We venerate agitating waters;

We venerate showering winds.



We venerate the never-returning fire-priests

who have come from far 'Right-active' lands.

We venerate all the immortal progressives.

(Supplementary Song.6 = Yasna 42.6)

We venerate the good souls of the righteous

We venerate the thundering fifty-fountain clouds.

We venerate the dense seasonal [clouds],

which arise from the middle of the Longshore Sea.

We venerate the Longshore Sea.

(Supplementary Song.4 = Yasna 42.4)

Dear ACLU

Dear ACLU;

You guys did it to yourself and I'm not sorry.

Sober heads told you going after the "Karl Rove" Leak of Valerie Plame's name would come back and bite you in the Arse. By trying to pull out all sorts of facts which embarass the government would lead to this kind of backlash.

While we are seeing how the sausage of American media works because of your pursuit of political attacks and those of your ilk their will no longer be a free press examining the abuses of clandestine services that will come eventually. What George Bush is doing right now isn't an abuse but since the ability of the media to be a 4th branch that has the power to check the government you now lose the ability to know what a man or woman with far less ethics will do in that situation.

Some day a big Whistle Blower will find a way to drop his information out to the media and we will see true freedom in this country has been gutted because of your irresponsible hatred and pursuit of politics over civil liberties

"Our nation is strengthened, not weakened, by those whistleblowers who are courageous enough to speak out on violations of the law," Romero said.

Yes it is. So just as a pornographer like Larry Flint has to have his freedom of Speech a government officer so long as their isn't a serious loss of life needs the ability to leak information for partisan and bogus means because if they get caught under the gun of the prosecutors then so will a legitimate whistle blower

You guys have made this country a little bit worse by your irresponsible actions. What comes next is on your heads

Bill Safire's Office Pool 06 predictions

(H/t A blog for all)

Multiple choice answers based on these questions

#1 c) closer to 90,000 (troops this time next year in Iraq)
#2 a)Mike Pence (New Speaker of the house)
#3 c) James Mangold's "Walk the Line" (cashing in on Reese Witherspoon's performance) (Best picture Oscar winner)
#4 c) decide that federal funds can be denied to law schools that prohibit military recruitment on campus (four big cases infront of the Roberts court...though I think none of them will happen I think C is most likely)
#5 b) "Self-Made Man" by Norah Vincent, the new Steinem (sleeper nonfiction best seller)
#6 c) a media murder mystery by Russ Lewis (surprise in the world of fiction)
#7 b) Mahmoud Abbas naming jailed Marwan Barghouti his Fatah successor; (biggest effect on Israeli/Palestine conflict in 06.. out of the 4 I see this as most likely)
#8 b) the 36-page report by the Senate Intelligence Committee about the 2000 terrorist attack on the destroyer Cole, cleared for release by the C.I.A. but suppressed by the Senate.(least likely to be given any investigative journalism)
#9 c) finally reflect sustained 4 percent G.D.P. growth by Dow breaking through 12,000.(this is where I see the Stockmarket in 06)
#10 c) nationalist Iraqis and bridging Kurds will achieve a loose confederation and create a Muslim brand of democracy. (most likely outcome in Iraq)
#11 c) growth in economic inequality and need for pension protection; (what will have the most impact on voters... i see this as most likely of 4 barely likelys)
#12 a) Virginia Democrat Mark Warner against Massachusetts Republican Mitt Romney in the battle of centrist capitalists; (the dark horse line for the 08 election)
#13 a) Bill Richardson vs. Rudy Giuliani (most likely of 4 unlikely inside the box races)
#14 a) Truman ( whom Historians will compaire Bush to)

Here is Safire's answer Key...

My picks: 1 (d); 2 (a); 3 (b); 4 (all); 5 (c); 6 (a); 7 (all); 8 (both); 9 (c); 10 (c); 11 (none); 12 (d); 13 (b); 14 (a). By no means save this column.

when we get ready to open up the 07 blogging season we'll see who did better

Eeesh No respect

Many blogs larger then me which have me in a blog-roll/daily read list have gone with the Anchoress's list of 2006 predictions....

Yebus man what's a guy got to do to get a break

A new personal hero

I rarely get to call out to some one who I’d consider heroic and rarer still do I find some one younger then me I’d consider heroic. But Farris Hassan is a new personal Hero of mine. I am sure Farris and I may disagree on any number of issues but Farris decided to get Gonzo in some respects in his journalism and become part of his story. But not only did he become Gonzo he did something so Gonzo as to with very little money sneak into Iraq. ( and I agree with Michelle Malkin get this kid a blog). And Fox news has given this new generation of Gonzo Journalist a brief taste of fame.

There is a struggle in Iraq between good and evil, between those striving for freedom and liberty and those striving for death and destruction. You are aware of the heinous acts of the terrorists: Women and children massacred, innocent aid workers decapitated, indiscriminate murder. You are also aware of the heroic aspirations of the Iraqi people: liberty, democracy, security, normality. Those terrorists are not human but pure evil. For their goals to be thwarted, decent individuals must answer justice's call for help ... So I will.

This isn’t a reporter or member of the government elite hiding out in the green zone. This is a kid of Iraqi ancestry sneaking into the country and finding out the story from real people. Seeing the story with his own eyes and hearing it with his own ears.

I know going to Iraq will be incredibly risky. There are thousands of people there that desperately want my head. There are millions of people there that mildly prefer my demise merely because I am American. Nevertheless, I will go there to love and help my neighbor in distress, if that endangers my life, so be it ...
If I know what is needed and what is right, but do not act on my moral conscience, I would be a hypocrite. I must do what I say decent individuals should do. I want to live my days so that my nights are not full of regrets. Therefore, I must go.
I am sure I may find many things about Mr. Hassan I don’t agree with. But this young man took to his convictions and made his way into a war zone to try and do what he felt was the right thing to do. He heard the suffering of the Iraqi people in a real way and brought the story back unfiltered by any of the bogus partisan lenses we see it from in our society.
The kid is simply Heroic… and I am interested to see what he does for an encore.

Another Meme I caught

Another Meme…. I caught the Fever over at Tinkerty Tonk and the Only Cure is more Meme answering

1. Beatles, Stones or Beach Boys? Stones.2. Kant, Hegel, Marx? Kant.3. Cluedo, Monopoly, Scrabble? Monopoly4. Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford? Jack Nicholson 5. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart? Mozart6. Australia, Canada, New Zealand? Australia.7. Groucho, Chico, Harpo? Groucho.8. Morning, afternoon, evening? Afternoon9. Bridge, Canasta, Poker? Poker.10. Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Fargo--Lebowski11. Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau? Locke12. Cricket, football, rugby? Football13. Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte? Jane Austen.14. Parker, Gillespie, Monk? Monk15. Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham? Chelsea16. Cheers, Friends, Seinfeld? Cheers17. Henry Fonda, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart? Jimmy Stewart
18. France, Germany, Italy? Italy.19. Apple, orange, banana? Banana20. Statham, Tyson, Trueman? Statham
21. Rio Bravo, El Dorado, Rio Lobo? Rio Bravo.22. Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Ingrid Bergman? Meryl Steep23. Chinese, Indian, Thai? Chinese24. Handel, Scarlatti, Vivaldi? Vivaldi.25. Oasis, Radiohead, Blur? Radiohead.26. Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones, Yes Minister? Fawlty Towers.27. Chekhov, Ibsen, Shaw? Ibsen.28. American football, baseball, basketball? American Football.29. FDR, JFK, Bill Clinton? JFK.30. Lenin, Luxemburg, Trotsky? Trotsky.31. Paris, Rome, New York? New York.32. Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck? Hemingway.33. Blue, green, red? Blue.34. Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, West Side Story? West Side Story35. J.S. Mill, John Rawls, Robert Nozick? Rawls36. Armstrong, Ellington, Goodman? Ellington.37. Ireland, Scotland, Wales (at rugby)? Scotland.38. The Sopranos, 24, Six Feet Under? Sopranos.39. Friday, Saturday, Sunday? Saturday.40. Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear? Lear.41. Fried, boiled, scrambled (eggs)? Fried.42. Paths of Glory, Cross of Iron, Saving Private Ryan? Saving Private Ryan.43. England, Australia, West Indies (at cricket)? Australia.44. Chabrol, Godard, Truffaut? Godard.45. Bringing It All Back Home, Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks? Bring it all back home
46. Trains, planes, automobiles? planes.47. North By Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo? Psycho48. Third, Fourth, Fifth (Beethoven Piano Concerto)?Fourth.49. Coffee, tea, chocolate? Tea.50. Cardiff, Edinburgh, Dublin? Edinburgh

Masonic Blogging at the end of 05

And now Children it is time for Larry to do a rant on the Subject of Freemasony. In particular the rather foolish idea that we should be more like European Freemasonry. I will say that European Freemasonry has many things I’d consider positive adaptation to some or all of the American Masonic Experience but the #1 thing to challenge this new clarion call by very knowledgeable Brothers out there in TV land is this simple line. AMERICA IS NOT EUROPE. What made Freemasonry work in the US did not make it work in Europe.

*cough* Ok let me go and add in a full disclosure segment here. Doing a more European model is usually code for “pay more money in dues” and this being my first year where I have to pay my dues late….I have m’self a tad of a problem in regards to paying more.

