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Burstein Collection/Corbis
Pope Sylvester I Carried in the Sedia Gestatoria, with His Retinue by Raphael.

The next hundred years was rough for the Catholic Church, with persecution of Christians and martyrdom for several of the church heads. But in A.D. 313, Emperor Constantine officially put an end to Christian persecution. Pope Sylvester I was the first pope to live in this less dangerous world, but when Constantine arranged the Council of Nicea to sort out official Christian doctrine, Sylvester chose to sit it out, sending underlings instead, according to "Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy." The Nicene Creed is now considered the first official statement of belief for Christians.

Stepping Down


saintpetersbasilica.org

The first pope to step down was Pontian, who headed the church from A.D. 230 to 235. Unlike many of his predecessors, Pontian wasn't martyred, but rather was sentenced to hard labor in the Sardinian mineral mines by Emperor Maximus the Thracian who was persecuting Christians, particularly heads of church. The pope voluntarily abdicated to prevent the church from having a power vacuum, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Papal Primer: 10 Most Intriguing Popes

by Tia Ghose, LiveScience


First Father


iStockphoto
The statue of St. Peter holding the keys of heaven in St. Peter's square.

The first head of the Catholic Church was St. Peter. Peter, whose original name was Simon, was one of Jesus' 12 apostles, according to John Julius Norwich in his book "Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy" (Random House, 2012). He preached throughout Asia Minor before coming to Rome, where he lived for 25 years, when Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar crucified him. Legend has it that he sought to be crucified upside down, deeming himself too low to share in the same death as Jesus. Though now considered the first pope, he never officially took that title during his lifetime.

aruy.  mora man nig natinuod uy.

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Picture: Andrew Osokin / Rex Features

Andrew Osokin's macro photographs of snowflakes and ice formations

The Moscow-based photographer captures detailed photos of the intricate structures of individual snowflakes and ice crystals that are in the process of melting away.



Picture: Andrew Osokin/Rex Features

Graphic: Russian meteor impact explained

A 10 ton meteor has hit the atmosphere above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk causing hundreds of injuries and widespread damage to houses, schools and hospitals in the area.



By Conrad Quilty-Harper, graphic by Mark Oliver
3:07PM GMT 15 Feb 2013

Up to 1,000 people were reported to be injured, two seriously, with another 100 taken to hospital for treatment.

According to the Russian Academy of Sciences the meteorite was "very strong" and probably made of iron.

The meteor is estimated to have hit the atmosphere 32 miles above the earth at 10-13 miles per second.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

A meteor contrail is seen while fragments of the meteor fall in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia
Picture: ITAR-TASS / Barcroft Media

16 February 2013


People stand near a six-metre (20-foot) hole in the ice of a frozen lake, reportedly where a fragment of the meteor fell, outside the town of Chebakul in the Chelyabinsk region
Picture: AFP PHOTO / CHELYABINSK REGION POLICE DEPARTMENT

and a happy valentine to you, too!

A school building is left badly damaged by a shockwave from the meteorite impact in ChelyabinskPicture: ITAR-TASS / Barcroft Media

Rescue personnel work at the site of a collapsed wall and roof of a warehouse at a zinc plant in ChelyabinskPicture: EPA/VYACHESLAV NIKULIN

The aftermath of the meteor that exploded over Russia


A man identifying himself as Viktor poses for a photograph after receiving treatment at an emergency room in a hospital in Chelyabinsk for injuries sustained from a shock wave that followed after a falling object was sighted in the sky in the Urals regionPicture: REUTERS/Andrei Kuzmin

"Instead of creating a (military) European space defence system, the United States should join us and China in creating the AADS - the Anti-Asteroid Defence System," the close ally of President Vladimir Putin wrote.

The US space agency said the 2012 DA 14 asteroid's passing was "the closest-ever predicted approach to Earth for an object this large."

Nasa estimated that a smallish asteroid such as the 2012 DA 14 flies close to Earth every 40 years on average while only hitting the planet once every 1,200 years.

Astronomers have detected some 9,500 celestial bodies of various sizes that pass near Earth.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

The drama in Russia developed just hours before an asteroid - a space object similar to a tiny planet orbiting the sun - whizzed safely past Earth at the unprecedented distance of 17,200 miles.

That put it closer to the ground then some distant satellites and sent off alarm bells ringing in some Russian circles about this being the time for joint global action on the space safety front.

"Instead of fighting on Earth, people should be creating a joint system of asteroid defence," the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee chief Alexei Pushkov wrote on his Twitter account late Friday.

The strike brought traffic to a halt in the industrial city of Chelyabinsk as residents poured out on the streets to watch the light show before hovering for safety as a sonic boom shattered glass and set off car alarms. Most of the injuries were caused by glass.

