A Christmas Story

According to an old and well-known legend, a

week before Christmas, Archangel Michael asked

his angels to visit the earth. He wanted to

know if everything was ready for the

celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. He

sent them in pairs, always an older angel

accompanying a younger one, so that they could

have a broader picture of what happened in

Christianity.

One of these pairs was assigned to Brazil,

where they arrived late one night. Since they

had nowhere to sleep, they took shelter in one

of the great mansions that can be seen in

certain parts of Rio de Janeiro.

The owner, a nobleman on the verge of

bankruptcy (which, incidentally, happens to

many people in that city), was a fervent

Catholic, and soon recognized the heavenly

pair by the golden halos on their head.

However, he was too busy preparing a big

Christmas, and so as not to disturb the

completed decorations, he requested that his

heavenly guests to sleep in the basement.

Although Greetings cards are always

illustrated with snow falling, Christmas falls

in the middle of summer in Brazil, the sun was

scorching hot and the air, full of moisture,

it was almost suffocating. The angels laid

down on a hard floor, but before starting

their prayers, the older angel noticed a crack

in the wall. He got up, repaired it using his

divine powers, and returned to his evening

prayers. The two felt as though they had spent

the night in hell, it was so hot.

They slept very poorly, but they needed to

fulfill the mission entrusted to them by God.

The next day, they went through the big city,

with its 12 million inhabitants, its beaches

and mountains, its contrasts, its beautiful

landscapes and its horrible places. They

completed their reports, and when night fell

back they began to travel into the country.

But, distracted by the difference in hours,

they again found themselves with no place to

sleep.

They knocked on the door of a humble home,

where a couple came to meet them. Lacking

access to medieval engravings that portrayed

the messengers of God, the couple did not

recognize the two pilgrims, but told the

angels that if they were in need of shelter,

the house was theirs. They prepared a dinner,

presented their little newborn baby and

offered his room to the angels. They

apologized that they were poor and that while

the heat was great during the day, they had no

money to buy an air conditioner.

When the angels awoke the next day they found

the couple in tears. Their only possession, a

cow that gave milk for cheese, and support for

the family, was found dead in their field.

They quickly parted with the pilgrims,

embarrassed because they could not prepare a

breakfast.

While walking through the mud road, the

younger angel showed his anger, “I can not

understand this way of doing things! The first

man had everything he needed, and yet you

helped him by repairing his wall. Then with

this poor couple, who received us so well and

kindly, you did nothing to alleviate their

suffering!”

“Things are not what they seem,” said the

older angel, “when we were in that awful

basement, I noticed there was plenty of gold

hidden in the wall of the mansion, left there

by a previous owner. The crack was exposing

the treasure, and I decided to hide it again,

because the landlord did not help those in

need. Yesterday, while we slept in the bed the

poor couple offered, I noticed that a third

guest had arrived, the angel of death. He had

been sent to take the child, but since I've

known him for many years, I convinced him to

take the life of the cow in its place."

Remember the day that is about to be

celebrated; since people didn’t give much

value to appearance, no one wanted to take

Mary in. But the pastors welcomed her, and

because of that, they had the grace to be the

first to behold the smile of the Savior of the

World.

The Butler Did it!
Among the successful candidate's duties: drive the luxury cars, manage the wine cellar, pack the suitcases, serve the food. Be available, as the boss might say, on demand.

Among the successful candidate's rewards: a salary of $71,400. A bed in the house of one of Canada's richest families. The fastest cable repair he has ever witnessed.

An indiscreet member of the billionaire Rogers clan is looking for a live-in butler.

We know this because he or she placed a butler-seeking advertisement in Sunday's Star that asked applicants to submit resumés to the "Private Family Office" on the 10th floor at 333 Bloor St. E. – the headquarters of Rogers Communications Inc.

The Rogers family, explained corporate spokesperson Jan Innes, owns a private company that rents space in the building of the conglomerate it controls. Hiring a butler, she said, is a "private family matter" unrelated to Rogers Communications; she would not, thus, say which member of the family is very publicly seeking the servant.

