Quite Possibly the Strangest Video You'll See Today

Back in January, 2012 I came upon the story of a Seattle woman named Babylonia Aivaz, who took it upon herself to marry a building. That's right, she had a ceremony of her marrying a building. It was said she did this to prevent the building from being demolished.

During that time period, when her story was fresh, I came upon a video of her just before the ceremony and uploaded that video to Youtube. I had pretty much forgotten about the video. The video received a few comments four years ago, but since then, the comments have averaged about one a year. I was reminded of this when I received an email letting me know that someone had seen the video and left a new comment.

I'll post the video below, but there is more to the story.



When I received the comment notification, I decided to watch the video again - it's been years since I've seen it. After watching the video, I searched on line to find any updates on the "marriage". I found nothing related to the marriage, but I discovered that Babylonia Aivaz has her own Youtube channel. That's how I found her "HOW TO OPEN YOUR THIRD EYE" video. I'm posting that video below without any introduction, other than to say that this one is stranger than the "marriage" video.

Pope Francis' Most Recent Trip.

In a story from April 7, The Guardian had speculated that Pope Francis' trip to the Greek island of Lesbos was to be a show of support for refugees and would be aimed at drawing attention to the front line of Europe’s migration crisis.

As it turns out, the Guardian was right, this time.

The media (including the Catholic blogosphere) loves putting their own spin on everything this Pope says or does and I'm surprised that no one has speculated that Francis' trip to Lesbos was his way of showing support of women priests and same sex so-called "marriage".

An Early Thought on "Amoris Laetitia".

I mentioned in an earlier post that, in addition to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's, The Gulag Archipelago, I was simultaneously reading other books. I'm still in the Gulag, so to speak, but I'm also alternating it with The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Studies In Wives by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes.

Now, as if I don't have enough to read, Pope Francis has released an apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia ,which I've already downloaded, converted to mobi and begun reading on Kindle.

Like Catholic blogger, LarryD, I will most definitely follow paragraph 7 of the exhortation :

"Given the rich fruits of the two-year Synod process, this Exhortation will treat, in different ways, a wide variety of questions. This explains its inevitable length. Consequently, I do not recommend a rushed reading of the text. The greatest benefit, for families themselves and for those engaged in the family apostolate, will come if each part is read patiently and carefully, or if at­tention is paid to the parts dealing with their spe­cific needs. It is likely, for example, that married couples will be more concerned with Chapters Four and Five, and pastoral ministers with Chap­ter Six, while everyone should feel challenged by Chapter Eight. It is my hope that, in reading this text, all will feel called to love and cherish family life, for 'families are not a problem; they are first and foremost an opportunity' ".

This work does need to be read carefully, yet already there are many on both sides of the cultural battleground firing shots at Amoris Laetitia. There has not been nearly enough time, since the release of the document, for anyone to have read it carefully and objectively. I've read portions of it and have yet to come upon anything that warrants the criticism leveled against it.

I'm not going to link to any of these negative articles. They can be found easily enough without my help.

The only comment I will make at this time is that the more I see of this Pope, the more I like and admire him.

No 'gay emojis' For Me, Either.

The BBC and other fine news organizations are reporting that Russia 'may ban gay emojis' under 'propaganda' law.

Seeing the direction that Europe and the United States are taking regarding same sex "marriage", Russia has outlawed the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations".

Mikhail Marchenko, a Russian senator, pointed out that gay emojis, from social media, promote non-traditional sexual relationships and disrespect for parents and other family members.

According to a Time.com article on the same subject,

Though the Russian probe into emojis will focus specifically on Facebook, users of Twitter and Apple’s new operating system for the iPhone are also able to include rainbow flags and other gay-themed icons in their posts and messages.
Davydov, the Young Guard chairman, said that these services could also become the target of investigations if Russian citizens begin to complain about them.

Just as I posted Russia's heterosexual flag in show of support, I've taken the original image of the gay emojis from the BBC article, and transformed the emojis into heterosexuals.

