MYSTERIOUS MYSTICAL: Fwd: [Heaven] Digest for heavensoon@googlegroups.com

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From: heavensoon+noreply@googlegroups.com
Date: Thu, 06 May 2010 12:02:00 +0000
Subject: [Heaven] Digest for heavensoon@googlegroups.com - 10 Messages
in 10 Topics
To: Digest Recipients <heavensoon+digest@googlegroups.com>

=============================================================================
Today's Topic Summary
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Group: heavensoon@googlegroups.com
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/topics

- ALIPAC Activists Help Spread Arizona Law To 12 More States [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/8b5e5a71c62b4482
- Axelrod: After Other Negotiations, We'll Turn Steely Eyes Toward
Jerusalem [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/311c69487a1ea257
- Israel Says Hezbollah Missile Buildup Accelerating [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/5f0058283b689a4d
- Smart Dust Aims To Monitor Everything [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/b414804720de5e77
- NYC Officials Push For Dramatic Expansion Of Electronic
Surveillance [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/3f588dfa19157ca5
- Is The Vatican Easing Humanity Toward Alien Disclosure? [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/1790bafc59c4ec5d
- Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Media [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/e1f78da54b71a0d6
- Phillies fan tasered: Why police are using Tasers more often [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/121b3028e5753878
- Syria gave advanced missiles to Hizballah [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/85d8c005182521e3
- School sued after teachers hide in closets to pray [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/7e164da1cb7034fc

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Topic: ALIPAC Activists Help Spread Arizona Law To 12 More States
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/8b5e5a71c62b4482
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---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:23PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/3e7128ef1a23bd01

*ALIPAC Activists Help Spread Arizona Law To 12 More
States*<http://www.alipac.us/article-5221-thread-1-0.html>
One of America's largest grassroots organizations fighting against illegal
immigration has used their national network and existing state legislation
campaigns to help quickly carry Arizona's SB 1070 to twelve other states!
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC has focused a lot of lobbying efforts
into passing immigration enforcement legislation on the state level and has
assisted in the passage of enforcement legislation in over 30 states. ALIPAC
is also accredited with helping defeat state legislation to provide taxpayer
benefits such as licenses and in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens.
ALIPAC has documented efforts by state lawmakers to file SB 1070 in 12
states already including Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada,
New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.

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=============================================================================
Topic: Axelrod: After Other Negotiations, We'll Turn Steely Eyes
Toward Jerusalem
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/311c69487a1ea257
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---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:22PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/ec5678453825dfe1

*Axelrod: After Other Negotiations, We'll Turn Steely Eyes Toward
Jerusalem*<http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=174704>
White House senior adviser David Axelrod told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday
that Jerusalem will likely be the final issue addressed in
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "Jerusalem as an issue can't be the first
issue for negotiations. It probably will be the last," Axelrod said,
characterizing the position of US President Barack Obama and the message he
understood Obama to have conveyed during a lunch meeting with Nobel laureate
Elie Wiesel. The meeting came as US-brokered indirect talks between Israelis
and Palestinians are expected to begin in the coming days, despite
differences between the sides over whether final-status issues would be
discussed. While Israel prefers issues such as Jerusalem to be deferred
until direct negotiations, the US has indicated that final-status issues
will at least be broached in the early talks as the Palestinians have been
demanding. The issue of Jerusalem derailed the expected start of indirect
negotiations in March, when the Interior Ministry approved additional Jewish
housing in east Jerusalem during a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe
Biden meant to launch the process, a move that infuriated the Americans and
the Palestinians.

--
============
www.heavensoon.com
www.rapturetoheaven.com

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Topic: Israel Says Hezbollah Missile Buildup Accelerating
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/5f0058283b689a4d
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---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:22PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/8d804ea1d09553f5

*Israel Says Hezbollah Missile Buildup
Accelerating*<http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100504/wl_mideast_afp/mideastisraelsyriamilitarymissiles_20100504133954>
Syria's government routinely ships weapons to Lebanon's Shiite militia
Hezbollah in an operation that goes well beyond sporadic smuggling, a top
Israeli intelligence officer said on Tuesday. The head of the military
intelligence research department, Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, told a
parliamentary committee that Hezbollah's arsenal included thousands of
rockets of all ranges and types, some solid-fuelled. Baidatz did not
specifically name the long-range Scud missiles which Israeli President
Shimon Peres has accused Hezbollah of stockpiling, but appeared to allude to
Peres' warnings. "The shipments of long-range missiles which have been
reported recently are only the tip of the iceberg," Baidatz told the Foreign
Affairs and Defence Committee. "Syria has a significant role in the growing
strength of Hezbollah's rocket arsenal," he said. "Weapons are sent to
Hezbollah from Syria on a regular basis under the direction of the Syrian
and Iranian regimes."

