A Third Temple, a Replica of Solomon's Temple, Was Built in Brazil and Inaugurated on July 31, 2014 for the One World Religion

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a Brazilian Pentecostal church that claims 8 million followers in 180 countries, received planning permission in late July 2010 to construct a 10,000-seat replica of the holiest site in Judaism. “We are preparing ourselves to build the temple, in the same mold as Solomon’s,” Bishop Edir Macedo, the church’s founder and leader, said in a televised service posted on his blog. The church has signed an $8 million contract to import Jerusalem stone, which was used in the construction of the First Temple, from Israel. The building, which will be designed by Brazilian architect Rogério Silva de Araújo, will stand at 180 feet tall, nearly twice the height of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue that towers over Rio de Janeiro. The Temple will house a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and the complex will include classrooms for 1,300 students, and spaces for television and radio studios, according to the Guardian. - Devra Ferst, July 28, 2010



A replica of Solomon's Temple in Brazil opened on July 31, 2014 in Sao Paolo, Brazil (construction began in 2010). It is just down the road from the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2015 Tomorrowland festival.



The first temple was destroyed in 586 BC.

The second temple was completed 70 years later, in 516 BC.

The second temple was destroyed in 70 AD.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (KJV)

Now we beseech you, brethren,
By the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
And by our gathering together in Him.
That you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
Neither, by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us,
As that day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means;
For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first;
And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
So that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Matthew 24:14-24 (KJV)

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
And then shall the end come.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
Spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
Stand in the holy place, (Whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
For then shall be great tribulation, 
Such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:
But for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Then if any man shall say unto you, 'Lo, here is Christ, or there;' believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
And shall shew great signs and wonders;
Insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all, life, and breath, and all things, and has made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on the face of the earth. That they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him, and find him, though he is not far from every one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being. - Acts 17:24-28 (KJV)

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. - Hebrews 9:11 (KJV)

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." - John 18:36 (KJV)

Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary... The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. - Hebrews, Chapter 9:1,8-12 (KJV)

The following is from Verum Et Inventa.

Video showing the early stages of construction: Temple Of Solomon, uploaded Jan. 10, 2012:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfVIbfjBXFI

Video showing the middle stages of construction: The Temple Of Solomon in Brazil, uploaded Jan. 28, 2014:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Gu1g_FBIQ

Videos in Portuguese, showing the outside of the temple on an unofficial Inauguration Day, July 19, 2014, and the ceremonies that took place inside.

Here is what’s going on: The Templo de Salomão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈtẽplu dʒi saloˈmɐ̃w̃]) is a replica of the Temple of Solomon built by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in São Paulo.

According to Brazilian press reports, the new Templo is an “exact replica” (“uma réplica exata”) of the ancient Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem,[1] According to the church’s leader, “The outside will be exactly the same as that which was built in Jerusalem,”[2] but with increased dimensions. – from the Temple’s Wikipedia page



The Universal Church is not your typical church:

The Universal Life Church Monastery strongly believes in the rights of all people from all faiths to practice their religious beliefs, regardless of what those beliefs are, be they Christian, Jew, Gentile, Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, Shinto, Pagan, Wiccan, Druid or even Dignity Catholics; so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others and are within the law of the land and one’s conscience.

We ordain ministers, priests, rabbis and clergy worldwide who are totally non-religious or even anti-religious. This may seem contradictory, but we are looking to change the negative perceptions of religion, faith and spirituality, by encouraging people to take control, stand up and speak truth to power by fearlessly stating their personal religious beliefs. – the Church’s intro page, and its About Us page

Curiously, this is exactly how the Roman Catholic Church started out way back in the 4th Century CE, in trying to encompass all religions into one. Hello, One World Religion! The New Zealand chapter fasted for 40 days, ending in July 19 to coincide with the Inauguration.

The Jewish people (some or many of which were originally Khazars from Russia and NOT TRUE HEBREW JEWS, THEREFORE NOT BOUND BY THE COVENANT GOD MADE WITH ISRAEL), who enjoy causing mayhem, murder, and of course who love getting attention, hate the idea of this temple being built:

GIANT BRAZILIAN TEMPLE REPLICA PANNED AS ‘MOCKERY’

Temple Institute in Jerusalem says plan by a controversial Brazilian Pentecostal church to build a mammoth $200 million Holy Temple replica is “self-aggrandizement.”

…This planned church is a mockery which stands in diametric opposition to everything that the Holy Temple of Jerusalem represents.” – from the article by the Temple Institute of Jerusalem, August 8, 2010

Let’s see who’s in charge of this massive project:

Take “Bishop” Edir Macedo, for example. The founder and leader of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which also has temples in the United States, Macedo is by far the richest pastor in Brazil, with a net worth estimated by several Brazilian business magazines* at $950 million (one government arm in Brazil estimates an even higher sum) – Article by Forbes

The leader of one of Brazil’s largest evangelical churches declared his church was “at war” this week, following allegations that his organisation had siphoned off billions of dollars of donations intended for charity.

The charges of fraud and money laundering are contained in a report by Sao Paulo’s public prosecutor that was formally submitted to a Brazilian judge on Monday. The report claims 10 leading members of the church – including its founder and leader, Bishop Edir Macedo – used donations from followers to buy jewellery, property and cars. – Article from The Guardian

Solomon’s Temple Rebuilt – In Brazil – And It’s Getting A Lot Of Attention

SÃO PAULO, Brazil
July 27, 2014

It occupies an entire block in this teeming megacity: a 10,000-seat rendition of Solomon’s Temple. Towering in sharp relief against the graffiti-splattered tenements nearby, it beckons with monumental walls of stone imported from Israel and the flags of the dozens of countries where its owner, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, is nourishing an evangelical Christian empire.

A helicopter landing pad will allow Edir Macedo, the 69-year-old media magnate who founded the Universal Church in a Rio de Janeiro funeral home in 1977, to drop in for sermons. The sprawling 11-story complex features other flourishes, too, like an oasis of olive trees similar to the garden of Gethsemane near Jerusalem, and more than 30 columns soaring toward the heavens.

“The Universal Church spared no expense,” said Rogério Araújo, the architect for the project, which is scheduled to be inaugurated on July 31. On a tour of the site, he added, “We sought to build a colossus, something that would make people stop and gaze, and that’s what we delivered.”

The replica of Solomon’s Temple, which took four years to build at a cost of about $300 million, captures the surging growth of evangelical faiths in Brazil. Although this country of 200 million people still has more Roman Catholics than any other nation, the number of evangelicals in Brazil climbed to 22 percent of the population in 2010 from 15 percent in 2000, according to census figures.