So here is the thing. In Europe Masonry was largely a model of “elitism”. Europe by and large has more of a system of people being born into privilege vs. the kind of upward social mobility that we have had in the US arguably since our inception. While Masonry has attracted men of the caliber as U.S President Teddy Roosevelt we also attracted men of the caliber of Teddy Roosevelt’s gardener who was the Worshipful Master of his home lodge one of the years he was President.  

While we will see some brothers throw the “adjusted for inflation” dollars argument at you that argument is rather bogus. As technology shifts some things become much less expensive, new things are created that is vastly more expensive, areas of property are changed and thus the value shoots up rapidly. Dollars are now fiat vs. semi-fiat or hard currency based…Comparing dollars 50 years ago isn’t realistic, nor is comparing dollars 100 years ago or more. Comparing the impact on the pocket of the man entering the door of the lodge is however a more realistic comparison. Will it make the average man who walks in the door have trouble paying his bills, feeding himself, having a family, paying his taxes, being able to gain property, etc. The focus should not be on the price of dues in inflation adjusted 1920 dollars but on having the same kind of impact on a man who knocks on the door of the lodge.

And while keeping that as a value marker I believe the lodge should be a more inviting place then the social mores of 1920 would have it be. So if the price out of the pocket of the man isn’t a good measure of the dues should be what is?

#1) paying to keep your lodge open and operational.
#2) paying to care for sick, elderly, or indigent brother masons or their kith and kin.
#3) paying to keep all the regalia and other features needed for the degrees of freemasonry.

I do not feel of course these three things should be the end all be all of what we do as masons, but I feel it should be the minimum yearly commitment. Now after that point if you want to set up and ensure endowments are running to provide those the needs are taken care of so the cost to the new and continuing brother is less so much the better.

If the Lodge sets yearly projects and gets the membership to pay for them in a yearly assessment again so much the better.

I think making dues more like “user fee” where you pay for the level of involvement in the fraternity you choose is better and makes the positives of Freemasonry far more universal.

Instead of trying to make Masonry more exclusivist and elite (following of the European model) I think we need to ask ourselves as American Freemasons some important questions.

#1 –What are we as a Fraternity doing right now at the Grand Lodge, Regional, District, and lodge level?-
#2-What would we like to do as a Masonic Community?-
#3-What does our Masonic family need us to do? (And by family I mean both individual brothers at a familial level, and our family of Masonic organizations)-
#4-What does our Masonic family want us to do?-
#5-How can we make an impact in the lives of every man who kneels at the Alter so that when he dies he wants the last honor a Lodge can give a man?-
#6-How are we failing in that regard today?-
#7-How can we make Freemasonry an institution that unites the families of our membership into a larger sense of community and community identity?-

I think if we can answer those 7 questions we will do more then we would by raising all the dues in the world, doing all sorts of table lodges, or having more and more lodges follow the European model.

Karl Rove...No longer Super Genius?!?!?!

If this WashPost Article is true it seems Karl Rove is off the rails and doesn't know what to do. However the folks claimed to be the source of salvation here -are- the people who brought us Harriet Miers so they may be a tad suspect and maybe (just maybe) producing a leak that is Self Serving.

(H/t Kausfiles)

That proved a galvanizing moment at the White House, according to a wide range of GOP strategists in and out of the administration. Rove, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman and White House strategic planning director Peter H. Wehner urged the president to dust off the 2004 election strategy and fight back, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations. White House counselor Dan Bartlett and communications director Nicolle Wallace, however, counseled a more textured approach. The same-old Bush was not enough, they said; he needed to be more detailed about his strategy in Iraq and, most of all, more open in admitting mistakes -- something that does not come easily to Bush.

Although Rove raised concerns about giving critics too much ground, the younger-generation aides prevailed. Bush agreed to try the approach so long as he did not come off sounding too negative. Peter D. Feaver, a Duke University specialist on wartime public opinion who now works at the White House, helped draft a 35-page public plan for victory in Iraq, a paper principally designed to prove that Bush had one.

Yes if this is true our LORD AND MASTER Karl Rove was not the genius behind the Bush resurgence we all know and love right now which has brought the President to a near 50% approval raiting.

We'll see 10 years or so down the road if this is indeed the case.

Loud Howard does it again

Much as Rev. Al Sharpton has endorsed well the only thing to call a 372% intrest loan is Usury I had to wonder when would the next democrat doing a "for me, but not for thee" moment would be.

Gubernatorial records became an issue in presidential politics in 2004. Democrat
Howard Dean, who ran for president, came under criticism because he had some records in Vermont sealed when he left office as that state's governor in 2003. In November, the state Supreme Court ruled that Dean had acted legally.

I want you to save that little nugget first. 2007, after the 2006 elections would be the 4 year anniversary of when Howard Dean did that record sealing. Howard's sealing of records is quite simply one of the more offensive things in my mind a politician running for the highest office in this nation can do. But while Howard feels he should not be accountable for his actions, what does howard feel about the shoe on the foot of other people?

BOSTON - The
Democratic National Committee requested public records from state agencies on their dealings with Gov. Mitt Romney, who may run for president in 2008. His spokesman called it the work of a "dirty tricks attack squad."

The DNC is seeking similar records on at least 10 other potential candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, spokesman Luis Miranda said.

Now me I believe if you are a running for President I believe any records that don't control some one's life or death, or aren't classified should be open to the public eye.

I have absolutely no problem with what the DNC is doing. The problem I have is that in the 2004 election both Howard Dean and John Kerry hid, obfuscate, or obscured aspects of their own records. The republicans however presented all availible records that were asked for. This is -wrong-. The media which is austensiablly our public watchdog should be vigorously pursuing the Democrats for not making their records public.

The fact the Howard Dean lead DNC is seeking these records before any Governor or Senator can do the dispicable actions Governor Dean himself did in 2003 is also something that should get some serious national outrage.

The Romney people did however have something to say which i do -sort of- agree with

Daly's letters request that any fees be waived, but Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said fulfilling the requests wills cost tens of thousands of dollars.

"Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for the Democratic National Committee to put its dirty tricks attack squad to work against Mitt Romney, so we'll bill them for it," Fehrnstrom said.

I think 4 years as governor means a heck of a long paper trail. I think if the Democrats or some other organization wants a massive (I.E all of them) number of copies they should have to pay

but paying for their sin of huberis and Hypocricy is something Howard Dean and the DNC never seem to have to do.

Comedy Central has no spine (with some spoilers)

South Park is a show that goes out and insults just about everyone. They are crude and offensive. Anyone not knowing this raise your hands... Ok good. But the Dogooders in the Catholic Leauge have applied pressure and Comedy Central buckled. Why by putting pressure on a board member.

B-S

The Catholic League also sought a personal condemnation from Viacom board member Joseph A. Califano Jr., who the group noted is a "practicing Catholic."

Califano was only too happy to oblige. After viewing the episode, he released a statement calling the episode an "appalling and disgusting portrayal of the Virgin Mary."

"It is particularly troubling to me as a Roman Catholic that the segment has run on the eve and day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day for Roman Catholics," Califano said.

Califano also pledged to have Viacom president and CEO Tom Freston review the episode.

The timing on the Feast day of the Immaculate Conception.... probably really bad. But it was not a portrayal of the Virgin Mary. It was a plot decive. "Miracles" in the Church often bleed out of statues. The "Miracle" was a tool to show that A.A. and its use of religion. It was also a tool to point out the silliness of calling alcoholism a disease when their are more serious diseases (like cancer)

However to remove the miraculous plot device in a way that was -funny-

and I have to say I sure as heck can't think of another way to make a bleeding statue funny.

So screw you catholic leauge for ruining south park, and screw you comedy central for not understanding a joke.

More life advice from the internet

How Larry Bernard should improve for 2006: Make your dreams come true by applying for the dwindling reality shows – before it’s too late Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Do As I say proven again

(Hat tip to Bulldog Pundit on ABP)

Al Sharpton says he is the man of the poor, and we conservatives get attacked for saying "The policies he supports keep people poor"

Well now Al is doing more then keeping people poor through marxist ideologies

He is now supporting a Car Title loan company with his endorsment which charges 372% intrest. Al's only response

I don’t understand why it’s wrong for the little guy with no credit not to be able to get money.”

When it is a rate in which you pushed for the State of New York to ban then it does matter Al. It shows you only care about Al Sharpton.

A email i sent out on an issue I take seriously

Whenever some one complains about the Cosby's, or Ozzy and Harriet this stream of rantology comes to my head




I didn't have an ideal childhood, not like Tv depicts it with the
Cosby show ect. I was always dodging my father....if he was around
things sucked.



[Sets up soap box]

I am tired of people saying "My child wasn't ideal like tv shows" and I am tired of it for a simple reason. TV ISN'T REAL LIFE~! Even reality TV isn't real life. You know why we have the idiot box .... I'll tell you why. You have a hard day at work, you go to the TV and you watch the TV and you either see an ideal world where people make it work (or have a better life then you) or a world where people screw up worse then you and you can get some Schadenfreude out of it.

And while the Cosby kids had a pretty sweet life they also did very dramatic stupid things, of which the parents would help them solve and thus they learned a lesson....because that makes good tv and not a reality. Reality is parents and kids spending far more days doing nothing signifigant around the house...

Just as seeing people smoking on TV doesn't make me say "Well why isn't he coughing or getting cancer." because it is a TV SHOW. Its not "hey tv smoking has no consequences or responsibilities so I can do it to." Nope that is not the real answer either.

We venerate water-shedding mountains;

and we venerate water-holding lakes.

We venerate barley fields.



We venerate the two Protector-Fashioners.

