter describes an account of his visit to Ani in the year 1857:

“The third day of our tour we passed through Ani the ancient capital of Armenia. This city is completely deserted, and has splendid churches still standing in it. These churches are capitally built and preserved. Some coloured drawings on their walls are to be seen even now. I have obtained some views for you from this interesting place. The towers and walls are almost intact; but the most extraordinary thing about so large a place is the singular quietness.

I feel myself unable to describe this extraordinary place as it ought to be done.”

Ancient cave dwellings of Ani

Baron Max von Thielmann (1872) in his book ‘Journey in the Caucasus, Persia, and Turkey In Asia’ describes seeing Ani and its marvelous architecture that at “some parts are as fresh-looking as if they were only completed yesterday.” He further describes the sensation of being at the site as follows:

“On reaching a gentle ridge extending between two hills some 200 feet in height (near Kara-Kala in the Five Verst Map), a panorama disclosed itself to our gaze, which for wild and desolate grandeur is perhaps unparalleled. Before us lay extended a rocky plain about five miles in length, and at its further extremity was a mighty city, surrounded by walls with towers, churches and palaces – a noble pile, but devoid of animation.

The associations aroused by this scene were enhanced a thousand-fold by the tranquility and desolation which prevailed; for in days gone by the capital of a mighty empire had stood on this very spot in full glory and magnificence; and so intense was the impression occasioned by this solitude amongst ruins, that, even later on at Babylon and at Palmyra, I did not experience so acute a sensation.”

William of Rubruck in the account of his visit to Ani in 1255 states:

“On the feast of the Purifaction I was in a city called Ani. Its population is extremely strong: it contains a thousand Armenian churches…”

Ani ruins – view toward Armenia

Church of St. Gregory built in 1001

Ruins with Church at Rear – Ani (Ancient Armenian Capital) – Near Kars – Turkey

Ani Church of St Gregory (1215)

Holy Apostles church of Ani

Church of St. Gregory built in 1001

Church of St. Gregory built in 1001

Ornamental stones of a ruined Armenian church in Ani

Sources:

 For a more indepth study – click a Church on the map here:  http://www.virtualani.org/

http://armenianhouse.org/villari/caucasus/alexandropol-ani.html

http://peopleofar.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/ani-city-of-1001-churches-2/#more-4855

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Contrast Turkish destruction with Israeli preservation: Magnificant Byzantine-era church uncovered in Israel

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The sheer beauty in honor of God by the Armenians is breathtaking.  The Turks not only murdered almost 2 million Armenians but they’ve forced them to watch the destruction of their forefathers. This cruelty ends up with the Turks shooting themselves in the foot - one can only imagine the millions they’ve lost in tourism.

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The Surp Garabed Church near Mush, currently a barn. (Photo by Khatchig Mouradian)

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USA assists in restoration of Armenian churches in Turkey

There are no words!

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Last year Ari had 24,000 tourists - how many more visitors if these beautiful Churches had been preserved?

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Picture from – The Armenian Genocide (Warning: gruesome pictures)

DETECTIVES are investigating claims that a retired BBC ­executive abused young boys at his home in Amsterdam.

He is said to have owned a three-storey property near the city centre in the Eighties. Boys from British care homes were allegedly ferried there to take part in sex films.Police have been told that the BBC employee was involved in the abuse and played a key role in ­distributing the films.

The news comes as Dutch police prepare to re-open an investigation into child sex, which may ­be broadened to include British paedophiles operating in the Netherlands.

A whistleblower tipped off the BBC Investigations Unit two weeks ago about the man, who has since retired from the Corporation.

The information was passed to the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Yewtree, the unit set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal to look into historic sex crimes.

Although the Sunday Express knows both the identity of the alleged abuser and his former address in Amsterdam, we have decided not to print the details to avoid jeopardising any police investigation. Scotland Yard refused to comment but the BBC last night confirmed it had alerted the Met.

A spokesman said: “Where allegations of criminal wrongdoing are received by the BBC, we pass them on to the police. We cannot comment on individual cases.”

Former social worker Chris Fay, who advised the National Association of Young People In Care, has shown a picture of the former BBC executive to an alleged victim.

Mr Fay said: “He confirmed that this was one of the men who abused him at the flat in Amsterdam when he was a boy.

“The man apparently owned the building. He let the bottom flat to a known British paedophile, kept the middle residence for himself and used the attic for filming pornographic films involving both adults and children.

Related articles

• BBC TV chiefs ‘knew of Jimmy Savile’s sex abuse,’ says MP
• Sexual harassment was common at the BBC, Dave Lee Travis trial hears
• Travis: groping was considered ‘the norm’ in the 1970s

“He is said to have travelled back and forth between London and Amsterdam, playing a key role in the distribution of the videos throughout Britain and Europe.” Last week, Dutch prosecutors ­confirmed they are to investigate the Netherlands former justice ministry secretary-general Joris Demmink for allegedly raping two Turkish boys.

Demmink will be questioned over allegations that he raped the boys, aged between 12 and 15, while visiting Istanbul in the ­mid-Nineties. He denies the claims and says he was not in Turkey at that time.

In 1998, his name came up during a Dutch inquiry, called the Rolodex Affair, into an Amsterdam paedophile network. The probe was shut down shortly afterwards, prompting accusations of a cover-up.

A spokeswoman for the Office of Public Prosecutions in The Hague said the Demmink case might trigger a wider investigation into British paedophiles in Amsterdam. She said: “The investigation will initially focus solely on the allegations made by the two Turkish boys.

“Whether the investigation starts to look at other things at a later stage, we don’t know, it’s too early to say.”

However, sources revealed Dutch and British police met last summer on the Isle of Wight.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/456106/BBC-embroiled-in-further-scandal-as-executive-filmed-Dutch-child-abuse-movies

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Alleged Pedophile Ring: Connections to Senior Public Figures Mount

2/13/2012

Hot on the heels of the Jimmy Savile scandal, in which one of Britain’s most high-profile pop celebrities was alleged to have been a prolific perpetrator of sexual abuse, allegations of an even more disturbing pedophile ring with connections to the highest ranks of government have come to light….

…Once again, Britain’s ability to deal with the claims of victims is in the spotlight—with a particular emphasis on abuses of power in the 1980s. Just as previous investigations into Jimmy Savile or the Hillsborough football disaster falsely concluded there was no case, the danger is that past failures to fully investigate the alleged pedophile ring now look like collusion or cover-up. Source

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BRITAIN: ‘PEDOPHILE NETWORK at the HEART OF GOVERNMENT‘

Andrew Ash aged 14 (Hull News & Pictures)“Another politician turned up with a video camera but the man abusing me just smirked and joked, ‘OK, OK, I’ll vote any way you want’ as if he was being blackmailed. What I want to know is why they haven’t arrested him yet if they have this evidence.

“All I want is justice and for the truth to come out because these people have been protected for far too long.”

Mr Ash said two Met officers called at his home in Yorkshire last May.

Interviews were conducted mainly at a safe house in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, but also in London. “The interviews were usually carried out in blocks of three, normally every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“On at least two occasions there were two other officers present that I didn’t recognise. They didn’t ask me a thing, they just scribbled notes.

“I asked who they were but all I was told was that they were from ‘upstairs’. It was clear from the tone that they were intelligence officers.

“They had obviously been made aware of the high-profile names and the sensitive information I had given police.”

Dutch intelligence officers attended at least one interview because Andrew told of being trafficked to Amsterdam on a number of occasions to be abused by a group of paedophiles including convicted child killer Sidney Cooke.

He claims Cooke, now 84, made him film the paedophile abusing another young boy on video. It is feared Cooke may have abused and killed young boys in the Netherlands.

Mr Ash also told police he was abused by a big-name celebrity.

