[Arktwo] 12 Days of Christmas - Again

[Bruce Beach]

At this time last year
I thought we were in a countdown
in the two weeks past Christmas.
Then  Divine Intervention -
in that Sharon had a stroke -
and the end of the world was put on hold.

Now, a year later -
at Ark Two -
we are much more prepared -
but world events seem
as tenuous as before.

Iran has just been given an UN ultimatum -
less severe than that given to North Korea -
and probably even less effective -
although the effect on NK was already
less than zilch.
These sanctions are sort of like lashings -
with a wet noodle.

We hear all sorts of rumours
about Bush preparing a new 'surge' in Iraq -
and towards Iran.
Conventional wisdom -
among those who think something is coming down -
is that it will be in the Spring.

Whenever it does occur
it will be when the Divine Destiny Decrees.
Not any sooner -
and not any later.
Those who think they wish to hurry it on -
will not be more successful
than those who wish to delay it.

But to human eyes -
it will probably seem to be
some insignificant event
that will set it off.

Such a possible event
is in the making at this moment.
There are two major annual events
in the Muslim Calendar
of which we take note here in the West.

One is Ramadan -
the month of fasting
(which this year occurred in Sept - Oct)
and the other is the Hajj -
when millions of Muslims make the pilgrimage
to Mecca.

Because the Muslim calendar is Moon based -
their annual events move through the months
of the Western Solar based calendar.
This year -
the key event of the Hajj -
occurs of all days -
on December 31st.

This date is significant
because of the intense
Muslim inter-sect conflict.

The Royal Family in Saudi Arabia
hold their position of power
because they are the guardians
of the Holy Site in Mecca.
As such it is their responsibility
to host the millions of Muslims
making the Hajj.

Shiites and Sunnis -
and all the factions within
must be welcomed.
The Royal Family does this
with some trepidation,
because there are many
who would like to overthrow them.

The Iranian Shiites are very supportive
of the Shiites in Iraq
who are presently slaughtering
great numbers of Sunnis there.

Do you see where this is going?
About 400,000 Iranians are a part
of the annual Hajj
that descends upon Saudi Arabia.

The top 'intelligence' guy in Saudi Arabia
who ran their equivalent of the CIA -
was promoted to ambassador to the US
a couple of years ago.

Well,
a couple of weeks ago -
he suddenly packed it all in
and said he had to hurry home to his family.
This sort of thing just doesn't happen
at that diplomatic level.

Rumour has it -
that there has been uncovered
an Iranian plot
to conceal twenty to forty thousand
revolutionaries in their Hajj contingent.

The Hajj is pretty disruptive on its own.
It has not been unusual
in previous years
for several hundred people
to accidentally get trampled to death in it.
An intentional incitement
might get something going
that the Saudis couldn't control.

Anyway -
that is the theory
of why the Saudi Ambassador rushed home.
Whether something like that
could set it all off in the Middle East -
God only knows.

Yep,
here at the Ark we have been
busy, busy, busy preparing
with at least three people
working each day -
and usually more like six.
We were already
a thousand times more prepared
than most people -
but as with everything else -
what all it will amount to -
depends upon the Will of God.

We did get our last sun-marker in
on December 21st -
(the Winter Solstice -
shortest day of the year -
in the Northern Hemisphere)
and so that makes a complete
annual morning sun calendar
with portals for the 21st of each month -
just like there is at Stonehenge
and elsewhere in the world.

Also -
I don't know how I have managed to do it -
but with a lot of help from my friends -
I have updated the Web Pal pages.

There is now available:

	The Red Cross Mass Feeding Manual

	http://tinyurl.com/yzgyo8


[Unfortunately, at this moment the manual is 'damaged' on the host although
I have spent two weeks trying to FTP it to them - and have had it sent
directly to them from another source. They have promised to have it up by
Christmas morning. Soon, I hope, and you will be able to link to it through
the above url.]

	The Pandemic Manual

	http://tinyurl.com/yxj6dt

[Unfortunately the above note also applies to the pandemic manual. However,
the following three manuals are now available to link from the immediately
above url].

	The Internal Radiation Manual Critique

	The Internal Radiation Manual

	The External Radiation Manual

I am just about to start my periodic update
of the CD TEAM Leaders email addresses.
If you should happen to write to one -
and find the email address not working -
then try again in a couple of weeks -
if we are all still here.