We venerate the Wise Lord and Zarathushtra.

(Supplementary Song.2 = Yasna 42.2)

Ya know

I often find myself in a place where I know catholicism better then the churchy catholic types

but this is ridiculous

Officials at the Diocese of Linz say the German man claimed to have had 20 years of experience in the priesthood when he arrived in September and offered to help pastors in two towns, including one who was on a leave of absence. They say he initially was accepted because he had a firm grasp of church liturgy and the Bible. He since has returned to Germany.

Church officials say the fake priest doesn't appear to have committed any crime.

all i got to say is whomever you are fake german priest... I salut you

More things that confuse me

A movie based on Pacman

What?

Larry learns some new words (this may not be safe for work...)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Has anyone else been getting a massive surge in spam

On Gmail?

The Ringer: Movie Review time

It's the Movie Review Sign time
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The Ringer was a pretty good film. While Johnny Knoxville did perhaps one of the most painful immitations of some one with a mental disability the people with mental disabilities saw right through it.

The folks who are in the mentally disabled sections of the special olympics are featured as they are and that makes this a pretty good movie

the Humor makes you doubt that if their is a heaven your soul will ever go to it.. and thats ok to.

While the movie does a semi-spielbergian type ending its done with all the charm you've come to expect from Johnny Knoxville and that makes it entertaining

good film

R.A.H on the War on Terror

The Fake MAO story got some cover elsewhere in the sphere of Blog but I found something cooler that I think should be shared. This came from the WSJ online best of the Web story on Ted Kennedy denying that it was relevant this story he quoted was fake. It puts some of the most ludicrous of the leftist rhetoric in proper perspective .

R.A.H circa 1953

I found in traveling around the world that a great many people . . ., apparently well educated and sophisticated, were convinced that the people of the United States were in the grip of terror and that free speech and free press no longer existed here. They believed that the United States was fomenting a third world war and would presently start it, with Armageddon consequences for everyone else, and that the government of the United States smashed without mercy anyone who dared to oppose even by oral protests this headlong rush toward disaster.
These people could "prove" their opinions by quoting any number of Americans and American newspapers and magazines. That they were able to quote such American sources proved just the opposite, namely that we do continue to enjoy free speech even to express arrant nonsense and unpopular opinion, escaped them completely.

Quotes like this make me feel better, and remember that the amount of stupidity hasn’t changed merely our recollection of it.

This day in 1922

Stan "The Man" Lee was born. The icon and father figure to all comic book geeks everywhere

Whooooooooooooooooooooo

The Owl Spirit You scored 60% Creativity, 64% Compassion, 56% Strength, and 68% Intelligence!

You are an Owl Spirit. You are very spiritual, and at wonder with the night. You think that the night is beautiful, and would prefer to be awake for it. You dream about flying, and your eyes are captivating. Owl spirits are very compassionate, and above all, creative. They are protectors of others. Don't forget my two other spiritual tests: Sitakaliism Test Paganism Test, my political test: The Liberal Test, and my Biology Test

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 23% on Creativity You scored higher than 95% on Compassion You scored higher than 62% on Strength You scored higher than 85% on Intelligence

Link: The Spirit Animal Test written by sitakali on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Wait...what?

Worship at our Church and get a house.......

weeeeeeeeeeeird

P-I on FISA

Well I just got egg on my face. I’ve often said “Why do we need the Patriot act when we have FISA courts?” and that FISA courts rarely refuse the government’s demands. Well turns out, the post-intelligencer has found evidence that it is not so much giving out warrants anymore. I do remember ( I’d need to lexis nexis for the old article) that they issued a rebuke of the Clinton Warrants but seems they were also not happy with the current POTUS and his uses of their powers.

But since 2001, the judges have modified 179 of the 5,645 requests for court-ordered surveillance by the Bush administration. A total of 173 of those court-ordered "substantive modifications" took place in 2003 and 2004 -- the most recent years for which public records are available.
The judges also rejected or deferred at least six requests for warrants during those two years -- the first outright rejection in the court's history.

But the meat of the Article is here
Faced with that standard, Bamford said, the Bush administration had difficulty obtaining FISA court-approved wiretaps on dozens of people within the United States who were communicating with targeted al-Qaida suspects inside the United States.

Ok… if I were to call Johnny Al-Qaeda on the phone I’d expect some Junior G men would come out and find out some stuff about me. I am just curious how the heck that wasn’t enough to get a FISA warrant if the people were speaking with the suspect and they did some suspect activity ( and in our current climate of laws who doesn’t)
This is interesting and I wonder what other classified information we will get leaked in all of this.

The Impeachment is History

It usually takes ten years for something to start to become History. Well the Ten year marker is rolling over on the whole Lewinsky Mess and that means to some degree the Clinton Impeachment is joining the ranks of human history.

How is it treated in the first histories? Well take a look.

The impeachment is portrayed in the context of his two-term tenure, a milestone event, but not one that overshadows how Clinton handled the economy, crime and health care.
The most commonly used texts give straightforward recaps of Clinton's toughest days, with some flavor of how it affected the nation. Absent are any the lurid details of his relationship with Monica Lewinksy that spiced up daily news reports and late-night talk shows as the scandal and impeachment played out in 1998 and early 1999.
It is still I think a bit early to really take this subject to the breast of the History text books and it seems I am not alone in that either.

"This is very difficult for everybody, because it's so fresh," said Gilbert Sewall, director of the American Textbook Council, an independent research group that reviews history texts used in schools. "It's easier to nail down history like the transcontinental railroad. With Clinton, you're dealing with material that has by no means been settled."

I think we’ll probably have to wait another 4 years or so for the real histories of the Clinton years and some of their messes to get written. So that will make a 2008 election of Hillary Clinton more interesting if she some how does the impossible.

more religous theme'd fun from the email box

Expanding your spiritual experience is a long, slow process. Sometimes the process takes a quantum leap and one feels a noticeable, dramatic change. More often, the process moves slowly, with hardly an overwhelming moment. Only after a few months or years have passed will you be able to look back upon your experience and say, 'Yes, I have grown'.....
The birth of a soul does not come easily. The chick must fight to break out of its shell, the salmon must jump the rapids before it can spawn, the caterpillar must die before the butterfly can emerge.
After a transformation so momentous, you deserve a ritual. A ritual of tranformasion is one of religion's primary raisons d'être. Without such a ritual, the transformation itself is incomplete. The ritual declares to God, to your community and to yourself, that on many levels a change of status has occured.....You already know but the ritual insures that you know you know.
Rituals of transformation are programmed experiences, or psychodramas designed to facilitate the experience of transformation."

- William Blank (Torah, Tarot & Tantra)

It came from the Email Box (Jesus themed)

Some stuff to make ya think about Jesus

REFUTING MISSIONARIES

Hayyim ben Yehoshua



PART 1: THE MYTH OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS



Much concern has been expressed in the Jewish media regarding the activity of "Jews for Jesus" and other missionary organizations who go out of their way to convert Jews to Christianity. Unfortunately, many Jews are ill equipped to deal with Christian missionaries and their arguments. Hopefully this article will contribute to remedying this situation.

When countering Christian missionaries it is important to base one's arguments on correct facts. Arguments based on incorrect facts can easily backfire and end up strengthening the arguments of the missionaries.

It is rather unfortunate that many well-meaning Jewish Studies teachers have unwittingly aided missionaries by teaching Jewish pupils incorrect information about the origins of Christianity. I can recall being taught the following story about Jesus at the Jewish day school I attended:

"Jesus was a famous first century rabbi whose Hebrew name was Rabbi Yehoshua. His father was a carpenter named Joseph and his mother's name was Mary. Mary became pregnant before she married Joseph. Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem during a Roman census. Jesus grew up in Nazareth and became a learned rabbi. He traveled all over Israel preaching that people should love one another. Some people thought that he was the Messiah and he did not deny this, which made the other rabbis very angry. He caused so much controversy that the Roman governor Pontius Pilate had him crucified. He was buried in a tomb and later his body was found to be missing since it had probably been stolen by his disciples."

A few years after being taught this seemingly innocent story, I became interested in the origins of Christianity and decided to do some further reading on the "famous Rabbi Yehoshua." Much to my dismay, I discovered that there was no historical evidence of this Rabbi Yehoshua. The claim that Jesus was a rabbi named Yehoshua and the claim that his body was probably stolen both turned out to be pure conjecture. The rest of the story was nothing more than a watered down version of the story which Christians believe as part of the Christian religion but which is not supported by any legitimate historical source.

There was absolutely no historical evidence that Jesus, Joseph or Mary ever existed, let alone that Joseph was a carpenter or that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth.

Despite the lack of evidence for Jesus's existence many Jews have made the tragic mistake of assuming that the New Testament story is largely correct and have tried to refute Christianity by attempting to rationalize the various miracles that allegedly occurred during Jesus's life and after his death. Numerous books have been written which take this approach to Christianity. This approach however is hopelessly flawed and is in fact dangerous since it encourages belief in the New Testament.

When the Israelites were confronted with the worship of Baal they did not blindly accept the ancient West Semitic myths as history. When the Maccabees were confronted with Greek religion they did not blindly accept Greek mythology as history. Why do so many modern Jews blindly accept Christian mythology? The answer to this question seems to be that many Christians do not know themselves where the distinction between established history and Christian belief lies and they have passed their confusion on to the Jewish community. Browsing through the religion section of a local bookstore, I recently came across a book which claimed to be an objective biography of Jesus. It turned out to be nothing more than a summary of the usual New Testament story. It even included claims that Jesus's miracles had been witnessed but that rational explanations for them might exist. Many history books written by Christians take a similar approach. Some Christian authors will suggest that perhaps the miracles are not completely historical but they nevertheless follow the general New Testament story. The idea that there was a real historical Jesus has thus become entrenched in Christian society and Jews living in the Christian world have come to blindly accept this belief because they have never seen it seriously challenged.