"We have a special team working... that is now assessing the seismic stability of buildings," Vladimir Puchkov, the Emergencies Minister, told residents as he inspected the damage in the city.

"We will be especially careful about switching the gas back on," he said in televised remarks.

The meteor explosion appears to be one of the most stunning cosmic events above Russia since the 1908 Tunguska Event in which a massive blast most scientists blame on an asteroid or a comet ripped through Siberia.

Scientists from Nasa, the US space agency, estimated that the amount of energy released from impact with the atmosphere was about 30 times greater than the nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.

"We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average," said Paul Chodas of Nasa's Near-Earth Object Program Office.

"When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones," he said in a statement published on the Nasa website.

Russian meteor hit atmosphere with force of 30 Hiroshima bombs

The meteor that streaked across the skies over Russia in a blinding fireball on Friday struck Earth's atmosphere with a force about 30 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb, Nasa scientists have said.


A meteorite contrail is seen over Chelyabinsk Photo: Yekaterina Pustynnikova/AP

Telegraph staff and agencies
16 Feb 2013

The 55-foot rock, said by Nasa to have a mass of 10,000 tonnes, plunged to Earth in the Urals region on Friday morning, causing shockwaves that injured 1,200 people and damaged thousands of homes in an event unprecedented in modern times.

Nasa estimate that the energy released by the meteor's impact with the atmosphere was 500 kilotonnes, around 30 times the force of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. It entered the atmosphere and broke up at an altitude of around 32 miles, causing a shockwave that blew out windows and set of car alarms in Chelyabinsk two and a half minutes later.

Divers were this morning searching the Chelyabinsk region's frozen Lake Chebarkul for a fragment of the meteorite. No fragments have been found in the region so far - despite some 20,000 rescuers and recovery workers being dispatched to help the hundreds of people injured.

glad everything's fine, loll.

Quote from: islander on February 15, 2013, 03:13:06 PMBartov added that this misreading of history is not only intellectually dishonest, but also dangerous.  “I happen to have been a combat soldier and officer in the Israeli Defense Forces and I know what these assault rifles can do,” he said in an email.

ooops...

“As for Stalin,” Bartov continued, “the very idea of either gun control or the freedom to bear arms would have been absurd to him. His regime used violence on a vast scale, provided arms to thugs of all descriptions, and stripped not guns but any human image from those it declared to be its enemies. And then, when it needed them, as in WWII, it took millions of men out of the Gulags, trained and armed them and sent them to fight Hitler, only to send back the few survivors into the camps if they uttered any criticism of the regime.”

Bartov added that this misreading of history is not only intellectually dishonest, but also dangerous.  “I happen to have been a combat soldier and officer in the Israeli Defense Forces and I know what these assault rifles can do,” he said in an email.

He continued: “Their assertion that they need these guns to protect themselves from the government â€" as supposedly the Jews would have done against the Hitler regime â€" means not only that they are innocent of any knowledge and understanding of the past, but also that they are consciously or not imbued with the type of fascist or Bolshevik thinking that they can turn against a democratically elected government, indeed turn their guns on it, just because they don’t like its policies, its ideology, or the color, race and origin of its leaders.”

http://www.salon.com/

Robert Spitzer, a political scientist who studies gun politics and chairs the political science department at SUNY Cortland, told Mother Jones’ Gavin Aronsen that the prohibition on Jewish gun ownership was merely a symptom, not the problem itself. “[It] wasn’t the defining moment that marked the beginning of the end for Jewish people in Germany. It was because they were persecuted, were deprived of all of their rights, and they were a minority group,” he explained.

Meanwhile, much of the Hitler myth is based on an infamous quote falsely attributed to the Fuhrer, which extols the virtue of gun control:

    This year will go down in history! For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!

The quote has been widely reproduced in blog posts and opinion columns about gun control, but it’s “probably a fraud and was likely never uttered,” according to Harcourt. “This quotation, often seen without any date or citation at all, suffers from several credibility problems, the most significant of which is that the date often given [1935] has no correlation with any legislative effort by the Nazis for gun registration, nor would there have been any need for the Nazis to pass such a law, since gun registration laws passed by the Weimar government were already in effect,” researchers at the useful website GunCite note.

The law did prohibit Jews and other persecuted classes from owning guns, but this should not be an indictment of gun control in general. Does the fact that Nazis forced Jews into horrendous ghettos indict urban planning? Should we eliminate all police officers because the Nazis used police officers to oppress and kill the Jews? What about public works â€" Hitler loved public works projects? Of course not. These are merely implements that can be used for good or ill, much as gun advocates like to argue about guns themselves. If guns don’t kill people, then neither does gun control cause genocide (genocidal regimes cause genocide).

