FAITH.
The lamentations of whiners.
"Faith" is just their marketing buzzword.
Phony people terrified of mortality. Certainly they have stopped reading by this point now that they know their delusions will be credibly challenged.
Reminds me of my severe frustration of trying for over a decade to get a response out of the dim-wit public out there. Not that most of the comments would be useful or anything I hadn't thought of already. The public on the internet are cowards whose contribution to any forum is just the diarrhea they spew out from the keyboards they can hide behind.
"Faith" is because they know that in their cowardly and terrified delusions there is SAFETY IN NUMBERS.
If you listen carefully to the responses from those cowardly Jesus Christ bible-thumpers, as are all religious people, then you can get a glimmer of how they rationalize their ridiculous rationalizations for their Imaginary Man With The Beard Who Lives In The Clouds.
I see them on television sometimes pointing and looking directly upwards to the sky. They either worship the astronauts living on the International Space Station OR they are simply pointing up to the location of the bible-thumper's ignorance.
The Sky.
The source of ignorance for billions of monkey-men and monkey-women to this very day.
1978 film "Capricorn One" DVD video:
01:58:08
The President of the United States: Ladies and Gentleman. Mrs. Brubaker. Mrs. Willis. Mrs. Walker. My fellow Americans. I come here today to talk of unfinished hopes and of unfilled dreams.
plot.jpg (Kerry Burgess, et al., circa 1988) USS Wainwright Veterans Association
From 7/19/1989 ( the United Airlines Flight 232 crash in Sioux City Iowa and the end of Kerry Burgess the natural human being cloned from another human being ) To 2/7/2013 is 8604 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 5/24/1989 ( premiere US film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" ) is 8604 days
From 11/4/1954 ( premiere US film "You Know What Sailors Are" ) To 2/7/2013 is 21280 days
21280 = 10640 + 10640
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 12/20/1994 ( on the ground in Bosnia as Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps captain this day is my United States Navy Cross medal date of record ) is 10640 days
From 10/2/1953 ( premiere US TV series "The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse" ) To 2/7/2013 is 21678 days
21678 = 10839 + 10839
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 7/7/1995 ( the return to Earth landing of the United States space shuttle Atlantis orbiter vehicle mission STS-71 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-71 pilot astronaut and my 3rd official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 10839 days
From 10/2/1953 ( premiere US TV series "The Pride of the Family" ) To 2/7/2013 is 21678 days
21678 = 10839 + 10839
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 7/7/1995 ( the return to Earth landing of the United States space shuttle Atlantis orbiter vehicle mission STS-71 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-71 pilot astronaut and my 3rd official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 10839 days
From 9/18/1947 ( the United States National Security Act of 1947 & the United States Central Intelligence Agency established ) To 12/24/1994 ( Los Angeles Times "RELIGION : Gospel According to German Author Links Jesus to Buddha" ) is 17264 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/7/2013 is 17264 days
From 9/18/1947 ( the United States National Security Act of 1947 & the United States Central Intelligence Agency established ) To 12/24/1994 ( Los Angeles Times "Bosnian Serbs, Government OK Cease-Fire" ) is 17264 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/7/2013 is 17264 days
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-national-prayer-breakfast-28
The American Presidency Project
BARACK OBAMA
44th President of the United States: 2009 - 2017
Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast
February 07, 2013
Thank you very much. Please have a seat.
Mark, thank you for that introduction. I thought he was going to talk about my gray hair.
indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade_00h17m38s.jpg
indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade_00h18m23s.jpg
indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade_00h18m52s.jpg
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Walter Donovan: The Holy Grail, Dr. Jones. The chalice used by Christ during the Last Supper. The cup that caught His blood at the Crucifixion and was entrusted to Joseph of Arimathea.
Indiana Jones: The Arthur legend. I've heard this bedtime story before.
Walter Donovan: Eternal life, Dr.Jones! The gift of youth to whoever drinks from the Grail. Now, that's a bedtime story I'd like to wake up to.
Indiana Jones: An old man's dream.
Walter Donovan: Every man's dream
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/releaseinfo
IMDb
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Release Info
USA 24 May 1989
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/fullcredits
IMDb
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Full Cast & Crew
Harrison Ford ... Indiana Jones
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077294/quotes
IMDb
Capricorn One (1977)
Quotes
Robert Caulfield: Look, when a reporter tells his assignment editor that he thinks he may be on to something that could be really big, the assignment editor is supposed to say: "You've got forty eight hours, kids, and you better come up with something good or it's going to be your neck!" That's what he's supposed to say, I saw it in a movie.
1978 film "Capricorn One" DVD:
00:38:44
Robert Caulfield: Hard day at the office?
Elliot Whittier: I don't even want to talk about it.
Robert Caulfield: Did you break your slide rule?
Elliot Whittier: I'm not really sure. I ran a check on my own on the transmission signals. The numbers came up screwy. So I told Dr. Bergman about it. It was like he was pissed at me for running a check. He said it must be a console malfunction. So I told Dr. Kelloway about it and he said the same thing.