Despite the widespread belief in Jesus the fact remains that there is no historical Jesus. In order to understand what is meant by an "historical Jesus," consider King Midas in Greek mythology. The story that King Midas turned everything he touched into gold is clearly nonsense, yet despite this we know that there was a real King Midas. Archaeologists have excavated his tomb and found his skeletal remains. The Greeks who told the story of Midas and his golden touch clearly intended people to identify him with the real Midas. So although the story of the golden touch is fictional, the story is about a person whose existence is known as a fact--the "historical Midas." In the case of Jesus, however, there is no single person whose existence is known as a fact and who is also intended to be the subject of the Jesus stories, i.e. there is no historical Jesus.

When confronted by a Christian missionary, one should immediately point out that the very existence of Jesus has not been proven. When missionaries argue they usually appeal to emotions rather than to reason and they will attempt to make you feel embarrassed about denying the historicity of Jesus. The usual response is something like "Isn't denying the existence of Jesus just as silly as denying the existence of Julius Caesar or Queen Elizabeth?" A popular variation of this response used especially against Jews is "Isn't denying the existence of Jesus like denying the Holocaust?" One should then point out that there are ample historical sources confirming the existence of Julius Caesar, Queen Elizabeth or whoever else is named, while there is no corresponding evidence for Jesus.

To be perfectly thorough you should take time to do some research on the historical personalities mentioned by the missionaries and present hard evidence of their existence. At the same time you should challenge the missionaries to provide similar evidence of Jesus's existence. You should point out that although the existence of Julius Caesar, or Queen Elizabeth, etc., is accepted worldwide, the same is not true of Jesus. In the Far East where the major religions are Buddhism, Shinto, Taoism and Confucianism, Jesus is considered to be just another character in Western religious mythology, on a par with Thor, Zeus and Osiris. Most Hindus do not believe in Jesus, but those who do consider him to be one of the many avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu. Muslims certainly believe in Jesus but they reject the New Testament story and consider him to be a prophet who announced the coming of Muhammed. They explicitly deny that he was ever crucified.

To sum up, there is no story of Jesus which is uniformly accepted worldwide. It is this fact which puts Jesus on a different level to established historical personalities. If the missionaries use the "Holocaust reply," you should point out that the Holocaust is well-documented and that there are numerous eyewitness reports. It should be pointed out that most of the people who deny the Holocaust have turned out to be antisemitic hate-mongers with fraudulent credentials. On the other hand, millions of honest people in Asia, who make up the majority of the world's population, have failed to be convinced by the Christian story of Jesus since there is no compelling evidence for its authenticity. The missionaries will insist that the story of Jesus is a well-established fact and will argue that there is "plenty of evidence supporting it." One should then insist on seeing this evidence and refuse to listen any further until they produce it.

If Jesus was not an historical person, where did the whole New Testament story come from in the first place? The Hebrew name for Christians has always been Notzrim. This name is derived from the Hebrew word neitzer, which means a shoot or sprout--an obvious Messianic symbol. There were already people called Notzrim at the time of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachyah (c. 100 B.C.E.). Although modern Christians claim that Christianity only started in the first century C.E., it is clear that the first century Christians in Israel considered themselves to be a continuation of the Notzri movement which had been in existence for about 150 years. One of the most notorious Notzrim was Yeishu ben Pandeira, also known as Yeishu ha-Notzri. Talmudic scholars have always maintained that the story of Jesus began with Yeishu. The Hebrew name for Jesus has always been Yeishu and the Hebrew for "Jesus the Nazarene" has always been "Yeishu ha-Notzri." (The name Yeishu is a shortened form of the name Yeishua, not Yehoshua.) It is important to note that Yeishu ha-Notzri is not an historical Jesus since modern Christianity denies any connection between Jesus and Yeishu and moreover, parts of the Jesus myth are based on other historical people besides Yeishu.

We know very little about Yeishu ha-Notzri. All modern works that mention him are based on information taken from the Tosefta and the Baraitas - writings made at the same time as the Mishna but not contained in it. Because the historical information concerning Yeishu is so damaging to Christianity, most Christian authors (and even some Jewish ones) have tried to discredit this information and have invented many ingenious arguments to explain it away. Many of their arguments are based on misunderstandings and misquotations of the Baraitas and in order to get an accurate picture of Yeishu one should ignore Christian authors and examine the Baraitas directly.

The skimpy information contained in the Baraitas is as follows: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachyah once repelled Yeishu with both hands. People believed that Yeishu was a sorcerer and they considered him to be a person who had led the Jews astray. As a result of charges brought against him (the details of which are not known, but which probably involved high treason) Yeishu was stoned and his body hung up on the eve of Passover. Before this he was paraded around for forty days with a herald going in front of him announcing that he would be stoned and calling for people to come forward to plead for him. Nothing was brought forward in his favor however. Yeishu had five disciples: Mattai, Naqai, Neitzer, Buni, and Todah.

In the Tosefta and the Baraitas, Yeishu's father is named Pandeira or Panteiri. These are Hebrew-Aramaic forms of a Greek name. In Hebrew the third consonant of the name is written either with a dalet or a tet. Comparison with other Greek words transliterated into Hebrew shows that the original Greek must have had a delta as its third consonant and so the only possibility for the father's Greek name is Panderos. Since Greek names were common among Jews during Hashmonean times it is not necessary to assume that he was Greek, as some authors have done.

The connection between Yeishu and Jesus is corroborated by the the fact that Mattai and Todah, the names of two of Yeishu's disciples, are the original Hebrew forms of Matthew and Thaddaeus, the names of two of Jesus's disciples in Christian mythology.

The early Christians were also aware of the name "ben Pandeira" for Jesus. The pagan philosopher Celsus, who was famous for his arguments against Christianity, claimed in 178 C.E. that he had heard from a Jew that Jesus's mother, Mary, had been divorced by her husband, a carpenter, after it had been proved that she was an adultress. She wandered about in shame and bore Jesus in secret. His real father was a soldier named Pantheras. According to the Christian writer Epiphanius (c. 320 - 403 C.E.), the Christian apologist Origen (c.185 - 254 C.E.) had claimed that "Panther" was the nickname for Jacob the father of Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus. It should be noted that Origen's claim is not based on any historical information. It is purely a conjecture aimed at explaining away the Pantheras story of Celsus. That story is also not historical. The claim that the name of Jesus's mother was Mary and the claim that her husband was a carpenter is taken directly from Christian belief. The claim that Jesus's real father was named Pantheras is based on an incorrect attempt at reconstructing the original form of Pandeira. This incorrect reconstruction was probably influenced by the fact that the name Pantheras was found among Roman soldiers.

Why did people believe that Jesus's mother was named Mary and her husband named Joseph? Why did non-Christians accuse Mary of being an adultress while Christians believed she was a virgin? To answer these questions one must examine some of the legends surrounding Yeishu. We cannot hope to obtain the absolute truth concerning the origins of the Jesus myth but we can show that reasonable alternatives exist to blindly accepting the New Testament.

The name Joseph for Jesus's stepfather is easy to explain. The Notzri movement was particularly popular with the Samaritan Jews. While the Pharisees were waiting for a Messiah who would be a descendant of David, the Samaritans wanted a Messiah who would restore the northern kingdom of Israel. The Samaritans emphasized their partial descent from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who were descended from the Joseph of the Torah. The Samaritans considered themselves to be "Bnei Yoseph" i.e. "sons of Joseph," and since they believed that Jesus had been their Messiah, they would have assumed that he was a "son of Joseph." The Greek speaking population, who had little knowledge of Hebrew and true Jewish traditions, could have easily misunderstood this term and assumed that Joseph was the actual name of Jesus's father. This conjecture is corroborated by the fact that according to the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph's father is named Jacob, just like the Torah Joseph. Later, other Christians, who followed the idea that the Messiah was to be descended from David, tried to trace Joseph back to David. They came up with two contradictory genealogies for him, one recorded in Matthew and the other in Luke. When the idea that Mary was a virgin developed, the mythical Joseph was relegated to the position of simply being her husband and the stepfather of Jesus.

To understand where the Mary story came from we have to turn to another historical character who contributed to the Jesus myth, namely ben Stada. All the information we have on ben Stada again comes from the Tosefta and the Baraitas. There is even less information about him than about Yeishu. Some people believed that he had brought spells out of Egypt in a cut in his flesh, others thought that he was a madman. He was a beguiler and was caught by the method of concealed witnesses. He was stoned in Lod.

In the Tosefta, ben Stada is called ben Sotera or ben Sitera. Sotera seems to be the Hebrew-Aramaic form of the Greek name Soteros. The forms "Sitera" and "Stada" seem have arisen as misreadings and spelling mistakes (yod replacing vav and dalet replacing reish).