He said: “This particular person was able to get youngsters into glitzy nightclubs in the West End. After one evening he invited me and a young girl back to his house where he made us have sex before joining in.”

http://www.alternews.co.uk/2014/01/britain-pedophile-network-at-heart-of.html

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Pedophilia and male prostitutes in the White House: the Franklin Affair and Bush’s Jeff Gannon

April 16, 2010

“A homosexual prostitution ring is under investigation by federal and District authorities and includes among its clients key officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations, military officers, congressional aides and US and foreign businessmen with close social ties to Washington’s political elite. Reporters for this newspaper examined hundreds of credit-card vouchers, drawn on both corporate and personal cards and made payable to the escort service operated by the homosexual ring.”   — Washington Times, 6/29/1989…

“I was advised … of circumstances which indicated that the investigation in the activity of the FINDERS had become a CIA internal matter. The MPD [Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department] report has been classified secret and was not available for review. I was advised the FBI had withdrawn from the investigation. The FBI Foreign Counterintelligence Division had directed MPD not to advise the FBI Washington Field Office of anything that had transpired. No further information will be available. No further action will be taken.”

Washington DC has a long history of sexual scandals.

http://www.examiner.com/article/pedophilia-and-male-prostitutes-the-white-house-the-franklin-affair-and-bush-s-jeff-gannon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_child_prostitution_ring_allegations

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Italian high court finds ‘romance’ in 60-year-old man’s sex with 11-year-old, overturns sentence

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Penn State abuse scandal – one wonders if Jerry Sandusky was involved with the global vermin ring. At least he got jail-time…

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Hundreds arrested in international child porn case

348 people arrested and 386 children rescued

CBC News - Posted: Nov 14, 2013

Hundreds arrested in child porn case 4:09

Related Stories

• Child sex crimes to draw stronger penalties, PM Harper vows
• Sextortion online becoming ‘more prevalent’

Toronto police revealed details this morning of an international child sex abuse and pornography investigation that stretched across six continents and has led to hundreds of arrests, including 50 in Ontario and 58 in the rest of Canada.

At a news conference Thursday, police said 348 people have been arrested and 386 children rescued from situations around the world where they were at risk. Twenty-four children in Canada were among those rescued, they said.

Those charged include Brian Way, 41, who operated Azovfilms.com in Toronto, and is alleged to have solicited and sold child pornography around the world. The products included videos and pictures, police said. The company went out of business in 2011.

Altogether, about 45 terabytes of child pornography on computers were seized, portraying hundreds of thousands of sexual acts involving children,  Inspector Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, commander of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, said.

School teachers, doctors and actors were among those arrested, Beaven-Desjardins said. The investigation was known internally as Project Spade.

Way, the Toronto man at the heart of the investigation, was allegedly running a company since 2005 that distributed child pornography videos around the world.

Police allege he instructed people around the world to create the videos of children ranging from five to 12 years of age, and then distributed the videos to international customers.

Way faces about two dozen charges of making, distributing, exporting and selling explicit images of boys ranging in age from toddlers to teens, the Toronto Star reported.

The United States Postal Inspection Service was closely involved in the investigation, as were authorities in Sweden, Spain, Australia, South Africa, and Hong Kong, among others. Several were represented at the Toronto news conference.