--
============
www.heavensoon.com
www.rapturetoheaven.com

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Topic: Smart Dust Aims To Monitor Everything
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/b414804720de5e77
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---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:21PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/ac8148ddda4fe16b

*Smart Dust Aims To Monitor
Everything<http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/03/smart.dust.sensors/index.html>
*
In the 1990s, a researcher named Kris Pister dreamed up a wild future in
which people would sprinkle the Earth with countless tiny sensors, no larger
than grains of rice. These "smart dust" particles, as he called them, would
monitor everything, acting like electronic nerve endings for the planet.
Fitted with computing power, sensing equipment, wireless radios and long
battery life, the smart dust would make observations and relay mountains of
real-time data about people, cities and the natural environment. Now, a
version of Pister's smart dust fantasy is starting to become reality. "It's
exciting. It's been a long time coming," said Pister, a computing professor
at the University of California, Berkeley. "I coined the phrase 14 years
ago. So smart dust has taken a while, but it's finally here." Maybe not
exactly how he envisioned it. But there has been progress. The latest news
comes from the computer and printing company Hewlett-Packard, which recently
announced it's working on a project it calls the "Central Nervous System for
the Earth." In coming years, the company plans to deploy a trillion sensors
all over the planet.

--
============
www.heavensoon.com
www.rapturetoheaven.com

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Topic: NYC Officials Push For Dramatic Expansion Of Electronic Surveillance
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/3f588dfa19157ca5
=============================================================================

---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:20PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/fd067d4991be7037

*NYC Officials Push For Dramatic Expansion Of Electronic
Surveillance*<http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0504/nyc-officials-push-dramatic-expansion-electronic-surveillance/>
New York officials say they could stop attacks like the attempted Times
Square car bomb by expanding a controversial surveillance system so
sensitive that it will pick up even suspicious behavior. New York is already
a heavily policed city, with 35,000 officers and a counterterrorism bureau
-- the first of its kind in the country -- partnering the FBI. But
Saturday's failed terrorist bomb in the Times Square tourist hot spot has
provided the authorities with a new argument for expanding a sometimes
controversial security blanket of cameras, sensors and analytical software.
The system "will greatly enhance our ability and the ability of the police
to detect suspicious activity in real time, and disrupt possible attacks,"
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday. The high-tech system, modeled on the
"ring of steel" in London's financial district, is already in service in
lower Manhattan, where Wall Street and the World Trade Center reconstruction
site are located.

--
============
www.heavensoon.com
www.rapturetoheaven.com

=============================================================================
Topic: Is The Vatican Easing Humanity Toward Alien Disclosure?
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/1790bafc59c4ec5d
=============================================================================

---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:18PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/f19401619f2d1578

*Is The Vatican Easing Humanity Toward Alien
Disclosure?*<http://www.raidersnewsnetwork.com/leadstory76.htm>
Vatican chief astronomer Father Jose Gabriel Funes in a long interview with
the L'Osservatore Romano newspaper this week made news by saying there is a
certain possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and that
such notion "doesn't contradict our faith. How can we rule out that life may
have developed elsewhere? Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a
brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial
brother'? It would still be part of creation," he said. The statements by
Funes are the latest in a string of recent comments by Vatican astronomers
confirming a belief that discovery may be made in the near future of alien
life, including intelligent life, and that this discovery would not unhinge
the doctrine of Christ. In 2005, another Vatican astronomer, Guy Consolmagno
tackled this subject in a 50-page booklet, Intelligent Life in the Universe,
in which he concluded that chances are better than not that mankind is
facing a future discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence. Approximately 7
years ago Monsignor Corrado Balducci made similar news when he said ETs were
actually already interacting with earth and that some of the Vatican's
leaders were aware of it.

