© 2010 WorldNetDaily
NEW YORK – President Obama has been closely linked for years to the Nation of Islam and to extremists tied to the controversial organization, a recently released book has revealed.
"The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's ties to communists, socialists and other anti-American extremists," also ties David Axelrod, Obama's top adviser, to a church that practices black liberation theology and is heavily linked to the Nation of Islam chief Louis Farrakhan.
The new work, by WND senior reporter Aaron Klein, documents Obama's longstanding relationship to Nation of Islam activists and how Obama's church for nearly 20 years, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, was particularly cozy with Farrakhan. Klein's co-author is author and historian Brenda J. Elliott.
The book also focuses on the period beginning in 1996, when Obama was elected to the Illinois state Senate in 1996, serving the 13th district, which then spanned Chicago's South Side neighborhoods, including areas in which Farrakhan was considered to be highly influential.
Also, Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who accompanied Farrakhan to Libya in 1984, has been involved in Farrakhan initiatives and labeled him "one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century" during a national address to the media in 2008 at which Nation of Islam officials were invited guests.
Autographed! Get the book that finally exposes Obama and his team of anti-American radicals: Aaron Klein's "The Manchurian President" at WND's Superstore
Obama has appeared at least three times on the cover of Trumpet magazine, a monthly glossy founded by Wright, which in 2007 gave Farrakhan its Empowerment Award.
The magazine, to which Obama granted a lengthy, exclusive interview in 2007, regularly hails Farrakhan.
Obama's face was featured on the cover of a 2006 issue of Trumpet alongside Farrakhan's image.
Wright and Obama reportedly attended the Million Man March on Washington, led by Farrakhan and other prominent black leaders such as Al Sharpton.
Another Obama connection to supporters of Farrakhan comes from Axelrod, Obama's chief political strategist, documents "The Manchurian President."
Although he is Jewish, Axelrod sits on the finance committee of St. Sabina, the Chicago Catholic parish that was led by controversial pastor Michael Pfleger, an outspoken Farrakhan supporter who hosted the Nation of Islam chief at his parish several times.
(Story continues below)
The Archdiocese of Chicago temporarily removed Pfleger from his duties at St. Sabina in 2008 following a well-publicized guest sermon at Trinity church in which Pfleger claimed Hillary Clinton cried in public because she thought being white entitled her to the Democratic presidential nomination.
Pfleger hosted Farrakhan at his church several times, including one May 2007 sermon that was Farrakhan's first public appearance since he announced in 2006 he had been suffering from prostate cancer and was seriously ill.
According to reports, Pfleger spent hours with the Nation of Islam chief during his illness. Pfleger previously enlisted Farrakhan's support for several of his initiatives, including an anti-gun protest last year.
Helped devise Farrakhan's platform
Meanwhile, "The Manchurian President" also documents how Rev. Willie Barrow, who was a member of Obama's official Faith Outreach Team, is a close friend of Farrakhan's and a staunch Nation of Islam supporter.
Farrakhan stated in a 2002 interview he met with Barrow to devise his Nation of Islam platforms.
In 2006, Barrow condemned four Jewish members of the Illinois state Hate Crimes Commission after then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich refused to remove from the commission Sister Claudette Muhammad, Farrakhan's minister of protocol.
"Not only should [Muhammad] continue to serve on the commission, but, I think those that resigned because they disagree, what have they done to bring about an agreement?” Barrow told the CBS affiliate in Chicago, WBBM.
'Most exhaustive investigation'
With nearly 900 citations, "The Manchurian President" bills itself as the most exhaustive investigation ever performed into Obama's political background and radical ties.
The introduction to "The Manchurian President" relates: "Barack Obama is backed by and deeply tied to an anti-American fringe nexus that, as this book will show, was instrumental not only in mentoring Obama and helping him to build his political career, but essentially in overthrowing the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and in securing and powerfully influencing Obama's presidency.
"As will be seen, these radical associates not only continue to influence Obama and White House strategy, but some are directly involved in creating the very policies intended to undermine or radically transform the United States of America."
Among the highlights of "The Manchurian President:"
* A coalition of extremists, including a founder of William Ayers' Weathermen domestic terrorist organization, helped craft Obama's "stimulus" bill.
* Obama's health-care policy, masked by moderate populist rhetoric, was pushed along and partially crafted by extremists, some of whom reveal in their own words that their principal aim is to achieve corporate socialist goals and a vast increase in government powers.
* Extremists are among Obama's "czars" and other top advisers. New information links top advisers David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett to communist activists. The book uncovers correspondence in which a communist confesses to mentoring and educating Axelrod and helping the top Obama aide to secure his first job. Obama then later worked with the same communist, the book finds.
* Evidence shows in 1995 Obama was a member of the socialist New Party, which sought to infiltrate the Democratic Party to ultimately mold it into a socialist-leaning organization. Perhaps more startlingly, the book reveals how New Party founders are currently helping to craft White House legislation.
* Copious research reveals more about Obama's deep ties to Ayers, uncovering for the first time where and how Obama first met Ayers – and it is much earlier than previously believed.
