Money and Religion
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – As of 2023, this church’s estimated net worth is $265 billion. By the end of 2024, closer to $280 billion.
German Catholic Church $265 – $47 billion (best estimate)
Muhammadiyah Society $28 billion
Church of England $13 billion
Church of Sweden $11.4 billion.
Trinity Church $6 billion.
Opus Dei $2.8 billion
Other organizations and numbers are listed. This is a sample.
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Quote of the Day
“The time for war has not yet come, but it will come soon, and when it does come,
my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.” — (The Professor From Virginia) … VMI
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God has a Sense of Humor.
Sermonette – From the Days of Fighting Sail
Sunday at sea in the Royal Navy, which started half an hour earlier than usual, was due to Sunday duty. There was also daily cleaning, but only a quick damp wipe and dusting on Sunday. While breakfast was being prepared, the men had to shave and line up. Then, a fresh and clean shirt was put on. After breakfast, everyone had 2.5 hours to polish everything up, which meant that the master at arms polished the weapons, the cook polished the pots, the gunner had the guns polished, and so on. The pumps were tested, and the bilge was washed out once, if possible. The carpenter, sailmaker, boatswain, and purser went through their stores and checked their stocks.
Right: Divine Service as it is Usually Performed on Board a British Frigate at Sea by Augustus Earle (1793–1838)
At half past ten, the first lieutenant made a quick round and inspected everything. So that at half past ten, all men could be called to muster. This meant they all lined up on deck in their respective divisions and could be accepted by their lieutenant. All complaints were passed on to the first lieutenant, who sent the persons concerned down to work. At the same time, the surgeon also took a closer look at the men to get an overview of their health status and to prevent scurvy. After this inspection, the captain took over and looked at the men. If anything was noticed, it would be noted as negligence by the first lieutenant and entered in his log book (a circumstance that, if repeated, would affect his reputation and possibly hurt him in later assignments on other ships).
When the captain had finished with his men and the midshipmen had completed their weekly reports, the ship was inspected. When this was also done, the divine service was called, which took place on deck under the open sky, weather permitting. Otherwise, the whole thing was moved to the gundeck. If there were a chaplain, he would hold a mass; if there was none, it was up to the captain to do it, although most of them were not particularly religious, and it was usually just a flaming speech to the men and the reading of the articles of war. Afterward, dinner was piped, followed by free time until 4.00 or half past 4.00. The men were allowed to do what they wanted on board according to the rules. This was usually an extended nap, playing, talking, sewing, or other crafts.
If the ship was in a port or a fleet, it was customary for the boats to visit each other. If the weather was good, then selected—not pressed—men were allowed to see the others on selected ships. Often, the guests were greeted there by their comrades with saved grog, which frequently led to drunkenness and, thus, to later punishments when the men returned.
After supper on Sundays, the weekly muster was held. When the names were called, and the men had to report present, the drunks were sorted out and then punished—like spending the night in irons. After this, the Guns were examined and had to be declared ready, the hammocks were piped down, and the first watch was called. With that, Sunday was considered over, and regular duty resumed.
Bullet Points:
** Peterson on what women really want in a man.
** Willie Brown, (right) known for being a corrupt democrat politician, having fancy cars, fancy hookers on call – is that his daughter?
** Will your whole brain interface annoy you? Musk delves with Rogan.
** When the Norks question your loyalty.
** (Sermonette) Ask yourself whether you’re a physical being on a spiritual journey or a spiritual being on a physical journey. There is a difference between the two.
** “Of all the wonders that I have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.” (Act II, Scene 2) William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
** Tucker and Shawn Ryan on anti-humanism.
Identify the Aircraft
1
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Identify the Vehicle
3
4
You’ll get VM bragging rights if you also nail the location. There are clues, and the place hasn’t changed significantly.
Identify the Feature Film
Parting Shot – Frustration
PS – Who only has 10K rounds of ammo on hand? Asking for a friend.
End
Movie is Das Boot set in WW2 Battle of the Atlantic.
My first father in law joined Australian Navy at very underage 14 and served on a cruiser for several convoys. Ended up partially deaf from 8” guns. He died at 63.
Yes.
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My father joined the US Navy during WW2 at 17. Gunner’s mate rate – served in the Pacific Theater, Navy landing force, and then as a GM on a destroyer that a Kamakazi struck off Okinawa (USS Hazelwood, DD 531) He died at 62. The greatest generation.
