Archive | May 18, 2014

Enough of IMF, Portugal Opts Out of Bailout*

Enough of IMF, Portugal Opts Out of Bailout*

Portugal exited its international bailout program on Saturday, regaining its economic sovereignty, which it lost after the European debt crisis. However, the country’s GDP is four percent lower than in 2010, a year before it asked for financial help.

The country will become the second eurozone country to leave the bailout after Ireland. Portugal underwent three years of painful austerity, in order to receive a 78-billion euro loan (106 billion US dollars), to help a nation that was on the verge of bankruptcy.

However, not everything has gone smoothly for Portugal, with the end of the bailout coming at a time when data has shown the country’s economy contracted by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2014. Overall, the country’s GDP is 4% lower than in 2010, a year before they asked the International Monetary Fund for financial help.

The Iberian country is 214 billion euros in debt (293 billion US dollars), which is the third highest in the eurozone. The Portuguese government has focused on trying to increase exports, but this has been hampered by volatile markets abroad. There have been some positive signs, such as the Portuguese government’s success in reducing unemployment from its peak of 17.5% in 2013, to 15.1% at present, while borrowing costs are at an eight-year low.

The drop in unemployment has been aided by new rules, which make it much easier for firms to hire and fire workers. Labor costs in Portugal fell by 8% to 11.60 euros between 2011 and 2013, according to the EU statistics agency, Eurostat.

Nicholas Spiro, managing director at Spiro Sovereign Strategy in London, said: “It is still a job half done. The danger is that the reforms grind to a screeching halt. There is a very high risk that that happens.”

With the bailout, Portugal has also sold assets, raised taxes on everything from wages to diesel cars and reduced budget spending by 12 billion euros since 2010. According to Bloomberg, the government said on January 9 it raised 8.1 billion euros from asset sales, more than the proceeds of about 5 billion euros projected in the bailout program.

Last year, it sold shares in its postal service, CTT-Correios de Portugal SA, in the country’s first initial public offering since 2008, and also sold airport operator ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal SA. Earlier it sold stakes in utility EDP-Energias de Portugal SA and in REN-Redes Energeticas Nacionais SA, Portugal’s power and natural gas grid operator.

Although Berlin and Brussels have hailed Portugal’s clean exit from its EU bailout, it has not been popular at home.

“There is a great need in Brussels and Berlin and other capitals to present Portugal and Ireland as success stories. They will claim that their reforms in Portugal have been a success- well, they haven’t, they have destroyed the society and economy,” Rui Tavares, an independent Portuguese MEP told RT in April.

Portugal’s high unemployment has forced the workforce to look abroad for work opportunities, increasing emigration.

During the past 3 years, the work force has defected for more robust neighboring economies in record numbers. In 2012, this reached a new high of 120,000 émigrés, which was coupled with Portugal’s lowest birth rate.

Another harrowing reality is that while many people are struggling with tough austerity measures, a disproportionate amount of people are getting richer and richer. In Portugal, the top 20% make six times more than the bottom 20%.


Related Topics:

Hungary Tells IMF Where to Go!*

132 Nations Want Out of the Cabal’s Global Banking System*

What an IMF Loan Cost Argentina, and How They Got Out of It!*


IMF Eyes on Pensions and Your Savings Account

IMF and EU Taking Ireland for Everything it’s Got*

Implementation of IMF Policies Created Brazilian Crisis*

Dumping the Dollar, the World Bank, and IMF

IMF Chief Summoned over Alleged Corruption*

Former IMF Chief to Stand Trial for Pimping


The Rebirth of Paganism

The Rebirth of Paganism*

By Kelly OConnell


The reason for this is that the West’s historical foundation of rationalism, based upon Enlightenment and Reformation influenced policies is being roundly rejected. In the place of these are inserted policy based upon pseudo-science, socialist shame campaigns, anti-capitalist movements, driven by an utterly anti-Christian worldview. None of this bodes well for the globe’s safety, health and prosperity.