You're welcome.

Thailand Fights to Prevent First World Exploitation of Third World Women.

In 2013, a gay "married" couple contracted with a surrogate mother in India in order to purchase their own baby. Gordon "Bud" Lake and his "husband", Manuel Santos Valero bought their son, Alvero, just months before the Indian government moved to shut down the commercial surrogacy industry.

About one and a half years ago, the two husbands wanted to buy yet another baby in order to fulfill their narcissistic world view, but no longer being allowed to exploit third world women in India, they choose Thailand as the next best place.

Not long after renting the womb of surrogate Patidta Kusongsaang, the couple found themselves in a legal quagmire in Thailand; the government has banned commercial surrogacy for international couples.

The now six month old girl, Carmen, has no passport or papers required to leave Thailand. Kusongsaang had signed the consent form that allowed Lake and Santos to take Carmen from the hospital and they put Lake’s name on the birth certificate. But then Kusongsaang failed to show up for the last meeting at the U.S. embassy to sign the final document.

After learning that the man who had contracted with her was in a homosexual "marriage", the surrogate changed her mind on allowing the sperm donor to have the child. It should be noted that the egg used was donated by a women other than Kusongsaang, and while she carried and delivered the baby, Kusongsaang and Carmen share no DNA. Never the less, as the birth mother, Kusongsaang has full legal custody of the child.

Kusongsaang has filed charges against Lake and Valero for child abduction. The two men are stranded in Thailand - changing apartments regularly in order to keep the baby hidden.

Kusongsaang's legal advisor, Verutai Maneenuchanert, says the commercial surrogacy business was wrong from the very beginning. Maneenuchanert calls commercial surrogacy human trafficking and says Kusongsaang is the victim.

Fortunately, Lake and Santos have very little chance of winning their case in Thai court. Dr. Arkom Pradidsuwan, who is with the Thai Medical Council in the Ministry of Public Health, said,

"Thai law does not endorse same sex pair. And Thai law, legal couple is husband and wife, man and woman".

Pradidsuwan says baby Carmen’s legal status belongs to Patidta Kusongsaang.

Three cheers for the Thai government. What gives the right to these affluent, narcissistic First Worlders - either Gay or Straight - to exploit these impoverished women in Third World countries? The idea of surrogacy is immoral; add to that, the exploitation and the issue of human trafficking and the immorality is compounded.

Not only should the Thai government take this child away from these two men, but I think a bit of jail time might be in order.
Sources:
infiniteguest.org
npr.org
thinkprogress.org
bangkokpost.com

Russians Unveil Heterosexual Flag.

Anybody seen holding this flag in the U.S. would probably be called a "hater".

From UPI: Russia's ruling party fights 'gay fever' with 'Heterosexual Flag'

MOSCOW, July 9 (UPI) -- The ruling party of Russia has unveiled a "heterosexual flag" designed to represent "a real family" and "traditional values" in response to same-sex marriage.

United Russia, the party of President Vladimir Putin, introduced Moscow residents to the "heterosexual flag," which depicts the silhouettes of a man, a woman and three children along with a Russian hashtag that translates to, "A Real Family."

In stark contrast to the rainbow flag used to represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender pride and rights movements, the United Russia straight flag bears only two colors, but is available in a number of different schemes .

The party said the flag's release was timed to coincide with the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, an annual Russian celebration that was marked in the country Wednesday.

Andrei Lisovenko, deputy head of the United Russia branch in Moscow, said the flag was inspired by the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 decision to strike down the country's remaining bans on same-sex marriage.

"This is our response to same-sex marriage, to this mockery of the concept of the family. We have to warn against gay fever at home and support traditional values in our country," Lisovenko told newspaper Izvestia.

Jimmy Carter - The Perfect Protestant.

While promoting his latest memoir, A Wasted Life: Reflections of an Old Coot, former worst U.S. President, Jimmy Carter told Huffington Post that Jesus would approve of gay marriage. Carter goes on to say that he has no verse in scripture to back up his claim, even admitting that it is just his own personal belief.