--
============
www.heavensoon.com
www.rapturetoheaven.com

=============================================================================
Topic: Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Media
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/e1f78da54b71a0d6
=============================================================================

---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:16PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/61144856fbbf59bb

Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Media Apr 28th, 2010 | By
Vigilant <http://vigilantcitizen.com/?author=1> | Category: Vigilant
Reports<http://vigilantcitizen.com/?cat=1>

*Mass media is the most powerful tool used by the ruling class to manipulate
the masses. It shapes and molds opinions and attitudes and defines what is
normal and acceptable. This article looks at the workings of mass media
through the theories of its major thinkers, its power structure and the
techniques it uses, in order to understand its true role in society.*

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/highres_8614937.jpeg>Image
source deesillustration.com <http://www.deesillustration.com/>

Most of the articles on this site discuss occult symbolism found in objects
of popular culture. From these articles arise many legitimate questions
relating to the purpose of those symbols and the motivations of those
who place them there, but it is impossible for me to provide satisfactory
answers to these questions without mentioning many other concepts and facts.
I've therefore decided to write this article to supply the theoretical and
methodological background of the analyzes presented on this site as well as
introducing the main scholars of the field of mass communications. Some
people read my articles and think I'm saying "Lady Gaga wants to control our
minds". That is not the case. She is simply a small part of the huge system
that is the mass media.
Programming Through Mass Media

Mass media are media forms designed to reach the largest audience possible.
They include television, movies, radio, newspapers, magazines,
books, records, video games and the internet. Many studies have been
conducted in the past century to measure the effects of mass media on the
population in order to discover the best techniques to influence it. From
those studies emerged the science of Communications, which is used in
marketing, public relations and politics. Mass communication is a necessary
tool the insure the functionality of a large democracy; it is also a
necessary tool for a dictatorship. It all depends on its usage.

In the 1958 preface for *A Brave New World*, Aldous Huxley paints a rather
grim portrait of society. He believes it is controlled by an "impersonal
force", a ruling elite, which manipulates the population using various
methods.

*"Impersonal forces over which we have almost no control seem to be pushing
us all in the direction of the Brave New Worldian nightmare; and this
impersonal pushing is being consciously accelerated by representatives of
commercial and political organizations who have developed a number of new
techniques for manipulating, in the interest of some minority, the thoughts
and feelings of the masses."*
- Aldous Huxley, Preface to *A Brave New World*

His bleak outlook is not a simple hypothesis or a paranoid delusion. It is a
documented fact, present in the world's most important studies on mass
media. Here are some of them:
Elite Thinkers Walter Lippmann

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Walter_Lippmann.jpg>

Walter Lippmann, an American intellectual, writer and two-time Pulitzer
Prize winner brought forth one of the first works concerning the usage of
mass media in America. In *Public Opinion (*1922), Lippmann compared the
masses to a "great beast" and a "bewildered herd" that needed to be guided
by a governing class. He described the ruling elite as "*a specialized class
whose interests reach beyond the locality.*" This class is composed of
experts, specialists and bureaucrats. According to Lippmann, the experts,
who often are referred to as "elites," are to be a machinery of knowledge
that circumvents the primary defect of democracy, the impossible ideal of
the "omnicompetent citizen." The trampling and roaring "bewildered herd" has
its function: to be "*the interested spectators of action*," i.e. not
participants. Participation is the duty of "the responsible man", which is
not the regular citizen.

Mass media and propaganda are therefore tools that must be used by the elite
to rule the public without physical coercion. One important concept
presented by Lippmann is the "manufacture of consent", which is, in
short, the manipulation of public opinion to accept the elite's agenda. It
is Lippmann's opinion that the general public is not qualified to reason and
to decide on important issues. It is therefore important for the elite to
decide "for its own good" and then sell those decisions to the masses.