* Important aspects of Obama's carefully covered-up college years, with new details of his student career at Occidental College and later at Columbia University are revealed.
* Obama's early years, including his previously overlooked early-childhood ties to a radical, far-left church are documented.
* Obama's associations with the Nation of Islam, Black Liberation Theology and black political extremists are also revealed, with extensive new information on the subjects.
* Obama's deep ties to ACORN, which are much more extensive than previously documented elsewhere are covered. The book also crucially describes how a socialist-led, ACORN-affiliated union helped facilitate Obama's political career and now exerts major influence in the White House.
Related offers:
Autographed! Get the book that finally exposes Obama and his team of anti-American radicals: Aaron Klein's "The Manchurian President" at WND's Superstore
See what it's going to take to stop CAIR and the "Muslim Mafia" from Islamizing America
Read for yourself "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America"
Order your copy of "Son of Hamas" from the WND Superstore now!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Promoting atheism OK, but not 'leaving Islam' Bus agency sued for censoring religious speech
By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
A lawsuit against Detroit's transit agency alleges officials sold space for ads promoting atheism but censored a message offering help for those wanting to leave Islam.
The Thomas More Law Center filed suit yesterday against the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, or SMART, and several of its executives.
Thomas More's clients, the Freedom Defense Initiative and founders Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, had sought to purchase ad space for their message, "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get answers!"
The ads direct people to a website, RefugeFromIslam.com.
Get "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," autographed, from WND's Superstore.
WND reported the organization has placed ads on Miami-Dade Transit buses that were pulled down because of complaints from activist Muslims.
(Story continues below)
The Miami ads, however, were restored later complaints from Geller, who blogs at Atlas Shrugs and Spencer, director of JihadWatch, through their Stop Islamization of America initiative.
Ads pulled from Miami transit buses after CAIR complained
Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, said about the Detroit dispute, "Muslim apologists rely on the fact that most Americans are ill-informed about Islam. So they easily get away with portraying Islam as a religion of peace.
"Americans have a right to know the truth – Islam is a religion of intolerance and violence. Traditional Islamic law prescribes the penalty of death if a Muslim leaves his or her religion," Thompson said.
The complaint alleges violations of the free speech and equal protection clauses of the Constitution.
A WND call to SMART offices in Detroit requesting comment did not generate a response.
The case cites the previous promotion of atheism by SMART, which sold space for ads reading, "Don't Believe in God? You are not alone."
"In Detroit, government officials grant atheists the right to express a view that God does not exist, not worrying about offending Christians," said Robert Muise, the senior trial counsel for Thomas More. "Yet, these same politically correct officials censor speech that might offend Muslims.
"Such blatant discrimination is offensive, and it violates our Constitution," he said.
The complaint included an image of a Detroit bus carrying the anti-God message:
Anti-God message on Detroit bus
But the agency refused to sell space for the following message:
Ad offering way to "Leave Islam"
"By reason of the aforementioned Free Speech Restriction, created, adopted, and enforced under color of state law, defendants have deprived plaintiffs of their right to engage in political and religious speech in a public forum in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment as applied to the states," the lawsuit alleges.
Further, the same actions deprive the plaintiffs of equal protection under the 14th Amendment, the lawsuit alleges.
Pro-Islam bus ads
In the Florida dispute, the ads already had appeared on the Miami-Dade buses when officials with the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations pressured the transit authority to pull them.
A protest to the county attorney's office resulted in an agreement the ads should not have been pulled and a promise of fulfillment of the original contract.
Pro-Islamic ads have appeared on buses in other cities declaring Islam is "submission to God" and "the way of life of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, & Muhammad."
Spencer cited the different standards.
"So Muslims can run bus ads all across America inviting the clueless to convert to Islam, but we cannot make information available to Muslims who want to leave Islam," Spencer wrote of the original dispute in Florida.
On his JihadWatch website, Spencer responded to a comment that the ads be "toned down."
"What is offensive about our ad? What is wrong with its tone? Apostates are threatened and killed all over the world. We offered them help. What would you suggest we tone down? What would you suggest we not say in order to please them? Why must we always play this game, instead of speaking the truth without fear? There is nothing objectively wrong or offensive about our ad. You're falling into their trap, allowing them to define what is offensive and what isn't. I refuse to do so," he said.
"And even if our ad were offensive to someone, so what? I am offended by all sorts of things. I wouldn't dream of trying to get them suppressed because they offend me, and no one would take me seriously if I did. But Muslims are already a de facto privileged class, even in America – if I'm offended, no one gives two hoots and no one should, but if Muslims are offended, watch out! Heaven and earth will move!"
Related offers:
Get "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," autographed, from WND's Superstore.
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
A lawsuit against Detroit's transit agency alleges officials sold space for ads promoting atheism but censored a message offering help for those wanting to leave Islam.
The Thomas More Law Center filed suit yesterday against the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, or SMART, and several of its executives.
Thomas More's clients, the Freedom Defense Initiative and founders Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, had sought to purchase ad space for their message, "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get answers!"
The ads direct people to a website, RefugeFromIslam.com.
Get "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," autographed, from WND's Superstore.
WND reported the organization has placed ads on Miami-Dade Transit buses that were pulled down because of complaints from activist Muslims.