Large evangelical churches, particularly Pentecostal institutions like the Universal Church, are also wielding greater political clout across Brazil, reflecting a sizable evangelical voting bloc in Congress and the efforts of candidates across the political spectrum to appeal to evangelical voters in the presidential elections this year.

Brazil’s leftist president, Dilma Rousseff, is expected to be here for the inauguration of the temple, underscoring how she draws support for her governing coalition from a bloc of conservative evangelical leaders, including Mr. Macedo’s nephew, Marcelo Crivella, a Universal Church pastor and gospel singer who until recently was the minister of fishing.

No one has reshaped Brazil’s religious landscape quite like Mr. Macedo. A religious broadcaster and founder of the church, Mr. Macedo now travels by private jet on a special diplomatic passport (a privilege also allowed in Brazil for high-ranking Vatican officials), espousing prosperity theology and Pentecostal tenets like exorcism and faith healing.

With a personal fortune sometimes estimated at $1.2 billion, Mr. Macedo rose from obscurity through his control of Rede Record, one of Brazil’s largest television networks, and his aggressive expansion of the Universal Church, during which he has fought accusations of corruption, including tax evasion and money laundering.

Mr. Macedo was jailed for 11 days in 1992 on accusations of charlatanism and fraud. He has successfully fended off other criminal investigations, including allegations by prosecutors that he and other church leaders siphoned off donations from followers to enrich themselves. In the past year, he has cultivated a somewhat wizardly appearance, growing a flowing gray beard while occasionally donning what appears to be a skullcap like those worn by many observant Jews.

The replica of Solomon’s Temple includes several menorahs inside the structure, where sermons will be given, in addition to a large menorah near the entrance that resembles the one in front of the Knesset, Israel’s legislature. The flag of Israel also flies nearby, alongside those of the Universal Church, Brazil and the United States, among dozens of other countries.

“There is just one biblical faith; it is impossible to disassociate Christianity from its Jewish roots,” said Cássia Duarte, a spokeswoman for the Universal Church. She emphasized that Mr. Macedo had been absolved in an array of judicial investigations into corruption allegations, strengthening the church’s “preaching of the gospel.”

Scholars say that the Universal Church’s promotion of Jewish symbolism in its replica of Solomon’s Temple stems from a quest for historical legitimacy in a church that is just 37 years old. The original Solomon’s Temple is thought to have been constructed in ancient Jerusalem by King Solomon around 1000 B.C. and destroyed about four centuries later in a siege led by a Babylonian king.

“Macedo was a pioneer in seeing symbols and rituals connected to the Old Testament and Judaism as linchpins in the creation of a church capable of capturing hearts and minds,” said Rodrigo Franklin de Sousa, a specialist in biblical history at Mackenzie University in São Paulo.

So far, leaders in Brazil’s Jewish community have generally taken a relaxed approach to the new Solomon’s Temple. “On the one hand, there’s the favorable way in which Jewish culture and history are treated in the structure,” said Nilton Bonder, a Brazilian rabbi whose writings on spiritual themes are widely published. “On the other, there’s the bizarre aspect of the project’s dimensions and aggressive marketing.”

The temple will be one of Brazil’s largest religious structures, making the iconic Christ the Redeemer overlooking Rio de Janeiro, which is only about half as tall, look like a trinket in comparison.

“The monumental temple will be a powerful symbol both of Brazil as the epicenter of global Pentecostalism and of the Universal Church as the leading congregation challenging the Catholic Church in Brazil,” said R. Andrew Chesnut, an expert on Latin American religions at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The project is already rallying support among some Universal Church worshipers. “I get thrilled just by seeing the temple in a photograph,” said Mauricea dos Santos Ribeiro, 72, a retired bank employee who frequents a branch of the church in Rio de Janeiro. She said that a group from her congregation was planning a trip here to see the temple. “I’m counting the days until we go.”

As if emphasizing Brazil’s competitive religious landscape, the temple dwarfs two other churches located just across the street, one Catholic and the other operated by another Pentecostal group.

While the Universal Church projects its influence through Mr. Macedo’s television network and its web of operations in more than 100 countries, including about 60,000 worshipers in the United States, the institution faces important rivals in Brazil that have adopted similar expansion strategies.

Ricardo Mariano, a sociologist at the University of São Paulo, said that the Universal Church recently lost some ground in Brazil, with members declining to about 1.8 million in 2010 from about 2.1 million in 2000, even as Brazil’s evangelical Christians grew in proportion to the rest of the population during that time.

If the new Solomon’s Temple is meant to lure new attention to the Universal Church, that strategy is working.

Passers-by stop in front of it day and night. Some take pictures with their cellphones. Many stare at it in amazement, expressing their reactions on a crowded sidewalk where watchmen, described as “Guardians of the Temple” on their uniforms, patrol the entrance.

“The temple is so enormous, so beautiful, but also so ostentatious,” Solange Barbosa de Nascimento, 58, a seamstress who worships at another Brazilian evangelical church called Peace and Love, said one recent morning. “I wonder if they could have spent all that money another way, just caring for the poor.”

Source



Source

The Ambassador of Israel visits the Temple of Solomon

UCKG
May 29, 2014 

On May 22, the Temple of Solomon received a special visitor. Israel’s Ambassador to Brazil, Rafael Eldad, was welcomed by Bishop Domingos Siqueira and his wife Nubia, Pastor Miguel Lacerda and his wife Ana Beatriz, along with leaders of the Universal Engineering company to view the building site.

A few days earlier on Tuesday, May 20, Bishop Siqueira had been received in Brasilia by Ambassador Eldad to talk about the inauguration of the Temple. The spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Lior Ben Dor was also present, and both men were receptive and attentive to the importance of this extraordinary construction.

They were noticeably touched by the Universal Church’s tribute to the Almighty God, and to the people of Israel. It was explained to them that the Temple would be open to all Jews and to all the nations of the world, and that anyone who enters that holy place will feel as if they were being transported to the Holy Land, as if they were in Jerusalem. Our belief in One God and all that we understand about faith is our inheritance from Abraham. The ambassador felt so honored and grateful for the invitation, that on the following day he visited the site for a closer look.

The first area which he visited was the Upper Room of the Holy Spirit, where the Temple’s Memorial will be. The building, which utilizes cutting edge interactive technology, will show visitors a historical perspective from the first Temple of Solomon, until the construction of today’s impressive replica. As soon as he saw the stones of the Temple, the ambassador reached out to touch them and reminisced, “This reminds me of my house in Jerusalem, it’s built with these stones.”

Fascinated by the sight, Eldad wondered why a replica of the Temple of Solomon was built, and not a replica of the Second Temple. “Because the first was grander. The second Temple was smaller, and Herod changed many things. It did not have the same magnitude of the Temple Solomon,” Bishop Domingos explained. “Yes, that’s true, Solomon’s Temple was the original one,” the ambassador agreed.