Besides, Omer Bartov, a historian at Brown University who studies the Third Reich, notes that the Jews probably wouldn’t have had much success fighting back. “Just imagine the Jews of Germany exercising the right to bear arms and fighting the SA, SS and the Wehrmacht. The [Russian] Red Army lost 7 million men fighting the Wehrmacht, despite its tanks and planes and artillery. The Jews with pistols and shotguns would have done better?” he told Salon.

Proponents of the theory sometimes point to the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising as evidence that, as Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano put it, “those able to hold onto their arms and their basic right to self-defense were much more successful in resisting the Nazi genocide.” But as the Tablet’s Michael Moynihan points out, Napolitano’s history (curiously based on a citation of work by French Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson) is a bit off. In reality, only about 20 Germans were killed, while some 13,000 Jews were massacred. The remaining 50,000 who survived were promptly sent off to concentration camps.

Unfortunately for LaPierre et al., the notion that Hitler confiscated everyone’s guns is mostly bogus. And the ancillary claim that Jews could have stopped the Holocaust with more guns doesn’t make any sense at all if you think about it for more than a minute.

University of Chicago law professor Bernard Harcourt explored this myth in depth in a 2004 article published in the Fordham Law Review. As it turns out, the Weimar Republic, the German government that immediately preceded Hitler’s, actually had tougher gun laws than the Nazi regime. After its defeat in World War I, and agreeing to the harsh surrender terms laid out in the Treaty of Versailles, the German legislature in 1919 passed a law that effectively banned all private firearm possession, leading the government to confiscate guns already in circulation. In 1928, the Reichstag relaxed the regulation a bit, but put in place a strict registration regime that required citizens to acquire separate permits to own guns, sell them or carry them.

The 1938 law signed by Hitler that LaPierre mentions in his book basically does the opposite of what he says it did. “The 1938 revisions completely deregulated the acquisition and transfer of rifles and shotguns, as well as ammunition,” Harcourt wrote. Meanwhile, many more categories of people, including Nazi party members, were exempted from gun ownership regulations altogether, while the legal age of purchase was lowered from 20 to 18, and permit lengths were extended from one year to three years.

Friday, Jan 11, 2013 10:35 AM PST

The Hitler gun control lie

Gun rights activists who cite the dictator as a reason against gun control have their history dangerously wrong

By Alex Seitz-Wald



This week, people were shocked when the Drudge Report posted a giant picture of Hitler over a headline speculating that the White House will proceed with executive orders to limit access to firearms. The proposed orders are exceedingly tame, but Drudge’s reaction is actually a common conservative response to any invocation of gun control.

The NRA, Fox News, Fox News (again), Alex Jones, email chains, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, Gun Owners of America, etc., all agree that gun control was critical to Hitler’s rise to power. Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (“America’s most aggressive defender of firearms ownership”) is built almost exclusively around this notion, popularizing posters of Hitler giving the Nazi salute next to the text: “All in favor of ‘gun control’ raise your right hand.”

In his 1994 book, NRA head Wayne LaPierre dwelled on the Hitler meme at length, writing: “In Germany, Jewish extermination began with the Nazi Weapon Law of 1938, signed by Adolf Hitler.”

And it makes a certain amount of intuitive sense: If you’re going to impose a brutal authoritarian regime on your populace, better to disarm them first so they can’t fight back.

Quote from: chicogon on February 12, 2013, 11:44:40 PM
2nd Amendment, that is! That's why Hitler was able to control Germany because he took/confiscate away the guns from the people. People have no way to defend themselves... because they took away their rights!

heil, fr chic!  hitler ruled germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945.  germany is considered as having one of the strictest gun laws in the world, and it goes all the way back to 1919, obviously long before hitler became der fuhrer.  i came across this:

Restrictions imposed by the treaty of Versailles

In 1919 and 1920, to stabilize the country and in part to comply with the Treaty of Versailles, the German Weimar government passed very strict gun ownership restrictions. Article 169 of the Treaty of Versailles stated, "Within two months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, German arms, munitions, and war material, including anti-aircraft material, existing in Germany in excess of the quantities allowed, must be surrendered to the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers to be destroyed or rendered useless."

In 1919, the German government passed the Regulations on Weapons Ownership, which declared that "all firearms, as well as all kinds of firearms ammunition, are to be surrendered immediately." Under the regulations, anyone found in possession of a firearm or ammunition was subject to five years' imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 marks.

On August 7, 1920, the German government enacted a second gun-regulation law called the Law on the Disarmament of the People. It put into effect the provisions of the Versailles Treaty in regard to the limit on military-type weapons.

In 1928, the German government enacted the Law on Firearms and Ammunition. This law relaxed gun restrictions and put into effect a strict firearm licensing scheme. Under this scheme, Germans could possess firearms, but they were required to have separate permits to do the following: own or sell firearms, carry firearms (including handguns), manufacture firearms, and professionally deal in firearms and ammunition. This law explicitly revoked the 1919 Regulations on Weapons Ownership, which had banned all firearms possession.