Overlooked in Carter's asinine same sex "marriage" comments is Carter's statement on Jesus and abortion.

Carter said that Jesus did not approve of abortion, except in the case of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. Carter and the interviewer just slid past that little tidbit. He didn't say so, but I suspect Carter would have a difficult time finding verse in scripture to support his claim that Jesus would approve of the "rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother" argument so often put forward by Progressive Christians.

Jimmy Carter's foul pronouncements are a perfect example how Protestantism has corrupted the teaching of Jesus Christ. At one time, Protestants would pick and choose random scriptural texts to support whatever wild beliefs their heretical hearts desired. Now, they don't even do that. It's all about their own personal opinions.

With the Legalization of "Same-Sex Marriage" in Ireland...........

.......the word "Gaelic" takes on a whole new meaning.

Marriage in China.

I came across an interesting video on chinadaily.com. Although the English title given for the link to the video was "Gay Marriage in China", same sex marriage isn't the primary focus of the video. The main discussion deals with changes concerning marriage that those born in China after the 1980s now face.

This video is listed as episode 3. I'll look for further episodes.

Also, from the website,

For the last 30 years, China has seen massive development with challenges and struggles. It's home to China's largest and most charismatic young generation, a generation of approximately 240 million people born between 1980 and 1990. In the next 20 years, China will see this generation rising, bringing hopes and problems. But the relationship of this generation to the way they live their lives is indeed unique and extraordinary. In this program, we will look into this generation and how it is shaping modern China.

What Would Jesus Do About Wealth Redistribution?

According to an article on the Al Jazeera website -What Would Jesus Do About Tax Policy?- Jesus wants us to pay more taxes to the government.

After years of debate and study "..........the Presbyterian Church USA, has come out with a detailed report that ties the religious duty of believers and government tax policy."

A link to that report on pdf can be found here.

From the report;

"It is a basic mark of a healthy social covenant that all share in the society’s benefits and burdens. Just taxation is a foundational part of a moral society’s answer to poverty and its close relatives, inequality, economic insecurity, and social immobility. Just taxation is also a key tool for enabling communities to thrive, for advancing science and culture, and for sustaining democratic institutions. Each citizen has an affirmative duty to contribute to the common good by paying their fair share of taxes."

Like a true Protestant, the writer of the article (as well as the original Presbyterian document) cherry picks an assortment of Gospel texts to inform us that Christianity demands progressive taxation and redistribution of wealth to the poor.

I will not argue that tax reform in the U.S. isn't needed. Of course, the need is there. I also believe that more could be done to help the poor - not just in the United States, but world wide.

I do have a bone to pick with the Presbyterian Church USA, however.

The Presbyterian Church USA doesn't seem to have a problem with following the Gospel and traditional Christian teachings when it follows their political agenda. Tax the rich, feed the poor? That's fine with them. Maintain traditional Christian teaching and values regarding abortion and same-sex "marriage"? Not so much.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted down measure to condemn ‘abortion’ of babies born alive.

US Presbyterian Church votes to redefine marriage, offer gay ‘marriages’ .

You could legitimately argue the merits of tax reform and redistribution of wealth, but when you attempt to argue that to do otherwise goes against Christ's teachings, your disregard of Christ's teachings on abortion and marriage don't help your case.

National Catholic Distorter Uses Presbyterian to Distort Catholic Teaching.

To a good many traditionally minded Catholics, the National Catholic Reporter is refered to as the National Catholic Distorter because of their disapproval of many of the teachings of the Church, especially in the areas of contraception, women clergy and married priests.

In looking for definite signs of their distortion of Catholicism, we need look no further than the website's publishing of the opinions of Presbyterian elder,Bill Tammeus. His latest bit of nonsense is entitled How churches can keep up with the evolving definition of marriage.

He writes,

"Marriage is changing, and the Episcopal Church, unlike many other branches of Christianity, has awakened to the news and is thinking deeply about how to respond.