Among those present were Gerald O’Farrell, acting deputy chief inspector of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Insp. Brian Bone of the same agency, and Signy Arnason, associate executive director of Cybertip — the Canada Centre for Child Protection.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/hundreds-arrested-in-international-child-porn-case-1.2426176

~~~

How high does it go? Given the degree to which members of the Global Elites fraternize with each other, does anybody think there is NOT an interlocking global network of highly-placed pedophiles?

• Gabriel Magee, a 39-year-old JP Morgan  bank executive, died this morning after he threw himself off the top of the  bank’s European headquarters
• On Sunday, former Deutsche Bank senior  manager, William ‘Bill’ Broeksmit, 58, was found hanging in his home in South  Kensington
• Both deaths have been ruled  non-suspicious by the Metropolitan Police
• Magee had lived in London for seven years  after transferring from the Unites States with JP Morgan
• Broeksmit had been in London many years  but still owned an apartment in an exclusive Central Park building in New  York
• Both were thought highly of by their  bosses and colleagues, sources said

ByMartin Robinsonand Mark Duelland Kieran Corcoran

PUBLISHED:          16:46  EST, 28 January 2014

Two top ranking American bankers working in  senior positions in London have committed suicide in the space of two  days.

Gabriel Magee, a 39-year-old JP Morgan bank  executive, died early this morning after he jumped 500ft from the top of the  bank’s European headquarters. His body was discovered on the ninth floor roof,  which surrounds the 33-story Canary Wharf skyscraper.

Just two days earlier, on Sunday, fellow  American banker, William ‘Bill’ Broeksmit, 58, was found hanging in his South  Kensington home.

Broeksmit – who retired last February – was a  former senior manager at Deutsche Bank and had lived in London many years. He  started working for the bank in 1996 but left for a period of 7 years before  returning in 2008.

Tragedy: IT executive Gabriel Magee has been found dead  today after jumping from the top of JP Morgan’s headquarters in Canary Wharf,  London, and landing on a surrounding roof

Magee was a vice president in the corporate  and investment bank technology department having joined JP Morgan in 2004 and moved with the  bank from the U.S. to Britain in 2007.

Magee was named in an email sent to all JP  Morgan staff Tuesday afternoon.

A company spokesman said: ‘We are  deeply  saddened to have lost a member of the J.P. Morgan family at 25  Bank Street  today. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and  his  friends’.

A source close to Magee said he was in ‘good  standing with his bosses and colleagues. He was well liked.’

Scotland Yard said they were called to 25  Bank Street at 8.02 a.m. and detectives are not treating the death as  suspicious.

‘No arrests have been made and the incident  is being treated as non-suspicious at this early stage’, a spokesman for the  Metropolitan Police said.

Canary Wharf workers were in shock today,  with one trader telling MailOnline that his body lay on the flat roof until  around midday.

‘My colleague yelled that he could see that  someone had jumped from the top of the building onto a lower roof. His body lay  there uncovered for at least two hours,’ he said.

In shock: A JP Morgan worker looks out of his window as  Mr Magee’s body was recovered today

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Roof death:  Workers at Canary Wharf said hundreds  were looking at the man’s body from their windows

‘Hundreds were looking out of their windows  at him.

‘It was bonus week at JP Morgan last week so  I hope it wasn’t to do with that’.

Another Canary Wharf worker who could see  where the man fell told the Evening Standard: ‘It’s upsetting what’s happened  but the thought of somebody lying up there for four hours is  awful.

‘I got into the office at about 8.10 and the  body was on the floor and there were police up there, and they put a white cover  on him.

‘I think he was in a suit. As far as I could  see the was dressed appropriately, but there was quite a lot of blood, so me and  my colleagues were a bit upset.’

Others tweeted that what they saw this  morning.

Amie Hughes-Gage said: ‘Just watched the  police finally remove that poor bankers body 4 and half hours later with only a  white sheet over him.’

Hetal Patel tweeted: ‘The 9th floor roof of  JP Morgan is visible from my office window. For a long time the body was left  cordoned & unattended’.

Another wrote online: ‘It’s not a nice view  from my building. The body is on the rooftop of level 9. So sad’.

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An air ambulance was sent to the scene but  the man could not be saved.

‘We were called to Bank Street to reports of  a person fallen form a height’, London  Ambulance Service spokesman said:

‘We sent one ambulance crew, a duty officer,  our hazardous area response team and London Air Ambulance to the  scene.

‘Sadly a man in his 30s was pronounced dead  at the scene.’

JP Morgan’s building  has been the headquarters of the bank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)  operation since July 2012.

It used to be owned by Lehman Brothers  until  its collapse in 2008, and the area houses the headquarters of  other banking  giants including HSBC and Barclays.

The horrific tragedy came hot on the heels of  the shock death of of Broeksmit Sunday, who apparently had close ties to  co-chief executive Anshu Jain.

Jain and fellow co-chief executive Juergen  Fitschen said in an internal memo: ‘He was considered by many of his peers to be  among the finest minds in the fields of risk and capital management. ‘We are  deeply saddened by Bill’s death. He was a dear friend and colleague to many of  us who benefitted from his intellect and wisdom.

Location: The body of William ‘Bill’ Broeksmit, 58, was  found at his home  in South Kensington, central London

Discovery: Police had been called to reports of a man  found hanging at a house on this road, Evelyn Gardens

‘Our thoughts and condolences are with his  wife and family at this time. We will remember him for his  contributions to  Deutsche Bank, thoughtful advice and personal  friendship.’

Broeksmit  worked in investment banking -  specifically risk and securities – and  lived on exclusive Evelyn Gardens in  South Kensington, which has an  average property value of £1.9million.

He is also registered to a high-value  property a stone’s throw from New York’s Central Park.

Broeksmit’s name appears on U.S. government  records for the Broeksmit Family Foundation, which is based in the palatial 1185  Park Avenue building.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment  to which he is linked was worth $4,500,000 when it was last sold in June 2000.

He worked at Deutsche Bank from 1996 to 2001,  then from 2008 until he retired. Broeksmit was also employed by Merrill Lynch  for a period.

Broeksmit was one of around 100 bankers who  left Merrill Lynch for Deutsche when its investment banking arm was founded in  the 1990s.

Links: Mr Broeksmit is linked by U.S. documents to an  apartment in this building, yards from Central Park

He was involved in the process of rescuing  the bank in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, when many investment banks  found their debts were ‘toxic’, and unlikely ever to be repaid.

Broeksmit, a renowned risk expert, assisted  the bank’s efforts to shift the worst of the debt, and reduce its total amount  of lending.

Chiefs at Deutsche Bank had planned to  promote  Broeksmit to its management board in 2012, but stopped when the  German financial regulator expressed doubts about his experience as a  leader.

Scotland Yard confirmed only that a  58-year-old man was found hanged.

A spokesman said: ‘Police were called at  12.35 p.m. on Sunday to a man found hanging at Evelyn Gardens, SW7.

‘Kensington and Chelsea police, ambulance and  air ambulance all attended. A 58-year-old man was declared dead at the scene.  The death is being treated as non-suspicious.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2547684/TWO-senior-American-bankers-working-London-commit-suicide-just-two-days-one-jumped-500ft-death-JP-Morgan-skyscraper.html#ixzz2rkgxat9p

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Suicide Among Bankers Appears To Be On The Rise Again As Pressures To Get Banks And Businesses Back In The Black Takes Its Toll

By Christopher Harress - on September 04 2013 8:54 AM

http://www.ibtimes.com/suicide-among-bankers-appears-be-rise-again-pressures-get-banks-businesses-back-black-takes-its-toll

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JPM Sees 28% Withdrawal From Gold Vault In One Day As Another 10 Tons Depart

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-28/jpm-sees-28-withdrawal-gold-vault-one-day-another-10-tons-depart

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Last weekend Drudge twitted: Have an exit plan…— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) January 24, 2014

Advice or Warning? I made a couple of minor plans some time back – the rest I turn over to God. I’m certainly not going to worry despite the fact that Enron (and a couple of others)  initial spiral came from their London offices.

• The label dates from second half of the  10th Century BC and was discovered in the Ophel area of Jerusalem, south of  Temple Mount
• It is thought to be the most ancient  Hebrew engraving to emerge from the archaeological digs in the area so  far
• Could mean Bible stories of King David and King Solomon were not passed down orally but written down at the time and are accurate
• Historians believe the type of cheap wine  held in the containers would have been drunk by slaves and  soldiers

ByMark Prigg

PUBLISHED:          13:51  EST, 27 January 2014

A small fragment of ancient pottery  researchers believe shows the first wine label could prove that the reigns of  King Solomon and King David actually occurred.

The 10th century BC ‘Ophel Inscription’ was  unearthed last year, and scientists were initially baffled by the bizarre  language that was inscribed on the remains of a jug.

A new translation reveals the contents of a  jar was ‘lousy’ plonk intended for slaves – and sheds new light on society at  the time.

Scroll down for video

The label dates from second half of the 10th Century BC  and was discovered in the Ophel area of Jerusalem, south of Temple Mount

The word on the pitcher reads ‘yayin’ or wine and he  believes it should read ‘in the year [¿ ]M, wine, part, m[¿]‘ in a form of  ancient Hebrew, according to professor Galil

The label is thought to be the most ancient  Hebrew engraving to emerge from the archaeological digs in Jerusalem to  date.

‘We are dealing here with real kings, and the  kingdom of David and Solomon was a real fact,’ Gershon Galil from the department  of Jewish History at Haifa University told FoxNews.com.

Some experts previously claimed it was  written in an ancient near Eastern language, but Galil believes it is actually a  form of ancient Hebrew.