Is this another ill-informed “conspiracy theory” suggesting the world is being taken over by pagans? No, this argument is based upon known facts, and does not need a conspiracy to explain the elements. It’s argued the spirit of ancient paganism is reborn in the modern world, not literal ancient paganism. But this would suggest that ancient paganism did have its own logic. But there is no need for a conscious agreement between to make such a change because there is now a vast, cultural movement underway. This new paganism is ad hoc, picking and choosing whatever elements appear most appropriate.

But how is paganism defined? Websters says,

Heathen especially: a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome)


Neo-Pagan: a person who practices a contemporary form of paganism (as Wicca)

Paganism defies the notion of divine revelation. Further, the pagan view is man-centered, even in the name of god. Again, paganism imbues the idea that human beings, by way of their actions, or non-action, will radically impact the cosmos.

I. Elements of Paganism

A. Pagan Worldview

Paganism is considered the belief system of the non-Jewish and non-Christian world. Classical paganism, the belief system of the ancient Greeks and Romans, showed a variety of elements. Humanism is the philosophy associated with this movement. Franz Cumont, in his classic study Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, describes the “chaotic” nature of paganism in the ancient world. It was a chaotic world because so many different deities were honored, and rival systems proposed. While the Romans were tolerant of novel religions, if established elsewhere, they took offense at Christianity’s exclusive claims, and the refusal to accept other gods.

The ancients lived in a constant state of insecurity, never knowing where they stood with the gods. The chief policy of ancient Rome was Pax Deorum, or the Peace of the Gods, according to R. M. Ogilvie in The Romans and Their Gods in the Age of Augustus. This peace was precariously kept, but if the gods were upset with humans, they might reveal this through some monstra, or natural anomaly—like the birth of a 2-headed calf, or a natural disaster, such as an earthquake.

In such an instance, the Senate would gather and sanction the religious leaders to investigate the matter by doing divination. Such an investigation would be reported to the Senate who would then decide what to do with the information. Certain rites would be then ordered, the execution of which would theoretically heal the cosmic rift. This is because the religious system was based upon a contract between the people and the gods, according to James Jeffers in Greco-Roman World of the New Testament. For example, prayers followed the formula of mentioning the god’s powers, asking for some benefit, and then promising a sacrifice when the god fulfils his part.

Overall, pagan theology created a permanent sense of insecurity and anxiety in its votaries.

B. Elements of Roman Paganism

For instance, let’s examine a list of basic facts of one ancient pagan system, described in John Scheid’s An Introduction to Roman Religion. Scheid’s description includes these elements: First, there was no holy book or revelation in ancient Roman paganism, or dogma. Instead, focus was placed upon “orthopraxis,” being the correct performance of the prescribed rituals. Second, while the rituals were all set, the populace was free to believe whatever it chose regarding the gods. Belief and practice were therefore wholly separated.

Third, there was no initiation or teaching associated with the religion. For example, the idea of a “conversion experience,” as found in Christianity, would have made no sense in Roman religion. Instead, one’s religion was tied into their birth origin, occupation and social status. And in this sense, the religion was a group experience, not an individual faith.

Fourth, there was no moral code associated with Roman religion. Fifth, the religion was not organized to provide an afterlife. Sixth, ever public event had a religious element. So politics was involved in the process as well. Seventh, there was no single leader, or founder of the religion. Instead, the creation of the cult was tied to the foundation of Rome itself. Eighth, the religion was polytheistic. Ninth, the priesthoods had no expectation or duty to provide pastoral care to the laity.

According to Numa Denis Fustel De Coulanges, in his masterpiece The Ancient City, the Roman family had a continual duty to administer the sacred family rites of keeping a turf fire, and offering food for the deceased forebears. In this sense, the religion of Rome was open, public and family oriented.