Robert Caulfield: Big deal. What did you expect - a merit badge?
Elliot Whittier: I guess so. They must know what they're doing. Those numbers couldn't have been right anyway. No way.
Robert Caulfield: Well, if you know the numbers couldn't have been right why the hell are you so upset?
Elliot Whittier: Because the way they reacted. No double check or anything. They looked at me like I was a kid and offered me a cookie.
Robert Caulfield: What were the numbers?
Elliot Whittier: I have to admit it is ridiculous.
Robert Caulfield: Good. Let's play pool.
Elliot Whittier: Those signals couldn't have come from 300 miles.
Robert Caulfield: Which signals?
https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-71/images/high/KSC-95EC-0908.jpg
https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-71/images/images.html
STS-71 KSC Electronic Photo File
The following electronic images depict some of the preflight , launch and landing activities associated with the Space Shuttle Mission STS-71. For other shuttle missions visit the Shuttle Countdown Image/Movie Archive
24. KSC-95EC-0908 - (L,M,H) - STS-71 Pilot Charles J. Precourt suits up
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/01/27/reagan
The New Yorker
The Talk of the Town
January 27, 1968 Issue
Reagan
By James Stevenson
The New Yorker, January 27, 1968 P. 26
Talk story about Gov. Ronald Reagan of Calif., a possible Republican Presidential candidate. He came to N.Y. last week to address a banquet of the Economic Club. Shortly before it began the writer went to the Jade Room of the Waldorf where the banquet was to be held. There were about 20 photographers present. Reagan walked in, seeming completely at ease. He answered a few questions from reporters, & then placed himself at the disposal of the photographers. They asked him to stand behind a group of microphones & appear to be giving a speech. He did so. He was then asked by a TV man to read some of his speech, which he did. Questioned about Vietnam he said no one could speak with real authority from the outside. He feels the final solution has to be military. He considers two issues of equal importance in the coming campaign: eroding moral standards and inflation & the stability of our currency. He exchanged a few words with people about his TV days.
From 6/29/1955 To 1/27/1968 ( The New Yorker Magazine "Reagan" ) is 4595 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 6/2/1978 ( premiere US film "Capricorn One" ) is 4595 days
From 6/29/1955 To 5/14/1990 ( departing as United States Navy Fire Controlman Second Class Petty Officer Kerry Wayne Burgess my honorable discharge from United States Navy active service for commissioning as chief warrant officer United States Marine Corps and continuing to Kerry Burgess the United States Marine Corps general ) is 12738 days
12738 = 6369 + 6369
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 4/11/1983 ( premiere US TV series episode "Frontline"::"Space: The Race for High Ground" ) is 6369 days
From 6/29/1955 To 1/8/1980 ( John William Mauchly deceased ) is 8959 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 5/14/1990 ( departing as United States Navy Fire Controlman Second Class Petty Officer Kerry Wayne Burgess my honorable discharge from United States Navy active service for commissioning as chief warrant officer United States Marine Corps and continuing to Kerry Burgess the United States Marine Corps general ) is 8959 days
Other post by me on this topic: http://hvom.blogspot.com/2018/08/charles-precourt.html
https://hvom.blogspot.com/2018/11/indiana-jones-and-last-crusade.html
https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/precourt.html
NASA official website
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Houston, Texas 77058
Biographical Data
CHARLES J. PRECOURT (COLONEL, USAF, RET.)
NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)
PERSONAL DATA: Born June 29, 1955
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in January 1990
from my private journal as Kerry Burgess: 9/12/2006 11:27 AM
Was I part of the group that is known as Delta Force? That would make sense.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077294/releaseinfo
IMDb
Capricorn One (1977)
Release Info
USA 2 June 1978
1978 film "Capricorn One" DVD video:
Kay Brubaker: What are you after?
Robert Caulfield: I'm taking a terrible risk telling you this. I don't think your husband is the kind of man who makes mistakes no matter how far away he may be. I think he was trying to tell you something.
Kay Brubaker: What?
Robert Caulfield: What did you do at Flat Rock?
Kay Brubaker: Nothing much. We came home after one day because Charles got sick.
Robert Caulfield: What'd you do that one day?
Kay Brubaker: I don't remember. We took a tour of the town they had those tours and I don't remember we took some home movies.
Robert Caulfield: Do you have them?
Kay Brubaker: Yes.
Robert Caulfield: May I see them?
Kay Brubaker: Yes. They were making a movie the day we were there. Bru got a big kick out of it. He never knew it took so much time to just do one simple scene. Charles loved that one. He wasn't in the greatest mood though. He didn't know it but he was sick. Bru was fascinated with the detail. He couldn't get over how something so fake could look so real. He kept on saying that with that kind of technology you could convince people of almost anything.