*"That the manufacture of consent is capable of great refinements no one, I
think, denies. The process by which public opinions arise is certainly no
less intricate than it has appeared in these pages, and the opportunities
for manipulation open to anyone who understands the process are plain
enough. . . . as a result of psychological research, coupled with the modern
means of communication, the practice of democracy has turned a corner. A
revolution is taking place, infinitely more significant than any shifting of
economic power. . . . Under the impact of propaganda, not necessarily in the
sinister meaning of the word alone, the old constants of our thinking have
become variables. It is no longer possible, for example, to believe in the
original dogma of democracy; that the knowledge needed for the management of
human affairs comes up spontaneously from the human heart. Where we act on
that theory we expose ourselves to self-deception, and to forms of
persuasion that we cannot verify. It has been demonstrated that we cannot
rely upon intuition, conscience, or the accidents of casual opinion if we
are to deal with the world beyond our reach."
*–Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion

It might be interesting to note that Lippmann is one of the founding fathers
of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the most influential foreign
policy think tank in the world. This fact should give you a small hint of
the mind state of the elite concerning the usage of media.

*"Political and economic power in the United States is concentrated in the
hands of a "ruling elite" that controls most of U.S.-based multinational
corporations, major communication media, the most influential foundations,
major private universities and most public utilities. Founded in 1921, the
Council of Foreign Relations is the key link between the large corporations
and the federal government. It has been called a "school for statesmen" and
"comes close to being an organ of what C. Wright Mills has called the Power
Elite – a group of men, similar in interest and outlook shaping events from
invulnerable positions behind the scenes. The creation of the United Nations
was a Council project, as well as the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank."*
- Steve Jacobson, Mind Control in the United States

Some current members of the CFR include David Rockefeller, Dick Cheney,
Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, mega-church pastor Rick Warren and the CEOs of
major corporations such as *CBS*, *Nike*, *Coca-Cola* and *Visa*.
Carl Jung

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/carljung.jpg>

Carl Jung is the founder of analytical psychology (also known an Jungian
psychology), which emphasizes understanding the psyche by exploring dreams,
art, mythology, religion, symbols and philosophy. The Swiss therapist is at
the origin of many psychological concepts used today such as the Archetype,
the Complex, the Persona, the Introvert/Extrovert and Synchronicity. He was
highly influenced by the occult background of his family. Carl Gustav, his
grandfather, was an avid Freemason (he was Grand Master) and Jung himself
discovered that some of his ancestors were Rosicrucians. This might explain
his great interest in Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology and
symbolism. One of his most important (and misunderstood) concept was
the *Collective
Unconscious*.

*"My thesis, then, is as follows: In addition to our immediate
consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature and which we believe
to be the only empirical psyche (even if we tack on the personal unconscious
as an appendix), there exists a second psychic system of a collective,
universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This
collective unconscious does not develop individually but is inherited. It
consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes, which can only become
conscious secondarily and which give definite form to certain psychic
contents."*
- Carl Jung, The Concept of the Collective Unconscious

The collective unconscious transpires through the existence of similar
symbols and mythological figures in different civilizations. *Archetypal
symbols *seem to be embedded in our collective subconscious, and, when
exposed to them, we demonstrate natural attraction and fascination. Occult
symbols can therefore exert a great impact on people, even if many
individuals were never personally introduced to the symbol's esoteric
meaning. Mass media thinkers, such as Edward D. Bernays, found in this
concept a great way to manipulate the public's personal and collective
unconscious.

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/jung-carl-1955feb141-e1272828469970.jpg>1955
Time Magazine cover featuring Carl Jung. Looks a little like Avatar, doesn't
it?

Edward Bernays

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Edward_Bernays.jpg>

Edward Bernays is considered to be the "father of public relations" and used
concepts discovered by his uncle Sigmund Freud to manipulate the public
using the subconscious. He shared Walter Lippmann's view of the general
population by considering it irrational and subject to the "herd instinct".
In his opinion, the masses need to be manipulated by an invisible government
to insure the survival of democracy.

*"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and
opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those
who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible
government which is the true ruling power of our country.*

*We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas
suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result
of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of
human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a
smoothly functioning society.
*

*Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of
their fellow members in the inner cabinet."*
- Edward Bernays, Propaganda

Bernay's trailblazing marketing campaigns profoundly changed the functioning
of American society. He basically created "consumerism" by creating a
culture wherein Americans bought for pleasure instead of buying for
survival. For this reason, he was considered by *Life Magazine *to be in the
Top 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century.
Harold Lasswell

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/lasswell1.jpg>

In 1939-1940, the University of Chicago was the host of a series of secret
seminars on communications. These think tanks were funded by the Rockefeller
foundation and involved the most prominent researchers in the fields of
communications and sociological studies. One of these scholars was Harold
Lasswell, a leading American political scientist and communications
theorist, specializing in the analysis of propaganda. He was also of the
opinion that a democracy, a government ruled by the people, could not
sustain itself without a specialized elite shaping and molding public
opinion through propaganda.