All of Christianity should do the same."

According to Tammeus, following the lead of the Episcopal Church, all of Christianity should work on creating a ceremony through which to bless same-sex unions.

Tammeus goes on.

"In almost any Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox congregation today, you'll find young couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, cohabitating. And you'll find older single people living together but not married for many reasons, including issues of taxes and inheritance laws."

"Are all of these people -- often faithful church members -- 'living in sin,' as the old phrase so indelicately puts it?"

In a word, Mr.Tammeus, yes.

Tammeus believes that one reason many people -- both young and old -- have abandoned the Church, is the Church's universal failure to accept "marriage's changing nature". If the Church will get with the program, more folks will want to stay.

What absolute hogwash.

In John, Chapter six, we find,

Then many of his disciples who were listening said, 'This saying is hard; who can accept it?'

Then,

As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.

Jesus did not modify His teaching in order to keep followers. Neither should the Church.

Alabama Falls.

Callie V. S. Granade,district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama - put there by President George W Bush in 2002 - issued a ruling, this past January 23, striking down Alabama's ban on same-sex "marriage". Judging by the damage caused by this ruling, a more appropriate spelling of the judge's name might be Grenade.

In a 7-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court refused the state’s request to stay Judge Grenade’s order pending the outcome of the state’s appeal.

Alabama has become the 37th US state where same-sex "marriage" is now legal. The Supreme Court will take up the issue in April. I suspect that legalized same-sex "marriage" will be the law of the land in the United States before 2015 is over. We shouldn't be surprised. Any court that could find reason to legalize abortion on demand would have little compunction legalizing same-sex "marriage".

After same-sex "marriage" is legalized in all fifty States later this year, it will be only a matter of time before Churches in the U.S. will be brought to court in order to force same-sex "marriage" upon them. The question remains as to which Christian churches will cave to government pressure.

As it stands today, the Protestant churches are split on the issue; some in favor, some not. Of the three main divisions of Judaism - Conservative, Reform and Orthodox - only Orthodox Jews uphold the sanctity of marriage between one man, one woman. The Catholic Church, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) and Islam are all opposed to same-sex "marriage". I'm hoping the Catholic Church in America will stand up against the government.

thinkthingsthrutotheirlogicalconclusion.org

The Left-leaning website, thinkprogress.org is not on my list of "must reads". I was recently led to the site, however, while looking for information on Pope Francis' upcoming encyclical on climate change. "Progressive" publications and websites are generally not complimentary toward the Catholic Church; the Church's view on climate change being the one notable exception.

Most of what I've come across lately, concerning the Pope and other Catholic Bishops, with regard to climate change has been encouraging. I'll go further into that subject in a later post, but for now, I want to write about thinkprogress.org's general assessment of the Catholic Church.

On the website's menu bar, we find nine sections - not counting the "Front" or Home page. These sections include, Climate, Economy, Health, Justice, LGBT (of course) World, Culture, Sports, and Election. In the same issue where I came across the article, Pope Francis Expected To Instruct One Billion Catholics To Act On Climate Change, I found no less than five additional articles on the Catholic Church. In the nine sections listed above, I found an article in all but three.

Any positive feelings toward the Church that might have been found in the piece on climate change was wiped away in the anti-Knights of Columbus article, How One Religious Organization Bankrolls America’s Social Conservative Movement. That the KoC would support the Church's teachings on abortion and same sex "marriage" is beyond the "brights" who write for thinkprogress.org. The site isn't called thinkthingsthrutotheirlogicalconclusion.org, after all.

In the article, New Catholic Survey Asks About People With ‘Homosexual Tendencies’ writer Jack Jenkins has to put in the old, “who am I judge?” comment. Progressives are so predictable.

In the Economy section, they speak highly of the Pope again by pointing out that Francis celebrated his birthday by giving sleeping bags to homeless people. They also have to mention, of course, that there was some "internal opposition in the Vatican" to his helping the homeless.