They also walked through the Garden of Olives, where he saw the twelve hundred-year-old trees. It’s the fruit of the olive tree that makes olive oil, mentioned in the Bible as a symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit. “And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil” (Exodus 30:25). He passed by the Menorah, a candelabrum that symbolizes God’s perfection and the presence of the Most High, and walked towards the terrace, where he could see the majestic entrance of the Temple.

“It’s a wonderful work. Four years is such a short amount of time to build something so huge, with so much detail. It is big, big like Brazil. I am speechless,” said Rafael Eldad. Bishop Domingos explained that the constructions team has not stopped, even for a day. “We’ve worked all holidays and weekends. We don’t depend on the government for help. Just as Solomon’s Temple was built with donations, we have built all of this through donations as well,” he stressed.

Once he took a look inside the building, the ambassador was not short on compliments.

“It’s impossible not to be impressed with the magnitude of this project, the details, the beauty and the size of this entire space with a capacity for ten thousand people. I’ve never seen anything like it—the height, the stones from Jerusalem, and the allusion to ancient times. I would like to thank the Universal Church for this immense work and wish them success.”

Bishop Domingos spoke about the importance of the visit of Ambassador Eldad and reinforced the importance of the project, which is drawing vast attention, especially from among the people of Israel.

“The visit of the ambassador reveals the great interest of the authorities representing the Jewish people to rebuild the Temple, the goal of which is to awaken faith in the One True God.”

After the visit, Eldad assured the Bishop that he would share his good impression.

“I would like to have pictures of this, because if I just tell people what I saw here, they wouldn’t believe me. It’s extremely beautiful. I will carry the spirit of this house with me—a spirit of peace and friendship with Israel and the Jews, to preserve the biblical story of the Jewish people, who have such a special friendship with Brazil.” 

The ambassador also promised to send the invitation to visit the Temple of Solomon directly to Israeli authorities.

On May 22, the Temple of Solomon received a special visitor. Israel’s Ambassador to Brazil, Rafael Eldad, was welcomed by Bishop Domingos Siqueira and his wife Nubia, Pastor Miguel Lacerda and his wife Ana Beatriz, along with leaders of the Universal Engineering company to view the building site.

A few days earlier on Tuesday, May 20, Bishop Siqueira had been received in Brasilia by Ambassador Eldad to talk about the inauguration of the Temple. The spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Lior Ben Dor was also present, and both men were receptive and attentive to the importance of this extraordinary construction.

They were noticeably touched by the Universal Church’s tribute to the Almighty God, and to the people of Israel. It was explained to them that the Temple would be open to all Jews and to all the nations of the world, and that anyone who enters that holy place will feel as if they were being transported to the Holy Land, as if they were in Jerusalem. Our belief in One God and all that we understand about faith is our inheritance from Abraham. The ambassador felt so honored and grateful for the invitation, that on the following day he visited the site for a closer look.

The first area which he visited was the Upper Room of the Holy Spirit, where the Temple’s Memorial will be. The building, which utilizes cutting edge interactive technology, will show visitors a historical perspective from the first Temple of Solomon, until the construction of today’s impressive replica. As soon as he saw the stones of the Temple, the ambassador reached out to touch them and reminisced, “This reminds me of my house in Jerusalem, it’s built with these stones.”

Fascinated by the sight, Eldad wondered why a replica of the Temple of Solomon was built, and not a replica of the Second Temple. “Because the first was grander. The second Temple was smaller, and Herod changed many things. It did not have the same magnitude of the Temple Solomon,” Bishop Domingos explained. “Yes, that’s true, Solomon’s Temple was the original one,” the ambassador agreed.

They also walked through the Garden of Olives, where he saw the twelve hundred-year-old trees. It’s the fruit of the olive tree that makes olive oil, mentioned in the Bible as a symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit. “And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil” (Exodus 30:25). He passed by the Menorah, a candelabrum that symbolizes God’s perfection and the presence of the Most High, and walked towards the terrace, where he could see the majestic entrance of the Temple.

“It’s a wonderful work. Four years is such a short amount of time to build something so huge, with so much detail. It is big, big like Brazil. I am speechless,” said Rafael Eldad. Bishop Domingos explained that the constructions team has not stopped, even for a day. “We’ve worked all holidays and weekends. We don’t depend on the government for help. Just as Solomon’s Temple was built with donations, we have built all of this through donations as well,” he stressed.

Once he took a look inside the building, the ambassador was not short on compliments.

“It’s impossible not to be impressed with the magnitude of this project, the details, the beauty and the size of this entire space with a capacity for ten thousand people. I’ve never seen anything like it—the height, the stones from Jerusalem, and the allusion to ancient times. I would like to thank the Universal Church for this immense work and wish them success.”

Bishop Domingos spoke about the importance of the visit of Ambassador Eldad and reinforced the importance of the project, which is drawing vast attention, especially from among the people of Israel.

“The visit of the ambassador reveals the great interest of the authorities representing the Jewish people to rebuild the Temple, the goal of which is to awaken faith in the One True God.”

After the visit, Eldad assured the Bishop that he would share his good impression.

“I would like to have pictures of this, because if I just tell people what I saw here, they wouldn’t believe me. It’s extremely beautiful. I will carry the spirit of this house with me—a spirit of peace and friendship with Israel and the Jews, to preserve the biblical story of the Jewish people, who have such a special friendship with Brazil.” 

The ambassador also promised to send the invitation to visit the Temple of Solomon directly to Israeli authorities.

Giant Brazilian Temple Replica Panned as 'Mockery'

Temple Institute in Jerusalem says controversial Brazilian Pentecostal church's mammoth $200 million Holy Temple replica is “self-aggrandizement.”

Hillel Fendel
August 8, 2010

Temple Institute in Jerusalem says plan by a controversial Brazilian Pentecostal church to build a mammoth $200 million Holy Temple replica is “self-aggrandizement.”

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, headed by controversial Bishop Edir Macedo, has announced plans to build a giant replica of the First Temple in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is expected to cost $200 million, stand 55 meters (18 stories) high, and seat 10,000 people. Its plans also call for a parking lot for 1,000 cars, TV and radio studios, and classroom space for 1,300 pupils.

“It is going to be a knockout,” Macedo has been quoted as saying. “It is going to be beautiful, beautiful, beautiful – the most beautiful of all. The outside will be exactly the same as that which was built in Jerusalem.”