So we will guess.

He or she could be Loretta Rogers, widow of late CEO Ted Rogers and a corporate director who lives in a Forest Hill mansion.

He or she could be Rogers' son, Edward, deputy chairman, who lives in a Forest Hill mansion.

He or she could also be Rogers' daughter, Melinda, a corporate executive and director who paid $11 million last year for a Forest Hill mansion. Or, perhaps, Rogers' daughters Lisa and Martha, whereabouts unknown.

The Star ad, titled "Executive Household Manager/Butler," describes a job as demanding as the legendary Ted. The winning candidate, a sincere person with a "polished appearance" who has graduated from both a butler training school and a university or college, will be, variously, a chauffeur, valet, event planner, personal shopper, cook, secretary, and manager of both the wine cellar and something called "household inventory."

The victorious jack-of-all-servile-trades will also possess "a high level of discretion and tact."

By hiring through the newspaper, the mystery Rogers saves a five-figure placement fee. (Charles MacPherson Associates, which runs Canada's only butler academy, charges 25 per cent.)

He or she may also be pinching pennies on the salary: $71,400, said Steven Ferry, chairman of the International Institute of Modern Butlers, is more likely to attract an inexperienced butler than a savvy veteran.

Nonetheless, Ferry said, the job is desirable. Provided, that is, the mystery Rogers is not a miserable Rogers.

"Unless it was a boss from hell," he said, "I think the butler would be in paradise, to be given that level of responsibility and breadth of service."

I would love to buy this book. Is it available anywhere? Anybody heard of Robert Morning Sky's Terra Papers: Hidden History of Planet Earth

The Suppressed History of Planet Earth

I am called ’Morning Sky.’ I grew up hearing the stories my grandfather told of a Space Being he helped rescue. My grandfather was one of six young Native Americans who witnessed the crash of a spaceship in 1947, shortly after the now-famous Roswell incident.

When they reached the site, they found one being still alive. They took him back to their camp where they hid and nursed him back to health. They called him ’Star Elder’ out of respect; as time passed he revealed his name. He was called Bek’Ti. He revealed to them the history of mankind and the planet Earth.

In the late 1960’s, when I started college, I found myself entertaining the possibility that these stories might not be true. I thus enrolled in Religious Studies, an independent study program that would allow me an opportunity to research ancient records to prove or disprove the many stories of Star Elder.

I submitted to my Religious Studies professor a thesis that summed up my three years of research. It was entitled "Terra, A Hidden History of Planet Earth." Within days, he had labeled it "a work of blasphemy and outrage!" It nearly got me thrown out of school.

Having had no success in the academic field, I decided to contact then existing UFO organizations and researchers. The general response was to label the work,

"the stuff of myth and legend of Native Americans, not suitable to the serious study of a scientific phenomena."

The total rejection made me angry. For nearly thirty years, I refused to even pick up a book on UFO’s or New Age Phenomena. I religiously refused to read or listen to what is out there.

Circumstances have changed. My Grandfather is gone, but not before he had elicited a promise from me to try once more to tell the story.

The history of mankind and Earth as revealed by Bek’Ti is both exciting and frightening. Man’s creation and his place in the galaxy is made clear, but in the process, Man’s nobility and pride are injured. The abduction phenomena and the attending grey beings are integral parts of humanity’s history, and explained against a framework of the Star Beings’ purposes for mankind.

The sources of Man’s religions and the origins of legendary figures like Zeus, Osiris, Isis, the Minotaur and a number of other ’mythological’ beings are explained and also placed into the framework of Earth’s history.

The Story of Man’s Creation

In our galaxy are billions of Star Beings. Humanoid races are the rule, not the exception. These races descended from many life forms: reptiles, insects, dinosaurs, birds and other life forms mankind cannot begin to imagine.

One of the oldest Star Races in this sector of the universe is the reptilian Ari-An which descended from dinosaur ancestors in the star system of Orion. Ruled by Queens, they created the most powerful empire in this galaxy. Ari-An warriors were unmatched for ferocity and bravery, and the Ari-An Empire was unmatched in power and size.