C. Revelation

The notion of a divine law—or a code that governs human actions, does not fit within pagan religious theory. In fact, the belief in prophets or apostles delivering biblical revelation would probably have been incomprehensible to an ancient Roman, or Greek. Instead, as Remi Brague described in The Law of God, The Philosophical History of an Idea, the theory and practice of ancient Greek divine law is indistinguishable from nature. So the ancient priests and their divination were designed to detect clues in the cosmos to understand the mind of the gods.

II. Modern Paganism

A. Paganism Reborn

There is no doubt there has been a return to pagan ideas in the modern Western world. First, the old block to paganism is Christianity, which is being increasingly scorned and rejected in public. Second, atheism is increasingly held up as a respectful alternative, in both pop culture, and private lives. For example, Pew Research reports 20% of Americans now identify as atheist, agnostic or are unaffiliated with any religion.

Third, a series of public policies moves upon the world stage, pushed by global actors, shows how deeply pagan presumptions have already been accepted in the West. (Modern Paganism is here not meant to be confused with the notion of neo-paganism, or modern Celtic, or Wiccan religion.)

B. Elements of Modern Paganism

The elements of modern paganism can be summed up as having the following aspects: A disengagement with the traditional God, a dismissal of the notion of Natural Law, an onus against Christianity in any public activity or statements, a belief in the primacy of human activity in controlling the natural world, the presumption that morality is only a private issue—or a non-topic, that karma is an active agent, that Political Correctness represents some important spiritual truths, that the universe is the result of naturalistic forces—coming into being without divine guidance, that humans and all life are the result of evolution.

The idea that the universe is guided by essentially natural laws which mankind can study, but not know the origin of is a pagan idea. For example, Richard A. Gard, in Buddhism, describes the concepts of non-violence, an eternal universe, that animals evolved, reincarnation, karma, and the theory that behind the religious system are laws of the universe which must be obeyed.

C. Example Modern Paganism: Global Warming

The belief in Anthropogenic (man-made) Global Warming (AGW) is a classic example of pagan thinking which has degenerated science into mere propaganda. First, the evidence for this phenomenon has come under increasing scrutiny the last few years. It now turns out there has been no warming for 20 years.

Second, the very notion that mankind can radically impact earth’s atmosphere so easily is a pagan notion where mankind’s influence is overstated. Third, the idea that the evil of AGW represents the moral failings of humans is a pagan theory. Fourth, the premise that the earth’s problems can be cured by stopping various activities, then adopting a humble attitude is utterly pagan in its illiterate superstition.

It has become increasingly clear that AGW is an elaborate con-artist job which plays out like a religious parable. The evil capitalists harm the earth, which then rebels in a cosmological act of karma, heating the erath until human numbskulls realize their sins and repent. In the meantime, global wealth is redistributed through carbon credits.

C. Comte & Mill’s Religion of Humanity

AGW brings up the modern religion which we can now compare to paganism. The French writer August Comte was troubled by traditional Christianity. So he proposed creating a new world where religion really would be set aside and the society then directed by representatives of his Positivist, or scientific, cult. This was picked up by John Stuart Mill, an early follower of Comte, according to Linda Raeder in John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity. This book reveals how the devastating and counter-productive cult of scientism was launched in the West, and the irrational and even mentally deranged minds behind it. Yet it is a pagan theory that religion must be harnessed by the political establishment.

D. Eric Voegelin’s Deicide—Murder of God

It was Eric Voegelin’s great insight that much of what motivates modern mankind is a strong desire to kill the God of the Bible. According to Voegelin, in The New Science of Politics, the left is ultimately seeking it’s own Dux e Babylone ‚Äì the Duke of Babylon to act as an agent for the third age of man. Bible followers will detect the anti-Christ in the Duke’s words, ambitions and deeds. The progressive movement will see this man who augurs in the third age, the one of earthly paradise, as a secular messiah. His ancient pagan incarnation might be Julius Caesar, the would-be pagan world tyrant. A biblical model might be Nimrod, first emperor, and “hunter of men.”