Finally, in Health writer Sam P.K. Collins' article, Low-Gluten Diet Alternatives Have Reached A New Frontier: The Catholic Church, there is absolutely no understanding of - or sympathy for - the Church's teachings on the Blessed Sacrament.

In an earlier post, I wrote of "my desire to get as many POV's as I could when trying to get the ends and outs of a variety of stories". Be that as it may, a link to thinkprogress.org will not be added to my News Sources column on the right.

Turning Off the News.

Being retired, I have plenty of free time on my hands. If were living in the U.S., I’m certain that I’d fill the free time from noon until three PM listening to Rush Limbaugh. I’m living in Philippines where the time difference (when the U.S. is on Daylight Saving Time) is twelve hours. When it’s noon in Georgia, it’s midnight here. Consequently, even though Rush is available live on radio stations that can be accessed via the TuneIn Radio mobile app, I’m normally asleep when he is broadcast in the U.S..

.

This morning, however, I found myself awake at 1:00 AM PHT. For the first time in quite a long time, I listened to a bit of Rush’s program. After a few minutes, I found that, although Rush was his usual self, and I am still one of his biggest fans, political events in the U.S. no longer interest me as they once did. Having become an ex-pat, I am no longer captivated-nor imprisoned-by what the current U.S. president says or does.

With the possible exceptions of events happening in my old stomping ground of Rome, GA, I have very little interest in anything happening in America today. I suppose it’s a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same. The United States has become a virtual cesspool and short of divine intervention, the situation will not improve and I see little point of reading the same stories every day.

I can’t comprehend the current crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border.

Despite several States having constitutional amendments prohibiting same sex “marriage” it is only a matter of time before it becomes the law of the land in all of the fifty States. Along with the evil of abortion on demand, one particular political party is Hell bent on seeing life in America transformed.

As Robert Bork so brilliantly pointed out in his book from 1996, America is slouching towards Gomorrah. Too many conservatives try to place the blame on Barack Obama but I believe he isn’t the cause of the disease but a symptom. The hemorrhaging is so massive that a simple blood transfusion won't do the trick.

 The America people are reaping what they’ve sown ages ago.

Division in the Catholic Blogosphere.

Division in the Catholic Blogosphere over Vladimir Putin.

Putin and the (Dis?)Continuity of Catholic Identity.

The Enemy of My Enemy Is Still My Enemy.

Minnesota Protestant churches Prepare for Same-sex Weddings.

In Minnesota, a a number of Protestant "churches" are preparing to preform same sex "marriages" ceremonies now that the state has legalized, so called, same sex "marriage".

Of course, what can you expect from a protest movement which broke away from Christ's one true Church five hundred years ago?

The Protestants have already eliminated seven books from their version of the Old Testament. Will they be making additional edits to take out references to homosexuality being a sin? As far as I know, there hasn't been any formal call for that among the Protestants, but it wouldn't surprise me to see some changes in this regard in the not too distant future.

To my Protestant friends - perhaps it's time to reevaluate your Protestant notions and take a serious look at the Catholic Church.

It's Already Started.

The Archbold brothers (Pat and Matt ) predicted it would happen.

Left of center non-Catholics would take Pope Francis' recent comment on homosexuals and the Church, misinterpret said comment and run with it.

The comment.........

"When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn't be marginalized. The tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem ... they're our brothers."

As the Archbolds pointed out, this idea isn't anything new - it follows what the Church has always taught. It does not mean, as some will suggest, that Pope Francis accepts the idea of homosexual priests or same-sex "marriage".

One group called Freedom to Marry, posted this photo on their Facebook page.

Of course, many same-sex "marriage" supporters knew this photo was a manipulation of what the Pope really  meant, as evidenced by some of the comments of Facebook.

"The church has always said they should not judge the sinner. You can bet 'who seek The Lord' does not include their sin. Seek The Lord, but leave the sin behind. It is not like they'd accept the actual love or acts of love between gays. This is just smoke being blown, and my ass isn't having it."