Millions of years of countless battles had allowed this Empire to develop advanced war strategies. Among these, the Ari-An practiced "conditioning" or "reprogramming" to control conquered populations and make them assets rather than liabilities. Enemies became obedient servants of the reptilian queens’ throne. In this way, the Ari-Ans eliminated resistance.

An unexpected evolution of another race in the star system Sirius posed a threat to the Ari-An Empire. Though not as old or as advanced as the reptilians, the warriors of the Kanus Empire, a doglike race (similar to wolves) made up for any lack with their fierceness. Even the most disciplined of the Ari-An warriors feared these vicious and barbaric Sirian warriors, who stopped to devour the flesh of their enemies on the battlefield.

Rapid advancement of the Sirian warriors threatened the very existence of the Ari-An Empire. As a result, the queens approached the Sirian kings to offer an alliance. A treaty was agreed upon that delineated which sectors of the galaxy each empire was to rule and, for a time, the warriors of both empires fought side-by-side.

With the birth of a new star system was born, the Sirian King was quick to claim it. As the Sirians began to exploit its resources, this new system became an outpost for both the Ari-An and Sirian Empires, and the power and wealth for both continued to grow. But eventually war broke out again, this time among rival Sirian kings. In the end, Ari-An forces joined King An. Entire worlds held by the opposition were totally destroyed, including their moons and colonies.

Much later, King An sent his son Prince Ea and daughter, Princess Nin-Hur-Sag (both genetic scientists) to rebuild the destroyed world of Eridu and once again tap into the valuable and much needed resources found there. They successfully restored the atmosphere; refilled the seas with life; recreated plants, trees and flowers; and hybridized many different kinds of creatures. The planet Eridu (Earth) was reborn.

New creatures were produced to inhabit the planet. One such creature, Apa-Mus, was an ape-beast hybrid whose only purpose was to serve and to slave in the fields and mines. But this beast was different from the others. It could understand orders and could communicate. Princess Nin-Hur-Sag had genetically engineered the ape-beast hybrid by using her own DNA. The beast grew in intelligence and began to teach his own quickly multiplying offspring.

When another species of genetically engineered workers -- underground - dwelling Sheti Lizards, revolted and seized power, the ruling Star Beings fled from the planet. With the opposition out of the way, the Sheti used mind-control and programming techniques they learned from their masters to alter the memories of the remaining Star Being descendants. Mankind’s knowledge of Star Beings was replaced with myths and legends.

Sheti dominance has been and continues to be challenged by many other star races attempting to regain control of Earth -- and mankind -- for their own purposes. The struggle for power goes on.

Overthrow Attempts -- Past, Present and Future

The reptilian Ari-An race has made several attempts to overthrow the present power on Earth. In the early 20th century, the world-wide Aryan movement nearly succeeded in conquering the entire "docile" world. If, as the author suggests, they are continuing in their efforts, new movements in the supremacy groups will appear. Reptiles will appear in all aspects of the media as friendly or heroic beings, fighting on man’s behalf. Reptilian superheroes will become children’s role models.

Religious uprisings have been staged throughout Earth’s history by the Sirians. The Inquisition, the Papal Wars, the numerous "Messiahs" and the "Miracle Sightings" were engineered by them to bring mankind back into their influence. If they, too, are trying to take over the Earth as the author suggests, then a return to fundamentalism will also occur, as will the increasing appearance of angels and miraculous occurrences.

Patterns show on-going efforts to direct the people of Planet Earth and also predict upcoming events: Mankind will soon be surrounded with images of asteroids and falling fiery comets. Black pigs will be seen everywhere as will angelic figures and miracles. Dinosaurs will become children’s heroes and violence will be the foundation of their play. New airborne diseases, immune to existing treatments, will surface. NASA will be rendered weak and impotent, if not terminated.

A galactic war of conquest rages over our heads. Earth -- and Man -- are the prize.