Stephen Halbrook writes about the German gun restriction laws in the 1919-1928 period, "Within a decade, Germany had gone from a brutal firearms seizure policy which, in times of unrest, entailed selective yet immediate execution for mere possession of a firearm, to a modern, comprehensive gun control law." (wikipedia)

Photo: Alisdair Miller

Here, we have a different angle of the Burj Khalifa being struck by lightning. Sticking out above not only Dubai but all the other skyscrapers in the world, it's almost as if the building is deliberately offering itself up for 'electrocution' by as many of the sky’s lightning bolts as possible; giving itself up to the thunderstorm, so to speak. Come to think of it, given that Dubai is located in the Arabian Desert, this theory might not be so far off. After all, lightning can't be an everyday occurrence in a place with an annual rainfall of only 250 mm (9.84 in)...

As we have seen, lightning striking tall, iconic buildings is an impressive sight, and one that eyewitnesses will surely find hard to forget. Luckily for us, some of them were armed with cameras at the time, providing us with these electrifying images â€" and a wonderful opportunity to share the moment. (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Alisdair Miller

It's fitting that the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is number one on our list because, standing at a colossal 2,717 feet (828 m), it is also the tallest skyscraper on Earth. In this image, we can see two bolts of lightning seemingly crashing at once into the top of the building against an amazing purple sky. (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Elven Chen

Our number two is the number five when it comes to its standing among the world’s tallest skyscrapers, at an impressive 1,670 feet (509 m). This incredible lightning strike â€" which seems to be directly attacking the tower’s antenna â€" was captured on August 3, 2007. The Taipei 101 has also earned the moniker of world’s tallest green building, due to its recycled water system. Now if only the energy of that lightning strike could somehow be converted and used for the building’s power needs… (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Peter Corrigan

Number six on the list of world’s tallest skyscrapers, the Petronas Towers have a height of 1,483 feet (452 m). Like the other skyscrapers in this article, they too see their fair share of lightning strikes over the course of a year â€" with this photograph taken on April 29, 2010. Though the reflection of the room and its lights on the window pane takes away a bit from the image, the dramatic, sideways forking of the lightning against the towers more than makes up for it. (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Aris Vrakas

Here’s an image of the Willis Tower being struck by lightning on April 4, 2010. At 1,451 feet (442 m), the building formerly known as the Sears Tower is the ninth tallest skyscraper in the world and is thus bound to have its fair share of lightning strikes. A couple of years before this, when an observer had asked how the antenna could withstand the lightning, Tom Skilling, WGN-TV's chief meteorologist, offered a helpful explanation. Skilling said: “The antenna is not being hit directly â€" the appearance not withstanding. Instead, a corona of charged ions which pools up around the antenna is interacting with a charge descending from above to give off the light we see in these lightning strikes.” Interesting! (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Michael Siward

We’re lucky to be able to include in our list this award-winning photograph, which was featured in the 2010 National Geographic Photography Contest. It truly is a spectacular capture of lightning striking Hong Kong’s The Center during a storm on September 13, 2009. What makes the lightning and the skyline appear almost pixelated is not a camera error but a reflection of the lightning bolt in the raindrops on the window. At 1,135 feet (346 m), The Center is no. 31 on the list of the world's tallest buildings. (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Ann VB

As well as surfing, theme parks and hot air ballooning, visitors to Australia’s popular Gold Coast can add another attraction to their thrill list: going to the suburb of Surfers Paradise and watching lightning strike the Q1 landmark â€" while snugly inside it. Inspired by the Olympic torch and standing at a whopping 1,058 feet (322.5 m), the Q1 is the world’s fifth tallest residential building. As one source claims: “Visitors like to lay out on the floor during thunderstorms to watch lightning strike the Q1's impressive 97.7 meter spire.” Judging by this incredible image, it must be one heck of an experience, and certainly not one for the faint of heart! (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Dan Nguyen

This fantastic image of the Empire State Building being hit by lightning was taken on June 9, 2011. A violent thunderstorm passed through the city that brought torrential rains and hail. Whether this marked the last storm of spring or the first of summer, it seems the weather gods were out to give New Yorkers some excitement!

In a nutshell, skyscrapers are steel cages comprising various compartments that divide and subdivide the energy from a lightning strike until it is safely guided to the ground where it spreads out. A skyscraper thus functions in a similar way to a Faraday cage â€" a shield or enclosed space made of conducting material â€" that, like a plane, protects people from natural electric sparks such as lightning. Safe in this knowledge, sit back and relax while you enjoy these images of seven of the world’s tallest and most iconic skyscrapers being struck by lightning, shown in order of their height. (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Ryan Pastorino

Lightning striking the skyscrapers of Chicago.