(Story continues below)
The Miami ads, however, were restored later complaints from Geller, who blogs at Atlas Shrugs and Spencer, director of JihadWatch, through their Stop Islamization of America initiative.
Ads pulled from Miami transit buses after CAIR complained
Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, said about the Detroit dispute, "Muslim apologists rely on the fact that most Americans are ill-informed about Islam. So they easily get away with portraying Islam as a religion of peace.
"Americans have a right to know the truth – Islam is a religion of intolerance and violence. Traditional Islamic law prescribes the penalty of death if a Muslim leaves his or her religion," Thompson said.
The complaint alleges violations of the free speech and equal protection clauses of the Constitution.
A WND call to SMART offices in Detroit requesting comment did not generate a response.
The case cites the previous promotion of atheism by SMART, which sold space for ads reading, "Don't Believe in God? You are not alone."
"In Detroit, government officials grant atheists the right to express a view that God does not exist, not worrying about offending Christians," said Robert Muise, the senior trial counsel for Thomas More. "Yet, these same politically correct officials censor speech that might offend Muslims.
"Such blatant discrimination is offensive, and it violates our Constitution," he said.
The complaint included an image of a Detroit bus carrying the anti-God message:
Anti-God message on Detroit bus
But the agency refused to sell space for the following message:
Ad offering way to "Leave Islam"
"By reason of the aforementioned Free Speech Restriction, created, adopted, and enforced under color of state law, defendants have deprived plaintiffs of their right to engage in political and religious speech in a public forum in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment as applied to the states," the lawsuit alleges.
Further, the same actions deprive the plaintiffs of equal protection under the 14th Amendment, the lawsuit alleges.
Pro-Islam bus ads
In the Florida dispute, the ads already had appeared on the Miami-Dade buses when officials with the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations pressured the transit authority to pull them.
A protest to the county attorney's office resulted in an agreement the ads should not have been pulled and a promise of fulfillment of the original contract.
Pro-Islamic ads have appeared on buses in other cities declaring Islam is "submission to God" and "the way of life of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, & Muhammad."
Spencer cited the different standards.
"So Muslims can run bus ads all across America inviting the clueless to convert to Islam, but we cannot make information available to Muslims who want to leave Islam," Spencer wrote of the original dispute in Florida.
On his JihadWatch website, Spencer responded to a comment that the ads be "toned down."
"What is offensive about our ad? What is wrong with its tone? Apostates are threatened and killed all over the world. We offered them help. What would you suggest we tone down? What would you suggest we not say in order to please them? Why must we always play this game, instead of speaking the truth without fear? There is nothing objectively wrong or offensive about our ad. You're falling into their trap, allowing them to define what is offensive and what isn't. I refuse to do so," he said.
"And even if our ad were offensive to someone, so what? I am offended by all sorts of things. I wouldn't dream of trying to get them suppressed because they offend me, and no one would take me seriously if I did. But Muslims are already a de facto privileged class, even in America – if I'm offended, no one gives two hoots and no one should, but if Muslims are offended, watch out! Heaven and earth will move!"
Related offers:
Get "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," autographed, from WND's Superstore.
Soaring costs force Canada to reassess health model
(Reuters) - Pressured by an aging population and the need to rein in budget deficits, Canada's provinces are taking tough measures to curb healthcare costs, a trend that could erode the principles of the popular state-funded system.
World | Health | Healthcare Reform
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, kicked off a fierce battle with drug companies and pharmacies when it said earlier this year it would halve generic drug prices and eliminate "incentive fees" to generic drug manufacturers.
British Columbia is replacing block grants to hospitals with fee-for-procedure payments and Quebec has a new flat health tax and a proposal for payments on each medical visit -- an idea that critics say is an illegal user fee.
And a few provinces are also experimenting with private funding for procedures such as hip, knee and cataract surgery.
It's likely just a start as the provinces, responsible for delivering healthcare, cope with the demands of a retiring baby-boom generation. Official figures show that senior citizens will make up 25 percent of the population by 2036.
"There's got to be some change to the status quo whether it happens in three years or 10 years," said Derek Burleton, senior economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.
"We can't continually see health spending growing above and beyond the growth rate in the economy because, at some point, it means crowding out of all the other government services.
"At some stage we're going to hit a breaking point."
MIRROR IMAGE DEBATE
In some ways the Canadian debate is the mirror image of discussions going on in the United States.
Canada, fretting over budget strains, wants to prune its system, while the United States, worrying about an army of uninsured, aims to create a state-backed safety net.
Healthcare in Canada is delivered through a publicly funded system, which covers all "medically necessary" hospital and physician care and curbs the role of private medicine. It ate up about 40 percent of provincial budgets, or some C$183 billion ($174 billion) last year.
Spending has been rising 6 percent a year under a deal that added C$41.3 billion of federal funding over 10 years.
But that deal ends in 2013, and the federal government is unlikely to be as generous in future, especially for one-off projects.
"As Ottawa looks to repair its budget balance ... one could see these one-time allocations to specific health projects might be curtailed," said Mary Webb, senior economist at Scotia Capital.