"This has been the Catholic Church's official stance for a long time. Nothing new. They still want you to be celibate for the rest of your life."

"This statement is completely out of context. The pope stated he would not judge gay priests meaning he would be ok if a man denounced his homosexuality to serve God in the priesthood, not that he wouldn't judge gays in totality. Please lets not forget this is the same pope who stated that any child raised in a gay household is a victim of child abuse!"

"What you have written in your post is NOT what the Pope said. He has not changed what the Catholic Church has said about being Gay at all, but is definitely taking a more gentle and kinder tone. Nothing has chaned about what that Church teaches on these points; 1: All priests are expected to be celibate- no mater their orientation. 2: Having a "homosexual" orientation is not considered "sinful". 3: ACTING on said orientation IS considered "sinful". I am not defending these teachings, so hang on to those rocks and rotten tomatoes, please, but only correcting some very sloppy and imprecise writing on your post. Be careful! Facebook can be terribly misleading."

Contrary what many would have us think, Pope Francis is not about to turn the Catholic Church into the Episcopal church.

No same-sex "marriage". No women priests.

Is the Pope Catholic?

You bet.

Cheerios Ad Brings Out Racist Comments.

I first came across this story on The Blaze.com which linked to the original story on Adweek.

General Mills had posted a recent TV ad on Youtube and due to "strong racist backlash" was forced to disable comments on the video.

The ad in question depicts an interracial couple and their young daughter. Actually, the ad is really cute. I'm totally flabbergasted that anyone in this day and age would find this ad objectionable.

Neither Adweek nor The Blaze.com have disabled the comments on their respective sites so similar racist comments are on display. Many of the comments at The Blaze focus on the so-called horrors of Political Correctness, while some leaving comments at Adweek see this ad as part of a plan for racial genocide against the "White" race.

French Gay Marriage Law Met with Violent Protests.

From Spiegel Online:

In Paris, protesters threw fireworks, bottles and stones at police officers. Security officials responded by deploying tear gas to push back the crowds, and at least 12 arrests were made late Tuesday night. Photos taken at the scene show emergency workers carrying out police officers apparently injured in the melee, but only one officer has been injured according to official statements.

Kansas Wants Child Support from Sperm Donor.

I'll do my best to be,uh, unsnarky while writing this particular post.

In 2009, a lesbian couple, Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner of Kansas, placed an ad on Craigslist in their search for a sperm donor. Their ad (and resumably, their prayers) were answered by one William Marotta, also of the great State of Kansas.

After meeting with Marotta and his wife, - and choosing not to use a clinic or doctor - Schreiner inseminated herself with a syringe. Bauer, Schreiner and Marotta signed an agreement relieving Marotta of any financial or paternal responsibility.

At some point, Schreiner and Bauer split up and according to one news report, "when Bauer was diagnosed in March with what she calls 'a significant illness' that prevents her from working, Schreiner sought health insurance for their daughter from the state. The DCF told Schreiner if she didn't provide the sperm donor's name, it would deny any health benefits because she was withholding information."

With the sperm donor's name, the Kansas Department of Children and Families claimed that Marotta was the baby's father and needed to support her.

From a legal standpoint, it's difficult to say if Marotta should have to repay the State for the $6,000 that Schreiner received through public assistance. After all, an agreement was signed by all three parties involved. The State of Kansas claims that the agreement isn't valid because no doctor was involved in the insemination.

Regardless of the "legalities", I believe Marotta should be made to pay child support. Artificial insemination, with or without a doctor, is immoral. The idea that Marotta could help create a human being without being responsible in morally reprehensible. Marotta was more than willing to donate sperm to two complete strangers whom he met via the Internet. An article on one website attempts to muddy the waters by suggesting "homophobia", but the process wouldn't be moral even if the woman was heterosexual. Should Marotta be made to pay, perhaps others will be reluctant to become sperm donors.

In its attempt to get money in a way which might be questionable legally, the State of Kansas might actually be encouraging moral behavior. That would be ironic coming from the home of Kathleen Sebelius.