In Today's News 05.13.09

1.  The new government-controlled economy.  (WSJ) "The Obama administration has begun serious talks about how it can change compensation practices across the financial-services industry, including at companies that did not receive federal bailout money...Administration and regulatory officials are looking at various options, including using the Federal Reserve's supervisory powers..."

Such intervention would have been inconceivable just a year ago.  It shows how far the Obama regime has instituted a government-controlled economy.  Think about it:  we now have the federal government dictating to the central economic units of the American system how and what those units will pay their key employees. Unbelievable.

The main point here is not about executive pay.  No matter what measures may be put in place, the cryptocracy will ensure that its key employees receive a good share of the loot.  That's one reason they have lawyers -- to find the loopholes.

The main point is the cryptocracy wants to have absolute control of the banking (and other) sectors so that financial risk is minimized.  As Barney Frank, House Financial Services Committee Chairman, put it (as paraphrased by the WSJ) the committee "...is working on legislation that could strengthen the government's ability both to monitor compensation and to curb incentives that threaten a company's viability or pose a systemic risk to the economy."  (Emphasis added.)

It should also be noted that one of the projected control mechanisms is the Federal Reserve, a privately owned entity that just happens to operate in the interests of the world's richest families.  Empowering the Fed is this manner is part of a pattern in this economic crisis to put more and more governing power directly in the hands of the cryptocracy's ruling families.

2.  Pope in Israel.  There is a dog-product commercial on the tube these days about how dogs always want more, more, more.  But Benedict's visit to Israel illustrates another group who always, without fail, wants more.

Here we have the one of most pro-Judaic Popes in the history of the Church.  He and John Paul II are the prime developers of Shoah Catholicism which holds the holocaust to be more important to humanity than the crucifixion.  Benedict's papacy has seen all kinds of friendly gestures to the Judaic interests.  And now he makes a trip to the holy land and Israel.  He makes his de rigueur obeisance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.  He makes a speech against anti-semitism and in memory of the holocaust victims.

And what happens?  The director and board chairman of Yad Vashem and the parliament speaker issued public rebukes of the Pope.  They criticized the Pope's address because of "failing to specify the number of Jews that perished in the Holocaust, not singling out the Germans or Nazis as the culpable party, and failing to issue an explicit apology." (Quotation is the WSJ wordage in their article.)  The Pope was also accused of being a member of the Hitler Youth Corps. 

The Pope will evidently never learn this lesson, but one can never expect charity, forgiveness, or gratitude from those educated and trained in the Talmud.  The Talmud-inspired standard operating procedure is vengeance, getting the upper hand, and more, more, more.  In the case of the Church, it seems they will not be satisfied until the Church does exactly as they say. 

Religious Dialogue

The Maurice Pinay blog site has a video of the conference where Sheikh Taysir al-Tamini made his now famous anti-Israel remarks in the presence of the Pope.  The video may be viewed here.

In Today's News 05.12.09

1.  "U.S. Fires Afghan War Chief" (Wall Street Journal).  The US is sending in a new strategic commander and a day-to-day commander.  This will be the first time the US will have two senior commanders in Kabul.

Here's the official spin on this development, WSJ version, "The Pentagon ousted its top general in Afghanistan and appointed a new leadership team, in an attempt to jump-start a new war strategy that relies more on counterinsurgency tactics and less on conventional warfare."

The reality is different.  The situation in Afghanistan (and Pakistan) has deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks.  Support for the regime (and the USA) has weakened to alarming proportions, and support for the armed resistance has grown to a measure that surprised American planners.  The US now faces a situation that is roughly the same as that faced by Russia before its debacle in Afghanistan.

There is no "jump-starting" going on.  The US is rather in a panic mode to prevent a bad situation from becoming disastrous.  There doesn't seem to be any real American perspective on how to win in the long run.

Obama has forgotten about withdrawing troops as he promised in his election campaign. Now the plan is to send in 21,000 reinforcements in the next month.

The US situation is not bright, but failure is not permissible because the Israelis want very much to keep Islamic militants under US attack.

2.  Pope in Israel.  As the author of the Maurice Pinay blog says, "Let history record that while Gaza was still smoldering, Benedict XVI warmly embraced the Israelis aiding them in their hasbara campaign calculated to make the world forget their horrible crimes."

What Did Jesus Say about the Rabbis' Predecessors? Part Two: The Sermon on the Mount

[The first part of this series dealt with the question of why Jesus appeared when He did and where He did.   It may be viewed here.  This second part discusses Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:3-7:29)]

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus presented a clear and succinct picture of the character of a God-fearing person. The description has been a guide to Christians ever since, but what is not often considered by commentators is what He said by implication about the Pharisees, who undoubtedly were present and listening to him.  The commentary in this chapter emphasizes what Jesus said in the Sermon about the Pharisees and the mission of the Israelites. 