Crop Circles -- Visual Communications

In an attempt to communicate with the descendants of Star Beings - especially those who are able to remember the "clues" -- visual signals are being sent in the form of crop circles. Signs meant for the Sirian descendants usually have a striking resemblance to ancient Egyptian glyphs, football-shaped designs, circle-in-cross forms, or circles with a dot in the center. They may also appear as mathematical formulations.

Crop circles from the Ari-Ans often have a snake-like form, or insect or bug-like creatures. Whatever the form, crop circles are signs to the descendants that they have not been forgotten.

As a signal that a starship has been dispatched to the solar system and Earth, images of enormous planetary starships and crews comprised of heroic "saviours" of mankind and the Earth will be everywhere. To counter this image of a "good" heavenly body, images of falling asteroids and crashing comets will be used as justification for aiming anti-asteroid missiles skyward for "defensive" purposes.

Forms of Control

Meanwhile, to maintain control of mankind, the Sheti have introduced new devices to continue the bombarding us with a numbing and controlling electronic blanket. Many of these electronic instruments are carried on the person:

Tape and CD players with headphones, virtual reality gear, pagers, pocket games, cellular phones, beepers, etc. are now commonplace.

Drugs of all kinds, legal and illegal (including alcohol, tobacco and narcotics) are part of the control program to keep mankind docile.

Behavior modification to prevent us from being motivated to fight for ourselves, will require that no human being be allowed status as hero. Those who do not fight back, but endure great suffering will become the new "heroes" and role models: victims, martyrs, tortured POWs, and people who die in service to their country.

Population control will increase in intensity and only the select will be allowed to continue. Disappearances and abductions will increase, especially of women and young children. New airborne diseases will appear. Obesity will increase, sexual dysfunction will increase in males, and female menstrual cycles will decrease from 28 days to 25 days.

To maintain control of mankind and keep us stranded on Earth, NASA will be eliminated or severely restricted in its scope. Any evidence of extraterrestrial life will be strictly suppressed and denied.

Mankind’s Hope: Royal Blood

The battle lines have been drawn for a coming galactic war for the domination of planet Earth. As long as mankind seeks salvation "out there," he paves the way for beings vying to become his Overlords. But mankind has another option.

Though born of beasts and bred to serve, mankind was created by the genetic scientists, Prince EA and Princess Nin-Hur-Sag using their own DNA and their own royal blood. This royal line of Sirian Blood entitles mankind to claim Earth its own. This is the story that has been suppressed, the truth that was kept hidden.

As long as mankind accepts Overlords and Gods, we accept an existence of servitude. When we finally remember that our own kingdom has been taken away, when we finally look to ourselves as our own Overlord or God, then and only then will we be free of extraterrestrials.

The author asks the reader to investigate for himself the information presented here. Accept none of it, challenge all of it. Decide for yourself if the words of Bek’Ti are true.

You are your own god,

you are the master of your destiny,

if you can remember The Truth.

Note:

Robert Morning Sky travels almost constantly, mesmerizing audiences large and small around the world. He demonstrates traditional Native American dances, then tells this story in living rooms, theatres, in school auditoriums, on radio and TV shows and in personal interviews -- anywhere people will listen to him. He has quickly become a favorite speaker at Expo’s and UFO conventions. His words resonate with truth. People receive answers to far more questions than they could ever think to ask, and they come back to hear him again and again.

Morning Sky has been subjected to several burglaries at his office with confidential files and computer equipment stolen. His travel trailer was vandalized. His life has been threatened. He has suffered great losses, but he made a promise to his grandfather, and that promise will not be broken, no matter the cost.

This version of Robert Morning Sky’s "Terra Papers: Hidden History of Planet Earth" was condensed especially for Perceptions by Betty Bland who lives and works in Seattle.

Has this ever happened before?
Bishops seek churchgoers in downtown area, startling commuters

Denise Balkissoon
Staff Reporter

Idling taxis, hot dog stands and four smiling Anglican bishops in full regalia. That was the sight greeting sleepy-eyed commuters leaving Union Station during this morning's rush hour.