What exactly happens when lightning strikes a skyscraper? Let's take the Empire State Building as an example. The iconic Art Deco tower â€" a veritable old-fashioned gentleman among today’s skyscrapers â€" was, according to some sources, designed as a giant lightning rod from the day it opened its doors in 1931. In fact, scientists from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers recorded every single one of the Empire State Building’s lightning strikes between 1934 and 1937 on film, in order to determine the speed with which lightning strikes (10,000 miles per second, apparently, although that figure is still open to debate). The recordings continued as, in the words of one weather blog, “scientists measured some of the very first oscillographic readings of lightning currents there using tethered balloons in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.” (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: Mark d’Andrea

The tallest building in the world being struck by lightning.

With a deafening sound, the lightning bolt strikes the building’s antenna, while onlookers instinctively cover their ears and scramble for safety. Meanwhile, visitors inside the giant skyscraper are torn between grabbing their cameras and running for cover, shocked by the reality of being trapped within a building being struck by lightning... (Simone Preuss)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

kopyahon nako ni tanan ngadto sa akong document file as reference kay kahibawo ko nga kun mangita ko ani one day kay naa koy kinahanglanon nga specific tip, di na unya ko makatuod.

very interesting, very useful.  did i enjoy this.  thanks a lot, hof!

hello, kuyang.  daghan na tang half valencianhon.  there are 2 others, si bugsay ug lorenz nga mga banggiitan dinhi ning atong forum, pero mga purebred ni sila nga valencianhon.  kita ang mga muggles.  i look forward to hearing more from you.  welcome!

the timing, the picture, they're all good fodder for the imagination.  and, well, didn't the creator create science?  it's too much to blame the pope's resignation for the lightning.  i might as well blame the dome for being there in the lightning's path, hehe.

Position of the Church

The Church regards the prophesy as a forgery. The ambiguous symbolism of the Popes and fanatical interpretation thereof are regarded as divination and postdiction, respectively. Since there is no moral certitude of the prophesy's authenticity, according to Normae Congregationis, and since the prophesy is like the prophesies of Nostradamus, which is a sign of forgery, the Prophecy of the Popes is not regarded as authentic by the Church.

During the Papacy of Pius X (1903-1914), the Catholic Encyclopedia, while thinking the list likely to be forged but while also accepting its possible genuineness, reassuringly argued that, even if it was genuine prophecy, there might still be many Popes between the second last Pope on the list, Gloria olivae (who eventually turned out to be Benedict XVI (2005-2013)) and the final Pope on the list, Petrus Romanus. (wikipedia)

The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy, is a list of 112 short phrases in Latin. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with current pope Benedict XVI's successor, a pope described in the prophecy as "Peter the Roman", whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome. (wikipedia)

truly sobering, and more believable.  as for the author of this thread's title (Final pope' authors predicted Benedict would resign), here's something also sobering:

Jerome Robert Corsi is an American author, political commentator and conspiracy theorist best known for his two New York Times bestselling books: The Obama Nation and Unfit for Command.(wikipedia)

says a lot, these background and leanings of his.

Quote from: hubag bohol on December 17, 2012, 11:39:36 AM

arang gajod.  how did this happen?  how could this happen?  never mind the star war characters and the nude guy; they may have been photoshopped.  it's those facial expressions of those law enforcers that puzzle me.

Horn noted Benedict’s brother, Georg Ratzinger, also a priest, suggested last year that the pontiff might retire at age 85, arguing Catholic law would allow for him to step down if his health wouldn’t allow him to continue.

Benedict, himself, made a case for papal resignation in a book-length interview, Light of the World.

Asked if he thought it appropriate for a pope to retire, he said, “If a pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.”

http://www.wnd.com/

An advocate for Cardinal Girolamo Simoncelli, Horn said, likely “tinkered with the document to make it look like it was pointing toward Simoncelli.”

In Petrus Romanus, Horn said, he and Putnam “disregard everything pre-1595, as partly or fully tainted.”

After 1595, however, The Prophecy of the Popes was open to public scrutiny.

A modern version of Malachy’s prophecies was published in 1969 by Archbishop H. E. Cardinale, the Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium and Luxembourg.

Cardinale wrote “it is fair to say the vast majority of Malachy’s predictions about successive Popes is amazingly accurate â€" always remembering that he gives only a minimum of information.”

‘Amazingly accurate’

Through the past 900 years, various critics have questioned the authenticity and the accuracy of St. Malachy’s prophecies, often arguing the methods used by some of his interpreters to apply his epithets to certain popes have been tortuous.