In his *Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, *Lasswell explained that when
elites lack the requisite force to compel obedience, social managers must
turn to "*a whole new technique of control, largely through propaganda*." He
added the conventional justification: we must recognize the "*ignorance and
stupidity [of] … the masses and not succumb to democratic dogmatisms about
men being the best judges of their own interests*."

Lasswell extensively studied the field of content analysis in order to
understand the effectiveness of different types of propaganda. In his essay
*Contents of Communication*, Lasswell explained that, in order to understand
the meaning of a message (i.e. a movie, a speech, a book, etc.), one should
take into account the frequency with which certain symbols appear in the
message, the direction in which the symbols try to persuade the audience's
opinion, and the intensity of the symbols used.

Lasswell was famous for his media analysis model based on:

*Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect*

By this model, Lasswell indicates that in order to properly analyze a media
product, one must look at *who produced *the product (the people who ordered
its creation), *who was it aimed at *(the target audience) and *what were
the desired effects* of this product (to inform, to convince, to sell, etc.)
on the audience.

Using a Rihanna video as an example, the analysis would be as follows: WHO
PRODUCED: Vivendi Universal; WHAT: pop artist Rihanna; TO WHOM: consumers
between the ages of 9 and 25; WHAT CHANNEL: music video; and WHAT EFFECT:
selling the artist, her song, her image and her message.

The analyzes of videos and movies on *The Vigilant Citizen* place a great
importance on the "who is behind" the messages communicated to the public.
The term "Illuminati" is often used to describe this small elite group
covertly ruling the masses. Although the term sounds quite caricatured and
conspiratorial, it aptly describes the elite's affinities with secret
societies and occult knowledge. However, I personally detest using the term
"conspiracy theory" to describe what is happening in the mass media. If all
the facts concerning the elitist nature of the industry are readily
available to the public, can it still be considered a "conspiracy theory"?

There used to be a variety of viewpoints, ideas and opinions in popular
culture. The consolidation of media corporations has, however, produced a
standardization of the cultural industry. Ever wondered why all recent music
sounds the same and all recent movies look the same? The following is part
of the answer:
Media Ownership

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/media-ownership.gif>

As depicted in the graph above, the number of corporations owning the
majority of U.S. media outlets went from 50 to 5 in less than 20 years. Here
are the top corporations evolving around the world and the assets they own.

<http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/aol-time-warner.jpg>

*"A list of the properties controlled by AOL Time Warner takes ten typed
pages listing 292 separate companies and subsidiaries. Of these, twenty-two
are joint ventures with other major corporations involved in varying degrees
with media operations. These partners include 3Com, eBay, Hewlett-Packard,
Citigroup, Ticketmaster, American Express, Homestore, Sony, Viva,
Bertelsmann, Polygram, and Amazon.com. Some of the more familiar fully owned
properties of Time Warner include Book-of-the-Month Club; Little, Brown
publishers; HBO, with its seven channels; CNN; seven specialized and
foreign-language channels; Road Runner; Warner Brothers Studios; Weight
Watchers; Popular Science; and fifty-two different record labels."
*- Ben Bagdikan, The New Media Monopoly* *

AOL Time Warner owns:

- 64 magazines, including *Time, Life, People, MAD Magazine* and *DC
Comics*
- *Warner Bros, New Line* and *Fine Line Features*

=============================================================================
Topic: Phillies fan tasered: Why police are using Tasers more often
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/121b3028e5753878
=============================================================================

---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:11PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/4a5865ec2ce2e419

Phillies fan tasered: Why police are using Tasers more often

The wily 17-year-old Phillies fan tasered in front of 45,000 at a baseball
game Monday night brings concerns about lethality and police abuse of force
to the forefront of discussion.

Phillies fan tasered: The 17 year-old Philadelphia fan ran on the field
during Monday night's Phillies-Cardinals game and was apprehended when a
police officer fired a Taser at him.