Sporting long, damask robes of pearly white or sky blue, heads topped with pointed bishop's hats, the clergy passed out cards encouraging the Bay Street hordes to make their way to a house of worship this Sunday. Most people accepted the handout drowsily, without comment; others seemed startled or amused at the group's elaborate outfits. A few passers-by stopped for quick chats before scurrying along to their offices.

"You invite people to baseball games or to the movies," said Bishop of Toronto Colin Johnson. "Traditionally, we've not been good at inviting people to come to church."

Johnson oversees the 211 parishes of an area that stretches from Mississauga to Brighton and north to Haliburton; in total, 80,000people are on the church's rolls. This morning's outing was modelled on the United Kingdom's "Back to Church Sunday" a two-year-old program that encourages regular churchgoers to invite friends to join them.

Although the foursome represent the 254 congregations of the Golden Horseshoe, Johnson stressed that they were encouraging Torontonians of all faiths to reconnect with their own traditions. "Faith gives life perspective, shape, direction and hope," he said. "It helps people see they're part of something larger than themselves."

Most who stopped to chat with the bishops seemed to be regular churchgoers already. Making his way from Whitby to Bay Street via GO Train, Gerald Godinho stopped to debate with Bishop Linda Nicholls about ordaining gay and lesbian priests, a contentious issue that has led various international Anglican Communion members to threaten fissure from the central church.

He said he has invited a friend with him to Carruther Creek Community Church in the past. "A single friend of mine, about a year back," Gondinho said. "I introduced him to the pastor of our youth group and I think he liked it. He lives downtown, so I set him up with Meeting House in Toronto."

Chartered accountant Bruce Armstrong exclaimed happily at running into Bishop Philip Poole-the two sang in the choir together at Wilfrid Laurier University, back when the school was known as Waterloo Lutheran.

"I've got a spring in my step this morning," said Armstrong, who still sings in the choir at his current church, Armour Heights Presbyterian in north Toronto.

Hello, everyone,
I don't know if this article was ever posted on TDG, but I thought I share it with you. Enjoy!
TDG Third man theory of otherworldly encounters

Encounters with otherworldly beings that lead us out of danger are more common than you think

Nancy J. White
Living Reporter

Charles Lindbergh felt it.

During that first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight in 1927, the aviator, flying just above the ocean, was desperately struggling to stay awake. Twenty-two hours into the trip, he became aware of vague forms aboard the Spirit of St. Louis. They offered reassurance and discussed navigational problems.

They stayed with him until he spotted the Irish coast, and Paris was within reach.

An avalanche in the Canadian Rockies swept climber James Sevigny 600 metres, breaking his back, scapula, arm, nose, teeth and tearing ligaments in both knees. When he regained consciousness, he saw his climbing companion was dead. He laid next to him to die.

But an invisible being urged him to survive, telling him what to do. The presence stayed with him while he painfully made his way to camp, where skiers found him.

On Sept. 11, 2001, overcome by smoke in a stairwell of the World Trade Center's south tower, money market broker Ron DiFrancesco joined others lying on the concrete floor, some slipping into unconsciousness.

"Get up!" a voice ordered DiFrancesco, who sensed a physical presence encouraging him. Descending the stairs again, he was blocked by fire. The being led him to dash through the flames. He raced down to the plaza; then the tower collapsed. But he survived, one of only four people to escape from above the 81st floor.

Some believe it's a guardian angel. Others say it's the brain's way of coping under great duress. Whichever, the experiences are eerily similar: the sense of a presence that encourages, advises and even leads a person out of peril.

"In every case I found, it was a benevolent helpful companion, not a single example of a malevolent being," says John Geiger, author of The Third Man Factor published this week.

He found more than 100 cases, including those accounts described earlier.

"They're people in a life-and-death struggle, often but not always in nature," he explains.

Among the examples: an American astronaut on the Mir space station, an Israeli soldier undergoing torture, an Austrian mountaineer on a Himalayan peak.

TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Toronto author Vincent Lam claims to have experienced the phenomena known as "third man."
Most know the being's gender, and a minority identify it as a deceased relative, friend or Jesus Christ.