The Temple Institute in Jerusalem takes a different approach, calling it a “hubris-inspired act of self-aggrandizement… the equivalent of [yet another] destruction of the [Holy] Temple, even before it is [re-]built. This planned church is a mockery which stands in diametric opposition to everything that the Holy Temple of Jerusalem represents.”

The Universal Church has already paid $8 million to import stones from Israel. The Guardian reports that the church will be modeled on King Solomon’s Temple and will feature a replica Ark of the Covenant in the center of the sanctuary.

Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute writes,

“We are witness today to the phenomenon of nations that seek to de-legitimize Israel's connection to Jerusalem. This planned mega-church represents the next logical step, the de-legitimization of the significance of Jerusalem altogether.”

“The Bible teaches that the essence of Jerusalem is the presence of G-d,” Rabbi Richman continues, quoting Isaiah’s prophecy: “It will happen in the end of days, that the mountain of the Temple of the L-rd will be firmly established at the head of the mountains…and all the nations will stream to it. Many peoples will go up and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the L-rd, to the Temple of the G-d of Jacob…for from Zion will the Torah come forth, and the word of the L-rd from Jerusalem.'

Editor's Note: The word "Torah" is not found in the King James Version of the Bible, so the Rabbi is not quoting scripture accurately.

“Bishop Macedo’s planned mega-church," Rabbi Richman continued, "is a usurpation and abuse of the sacred space that is embodied by the Biblical concept and vision of the Holy Temple, and a gross expropriation of Judaism’s most sacred values. The Divine Presence of G-d cannot be copycatted and cannot simply be usurped and transplanted elsewhere. This is nothing more than the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God’s cynical and manipulative attempt to morph the Bible’s universal message into its own self-serving agenda.”

The Temple Institute, a non-profit educational and religious organization, is dedicated to every aspect of the Biblical commandment to build the Holy Temple of G-d on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. Its major focus is its efforts towards the beginning of the actual rebuilding of the Holy Temple.

In 1992, Bishop Macedo spent eleven days in jail on accusations of charlatanism. Last year, the Sao Paulo prosecution alleged that Macedo and other senior church clerics embezzled billions of donation dollars and used the money to buy property and cars. Macedo, a proponent of prosperity theology and owner of a $45 million private jet, has denied the charges.

Related:

• The Movement to Rebuild Jerusalem's Third Temple Expands
• Christ Will Not Return Until Satan Stands in the Holy Place Showing Himself That He is God, Which Means the Temple Will Be Rebuilt Prior to Christ's Return to Deliver Up His People 
• The Green Movement and the One World Religion 
• BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China combined) is an Acronym First Used in a Goldman Sachs Report from 2003, Which Speculated That by 2050 These Four Economies Would Be Wealthier Than Most of the Current Major Economic Powers 

The New World Order Fulfills All Biblical Prophecy About the End Times

The New World Order Fulfills All Biblical Prophecy About the End Times

This New World Order Plan is spiritually based: it is a conflict between God and His forces, on the one hand, and Satan and his demonic forces on the other side. Anyone who does not know Biblical doctrine about God and Satan, and who does not know Scriptural prophecy, cannot comprehend the nature of the struggle facing the world today, and they will be duped by apologists like Rush Limbaugh. Jesus aptly described the situation of Rush trying to convince his listeners that there can be no conspiracy. Listen to His words: "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" [Matthew 15:14]. - David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries, March 13, 1998

A Christian's View on Conspiracy in World Affairs

By David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries
Originally Published on March 13, 1998

Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying he disbelieves so strongly in "conspiracy theories" that he will not even debate anyone on the issue. We believe such a stance is "intellectual laziness" on Limbaugh's part. Rush is also displaying his lack of Biblical knowledge. The New World Order is coming! Are you ready? Once you understand what this New World Order really is, and how it is being gradually implemented, you will be able to see it progressing in your daily news...

Definition of conspiracy: "A planning and acting together secretly, especially for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason."

What does the Bible have to say concerning the direction of world affairs? There are only two fundamental viewpoints which a person can have: either a person believes that events occur as the result of a plan or that events occur randomly and by chance. The Bible is quite clear that God controls world events. Therefore, a Christian must hold to the belief that world events occur as a result of God's intervention and control. Consider the following Scripture:

"I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end and the result from the beginning and from ancient time the things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose...' I have spoken and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed it and I will do it." [Isaiah 46:9b-11]

"Behold, the nations are like drops from a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the scales... All the nations are as nothing before Him... Who brings dignitaries to nothing, Who makes the judges and rulers of the earth as chaos, emptiness falsity and futility." [Isaiah 40:15,17,23]

"And He (God) changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings and setteth up kings." [Daniel 2:21]

God definitely is saying here that He controls world events and the rulers of the nations. But, God has a supernatural enemy, Satan. Satan is nowhere near God in power, ability or authority since he is a created being. But, Satan is above the powers of this earth, hence, supernatural. The Bible states that Satan conspired against God before the world was created in an attempt to remove God as Sovereign of the Universe and reign in His stead. Listen to the Biblical account of Satan's attempted coup against God. Let us pick up God's account in Isaiah 14:12,15:

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High... Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

Lucifer dreamed in his heart of supplanting God as Supreme Authority in the Universe. We see the thoughts and plans he held in his heart, as he persuaded one-third of the angels of Heaven to join him in his rebellion. In five separate instances, Lucifer envisioned himself in God's place.

Bible scholars will tell you that this passage is the ultimate in showing sinful elevation of a person in his mind, in rebellion against God. Of course, God had no trouble putting this rebellion down. He cursed Lucifer, changing him into the chief of demons and changing his name to Satan. God also cursed the rebellious angels who had sided with Lucifer, changing their countenance from glorious angelic beings to grotesque demons.

This scene is the first recorded rebellion in universe history. Lucifer planned in secret to carry out an unlawful act: overthrowing the constituted authority of God and replacing God's government with his own. Thus, the precise definition of a "conspiracy" resulting in treason was fulfilled. Let us quickly review the dictionary definition of treason:

Definition of treason: "Violation of the allegiance owed to one's sovereign or state (Webster's New World Dictionary, 1970).

You can easily see how Lucifer's rebellion constitutes a conspiracy.

We now need to shift the time frame many years into the future following this conspiracy in Heaven. In the new Garden of Eden, Satan takes the form of a serpent in order to entice Eve into partaking of the forbidden fruit [Genesis 3:1-7]. Here, again, Satan is carrying out a conspiracy against God, attempting to overthrow God's Plan for mankind, substituting his own, with himself as the object of worship.