Horn told WND he and Putnam took a critical view of The Prophecy of the Popes and determined that the first part of it, the first 70 or so predictions, probably was altered in the late 16th century.

“It appears that somebody had altered the original medieval document from 1590 backward to promote a particular cardinal to the College of Cardinals to be the fulfillment of what at that time was still a secret list of popes,” Horn explained.

The sight of the ruins of Pagan Rome, the tombs of the Apostles, the thought of so many thousands of martyrs, the presence of [Pope] Innocent II, who had been obligated to wander so many years in France and elsewhere on account of the anti-pope Anaclete â€" all this, I say, filled the mind of St. Malachy with deep and sad reflections and he was forced to cry out in the words of the old prophets: “Usquequo, Domine non misereberis Sion?” â€" “How long, O Lord! wilt Thou not have mercy on Sion?”

O’Brien continued:

And God answered: “Until the end of the world the Church will be both militant and triumphant. Until the end of time the sufferings of my passion and the mysteries of my cross must be continued on earth, and I shall be with you until the end of the world.” And then was unfolded before the gaze of the holy bishop of Armagh the long line of illustrious pilots who were to guide the storm-tossed bark of Peter until the end.

Malachy gave his manuscript to Innocent II, who was pontiff from 1130 to 1143. The document was placed in the Vatican archives, where it remained unknown until its discovery in 1590.

Other candidates on Horn’s list are Francis Arinze, Angelo Scola, Gianfranco Ravasi, Leonardo Sandri, Ennio Antonelli, Jean-Louis Tauran, Christoph Schönborn and Marc Quellet.

In 1880, M. J. O’Brien, a Catholic priest, published in Dublin a book providing a “historical and critical account” of St. Malachy’s prophecies.

O’Brien believed Malachy was declaring that the reign of the pope identified as Petrus Romanus would culminate with the end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ.

O’Brien describes Malachy’s vision occurring while the saint was in Rome for a month, visiting and praying at the Eternal City’s many historical and holy sites.

Horn and his co-author have created their own list of 10 candidates to succeed Benedict and become “Peter the Roman.”

Interestingly, a leading candidate is Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, the Cardinal secretary of state, who was born in Romano, Italy. His name could, therefore, be rendered Peter the Roman.

Another Peter on the list is a black African, Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, the current president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

In any case, Horn noted, Catholics believe the pope inhabits the “Petrine office” as a successor of the apostle Peter.

Benedict, speaking Monday morning in Latin to a small gathering of cardinals at the Vatican, said that after examining his conscience “before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise” of leading the Roman Catholic Church.

Peter the Roman

Horn and Putnam discuss the evidence pointing to a Benedict resignation on pages 74 and 486 of their April 2012 book, and Horn has made the prediction on a number of radio programs in recent months, including Jan. 13.

Malachy described the last Pope as “Petrus Romanus,” or “Peter the Roman,” writing: “In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock among many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people.”

“We took The Prophecy of the Popes, we took what was happening in Italian media, and we determined, based on a great deal of information, that Pope Benedict would likely step down, citing health reasons, in 2012 or 2013,” he said.

St. Malachy was an Irish saint and the archbishop of Armagh, who lived from 1094 to 1l48. Malacy described the penultimate pope, which Horn believes is Benedict, as “Gloria Olivae,” or “Glory of the Olive.”

Pope Benedict XVI was not a Benedictine priest, yet he chose the name of Benedict, the founder of the Order of Saint Benedict, which also is known as the Olivetans.

The symbol of the Benedictine order includes an olive branch.

WND EXCLUSIVE

'Final pope' authors predicted Benedict would resign

900-year-old Catholic prophecy says successor will be 'Peter the Roman'

11 hours ago/12 February 2013

by Jerome R. Corsi



Although a Roman Catholic pope had not stepped down in nearly 600 years, the startling resignation of Pope Benedict XVI was predicted by the co-authors of a book published last spring about a medieval prophecy that the next pontiff will be the last.

In Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope is Here, co-authors Tom Horn and Cris Putnam examine St. Malachy’s Prophecy of the Popes, said to be based on his prophetic vision of the next 112 popes, beginning with Pope Celestine II, who died in 1144. Malachy presented a description of each pope, culminating with the “final pope,” “Peter the Roman,” whose reign would end with the destruction of Rome and judgment.

Horn explained to WND in an interview today that his conclusion Benedict would resign rather than die in the papacy was based not only on St. Malachy but also on a host of historical and current information.

as for those who will defy the comelec rule, what's going to happen next?  will they be disqualified to run?  kalizod ba uroy para sa comelec.

apil ba kaha ang iyang tv appearances with his actress girlfriend.  wa na lay labot sa iyang airtime as a cook kunohay.  those are exposures too.  aguuuyyy, are they cranking out movies again for actors who are running for senatorial or congressional seats?

is this true about them?  i hope it's not just photo ops.

wow!  nia ni sa bohol?  asa kaha dapit.  makalagot lang nang nagdakop dinha o...

welcome, dor.  do not close the door just yet.  we hope you'll come back soon.

the saga of the drama queen continues...