Since there was so little information concerning ben Stada, many conjectures arose as to who he was. It is known from the Gemara that he was confused with Yeishu. This probably resulted from the fact that both were executed for treasonous teachings and were associated with sorcery. People who confused ben Stada with Yeishu had to explain why he was also called ben Pandeira. Since the name "Stada" resembles the Aramaic expression "stat da," meaning "she went astray" it was thought that "Stada" referred to the mother of Yeishu and that she was an adultress. Consequently, people began to think that Yeishu was the illegitimate son of Pandeira. These ideas are in fact mentioned in the Gemara and are probably much older. Since ben Stada lived in Roman times and the name Pandeira resembled the name Pantheras found among Roman soldiers, it was assumed that Pandeira had been a Roman soldier stationed in Israel. This certainly explains the story mentioned by Celsus.

The Tosefta mentions a famous case of a woman named Miriam bat Bilgah marrying a Roman soldier. The idea that Yeishu had been born to a Jewish woman who had had an affair with a Roman soldier probably resulted in Yeishu's mother being confused with this Miriam. The name "Miriam" is of course the original form of the name "Mary." It is in fact known from the Gemara that some of the people who confused Yeishu with ben Stada believed that Yeishu's mother was "Miriam the women's hairdresser."

The story that Mary (Miriam) the mother of Jesus was an adulteress was certainly not acceptable to the early Christians. The virgin birth story was probably invented to clear Mary's name. The early Christians did not suck this story out of their thumbs. Virgin birth stories were fairly common in pagan myths. The following mythological characters were all believed to have been born to divinely impregnated virgins: Romulus and Remus, Perseus, Zoroaster, Mithras, Osiris-Aion, Agdistis, Attis, Tammuz, Adonis, Korybas, Dionysus. The pagan belief in unions between gods and women, regardless of whether they were virgins or not, is even more common. Many characters in pagan mythology were believed to be sons of divine fathers and human females. The Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God born to a virgin, is typical of Greco-Roman superstition. The Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria (c. 30 B.C.E - 45 C.E.), warned against the widespread superstitious belief in unions between male gods and human females which returned women to a state of virginity.

The god Tammuz, worshipped by pagans in northern Israel, was said to have been born to the virgin Myrrha. The name "Myrrha" superficially resembles "Mary/Miriam" and it is possible that this particular virgin birth story influenced the Mary story more than the others. Like Jesus, Tammuz was always called Adon, meaning "Lord." (The character Adonis in Greek mythology is based on Tammuz.) As we will see later, the connection between Jesus and Tammuz goes much further than this.

The idea that Mary had been an adultress never completely disappeared in Christian mythology. Instead, the character of Mary was split into two: Mary the mother of Jesus, believed to be a virgin, and Mary Magdalene, believed to be a woman of ill repute. The idea that the character of Mary Magdalene is also derived from Miriam the mythical mother of Yeishu, is corroborated by the fact that the strange name "Magdalene" clearly resembles the Aramaic term "mgadla nshaya," meaning "womens' hairdresser." As mentioned before, there was a belief that Yeishu's mother was "Miriam the women's hairdresser." Because the Christians did not know what the name "Magdalene" meant, they later conjectured that it meant that she had come from a place called Magdala on the west of Lake Kinneret. The idea of the two Marys fitted in well with the pagan way of thinking. The image of Jesus being followed by the two Marys is strongly reminiscent of Dionysus being followed by Demeter and Persephone.

The Gemara contains an interesting legend concerning Yeishu which attempts to elucidate the Beraita which says that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachyah repelled Yeishu with both hands. The legend claims that when the Hashmonean king Yannai was killing the Pharisees, Rabbi Yehoshua and Yeishu fled to Egypt. When returning they came upon an inn. The Aramaic word "aksanya" means both "inn" or "innkeeper." Rabbi Yehoshua remarked how beautiful the "aksanya" was (meaning the inn). Yeishu (meaning the innkeeper) replied that her eyes were too narrow. Rabbi Yehoshua was very angry with Yeishu and excommunicated him. Yeishu asked many times for forgiveness but Rabbi Yehoshua would not forgive him. Once when Rabbi Yehoshua was reciting the Shema, Yeishu came up to him. He made a sign to him that he should wait. Yeishu misunderstood and thought that he was being rejected again. He mocked Rabbi Yehoshua by setting up a brick and worshipping it. Rabbi Yehoshua told him to repent but he refused to, saying that he had learned from him that anyone who sins and causes many to sin, is not given the opportunity to repent.

The above story, up to the events at the inn, closely resembles another legend in which the protagonist is not Rabbi Yehoshua but his disciple Yehuda ben Tabbai. In this legend, Yeishu is not named. One may thus question whether Yeishu really went to Egypt or not. It is possible that Yeishu was confused with some other disciple of either Rabbi Yehoshua or Rabbi Yehuda. The confusion might have resulted from the fact that Yeishu was confused with ben Stada who had returned from Egypt. On the other hand, Yeishu might have really fled to Egypt and returned, and this in turn could have contributed to the confusion between Yeishu and ben Stada. Whatever the case, the belief that Yeishu fled to Egypt to escape being killed by a cruel king, appears to be the origin of the Christian belief that Jesus and his family fled to Egypt to escape King Herod.

Since the early Christians believed that Jesus had lived in Roman times it is natural that they would have confused the evil king who wanted to kill Jesus with Herod, since there were no other suitable evil kings during the Roman period. Yeishu was an adult at the time that the rabbis fled from Yannai; why did the Christians believe that Jesus and his family had fled to Egypt when Jesus was an infant? Why did the Christians believe that Herod had ordered all baby boys born in Bethlehem to be killed, when there is no historical evidence of this? To answer these questions we again have to look at pagan mythology.

The theme of a divine or semi-divine child who is feared by an evil king is very common in pagan mythology. The usual story is that the evil king receives a prophecy that a certain child will be born who will usurp the throne. In some stories the child is born to a virgin and usually he is son of a god. The mother of the child tries to hide him. The king usually orders the slaying of all babies who might be the prophecied king. Examples of myths which follow this plot are the birth stories of Romulus and Remus, Perseus, Krishna, Zeus, and Oedipus. Although Torah literalists will not like to admit it, the story of Moses's birth also resembles these myths (some of which claim that the mother put the child in a basket and placed him in a river). There were probably several such stories circulating in the Levant which have been lost. The Christian myth of the slaughter of the innocents by Herod is simply a Christain version of this theme. The plot was so well known that one Midrashic scholar could not resist using it for an apocryphal account of Abraham's birth.

The early Christians believed that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. This belief is based on a misunderstanding of Micah 5.2 which simply names Bethlehem as the town where the Davidic lineage began. Since the early Christians believed that Jesus was the Messiah, they automatically believed that he was born in Bethlehem. But why did the Christians believe that he lived in Nazareth? The answer is quite simple. The early Greek speaking Christians did not know what the word "Nazarene" meant. The earliest Greek form of this word is "Nazoraios," which is derived from "Natzoriya," the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew "Notzri." (Recall that "Yeishu ha-Notzri" is the original Hebrew for "Jesus the Nazarene.") The early Christians conjectured that "Nazarene" meant a person from Nazareth and so it was assumed that Jesus lived in Nazareth. Even today, Christians blithely confuse the Hebrew words "Notzri" (Nazarene, Christian), "Natzrati" (Nazarethite) and "nazir" (nazarite), all of which have completely different meanings.

The information in the Talmud (which contains the Baraitas and the Gemara), concerning Yeishu and ben Stada, is so damaging to Christianity that Christians have always taken drastic measures against it. When the Christians first discovered the information they immediately tried to wipe it out by censoring the Talmud. The Basle edition of the Talmud (c. 1578 - 1580) had all the passages relating to Yeishu and ben Stada deleted by the Christians. Even today, editions of the Talmud used by Christian scholars lack these passages!

During the first few decades of this century, fierce academic battles raged between atheist and Christian scholars over the true origins of Christianity. The Christians were forced to face up to the Talmudic evidence. They could no longer ignore it and so they decided to attack it instead. They claimed that the Talmudic Yeishu was a distortion of the "historical Jesus." They claimed that the name "Pandeira" was simply a Hebrew attempt at pronouncing the Greek word for virgin--"parthenos." Although there is a superficial resemblence between the words, one should note that in order for "Pandeira" to be derived from "parthenos," the "n" and "r" have to be interchanged. However, the Jews did not suffer from any speech impediment which would cause this to happen! The Christian response is that possibly the Jews purposefully altered the word "parthenos" to either the name "Pantheras" (found in Celsus's story) or to "pantheros" meaning a panther, and "Pandeira" is derived from the deliberately altered word. This argument also fails since the third consonant of both the altered and unaltered "parthenos" is theta. This letter is always transliterated by the Hebrew letter tav, whose pronunciation during classical times most closely resembled that of the Greek letter. However, the name "Pandeira" is never spelled with a tav but with either a dalet or a tet which show that the original Greek form had a delta as its third consonant, not a theta. The Christian argument can also be turned on its head: maybe the Christians deliberately altered "Pantheras" to "parthenos" when they invented the virgin birth story. It should also be noted that the resemblence between "Pantheras" (or "pantheros") and "parthenos" is actually much less when written in Greek since in the original Greek spelling their second vowels are completely different.

