Libyan spy files document Qaddafi regime's fall This Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011 photo shows an ransacked desk in Muammar Qaddafi's intelligence headquarters in Tripoli, Libya. Hundreds intelligence documents seen by The Associated Press in Tripoli show how Qaddafi's authoritarian regime using all its means failed to quash an armed rebellion largely fueled by hatred of its tools of control. AP Photo/Ben Hubbard TRIPOLI, Libya - As the uprising grew against Muammar Qaddafi, secret reports from his vaunted intelligence service flowed back to Tripoli. The reports grew more desperate as the Libyan rebellion veered into civil war: Military leaders in the western mountains were disregarding orders; troops in the city of Misrata ran out of ammunition, turning the situation into "every man for himself." These reports and hundreds of other intelligence documents seen by The Associated Press in Tripoli trace how the tide shifted in the six-month uprising that ended Qaddafi's 42-year reign. The note concluded with an offer to kill the council members.
Mithras and Christianity This religion, cloaked in mystery and secrecy, has captivated the imaginations of scholars for generations. Many facts discovered sheds vital light on the cultural dynamics that led to the rise of Christianity. The National Geographic Society’s book “Great Religions of the World,” page 309 writes; “By Jesus’ time, East and West had mingled here for three centuries. Down columns of boulevards walked Roman soldiers loyal to the Persian god Mithras.” Mithras was a Persian deity. He was also the most widely venerated god in the at the time of Jesus. 1) Hundreds of years before Jesus, according to the Mithraic religion, three Wise Men of came to visit the baby savior-god Mithra, bring him gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense. 2) Mithra was born on December 25 as told in the “Great Religions of the World”, page 330; “…it was the winter solstice celebrated by ancients as the birthday of Mithraism’s sun god”. 4) After the death of Mithra, his body was laid to rest in a rock tomb. a. a. b. c. d.
Loyalists enter Niger but no sign of Qaddafi Updated at 3:38 p.m. ET TARHOUNA, Libya - Armed loyalists of Muammar Qaddafi, including his security chief, fled into neighboring Niger in multiple convoys across hundreds of miles of desert on Tuesday. The claims could not immediately be confirmed. But as the first group of a dozen vehicles pulled into Niger's capital Niamey on Tuesday, a customs official confirmed that it included Mansour Dao, Qaddafi's security chief and a key member of his inner circle, as well as around 12 other Qaddafi regime officials. Qaddafi himself is not in the convoys, Niger's Foreign Minister Bazoum Mohamed said, according to Al-Arabiya television. Special Section: Anger in the Arab WorldQaddafi loyalists flee, rebels eye Bani WalidLibyan spy files document Qaddafi regime's fall Three major cities remain under Qaddafi's sway — Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha. Still, the significance of the convoys was unclear. U.S. "We are fighting and resisting for the sake of Libya and all Arabs," he said.
'Pantheist' Lincoln would be unelectable today - Americas, World A three-page letter highlighting the 16th president's unconventional relationship with the Almighty has just been put on sale. It offers a possible insight into why he was never baptised, did not attend a church and, in defiance of political protocol of the era, would refuse to publicly discuss his spiritual beliefs. Such was his reluctance to embrace piety that, if he were standing for office today, there is a good chance he would be unelectable. The letter was written by William Herndon, a legal partner and close friend of "Honest Abe" in 1866, a year after Lincoln had been assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. And while the letter is at pains to stress that Lincoln did believe in "a God" at the time of his death, it reveals that he took a long time getting to that point. "At one time in his life, to say the least, he was an elevated Pantheist, doubting the immortality of the soul as the Christian world understands that term.
Caroline Glick: A prayer for 5771 « 3rd Circle I’m a big fan of Caroline Glick. So much so that if I was president, I would ask Ms. Glick to be my national security adviser. In my opinion, her understanding of national and political Israel is unmatched in its strategic clarity and moral coherence. Ms. In the essay below, I believe she has identified a profound truth that can help us understand some of the deepest currents that are flowing in this time. RJ Jonas Original article at On August 28, Fox News commentator Glenn Beck confounded his colleagues in the media when he brought hundreds of thousands of Americans to the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC for a rally he called “Restoring Honor.” While former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker, the rally was decidedly apolitical. The crowd was enthusiastic but not rowdy. US President Barack Obama was never even mentioned by name. So what was it all about? The American creed has two main components.