The inscription is eight letters long and was  engraved on a large clay pitcher in the second half of the 10th century BC in  Biblical times, which was used to store cheap wine.

It was found in the Ophel area of the city,  south of Temple Mount, as part of a dig by the Archaeological Institute at the  Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A word on the pitcher reads ‘yayin’ or wine  and he believes the whole inscription should read ‘in the year [… ]M, wine,  part, m[…]’.

Professor Galil explained the first missing  word ends with ‘mem,’ which is the final part of the word for the 20th or 30th  year of the kingdom and effectively dates the wine.

The middle portion or ‘wine, part’ indicates  the type of wine contained in the jar and in the Ugarit  language from northern  Syria, a similar word to ‘yayin’ means the lowest quality of  wine.

The final letter has been cut off from a  longer word, but Professor  Gahil thinks it could indicate where the wine came  from.

The discovery was made in the ruins of a Byzantine  public structure located  in the Ophel region between the city of David and the  southern wall of the First Temple, (pictured). This area is thought to be part  of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem dating back to the 10th century BC,  possibly built by King Solomon

Professor Galil recently  told The Archaeology News Network: ‘This wine  wasn’t served to Solomon’s emissaries, or in the temple, but apparently was for  the slave construction workers who worked in the area.’

Archaeologists already know that poor quality  wine was drunk by soldiers and slave builders and believe that it was stored in  large vessels that did not keep it particularly fresh, like the one found in the  dig six months ago.

Professor Galil thinks the carving was  produced after King Solomon had built the first temple, his palaces and city  walls.

The earthenware jar that is now known to contain cheap  wine, was found in the Ophel archaeological area in Jerusalem, where other  treasures, including a number of Byzantine coins have been discovered

The find sheds light on the Biblical  kingdom’s sophisticated society, where many people were thought to be literate,  taxes were collected and builders recruited and bought to Jerusalem to build  palaces and other infrastructure, according to the study, which was published in  the journal New Studies on Jerusalem.

Some historians dispute information gleaned  from the Bible that Jerusalem was an important city, but supporters of the  Biblical accounts, including Professor Galil, believe the inscription supports  stories that tell of complicated administrative systems and a strictly  hierarchical society.

‘Scribes that could write administrative  texts could also write literary and historiographic texts and this has very  important implications for the study of the Bible and understanding the history  of Israel in the biblical period,’ he added.

Dr Jonathan Stokl, a lecturer in Hebrew Bible  and the Old Testament, from King’s College London told MailOnline: ‘The  inscription is written in what is variously called “proto-Canaanite” or “late  Canaanite” script.

A 10cm medallion etched with a Menorah, Shofar made from  a ram’s horn and a Torah scroll, (pictured) was found at the same site as the  earthenware jug inscribed with the wine label. However, the medallion dates from  the 7th Century, unlike the older wine container

The language is probably an early form of  Hebrew, but it could be a closely related dialect spoken in Jerusalem in the  10th century.’

He explained that at the time the inscription  was made, the way words were written had not been agreed upon so some people  wrote from left to right (like English) while others wrote in the opposite  direction, like with modern Hebrew and Arabic.

While Professor Galil has interpreted the  inscription from right to left, another academic, Professor Christopher  Rollinston has read it in the opposite way, but has not arrived upon a clear  meaning.

‘Irrespective of what the reading of the  inscription is, it attests to someone writing Hebrew (or a closely related  language) in the 10th century in Jerusalem, probably for administrative  reasons,’ he said.

‘Professor Galil suggests that this indicates  that the inscription was made by some royal administration (something like an  early civil service) and I believe that he is probably correct with  that.’

The inscription was found in Ophel, near near Temple  Mount in Jerusalem (pictured) in December last year

The inscription was found among a pile of pottery  (pictured). Leading expert Douglas Petrovich believes the language is a  primitive form of Hebrew which suggests the ancient Israelites were recording  history much earlier than previously thought

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2546917/3-000-year-old-recipe-WINE-proves-Old-Testament-TRUE.html#ixzz2rkz7T8UE

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Find from era of King David may confirm Old Testament text — if politics don’t interfere

by Steven Ertelt | Stockholm, Sweden | LifeNews.com | 1/28/14

A nurse in southern Sweden has been fired for refusing to participate in an abortion and she is now claiming religious discrimination as a result.

Ellinor Grimmark says she refused to help out with abortions at the local hospital where she worked and, as a result, they failed to extend her contract. The nurse did a student internship at a hospital in Eksjö and was promised extra work until she informed hospital officials her faith would not allow her to participate in abortions.

The hospital then withdrew its offer for summer employment and Grimmark has filed a complaint with the Swedish discrimination watchdog Diskrimineringsombudsmannen (DO).

The Swedish newspaper The Local has the rest of the story:

“I feel like their reaction was personal,” she told the TT news agency on Friday. The midwife has now finished her studies and found work at another hospital, where staff had told her that her refusal to assist with abortions was not straightforward.

“I declared my attitude to the hospital management and while they think it is problematic they said it was OK and that were prepared to give it a try,” Grimmark said.

She has found no support, however, from the union.

“As a patient in Sweden it must be very clear what (healthcare) you can expect according to Swedish law,” the Swedish Association of Health Professionals (Vårdförbundet) vice chairwoman Pia Arndorff told TT. “It should not depend on whom you happen to encounter.”

In contrast, Grimmark though it was reasonable to be able to opt out of certain work also in the public sector due to private conviction. “I think it’s part and parcel of human rights, and that one should have freedom of conscience also in Sweden,” Grimmark told TT.

The Discrimination Ombudsman is expected to issue a ruling within the next week or two.

http://www.lifenews.com/2014/01/28/nurse-fired-for-refusing-to-participate-in-abortions/

Swede Anton Nyström (1842-1931 – a contemporary of Jean-Jacques Rosseau and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) thought that the rural poor were closer to “negroes and barbarians” his colleague Anders Retzius (wanted to divide humanity into “types”") – son Gustaf Retzius followed in his fathers footsteps - known as the founder of Eugenics - he tried to glorify the Nordic race inasmuch as Hitler the Aryan race, using science as a cover. Galton et al are no better. The “Swedish Society for Racial Hygiene” aka Eugenic Society was established in 1909. It was opened over “concern” that people with “inferior” properties generated more children than people with the “right” economic, social and cultural background, and that the Swedish people eventually would get what was considered to be inferior characteristics. The Racial Hygiene Institute closed in 1975.  These vermin want a disability free society made in their image – not Gods.  

Eugenics by Abortion – http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51671-2005Apr13.html

by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 1/28/14

The House today approved legislation that will put in place a complete ban on taxpayer funding of abortions that ensures abortions are not directly funded in any federal governmental program or department.

The legislation combines several policies that must be enacted every year in Congressional battles and puts them into law where they will not be in jeopardy of being overturned every time Congress changes hands from pro-life lawmakers to those who support abortions.

The House voted 227-188 for the bill with 221 Republicans and 6 Democrats voting to ban taxpayer funding of abortions under HR7 while 187 Democrats and one Republican voted against it. [ROLL CALL at end of story.]

Congressman Tom price said during the debate: “This legislation prohibits taxpayer funding of elective abortions, no matter where in the federal system that might occur. This is a position supported by the majority of Americans in a bipartisan manner. We have a responsibility, through our government, to protect the most vulnerable among us, not the least of whom are the unborn. This bill is an important step in the right direction.”

The bill has been around a few years but has only been approved in the House thanks to a pro-abortion Senate. On May 4, 2011, the House passed HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, on a 251-175 vote with Republicans voting 235-0 for the bill and Democrats voting 175-16 against it.

Congressman Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who is the lead sponsor of the bill, spoke on the House floor during debate and said it would help hold President Barack Obama accountable by ensuring no taxpayer funds are used to pay for abortions.

A majority of Americans object to the use of taxpayer money for funding abortion, according to numerous polls — including a survey CNN conducted in early April showing Americans oppose public funding of abortion by a margin of 61% to 35%.

The bill will also mitigate concerns about abortion funding in the various loopholes in the Obamacare national health care bill that various pro-life organizations warned about during debate on the law. The legislation did not contain language banning funding of abortions in its provisions and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would fix that problem.

The National Right to Life Committee sent a letter to House members urging support for the legislation that explains how the bill will help:

“Regrettably, however, the 111th Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). During consideration of that legislation, language was proposed (the Stupak-Pitts Amendment) to apply the principles of the Hyde Amendment to the multitude of programs created by the bill, and the House initially approved that language – but no such provision was part of the enacted law, due to opposition from President Obama and the Senate majority. Consequently, the enacted PPACA contains multiple provisions authorizing funding of abortion and funding of health plans that cover abortion.”

The National Right to Life letter also commented on another lesser-known provision of the tax-funded abortion ban — it’s language to protect health care professionals who don’t want to be involved in abortions.