Brian Golden, a professor at University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business, said provinces are weighing new sources of funding, including "means-testing" and moving toward evidence-based and pay-for-performance models.
"Why are we paying more or the same for cataract surgery when it costs substantially less today than it did 10 years ago? There's going to be a finer look at what we're paying for and, more importantly, what we're getting for it," he said.
Other problems include trying to control independently set salaries for top hospital executives and doctors and rein in spiraling costs for new medical technologies and drugs.
Ontario says healthcare could eat up 70 percent of its budget in 12 years, if all these costs are left unchecked.
"Our objective is to preserve the quality healthcare system we have and indeed to enhance it. But there are difficult decisions ahead and we will continue to make them," Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told Reuters.
The province has introduced legislation that ties hospital chief executive pay with the quality of patient care and says it wants to put more physicians on salary to save money.
In a report released last week, TD Bank said Ontario should consider other proposals to help cut costs, including scaling back drug coverage for affluent seniors and paying doctors according to quality and efficiency of care.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
The losers could be drug companies and pharmacies, both of which are getting increasingly nervous.
"Many of the advances in healthcare and life expectancy are due to the pharmaceutical industry so we should never demonize them," said U of T's Golden. "We need to ensure that they maintain a profitable business but our ability to make it very very profitable is constrained right now."
Scotia Capital's Webb said one cost-saving idea may be to make patients aware of how much it costs each time they visit a healthcare professional. "(The public) will use the services more wisely if they know how much it's costing," she said.
"If it's absolutely free with no information on the cost and the information of an alternative that would be have been more practical, then how can we expect the public to wisely use the service?"
But change may come slowly. Universal healthcare is central to Canada's national identity, and decisions are made as much on politics as economics.
"It's an area that Canadians don't want to see touched," said TD's Burleton. "Essentially it boils down the wishes of the population. But I think, from an economist's standpoint, we point to the fact that sometimes Canadians in the short term may not realize the cost."
($1=$1.05 Canadian)
(Reporting by Claire Sibonney; editing by Janet Guttsman and Peter Galloway)
World | Health | Healthcare Reform
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, kicked off a fierce battle with drug companies and pharmacies when it said earlier this year it would halve generic drug prices and eliminate "incentive fees" to generic drug manufacturers.
British Columbia is replacing block grants to hospitals with fee-for-procedure payments and Quebec has a new flat health tax and a proposal for payments on each medical visit -- an idea that critics say is an illegal user fee.
And a few provinces are also experimenting with private funding for procedures such as hip, knee and cataract surgery.
It's likely just a start as the provinces, responsible for delivering healthcare, cope with the demands of a retiring baby-boom generation. Official figures show that senior citizens will make up 25 percent of the population by 2036.
"There's got to be some change to the status quo whether it happens in three years or 10 years," said Derek Burleton, senior economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.
"We can't continually see health spending growing above and beyond the growth rate in the economy because, at some point, it means crowding out of all the other government services.
"At some stage we're going to hit a breaking point."
MIRROR IMAGE DEBATE
In some ways the Canadian debate is the mirror image of discussions going on in the United States.
Canada, fretting over budget strains, wants to prune its system, while the United States, worrying about an army of uninsured, aims to create a state-backed safety net.
Healthcare in Canada is delivered through a publicly funded system, which covers all "medically necessary" hospital and physician care and curbs the role of private medicine. It ate up about 40 percent of provincial budgets, or some C$183 billion ($174 billion) last year.
Spending has been rising 6 percent a year under a deal that added C$41.3 billion of federal funding over 10 years.
But that deal ends in 2013, and the federal government is unlikely to be as generous in future, especially for one-off projects.
"As Ottawa looks to repair its budget balance ... one could see these one-time allocations to specific health projects might be curtailed," said Mary Webb, senior economist at Scotia Capital.
Brian Golden, a professor at University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business, said provinces are weighing new sources of funding, including "means-testing" and moving toward evidence-based and pay-for-performance models.
"Why are we paying more or the same for cataract surgery when it costs substantially less today than it did 10 years ago? There's going to be a finer look at what we're paying for and, more importantly, what we're getting for it," he said.
Other problems include trying to control independently set salaries for top hospital executives and doctors and rein in spiraling costs for new medical technologies and drugs.
Ontario says healthcare could eat up 70 percent of its budget in 12 years, if all these costs are left unchecked.
"Our objective is to preserve the quality healthcare system we have and indeed to enhance it. But there are difficult decisions ahead and we will continue to make them," Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told Reuters.
The province has introduced legislation that ties hospital chief executive pay with the quality of patient care and says it wants to put more physicians on salary to save money.
In a report released last week, TD Bank said Ontario should consider other proposals to help cut costs, including scaling back drug coverage for affluent seniors and paying doctors according to quality and efficiency of care.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
The losers could be drug companies and pharmacies, both of which are getting increasingly nervous.
"Many of the advances in healthcare and life expectancy are due to the pharmaceutical industry so we should never demonize them," said U of T's Golden. "We need to ensure that they maintain a profitable business but our ability to make it very very profitable is constrained right now."