The Christians also did not accept that Mary Magdalene was connected to Miriam the alleged mother of Yeishu in the Talmud. They argued that the name "Magdalene" does mean a person from Magdala and that the Jews invented "Miriam the women's hairdresser mgadla nshaya)" either to mock the Christians, or out of their own misunderstanding of the name "Magdalene." This argument is also false. Firstly, it ignores Greek grammar: the correct Greek for "of Magdala" is "Magdales" and the correct Greek for a person from Magdala is "Magdalaios." The original Greek root of "Magdalene" is "Magdalen-," with a conspicuous "n" showing that the word has nothing to do with Magdala. Secondly, Magdala only got its name after the Gospels were written. Before that it was called Magadan or Dalmanutha. (Although "Magadan" has an "n," it lacks an "l" and so it cannot be the derivation of "Magdalene.") In fact, the ruins of this area were renamed Magdala by the Christian community because they believed that Mary Magdalene had come from there.

The Christians also claimed that the word "Notzri" means a person from Nazareth. This is of course false since the original Hebrew for Nazareth is "Natzrat" and a person from Nazareth is a "Natzrati." The name "Notzri" lacks the letter tav from "Natzrat" as so it cannot be derived from it. The Christians argue that perhaps the Aramaic name for Nazareth was "Natzarah" or "Natzirah" (like the modern Arabic name) which explains the missing tav in "Notzri." This is also nonsense since the Aramaic word for a person from Nazareth would then be "Natzaratiya" or "Natziratiya" (with a tav since the feminine ending "-ah" would become "-at-" when the suffix "-iya" is added), and besides, the Aramaic form would not be used in Hebrew. The Christians also came up with various other arguments which can be dismissed since they confuse the Hebrew words "Notzri" and "nazir" or ignore the fact that "Notzri" is the earliest form of the word "Nazarene."

To sum up, all the Christian arguments were based on impossible phonetic changes and grammatical forms, and were consequently dismissed. Moreover, although the legends in the Gemara cannot be taken as fact, the evidence in the Baraitas and Tosefta concerning Yeishu can be traced back directly to Yehoshua ben Perachyah, Shimon ben Shetach and Yehuda ben Tabbai and their disciples who were contemporaries of Yeishu, while the evidence in the Baraitas and Tosefta concerning ben Stada can be traced to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and his disciples who were ben Stada's contempories. Consequently the evidence can be regarded as historically accurate. Therefore modern Christians no longer attack the Talmud but instead deny any connection between Jesus and Yeishu or ben Stada. They dismiss the similarities as pure coincidence. However, one must still be aware of the false attacks on the Talmud since many Christian books still mention them and they can and do resurface from time to time.

Many parts of the Jesus story are not based on Yeishu or ben Stada. Most Christian denominations claim that Jesus was born on 25 December. Originally the eastern Christains believed that he was born on 6 January. The Armenian Christians still follow this early belief while most Christians consider it to be the date of the visit of the Magi. As pointed out already, Jesus was probably confused with Tammuz born of the virgin Myrrha. We know that in Roman times, the gods Tammuz, Aion and Osiris were identified. Osiris-Aion was said to be born of the virgin Isis on the 6 January and this explains the earlier date for Christmas. Isis was sometimes represented as a sacred cow and her temple as a stable which is probably the origin of the Christian belief that Jesus was born in a stable. Although some might find this claim to be farfetched, it is known as a fact that certain early Christian sects identified Jesus and Osiris in their writings. The date of 25 December for Christmas was originally the pagan birthday of the sun god, whose day of the week is still known as Sunday. The halo of light which is usually shown surrounding the face of Jesus and Christian saints, is another concept taken from the sun god.

The theme of temptation by a devil-like creature was also found in pagan mythology. In particular the story of Jesus's temptation by Satan resembles the temptation of Osiris by the devil-god Set in Egyptian mythology.

We have already hinted that there was also a connection between Jesus and the pagan god Dionysus. Like Dionysus, the infant Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger; like Dionysus, Jesus could turn water into wine; like Dionysus, Jesus rode on an ass and fed a multitude in the wilderness; like Dionysus, Jesus suffered and was mocked. Some early Christians claimed that Jesus had in fact been born, not in a stable, but in a cave--just like Dionysus.

Where did the story that Jesus was crucified come from? It appears to have resulted from a number of sources. Firstly there were three historical characters during the Roman period who people thought were Messiahs and who were crucified by the Romans, namely Yehuda of Galilee (6 C.E.), Theudas (44 C.E.), and Benjamin the Egyptian (60 C.E.). Since these three people were all thought to be the Messiah, they were naturally confused with Yeishu and ben Stada. Yehuda of Galilee had preached in Galilee and had collected many followers before being crucified by the Romans. The story of Jesus's ministry in Galilee appears to be based on the life of Yehuda of Galilee. This story and the belief that Jesus lived in Nazareth in Galilee, reinforced each other. The belief that some of Jesus's disciples were killed in c. 44 C.E. by Agrippa appears to be based the fate of Theudas's disciples. Since ben Stada had come from Egypt it is natural that he would have been confused with Benjamin the Egyptian. They were probably also contemporaries. Even some modern authors have suggested that they were the same person, although this is not possible since the stories of their deaths are completely different. In the New Testament book of Acts, which uses Josephus's book Jewish Antiquities (93 - 94 C.E.) as a reference, it is made clear that the author considered Jesus, Yehuda of Galilee, Theudas and Benjamin the Egyptian, to be four different people. However, by that time it was too late to undo the confusions which had already taken place before the New Testament was written, and the idea of Jesus's crucifixion had become an integral part of the myth.

Secondly, the idea arose that Jesus had been executed on the eve of Passover. This belief is apparently based on Yeishu's execution. Passover occurs at the time of the Vernal Equinox, an event considered important by astrologers during the Roman Empire. The astrologers thought of this time as the time of the crossing of two astrological celestial circles, and this event was symbolized by a cross. Thus there was a belief that Jesus had died on "the cross." The misunderstanding of this term by those who were not initiated into the astrological cults, was another factor contributing to the belief that Jesus was crucified. In one of the earliest Christian documents (the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) there is no mention of Jesus being crucified yet the sign of a cross in the sky is used to represent Jesus's coming. It should be noted that the center of astrological superstition in the Roman Empire was the city of Tarsus in Asia Minor - the place where the legendary missionary Paul came from. The idea that a special star had heralded the birth of Jesus, and that a solar eclipse occurred at his death, is typical of Tarsian astrological superstition.

The third factor contributing to the crucifixion story is again pagan mythology. The theme of a divine or semi-divine being sacrificed against a tree, pole or cross, and then being resurrected, is very common in pagan mythology. It was found in the mythologies of all western civilizations stretching from as far west as Ireland and as far east as India. In particular it is found in the mythologies of Osiris and Attis, both of whom were often identified with Tammuz. Osiris landed up with his arms stretched out on a tree like Jesus on the cross. This tree was sometimes shown as a pole with outstretched arms - the same shape as the Christian cross. In the worship of Serapis (a composite of Osiris and Apis) the cross was a religious symbol. Indeed, the Christian "Latin cross" symbol seems to be based directly on the cross symbol of Osiris and Serapis. The Romans never used this traditional Christian cross for crucifixions, they used crosses shaped either like an X or a T. The hieroglyph of a cross on a hill was associated with Osiris. This heiroglyph stood for the "Good One," in Greek "Chrestos," a name applied to Osiris and other pagan gods. The confusion of this name with "Christos" (Messiah, Christ) strengthened the confusion between Jesus and the pagan gods.

At the Vernal Equinox, pagans in northern Israel would celebrate the death and resurrection of the virgin-born Tammuz-Osiris. In Asia Minor (where the earliest Christian churches were established) a similar celebration was held for the virgin-born Attis. Attis was shown as dying against a tree, being buried in a cave and then being resurrected on the third day. We thus see where the Christian story of Jesus's resurrection comes from. In the worship of Baal, it was believed that Baal cheated Mavet (the god of death) at the time of the Vernal Equinox. He pretended to be dead but later appeared alive. He accomplished this ruse by giving his only son as a sacrifice.

The occurrence of Passover at the same time of year as the pagan "Easter" festivals is not coincidental. Many of the Pessach customs were designed as Jewish alternatives to pagan customs. The pagans believed that when their nature god (such as Tammuz, Osiris or Attis) died and was resurrected, his life went into the plants used by man as food. The matza made from the spring harvest was his new body and the wine from the grapes was his new blood. In Judaism, matza, was not used to represent the body of a god but the poor man's bread which the Jews ate before leaving Egypt. The pagans used the paschal sacrifice to represent the sacrifice of a god or his only son, but Judaism used it to represent the meal eaten before leaving Egypt. Instead of telling stories about Baal sacrificing his first born son to Mavet, the Jews told how mal'ach ha-mavet (the angel of death) slew the first born sons of the Egyptians. The pagans ate eggs to represent the resurrection and rebirth of their nature god, but the egg on the seder plate represents the rebirth of the Jewish people escaping captivity in Egypt. When the early Christians noticed the similarities between Pessach customs and pagan customs, they came full circle and converted the Pessach customs back to their old pagan interpretations. The seder became the last supper of Jesus, similar to the last supper of Osiris commemorated at the Vernal Equinox. The matza and wine once again became the body and blood of a false god, this time Jesus. Easter eggs are again eaten to commemorate the resurrection of a "god" and also the "rebirth" obtained by accepting his sacrifice on the cross.

The Last Supper myth is particularly interesting. As mentioned, the basic idea of last supper occurring at the Vernal Equinox comes from the story of the last supper of Osiris. In the Christian story, Jesus is present with twelve apostles. Where did the story of the twelve apostles come from? It appears that in its earliest version, the story was understood to be an allegory. The first time that twelve apostles are mentioned is in the document known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. This document apparently originated as a sectarian Jewish document written in the first century C.E., but it was adopted by Christians who altered it substantially and added Christian ideas to it. In the earliest versions it is clear that the "twelve apostles" are the twelve sons of Jacob representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The Christians later considered the "twelve apostles" to be allegorical disciples of Jesus.