Fast forward several thousand years later to the book of Daniel. In chapter 10, we see the prophet Daniel praying and fasting for further understanding of, and insight into, the Great Tribulation Period. Daniel waited for three entire weeks for God's answer. Finally, at the end of the three-week period, an angel appeared to give God's reply to Daniel. Before the angel gave Daniel the message, he told him why it had taken him three weeks to get to Daniel, as God had given His reply on the first day that Daniel had prayed. The angel said that he had been temporarily prevented from getting to Daniel because he had been attacked by a very powerful national demon, whom the angel called the "Prince of the Kingdom of Persia."

What or who is this demon? In this era known as the "Times of the Gentiles," Satan has assigned his most powerful demons to stay close to the rulers of the various nations in order to sway the rulers to take actions which would advance Satan's kingdom. However, God also has assigned Godly angels to each ruler of each age. These opposing supernatural forces are constantly battling in the supernatural realm to attempt to influence the rulers to take action which would advance either God's kingdom or Satan's.

Of course, we know that God's angels will prevail. However, for the purpose of this article, Satan's attempt to sway the rulers of the nations constitutes a conspiracy, according to our dictionary definition above.

Satan is constantly working through human rulers to try to get them to take actions which would advance his kingdom. God is constantly working through His angels to influence human rulers to take actions which would preserve God's Plan for mankind. Satan's activity in this matter constitutes a conspiracy against God.

Now, look at Paul's prophesy in 2 Thessalonians 2. In 2:2-3, we see that Antichrist would like to appear immediately but is restrained by the kind of angelic activity (working through the Church), which we have just described in Daniel. However, at the End of the Age, God is going to remove this restraint against the national rulers of the world, thus allowing the Antichrist to appear [verses 2:6-8]. Since Antichrist will be the ultimate political leader on a global scale, we know that his appearing can only result when God's Holy Spirit finally removes His restraining power, which is now keeping the rulers in check.

God reveals that the coming of Antichrist will be preceded by the deliberate action and planning of 10 rulers that will gain all political power in the world just before Antichrist arises. In fact, the entire world will be reorganized into 10 Super Nations. [For a full discussion of this global reorganization, please go to Radio Transcript CE1057, "Ten Nations, Antichrist, Judgment."]

For the purposes of this article, suffice it to say that this reorganization of the entire world into 10 Super Nations has already occurred. The creation of NAFTA had nothing to do with economics; rather, NAFTA is Nation #1 of this 10-nation reorganization plan, of which the Bible prophesies in Daniel and in Revelation.

Listen now to God's prophecy concerning the secret plans which these 10 rulers devise to seize control of the world and then hand this control over to Antichrist [the Beast]. Notice that these 10 rulers are secretly working with Antichrist even before he becomes public.

"The 10 horns that you observed are 10 rulers... who are to receive power and authority for a single hour, along with the beast. These have one common policy (purpose), and they deliver their power to the beast... God has put it into their hearts to carry out His own purpose by acting in harmony in surrendering their royal power and authority to the beast until the prophetic words of God shall be fulfilled." [Revelation 17:12-13, 17]

Since President Clinton is the leader of NAFTA, we can only conclude that if Antichrist is to arise while Clinton is still in office, as we believe likely, then Clinton and the other nine rulers are in constant contact with the man soon to become known in the world as the New Age Christ [Biblical Antichrist]. Notice that a careful reading of this passage makes it very clear that the 10 rulers devised a plan prior to the appearance of Antichrist, and that they plan to turn their political power over to the Antichrist as soon as he arises. This scenario is very consistent with Daniel's revelations about the 10 toes and 10 rulers in chapters 2 and 7, respectively.

Therefore, when we see the President leading the global charge to a United Nations' government, we know that this is Satan's plan, not God's. We can also know that its final implementation is the result of a conspiracy, supernaturally directed by Satan for well over 100 years. And, just as the Bible foretold, this conspiracy will result in the appearance of Antichrist.

In the Revelation 17 passage above, the words, they "have one common policy," absolutely scream conspiracy. Why would their plan fit the definition of a "conspiracy?" Simply put, their plan to dissolve all national entities and replace them with a single global government [United Nations) constitutes treason against each of their sovereign nations. For example, even though Clinton is the leader of the new economic nation, NAFTA, he has taken an oath of office to protect and preserve the Constitution of the United States. Yet, he is cooperating with the New World Order Plan to gradually transfer all our national sovereignty to the UN until, finally, the United States cannot take any action unless authorized by the UN.





You should be alarmed at the spectacle of the United States turning to the UN for all these foreign policy decisions. President Bush started it all during the Gulf War, and Clinton has continued it. Gradually, the American people will be conditioned to believe that the United States has no right to act apart from the will of the UN.

This is the plan, secretly set in motion over 100 years ago and coming to fruition in our daily news. All the current 10 rulers are simply the last in a long line of rulers committed to this New World Order Plan. The desire to surrender U.S. sovereignty, and the sovereignty of all the other nations in the world, has been in place for over 100 years.

This plan constitutes treason in each of these countries, including the United States. Therefore, this plan to surrender all national sovereignty has had to occur in secret and be implemented in tiny stages over a long period of time, so that no one will notice that the final destination is a global government, guaranteeing the final destruction of all sovereign nations. This is treason by definition, and this is conspiracy by definition.

In the incident at the Tower of Babel [Genesis 11:1-9], we see one other very interesting insight into God's Plan versus Satan's plan for the world. Verse 1 records that "the whole earth was of one language..." The people decided to build a huge tower that would reach into the sky, probably as a huge object of worship. God said in verse 6, "They are one people, and they have all one language; this is only the beginning of what they will do; and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible to them..."

To prevent the completion of this offensive tower, God created various languages, which had the effect of separating the people into sovereign nations. Since then, God has utilized the existence of sovereign nations to prevent any one nation from controlling the entire earth. To assist in this effort, God has placed into the heart of man a pride in one's country.

But, at the end of the age, God has planned to withdraw His restraining influence from the world's nations and allow Satan to reorganize them into a one-world government for a very short period of time. Therefore, we can say with assurance that God's organizational Plan for the world is to divide the world into sovereign nations, while Satan's plan is to abolish sovereign nations in favor of a one-world government.

Therefore, when we see President Clinton leading the global charge to a United Nations' government, we know that this is Satan's plan, not God's. We can also know that its final implementation is the result of a conspiracy, supernaturally directed by Satan for well over 100 years. And, just as the Bible foretold, this conspiracy will result in the appearance of Antichrist.




Finally, Jesus revealed that Satan will have to bring about this change in the period of the normal lifetime of the people who were alive at the time when the prophesied Last Days events were beginning to occur [70-80 years, according to Matthew 24:34]. Therefore, as Satan begins to reorganize the world, he will be struggling against national leaders who have been born and raised according to God's Plan of sovereign governments. Satan will have to overthrow those existing governments. If Satan's cohorts tried to overthrow these existing sovereign governments openly, they would be discovered and would be crushed by the existing authorities. Also, the peoples of the sovereign governments would demand that this nefarious plan be thwarted. Therefore, Satan's men would have to carry out their treasonous plan in secret.