Scotia Capital's Webb said one cost-saving idea may be to make patients aware of how much it costs each time they visit a healthcare professional. "(The public) will use the services more wisely if they know how much it's costing," she said.
"If it's absolutely free with no information on the cost and the information of an alternative that would be have been more practical, then how can we expect the public to wisely use the service?"
But change may come slowly. Universal healthcare is central to Canada's national identity, and decisions are made as much on politics as economics.
"It's an area that Canadians don't want to see touched," said TD's Burleton. "Essentially it boils down the wishes of the population. But I think, from an economist's standpoint, we point to the fact that sometimes Canadians in the short term may not realize the cost."
($1=$1.05 Canadian)
(Reporting by Claire Sibonney; editing by Janet Guttsman and Peter Galloway)
Crop circle season arrives with a mathematical message
By Matilda Battersby
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
It is perhaps little known that the beautiful county of Wiltshire, famed for Stonehenge and the white horses carved into its hills, is the most active area for crop circles in the world, with nearly 70 appearing in its fields in 2009.
It is unsurprising then, that the appearance of a phenomenally complex 300ft design carved into an expanse of rape seed on a Wiltshire hillside has caused excitement. But it's not just the eye-pleasing shape which has drawn attention to it. The intersected concentric pattern has been decoded by experts as a “tantalising approximation” of a mathematical formula called Euler’s Identity (e ^ ( i * Pi ) + 1 = 0), widely thought be the most beautiful and profound mathematical equation in the world.
Related articles
* More UK News
* Search the news archive for more stories
The design (pictured above) appeared beside Wilton Windmill late on Friday night. Lucy Pringle, a founder of the Centre for Crop Circle Studies, was one of the first on the scene. She says: “What has happened in this particular crop circle is that there are 12 segments and within each segment there are 8 partly concentric rings. Each of these segments indicates a binary code based on 0 and 1. If you use an Ascii Table [computer calculation system], the pattern transposes itself into a tantalising approximation of Euler’s equation.”
Click here or on the image for a gallery of recent UK crop circles
The average person finds such complex mathematical talk utterly confounding, so The Independent Online asked Dr John Talbot, a maths research fellow at University College London, for his take on the matter. He said: “Looking at the crop circle, the link with Euler’s most famous identity seems to make perfect sense. However, the way the formula has been executed is partially incorrect. One of the discrepancies is that one part of the formula translates as ‘hi’ rather than ‘i’, which could be somebody’s idea of a joke.”
The Wilton Windmill circle is not the first to have provoked mathematical exposition. In July 2008 a photograph of a crop circle near Barbary Castle (also in Wiltshire) caught the attention of retired American astrophysicist Mike Reed when he saw it in a national newspaper. He was struck by its shape and eventually concluded that it was a coded image representing the first ten digits of Pi (3.141592654), a conclusion declared to be a “seminal event” by Pringle at the time.
Sceptics dismiss crop circles as utter rubbish, but despite decades of research nobody knows conclusively how they’re made. As Francine Blake of the Wiltshire Crop Circle Study Group, explains: “The difficulty is that we don’t know the answer. It’s something that needs to be treated with great respect, but is too often talked about flippantly in the media which, I think, closes the subject rather than opens it.”
There has been extensive scientific exploration into the affect the circles have on nearby wildlife. Flowers and soils inside crop circles are dramatically altered, Blake explains. Pringle observed in a 2003 experiment that seed samples taken from inside a crop circle had 40 per cent higher protein levels than those taken from outside it.
Another interesting element is the nature of the soil on which the circles appear. Pringle says that 93.8 per cent of crop circles are made on chalk, "a worldwide phenomenon" recorded in 54 different countries. She says the significance may be connected to underground springs called aquifers commonly found in chalk: "It is thought that the originating force probably originates in the ionosphere (an area of atmospheric electricity). The force then spirals to earth in the form of a vortical plasma and hits the ground with some 100 of 1000's of volts per metre for just a nano second only, else the crop would be burnt. Occasionally we do see evidence of scorched flattened crop inside certain circles. The electromagnetic fields of both the underground springs and the descending force work in harmony or conjunction with each other."
Blake also remarks on the significance of the chalk, which she says the ancients often built their monuments on - an observation which the existence of Neolithic sites like Stonehenge and Avebury attest. She says the ancients also built their temples on “energy lines” and has observed that “crop circles always appear on or near these lines.” Blake was impressed with the Barbary Castle circle and its derivations because the shape itself was “like a Labyrinth,” which “gives it a spiritual as well as a mathematical tradition.”
Nobody knows for sure how crop circles are made. Reports of strange mists creating the complicated patterns in a matter of minutes, their connotations with little green men and Midwich Cuckoos and elaborate hoaxes have fostered a widespread unwillingness to take the idea seriously. This approach both feeds the mystery around the concept and prevents further exploration of it, as it is an area of research that is unlikely to be awarded large research grants or space on university courses. But, as Blake remarks: “There’s neither rhyme nor reason, they just keep coming.” And with crops nearly at their full height, the UK’s crop circle season is upon us. If you want to see for yourself Wiltshire is your best bet.
www.lucypringle.co.uk
www.wccsg.com
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
It is perhaps little known that the beautiful county of Wiltshire, famed for Stonehenge and the white horses carved into its hills, is the most active area for crop circles in the world, with nearly 70 appearing in its fields in 2009.