In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was betrayed at his last supper by the evil god Set, whom the Greeks identified with Typhon. This seems to be the origin of the idea that Jesus's betrayer was present at his last supper. The idea that this betrayer was named "Judas" goes back to the time when the twelve apostles were still understood to be the sons of Jacob. The idea of Judas (Judah, Yehuda) betraying Jesus (the "son" of Joseph) is strongly reminiscent of the story of the Torah Joseph being betrayed by his brothers with Yehuda as the ringleader. This allegory would have been particulary appealing to the Samaritan Notzrim who considered themselves to be sons of Joseph betrayed by mainstream Jews (represented by Judas/Yehuda).

However, the story of the twelve apostles lost its original allegorical interpretation and the Christians began to think that the "twelve apostles" were twelve real people who followed Jesus. The Christians attempted to find names for these twelve apostles. Matthew and Thaddaeus were based on Mattai and Todah, two of Yeishu's disciples. One or both of the apostles named Jacobus (James) is possibly based on Jacob of Kfar Sekanya, an early Christian known to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, but this is just a guess. As we have seen, the character of Judas is mostly based on the Judah of the Torah but there might also be a connection with Yeishu's contemporary, Yehuda ben Tabbai the disciple of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachyah. As already mentioned, the idea of the betrayer at the last supper is derived from the mythology of Osiris who was betrayed by Set-Typhon. Set-Typhon had red hair and this is probably the origin of the claim that Judas had red hair. This idea has led to the Christian stereotypical portrayal of Jews as having red hair, despite the fact that in reality, red hair is far more common among Aryans than among Jews.

Judas is often given the nickname "Iscariot." In some places where English New Testaments have "Iscariot," the Greek text actually has "apo Kariotou" which means "from Karyot." Karyot was the name of a town in Israel, probably the modern site known in Arabic as Karyatein. We thus see that the name Iscariot is derived from the Hebrew "ish Karyot" meaning "man from Karyot." This is in fact the accepted modern Christian understanding of the name. However, in the past, the Christians misunderstood this name and legends arose that Judas was from the town of Sychar, that he was a member of the extremist party known as the Sicarii and that he was from the tribe of Issacher. The most interesting misunderstanding of the name is its early confusion with the word scortea meaning a leather money bag. This led to the New Testament myth that Judas carried such a bag, which in turn led to the belief that he was the treasurer of the apostles.

The apostle Peter appears to be a largely fictitious character. According to Christian mythology, Jesus chose him to be the "keeper of the keys to the kingdom of heaven." This is clearly based on the Egyptian pagan deity, Petra, who was the door-keeper of heaven and the afterlife ruled over by Osiris. We must also doubt the story of Luke "the good healer" who was supposed to be a friend of Paul. The original Greek for "Luke" is "Lykos" which was another name for Apollo, the god of healing.

John the Baptist is largely based on an historical person who practiced ritual immersion in water as a physical symbol for repentance. He did not perform Christian style sacramental baptisms to cleanse people's souls - such an idea was totally foreign to Judaism. He was put to death by Herod Antipas, who feared that he was about to start a rebellion. John's name in Greek was "Ioannes" and in Latin "Johannes." Although these names were usually used for the Hebrew name Yochanan, it is unlikely that this was John's actual Hebrew name. "Ioannes" closely resembles "Oannes" the Greek name for the pagan god Ea. Oannes was the "God of the House of Water." Sacramental baptism for magically cleansing souls was a practice which apparently originated in the worship of Oannes. The most likely explanation of John's name and its connection with Oannes is that John probably bore the nickname "Oannes" since he practised baptism which he had adapted from the worship of Oannes. The name "Oannes" was later confused with "Ioannes." (In fact, the New Testament legend concerning John provides a clue that his real name might have been Zacharia.) It is known from Josephus's writings that the historical John rejected the pagan "soul-cleansing" interpretation of baptism. The Christians, however, returned to this original pagan interpretation.

The god Oannes was associated with the constellation Capricorn. Both Oannes and the constellation Capricorn were associated with water. (The constellation is supposed to depict a mythical sea-creature with the body of a fish and the foreparts of a goat.) We have already seen that Jesus was given the same birthday as the sun god (25 December), when the sun is in the constellation of Capricorn. The pagans thought of this period as one where the sun god is immersed in the waters of Oannes and emerges reborn. (The Winter Solstice, when days start getting longer, occurs near 25 December.) This astrological myth is apparently the origin of the story that Jesus was baptized by John. It probably started as an allegorical astrological story, but it appears that the god Oannes later became confused with the historical person nicknamed Oannes (John).

The belief that Jesus had met John contributed to the belief that Jesus's ministry and crucifixion occurred when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judaea. It should be noted that most dates for Jesus quoted by Christians are completely nonsense. Jesus was partly based on Yeishu and ben Stada who probably lived more than a century apart. He was also based on the three false Messiahs, Yehuda, Theudas and Benjamin, who were crucified by the Romans at various different times. Another fact that contributed to confused dating of Jesus was that Jacob of Kfar Sekanya and probably other Notzrim as well, used expressions like "thus was I taught by Yeishu ha-Notzri," even though he had not been taught by Yeishu in person. We know from the Gemara that Jacob's statement led Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus to incorrectly conclude that Jacob was a disciple of Yeishu. This suggests that there were rabbis who were unaware of the fact that Yeishu had lived in Hashmonean times. Even after Christians placed Jesus in the first century C.E., confusion continued among non-Christians. There was a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva named Pappus ben Yehuda who used to lock up his unfaithful wife. We know from the Gemara that some people who confused Yeishu and ben Stada confused the wife of Pappus with Miriam the unfaithful mother of Yeishu. This would place Yeishu more than two centuries after he actually lived!

The New Testament story confuses so many historical periods that there is no way of reconciling it with history. The traditional year of Jesus's birth is 1 C.E. Jesus was supposed to be not more than two years old when Herod ordered the slaughter of the innocents. However, Herod died before April 12, 4 B.C.E. This has led some Christians to redate the birth of Jesus in 6 - 4 B.C.E. However, Jesus was also supposed have been born during the census of Quirinius. This census took place after Archelaus was deposed in 6 C.E., ten years after Herod's death. Jesus was supposed to have been baptized by John soon after John had started baptizing and preaching in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias, i.e. 28-29 C.E., when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea i.e. 26-36 C.E. According to the New Testament, this also happened when Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene and Annas and Caiaphas were high priests. But Lysanias ruled Abilene from c. 40 B.C.E until he was executed in 36 B.C.E by Mark Antony, about 60 years before the date for Tiberias and about 30 years before the supposed birth of Jesus! Also, there were never two joint high priests, in particular, Annas was not a joint high priest with Caiaphas. Annas was removed from the office of high priest in 15 C.E after holding office for some nine years. Caiaphas only became high priest in c. 18 C.E, about three years after Annas. (He held this office for about eighteen years, so his dates are consistent with Tiberias and Pontius Pilate, but not with Annas or Lysanias.) Although the book of Acts presents Yehuda of Galilee, Theudas and Jesus as three different people, it incorrectly places Theudas (crucified 44 C.E.) before Yehuda who it correctly mentions as being crucified during the census (6 C.E.). Many of these chronological absurdities seem to be based on misreadings and misunderstandings of Josephus's book Jewish Antiquities, which was used as reference by the author of Luke and Acts.

The story of Jesus's trial is also highly suspicious. It clearly tries to placate the Romans while defaming the Jews. The historical Pontius Pilate was arrogant and despotic. He hated the Jews and never delegated any authority to them. However, in Christian mythology, he is portrayed as a concerned ruler who distanced himself from the accusations against Jesus and who was coerced into obeying the demands of the Jews. According to Christian mythology, every Passover, the Jews would ask Pilate to free any one criminal they chose. This is of course a blatant lie. Jews never had a custom of freeing guilty criminals at Passover or any other time of the year. According the myth, Pilate gave the Jews the choice of freeing Jesus the Christ or a murderer named Jesus Barabbas. The Jews are alleged to have enthusiastically chosen Jesus Barabbas. This story is a vicious antisemitic lie, one of many such lies found in the New Testament (largely written by antisemites). What is particularly disgusting about this rubbish story is that it is apparently a distortion of an earlier story which claimed that the Jews demanded that Jesus Christ be set free. The name "Barabbas" is simply the Greek form of the Aramaic "bar Abba" which means "son of the Father." Thus "Jesus Barabbas" originally meant "Jesus the son of the Father," in other words, the usual Christian Jesus. When the earlier story claimed that the Jews wanted Jesus Barabbas to be set free it was referring to the usual Jesus. Somebody distorted the story by claiming that Jesus Barabbas was a different person to Jesus Christ and this fooled the Roman and Greek Christians who did not know the meaning of the name "Barabbas."

Lastly, the claim that the resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples is also based on pagan superstition. In Roman mythology, the virgin born Romulus appeared to his friend on the road before he was taken up to heaven. (The theme of being taken up to heaven is found in scores of pagan myths and legends and even in Jewish stories.) It was claimed that Apollonius of Tyana had also appeared to his disciples after having been resurrected. It is interesting to note that the historical Apollonius was born more or less at the same time as the mythical Jesus was supposed to have been born. In legends people claimed that he had performed many miracles which were identical to those also ascribed to Jesus, such as exorcisms of demons and the raising to life of a dead girl.