“The bill would codify the principles of the Hyde-Weldon Amendment, which has been appended to the original Hyde Amendment on every Health and Human Services appropriations bill since 2004. This provision would solidify important protections for health care providers who do not wish to participate in providing abortions – which is especially important in light of the Obama Administration’s February 23, 2011 action rescinding the conscience protection regulation issued by the Bush Administration.”

A new Kaiser Foundation study found that 6.1 million women will gain elective abortion coverage under Obamacare through the Medicaid expansion and new federal premium subsidies. H.R. 7 would essentially codify the executive order used in 2009 by President Obama to secure the final votes needed from pro-life Democrats in order to pass the health care overhaul.

The pro-life group CatholicVote also supports the bill as do many other pro-life groups including Americans United for Life, the Susan B. Anthony List, Liberty Counsel and Family Research Council.

“This critically important legislation is called the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act,” Brian Burch of CatholicVote said. “This legislation has been updated to deal with the horrible expansion of abortion that began with the implementation of Obamacare. The House is ready to lead. If they pass this bill, the pressure will be on Senate Democrats up for election this year in red states like Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.”

HOW YOUR LAWMAKERS VOTED: A yes is a pro-life vote to stop taxpayer-funding of abortion. Democrats are listed in italics.

Continued: http://www.lifenews.com/2014/01/28/house-passes-bill-to-completely-ban-taxpayer-funding-of-abortions/

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Abortion is not a religious issue and it is not a moral issue. It is not a social issue, it is not a personal, or an ethical issue. It is entirely a matter of science – human biology in particular – and no amount of denial or cognitive dissonance, justification or moral arguments can help one escape from the implications of examining abortion from a scientific point of view.

Continued: Abortion is Killing – Science says so

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One is either Pro-life or its opposite Pro-death. Pro-choice is not an option in the equation!

Russian president dismisses EU decision to send envoy to Kiev: ‘The more intermediaries there are, the more problems there are’

Ian Traynor in Brussels and Oksana Grytsenko in Kiev – The Guardian, Tuesday 28 January 2014

President Vladmir Putin warned Europe to keep its hands off Ukraine on Tuesday, as Brussels sent its top foreign policy envoy to Kiev to try to mediate in the 10-week stand-off between President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition on the streets.

Russia‘s intervention in Brussels followed Yanukovych’s biggest concession to the opposition, the sacking of his hardline prime minister and government and a promise to repeal draconian laws criminalising protest and freedom of speech.

Putin met EU leaders for the first time since November’s clash between the Kremlin and Europe over the future of Ukraine triggered the crisis in Kiev. Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, took part in the meetings with Putin in Brussels then travelled to Kiev to try to mediate between the opposing sides.

“The more intermediaries there are, the more problems there are,” Putin said. “I am not sure Ukraine needs intermediaries.” He pointedly noted that European leaders would complain if Russia sent envoys to mediate in the Greek crisis of the past four years.

“I can only imagine what the reaction would be if in the heat of the crisis in Greece or Cyprus, our foreign minister came to an anti-European rally and began urging people to do something. This would not be good,” Putin said. “I’m sure the Ukrainian people will sort this out and Russia is not going to interfere.”

The president of the European council, Herman Van Rompuy, insisted Lady Ashton would seek to reconcile the two sides in Kiev on the basis of “democratic rules” and aim to prevent an escalation of violence.

Earlier, in what appeared a significant concession to the opposition, Yanukovych fired his hardline prime minister, Mykola Azarov, and his government. It remains to be seen whether the pro-Russian president would seek to include opposition figures in a new government and whether the opposition would agree. The central demand from the protesters is Yanukovych’s resignation and early presidential elections.

Yanukovych also caved in to pressure from the opposition, Europe and the US by promising to scrap repressive legislation passed a fortnight ago curbing freedom of speech and assembly.

The moves came after four rounds of talks between the embattled president and three opposition leaders. The laws severely curtailed freedom of assembly, with critics suggesting they in effect ushered in a dictatorship.

“We revoked the laws against which all the country has revolted,” Arseniy Yatseniuk, a prominent opposition leader, said after the parliamentary vote. He called on Yanukovych to immediately sign the repeal of the legislation into law.

The street revolt against Yanukovych erupted in November after he reneged on free trade and political integration pacts with the EU, turning to Moscow which offered him $15bn (£11bn) in loans and reduced energy prices.

While Van Rompuy and the EU commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, stressed yesterday there was no contradiction between Ukraine’s agreements with Brussels and Moscow, Putin made plain that his deal with Yanukovych was incompatible with Kiev’s signing up to the EU’s offers.

“We would most likely fail to maintain the preferential agreements with Ukraine if it signs the [EU] association agreement,” he said. He added that Moscow’s deal with Kiev did not depend on the shape of the new government to be formed, but stressed that the Kremlin would need to make sure it would be able to recoup the loans.

“We can’t pretend that everything’s all right when it’s not allright,” said Barroso.

The Russians and the Europeans agreed to set up a working group of experts to discuss the detail of the agreements being offered to Kiev by Brussels. That appeared to be a concession to Moscow since it was an early demand by Yanukovych rejected by the EU in November.

Azarov, who has described protesters as “terrorists”, had offered his resignation. He said he hoped the move would help achieve a peaceful resolution to the crisis that has gripped the country for more than two months.

“The conflict situation which has come about in the country is threatening the economic and social development of Ukraine, creating a threat to the whole of Ukrainian society and to each citizen,” he said.

The opposition responded cautiously, saying it was unclear who would replace him.

A former Ukrainian foreign ministry official said the Kremlin was exerting huge pressure on Yanukovych behind the scenes, urging him to deal more harshly with anti-government protesters. “Ukraine is out of money. If Russia stops financing Yanukovych, he will be unable to pay his loyal supporters,” the official said.

It was Yanukovych’s decision to accept Russian money – and to reject a partnership agreement with the European Union – that first prompted massive pro-European street demonstrations two months ago. Radical groups have since joined the protests, which have resulted in violent clashes, at least four civilians killed and parts of central Kiev transformed into a battle zone. Dozens of activists have been arrested and several prominent leaders have disappeared. Over the weekend the government mooted the idea of imposing a state of emergency.

On Tuesday, opposition leaders said they would not abandon their uprising until their main demands were met. The demands include Yanukovych’s resignation, fresh presidential elections, and an amnesty for those rounded up by police in street protests.

“It’s not a victory. It’s just a step towards victory,” Vitali Klitschko, leader of the UDAR party and former world boxing champion, said of Azarov’s resignation. Klitschko also reaffirmed his wish not to work in a new cabinet. Yatseniuk had earlier turned down an offer by Yanukovych to become prime minister. “Under no circumstances will I ever agree to work in Yanukovych’s government,” Klitschko said, adding that a change of prime minister would not change the government system, which needed “to get a restart”.

Pro-Yanukovych politicians did not support the sacking of Azarov, who has been head of the government since 2010 when Yanukovych took power. “This will lead to additional destabilisation in the country,” said Oleg Tsariov, of the ruling Party of Regions.

Parliament was due to vote late on Tuesday on an amnesty for hundreds of arrested protesters. Yanukovych sought to tie the amnesty to opposition pledges that the protest would be called off. It seems unlikely that the decisions would placate the tens of thousands of protesters and prompt them to leave the streets and destroy dozens of barricades that protect the Kiev protest camp, now known as Euromaidan (Eurosquare), from thousands of police. “I’m sure our fight will go on,” said Klitschko.

The leaders of four central European EU countries bordering Ukraine are to meet in Budapest on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/28/vladimir-putin-ukraine-crisis-eu

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Related:

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Global Destabilization: Directed Discontent in Egypt and Beyond

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[...]The United States condemned what it called “violence against protesters” in a statement posted online by the U.S. Embassy in Kiev.

A statement released Saturday by the U.S. State Department said, “We urge Ukraine’s leaders to respect their people’s right to freedom of expression and assembly… We call on the Government of Ukraine to foster a positive environment for civil society and to protect the rights of all Ukrainians to express their views on their country’s future in a constructive and peaceful manner in [Kiev] and in other parts of the country. Violence and intimidation should have no place in today’s Ukraine.”"

Ukrainian protesters have used fire and even bulldozers in an attempt to break police barricades, as reported by both the UK Independent and the BBC.

Images: Scenes from the pro-EU protests in Ukraine. Protesters have used fire, clubs, and even bulldozers to break through police barricades. The West has backed the protests and condemned Ukraine’s police for “violence and intimidation” for employing riot gear and tactics regularly used even in cities across the US and UK.

….

Of course, it should be obvious why the US, UK, and EU, and the Fortune 500 interests that direct the governments of each, are behind the protesters, literally funding most of their activity. The European Union is simply the collectivizing of Europe, the reduction of protectionism that impedes powerful multinationals, and offers corporate-funded policy makers the ability to create one program to apply to all nations at once. Convenient, one-stop corporate-fascism.