From 6/29/1955 ( Charles Precourt ) To 8/26/1980 ( Chris Pine ) is 9190 days
9190 = 4595 + 4595
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 6/2/1978 ( premiere US film "Capricorn One" ) is 4595 days
From 8/26/1980 To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 6023 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 4/30/1982 is 6023 days
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1517976/bio
IMDb
Chris Pine
Biography
Born August 26, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA
Birth Name Christopher Whitelaw Pine
posted by Kerry Burgess - H.V.O.M at 7:01 PM Monday, March 05, 2007
As for space shuttle flight STS-82, which I believe was scheduled to point to my graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982, the commander of STS-82 was born 11/14/56. From his birth, 9265 days plus 33 days points to 4/30/82. From 11/14/1956 to 4/30/1982 is: 9298 days. 9298 minus 9265 equals 33. I think the 9265 was a clue that points to my first day at Princeton University and then 4/30/82 was my last day at the U.S. Naval Academy, although the class actually graduated, I assume, on 5/28/82.
STS-82 was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle.
Launch: February 11, 1997
Landing: February 21, 1997
...
Kenneth D. Bowersox (4), - Commander
Kenneth Duane "Sox" Bowersox (born 14 November 1956) was an American astronaut, a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station.
The pilot of STS-82 was born 3/24/57 and I have calculated the connection of his birth to 9/2/65 and 5/28/82. The date 92/65 was what I think was my first day at Princeton University. The date 5/28/82, was the offical graduation of U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982, or so I assume.
From 3/24/1957 to 9/2/1965 is: 3084 days. 3084 / 0.3359 = 9181.30. From 3/24/1957 5/13/1982 is: 9181 days. 359 hours / 24 = 14.9583. From 5/13/1982 to 5/28/1982 is: 15 days
Scott Jay "Doc" Horowitz (born March 24, 1957) is a retired American astronaut and a veteran of four space shuttle missions.
A Mission Specialist on flight STS-82 was born 12/12/51, which I believe connects me to 5/28/82, the date I think was the official date of the graduation of U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982.
The number of days from his birth date of 12/21/51 to 5/28/82, which was possibly the Class of 1982 graduation date, was 11116 days. Multiplying 11116 by 0.3359 equals 3733.8644. The number of days from 3/3/59 and 5/22/69 was 3733. From 5/22/69, 59 days later was 7/20/69, the day Apollo 11 landed on the Earth’s moon.
Steven Alan Hawley (born December 12, 1951) is a NASA mission-specialist astronaut, who has made 5 spaceflights so far.
One of the other Mission Specialists was born 4/15/56 and I believe that date connects to my first day at Princeton University and the graduation date of U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1982. I have been searching for the actual date the class graduates but I haven’t been able to find it. I thought I found it once, but then I realized that date was wrong because the clock that supposedly reported the duration from graduation is stuck at 24 years, 2 months. I assume that 5/28/82 was the official graduation date because sources indicate that graduation at USNA has been on the last Friday of May for the last few years.
The number of days from 4/15/1956 to 5/28/1982 was 9539. From 4/15/1956 to 9/2/1965 was 3427 days. Dividing 3427 by 9539 equals 0.359
Gregory Jordan Harbaugh is a former NASA astronaut.
Harbaugh was born April 15, 1956
excerpt ends posted by Kerry Burgess - H.V.O.M at 7:01 PM Monday, March 05, 2007
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/quotes
IMDb
Star Trek (2009)
Quotes
Christopher Pike: You know, I couldn't believe it when the bartender told me who you are.
James T. Kirk: Who am I, Captain Pike?
Christopher Pike: Your father's son.
James T. Kirk: [Turns toward the bar] Can I get another one?
Christopher Pike: For my dissertation, I was assigned the U.S.S. Kelvin. Something I admired about your Dad: he didn't believe in no-win scenarios
James T. Kirk: Sure learned his lesson!
Christopher Pike: Well, it depends on how you define winning. You're here, aren't you?
James T. Kirk: [as beer is brought to him] Thanks.
Christopher Pike: You know that instinct to leap without looking, that was his nature too. And in my opinion it's something Starfleet's lost.
James T. Kirk: [laughing] Why are you talkin' to me, man?
Christopher Pike: 'Cause I looked up your file while you were drooling on the floor. Your aptitude tests are off the charts, so what is it? You like being the only genius level repeat offender in the Midwest?
James T. Kirk: Maybe I love it.
Christopher Pike: Look, so your Dad dies. You can settle for a less than ordinary life, or do you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special? Enlist in Starfleet.
James T. Kirk: [scoffs] Enlist!
James T. Kirk: [laughs] You guys must be way down on your recruiting quota for the month!
Christopher Pike: If you're half the man your father was, Jim, Starfleet could use you. You could be an officer in four years. You could have your own ship in eight. You understand what the Federation is, don't you? It's important. It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...
James T. Kirk: Are we done?
Christopher Pike: I'm done.
Christopher Pike: [Gets up] Riverside Shipyard. Shuttle for new recruits leaves tomorrow morning, 0800.
Christopher Pike: [pause] Now, your father was captain of a Starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's and yours. I dare you to do better.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Feb 24, 2018 2:35am
If I recall correctly then this is only the second time I have watched the Amazon Prime video for the 2016 "Star Trek Beyond". I doubt I would have ever before watched that production if not for its convenient availability on Amazon Prime Video.