This, by definition, is a conspiracy.



Christians who understand Scripture and the prophecies concerning the last days should be expecting a conspiracy to develop and should be looking for the evidence of it. However, this is not the case today, as many Christians disbelieve the existence of a conspiracy as completely as do non-Christians.

Today [March 13, 1998], Rush Limbaugh was again ranting and raving about the stupidity of anyone believing in a global conspiracy in bringing the New World Order into reality. Rush made a statement quite common among people who want not to believe in a conspiracy. Rush said, "These people - who have supposedly been wielding all this power for about 200 years - you would think that, if they had such power, they would want to use it while they were alive so they could benefit from it."

Rush is again displaying his Biblical IGNORANCE!! His absolute BIBLICAL IGNORANCE!

The answer is, yes, these leaders very much would have liked to bring this global conspiracy to fulfillment in their lifetime. Remember, this global conspiracy fulfills Bible prophecy exactly; therefore, their plan culminates in the appearance of the New Age Christ, supposed to be named Maitreya. The Apostle Paul says that Antichrist would like to appear now but is restrained by the Holy Spirit:

"And now you know what is restraining him from being revealed at this time; it is so that he may be manifested, revealed in his own appointed time. For the mystery of lawlessness (that hidden principle of rebellion against constituted authority) is already at work in the world, (but it is) restrained only until he who restrains is taken out of the way. And the the lawless one (the Antichrist) will be revealed" [2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary].

Here, we see the principle that the spirit of Antichrist [spirit of lawlessness, rebellion against constituted authority] was present in Paul's day, with Antichrist wanting to appear then to take control. However, the Holy Spirit, working through the Church, was restraining him until the timing of God's choosing.

The answer, Rush, is that, yes, these leaders of the New World Order conspiracy really wanted to bring in this new global government while they were alive. However, they were not able to do so because God was restraining them. Rush showed his great Biblical ignorance when he made this statement, and he will not allow anyone who knows Biblical prophecy to come on his show to honestly debate him. [We would like to inform Rush and his millions of listeners how the plan of the New World Order so precisely fulfills Bible prophecy.]

Therefore, because Satan knew that these leaders throughout the past 200 years would not be able to independently bring the global conspiracy into reality when they wanted to, Satan planted within their hearts a patience, to wait until the timing was "right" to realize their dream.

What did Satan plant within their hearts that would produce this patience? According to former Satanist, now born again Christian, Doc Marquis, that patience was produced by their fervent belief in reincarnation. They believe that they will reenter the "reincarnation cycle" in the future, at which time they will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labors from centuries before. These occultists even believe that they will come back as future leaders, at least as high as they were, based upon the occult Law of Karma. Therefore, they are patient to the extreme, but always alert to any change of the prevailing attitudes and belief structure of the people that might herald the time when the New World Order could be established.

People like Rush, who want not to believe in a conspiracy, also usually state a corollary position to the one which Rush stated above. How does the New World Order Plan get passed down from one generation to the other without people finding out about the plan? To the natural mind [the person who is thinking outside of Biblical doctrine], this is the #1 question which seems to kill the concept of a conspiracy. They cannot conceive of this passing of the plan from one generation to another being possible, especially for many generations. Again, a person who makes this statement is revealing their Biblical IGNORANCE.

The answer to the above question is best answered by asking another question: How has Christianity passed from generation to generation without becoming extinct? The answer is plain to everyone. Christianity has been passed through the Church. Now, does the occult have a church through which to pass its ideals and goals? Indeed, it does. The "church" of the occult, of the New World Order leadership, is found in the various secret societies. Freemasonry is the most well known, followed by Rosicrucians, Order of the Golden Dawn, and the Bilderberg Group.

Through the secret societies, the plan for global government, economy and religion has successfully passed from one generation to the other. This whole idea of being so difficult to pass such a plan generationally is really a non-issue. It is not nearly as difficult as you might think. This is another instance of people not thinking an issue through, but just accepting what they are told.

There are a couple of Scriptures which speak directly to this type of individual, like Rush, who scorns the very concept of a conspiracy:

"And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God" [Mark 12:24].

Anyone who makes this type of statement does err, because they do not know the Prophetic Scriptures, nor the POWER of God! As we stated in the beginning of this article, this New World Order Plan is spiritually based. It is a conflict between God and His forces, on the one hand, and Satan and his demonic forces on the other side. Anyone who does not know Biblical doctrine about God and Satan, and who does not know Scriptural prophecy, cannot comprehend the nature of the struggle facing the world today, and they will be duped by apologists like Rush Limbaugh.

"But these men revile (scoff and sneer at) anything they do not happen to be acquainted with and do not understand ... woe to them!" [Jude 10]

Too many people will sneer and scoff at things which they do not understand, especially spiritual matters. The heart and the mind of the unredeemed cannot understand the thoughts, purposes and plans of God. Their minds are darkened by their unredeemed sinful nature. Their attitude toward the Bible, Christians, and matters like this debate over the New World Order, was succinctly stated almost 2,000 years ago by the Apostle Peter: "They think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you" [1 Peter 4:4]. Doesn't this just about describe the attitude which Rush is displaying toward Christians who know the Bible speaks of conspiracy in the Last Days?

The Apostle Paul speaks to this same attitude on the part of the unredeemed. "For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition" [1 Corinthians 1:18]. This passage really and truly describes this attitude Rush has toward the conspiracy of the New World Order. He is sneering at us, heaping abuse and names like "intellectual laziness."

Now, let us return to Rush Limbaugh and his reasons for rejecting the concept of a conspiracy out of hand, even though the Bible teaches such a conspiracy. Because most people are not saved (and even more people are Biblically ignorant), they do not recognize Rush's position for what it truly is. Rush is demonstrating his lack of Biblical understanding, and demonstrating his attempt to lead people astray, by his unnaturally powerful opposition to the concept that a conspiracy can exist.

As we stated before, the leaders of this conspiracy do not want you to believe that a conspiracy exists so that you will reject the idea out of hand without giving it due consideration. Rush knows that if he were to allow open, fair and honest debate with someone who knows the spiritual aspect of this conspiracy, he would lose the debate badly! This understanding is why Rush will not allow people on the air with him to honestly debate the issue.

Most people, like the John Birch Society, who do believe in the conspiracy, would be totally inadequate in debating Rush, because they do not believe in the fact that this conspiracy is spiritually based and prophetically driven!