http://altthainews.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-tale-of-two-protests-ukraine-thailand.html

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Related:

A Tale of Two Protests: Ukraine and Thailand – Part III | mediachecker - 7 days ago – Image: The US backs mobs in Kiev, Ukraine attacking police with clubs, sticks, and baseball bats – while it calls protesters in Bangkok, Thailand …

Victor Svyatski outed as founder and mastermind … – mediachecker - Dec 27, 2013 – Ukrainian feminist group Femen, famous for its breast-baring protests, was founded and is controlled by a man named Victor Svyatski…

Who or What is Russia’s “Pussy Riot” and Who … – mediachecker - Dec 28, 2013 – August 6, 2012 – Accurately described as bigots and hooligans, the 3 member musical band known as “Pussy Riot” is now on trial for …

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Destabilization and Discontent in the Ukraine, Egypt, or wherever is the general idea! Then these Fortune 500 people can pick up rich resource land for pennies…they’ll bring in the WB/IMF – (UN/ICC NGO’s) and their hefty interest rates for loans – can’t pay – then confiscate more rich land resources from the people. The politicians who sold their country down the river will become slaves to these global thieves - eventually the country and its people will be made into their image – there’s a pattern. A NWO – Global Monoply.

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Follow the money…

Two Norwegian politicians say NSA whistleblower’s actions have led to a ‘more stable and peaceful world order’

Associated Press in Stavanger – theguardian.com,             Wednesday 29 January 2014

Republicans suggest resolution condemning Obama for violating Constitution

Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com January 29, 2014

During the State of the Union, Obama made it abundantly clear Congress and the American people are irrelevant. Early on in the address, Obama threatened to rule by supreme diktat.

“Whenever and wherever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that is what I am going to do,” he said, trashing the principles of constitutional government.

“I’ll act on my own,” he declared.

After Coup Rebuttal:-

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus didn’t mention Obama’s threat to rule by decree or his numerous constitutional violations.

Texas Republican Steve Stockman walked out of the SOTU early on. “I could not bear to watch as he continued to cross the clearly-defined boundaries of the Constitutional separation of powers,” Stockman said. “This is a wholesale violation of his oath of office and a disqualifying offense.”

Other House Republicans chimed in. “Unfortunately, what I heard from President Obama tonight was hostility toward our foundational principles, condescension toward a co-equal branch of government, and a general aversion to common sense and bipartisanship,” said Rep. Raúl Labrador of Idaho.

“The president’s attempt to intimidate Congress by abusing executive power demonstrates a serious unwillingness to work with the coequal legislative branch of government,” Republican Rep. Gregg Harper of Mississippi added.

“This threat that the president is going to run the government with an ink pen and executive orders, we’ve never had a president with that level of audacity and that level of contempt for his own oath of office,” Rep. Steve King said prior to Obama’s address. The Iowa congressman said “it’s Congress’s job to pass the laws. He knows that. And we need to take our oath seriously and defend the Constitution.”

He based his comments on remarks made by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, who said that “rather than sit and wait for Congress to take action, we’re going to go ahead and roll out on our own, using the president’s authority.” -> (MC-> aka Dictatorship)

King told CNN “this Congress should lay out the violations that the president has had. And there are many.” He said a resolution may be brought to the House floor disapproving Obama’s behavior and “that lists all of his constitutional violations, or at least the clearest ones – there are very many, I don’t know that if we’d ever get to all,” he said.

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota also suggested action against the president. “If he wants to move forward with this unilateral activity, he better be prepared for the lawsuit that the United States Congress will bring to him,” she said. “He may think he’s king, he may declare he’s a king, but that’s not what he is under the constitution.”

A majority of Republicans, however, are cool to the idea of impeachment. “Out of the nearly 280 Republican lawmakers conducting town halls during the August [2013] recess, the Left found four who discussed impeachment, none of whom advocated for it,” writes Andrew Stiles. He said “the GOP has no appetite for seriously pursuing impeachment.”

In December, King criticized fellow members of the House Judiciary Committee for refusing to say the word. He said impeachment is “the word that we don’t like to say in this committee, and I’m not about to utter here in this particular hearing.”

In the Democrat controlled Senate there is even less of an appetite to discuss impeachment. “We’ve also talked about the I-word, impeachment, which I don’t think would get past the Senate in the current climate,” noted Rep. Blake Farenthold, a Texas Republican.

During a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee in December,

Republicans enumerated actions Obama has taken that exceed his authority.

“Examples –

included bombing Libya without congressional authorization,

”The Columbus Dispatch reported, “delaying implementation of some provisions of Obamacare;

waiving immigration restrictions to enable children of illegal immigrants to remain in the United States;

easing federal drug enforcement in states that have legalized the medicinal or recreational use of marijuana;

ending mandatory-minimum prison sentences for some drug offenses;

and permitting the Internal Revenue Service to scrutinize conservative organizations’ applications for non-profit, tax-exempt status.”

Obama 2014 SOTU Address:-

http://www.infowars.com/state-of-the-union-takeaway-dictatorship/

Related Articles – Obama vs. the Constitution

I didn’t watch!

Image of deceased

RIP

By Raymond Ibrahim on January 17, 2014

According to an Arabic report published today on Aleteia.org, back on January 8, 2014, yet another Christian man was beheaded and his body stabbed with a crucifix, by U.S.-sponsored “freedom-fighters.”

Two young Christian men, Fadi and Firas, were traveling by car, from Homs to the Christian village of Marmarita, when they were stopped and assaulted by five armed jihadis, who opened fire on the car.

According to the report, “And when the mujahidin [jihadis] approached the car, they noticed that Fadi was wearing a cross around his neck, so they decided to decapitate him and plant the cross in his chest.”

They also beat his companion, Firas, leaving him for dead on the ground, and proceeded to plunder their car, stealing money and documents.

However, he recovered — waking only to see his friend’s decapitated and stabbed body — and, wounded and on foot, reached the village of al-Mushtaya, where he was transferred to a hospital.

Update: Agenzia Fides confirms this report: “Islamist groups have killed and beheaded a young Christian man, seriously wounding another…  A group of five armed jihadists intercepted the vehicle and opened fire on the car. Upon reaching the car, militiamen, noting that Fadi was wearing a cross around his neck, beheaded him.”

Fides, however, does not mention the cross stabbing recorded in the Arabic report.  Did Fides deem it too graphic, inciting, hate-promoting, or whatever, opting to omit?   At any rate, both English and Arabic language reports make clear that it was the sight of the crucifix that prompted the jihadis to murder Fadi.  That alone is indicative of extreme vehemence for the Christian cross and those who wear it.

(Egyptian Coptic Christians gather for funeral of seven victims of sectarian clashes, at Samaan el-Kharaz Church in Cairo March 10, 2011/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

More here: Source

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/syria-christian-decapitated-stabbed-with-crucifix/

One could make a quip about Vampires and the Crucifix. Islamists hate the Crucifix - hate is akin to fear. These vampires are obviously following orders from the top to specifically target and murder Christians, to eradicate all Christians, which is genocide. Tens of thousands of Christians are dying for their faith, wherever Islam is present, may our fellow Christian Martyr’s RIP.

St. Paul doesn’t pray to be saved from persecution, but to remain bold in speaking of Christ, St. John in Revelation tells us clearly there will be persecution until Christ’s return, and most importantly Jesus says to take up your cross and follow Me.

By Raymond Ibrahim on November 14, 2013

While it is no secret that the so-called mainstream media habitually fail to report on the international phenomenon of Christian persecution, few are aware that they sometimes actively work to undermine the efforts of those who do expose it.

Consider a new report by the BBC titled “Are there really 100,000 new Christian martyrs every year?” by Ruth Alexander, who asks:

So how widespread is anti-Christian violence?

“Credible research has reached the shocking conclusion that every year an estimate of more than 100,000 Christians are killed because of some relation to their faith,” Vatican spokesman Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi announced in a radio address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in May.

On the internet, the statistic has taken on a life of its own, popping up all over the place, sometimes with an additional detail—that these 100,000 lives are taken by Muslims.

The number comes originally from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the US state of Massachusetts, which publishes such a figure each year in its Status of Global Mission (see line 28).

Its researchers started by estimating the number of Christians who died as martyrs between 2000 and 2010—about one million by their reckoning—and divided that number by 10 to get an annual number, 100,000.

But how do they reach that figure of one million?

When you dig down, you see that the majority died in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo….

If you were to take away the 90,000 deaths in DR Congo from the CSGC’s figure of 100,000, that would leave 10,000 martyrs per year.

Later, after arguing that, “while violence continues in DR Congo, it’s less extreme today than it was at its height,” Alexander quotes approximately 7,000-8,000 Christians worldwide dying for their faith (the CSGC projects 150,000 dead by 2025).