Matt Slocum/AP

By Patrik Jonsson, Staff writer / May 4, 2010
Atlanta

Did the 17-year-old field-runner who got tasered by a Philadelphia police
officer at the Phillies-Cardinals game at Citizens Bank Park Monday night
have it coming? Or did the police officer struggling to keep pace go too far
by firing 50,000 volts at the towel-waving kid in order to crumple him in
front of nearly 45,000 fans?

That's the conversation of the day as video of the incident goes viral on
the Web and Americans get another chance to weigh the pros and cons of a
device that has become a favorite alternative for police officers
confronting weaponless lawbreakers.

The number of Tasers in the hands of police have grown to 375,000 worldwide,
and the blowback – from "Don't tase me, bro!" to a reported 300 deaths – has
been significant.

The Philadelphia Police Department has said that the officer acted in accord
with department guidelines, which allow officers to fire their Tasers to
subdue fleeing suspects. But judging from the alternating boos and cheers
from the crowd, it's far from clear where the public's sentiments lie.

To some, the tasering incident in Philadelphia is indicative of a perceived
escalation of threat against police – and how the media has perhaps laid the
groundwork for acceptance of Tasers by overhyping that fear.

"[The Phillies fan tasering incident] feels in some ways like a distorted
version of what happened in the '60s when people were out of control over
fear of war protesters, but now there's fear of almost anyone, like we're at
war with ourselves in this country," says Elayne Rapping, a pop-culture
expert at the SUNY's University at Buffalo. "It's a slippery slope when
we're going to start letting people use weapons of ever more intense
destructiveness for small things."

Trespassing on the field is taken seriously by both MLB and law enforcement.
But the 17-year-old wearing a red Phillies National League Champions shirt
obviously offered no direct threat to players, many of whom reacted by
chuckling into their gloves at the wild scene that unfolded.

The Phillies reported it was the first tasering incident for the team, and
it's certainly the first one at a professional sports game to be so widely
distributed. The scene was not televised as it happened during a commercial
break, but fans got a front row seat to an incident that broke into a viral
sprint on YouTube.

Wired 96.5-FM's Chio, who hosts the "Good Day" show, reacted with one common
refrain that seems to indicate a more sanguine cultural view of the Taser.
"I think it's great," Chio said on the air. "You're not supposed to do that
… you're looking for attention. Maybe if they know that, 'Oh, snap, I'm
gonna get tasered instead of jumped on …,' maybe this might not happen
again."
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0504/Phillies-fan-tasered-Why-police-are-using-Tasers-more-often

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Topic: Syria gave advanced missiles to Hizballah
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/85d8c005182521e3
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From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:07PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/51cefb2dc3b27cb0

Syria gave advanced missiles to Hizballah

But deep down, they really, really want peace! "Syria gave advanced M-600
missiles to Hezbollah, defense officials claim: Army intelligence worried by
Lebanese militants' growing rocket arsenal - but says Syria has a genuine
desire to strike a peace deal with Israel," by Jonathan Lis and Amos Harel
in Haaretz, May 5 (thanks to Alexandre):

Syria has delivered advanced M600 rockets to Hezbollah militants in
Lebanon within the past year, Israeli defense officials said on Wednesday.

The M600, a Syrian copy of the Iranian Fateh-110, has a range of 300km
and carries a half-ton warhead. If fired from southern Lebanon it would be
capable of hitting Tel Aviv.

Latest claims of arms transfers to Lebanon follow recent accusations by
President Shimon Peres that Syria Hezbollah gave long-range Scud missiles,
capable of inflicting heavy damage on Israel's cities.

Other government figures, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have
since avoided repeating the claims and it is unclear whether Damascus could
have delivered the 44-foot liquid-fueled missiles, handling which requires
complex logistics, undetected.

Yet doubts over the Scuds have not masked growing fear in the Israeli
defense establishment over Hezbollah's rapidly expanding arsenal. On Tuesday
the army's head of intelligence research, Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz,
told the Knesset that the Scud transfer was the "tip of the iceberg".

"Even today Hezbollah has missiles of all ranges types, including
solid-fueled rockets that have a longer range are extremely accurate,"
Baidatz told the Knesset's foreign affairs and security committee.

