PETRUS ROMANUS:  THE FINAL POPE IS HERE

Authors:  Dr. Thomas Horn - Chris Putnam

          For more than 800 hundreds years scholars have pointed to the dark augury having to do with 'the Last Pope'. The prophecy, taken from St. Malachy’s Prophecy of the Popes, is among a list of verses predicting each of the Roman Catholic popes from Pope Celestine II to the final pope, Peter the Roman, whose reign would end in the destruction of Rome. First published in 1595, the prophecies were attributed to St. Malachy by a Benedictine historian named Arnold de Wyon, who recorded them in his book, Lignum Vitæ. Tradition holds that Malachy had been called to Rome by Pope Innocent II, and while there, he experienced the vision of the future popes, including the last one, which he wrote down in a series of cryptic phrases. According to the prophecy, the next pope (following Benedict XVI) is to be the final pontiff, Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman. The idea by some Catholics that the next pope on St. Malachy’s list heralds the beginning of great apostasy followed by great tribulation sets the stage for the imminent unfolding of apocalyptic events, something many non-Catholics would agree with. This would give rise to a false prophet, who according to the book of Revelation leads the world’s religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist. In recent history, several Catholic priests -some deceased now -have been surprisingly outspoken on what they have seen as this inevitable danger rising from within the ranks of Catholicism as a result of secret satanic Illuminati-Masonic influences. These priests claim secret knowledge of an multinational power elite and occult hierarchy operating behind supra-natural and global political machinations. Among this secret society are sinister false Catholic infiltrators who understand that, as the Roman Catholic Church represents one-sixth of the world’s population and over half of all Christians, it is indispensable for controlling future global elements in matters of church and state and the fulfillment of a diabolical plan they call 'Alta Vendetta', which is set to assume control of the papacy and to help the False Prophet deceive the world’s faithful (including Catholics) into worshipping Antichrist. As stated by Dr. Michael Lake on the front cover, Catholic and Evangelical scholars have dreaded this moment for centuries. Unfortunately, as readers will learn, time for avoiding Peter the Roman just ran out.

DARPA  (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) may be the Big Dog of robotic cargo transport for now, but that doesn't mean it's the only game in town. A new design from the Italian Institute of Technology may look like the Army's pack-bot, but it runs like a Ferrari - or at least, a skittering, mechanical Ibex. Led by Professor Darwin Caldwell, a team from the IIT's department of Advanced Robotics has spent nearly half a decade designing, building, and testing the meter-long, 70 kilogram hydraulically-driven quadruped HyQ.  Being hydraulically activated and constructed from lightweight aluminum, the HyQ is one of a handful of robots capable of the instantaneous corrections needed for off-road deployment. It employs 12 active joints - eight hydraulically powered and four electrically powered to generate the necessary torque for moving nimbly over rough terrain. And boy -  can it move!

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RED ALERT

The emergence of the Avian flu in 2003 caused alarm around the world as it spread throughout countries in Asia, leaving victims in its wake. While it was largely contained to the bird population, the flu proved deadly for the relatively few humans unlucky enough to catch it.  Now two groups, of perhaps seemingly mad scientists, have successfully modified the H5N1 virus so that it could be passed easily between humans. One of them has already published the work for all the world to see, and the second is soon to follow. What kind of dangers will materialize in a world where the laboratory formulas for super flus and other potential bio weapons are out in the open? Of the 603 people infected since the 2003 H5N1 outbreak, 356 have died  - a 59 percent mortality rate. (By comparison, the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918 that claimed the lives of over 50 million people, had a mortality rate of just 2 percent). Still, people could take solace in the fact that while very well suited to being passed between birds, the flu was not effective at passing from human to human luckily. Until now.

Yoshihiro Kawaka (w.vetmed.wisc.edu/people/kawaokay/)at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Ron Touchier (w.Erasmus.n) at Erasmus University in the Netherlands have both been able to modify the virus so that it now is easily transmitted between humans. Understandably, some are none too happy. The wisdom of making the DNA sequence of a potentially very deadly virus public was discussed extensively in the media and behind closed public health office doors in the months prior to publication. The University of Pittsburgh’s D. A. Henderson, who helped eradicate smallpox, issued an editorial last December in response to the 'ominous news', arguing that the benefits of this work do not outweigh the risks. That same month the World Health Organization expressed deep concern about the possible risks and misuses associated with this research and about the potential negative consequences. Also in December, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton provoked concerns further by being clear that we’re all talking about terrorists, citing evidence in Afghanistan that…"al Qaeda…made a call to arms for brothers with degrees in microbiology or chemistry to develop a weapon of mass destruction.’”