I have expressed before my disgust with the reboot of "Star Trek", which was set a low-bar to begin with, often leading me to wonder if the recent series of installments were supposed to be sarcastic.
I haven't watched in a long time the predecessor of the 2016 "Beyond" but this newest version is clearly superior in many regards.
The visuals are in my opinion the best of any other sci-fi production that me and Dr. Coors can think of right now. The concepts of artificial gravity are a lot more intriguing in the setting of the "Yorktown".
My favorites installments of the entire collection of "Star Trek", television and movie, was the 1994 and 1996 and my guess is that I personally directed the production of those films.
Personally created by me personally because I knew the future. I knew in the future I would be sitting here now again for another stupid day at this stupid computer and I would be again completely on my own personal initiative trying to find answers.
As for the 2016 "Star Trek Beyond", they make me want to see the next installment.
My favorite installment is the 1996 film and the more I see the 2016 video the more I think that's going to overcome "First Contact".
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/quotes
IMDb
Star Trek (2009)
Quotes
Leonard 'Bones' McCoy: I may throw up on ya.
James T. Kirk: I think these things are pretty safe.
Leonard 'Bones' McCoy: Don't pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. Solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And wait'll you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.
James T. Kirk: Well, I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space.
Leonard 'Bones' McCoy: Yeah. Well, I got nowhere else to go. The ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I got left is my bones.
from my private journal as Kerry Burgess: 12/16/08 4:30 PM
From 1/18/1974 ( my first landing on planet venus and my documented and lawful exclusive claim to the territory of planet Venus ) To 6/2/1978 ( premiere US film "Capricorn One" ) is 1596 days
From 3/3/1959 ( my birth date US ) To 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) is 1596 days
From 4/14/1977 ( I returned to Earth after successfully diverting the comet in the outer solar system ) to 6/2/1978 ( premiere US film "Capricorn One" ) is: 414 days
From 6/2/1978 ( premiere US film "Capricorn One" ) To 7/21/1979 ( my wife Phoebe and I are married ) is 414 days
From 10/9/1971 ( I am board-certified surgeon as Dr. Thomas Reagan M.D. ) to 6/2/1978 ( premiere US film "Capricorn One" ) is: 2428 days
2428 = 1214 + 1214
From 7/16/1963 ( my wife ) to 11/11/1966 ( I was Gemini 12 spacecraft astronaut ) is: 1214 days
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077294/
Capricorn One (1978)
Release Date: 2 June 1978 (USA)
James Brolin ... Col. Charles Brubaker
Brenda Vaccaro ... Kay Brubaker
12/16/08 4:46 PM
From 1/18/1974 ( my first landing on planet venus and my documented and lawful exclusive claim to the territory of planet Venus ) To 1/11/1979 ( premiere UK film "Capricorn One" ) is 3 days, 3 weeks, 59 months
http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/treehouse-of-horror-vii-1439/trivia/
tv.com
The Simpsons Season 8 Episode 1
Treehouse of Horror VII
Aired Sunday 8:00 PM Oct 27, 1996 on FOX
Quotes
Homer: We think we saw Hugo at the airport; he was boarding a plane to Switzerland and… (sees Hugo) Oh.
from my private journal as Kerry Burgess: 05/15/11 1:56 AM
The Smashing Pumpkins "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" started playing next and has been playing for a few minutes and it just got to some compelling lyrics that make me wonder.
I was listening when I heard "the world is a vampire" and I thought that was mildly compelling and then I heard "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage" and I thought that was also mildly compelling. I decided to make this entry when they got the lyrics about Jesus and "chosen one" and maybe some other lyrics I don't recall now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smashing_Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, 1993's Siamese Dream.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamese_Dream
Siamese Dream
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Release and reception
Siamese Dream was released on July 27, 1993 and debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 the following week. The album was almost universally lauded by music critics. Select's Andrew Perry praised it as "the most grand-scale, expansively-passionate blasts of music you'll hear this year" and remarked that it would be "hard for anyone to top this one".
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/albums/with/72157672226040484
flickr
NASA on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/albums/72157672226040484/with/4479013787/
flickr
Pumpkin Suits
Sometimes we like to call those bright orange suits (Advanced Crew Escape Suits, ACES) pumpkin suits.
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https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/QLEAAOSwXAJYV0qZ/s-l640.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2383/2255852768_fe2fb9f391_z.jpg?zz=1
http://articles.latimes.com/1994-12-24/news/mn-12556_1_german-author
Los Angeles Times
RELIGION : Gospel According to German Author Links Jesus to Buddha
December 24, 1994 JOHN-THOR DAHLBURG TIMES STAFF WRITER
NEW DELHI — This weekend, Christians by the hundreds of millions the world over mark one of the most joyous events in the ecclesiastical year. But what became of the infant whose birth is celebrated at Christmas?
The Bible, of course, tells the story. But a German dissenter with a diploma in theology is offering his own in a controversial book now for sale in bookstores in India and elsewhere.
The title of Holger Kersten's work, amplified and republished this year after selling 1.5 million copies worldwide, says it all: "Jesus Lived in India."