It is unsurprising then, that the appearance of a phenomenally complex 300ft design carved into an expanse of rape seed on a Wiltshire hillside has caused excitement. But it's not just the eye-pleasing shape which has drawn attention to it. The intersected concentric pattern has been decoded by experts as a “tantalising approximation” of a mathematical formula called Euler’s Identity (e ^ ( i * Pi ) + 1 = 0), widely thought be the most beautiful and profound mathematical equation in the world.
Related articles
* More UK News
* Search the news archive for more stories
The design (pictured above) appeared beside Wilton Windmill late on Friday night. Lucy Pringle, a founder of the Centre for Crop Circle Studies, was one of the first on the scene. She says: “What has happened in this particular crop circle is that there are 12 segments and within each segment there are 8 partly concentric rings. Each of these segments indicates a binary code based on 0 and 1. If you use an Ascii Table [computer calculation system], the pattern transposes itself into a tantalising approximation of Euler’s equation.”
Click here or on the image for a gallery of recent UK crop circles
The average person finds such complex mathematical talk utterly confounding, so The Independent Online asked Dr John Talbot, a maths research fellow at University College London, for his take on the matter. He said: “Looking at the crop circle, the link with Euler’s most famous identity seems to make perfect sense. However, the way the formula has been executed is partially incorrect. One of the discrepancies is that one part of the formula translates as ‘hi’ rather than ‘i’, which could be somebody’s idea of a joke.”
The Wilton Windmill circle is not the first to have provoked mathematical exposition. In July 2008 a photograph of a crop circle near Barbary Castle (also in Wiltshire) caught the attention of retired American astrophysicist Mike Reed when he saw it in a national newspaper. He was struck by its shape and eventually concluded that it was a coded image representing the first ten digits of Pi (3.141592654), a conclusion declared to be a “seminal event” by Pringle at the time.
Sceptics dismiss crop circles as utter rubbish, but despite decades of research nobody knows conclusively how they’re made. As Francine Blake of the Wiltshire Crop Circle Study Group, explains: “The difficulty is that we don’t know the answer. It’s something that needs to be treated with great respect, but is too often talked about flippantly in the media which, I think, closes the subject rather than opens it.”
There has been extensive scientific exploration into the affect the circles have on nearby wildlife. Flowers and soils inside crop circles are dramatically altered, Blake explains. Pringle observed in a 2003 experiment that seed samples taken from inside a crop circle had 40 per cent higher protein levels than those taken from outside it.
Another interesting element is the nature of the soil on which the circles appear. Pringle says that 93.8 per cent of crop circles are made on chalk, "a worldwide phenomenon" recorded in 54 different countries. She says the significance may be connected to underground springs called aquifers commonly found in chalk: "It is thought that the originating force probably originates in the ionosphere (an area of atmospheric electricity). The force then spirals to earth in the form of a vortical plasma and hits the ground with some 100 of 1000's of volts per metre for just a nano second only, else the crop would be burnt. Occasionally we do see evidence of scorched flattened crop inside certain circles. The electromagnetic fields of both the underground springs and the descending force work in harmony or conjunction with each other."
Blake also remarks on the significance of the chalk, which she says the ancients often built their monuments on - an observation which the existence of Neolithic sites like Stonehenge and Avebury attest. She says the ancients also built their temples on “energy lines” and has observed that “crop circles always appear on or near these lines.” Blake was impressed with the Barbary Castle circle and its derivations because the shape itself was “like a Labyrinth,” which “gives it a spiritual as well as a mathematical tradition.”
Nobody knows for sure how crop circles are made. Reports of strange mists creating the complicated patterns in a matter of minutes, their connotations with little green men and Midwich Cuckoos and elaborate hoaxes have fostered a widespread unwillingness to take the idea seriously. This approach both feeds the mystery around the concept and prevents further exploration of it, as it is an area of research that is unlikely to be awarded large research grants or space on university courses. But, as Blake remarks: “There’s neither rhyme nor reason, they just keep coming.” And with crops nearly at their full height, the UK’s crop circle season is upon us. If you want to see for yourself Wiltshire is your best bet.
www.lucypringle.co.uk
www.wccsg.com
Muslim neighbors alarmed by Iran's plans Reviving 'Peninsula Shield' to provide regional protection
Posted: May 28, 2010
12:45 am Eastern
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
12:45 am Eastern
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
Western nations fear Iran's program is a cover for developing nuclear weapons.
But the Arab nations think any conflict that would erupt could allow Iran then to attack them, due to their opposition to its nuclear program and Iran's geopolitical intentions to take over the Arab Peninsula.
"The Islamic United States (led by Iran) will be an introduction to the formation of the global village of the oppressed, and that will be a prelude to the single global rule of the Shiite Mahdi," according to leading Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Bagher Kharazi.
Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.
Do you call mocking Jesus comedy?
Posted: May 31, 2010
5:24 pm Eastern
© 2010
Editor's note: The following column was adapted from an email alert sent to friends of the Christian family magazine MOVIEGUIDE.