A more modern pair are Lord Horatio Nelson and Napoleon Bonaparte. Nelson believed he was not simply fighting the French military, but battling for God’s liberty against world domination, according to John Sugden in Nelson, The Sword of Albion. Napoleon wanted to restrict Christianity and subjugate the world under a stifling military, economic and religious system. In his excesses, Napoleon’s genocide presages Adolph Hitler. Nelson understood himself as fighting for the liberty of the world when he went to battle against the French.

III. Ten Problems New Paganism Creates

Insisting All Religions are the Same
The pagan idea that all religions are equally plausible and therefore must be equally addressed—unless they claim exclusivity, means that realistic defenses against violent religion cannot be organized.

Removing Divine Revelation from Human Ideas
The fact that Christianity is being driven out of public life in the West is having terrifying consequences. First, if there is no divine mandate, then the Ten Commandments cannot be true. But who decides the rules after this? Nietszche’s Will to Power, or the notion that truth equals the opinion of the strongest group, is becoming the standard. Again, when even such things as heterosexual marriage are being dismissed as irrelevant, can we be surprised when people begin demanding polygamy and bestiality be included as part of “holy matrimony”?

Demanding Cosmic Justice from Economics
The idea that capitalism is inherently evil and must be dismantled has been one of the most destructive, expensive and perniciously false theories in human history. The idea of socialism can said to be pagan in the sense that there was no absolute right to private property in the ancient world. The government could and would take what it needed from private citizens during crises.

Using Darwinism as a a Biological Standard
The Romans really had no theory of the origin of the universe, and neither do other pagans. The fact that modern Westerners are agnostic about life and its origins leads to such monstrosities as abortion and eugenics.

Removal of Natural Law Destroys Democracy
According to paganism, there is no law above the law because there can be no revelation from God. Therefore, a document like the Constitution, which presents Rights that the Declaration of Independence inform us are willed from God, would be impossible. Instead, you would have what we are dealing with today, a fading Constitution and interminable debates about how it needs to be changed.

The educational system under humanism becomes another prop in the political theater. Since the only goal for a pagan government is the retention of power, it is not unethical to withhold education on logic from students, predisposing them towards propaganda, because people have no natural rights.

Humanism Kills
As the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras said, man is the Measure of All Things. But, if there is no reference to God in human behavior, who is to say that killing other humans is wrong?

Paganism is Emotionally Superficial
Just like in ancient Rome, only fame, power and money are valued.

Polygamy was the Standard in the Pagan World
Polygamy was the standard in the most primitive pagan societies, it now it seems to be coming to America.

Children are not Safe Under Paganism
In ancient Rome and Greece, children had short lifespans and were sometimes even abandoned or killed by their own families. Yet it was Jesus who said in Matthew 8:16—“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”


Related Topics:

The Paths of Return

Ushering in the New ‘god’*

The Dominant Faith is Materialism*

The New Age Con

A Child of the Devil Says Perry’s Father*

Oh Dear Pope Francis*


The Signs of God’s Existence

NWO Justice Gives Teacher 31 Days for Raping a 14-Year Old Who Committed Suicide*

How Feminism Destroys Society*

Australia: To Sterilize, Electroshock, and Restrain Children Without Parental Consent*

Pedophiles in Power

The EU Tower of Babel*

Sex attacks on under-11s rise by 14 per cent in one year

Bertrand Russell on the Manipulation of Society*

Social sciences and the destruction of individuality

More Mass Death Sentences in Egypt, 683*


Tony Blair’s’blood for oil’ Speech*

Canadian Aborted Babies Used to Facilitate Electricity*

Judge Breaks Down After Sentencing Pedophile

Blair, Bush and Cameron: Deluded in their Hi-jack of God*


Adviser to Queen and Founder of Paedophile Support Group*

Making Living off the Grid Illegal is about Controlling You and Paying Them

Jesuit Pope Charged with Trafficking Orphans*

British Royals Cash in on Hard-up Families*

Dead Bankers Can’t Talk*

The Tension between Freedom and Opportunity*

Boycott America, Not Russia*


British Governance: When You Fear the People…*

U.S. Deep-freeze a Eugenics Stunt?