In a nutshell, he proposes that the son of Joseph and Mary traveled to India when young, imbibed the Buddhist philosophy and world view at the feet of Buddhist monks, then returned to propagate his findings among his people in Palestine.
Marshaling his argument on such materials as the now-discredited shroud of Turin, etymology, the writings of a 19th-Century Russian adventurer and sermons preached by Jesus as he tramped through the Holy Land, Kersten asserts that Christ did not die on the cross but survived and returned to India.
In the remote Himalayan land of Kashmir, Jesus (known then as Issa) lived to a ripe old age as a Buddhist monk, according to Kersten. His tomb, he says, appears to be situated in the Kashmiri city of Srinagar.
"Jesus was a Buddhist," Kersten, 43, said Wednesday in a telephone interview from his home in Freiburg, Germany. "I think it's wonderful to show how these great religions are connected and what they have in common."
Though his work offers a theory that many will find dubious at best, the book is a reminder of the extraordinary importance India has exerted through the centuries on the human spirit. Ritual baptism and monastic asceticism are among its exports. According to Kersten, even Jesus' parable of the widow's mite, cited in the Gospel according to St. Mark, seems to be a reworking of an older Buddhist story.
Another work of Kersten's, to be published in English next March, inventories the parallels between the teachings of Jesus and the man known as Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, the Indian prince and ascetic who founded Buddhism. Kersten contends that Jesus' original message was appropriated by St. Paul the Apostle, who introduced new elements, including misogyny and the concept that Christ's death absolved others of their sins.
"I am a follower of Jesus but not a Christian in its original meaning," said Kersten, who used to teach the precepts of Christianity in state adult vocational school until his doubts sent him on a search that ended in India.
Mainstream Christians could rightly note that Kersten's ideas are heresy. In its 264 pages, the book, published in the United States by Element Inc. of Rockport, Mass., denies the central tenet of Christianity: that the Son of God died to atone for humanity's sins.
"There are so many kinds of books from this 'New Age' stream that the church doesn't take any notice of them anymore," Brother Jeffrey Gros, associate director of ecumenical and religious affairs at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, replied when asked his reaction.
"Besides, when it takes notice, sometimes it gets embarrassed," Gros said.
Making a case for Christian-Buddhist syncretism, as Kersten does, is clearly out of favor in the Vatican. In his recent book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope," Pope John Paul II has criticized Buddhism sufficiently so that, in Sri Lanka, miffed Buddhist prelates have threatened to boycott a planned inter-religious meeting when the pontiff visits next month.
Kersten, whose work has been reviewed in publications here, admits that some of his assertions "may seem audacious . . . even improbable." He lines up a range of materials--including the Turin shroud, which the church says has been proved a forgery through carbon dating, but which Kersten claimed was authentic in a previous book he co-authored, "The Jesus Conspiracy."
He acknowledges that some of his conclusions or conjectures seem far-fetched--for instance, that the word Kashmir may be a deformation of kosher.
"This is just one of the hundreds of pieces of evidence, not a proof," he says. "It's all like a mosaic that fits together."
And what of Christmas? Kersten insists that research shows it is the Christian reworking of the annual celebrations that used to mark the Dec. 25 birth of the ancient Persian sun deity, Mithras. He plans to celebrate it anyway: "I go to my parents' because they like it," he says.
https://www.cia.gov/news-information/blog/2014/histint-the-national-security-act-of-1947.html
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Posted: Jul 24, 2014 11:10 AM
Last Updated: Jul 24, 2014 11:52 AM
#HISTINT: The National Security Act of 1947
On July 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 (P.L. 80-235, 61 Stat 496), which later became the charter of the U.S. national security establishment. The National Security Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of December 2004 significantly altered the National Security Act, creating the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
This landmark legislation of 1947 reorganized and modernized the U.S. armed forces, foreign policy, and the Intelligence Community apparatus. It directed a major reorganization of the foreign policy and military establishments of the US government. It also created many of the institutions that U.S. presidents would find useful when formulating and implementing foreign policy, such as the National Security Council (NSC), the US Air Force, and the National Military Establishment(renamed the Department of Defense in 1949). In the intelligence field, the act ratified President Truman's creation (in 1946) of the post of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), and transformed the Central Intelligence Group into the statutory Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the nation’s first peacetime intelligence agency.
The proposed act generated sharp debates in the Executive Branch and Congress. Several compromises were struck in order for it to win passage. These compromises would have far-reaching implications for the Intelligence Community.
Once passed, the National Security Act established:
that CIA would be an independent agency under the supervision of the NSC;
that CIA would conduct both analysis and clandestine activities, but would have no policymaking role and no law enforcement powers;
a line between foreign and domestic intelligence and assigned these realms, in effect, to the CIA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, respectively;
that the DCI would be confirmed by the Senate and could be either a civilian or an officer on detail from his home service.
The National Security Act of 1947 went into effect on September 18, 1947.
https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/clandestine/core-collector.html
Central Intelligence Agency
United States of America
Operations Officer
Description
As an Operations Officer for the CIA, you will focus on clandestinely spotting, assessing, developing, recruiting, and handling non-US citizens with access to foreign intelligence vital to US foreign policy and national security decisionmakers. You will be expected to build relationships based on rapport and trust using sound judgment, integrity, and the ability to assess character and motivation.