Baidatz warned that arms transfers were not sporadic but reflected
long-term policy in Tehran and Damascus....

But despite strong backing for Hezbollah, Syria remained keen to strike
a peace deal with Israel, Baidatz said.

"A political settlement with Israel is high on Syria's list of
priorities and intelligence shows a will to reach an agreement - but on
their terms, meaning a return of the Golan Heights and American involvement"
he said.

In other words, surrender and give us what we want, and we won't fight you
anymore.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/

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www.rapturetoheaven.com

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Topic: School sued after teachers hide in closets to pray
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/t/7e164da1cb7034fc
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---------- 1 of 1 ----------
From: Heaven soon <heavensoon@gmail.com>
Date: May 05 06:04PM -0400
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/heavensoon/msg/4114066cebfec308

School sued after teachers hide in closets to pray
ACLU-designed consent decree banning 'bless you' targeted
Posted: May 04, 2010
9:12 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Teachers say they are literally forced to pray in school closets to avoid
contempt charges

A Florida school district is being accused in a lawsuit of making a deal
with the ACLU to criminalize "protected religious expression," banning
students from saying "God bless" and forcing teachers to "hide in closets to
pray."

The claims against Santa Rosa County School District come in a complaint
filed today by Liberty Counsel, which has been involved in the dispute just
about from the beginning.

The original issue was that two students – whose names were withheld –
complained that staff or faculty members were expressing their religious
views at places such as off-campus dinners to honor school workers.

Liberty Counsel lawyers said they volunteered to work for free for the
school to protect the First Amendment rights at issue.

"But the school district decided instead to shake hands with the ACLU, pay
the ACLU $200,000 in legal fees, and voluntarily enter into the Consent
Decree that obliteratesreligious freedom and makes a mockery of the First
Amendment," Liberty Counsel said in its description of the conflict.

Since then, three school officials have faced civil and criminal contempt
charges demanded by the ACLU and the school district but have been cleared.

The decree, however, still is having impacts.

"Students can no longer say 'God Bless,' teachers must hide in closets to
pray, parents cannot communicate frankly with teachers, volunteers cannot
answer any questions regarding religion, Christian groups cannot rent school
facilities for privatereligious functions benefiting students, and pastors
are dictated how they can and cannot seat their audiences at private,
religious baccalaureate services held inside their own houses of worship,"
Liberty Counsel said.

The dispute remains volatile. WND reported only days ago that Liberty
Counsel confirmed it was "game over" because the ACLU admitted in court
documents that the two anonymous plaintiffs graduated from the district's
Pace High School in May 2009, effectively ending the court's jurisdiction in
the case.

The problem is that the consent decree and a long series of court orders had
been continued after that technical stopping point was reached.

At the time, Liberty Counsel Chairman Mathew D. Staver said, "Even a
first-year law student knows that federal courts cannot enforce a consent
degree absent jurisdiction over the parties. Now that the plaintiffs'
graduation has been confirmed, Liberty Counsel will ask the court to vacate
the consent decree and every other decision it has rendered since the
graduation of these two plaintiffs."

Other penalties also are a possibility, the law firm said.

School officials, contacted by WND, refused to comment directly on the case.

Instead, the school issued a statement accusing Liberty Counsel of making
errors in its press release, and claimed "staff is only prohibited from
promoting their ownreligious beliefs to students in their capacity as
teachers."

The statement, released to WND by Marilyne Pugh, secretary to Superintendent
Tim Wyrosdick, continued, "Further, parents may certainly communicate with
teachers as they wish and nothing in the consent decree outlaws such
communications.Religious groups may and do have access to district
facilities on the same basis as other community groups. The district does
not have any say as to how a minister chooses to seat the congregation. The
court's order, however, would not permit group seating of teachers in a
manner that would give the clear appearance of the school endorsing the
baccalaureate, which is areligious event."

The statement also complained that "new litigation" was arising that
involves the school, "which will necessarily divert the attention of our
staff from their primary function of educationstudents and divert already
sparse funds away from the classroom."

WND reported earlier on the case involving an order crafted by the ACLU
requiring employees in the Santa Rosa School District to act in an "official
capacity" whenever they are at a "school event" – including breaks,
after-school events on or off campus and private events held on campus. The
"official capacity" would include even when they are attending an athletic
competition to watch their own children or grandchildren.