The growing concern and condemnation seemed justified when the December tumult concluded with a ruling by the National Science Advisory Board for Bio-security (NSABB), that both Kawaoka’s and Fouchier’s paper also in the works be censored
and that the mutations shouldn’t be published lest terrorist groups be given the secret formula for a super flu.  Now the debates raged within the scientific community with one side rejecting the censoring of science in any form and the other side echoing 
D. A. Henderson’s doubt that the research was even merited in the first place. Long story short, the advisory board reversed their ruling in March after receiving ‘revised’ versions of Kawaoka and Fouchier’s papers. However, all the mutation data is still there. The key to Kawaoka’s (controversial yet FBI-approved) breakthrough was a viral protein called hem agglutinin that affects the ability of a virus to bind host cells. The hem agglutinin in H5N1 was well-suited to promote transmission of the virus between birds but not between humans.  Kawaoka produced millions of H5N1 variants in which the hem agglutinin was mutated in different ways. When they screened the variants they found a version that, unlike its naturally-occurring counterpart, was very good at infecting human cells in a petri dish.

The hem agglutinin of the human-targeting H5N1 virus showed four new mutations. Three of the mutations changed the shape of the protein from its normal shape and the fourth changed the pH level at which the virus attaches to cells and injects their genetic material. Sifting through the millions of mutations revealed a secret molecular formula for gaining deadly entry into human cells. To maximize the lethality of their creation, the team combined the mutated gene with the seven remaining genes (flu viruses have a total of eight genes) of a particularly transmittable flu virus; specifically, from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus. And then they gave the modified viruses to ferrets. The new virus worked ‘beautifully,’ rapidly infecting ferrets separately housed in different cages. Assuming ferrets are a good model for viral transmission among other mammals, like humans, the scientists would have taken a virus that was relatively harmless to humans and turned it into a Franken-flu with a monstrous potential for harm were it ever to get out.

The paper, detailing with what mutations went where was published May 2nd in the journal Nature. So should we be concerned about the world knowing that switching asparagine-224 to a lysine and a few other like-changes turns a relatively harmless bird disease into a super bug threat for humans? A couple months ago during one of our Google hangouts, we brought up the debate to New York Times Science columnist and writer of The Loom, Carl Zimmer.  He wrote a book about viruses before he passed last year.  He remarked, “I can sleep at night knowing that’s going on, but I don’t rule out the danger of it. On the other hand I do think there’s a danger in totally stifling this type of research. If somebody did release some sort of horrible bio-weapon we would probably find a vaccine or cure if this information was available to people as easily and quickly as possible so that you’re essentially crowd sourcing a solution as opposed to, say, if anybody wants this data you’re going to have to fill out three thousand pages of paperwork and then we’ll get back to you, and in the meanwhile another thousand people have died.” The practicalities of a quick and effective response aside, Zimmer isn’t too alarmed by the threat of a super bug let loose in the first place.

“I think an argument could be made that [a virus] is a pretty lousy bio-weapon. There’s good chance that if you were trying to make a very virulent kind of flu, you might very well be the first person to die. But let’s imagine you were able to transport it to some other country and unleash it. Take a look at what happened in 2009 with the Swine Flu. It was first noticed in Mexico, and by the time scientists really had a good handle on it in Mexico, we now know that it was already all over the world, because people had been getting on planes and going all over the place. So if some horrible person unleashed a very virulent flu in New York, a lot of people would get on planes and go back to that terrorist’s home country trying to escape the flu.”  Of course, anyone willing to unleash a virulent flu in New York might not have cared to think these matters through.

And the second recipe, Fouchier’s, which will be published shortly in Science, is rumored to formulate an H5N1 virus even more lethal than Kawaoka’s.  Fouchier’s group took a slightly different strategy by jumpstarting it with mutations that fostered its transmission from birds to ferrets, but then instead of screening for mutations that made the virus transmissible between ferrets, they took viruses from sick ferrets and injected them into healthy ferrets. Mimicking the way the viruses adapt in nature the viruses mutated as they were artificially transmitted from ferret to ferret, until they began transmitting on their own. As Fouchier told the New Scientist,  his flu is transmitted as efficiently as seasonal flu. With a near 60 percent mortality, let’s hope his observation is never confirmed. The seasonal flu already leaves between 250,000 and 500,000 around the world dead each year.