Operation Officers spend most of their careers serving in multi-year assignments in a variety of overseas locations. As such, all Operation Officers must be able to be medically cleared for world wide deployment. All Operations Officers address a highly diverse and dynamic set of intelligence requirements on country- and region-specific issues, as well as transnational issues such as counterterrorism, counter proliferation, and cyber.
All Directorate of Operations (DO) officers are hired at an entry level and train as they are expected to work - as one team. Operations Officers begin their careers spending one to two years learning the foundations of clandestine operational tradecraft via classroom training, practical exercises, and on-the-job experience gained through a series of interim assignments. Following successful completion of the foundational training, each DO officer will transition into advanced training activity to prepare them to serve effectively in their respective career occupational specialty.
http://articles.latimes.com/1994-12-24/news/mn-12564_1_bosnian-serb-news
Los Angeles Times
Bosnian Serbs, Government OK Cease-Fire : Balkans: Disputes over wording postpone truce a day. Release of prisoners delayed.
December 24, 1994 From Associated Press
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnia's Serbs and the Muslim-led government agreed to a pause in their war beginning today, but the deal fell short of what former U.S. President Jimmy Carter had hoped for.
Fighting appeared to ebb across Bosnia on Friday, and the United Nations reported no civilian casualties. The rebel Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, said his troops will hold their fire unless fired at, even before the weeklong truce begins at noon today (3 a.m. PST), the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA reported.
Carter left Sarajevo this week after getting both sides to agree to a four-month truce that was supposed to begin Friday. But talks bogged down as Yasushi Akashi, the U.N. chief for the former Yugoslavia, tried to work out details.
The Serbs and the government agreed in principle to a four-month truce, and they were to use the cease-fire starting today to work out the longer truce.
Until a comprehensive, four-month truce is reached, there will be no discussions about an international peace plan that is supposed to be the basis of their talks. The plan would require the Serbs to reduce their holdings in Bosnia to 49% from the 70% they now occupy.
Bosnia's government wants the Serbs to agree to the plan, which the Serbs repeatedly have rejected, before talking about any modifications. The Serbs want to talk without first approving the plan.
Even in agreeing to the brief truce, the two sides refused to sign the same document. Both documents called for the cease-fire, but had different language regarding the release of prisoners and information about missing persons. That meant there would be no quick release of thousands of prisoners of war that Carter said had been agreed to.
Both sides took out a sentence referring to future negotiations on the international peace plan because they could not settle on the wording.
"Semantics sometimes acquires its own momentum and tends to become a monster," said Akashi.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Oct 06, 2017 6:16pm
"Crosses"
Symbols of Jesus Christ SUPERSTITIOUS morons.
Cowardly Jesus Christ little weaklings so terrified of mortality. So desperate for the FALSE HOPE of Jesus Christ fairy-tales invented by cavemen.
Jesus Christ bible-thumpers absolutely make the world a WORSE place.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/quotes
IMDb
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Quotes
[after commandeering a plane]
Professor Henry Jones: I didn't know you could fly a plane.
Indiana Jones: Fly, yes. Land, no.
STS-071_shuttle.jpg
619926main_sts-71_docked.jpg
https://media.giphy.com/media/WmcGa7HpInE9a/giphy.gif
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Aug 18, 2018 3:44pm
"Faith"
Your idiotic marketing buzzwords.
"Spiritual"
Marketing buzzwords for cowards terrified of mortality.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Sep 24, 2017 9:54am
"No Preference".
Not quite the level of arrogance as that "Believer" marketing buzzword those mindless drones throw around with no thoughtful consideration but still, still the language of wacko nutjobs.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Jan 27, 2017 9:00am
Myths and Superstitions Around Solar Eclipses
Solar eclipses have caused fear, inspired curiosity and have been associated with myths, legends and superstitions throughout history. Even today, an eclipse of the Sun is considered a bad omen in many cultures.
Ancient cultures tried to understand why the Sun temporarily vanished from the Sky, so they came up with various reasons for what caused a solar eclipse.
Angry Sun
The ancient Greeks believed that a solar eclipse was a sign of angry gods and that it was the beginning of disasters and destruction.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Jul 08, 2017 8:52am
Jesus bible-thumpers, as are all religious superstitious people, aremore dangerous than any monkey that inhabits this planet Earth.
They are cowardly terrified of mortality and their so-called ministers have duped them into believing their idiotic minds have the answers to the terrors that plague their timid lives.
So they are gullible. Jesus bible-thumpers are easily susceptible.
Any time you hear any bible-thumper talking about Devils and Demons and Sins then you know they're talking about themselves.
Their lives have always been pathetic and meaningless and they need the scams of preachers to give them phony reasons.
People who perpetuate the idiotic belief of some "God" are truly the scum of the Earth.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Aug 26, 2017 8:27am
A plaque to commemorate a plague of wacko nutjobs in this country.
There is no greater monument to the natural cowardice of humans than is their organized religions.