My father was, apparently, a late bloomer. He was an auto mechanic before The War who enlisted Navy on September 11, 1942 at the tender age of 33 and ended up turning wrenches on aircraft at Henderson Field.
One my great-uncles survived his tanker being sunk out from under him. Died unexpectedly on his next tanker and buried at sea. Possibly a stroke or maybe a diabetic coma. No way to tell and no way to treat him.
One looks to be Martin BM
Three is PUMA M36 MK5 MPV from South Africa.
Platypus are fairly rare. I’ve seen them in the wild twice and I have probably spent more time than most people outdoors.
Not helped by the fact that they dig burrows with the entrance normally being under water.
Until they managed to take a live one to Europe it was thought to be a made up fake.
I’m surprised that you saw even one in the wild. My understanding remains that they’re shy and difficult to spot, which you’ve confirmed.
https://www.offthemark.com/cartoon/relationships/love-romance/2015-07-24
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Martin BM-2
2. Polikarpov R-5
Identify the Vehicle:
3. German ATF Dingo
4.Sturmgeschütz IV. Vehicles I know, places I don’t.
Identify the Feature Film:
Das Boot
Good! The photo was taken in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Was in Thessaloniki 1971, last thing I remember seeing was the guy giving me a glass of Ouzo….
That story played out with others…over and over.
First time I had Ouzo it was at a birthday party and I was running a slight fever and feeling kind of crappy. Then my body experienced licorice alcohol coursing through my body, I coughed out my soul, soul bitch-slapped me for being stupid, came back inside and fever went away. So did some memory function.
* Is there any relationship between Tucke Carlson and Kamala Harris?
They both have a tendency to cackle at the weirdest moments.
* Looking back over 80+ years, I would have to say that I’ve been a spiritual being on a physical journey, though I”ve met many physical beings on a spiritual journey.
is this all bravo sierra? No.
IMHO, The latter is still trying to correlate a G-d with his (ideal) view of G-d, whereas the former already knows G-d (speaks with him at any time, but not aloud, please – there’s a special place for those) and is just trudging along that narrow, twisty path called life.
You could do a series about the Greek civil war. Very brutal, large body count. Relatively not discussed.
I’m writing a series of novels set during and primarily after the American Civil War and am finishing up the second book of short stories at present. Do you refer to the Ancient Greek City-States’ wars or more recent internal wars based more on national ideology, Communist influence, etc?
Steven Pressfield’s novels that cover the Hellenic States internal wars for dominance are excellent. He’s a very good author. Maybe I could do something on the topic as a series here. Finding the right conflict to drill down on is more challenging because their politics was complex. Then came Phillip of Macedon and his son, Alexander and upended the applecart. Today to be politically correct, I’d have to write them as being negroes, but I might sell books if I did that!!!
“a physical being on a spiritual journey or a spiritual being on a physical journey.”
IMHO I may be on both paths, simultaneously.
I was born of water as a natural, carnal human, and will decease as such. 1 Corinthians 15:46 The surrounding context explains the process of being planted after the first man, Adam, and rising up in the likeness of the man from the heavenly realm, Jesus.
” ye must be Born again ” ( John 3) to be able to see the unseen things that last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:18 also confirms this. The passage also explains how our spirit can be renewed, daily.
To our natural minds, the spiritual realm is foolishness and not comprehend-able.
I believe 1 Corinthians 2:14 and the context explains why.
As spiritual as I might seem, the reminder comes strong that they say Messiah talked more about money than heaven and hell combined.
If there’s any area I need more help from above, it’s more wisdom in my daily physical faithfulness and financial stewardship.
X2…well said.
Ps. I’m working on ‘discernment” and to see things all around more from the spiritual raelm than the physical, helped me tremendously know who can be trusted or not (long story). That said, America is fighting for its inherent soul at the hand of evil-doers and the dark one. Taylor Swift was just called out PDJT…rightely so, as LSP has stated a number of times on his Blog, she is evil. Look at this…it’s captured in realtime…Tyson Fury – strong unabashed Believer – squaring off with Deontay Wilder…the demon shows up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01i-OsBwceQ
X3
I would think the R/C Church is by far the richest, and that pretending it’s a bunch of different churches
like Wikipedia does is disingenuous.
*
I’m afraid that I think I am a physical being on a physical journey, but I am willing to be proven wrong.
