Is Russia Winning Syrian War With Its Anti-ISIS Coalition?

by Joseph Saraceno
RUSYRussia’s deployment to Syria — its largest outside the former Soviet Union in two decades — has includedadvanced fighter jets, antiaircraft missile systems, tanks, and armored-personnel carriers.

But much of the Russian weaponry has been positioned — officially anyway — at the Latakia air base in western Syria.

Russia first launched air strikes to support President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s four-year civil war on September 30, but has repeatedly stated it has no intention of launching a ground offensive. MORE

Palace of Henry VIII to Hold First Catholic Service

by Joseph Saraceno

10London-web-master675“Henry VIII will be spinning in his grave!”  Not really, if anything he would be laughing because he would know that the service is not Catholic.

LONDON — “Henry VIII will be spinning in his grave!” said the headline inThe Daily Mail, a British tabloid.

Hampton Court Palace, where the Tudor king, Henry, broke off ties with the papacy in 1530 just to divorce his first wife and marry his mistress — with whom he was besotted and whom he later beheaded — on Tuesday held its first Roman Catholic service in more than 450 years. MORE

How the Satanic Temple forced Phoenix lawmakers to ban public prayer

by Joseph Saraceno

DEVFor weeks now, Phoenix lawmakers have wrestled with the idea of allowing members of a Satanic group to give the invocation before an upcoming city meeting.

Phoenix City Council members arrived Wednesday at a controversial solution: Banning prayer altogether.

From now on, lawmakers decided in a 5-4 vote, council meetings will no longer begin with a traditional prayer, but instead open with a moment of silence. MORE

God Knows whats in the Hearts of Men Lk;16:15. For St. Valentine’s Day

by Joseph Saraceno
St. ValentineAn article for the reason, I thought. Did it ever occur to you that Jesus didn’t say that God knows what’s in the thoughts of Men? The obvious reason being, that one’s intellect and knowledge of the faith does not in itself provide for a close relationship with God. The same applies with prayer. If one does not have the three basic virtues of faith, hope and charity, all else with God is in vain. We know the first of these is Charity.  St. Paul for one, expressed how charity had to come first before anything else.

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California grants driver’s licenses to 605,000 undocumented

by Joseph Saraceno

fmbLos Angeles (AFP) – Some 605,000 undocumented immigrants who live in California were granted driver’s licenses in 2015, the first year they have been able to enjoy that benefit, officials said Monday.

The law known as AB60 took effect on January 2, 2015. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) expects a total of about 1.4 million people will get their license under the law by late 2017.

Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed the law in October 2013 to give a legal document to the 2.5 million undocumented immigrants in California alone — most from Latin America and particularly neighboring Mexico. MORE

Here’s how much Obama’s oil tax would add to the price of gasoline

by Joseph Saraceno

600_ZHIt’s obvious that a $10-a-barrel tax on oil would translate into higher prices for gasoline at the pump. But how much higher?

The White House on Thursday said President Barack Obama will propose a $10-a-barrel tax on each barrel of oil to pay for clean transportation projects. The tax, which will be part of the budget request Obama sends to Capitol Hill next week, would be paid by oil companies and gradually phased in over five years. The measure, however, isn’t expected to go far. MORE

A highly recommended suggestion for Lent

by Joseph Saraceno

;EMTUnless the mind and will are ready to believe in God’s absolute right to teach and command, there is little likelihood that fasting and penance with extra prayer will be followed carefully.

The will must be free of self-interested desires and fears in order to bend the mind to assent to an unseen God and to His whole mysterious order of salvation. Prejudices and sinful habits easily find excuses for refusing assent to truth and to self-discipline.
Christian mysteries, accepted and lived, lead men to their supernatural destiny. A Christian’s joy in living his faith, without complaining of the cost, is a sign that he knows what he is about. Continue reading →

Madoff Whistleblower Warns of 3 New Ponzi Schemes

by Joseph Saraceno

Whistleblower Harry Markopolos

Almost 16 years after Harry Markopolos initially warned the SEC in vain that Bernie Madoff was operating a massive Ponzi scheme, Markopolos says he has found three more schemes that are multi-billion dollar pyramids of fraud.

One of them, he told ABC News, is even bigger than Madoff’s epic scam, estimated at fraud in the neighborhood of $65 billion.

For now, Markopolos is declining to name names, because he wants the regulatory and enforcement agencies to get the information first. MORE

Chinese Defector Reveals Beijing’s Secrets

by Joseph Saraceno

LingJihuaA defector from China has revealed some of the innermost secrets of the Chinese government and military, including details of its nuclear command and control system, according to American intelligence officials.

Businessman Ling Wancheng disappeared from public view in California last year shortly after his brother, Ling Jihua, a former high-ranking official in the Communist Party, was arrested in China on corruption charges. MORE