Image from Comedy Central
Comedy Central, a popular cable TV channel, is planning on doing an entire animated series mocking and ridiculing Jesus Christ entitled "JC."
The show's basic storyline is about Jesus Christ adapting to life in the 21st century. Press reports describe this outrageous show as Jesus "wanting to escape the shadow of his 'powerful but apathetic father' and live a regular life in New York City." The very concept of this show is blasphemous and Christophobic.
Comedy Central wouldn't develop such a show about Mohammed, the founder of Islam. So, why do they want to develop a show mocking Jesus Christ and Christ's relationship to the Father, first person of the holy and undivided Trinity?
As you may recall, Comedy Central made ridicule of Jesus Christ and Christianity fashionable in America, especially among the country's children and teenagers, in its animated program, "South Park."
Though the program is labeled for adults, this is a complete sham, because, as everyone in Hollywood knows, children are attracted to anything that is animated, especially cartoons featuring kids as the main characters.
(Column continues below)
With regard to this new provocation against Jesus Christ, Comedy Central programming chief Kent Alterman has been quoted as saying, "Comedy in its purist form always makes some people uncomfortable."
I completely reject this self-aggrandizing interpretation. There are many great comedies like Buster Keaton's "The General," Harold Lloyd's "Safety Last," and Lucille Ball's groundbreaking television work on "I Love Lucy," or more recent movies like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and Pixar's Oscar-winning animated movie "Up," that blaspheme no one's religion, much less Christianity, and are not designed to offend anyone or even make them uncomfortable. Also, contrary to the opinion of many self-proclaimed pundits, mockery and personal ridicule is not good satire. It's naked propaganda, designed to demonize and stereotype.
Jesus Christ is not a fit topic for ridicule and mockery. He is the incarnate, divine Son of God who came to Jerusalem 2,000 years ago to die for our sins so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but may find forgiveness for their sins and eternal life in heaven.
To prevent this vile program from making it into living rooms all over the country, MOVIEGUIDE® has started a petition drive against it.
We have fought valiantly on other causes and won. "Hounddog" was stopped, then recut by the studio because of what we did together. "Brüno" was stopped in its very tracks because we fought hard together to get the word out about that movie's despicable character. "Antichrist" was prevented from reaching a wider audience and became one of the biggest flops of all time.
And, now together we can do it again. Stopping this program that is so offensive to God is essential to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and letting people know his infinite love and glory.
We can and must get 500,000 signatures to show Hollywood that you care about the movies and programs it makes. We need to get these signatures by July 4 to make a real difference. Time is of the essence.
5:24 pm Eastern
© 2010
Editor's note: The following column was adapted from an email alert sent to friends of the Christian family magazine MOVIEGUIDE.
Image from Comedy Central
Comedy Central, a popular cable TV channel, is planning on doing an entire animated series mocking and ridiculing Jesus Christ entitled "JC."
The show's basic storyline is about Jesus Christ adapting to life in the 21st century. Press reports describe this outrageous show as Jesus "wanting to escape the shadow of his 'powerful but apathetic father' and live a regular life in New York City." The very concept of this show is blasphemous and Christophobic.
Comedy Central wouldn't develop such a show about Mohammed, the founder of Islam. So, why do they want to develop a show mocking Jesus Christ and Christ's relationship to the Father, first person of the holy and undivided Trinity?
As you may recall, Comedy Central made ridicule of Jesus Christ and Christianity fashionable in America, especially among the country's children and teenagers, in its animated program, "South Park."
Though the program is labeled for adults, this is a complete sham, because, as everyone in Hollywood knows, children are attracted to anything that is animated, especially cartoons featuring kids as the main characters.
(Column continues below)
With regard to this new provocation against Jesus Christ, Comedy Central programming chief Kent Alterman has been quoted as saying, "Comedy in its purist form always makes some people uncomfortable."
I completely reject this self-aggrandizing interpretation. There are many great comedies like Buster Keaton's "The General," Harold Lloyd's "Safety Last," and Lucille Ball's groundbreaking television work on "I Love Lucy," or more recent movies like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and Pixar's Oscar-winning animated movie "Up," that blaspheme no one's religion, much less Christianity, and are not designed to offend anyone or even make them uncomfortable. Also, contrary to the opinion of many self-proclaimed pundits, mockery and personal ridicule is not good satire. It's naked propaganda, designed to demonize and stereotype.
Jesus Christ is not a fit topic for ridicule and mockery. He is the incarnate, divine Son of God who came to Jerusalem 2,000 years ago to die for our sins so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but may find forgiveness for their sins and eternal life in heaven.
To prevent this vile program from making it into living rooms all over the country, MOVIEGUIDE® has started a petition drive against it.
We have fought valiantly on other causes and won. "Hounddog" was stopped, then recut by the studio because of what we did together. "Brüno" was stopped in its very tracks because we fought hard together to get the word out about that movie's despicable character. "Antichrist" was prevented from reaching a wider audience and became one of the biggest flops of all time.
And, now together we can do it again. Stopping this program that is so offensive to God is essential to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and letting people know his infinite love and glory.