Therefore, I openly challenge Rush Limbaugh to allow me to debate him on the air, for as long as it takes, and then to throw the debate open to phone calls. In this type of debate, Rush cannot totally frame the parameters of the debate; he cannot pull the old trick of a lawyer by refusing to discuss those points which he knows he cannot refute.

But, let me allow the leaders of the New Age Movement to have the last say, as they have boldly published their plan to the world. Shockingly, the leaders of the New World Order Plan, commonly called New Age, boldly advocate a plan that conforms to Biblical prophecy. They also are not shy about proclaiming that their plan is a conspiracy.

"Their script is now written, subject only to last minute editing and stage directions. The stage itself, albeit as yet in darkness, is almost ready... The last minute, walk-on parts are even now being filled. Most of the main actors... have already taken up their roles. Soon it will be time for them to come on stage, ready for the curtain to rise. The time for action will have come." (The Armageddon Script, by Peter LeMesurier, St. Martin's Press, 1982, New York, N.Y., p. 252)

Is President Clinton only a "main actor" taking up his role? Doubt it not!

10 SPHERES OF INFLUENCE -- NATIONAL REORGANIZATION

1. North America
2. Western Europe
3. Japan
4. Australia, South Africa, and the rest of the market-economy of the developed world.
5. Eastern Europe, including Russia
6. Latin America
7. North Africa and the Middle East
8. Tropical Africa
9. South and Southeast Asia
10. China

In 1973 a map was created by the Club of Rome which divided the world into 10 political and economic regions. The map was part of the Club of Rome’s report the “Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System.” - Mankind at the Turning Point, The Green Agenda

"When we come into our kingdom... who will ever suspect that all these peoples were stage-managed by us according to a political plan, which no one has so much as guessed at in the course of many centuries?" (Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, Protocol No. 13)

So, you see, this scenario to establish the New World Order is carefully scripted, with actors adhering to written lines. This is the most carefully planned and executed play ever written, but that is exactly what it is. In fact, this play has been in the process of being acted out since 1776. [Notice the reference above to the plan being carried out over many centuries.]

If the planners for the New World Order admit that their plan is well-scripted, and if the Bible declares this to be the case, why are you, Rush Limbaugh, still unwilling to admit that events of our present time are scripted? The major events are as planned as man can make them, aided by supernatural Satan.

Of course, the current leaders of this drive to the New World Order most definitely do not want you to believe that there is a conspiracy to overthrow all existing governments of the world, including our own, replacing them with a global government comprised of 10 Super Nations, each of which is to be ruled by a dictator. Therefore, they will attempt to convince you that there can be no such thing as a conspiracy, so you will not be looking for one.

As any psychologist will tell you, most people will not see something that is directly in front of them if they do not believe that it exists. So, we are taught by our Public School System, magazines, newspapers, talk show hosts, and books that there is no conspiracy possible. Of course, the Number One talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, loudly and obtrusively proclaims to the entire world that there is no such thing as a conspiracy; and he, the epitome of the intellectual, understands that there can be no conspiracy. And he lulls untold numbers of Conservatives to sleep, who might otherwise be convinced that a conspiracy does exist.





The Bible clearly states that Antichrist will come to power through the conspiratorial efforts of a reorganized 10-nation organization and that their express purpose in creating this organization is to hand their power to Antichrist. And, what do we see happening before our very eyes? We see the New World Order Plan expressly devoted to staging the appearance of a man they call "The Christ," a major part of which creates this global government of 10 Super Nations!! And, as we can see from the above sampling, their books are full of bold statements that the drive to the New World Order is proceeding according to a supernatural plan!!

The hour of the climax of this plan, which will bring the planners into their kingdom, is very close. It will come whether you believe in it or not. The only question is, "Are you going to be spiritually ready"? This plan is inevitable, as the Bible makes quite plain. Rush Limbaugh is very free to proclaim his belief to the highest mountain top; but, you need to be discerning enough to understand that he is proclaiming the very notion that the leaders of the New World Order Plan want the masses to believe.

Is Rush Limbaugh a very sophisticated and clever part of the New World Order Plan, designed to neutralize the Conservative part of the electorate? Doubt it not!

We shall be very interested to see Rush's "take" on the actual appearance of the New Age Christ [Antichrist]. This event will be one of the most important political and spiritual events in history. Will Rush urge his followers to accept him or will he use all the persuasive powers he possesses to show this guy to be a fraud, unworthy of acceptance? At this time, you will know the truth about Rush Limbaugh, the REAL truth.

You will never understand what is going on unless you understand it from the Biblical standpoint. This is wonderful time to be a born again Christian because world events are proving Biblical prophecy true!!

I will tell thee the mystery of the woman,
And of the beast that carrieth her,
Which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not;
And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition:
And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder,
Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,
When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

And here is the mind which hath wisdom.
The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come;
And when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth,
And is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,
Which have received no kingdom as yet;
But receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them:
For He is Lord of lords, and King of kings:
And they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

And he saith unto me,
The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth,
Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,
These shall hate the whore,
And shall make her desolate and naked,
And shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will,
And to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast,
Until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

And the woman which thou sawest is that great city,
Which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 17:7-18 

In 1957, Alice Bailey, then the leader of the House of Theosophy, wrote in her collection of writings, "The Externalisation of the Hierarchy," that the world must first be reorganized into "spheres of influence" before it could be organized into a global government (page 209). She made it very clear that this reorganization would not follow traditional national boundaries, but would be a completely different organization. Bailey did not specify how many "spheres of influence" would be created, but her plan was fleshed out in 1974 by New World Order authors, Mihajlo Mesarovic and Eduard Pestel, in a book entitled, "Mankind At The Turning Point." They wrote that the world would be reorganized into 10 Super Nation States, listed below. - David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries, Once the 10 Nations Have Arisen, Antichrist Will Appear

(1) North America
(2) Western Europe
(3) Japan
(4) Australia, South Africa, and the rest of the market-economy of the developed world
(5) Eastern Europe, including Russia
(6) Latin America
(7) North Africa and the Middle East
(8) Tropical Africa
(9) South and Southeast Asia
(10) China

Stockton California's Bankruptcy Plan Slashes City Spending, Cuts Salaries and Eliminates Jobs — But Preserves Worker Pensions

The California municipalities of San Bernardino, Vallejo and Stockton filed for bankruptcy; Stockton’s Chapter 9 filing represents the largest such case in U.S. history. Continually depressed home prices have led to unusually high foreclosure rates in these markets. According to foreclosure data from RealtyTrac, a site that tracks housing data, these cities had among the worst foreclosure rates in the country.