Quote from: chicogon on February 11, 2013, 07:30:21 AM
In the United States it is a RIGHT to bear arms and to protect one's self... from criminal elements and iapil nato, tyrants... sakto ba ni o dili? Kung sakto, dili ba pod sakto buhaton sa ato?

Quote from: vrglguapo on February 12, 2013, 03:09:51 PM
Hadlok man states Pads Kay daghang psycho mokalit lang ug pamusil ug mga civilian.

the right to bear arms is enshrined in the u.s. constitution written some 200 years ago by the founding fathers, when times at the frontier were still precarious, from the pilgrims' world all the way to the wild, wild west.  my personal opinion is that such right no longer holds urgency nowadays.  times are more civilized, institutions are stronger, etc., etc.  worse, guns are now more efficient such that one person is made capable of undertaking a massacre in minutes, let alone the wackos who may feel like massacring small children.

lucky for me, i'm not in the u.s. because i will never understand why some influential sectors hold the gun sacred, some 200 years after it was truly urgent to have one. 

it looks like gay rights and marriage are easier to take than to let go of the right to bear arms.  i shudder at this comparison (with apologies, this one) but what i mean here is that with a fast-paced trajectory to modernity and liberal-mindedness like the legality of gay marriage, the u.s.'s love affair with guns hadn't outgrown wyatt earp, much less that pilgrim who carried the turkey down the boat.

Malacañang expressed regret last night over the news of thepope’s resignation.“Not only the Catholic world, but all peoples and nations of goodwill are filled with great regret as news comes of Pope Benedict XVI announced his intention to relinquish the ‘Petrine Ministry on Feb. 28,” a statement released by the Office of the President said.

“We join the Catholic world and all whose lives the pope has touched, in prayer and sympathy. May he find respite from his physical challenges, and peace and contentment in the seclusion of retirement,” it said.

more at ww.philstar.com/headlines/2013/02/12/907776/pope-benedict-resign

for our consideration:

The only other pope to resign because he felt unable to fulfill his duties was Celestine V in 1296, a hermit who stepped down after just a few months in office, saying he yearned for a simpler life and was not physically capable for the office.

But the last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415, according to the British daily The Guardian.

Gregory stood down to end the “Western Schism,” which threatened to shatter Roman Catholicism. Two rival claimants had declared themselves pope in Avignon and Pisa and, with the help of the wily Italian politician Malatesta, Gregory’s resignation helped unite the church at the Council of Constance in 1415.

more at ww.philstar.com/headlines/2013/02/12/907776/pope-benedict-resign

ka-rhyme ba niya uy, mora man ug nakadaog ug pusoy.

nagpakita na man lang gyod kag kagwang, bai hubs, patan-awa pod mi kun unsay hitsura ug tambaloslos ug sigbin bi... 

kun mao nay kagwang, why man nganlan man ang tawong mosimang ug kagwang?

is that a bat?

Inborn or Learned Behavior?

A cat’s ability to land on his feet isn’t a trick taught by his mother or life experience, but is a gift of nature. By the time kittens are about 6 weeks old and able to run and jump in a coordinated way, their bodies can successfully correct their balance during a fall.

However, your cat still needs to be protected from the risk of falling. If you have some open windows in your high-rise apartment or upstairs in your house, be sure they are properly screened.  And teach your kids to be gentle with their pet.  Some children are naturally curious and may be tempted to toss the cat from the second floor to see if cats really land on their feet.  Talk to them about the potential of hurting Kitty, particularly when the drop is fairly low, and let them watch a video online if they really want to see the process in action.

http://animal.discovery.com/

Feline Body Mechanics

Seen in slow motion, a falling cat begins to shift his balance from the second his flight begins. His body determines which side should be up, and he begins rotating his head, directed by his eyes and ears, until he’s facing that way. Next his spine follows as he arches his back; then his front feet, followed by his hind legs, get positioned under him, with his front paws placed close to his face to spare it from the ground’s impact.  As he lands, the cat’s leg joints bear the impact of his weight. A falling cat is less like an airplane and more like a parachute. As his body orients itself to the falling motion, it relaxes and spreads out for the landing ahead. You can see an example in this video.

Cats are also gifted in other ways for landing on their feet. They are born with flexible backbones that enable that course correction while falling. Cats also have 30 vertebrae, which contributes to their suppleness (humans have just 24). And while their tails often act as rudders in daily activities, tails are insignificant in freefall -- so even a cat born without a tail, such as the Manx, or the unlucky feline who’s lost his to injury can still navigate a fall.