Regarding the statement—“how do they [CSGC] reach that figure of one million?  When you dig down, you see that the majority died in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo”—it is unclear where Alexander got this information.  She does provide a link to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity’s Status of Global Mission, telling readers to “see line 28,” which indeed confirms the average number of 100,000 Christians martyred per year.  However, nowhere in this CSGC report does the word “Congo” appear, prompting one to wonder where Alexander went to “dig down” for information.

If it is true that the number 100,000 is primarily based on the Congo, and that the annual number of martyred Christians around the world is 7,000-8,000, the total number of Christians killed specifically because of their faith would seem to be reduced by a whopping 93%.

Of course, many human rights activists do assert that Christians are specifically targeted in the Congo.  Moreover, as Alexander indicates, the CSGC counts only 20% of the millions of Christians killed in the Congo as martyrs, meaning some set of standards or qualifications distinguishing those killed for their faith from those killed in general was relied on.  Finally, regarding the all-important question of how many Christians around the world are killed, Alexander herself later quotes another source saying “there is no scientific number at the moment. It has not been researched and all experts in this area are very hesitant to give a figure.”

And this seems to be the real point.  Of all the questions and aspects of Christian persecution that objective researchers and reporters can explore and expose, why did the BBC pick the very one that 1) cannot be answered and 2) is ultimately irrelevant—at best academic, at worst cold and callous?

(The issue is less whether 100,000 Christians around the world are killed annually for their faith, but rather that any Christian, any human—even Alexander’s “paltry” 7,000—is being killed for their faith.)

The BBC naturally picked this “numbers” question because it best serves to minimize the specter of Christian persecution, specifically by prompting the casual reader to conclude, “Oh, well, things are certainly nowhere near as bad as I thought for Christian minorities outside the West—indeed, they’re 93% better!”

More importantly—and here we reach BBC policy—this number-crunching approach serves to exonerate the chief persecutor of Christians, the Islamic world, or, as Alexander is quick to conclude: “[t]his means we can say right away that the internet rumours of Muslims being behind the killing of 100,000 Christian martyrs are nonsense.”  (Meanwhile, there’s this ongoing monthly series to deal with.)

Incidentally, since when do numbers matter to the supposedly “humanitarian-conscious” BBC and other “liberal” media where one life (provided it’s the “right” life) often gets nonstop coverage? Would the BBC ever write a report dedicated to trying to show that the number of Palestinians killed in the conflict with Israel is actually 93% lower than widely believed?

Of course not.  When it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict, far from minimizing anything, the BBC regularly exaggerates to demonize Israel.

And therein lies the main lesson.  The BBC is not in the business of reporting facts but rather creating smokescreens, building and knocking down straw men, and chasing red herrings—all to further its narratives, in this case, that “only” 7,000-8,000 Christians are killed  annually for their faith, and that the Islamic world is largely innocent—so what’s all the fuss about?

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/bbc-minimizes-christian-persecution/

To deliberately obscure or play-down the killing of human beings is like being an accessory.

FYI: The BBC permits MI6 and CIA to use their foreign offices – one wonders how much collaboration is going on. BBC Radio was established by these same organizations (along with six big companies) therefore  one shouldn’t be surprised.

Related: BBC Rides with Al Qaeda in Aleppo, Syria – Up-Date | mediachecker

More here: https://mediachecker.wordpress.com/?s=bbc

ByPeter Allen PUBLISHED:          11:52  EST, 29 January 2014

Anelka faces a five match ban for performing  Dieudonne’s ‘quenelle’ gesture – a hand and arm movement which some say is a  reverse Nazi salute.

More than half a million pounds in allegedly  laundered cash has been found in the home of the French comic at the centre of  the Nicolas Anelka anti-Semitism scandal.

It comes as Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, 47,  prepares to travel to the UK so that he can support the West Bromwich Albion  footballer.

Anelka faces a five match ban for performing  Dieudonne’s ‘quenelle’ gesture – a hand and arm movement which some say is a  reverse Nazi salute.

More than half a million pounds in allegedly laundered  cash has been found in the home of Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, 47, (right)   the French comic  at the centre of the Nicolas Anelka (left) anti-Semitism  scandal

Now police have revealed that a total of £660,000 in cash was found in Dieudonne’s house near Paris, and in the theatre  he runs in the French capital.

Dieudonne has been convicted six times for  defamation, and is suspected of hiding his money   to avoid paying his  fines.

Official searches on Tuesday were sanctioned  by a French magistrate investigating money laundering and false tax  declarations.

A gendarme stands guard as police search the house  belonging to the controversial French comic

Investigators also believe that Dieudonne has  sent the equivalent of more than £380,000 in cash to Cameroon, where his  extended family live, since 2009.

And they allege that a production company  owned by his wife, Noemie Montagne, bought one of his properties for £450,000 in  cash, when he owed the government £740,000.

But Diedonne’s lawyer, Jacques Verdier, said  the French were involved in an ‘organised hunt for Dieudonne’.

A French policeman stands guard outside the Theatre de  la Main d’Or during a warranted police search on the premises in Paris

Mr Verdier said his client was by  no  means anti-Semitic and ‘does not support the Third Reich.’

Anelka has been charged by the Football  Association with making a gesture which is considered abusive or indecent – an  offence which carries a minimum five-game ban.

Last week, Anelka denied the charge and  requested a personal hearing to defend his case.

Dieudonne’s last visit to Britain was in  2010, when he appeared in front of a large of audience of mainly French  expatriates at a London theatre.

He argues that his act is full of risque  humour about a range of minority groups, including black people and  Muslims.

Dieudonne, who was brought up as a Christian, said  that one of the reasons Anelka is being made a scapegoat in Britain is because  he is a black Muslim who drives a Ferrari.

Uproar: Anelka’s gesture, the quenelle, has caused  conflict in the UK and France over whether it is racist

Controversial: Here anti-Dieudonne M’bala M’bala  protesters are seen on the streets of Paris on January 16

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548173/French-comic-anti-semitic-quenelle-salute-500-000-CASH-removed-property-money-laundering-raid.html#ixzz2rsYXRPJj

Excellente! There’s more than one way to skin a cat or a comic!

• Chloe  Stirling started Hey Cupcake two years ago so she could start saving for a  car
• Parents  told they must build a separate kitchen before Chloe can begin baking  again

ByDaily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED:          10:27  EST, 30 January 2014

An 11-year-old girl has had her cupcake  business closed down after Illinois health officials said it was breaking  regulations.

Business had been good for Chloe Stirling,  with orders coming in regularly for Hey Cupcake, but a feature in a local  newspaper brought the schoolgirl’s business to the attention of the authorities.

Members of the health department contacted  the family and told them Chloe couldn’t continue baking unless she had a  separate kitchen and permits.

Sweet deal: Chloe Stirling set up a business making and  selling cupcakes from her parents’ kitchen

The ruling has put an end to Chloe’s  ambitions. The baking fan had started her business so she could save towards a  car for her 16th birthday.

Her family had supported her plans, with her  grandparents buying a food mixer, her mother Heather promising to match her  savings, and her dad Chad eating cakes that didn’t work out right.

But being able to build a second kitchen in  their Troy home was just not possible.

‘We’ve already given her a little  refrigerator to keep her things in,’ Mrs Stirling told the St Louis Post Dispatcher. ‘But a separate  kitchen? Who can do that?’

Health department spokeswoman Amy Yeager said  they had no choice but to ask Chloe to close Hey Cupcake.

‘The rules are the rules. It’s for the  protection of the public health. The guidelines apply to everyone,’ she said.

Craft: Chloe, 11, has developed a good reputation for  her cakes and her business was featured on the front cover of the Belleville  News Democrat at the weekend

Sharon Valentine, environmental health  manager at St Clair County Health Department, added: ‘If we let one person do  it, how can we tell the person with 30 cats in their home that they can’t do it?  A line has to be drawn.’

The local health department had been tipped  off to Chloe’s baking business after she appeared on the front page of Belleville News Democrat at the weekend.

The feature praised the schoolgirl’s skills  and revealed how she decided to open Hey Cupcake after taking a cake decorating  class with her great aunt at Valentine’s Day.

Her mother told BND: ‘I get nervous when  she’s making something for somebody [who's paying] because I’m afraid it’s not  going to work out, but she always makes it come out beautiful.’

After getting a taste for baking, Chloe set  up her own business two years ago and has been making about $80 a week ever  since.

She has made cupcakes for birthdays and baby  showers, and also donates baked goods to charitable causes.

Shut down: The 11-year-old has been forced to close her  cupcake business until she gets a license

Chloe’s largest order was for 220 cupcakes  for a charity event, and when a boy in her school was diagnosed with cancer, she  donated cakes with frosting to match his favorite sports team to help raise  money for his treatment.

While the 11-year-old, who has ambitions of  having her own bake shop one day, admitted she was ‘bummed that I can’t make  cakes for a while,’ she said she understood the health department’s  ruling.

After people in her hometown heard that  Chloe’s business had been forced to close, the schoolgirl has had several offers  from licensed bakers offering the use of their kitchens.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548744/Schoolgirls-cupcake-business-forced-close-health-officials-complained-11-year-old-didnt-cooking-permit.html#ixzz2rwkN9v3G

All they want is the license and tax money otherwise they wouldn’t have some of those stinky food trucks off the highways – who despite paying a permit fee doesn’t mean its clean. Amazing little baker – she’ll go far despite the far-reaching power-hungry functionaries.