People have asked me to create a new CD
as a supplement to our present

	www.webpal.org/freecd.htm

with all the above new material
and to send it out to all the TEAM Leaders.

Since there are over 100 TEAM Leaders -
(two in each US state plus other countries)
the cost to create the CDs
and mail them would be about $500 -
and even more restrictive
(even if that amount were donated)
would be the time involved.

Nope,
I am afraid -
that within my paradigm
of the nearness of events -
and the priorities that I must address -
that just isn't going to get done.

More important to me -
are those web pages that I have in development
dealing with the reconstruction of society
after nuclear war.

	The Economic Reconstruction

		http://tinyurl.com/yyzzka

	A Replacement for the United Nations

		http://tinyurl.com/yhubtc

	The Future of Freedom
	of Religion and Expression

		http://tinyurl.com/ubvuu

	The Development of a
	Universal Auxiliary Language

		www.worldlanguageprocess.org

These are the true purposes of Ark Two -

		www.webpal.org

and are personally motivated -
for me of course -
by my religion.

In my paradigm -
and that of many other people  -
religion is the primary purpose of life.
Our relationship to God.

That should be the case for all people -
and especially for Christians
at this time of year,
rather than the
tinsel, commercialism, and materialism
that is so prominent.

So, in keeping with the Spirit of this Day -
I will append here the meaning
of the 'Twelve Days of Christmas'
Christmas Carol
for those who wonder what
Christmas has to do with
leaping lords,
French hens,
swimming swans,
and especially the Partridge in the pear tree.

>From 1558 until 1829,
Roman Catholics in England
were NOT permitted to practice their faith openly.
Someone during that era wrote this carol
as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning:
the surface meaning
plus a hidden meaning
known only to members of their church.
Each element in the carol has a code word
for a religious reality,
which the children could remember.

The Partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds were
the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law,
the first five books of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stood for
the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming
represented the sevenfold gifts
of the Holy Spirit —
Prophesy,
Serving,
Teaching,
Exhortation,
Contribution,
Leadership and
Mercy.

The eight maids a-milking
were the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing
were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit —
Love,
Joy,
Peace,
Patience,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Faithfulness,
Gentleness and
Self Control.

The ten lords a-leaping were
the Ten Commandments.

The eleven pipers piping
stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

The twelve drummers drumming
symbolized the twelve points of belief
in The Apostles' Creed.

And so there -
I have taught you
the Catholic Catechism.
You can learn anything here.

The Twelve Days of Christmas
start with Christmas Day
and finish with the eve of Epiphany
on 5th January.

http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html

As in the song -
my true love is God -
as I hope is the case
with you also.

Let us be thankful for this day -
because whatever it may bring
we can be sure -
that it is a gift from God
for our benefit.

I wished to end this message
on this Christmas morn
with a positive message
because I know all works
for the good of God.

If it were not for the Divine Chastisement
humanity would continue to plunge
over the precipice into the hell of
self, immorality and materialism.
Still as I peek over the edge
into the chasm below
and behold the horrors taking place -
my heart sinks in sadness
at the present state of the affairs
of humankind.

The count of American dead in Iraq
appears that it will hold under 3,000
until the end of the year.
It is actually over if one includes Afghanistan.
And it is way, way, way over
if one includes the number who die
in hospital on return.

Often the case is a healthy young man
struck by a roadside bomb
and evacuated to Germany -
will die in hospital four months later
from complications like pneumonia or infection.
The US Department of Defense refuses
to list the number of these Purple Heart deaths.

Being a great grandparent
and having lost several children
I know how torn are the hearts
of the parents of those children.
As also the parents
of the tens of thousands of war wounded soldiers
whose lives have truly been destroyed.

And all this counts not at all
the hundreds of thousands
of other parent's children
that have been killed in the conflict
in Iraq -
and the millions in other conflicts
throughout the rest of the world.

All that is as nothing -
compared to what awaits over the abyss.
Description fails.
I must creep back -
and look the other way -
to God's purpose and light.

Christmas morn.
The dawn of the Day of Peace.
Thy Day O' Lord -
towards which Thou hast commanded us
to work.

Peace and love,
Bruce
DawnSayer@webpal.org