The cat’s inner ear houses his vestibular system, which tells the cat’s body where it is in relation to the ground, whether upside down, in motion, or walking around. The system lets the cat’s body correctly orient itself and regain balance after a fall.

Fact or Fiction?

Most of the time, a cat will land on his feet when he falls. His body reflexively corrects its course so that by the time he arrives on the ground, his feet are in position to hit first. The height of a cat’s fall determines how well, or how poorly, his legs can absorb the shock of landing.

Veterinarians treating the broken legs and other injuries of cats that survive falls from high-rise apartments noticed that the cats who fell from greater heights, such as more than five stories, often suffered less severe injuries than those falling from just a few floors because the longer drop gave the cats’ bodies more time to right themselves.

in case we start believing that cats are supercats (not the boat that plies bohol-cebu) and drop them from the fourth floor to prove it, here's more to know:


Why do cats land on their feet?

By Kathy Blumenstock



Whether myth, miracle or marvel of physics, the idea of a cat always landing on his feet is firmly embedded in feline lore. It’s as if cats possess invisible landing gear, and no matter their size, they can turn a tumble into a right-side up touchdown. Tabbies overshooting windowsills in quest of passing birds, or miscalculating fences as they run from barking dogs, appear to regain perfect balance without effort, an action that long baffled observers -- until frame-by-frame photos, and video in slow motion, unveiled the details of this uncanny feline habit.

That’s not to say cats land without harm. Falling cats do sometimes suffer injuries, and not all cats survive falls, particularly older, less agile ones. Thanks to science and technology, here’s what else we now know about cats’ aerodynamic abilities.

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 11, 2013, 08:50:56 AM
Should not be troublesome at all. The bank should cover the losses.

it must.  atm security is a bank's call.  clients trusted it with their money...

wa koy makit-an, loll.  why oh why ang kabaw naglaway...

aw, kun ang modaog ang kinadak-an, tungod tingali na kay mahadlok ang uban nga mabunalan.  on sekand tots, uy, mora man nag gianay.

we filipinos can dream.  morag sayo ra.  bag-o pa tawon ni siyang na-cardinal.  i doubt if fellow cardinals will vote for their benjamin.

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 12, 2013, 11:18:45 AM
The Guardian's Stephen Bates analyzes the "sense of drift and disappointment" attached to Benedict's papacy:

    "I'd say it has been disastrous," said Michael Walsh, the British historian of the papacy, on Monday night.

i'd say it's too soon to call, analyst or not, historian or not.  history's verdict always takes time.  why is this guy making a judgment now?

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 12, 2013, 11:18:45 AM
There is no comeback when the church has squandered its moral authority across the world over child abuse.

the church has stood on rock for millennia, it has seen good times and bad throughout the ages.  it will prevail as man's conscience will prevail. 

limpyo kaayog nawong, bugol pa gyod.  hala, tingalig si louie ni sa?  oh, i miss ms da binsi baya.  haraw di to mahiluna ug mobalik na, hehe.

cute lagi imong avatar, loll!  aguuyyy, unsaon na lang...

the church has more than enough brains, top ones in fact, to investigate malpractices without publicizing.  it's the media that fans the intrigues.  kanyahay ra, sa u.s. kuno, priests have been warned not to talk to children alone aron dili himoan ug estorya.  sa u.s. pa nga bisag anino ikiha, matod pa ni raqz many posts ago. 

lisod kaayog lunggoan nato ang ginikanan kay naay mga anak nitulibagbag. 

my bad.  kining di ta tigtan-aw ug tv, maiwit gyod sa mga hitabo.  serves me right for wanting to shut the world out sometimes...

let those who think ill of him enjoy themselves.  nauso pod karon sa kalibotan ning mga accusations against the clergy kay, you know, kwarta na pod.  we all deserve our day in court, including priests, it goes without saying.  dili sayon-sayonon pag-conclude nga way gibuhat ang santo papa.  the church simply operates without being defensive, sans fanfare.

goodness gracious!  it's all over the internet news.  this takes time to digest...

WHAT IS THIS?  is this a joke, hubag?

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 12, 2013, 10:11:49 AM
Naa ni siyay Tsaynis ansistri...

don't tell me ang amahan ani gikan sa pilipinas, take note nga bol-anon pa gyod, unya tua na nagtrabaho didto.

aw, kun duol pa pod ko didto, ako unta ang 351st applicant nga interesado nga mo-adopt.

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 06, 2013, 04:04:46 PM



Bahal na lay kuwang...

ug tiil nga ituslob.

the egg rolls--

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Indian actress
1994 Miss India and Miss World

usa ka sa mga anghel nga mag-una pagpaso, bolbs?