Ronald Reagan - ”Man is not free unless government is  limited.”

The tragic tale of  two cowboys in love will made it’s theater debut Tuesday in Madrid.

   THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wednesday, January 29, 2014, 2:57 PM

It was a short story, then a Hollywood movie. Now the tragic tale of two  cowboys in love is being reinvented again as “Brokeback Mountain” – the  opera.

Ahead of its world premiere Tuesday in Madrid, author Annie Proulx told  The Associated Press that opera presented an chance to explore the complexities  of the tale in a way that neither her own story nor the movie by director Ang  Lee were able to do.

Proulx said she “rejoiced” when composer Charles  Wuorinen approached her to write the libretto, because she understood that  an opera “would give room, which the short story did not, and which the film was  not particularly interested in doing,” to open up the characters involved in the  doomed love affair.

PAUL HANNA/REUTERS

American tenor Tom Randle (Jack  Twist) front, and Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch (Ennis del Mar),  perform during a dress rehearsal of the opera ‘Brokeback Mountain’ at the Teatro  Real in Madrid, Spain.

Wuorinen said he tried to give the menacing nature of the rugged Wyoming  landscape a greater presence in the opera than in the previous versions.

“It is very beautiful, as the film shows,” Wuorinen told the AP, “but it is  definitely not sentimental. It is not a romantic landscape. It’s a deadly one – it’s dangerous.”

This forbidding natural backdrop is represented by Wuorinen’s sometimes  atonal style – one that presented the singers with a steep learning curve.

PAUL HANNA/REUTERS

American tenor Tom Randle (Jack  Twist) front, and Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch (Ennis del Mar),  perform during a dress rehearsal of the opera ‘Brokeback Mountain’ at the Teatro  Real in Madrid, Spain. The show opened there Tuesday.

“The music is very challenging, there’s no question about that,” said  Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch, who appears as one of the cowboys, Ennis  Del Mar.

Love scenes between Del Mar and fellow cowboy Jack Twist, performed by  American tenor Tom Randle – which caused a stir when the movie was first aired – are depicted discreetly on the opera’s minimalist stage.

Wuorinen’s score makes use of a wide range of percussion instruments that  convey sounds like the wind and rain on Brokeback Mountain. The work is in  English and runs until Feb 11.

Proulx told reporters Monday there are no plans to make an opera from her  1993 novel “The Shipping News,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the  National Book Award. It focuses on an American man who rebuilds his life in  Newfoundland.

“(It) doesn’t have the same kind of weight or social trajectory that  “Brokeback” has,” Proulx said. “For our time, “Brokeback” is more  important.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/brokeback-mountain-opera-opens-spain-article-1.1595569#ixzz2rww1mo5x

No doubt it will be well attended by the people who race each other to the bottom so as not to be considered intolerant. One wonders whose funding it and why Spain?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wuorinen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Proulx

This is a translated version of an article that  originally appeared on HuffPost Spain…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/brokeback-mountain-opera_n_4661607.html

CNSNews.com) – Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental  Protection Agency (EPA), asked scientists at a climate change conference  on Thursday in Arlington, Va., to help advance President Barack Obama’s  agenda on climate change. “Scientists, you folks help us  understand our world,” McCarthy said at the 14th National Conference and  Global Forum on Science, Policy and the Environment: Building Climate  Solutions, sponsored by the National Council for Science and the  Environment (NCSE).

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“You help EPA to meet our mission of public health  protection and environmental protection. “I need you now more  than ever to speak the truth,” McCarthy said. “I need you to stand up  together with us and explain what the science is telling you.“To  tell people that science and technology improvements will allow us to  take action moving forward that meets the needs of this president as he  has charged EPA, which is to look at climate change as something where  we can innovate and we can move forward to grow the economy, to grow  jobs, to understand how we’re producing sustainable, livable  communities,” McCarthy said. Obama has said he will use executive authority to move forward his agenda, including climate change. Peter Saundry, executive director of NCSE, introduced McCarthy by noting Obama’s pledge to act unilaterally on climate change.

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“President  Obama has announced that he will work with Congress whenever he can but  will not be held hostage – will move forward and do the utmost, we  hope, through executive authority and through the agencies,” Saundry  said. The Supreme Court has noted that EPA has authority under (the)  Clean Air Act and also other authorities, under (the) Clean Water Act,  and so EPA is marching forward and taking actions right now which is  really, really important. ”The conference described its  mission in the program this way: “The 14th National Conference and  Global Forum on Science, Policy and the Environment: Building Climate  Solutions will engage some 1,000 key individuals from any fields of  sciences and engineering, government and policy, business and civil  society to advance solutions to minimize the causes and consequences of  anthropogenic climate change.”

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/epa-administrator-scientists-speak-truth-climate-change-meet-obamas-needs#sthash.rSEFbY3V.dpuf

VIDEO: http://www.mrctv.org/videos/epa-administrators-plea-scientists-tell-truth-climate-change-meet-needs-president

Translation: Lie to make Obama look good and give him cover for his lies. Only then can he shutdown more coal mines to make the Sauds happy.

The EPA was initiated by Nixon, carried further by Carter-later Bush, but it didn’t burst forth into a huge money-power tree until Clinton/Gore.

by Hilary White, Rome Correspondent - Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:40 EST

ROME, January 29, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Archbishop Fernando Sebastián Aguilar is under fire from a Spanish homosexualist group who have launched legal action against him for comments that it is “not an insult” to say that homosexuality is a psychological disorder.

The Archbishop, a retired theologian who was recently named as one of Pope Francis’ new batch of cardinals-elect, was blasted by the international press when he told a Spanish newspaper last week, “Homosexuality is a defective manner of expressing sexuality, because [sex] has a structure and a purpose, which is procreation.”

“A homosexual who can’t achieve procreation is failing,” he said. “Our bodies have many defects. I have high blood pressure, a defect I have to try and correct in whatever way I can.”

“To say that homosexuality is a defect is not an insult,” he added. “It helps because in many cases of homosexuality it is possible to recover and become normal with the right treatment.”

One of Spain’s leading homosexulist groups, Colegas, at first responded with a statement inviting Sebastián to a meeting “to know firsthand our concerns and problems, and that such statements can only be the result of ignorance and misinformation.”

“Statements like yours only cause pain and suffering to many believers,” the group added. “Your attitude can ‘normalize’ this ‘treatment’ of information, proximity and tolerance that we recommend.”

Now Colegas has filed a complaint with authorities against the cardinal-elect, saying he has broken article 510 of Spain’s penal code, which allows for fines and jail terms of up to three years for inciting “to hatred and violence”.

“Spain is a modern country and a secular one, and these types of declarations from the church have to be punished because they [members of the church] are the least qualified to talk about sexual deficiencies, above all because they have hidden cases of child abuse and paedophilia,” Colegas president Antonio Ferre said after filing the complaint.

The homosexualist movement lobbied hard in the late sixties, at the height of the sexual revolution, to have homosexuality removed from psychiatric diagnostic manuals. This goal was accomplished in 1973, when the American Psychiatric Association (APA) became the first to remove it from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II). Since then, activists in the movement have used their success to good effect in many jurisdictions.

In 2009, Colegas made a similar threat against Professor Gloria Maria Tomas of the Catholic University of Murcia, who told a conference audience that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered” and that it was only removed from the lists of psychological pathologies after political pressure from gay lobbyists.

In Britain and Ireland, activists are putting pressure on Christian psychotherapists who maintain that people with unwanted same-sex attraction have the right to seek therapy. Therapists in the UK have faced being “struck off” from their professional accreditation bodies, a result that makes it nearly impossible for them to practice.

Source

The Cardinal-elect is merely paraphrasing the Catechism of the Catholic Church of which homosexuals are already aware:

51 – What about people who feel they are homosexual?

“The Church believes that, in the order of creation, man and woman are designed to need each other’s complementary traits and to enter into a mutual relationship so as to give life to children. That is why homosexual practices cannot be approved by the Church. Christians owe all persons respect and love, however, regardless of their sexual orientation, because all people are respected and loved by God. There is no man on earth who is not descended from a union of a mother and a father. Therefore it is a painful experience for many homosexually oriented people that they do not feel erotically attracted to the opposite sex and necessarily miss out on the physical fruitfulness of the union between man and woman according to human nature and the divine order of creation. Nevertheless, God often leads souls to himself along unusual paths: a lack, a loss, or a wound – if accepted and affirmed – can become a springboard for throwing oneself into the arms of God: the God who brings good out of everything and whose greatness can be discovered in redemption even more than in creation.”

That’s about it. The Catechism is derived from the Holy Bible, sodomy is a no no, so there’s no room for a dialogue. Why do they care anyway? If one’s doing something that is truly good and wonderful, then one doesn’t need to punish those who disagree with them, right?

PS: I no longer wonder why the opera Brokeback Mountain is opening in Spain.