We can and must get 500,000 signatures to show Hollywood that you care about the movies and programs it makes. We need to get these signatures by July 4 to make a real difference. Time is of the essence.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Will Obama give illegals health care with amnesty? White House reportedly lures Hispanic Caucus votes with immigration trade-off
By Drew Zahn
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y.
A report from the nation's capital suggests the White House is working on a deal that would offer immigration reform advocates citizenship for illegal aliens in exchange for support of the health care bill.
In November, Roll Call reported that Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., warned President Obama that the 20 members of her caucus would fight health care reform unless it covered illegal immigrants.
The president, however, had pledged earlier that illegal aliens would not be covered – a promise that prompted Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., to shout, "You lie!"
The Senate version of health care reform, indeed, bars illegal immigrants from coverage, a point that could prove sticky in negotiations with the House's Hispanic Caucus members in seeking a final version of the bill.
Now, however, Talking Points Memo's D.C. division reports that immigration advocates may be willing to back health care if the president will promise a 2010 push for immigration reform that provides health care coverage for illegals who are granted citizenship.
Furthermore, TPMDC reports, those familiar with the talks say the immigration legislation being crafted by the White House includes both amnesty for illegal aliens and the extension of health care coverage the Hispanic Caucus demands.
(Story continues below)
Republicans anticipated this move in September of last year, only days after Rep. Wilson's outburst, calling the passage of health care reform followed by amnesty a "back door" to ensuring current illegal immigrants get health care coverage, thus proving Rep. Wilson right.
"It is ironic that the president told the American people that illegal immigrants should not be covered by the health care bill, but now just days later, he's talking about letting them in the back door," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, told the Washington Times. "If the American people do not want to provide government health care for illegal immigrants, why would they support giving them citizenship, the highest honor America can bestow?"
Smith's comments came in response to a speech Obama gave in September that hinted at this path, when the president said the health care plan's failure to cover illegal immigrants was all the more reason to legalize them.
"Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken," Obama said in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all."
A portion of Obama's speech, including the above comments, can be seen below:
And while Republicans saw in the speech the seed of a plan to swap amnesty for support of health care reform, immigrant rights groups took away a signal that Obama intends to provide health care coverage to anyone in the U.S. legally, regardless of immigration status, a move that would require current law be changed.
Obama also said during the speech, "I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else."
"It's the first time I've certainly heard, publicly, him talking more about legal immigrants," said Eric Rodriguez, vice president for research and advocacy at the National Council of La Raza. "Our biggest concern is that most people don't realize legal immigrants are currently barred from receiving health care benefits for the first five years in the country."
Indeed, under welfare legislation passed in 1996, most federal aid programs are restricted to citizens and legal immigrants who have been in the country for at least five years.
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y.
A report from the nation's capital suggests the White House is working on a deal that would offer immigration reform advocates citizenship for illegal aliens in exchange for support of the health care bill.
In November, Roll Call reported that Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., warned President Obama that the 20 members of her caucus would fight health care reform unless it covered illegal immigrants.
The president, however, had pledged earlier that illegal aliens would not be covered – a promise that prompted Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., to shout, "You lie!"
The Senate version of health care reform, indeed, bars illegal immigrants from coverage, a point that could prove sticky in negotiations with the House's Hispanic Caucus members in seeking a final version of the bill.
Now, however, Talking Points Memo's D.C. division reports that immigration advocates may be willing to back health care if the president will promise a 2010 push for immigration reform that provides health care coverage for illegals who are granted citizenship.
Furthermore, TPMDC reports, those familiar with the talks say the immigration legislation being crafted by the White House includes both amnesty for illegal aliens and the extension of health care coverage the Hispanic Caucus demands.
(Story continues below)
Republicans anticipated this move in September of last year, only days after Rep. Wilson's outburst, calling the passage of health care reform followed by amnesty a "back door" to ensuring current illegal immigrants get health care coverage, thus proving Rep. Wilson right.
"It is ironic that the president told the American people that illegal immigrants should not be covered by the health care bill, but now just days later, he's talking about letting them in the back door," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, told the Washington Times. "If the American people do not want to provide government health care for illegal immigrants, why would they support giving them citizenship, the highest honor America can bestow?"
Smith's comments came in response to a speech Obama gave in September that hinted at this path, when the president said the health care plan's failure to cover illegal immigrants was all the more reason to legalize them.
"Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken," Obama said in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all."
A portion of Obama's speech, including the above comments, can be seen below:
And while Republicans saw in the speech the seed of a plan to swap amnesty for support of health care reform, immigrant rights groups took away a signal that Obama intends to provide health care coverage to anyone in the U.S. legally, regardless of immigration status, a move that would require current law be changed.
Obama also said during the speech, "I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else."
"It's the first time I've certainly heard, publicly, him talking more about legal immigrants," said Eric Rodriguez, vice president for research and advocacy at the National Council of La Raza. "Our biggest concern is that most people don't realize legal immigrants are currently barred from receiving health care benefits for the first five years in the country."
Indeed, under welfare legislation passed in 1996, most federal aid programs are restricted to citizens and legal immigrants who have been in the country for at least five years.
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