Will Sisi Make it Post-Elections?

Will Sisi Make it Post-Elections?

Despite the blood for oil spokesperson, former U.K. Prime minister, Tony Blair trying to send loud signals of support to Egypt’s former General- cum – unelected president-cum – presidential hopeful Abdul Fatah Sisi, whose name will be forever ingrained in the bloodstains of Egypt’s history, the EU and Carter Center will not be monitoring the up and coming Egyptian presidential elections. Beyond the expected blood to be spilt, most are under the general understanding that the results will be a foregone conclusion. Besides with the high turnover of governmental officials, who of worth is there left for Sisi’s government?

With heavy handed control of the media, which some citizen’s still choose to believe, there is misinformation blurring the actual numbers of expat Egyptians who have actually casted their vote unlike the high turn-out for the Iraqi elections. Middle East Monitor reports:

A spokesperson for an Egyptian anti-coup party says voter turnout at the expatriate presidential elections is no more than 1 percent.

According to Hatem Abu Zaid, spokesperson of Al-Asalah Party, the official figures on the number of expatriate voters points to a record low turnout.

For example, he told Masr Al-Arabeya newspaper, that the Egyptian ambassador in Jordan said that only “hundreds” out of 300,000 took part in elections in Jordan. This is almost equal to 1 percent of voters in Jordan, and the same applies to all other polling constituencies, he said.

Abu Zeid added that the available figures contradict statements by the Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Fahmy, in which he said that the turnout was high.

Abu Zeid pointed out that the low turnout indicated that the overwhelming majority of Egyptians “reject this farcical vote.”

The Alexandria Criminal Court sentenced 79 opponents of the military coup and supporters of Mohamed Morsi to 5-10 years in prison on charges of taking part in violence which took place in the coastal city last summer.

The court sentenced 11 defendants to 10 years, 13 defendants to 7 years, and 55 others to 5 years. It also acquitted 7 defendants.

Then there are the officers breaking ranks — the truth of which goes far deeper as to how sections of the military were silenced before and during the coup.

Middle East Monitor




It added that Anan “threatened Sisi, and ordered him to stay away from him and his son Dr Samir Anan.”

To the dismay of global governance what is to unfold is going to be a rough ride for all, but a ride that will lead to a destination desired not by them or all the factions involved!

Related Topics:

US Apache Attack Helicopters for Egyptian Junta*

Jailed Egyptian Children Moved to ‘torture camp’*

Tensions Mount on Yet another Constitutional Referendum*

Egypt: A Suspicious Referendum Result to Say the Least*

Egypt: Barbaric Descent of World’s First Nation-State*

Egypt Accused of Systematic Torture of Detainees*

Egypt: Torturing University Students*

From Tahrir – Ukraine’s Orchestrated Unrest*

Egypt’s Military-Backed Government Resigns*

Lessons from Tahrir*

Egypt Consolidates Israeli Relations*

Egypt Sentences 529 to Death*

The Collective Evolution

Egypt: Over 20,000 Detainees to Start ‘Uprising’*

Heavenly Signs: May 13 a Wake-up Call from the Creator

The Revolution Business‏

The Emperor has No Clothes!

The text of the Egyptian Armed Forces Statement

The Grand Scam: El-Baradei and his Liberal Elites*

Egyptian Arrested for Naming Donkey after General*

Egyptian Christians Against General Sisi*

PM Behind Egypt’s First Trade Surplus in 50 Years Faces Imprisonment*

Egypt Hires US Lobbyist with Ties to Israel*

Corrupt Egyptian Officials Cleared*


Suspended Sentences Given to Leading Figures of the 2011 Revolution*

NWO in Crisis

Tony Blair’s’blood for oil’ Speech*