The contrast in the sermon between Jesus’ picture of sanctity and the Pharisees’ beliefs was palpable and direct.  Jesus seemed to make his points in just such a way as to heighten the contrast.  One can imagine the Pharisees becoming more and more uncomfortable, even outraged, as the sermon progressed.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit”.  Jesus was looking at two groups of people --those who would be priests to the world and those who are proselytized.   In both cases a quality that is needed is the desire for spiritual growth, a drive for union with God.  To be poor in spirit is to be His follower and to be a lover of God.  He made this point to the multitude to show them how they ought to act toward others if they are to be priests to the world.  Those present undoubtedly knew exactly who did not have this quality --  those who knew they were very rich in spirit and always made sure everyone saw their fine spiritual state; those who were full of themselves, full of pride in their spiritual achievements, and full of self-importance – in other words, the Pharisees.

“Blessed are those who mourn”.  Those who aspire to lead the world to God ought to be like Him especially in the qualities of compassion and acting from the heart.   A test of these qualities is death itself because genuine mourners for the dead do have emotions and compassion for the departed, just as Jesus did at Lazarus’ tomb.  Jesus here makes a pointed, implied criticism of the Pharisees who were so ritualistic in matters of death that they had no room for acting from the heart. 

“Blessed are the meek”.  When one contemplates the incomprehensible – that is, who God must be – the experience engenders a basic humility.  One stands meekly in awe of the Almighty and His Son.  Those who hunger for God will of necessity have this meekness.  Jesus made the point to show that the Israelites must have this character if they expect to be God’s people and his priests.  Indirectly, Jesus condemned the prideful, arrogant, and aggressive Pharisees who by mocking meekness display their disregard for God.  No one could miss the point. 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”.   A qualitative difference exists between righteousness and self-righteousness.  No hunger or thirst is involved in the later which was a Pharisee speciality.  The Pharisees were smug and self-satisfied in their knowledge of the law and substituted their own self-importance for righteousness.  In contrast Jesus pointed to God’s admiration for those who humbly seek Him out and who love God with all their heart and soul.  Jesus was entirely contemptuous of those whose love of God was confined to ritual. 

“Blessed are the merciful”.  The Pharisees structured society around fulfillment of the law.  The Pharisees’ judgment of people was an evaluation of whether one had fulfilled the law, most of which were man-made and worthy of Jesus’ condemnation.  Mercy and compassion had little to do with this system.  You either observed the law or not.  Jesus is denounced this way of life.  He wanted his followers, the priests to all mankind, to be merciful from the heart to others .  At another time he said to the Pharisees, “Learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’”.  (Matthew 10:13). 

“Blessed are the pure in heart”.  When Jesus first encountered the apostle Nathaniel, He said (John 1:47), “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.”  Jesus seemed to state this as a surprise, as if to say, ‘what a unique thing, a Israelite without guile.’  Such is the legacy of the Pharisees’ mis-education of their followers.   The Pharisees' exclusiveness and attitude of superiority had led them to become manipulative with an ‘agenda’ toward others, often with the aim of maintaining a separation from the 'unclean'.   Jesus made the point in this beatitude that spiritual leaders must be pure of heart, utterly without guile, if they want to fulfill God’s wishes. 

“Blessed are the peacemakers”.  When resurrected Jesus appeared after the crucifixion he stated at one point, “Peace be with you.”  (Luke 24:33)  God created man to be peaceful and peaceable.  Jesus desires humanity to make its way back to this state.  He expects His human leaders to be men of peace because they cannot lead others to peace by being otherwise.  The implication is that the Pharisees  lacked a peaceful nature.  They engendered into the populace the constant anxiety of figuring out if one had fulfilled the law.   The Pharisees were hardly peaceful with their practice of running around telling people that they lacked holiness if they failed to uphold some rule that the Pharisees had made up.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake…,”and “blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my [Jesus’] account”.  Jesus, of course, knew what was to transpire at the hands of the Pharisees and those they influenced – his own crucifixion and the persecution of His followers.  He taught that a believer in God must be prepared to face such persecution to bring about God’s kingdom.  In blessing those who are prosecuted He was preparing them for their purpose and also warning the Pharisees that their intent to kill and disrupt his followers was known, and thereby exposed. 