But the method by which Fouchier’s bird flu was created could be considered an argument for creating super flus in the lab in the first place. Injecting viruses from sick ferrets into healthy ones until they adapted simulates is the worst case scenario for humans. Conceivably, all it would take for the bird-to-human H5N1 to become a human-to-human H5N1 would be a finite number of transmissions between humans. As with the ferrets, the virus would adapt. How many direct contact transmissions would it need before it became airborne? The virus passed between Fouchier’s ferrets needed just ten transmissions.

Ten transmissions and five mutations – one more than Kawaoka’s virus needed. Either way, it’s a very short jaunt along evolution’s path to go from a relatively benign bird flu to the potentially most destructive infectious agent ever to face humanity. So if similar mutations are needed to make the virus airborne between humans, knowing ahead of time what those mutations are, as Zimmer pointed out, gives us a head start in creating a vaccine.

A good enough reason? You tell me. But in the end it doesn’t really matter which side of the issue you’re on because the super flu recipe is already out there. We know it’s the first of two, and we can bet that other publications will follow that are potential bio- weapon cheat sheets for horrible persons. Surely the debate will rage on as these papers come out, with one side saying benefits don’t outweigh risk - the other side saying we can’t afford to not be prepared.

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JUDGE NAPOLITANO:
Shoot Down A Drone - Become A Hero

Fox News commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano has found a novel approach to handling the whole drone surveillance dilemma that has Americans worried that the government will soon watch their every move from the sky. Speaking out against the future of aerial eavesdropping in America, Judge Napolitano said on Fox News,

“The first American patriot that shoots down one of these drones that comes too close to his children in his backyard will be an American hero.”

Congress is currently working alongside defense contractors, the Federal Aviation Administration and local law enforcement agencies across the country, among others, to draft plans to put unmanned aerial aircraft into US sky in the near future. The FAA believes that, at this rate, 30,000 small, remote-controlled drones could be above the homes of every American.

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ROBOTIC SPY BLIMP

Upstart Virginia aerospace firm Mav6 is offering to install guided missiles on the massive, robotic spy blimp it’s building for the Air Force. The idea would only be slightly terrifying, if the massive airship was headed to Afghanistan, as originally planned. But Mav6 and its CEO, a respected retired Air Force general, are also promoting the giant airship for homeland security missions over U.S. soil. In that way, today’s war blimp could become tomorrow’s all-seeing, lethal Big Brother. Capable of hovering at 20,000 feet for a week at a time while carrying radars, cameras, radio links and computer processors - the 'most powerful' of their type in existence - the Blue Devil 2 airship can also be fitted with weapons modules, according to marketing material provided by Mav6.

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IMMORTAL AVATAR: RUSSIAN PROJECT SEEKS TO CREATE ROBOT WITH HUMAN BRAIN 

Inspired by director James Cameron’s idea, a Russian businessman has launched his own Avatar project. Hundreds of researchers are involved in creating a prototype of a human-like robot which would be able to contain the human consciousness. In creating the Russia 2045 movement, Dmitry Itskov did not mean to use Avatars to explore new planets. His ultimate goal is to make immortality possible by transplanting the brain and its personality into a robotic body. The immortality project consists of four stages, and a team of researchers in the Moscow suburb of Zelenograd is currently working on the first one. About 100 scientists are already involved in the initiative, striving to bring the concept together, and Itskov is planning to hire even more during the upcoming stages.

There’s an ongoing debate among neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and even philosophers as to whether or not we could ever construct or reverse engineer the human brain. Some suggest it’s not possible; others argue about the best way to do it; and still others have already begun working on it.  Regardless, it’s fair to say that ongoing breakthroughs in brain science are steadily paving the way to the day when an artificial brain can be constructed from scratch. And if we assume that cognitive functionalism holds true as a theory - the idea that our brains are a kind of computer - there are two very promising approaches worth pursuing.  Interestingly, the two approaches come from two relatively different disciplines: cognitive science and neuroscience. One side wants to build a brain with code, while the other wants to recreate all the brain’s important functions by emulating it on a computer. It’s anyone’s guess at this point in time as to who will succeed and get there first . .  if either of them.