Timid little pathetic morons insisting their Imaginary Friend Who Lives In The Clouds will help them as they desperately cling to False Hope.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Sep 25, 2017 11:39am
Circular Reasoning.
You're gullible enough to believe that your IMAGINARY Friend Who Lives In The Clouds helped you somehow. In your dull and meaningless life here on the surface of the planet Earth somehow your *imaginary* friend helped you and filled you with false hope.
There's the truthful explanation for why you needed help in the first place!
You're gullible.
You can't think for yourself.
from my online journal as Kerry Burgess
Jun 16, 2017 6:55pm
You have no "soul", bible-thumpers.
Don't be a child.
Grow up.
Face reality.
Stop being such a moron and pretending that fairy-tales are real.
Learn some truth about your pathetic existence on this planet Earth.
Stop being such a coward so desperate and gullible for FALSE HOPE. The false hope invented by cavemen.
Stop being idiotic.
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-national-prayer-breakfast-28
The American Presidency Project
BARACK OBAMA
44th President of the United States: 2009 - 2017
Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast
February 07, 2013
Thank you very much. Please have a seat.
Mark, thank you for that introduction. I thought he was going to talk about my gray hair. [Laughter] It is true that my daughters are gorgeous. [Laughter] That's because my wife is gorgeous. And my goal is to improve my gene pool.
To Mark and Jeff, thank you for your wonderful work on behalf of this breakfast. To all of those who work so hard to put this together, to the heads of state, Members of Congress, and my Cabinet, religious leaders, and distinguished guests, to our outstanding speaker, to all the faithful who've journeyed to our Capital: Michelle and I are truly honored to be with you this morning.
But before I begin, I hope people don't mind me taking a moment of personal privilege. I want to say a quick word about a close friend of mine and yours, Joshua Dubois. Now, some of you may not know Joshua, but Joshua has been at my side—in work and in prayer—for years now. He is a young reverend, but wise in years. He's worked on my staff. He's done an outstanding job as the head of our Faith-Based Office.
Every morning, he sends me, via e-mail, a daily meditation: a snippet of Scripture for me to reflect on. And it has meant the world to me. And despite my pleas, tomorrow will be his last day in the White House. So this morning I want to publicly thank Joshua for all that he's done, and I know that everybody joins me in wishing him all the best in his future endeavors, including getting married.
It says something about us—as a nation, as a people—that every year, for 61 years now, this great prayerful tradition has endured. It says something about us that every year, in times of triumph and in tragedy, in calm and in crisis, we come together, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as brothers and sisters and as children of God. Every year, in the midst of all our busy and noisy lives, we set aside one morning to gather as one community, united in prayer.
And we do so because we're a nation ever humbled by our history and we're ever attentive to our imperfections, particularly the imperfections of our President. We come together because we're a people of faith. We know that faith is something that must be cultivated. Faith is not a possession, faith is a process.
I was struck by the passage that was read earlier from the Book of Hebrews: "Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and He rewards those who diligently seek Him." He rewards those who diligently seek Him, not just for one moment or one day, but for every moment and every day.
As Christians, we place our faith in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus Christ. But so many other Americans also know the close embrace of faith: Muslims and Jews, Hindus and Sikhs. And all Americans, whether religious or secular, have a deep abiding faith in this Nation.
Recently, I had occasion to reflect on the power of faith. A few weeks ago, during the Inauguration, I was blessed to place my hand on the Bibles of two great Americans, two men whose faith still echoes today. One was the Bible owned by President Abraham Lincoln and the other, the Bible owned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As I prepared to take the sacred oath, I thought about these two men, and I thought of how, in times of joy and pain and uncertainty, they turned to their Bibles to seek the wisdom of God's words and thought of how, for as long as we've been a nation, so many of our leaders, our Presidents and our preachers, our legislators and our jurists have done the same. Each one faced their own challenges, each one finding in Scripture their own lessons from the Lord.
And as I was looking out on the crowd during Inauguration, I thought of Dr. King. We often think of him standing tall in front of the endless crowds, stirring the Nation's conscience with a bellowing voice and a mighty dream. But I also thought of his doubts and his fears, for those moments came as well: the lonely moments when he was left to confront the presence of long-festering injustice and undisguised hate; imagined the darkness and the doubt that must have surrounded him when he was in that Birmingham jail and the anger that surely rose up in him the night his house was bombed with his wife and child inside and the grief that shook him as he eulogized those four precious girls taken from this Earth as they gathered in a house of God.
And I was reminded that, yes, Dr. King was a man of audacious hope and a man of relentless optimism. But he was always—he was also a man occasionally brought to his knees in fear and in doubt and in helplessness. And in those moments, we know that he retreated alone to a quiet space so he could reflect and he could pray and he could grow his faith.
And I imagine he turned to certain verses that we now read. I imagine him reflecting on Isaiah: that we wait upon the Lord; that the Lord shall renew those who wait; that they shall mount up with wings as eagles, and they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.
We know that in Scripture, Dr. King found strength, and in the Bible, he found conviction. In the words of God, he found a truth about the dignity of man that, once realized, he never relinquished.