Geiger, who has written several books about exploration, became fascinated by the otherworldly guardian after reading Sir Ernest Shackleton's accounts of his crew's horrific 1916 crossing of a south polar island, aided by an invisible being.

The phenomenon became known as the Third Man, writes Geiger, because that's how T.S. Eliot referred to it in his poem "The Waste Land."

Spiritual or religious people, no matter the faith, say they were helped by a divine companion, while agnostics see it as a brain function, Geiger says.

Scientific researchers have studied how the human mind might conjure the Third Man.

"Opinion is divided," says Geiger. "There's not a definitive explanation."

Some psychologists believe it's an example of bicameralism. Under stress, the usually dominant left hemisphere loses some hold over the mind, and logical thinking declines. The right brain, involved in imaginative thinking, intrudes, explains Geiger.

Another theory suggests the Third Man is a coping mechanism, a mental process for calming and separating the person from the horrible experience. "Just as we have a biochemical response to stress through adrenaline, this is a mental process that helps us survive."

But why do some people sense a wise helper, and others don't?

"There may be psychological variables," says Geiger.

"Some people may be more open to new things and experiences."

For some people, it may kick in at lower stress levels than others.

Young children's imaginary friends may be Third Man-like manifestations.

In studies of widows and widowers, says Geiger, between 30 to 50 per cent reported having felt the presence of the deceased partner.

Whether the Third Man is an angel or a survival mechanism is for people to decide for themselves, says Geiger.

"I can't solve that riddle. But it is very powerful and raises some profound questions."

For more information, see thirdmanfactor.com.

www.myspace.com/authorpaulcollins

I sold my stocks (the psychic said I should)
SARAH BOESVELD

From Monday's Globe and Mail

December 1, 2008 at 4:14 AM EST

It was late October, the markets were more than a little shaky and Ray Pambrun was pondering his financial future. How should he invest? Which way would the market turn? Should he wait to buy a house?

While most Canadians were dialling up their financial advisers, Mr. Pambrun did what more and more disillusioned investors are doing: He consulted his psychic.

Her advice? Get out of the stock market; it's only going to get worse.

"Sure enough, in November, day after day was just more losses, more bankruptcies, more banks failing, more bailout money," he says.

Enlarge Image
It’s a bad time for bankers and many businesses, but a great time for psychics, hypnotists and astrologers. (PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY FERNANDO)

His psychic's instruction stood in stark contrast to the "buy, buy, buy" advice economists and financial advisers had been doling out. So after meditating, consulting his deck of tarot cards and talking to his clairvoyant last month, the 30-year-old engineer from Kenora, Ont., sold many of his stocks and remains in the black.

While businesses around the world suffer and shrink in the current financial downturn, psychics, hypnotists and astrologers are basking in the good times. Many say they've seen significant boosts in the past few months, and are seeing greater demand from investors who no longer trust the suit-and-tie financial advisers who told them to buy stocks that eventually tanked.

Toronto clairvoyant Deborah Levin says she's had twice the volume of inquiries she did this time last year. Her new clients are overwhelmingly interested in their financial futures, she says.

"A lot of the new clients I'm getting were maybe at one time total skeptics, but they're at a loss, they've tried everything," she says.

The bulk of her clients used to be younger than 35, but now an older demographic has begun to clog her phone lines.

"I'm seeing a lot of professionals, people in the banking industry, a lot of small-business people, a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of long-term employees, people who've been fired and laid off," she says. "I'm seeing a significant amount of people in their 50s, people who were getting ready for retirement [and lost money]. It's tough, it's such a shame."

Clients she hadn't heard from in ages have come knocking with their financial woes - a reminder of the recession in the early 1990s when she was also up to her ears in requests.

It's not uncommon for people to flock to psychics and become more superstitious when a crisis hits, says John Mowen, a marketing professor at Oklahoma State University.

"When the housing crash [in the United States] first started, you saw all sorts of behaviour related to 'How do I get my house sold?' Homeowners were burying statues of St. Joseph upside down in their yard in order to sell their house," he said. "With superstition, you're using some magical force to make something happen."