The 48 Laws of Power Background[edit] Greene initially formulated some of the ideas in The 48 Laws of Power while working as a writer in Hollywood and concluding that today's power elite shared similar traits with powerful figures throughout history.[5] In 1995, Greene worked as a writer at Fabrica, an art and media school, and met a book packager named Joost Elffers.[4][8] Greene pitched a book about power to Elffers and six months later, Elffers requested that Greene write a treatment.[4] Although Greene was unhappy in his current job, he was comfortable and saw the time needed to write a proper book proposal as too risky.[10] However, at the time Greene was rereading his favorite biography about Julius Caesar and took inspiration from Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon River and fight Pompey, thus inciting the Great Roman Civil War.[10] Greene would follow Caesar's example and write the treatment, which later became The 48 Laws of Power.[10] He would note this as the turning point of his life.[10]
European Anti-Semitism versus Measuring European Anti-Semitism « The Prince and The Little Prince Anti-Semitism in Europe is a given — but the ways of measuring it are not. The most recent survey of anti-Semitism in Europe by the Anti-Defamation League does not properly assess anti-Semitism. The magnitude of anti-Semitism in Europe is alarming, according to the survey, and the magnitude of anti-Semitism in Europe is no doubt alarming — but not because the survey accurately measured it. The survey covered Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Respondents were asked whether or not they thought the following four statements were “probably true” or “probably false.” 1) Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country. 2) Jews have too much power in the business world. 3) Jews have too much power in international financial markets. 4) Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust. Respondents were also asked whether they agree or disagree with the statement that “Jews are responsible for the death of Christ.” 1. 2. 3. Like this:
What Is The Singularity And Will You Live To See It? 1. I'm generally skeptical of the singularity and of post-scarcity economics in general. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. More Effort to Harass Israel on the World Stage « A Modern Perspective From the WSJ: “Israel is believed to be the only Middle East country to possess atomic weapons. Its government neither confirms nor denies their existence.” Israel has allegedly maintained nuclear weapons for almost 4 decades. Had they wanted to use them for aggressive and hostile purposes or posturing, the world would have seen that already. Unlike Iran, and every other Middle Eastern country, Israel does not parade its long range missiles down its main city streets, nor do its government leaders loudly preach utter annihilation and destruction to its enemies. Israel’s silent and secret nuclear program is to ensure that Jews will not face another attempted genocide or holocaust this century. Like this: Like Loading...
When Debt Is More Important Than People, The System Is Evil Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds When Debt Is More Important Than People, The System Is Evil The Empire of Debt has only one end-point: a death spiral. It is evil and must be dismantled. Ethics has no place in the Empire of Debt. The reality being masked is that debt is now more important than people. 1. 2. This begs further investigation. The ethics of debt, at least in the officially sanctioned media, boils down to: nobody made them borrow all those euros, and so their suffering is just desserts. What's lost in this subtext is the responsibility of the lender. Consider an individual who is a visibly poor credit risk. Now a lender comes along who can create credit out of thin air (via fractional reserve banking) and offers this poor credit risk $100,000 in collateral-free debt at low rates of interest. This is the basis of bankruptcy laws--or used to be the basis. The debt is discharged and the borrower must live within his means without relying on credit.
Jewish State vs Jewish Homeland « The Third Way: Finding Balance In Mideast Analysis In my recent piece on the Israeli demand to be recognized “as a Jewish state,” I made the point that there is no clear definition of what it means t be a Jewish state. There is no consensus in Israel as to what this means; indeed, this has been a question that has vexed Jews both in Israel and the Diaspora since the birth of the Zionist movement. That put me in mind of a question a good friend asked me some time ago. Whatever its character, Israel will always be home to both Jews and Arabs My answer was yes, but not until the term “Jewish state” is defined more clearly and very differently than I perceive it to be used in common parlance today. The issue of Israel’s identity is one that can only be resolved by Israelis, of course (I note: Israelis, which means all citizens of the state, Jewish or not). The first, crucial element is ending the occupation. But ending the occupation is only the beginning. The key, in my view, is a change in the way we think about Israel’s “Jewishness.”
What is Debt? – An Interview with Economic Anthropologist David Graeber David Graeber currently holds the position of Reader in Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths University London. Prior to this he was an associate professor of anthropology at Yale University. He is the author of ‘Debt: The First 5,000 Years’ which is available from Amazon. Interview conducted by Philip Pilkington, a journalist and writer based in Dublin, Ireland. Philip Pilkington: Let’s begin. David Graeber: Yes there’s a standard story we’re all taught, a ‘once upon a time’ — it’s a fairy tale. It really deserves no other introduction: according to this theory all transactions were by barter. The story goes back at least to Adam Smith and in its own way it’s the founding myth of economics. Think about what they’re saying here – basically: that a bunch of Neolithic farmers in a village somewhere, or Native Americans or whatever, will be engaging in transactions only through the spot trade. DG: Well historically, there seem to have been two possibilities. How did this happen?
Kabul War Diary How our brains stop us achieving our goals and how to fight back 1.8K Flares Filament.io 1.8K Flares × As admittedly wonderful and fascinating as the human brain is, it definitely can feel like our brain is out to get us sometimes. Summed up perfectly in the many observations of the “Scumbag Brain” meme, our brain does seem to engage in “sabotage” in terms of how it naturally reacts to situations. The scary thing is that in some circumstances, these feelings are backed up by actual research! We’ve already discussed how poorly our brain operates while multitasking (despite tricking us to feel fulfilled while we do it), and today I’d like to expand upon 5 new dangers present in our ‘scumbag brains.’ In this post you’ll learn how to combat your brain’s own brilliance, overcoming it’s instinctual reactions which often have devastating effects on those all-important long term goals that you set for yourself. Let’s get started! Would you believe that fantasizing is the #1 way your brain can unintentionally ruin your goals? It seems unlikely, right? Why? Ms.