*
– Kle.
Das Boot. Interesting in the photo above they are rendering a traditional hand salute, not a Nazi salute. Apparently there was also a TV series.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Boot_(2018_TV_series)
Traditional hand salute was allowed until the failed assassination attempt in 44, then the Nazi salute was ‘required’ to prove one’s loyalty or else.
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Which is very telling in that a lot of German surrenders, the officers render the hand salute when surrendering and not the Nazi salute. Of course, the Nazi salute could get one shot for being a fanatic, but a lot of German officers were German first and then Nazi because they had to be.
** (Sermonette) Ask yourself whether you’re a physical being on a spiritual journey or a spiritual being on a physical journey. There is a difference between the two.
I don’t know, and am not concerned. Likely intellectually lazy. I do know the physical journey is one foot in front of the other. Das Boot shows, no matter how your intellect and courage allow you to accomplish difficult tasks, the ending teaches fate doesn’t care. All you can be is the best you can be. That is enough.
Peterson- Woman are on Venus…Men are on Pluto, which has been decommissioned as a planet, meaning we can say whatever we want and we’re not wrong because no woman heard it.
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Comment elsewhere…sums it up: ” Fun was legal when I was a kid.” Living large is the best revenge to the self-loathers who wish us all to partake in their personal misery. Ignore them, live forward.
Das Boot- from 39 to 45 there were 739 U-boats lost and 30,002 submariners killed.
Say goodbye to the cat memes. Another attempt on Trump today in FL. Drum roll for “he was on the FBI’s radar”?
The local sheriff spoke about the lack of Secret Service coverage that Trump still has. It’s almost like DHS wants him killed or something.
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And, of course, the number of assassinations and attempts by leftists is huge and the number of assassinations and attempts by right-wingers is Zero.
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Even funner about the shooter, he’s a leftist. From Hawaii. Who has a number of gun-related charges…
I read the bit about the platypus to my wife and showed her the photo, noting “It looks angry.” She replied, “Wouldn’t you be?”
Well, at least high-body-count girl stopped after the high-value guys stopped calling. So that’s standards, right? Right?
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Peterson on “women’s pornography”. Yep. What he described is the classic “romance” novel. A billionaire vampire surgeon (call him Cruel Eyes) has had many women, carnally, but has never fallen In Love. Miss Dove is a sheltered, but spirited virgin girl. Stuff happens where Miss Dove falls under Cruel Eyes’ power, but she bravely stands up to him. An External Challenge to them both appears. Only by working together can Cruel Eyes and Miss Dove defeat External Challenge. In the process, Cruel Eyes learns to Love, and becomes the devoted protector and monogamous romantic partner of Miss Dove. The Dove tames the Vampire!
Chicks: [swooning; not a dry seat in the house]
Dudes: Yeah, okay, nice story bro, but does Miss Dove have big knockers?
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Musk on 25y into the future: “Dubious.”
MC on 25 years into the future: I personally will be dead, most likely. But fear not, some guy that survives will be huddled in the lobby of a partially collapsed skyscraper, eating a piece of rotting pigeon carcass that he got by shivving some other poor bastard with a rusty screwdriver. As he eats his scrap of flying rat, he will say to himself that he’s lucky to be living in a glorious Democracy! (Or, if you like, pigeon-eater clubs the other guy to death with a rusted, inoperable 1911 and says to himself, “At least we have the Second Amendment!”)
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Tucker on “Pushing for nuclear war = crazy”: Well, it’s NOT crazy to push toward nuclear war if you have a certain world view. (I’m not saying that world view is sane, but it might make sense to persons who have particular beliefs. Also, what a curious coincidence that we have “Red States” and that Edom is red?)
YES!
Hahahahah…yet another epic Hallmark Script from Mike_C. Add that one to the till.
That’s right up there with women bitching about men reading ‘girlie mags’ while lavishly reading their bodice-rippers and the ’50 shades of pornographic bondage’ series.
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It’s the equivalent of all those women sucking down cough syrup and patent medicines who pushed for Prohibition and the end of Demon Alcohol.
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Makes no sense. But it is what it is.
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Other things that make no sense? Real men vote on issues. Women and Girly-Men vote on who’s cuter and plays the sax.
Are you trying to say we can’t serve God and Mammon?
I’m not saying anything. I simply quote Jesus Christ.