Fulfillment of the Law

Continuing his exhortation, Jesus goes on to explain, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets;  I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  (Matthew 5:17)  This statement was an answer to the Pharisees’ criticism that Jesus did not obey the laws, that He wanted to do away with them.  Jesus made clear that He not only is for the laws, He is for what is behind them: compassion and action motivated from the heart, in a word, righteousness.   He made sure the fundamental nature of this point was understood by saying to the multitude, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 5:20)

Jesus elaborated by illustrating how the law is fulfilled from the heart.  He recited the commandment thou shall not kill, but explained that what is in the heart is what calls for judgment.  He pointed to anger in the heart as an example.  Similarly He noted that prohibition of adultery is in the law, but He cautioned that lust in the heart is evil.  He made contrasts in other examples between what it means to formally observe the Pharisee traditions and to observe them from the heart.  His examples include the formality of divorce and the reality of separating what God had united, swearing falsely and speaking honestly, and the Pharisee penchant for revenge and the love that is in one's heart, including love of one's enemy.  

Jesus then turned to an outright attack on the Pharisees, repeatedly calling them hypocrites.  He said that their piety, praying, and fasting were for others to notice.  He accused them of collecting treasures, warning them that they cannot serve both God and mammon.  He said that they are full of darkness and therefore anxious about life, food, drink and clothes. Jesus reminded them that one should rely only on God.  “But first seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours.”  (Matthew 6:33)

He went on to denounce the Pharisees for presuming to judge others when they have so many faults of their own, citing the well-known analogy of having a log in their eye when they try to take a splinter out of someone else’s.  Instead of judging others He called on the Pharisees to observe the golden rule.  

He finished his oration by telling his listeners to “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  (Matthew 7:15)  Can there be any doubt what group He meant by 'false prophets'?  To call them 'ravenous wolves' was the talk of all-out war.  He told his followers to enter the kingdom of heaven by the narrow gate, implying that Pharisees’ lack of a genuine piety will not bring them to heaven. 

In summary:  Jesus' sermon on the mount illustrated that Jesus had drawn a line for all eternity between the kingdom of God and the Pharisees' outlook on life.  The sermon backed up His whole orientation to expose the Pharisees' evilness and hypocrisy to the masses of the Israelites, to demonstrate by words and example how God’s people should conduct their lives.  He underlined repeatedly that no similarity existed between the Pharisees' teaching and what God wants.  He said the Pharisees are pompous, prideful, anxious for recognition, hypocritical, ritualistic, evil-doers, lustful, full of darkness, ravenous and covetous of wealth.  His condemnation could not have been more thorough.

[The next part of this series will examine what Jesus says about the Pharisees in Matthew 23.] 

in Today's News 05.11.09

Today's Wall Street Journal has a front page article on the Chrysler situation, "U.S. Forced Chrysler's Creditors to Blink."  This piece gives a detailed account of how the government-controlled economy works, and therefore shows where the cryptocracy is heading.  Unfortunately the article is only available on the internet to WSJ subscribers.

In Today's News 05.09.09

Today's Wall Street Journal prominently features a long article on the May 18 meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This article signals a slight change in the cryptocracy's focus.  Iran, once again, comes to prominence.

Now that the United States and Israel national elections have installed new regimes, and now that the economic crisis has accomplished many of the cryptocracy's goals, the time has come to emphasize again the need to humble Iran.

The world's population hates war.  Not so the cryptocracy.  The cryptocracy has a definite agenda for world domination.  Such a goal of necessity entails war, and lots of them, to subdue obstacles and potential obstacles.  The cryptocracy is thus continually faced with how to maneuver humankind into supporting something they viscerally hate -- war. 

There is no fundamental difference between the governments serving the cryptocracy on the need to make sure Iran has no power in the middle east and in the world.  The differences are over how to go about convincing the public.   This is purpose of the WSJ article -- to begin a discussion on these differences.

It might seem strange that a teeny-tiny country like Israel can receive such great attention from the world's most powerful country and its media.  But, the truth is that the cryptocracy's favorite country is Israel.  The cryptocracy will undertake any and all measures to ensure that Israel is not threatened.

And so, be prepared for the 'public' discussion on how to get Iran that will occur over the next period of time.  The thing to watch is whether Israel will lose patience and take unilateral action, as they have often done in the past.

There is one fly in the ointment for Israel's intention to have the United States carry the campaign against Iran.  The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan will make the United States much less willing to take on any new military initiative.

In Today's News 05.08.09

1.  If anyone doubts that the current economic crisis has brought about a fundamental change in America to a government-directed economy, read the following from the Associated Press today:

"Regulators must not only sharpen their assessments of individual banks, but also examine the financial system as a whole to detect risks that could endanger the normal flow of credit, market operations and commerce -- critical elements to the smooth functioning of the U.S. economy, Bernanke said.

See previous item on the current economic crisis here.

2.  "(AP) The World Health Organization added a scary-sounding warning Thursday, predicting up to 2 billion people could catch the new flu if the outbreak turns into a global epidemic."

These people are a joke, a complete joke.  Why stop at 2 billion?  It's possible the new flu could morph into a bug that kills the entire world population.  

See previous items on swine flu here and here and here.