When confronted with Christian missionaries one should point out as much information as possible about the origins of Christianity and the Jesus myth. You will almost never succeed in convincing them that Christianity is a false religion. You will not be able to prove beyond all doubt that the story of Jesus arose in the way we have claimed it has, since most of the evidence is circumstantial. Indeed we cannot be certain about the precise origin of many particular points in the story of Jesus. This does not matter. What is important is that you yourself realize that logical alternatives exist to blind belief in Christian myths and that reasonable doubt can be cast on the New Testament narrative.



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Kyoto Protocol...nothing to see here

It's all the US's fault

really

well no, not really (Independent Online)

Although the US is portrayed as the ecological villain for refusing to sign up to the agreement, 10 out of the 15 European Union signatories - including Ireland, Italy and Spain - will miss their targets without urgent action, the Institute for Public Policy Research found.

France, Greece and Germany are given "amber warnings" and will only achieve the objectives if planned policies are successfully carried out.

but of course.....this is not what the envirowhackjobs are concerned about. Yes some how we can force the global temperature up...wait for it... yep we can't cool it off.

Tony Grayling, the institute's associate director, said the world was near the point of no return on climate change. "We have little time left to start reducing global greenhouse gas emissions before irreparable damage is done.

unreasonable goals and fearmongering

good times

Prediction 2006

Prediction 2006     

Much as I just showed I made some predictions round this time last year and it didn’t work out so good for me. But prediction is a skill, and a skill one can develop and refine with time so without further Aideu

LARRY PREDICTS 2006

First let’s show the Returning predictions. These were held over from 2005 predictions, or partial credit ones that need some events in 2006 to flesh them out more. Also included will be the “Jury is still out” questions where I’m not sure a clear resolution will occur before December 31st, 2005

#1 I will have a Regular lady in my life

I have a strong prospect that well if everything goes as I plan it to will work out by the end of 06. But even if that fails I predict I’ll be dating some one

#2 Howard Stern will not make Sirus the next big thing afterall.

I didn’t realize the Stern run up would take as long as it did in my predictions for 2005, now that the Run up is over I predict by this time in 2006 Stern won’t redefine Radio into the satellite age.

#3 Michael Moore's next documentary (Sicko) will actually have very few fraudlent techniques used, softening his critics up for his next ( more political) Work

Held over till Sicko actually is in theaters

#4 Colts win the Superbowl

I was not as much of a football fan then as now… I thought the Superbowl teams would be set up by now.

I not so smart on that angle but I predict Tony Dungy will see the Superbowl and will win.

#5 The Gaza disengagement will Kill Ariel Sharon politically and Labor and Likud will both lose out in the new elections to a new party formed to "reform" the nation of Israel.

These are two partials from Partial Credit predictions. I predict Kadmia will have plurality but not a sufficient Plurality to form a government. I predict with his health, the role he and Shimon Peres have played in essentially mortally wounding the political parties they were Icons from neither of those men can form a Unity government at the helm. I predict Kadima will lead the next government of Israel, but that Sharon will be retired from Israeli politics as will Peres. The founding generation of Israel will finally fade from the political stage.

#6 The catholic church will stop the hemoraging over kiddy sex scandals

I think the scandals will start decreasing after late 05 early 06 and start to go into a long term decline as the churches various attempts to oust the criminals will finally bear some fruit.

Now I am going to bring back some of my failed 2005 predictions because I think they may either be “prime” to happen or they are just pretty good.

#7. I will be at least 10 pounds lighter then my current weight as of 12-31-05

#8. I will end my 6 year cold streak on sexual intercourse
**truth is I think it is technically approaching 7 years now**


#9. Don Rumsfield will resign as soon as he has a face saving moment to resign, and the ability to spin it that he resigned on his time table.

Basically I think 2005 was to hot for Rummy to politically leave. I think he will have some health reasons that will help him decide to make a political choice for physical reasons.

#10. Another Major Media scandal will break. This time it will hit an Organization at such a level it will be Dead to the audience

#11. a backlash will occur against all the Uber PC moves by the FCC.. things will go back to some semblance of normalicy in 2006

#12. A Major "Gay" celebrity will reveal he really isn't gay. that he claimed to be gay for marketing his career

#13. Bush will break out his first Veto

Ok that’s the 13 returning players…… and on for NEW PREDICTIONS FOR 2006

#14. The Liberal Party will some how retain power in the next elections in Canada. While most likely as a tactic bashing the United States will play a large role the Liberal party will continue to play regional advantage. However the Liberal party will still hold a minority government, albeit a smaller one.

#15. Due to the poor performance and some serious flops in major races Stephen Harper will get dumped as party leader and some one in a mold of George W. Bush or Bill Clinton will introduce a “Third Way” type of political reform to the core of the Conservative Party agenda.

#16. Several small city government or small municipal agencies will threaten to write off their pension programs all together. Some States will talk about merging the liability with their cities but the collapse of these small municipal pension and health funds in areas where population and tax base are declining will be a major issue in the election of 2006.

#17. Two other major non-vested pension funds will go belly up in 2006. Many labor unions will take public a debate on “saving jobs” or “protecting retirees”. Debate will be formed on the government assuming these fund debts for defense contracting firms.

#18. I will get financially solvent and be caught up on all dues and private friends loans that I owe,

#19. The Iraqi Bill of Rights will be passed in the new Parliament

#20. A compromise will occur to allow a de-baathification of the Sunni Candidates elected in the Parliamentary elections.

#21. A Second assassination attempt will occur against the Iranian President. He will claim the Madhi personally reached his hand into his body to save him from the assassin’s strike.

#22. Bashir Assad will not be President of Syria, and probably not be a resident of Syria by 12-31-06

#23. During the height of the 2006 election Bill Richardson will launch a bold border proposal that will be highly federalist, working with county and city officials along the border, and completely forgotten once the election is finished.

#24. By the end of 2006 the Iranian government’s nuclear program will finally come up for a vote before the UN Security Council; But to attack the nation who destroyed iran’s nuclear program. The US and Great Britain will both veto the measure leading to major calls for Security Council reform.

#25. Kofi Annan will resign before the end of 2006 and retire to a nation which will agree not to deport he nor his son Kojo to prosecutors in the United States.

#26. In order to form a coalition government KADIMA leader Ariel Sharon will have to step out as the candidate for PM and allow Ehud Olmert to be awarded the position as a compromise candidate.

#27. We still won’t have Osama Bin Laden captured. But we will capture or Kill his #2 man.

#28. The national Average for Low grade (87 octane) gas will be no less then 1.89 and no more then 2.09. It will be far closer to the 1.89 then the 2.09.

#29. The price per barrel of light sweet crude in New York will be 10 dollars a Barrel less before the Winter Fuel Season . Oil Prices will be on average 1-5 dollars a barrel cheaper then the same time in 2005.

#30. The Republicans will gain no more then 2 net seats, and do no worse then a Push. If a candidate other then Katherine Harris is nominated Bill Nelson join a growing list of State wide Democratic office holders shut out in the south.

#31. The Change in the US house seats will be no more then 5 seats in either direction. The republicans will maintain control.

#32. The Republicans will maintain their dominance over Florida Politics till 2008 but the wins in 2006 will be rather anemic and suggest an opening for State Democrats will be possible.

#33. My friend Mark will lose his race for County Commission

#34. Trent Lott will have the inside track and take over his old office as Majority leader, with the cheers of many of those in the world of blog who called for his ouster.

#35. After the elections of 2006 a “Dump Dean” Movement will get serious legs which will lead to Howard Dean running for President in 2007

#36. This time next year (12-31-06) I will be making plans to relocate to the swamp in DC by 06-07

#37. Dick Cheney will resign from office for health reasons by the end of 2006

#38. Movie Producer, legendary coke fiend, and massive freak Robert Evans will die quietly in his sleep in the second half of 2006

#39. The Yankees will not make it to the World Series in 06, and will in fact be shut out of the playoffs outright.

#40. No massive natural disasters like the Tsunami or Hurricane Katrina will occur in 2006. While some natural disasters will occur they will be more on the normal scale.

#41. Karl Rove will not be indicted in 2006

#42. Saddam Hussein will attempt Suicide before a guilty verdict occurs in his trial.

#43. The Patriot act will get a second Temporary extension until after the 2006 elections. The Democrats will get this compromise under the gun of a filibuster.

#44. Bill Frist will attempt to pull the gun on the Constitutional option and will fail, making him a lame duck majority leader. This will occur over the Alito nomination when it makes it to the senate floor.

#45. The movie Box office will only lose 3% in 2006, this will be seen as a “victory” by the industry even though it is a 3% loss vs. 2005 film recipts

#46. A major academic fraud in a hard (I.E non social Science) will occur in a type of fraud that parallels Stephen Glass and the kind of frauds perpetrated in the major media. This Fraud will lead to every major scientific organization leading to protocols which make partisan, political, or financial tribalism a thing of the past… or at least that’s what they hope. But the Protocols won’t go into effect until 2009.

#47. A major Chinese manufacturing firm will be caught violating US and European intellectual property which will lead to the start of a trade cold war with China.

#48. The Neo-Marxist/Neo-Communist forces in Central and South America will lose an election in 2006 and lead to a recoiling of the people from their movements.

#49. The redistricting reform Amendment in Florida will pass

#50. the USF bulls will go into double digit wins for football.