People who self-educate and stick to a plan often do best during tough points in the economy, he says. "But if you're going to start using paranormal people who argue they have some sort of means for influencing events or predicting events, [you] are going to be whipsawed - in the market, out of the market and often the timing is exactly wrong."

While the image of a business professional ducking into a psychic's lair may elicit some giggles, it's no big surprise to Gad Saad, an associate professor of marketing at Concordia University.

"In an environment of economic uncertainty ... people are willing to try anything. I would argue that financial advisers are really not too much different from psychics," he says.

The demand for corporate hypnotherapy sessions has risen 20 per cent for Jeff Oatman, a corporate consultant in London, Ont.

Last year he was doing more entertainment and parties; now he's walking into boardrooms of clients who are searching for another way to build teamwork and morale.

While many businesses around her have seen a drop, Kelly Oswald, founder of the West Coast School of Mystic Arts Center for Enlightened Living in Whistler, B.C., says it's business as usual. Her team of more than 20 spiritual "facilitators" has seen a steady increase in clients since the centre opened.

"We're more than managing. I would say that we haven't seen a decline and we've been in the business since 1999. It's grown every year, it's grown steadily," she says.

What's more, she's seeing more men seeking answers from the other side.

"We have an 80-per-cent female, 20-per-cent male [clientele]. I would say it's definitely shifted to maybe even 70-30 within the past year. It's increased significantly."

Ms. Levin, the Toronto psychic, says she's not turning a gratuitous profit from advising the financially frazzled. Predicting the economic downturn, she cut prices in early 2008 for returning clients, who now pay $100 a session instead of the regular $125.

Mr. Pambrun says his psychic also predicted the financial crisis this time last year.

While his buddies with commerce degrees continued buying into the stock market - just as the economists instructed - and suffered losses up to 50 or 60 per cent, Mr. Pambrun says he is in a good position.

And if his buddies - and every other investor in the stock market for that matter - were to tap into "something bigger," maybe they wouldn't have lost so much cash, he says.

"If I told other investors, they'd probably think I was a quack. [But] no analyst is going to convince me right now to buy this or buy that. The ones that were saying that a month ago when they thought the bottom was in? They're washed out again."

If this black legend is proven, the catholic church will have another class action suit, including with the sexual assault victims.
Vatican defends wartime pope
Vatican City– The Vatican today rejected charges that wartime Pope Pius XII turned a blind eye to the Holocaust as a "black legend" not backed up by history.

An editorial in the Vatican newspaper defended Pius two days after the first Jew to address a Church synod told the gathering Jews "cannot forgive and forget" Pius's silence.

The Osservatore Romano called him a "man of peace" who tried to do his best during one of the most violent periods in history. The editorial was published on the eve of commemorations to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.

"He confronted the wartime tragedy like no leader of his time did. Even when faced with the monstrous persecution of the Jews (he worked) in a suffered silence which is understandable and whose aim was an efficient endeavour of charity and undeniable help," the newspaper said.

Some Jews maintain Pius did not do enough. The Vatican says he worked quietly behind the scenes to help Jews because more direct intervention would have worsened the situation.

The newspaper denounced what it called "black legend about a pope who was insensitive to the Shoah (the Hebrew word for the Holocaust) or even pro-Nazi."

It rejected such accusations, saying they were "above all inconsistent from the historical point of view, apart from being denigrating."

CATHOLIC-JEWISH RELATIONS

On Monday, the chief rabbi of Haifa, Israel, Shear-Yashuv Cohen, told Pope Benedict during a synod that Jews "cannot forgive and forget" that some major religious leaders during World War Two did not speak out against the Holocaust. This was a clear reference to Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958.

The papacy of Pius is one of the most difficult issues in Catholic-Jewish relations. Many books have been written about it, with most defenders saying the situation would have been worse for Jews if he had spoken out forcefully against Hitler.

Last month, Benedict said Pius "spared no effort" to help Jews.