We know Lincoln had such moments as well. To see this country torn apart, to see his fellow citizens waging a ferocious war that pitted brother against brother, family against family, that was as heavy a burden as any President will ever have to bear.
We know Lincoln constantly met with troops and visited the wounded and honored the dead. And the toll mounted day after day, week after week. And you can see in the lines of his face the toll that the war cost him. But he did not break. Even as he buried a beloved son, he did not break. Even as he struggled to overcome melancholy, despair, grief, he did not break.
And we know that he surely found solace in Scripture, that he could acknowledge his own doubts, that he was humbled in the face of the Lord. And that, I think, allowed him to become a better leader. It's what allowed him in what may be one of the greatest speeches ever written, in his Second Inaugural, to describe the Union and the Confederate soldier alike—both reading the same Bible, both prayed to the same God, but "the prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes."
In Lincoln's eyes, the power of faith was humbling, allowing us to embrace our limits in knowing God's will. And as a consequence, he was able to see God in those who vehemently opposed him.
Today, the divisions in this country are, thankfully, not as deep or destructive as when Lincoln led, but they are real. The differences in how we hope to move our Nation forward are less pronounced than when King marched, but they do exist. And as we debate what is right and what is just, what is the surest way to create a more hopeful—for our children, how we're going to reduce our deficit, what kind of tax plans we're going to have, how we're going to make sure that every child is getting a great education. And, Doctor, it is very encouraging to me that you turned out so well by your mom not letting you watch TV. I'm going to tell my daughters that when they complain. [Laughter] In the midst of all these debates, we must keep that same humility that Dr. King and Lincoln and Washington and all our great leaders understood is at the core of true leadership.
In a democracy as big and as diverse as ours, we will encounter every opinion. And our task as citizens—whether we are leaders in government or business or spreading the word—is to spend our days with open hearts and open minds, to seek out the truth that exists in an opposing view, and to find the common ground that allows for us as a nation, as a people, to take real and meaningful action. And we have to do that humbly, for no one can know the full and encompassing mind of God. And we have to do it every day, not just at a prayer breakfast.
I have to say I've—this is now our fifth prayer breakfast, and it is always just a wonderful event. But I do worry sometimes that as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we've been talking about the whole time at the prayer breakfast seems to be forgotten, on the same day of the prayer breakfast. [Laughter] I mean, you'd like to think that the shelf life wasn't so short. [Laughter] But I go back to the Oval Office, and I start watching the cable news networks, and it's like we didn't pray. [Laughter]
And so my hope is that humility, that that carries over every day, every moment. While God may reveal His plan to us in portions, the expanse of His plan is for God, and God alone, to understand: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known." Until that moment, until we know and are fully known, all we can do is live our lives in a godly way and assume that those we deal with every day, including those in an opposing party, they're groping their way, doing their best, going through the same struggles we're going through.
And in that pursuit, we are blessed with guidance. God has told us how He wishes for us to spend our days. His Commandments are there to be followed. Jesus is there to guide us, the Holy Spirit to help us. Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. See in everyone, even in those with whom you disagree most vehemently, the face of God. For we are all His children.
That's what I thought of as I took the oath of office a few weeks ago and touched those Bibles: the comfort that Scripture gave Lincoln and King and so many leaders throughout our history, the verses they cherished, and how those words of God are there for us as well, waiting to be read any day that we choose. I thought about how their faith gave them the strength to meet the challenges of their time, just as our faith can give us the strength to meet the challenges of ours. And most of all, I thought about their humility and how we don't seem to live that out the way we should every day, even when we give lip service to it.
As President, sometimes I have to search for the words to console the inconsolable. Sometimes I search Scripture to determine how best to balance life as a President and as a husband and as a father. I often search for Scripture to figure out how I can be a better man as well as a better President. And I believe that we are united in these struggles. But I also believe that we are united in the knowledge of a redeeming Savior, whose grace is sufficient for the multitude of our sins and whose love is never failing.
And most of all, I know that all Americans—men and women of different faiths and, yes, those of no faith that they can name—are, nevertheless, joined together in common purpose, believing in something that is bigger than ourselves and the ideals that lie at the heart of our Nation's founding, that as a people we are bound together.
And so this morning, let us summon the common resolve that comes from our faith. Let us pray to God that we may be worthy of the many blessings He has bestowed upon our Nation. Let us retain that humility not just during this hour, but for every hour. And let me suggest that those of us with the most power and influence need to be the most humble. And let us promise Him and to each other, every day as the sun rises over America that it will rise over a people who are striving to make this a more perfect Union.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
NOTE: The President spoke at 9:03 a.m. at the Washington Hilton hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Sens. Mark L. Pryor and Jefferson B. Sessions III, in their capacity as cochairs, and Benjamin S. Carson, director, Pediatric Neurosurgery Division of Johns Hopkins Hospital, in his capacity as keynote speaker, of the National Prayer Breakfast.
- posted by Kerry Burgess 7:39 PM Pacific Time Spokane Valley Washington USA Saturday 10 November 2018