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BITS AND PIECES 

THE WINDSOR HUM

Last month, Bob Dechert, a senior aide to Canada's foreign minister, was dispatched to Detroit with an important diplomatic mission: to stop a highly-annoying noise. The so-called Windsor hum, described as a low-frequency rumbling sound, has rattled windows and knocked objects off shelves in this border community just across the Detroit River from the Motor City. Locals have said it sounds like a large diesel truck idling, a loud boom box, or the bass vocals of Barry White. Residents in Windsor, Ontario, have blamed the hum for causing illness, whipping dogs into frenzies, keeping cats housebound and sending goldfish to the surface in backyard ponds. Many have resorted to switching on their furnace fan all season to drown out the noise.  Many people have offered their theories; the most alarming explanation stating it is the sound of shifting plates around the world because of the planet's response to  changes in the magnetic field and solar flares.

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MONSANTO  SCAM 

Biotechnology's promise to feed the world did not anticipate 'Trojan corn', 'super weeds', and the disappearance of monarch butterflies. But in the Midwest and South - blanketed by more than 170 million acres of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton - an experiment begun in 1996 with approval of the first commercial genetically modified organisms is producing questionable results. Those results include vast increases in herbicide use that have created impervious weeds now infesting millions of acres of cropland, while decimating other plants, such as milkweeds that sustain the monarch butterflies. Food manufacturers are worried that a new corn made for ethanol could damage an array of packaged food on supermarket shelves.  Other adulterated foods not publicized are genetically engineered potatoes combined with moth DNA (Why ??? and UGH!)  goat milk with spider hormones, cloned 'Dolly' sheep, soy contamination, and a list of many other hidden food  alterations.  Human negative effects may not be seen until ten years into the future.  And they dare criticize the obesity of the American public who they are covertly poisoning.

Read this article concerning Monsanto . . .

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SOCIALIST OBAMA 

The Obama campaign may have looked into history when selecting its new campaign slogan, 'Forward'  - a word with a long and rich association with European Marxism. Many Communist and radical publications and entities throughout the 19th and 20th centuries had the name Forward or its foreign cognates. Wikipedia has an entire section called Forward (generic name of socialist publications). "The name 'Forward' carries a special meaning in socialist political terminology. It has been frequently used as a name for socialist, communist and other left-wing newspapers and publications," the online encyclopedia explains. The slogan Forward! reflected the conviction of European Marxists and radicals that their movements reflected the march of history, which would move forward past capitalism and into socialism and communism.

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THE VATICAN

To better understand the significance of Rome’s recent assertiveness, one must view the church in the context of its historical attempts to establish its universality. It is a church with global ambition. And frankly, those periods where it has  aggressively exercised its influence have been some of mankind’s darkest. However, even looking just at this history only provides a partial view. To really see what is taking place, one must also look through the lens of biblical prophecy. The Roman Catholic Church holds a monumental place in the Bible’s narrative of end-time events. It is described as ascending to once again attain a position of influence such as it has had at several points in its past, uniting with world leaders, summoning armies under the banner of the cross, using its spiritual clout to steer the political and military might of nations into helping it accomplish its goals. Scripture actually portrays this church as a woman sitting on 'many waters', signifying a globalist reign. It also shockingly depicts the church as a beast - but with a twist. It will not appear as a beast: It looks like a lamb - innocent, just, and righteous in the eyes of most people. It projects itself as being like the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. This however, is the worst possible deception: It speaks like a dragon (Revelation 13:11) - and it is what comes out of the mouth that reveals the true nature of the heart.

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Pope stands side by side with Cardinal “Peter The Roman’ amidst Scandal

Pope Benedict and his deputy, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, regarded as the chief target of campaign leaks, appeared side by side on Friday at the start of a visit to Milan that is unlikely to provide any respite from the scandal. In his speech, the Pontiff made no reference to the scandal, which exploded last week when his butler was arrested for stealing his private documents. Many Vatican insiders believe the butler is merely a scapegoat in a poisonous power struggle between Bertone's allies and enemies. Earlier this week, Benedict renewed his trust in his closest collaborators, which many interpreted as a gesture of support for Bertone, the Vatican's powerful secretary of state/prime minister. The publication of embarrassing details about men Bertone has appointed or moved out and projects he has promoted or opposed suggests a concerted effort to force him out of his post.