He spoke to the U.S.-based Pave the Way Foundation, a mixed Jewish-Catholic group which prepared a 200-page compilation of documents, diplomatic cables and newspaper clippings from the period – some of them previously unpublished – showing Pius did much to help Jews during the war.

Urged by historians to open all its archives from World War Two, the Vatican says some are closed for organisational reasons but most of the significant documentation regarding Pius is open to scholars.

Last year, the Vatican's saint-making department voted in favour of a decree recognising Pius's "heroic virtues," a major hurdle in a long process toward possible sainthood that began in 1967. But Pope Benedict has so far not approved the decree.

Some Jewish groups say the Vatican should freeze the process of beatification. Others say it is an internal Church matter.

A 70-kilogram lion named Boomer on the loose in western Quebec
17 hours ago

MANIWAKI, Que. — A helicopter and a search party wielding a heat-detection device were scouring a Quebec aboriginal reserve in pursuit of a lion on the loose Wednesday.

The 70-kilogram king of the jungle, who goes by the name of Boomer, has been on the lam since he escaped Tuesday night from a house - where he was kept as a man's personal pet. "What we've heard is he left the house," said Melanie Larouche, a spokeswoman for Quebec provincial police.

"He was a domestic pet."

The lion, which is about four feet high, was last spotted beside Highway 105, near Maniwaki, about an hour north of Ottawa.

The animal arrived in Maniwaki two days ago, purchased by a resident of the nearby Kitigan Zibi reserve, Kitigan Zibi police chief Gordon McGregor said.

"It apparently didn't like its accommodations so it broke free from its enclosure or pen," McGregor said.

"We haven't had much word from it since."

The lion's presence in the aboriginal community came as a surprise to everyone.

"At 8 a.m. (Wednesday) I was advised of a lion in the community and I thought to myself, 'What else could go wrong today,"' McGregor said.

"I was stunned."

"Being a male, I think its mane is starting to come out now," McGregor said.

McGregor said police are going door to door with flyers and are asking residents to stay vigilant, stay out of the woods and watch their children closely.

"Apparently the lion is domesticated but there is some concern that its animal instincts might kick in at some point," McGregor said.

Boomer's owner insists the animal is playful and used to humans.

Schools and daycare centres have been advised of the lion's presence in the area. Police have provided extra protection.

The search party of 15 people includes police, provincial wildlife officials, a police helicopter flown in from Montreal, sophisticated heat-detection equipment, and the lion's owner.

Police declined to say whether the man could face legal repercussions for keeping a large beast as his pet.

"He's helping with the search," Larouche said. "For now, we're focusing on the search."

An official at Quebec's Natural Resources Department said in an interview that someone would need a permit to keep such an animal at home.

"We have issued no lion permits in the area," said regional spokeswoman Catherine Rooney.

Oh, must share this with the TDG. Anybody traveling to Mexico these days?

Food shortages may spark war, IMF warns.
Apr 18, 2008 07:43 AM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS – The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Friday that soaring world food prices can have dire consequences, such as toppling governments and even triggering wars.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn told France's Europe-1 radio that the price hikes that set off rioting in Haiti, Egypt and elsewhere were an "extremely serious" problem.

"The planet must tackle it," he said.

The IMF chief said the problem could also threaten democracies, even in countries where governments have done all they could to help the local population. Asked whether the crisis could lead to wars, Strauss-Kahn responded that it was possible.

"When the tension goes above and beyond putting democracy into question, there are risks of war," he said. "History is full of wars that started because of this kind of problem."

Strauss-Kahn was appointed last year to head the IMF. He was a finance minister in the late 1990s in France.

Also on Friday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested a global partnership among financial institutions, governments and the private sector to tackle the reasons for rising food prices. He also said France is doubling its food aid budget this year to $159 million because 37 countries are experiencing "serious food crises."

Globally, food prices have risen 40 per cent since mid-2007. The increases hit poor people hardest, as food represents as much as 60-80 per cent of consumer spending in developing nations, compared with about 10-20 per cent in industrialized countries, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has said.