The new case is being brought on behalf of a long list of faculty, parents
and students.

Named as defendants are the district and Wyrosdick. The case asks the court
for preliminary and permanent relief halting any enforcement of the ACLU's
consent degree.

The complaint alleges violations of the rights to freedom of speech,
association, equal protection and free exercise of religion under the First
and Fourteen Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

All of the plaintiffs, according to Liberty Counsel, "have been silenced,
censored, intimidated or harassed by the school district and its partner,
the American Civil Liberties Union."

The complaint outlined the problems for James T. Waters, an associate pastor
at First Baptist Church of Milton.

He previously had organized and led programs called "Youth Alive" at Hobbs
Middle School and "Differencemakers" at King Middle School by creating a
curriculum and leading the events forstudents "who voluntarily attended them
outside of regular school hours."

The events taught students responsibility, character, moral values and civil
duties.

"Since the Santa Rosa County School Board makes public school facilities
available for use by private individuals and groups outside of regular
school hours, Plaintiff Waters decided that it would be most convenient to
conduct these programs at public school facilities, so thatstudents can
attend them without the need for separate transportation to an off-campus
facility," the lawsuit said.

Before the decree, the programs "were a great success." But after, school
officials "felt compelled … to prohibit Plaintiff Waters from regularly
attending these programs."

"They told him that … [he] could not longer be a regular speaker at the very
programs he organized," the lawsuit said.

Among other limitations: "Defendant school board prohibit[s] teachers who
attend privately-sponsored, voluntary religious events, held outside of
school hours, from sitting together in one bloc, from wearing similar
graduation attire … or from leading or directing the baccalaureate
services."

The school even issued a list of words that "should not be used when
creating an agenda for a program/event/activity" and that included
"devotional pledge" "invocation" and "inspirational message."

Nor could the word "blessed" be on any school website. And the school banned
forwarding any e-mail with any "religious message," banned references to a
baccalaureate on the school calendar and even said this: "In conversation,
if someone asks their supervisor, 'How are you?' may the supervisor respond
with 'I am blessed?' Yes, as long as they do not elaborate on the
connotation of blessed," the school said.

According to a report at Values Voter News, a clerk in the school, Michelle
Winkler, told of hiding inside a closet in the school when a co-worker
sought comfort from her after the loss of the co-worker's 2-year-old child.

The two hid in the closet because they were worried about being seen and
being held in contempt of court under the ACLU-negotiated decree.

Staver said in a Liberty Counsel report, "The errors in judgment by the ACLU
and the school district are stunning. The school district agreed to enter
into an unconstitutional consent decree that was legally effective for less
than one month, then agreed to pay the ACLU a whopping $200,000, and then
expended a greatdeal of additional resources to oppose Liberty Counsel's
intervention and defend the unconstitutional and moot consent decree."

As WND reported, Winkler faced contempt charges after her husband read a
prayer at a private banquet held at a naval base to honor non-instructional
school-district employees. The judge eventually found Winkler's husband's
prayer at a voluntary gathering outside of school did not violate any court
order.

During her testimony, Winkler broke down on the witness stand as she told a
story about how her co-worker sought comfort from her after losing her
2-year-old child.

Liberty Counsel earlier successfully defended Pace High School Principal
Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman against criminal contempt
charges after the ACLU complained when Freeman gave a 15-second blessing for
a lunch meal for 20 adults with no students present.

The men had faced penalties of up to six months in jail and $5,000 in fines
each.

The case began in August 2008 when two anonymous students sued with the help
of the ACLU over longstanding practices at the school allowing prayer at
some events. The school's separate counsel had agreed to a consent decree
that "essentially bans all Santa Rosa County School District employees from
engaging in prayer or religious activities," Liberty Counsel reported.

Members of the 2009 graduating class at Florida's Pace High School expressed
their objections to the ACLU restrictions on statements of religious faith
at their school by rising up en masse at their ceremony and reciting the
Lord's Prayer.

Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace stood up at their graduation,
according to Staver. Parents, family and friends joined in the recitation
and applauded the students when they were finished, Staver told WND.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=149873

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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Fwd: [Heaven] Digest for heavensoon@googlegroups.com - 10 Messages in 10 Topics

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