Stockton, California Statistics as of September 2012

Decline in home prices: 62.8%
Unemployment rate: 15% (12th highest)
Median home price: $170,000 (76th highest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in 66.2 housing units (the highest)

When Stockton filed for bankruptcy in June 2012, it became the largest-ever U.S. city to do so, according to the Wall Street Journal. The city’s economy has been plagued for years by falling home prices, which declined at an annualized rate of 16.6% between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2012. Stockton also has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates, at 15%, and a foreclosure rate that leads the nation, with one in every 66.2 homes in foreclosure. Though Fiserv projects home prices will rise at an annualized rate of nearly 6% between the first quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2017, the housing market remains weak: 54% of all second-quarter home sales were foreclosure sales, and the number of property listings in July was down more than 40% from a year earlier.



What led the city of Stockton to insolvency?

Stockton is a fairly large city of 300,000 or so, located about 80 miles east of San Francisco and about 50 miles south of Sacramento. With housing prices in those cities out of reach for many workers, long-distance commuting to Stockton became commonplace.

Stockton’s economy was largely dependent upon real estate prices, and the city flourished as home prices soared. Then came the crisis in late 2007, and Stockton was hit extremely hard by the ensuing recession. Property values declined by 60% from their highs in 2007 and at one point Stockton trailed only Las Vegas in terms of total number of foreclosures.

The graph above shows the steep decline in median home prices in the city. The problem in Stockton is exacerbated somewhat by California’s Proposition 13, which restricts annual increases in assessed value. As a result, even as the housing market recovers, the city’s recovery will lag.

The housing market decline resulted in draws on the city’s general fund as expenditures far outpaced incoming revenues. Stockton’s generous labor contracts and retiree benefits made reducing expenditures extremely difficult.

The pie chart on page two shows Stockton’s 2013 pro-posed budget. Even after layoffs and some concessions, the police and fire departments make up over 74% of Stockton’s general fund budget. Debt service accounts for 1%. In fact, even if Stockton were to default on all of its municipal debt, the city still projects a $100 million deficit over the next decade.

Contributing to the problems faced by the city were the extremely generous benefits granted to employees. Anecdotally, according to a 2012 Bloomberg report:

“Police Chief Tom Morris was supposed to bring stability to law enforcement when he was appointed to the job four years ago. He lasted eight months and left the now-bankrupt city at age 52 with an annual pension that pays more than $204,000 – the third of four chiefs who stayed in the position for less than three years and retired with an average of 92 percent of their final salaries.”

While these luxury pension plans aren’t the norm, they are also not altogether uncommon.

Given that Stockton’s credit issues are due in large part to the generous benefits provided to employees, it is perhaps appropriate that the crux of the Chapter 9 case revolves around the treatment of those benefits under bankruptcy protection.

While the municipal market waits patiently for a decision in the Stockton case, the lessons learned for investors should be clear:

• Avoid municipalities that were hit the hardest by declining home prices.
• Be aware of the portion of the budget that is being spent on labor; these contracts are difficult to amend, leaving the municipality little flexibility.
• Avoid municipalities with large unfunded pension obligations.

Thornburg Investment Management has no exposure to the City of Stockton, but we will continue to monitor the situation closely. In the meantime, we will continue to be guided by the basic lessons above, along with rigorous, bottom-up, fundamentally driven credit analysis designed to steer the portfolios clear of future credit issues — both in California and across the country.

Stockton bankruptcy ruling preserves city pensions

Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher M. Klein’s ruling will set a precedent that will have a far-reaching impact. All municipal investors should be watching this case closely. Not since the collapse of the bond insurers in 2008 has a single event had the potential to fundamentally alter the analysis of municipal credit risk. Should he rule in favor of pension holders, protecting their benefits above the claims of bondholders, it would essentially subordinate bondholders to the claims of public workers. A ruling of that type would immediately decrease the credit quality of all municipal bonds. In the future, public employees would have no incentive to negotiate with stressed municipalities, knowing that their benefits are protected. The result could be an increase in Chapter 9 filings as municipalities lose the flexibility to control future expenses. On the other hand, should Judge Klein rule that public employees must take a haircut in line with other creditors, municipal bondholders will benefit. Under that scenario, public employees would be much more willing to come to the bargaining table if they believe their benefits are no longer protected under Chapter 9. [Source]

Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher M. Klein approved Stockton's bankruptcy recovery plan, allowing the city to continue with planned pension payments. (U.S. Bankruptcy Court).

Los Angeles Times
October 30, 2014

A federal bankruptcy judge approved the city of Stockton's bankruptcy recovery plan Thursday and sidestepped challenges to its workers' pensions that could have threatened municipal retirement plans across the state in the years ahead.

Stockton's plan slashes city spending, cuts salaries and eliminates jobs — but preserves worker pensions. Also, companies owed money by the city will get back only a fraction of what they're due.

The case was being closely watched after the judge ruled this month that the city's payments to the California Public Employees' Retirement System could be cut in bankruptcy, just like any other obligation.

If Judge Christopher M. Klein had rejected Stockton's plan and forced the city to reduce its payments to CalPERS, it could have opened the door for other financially ailing cities struggling with escalating pension costs to follow suit.

The decision was good news for public workers and retirees statewide, said CalPERS Chief Executive Anne Stausboll, whose agency fought any pension cuts as part of the Stockton bankruptcy proceedings.

"We will continue to champion the integrity and soundness of public pensions to protect the benefits that were promised to the active and retired public employees," she said.

Pension reformers were not happy. They criticized the decision, saying the city's rising pension costs would continue to take money from essential services and keep Stockton on the brink of a second insolvency.

"The city of Stockton missed an opportunity to use a powerful tool to save their city's finances that's only available in Bankruptcy Court," said Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform.

Stockton officials had argued that it was not possible to cut pensions or to create another retirement plan for city employees. They said employees would leave Stockton for other cities offering retirement benefits through CalPERS.

CalPERS had said that if Stockton left the state retirement system, the city would immediately owe it $1.6 billion — far more than the city's current bill to the pension plan.

On Thursday, Klein said the city's 1,400 workers and 2,500 retirees had already taken enough hits in the bankruptcy.

Stockton's salaries and benefits for workers had been higher than those at other cities, the judge said, but workers had agreed after the bankruptcy filing to take big cuts, including eliminating the free medical care they received in retirement.

"It would be no simple task to go back," Klein said, "and redo the pensions."He added, "This plan, I'm persuaded, is the best that can be done."

Klein said that rejecting the plan after two years in court and tens of millions of dollars in legal and other fees would have put the case back to "Square One."

Stockton's plan sharply cuts payments to its creditors, including Franklin Templeton, an investment firm that holds more than $36 million in bonds the city used to borrow money. Franklin had asked Klein to reject the city's plan so that it could get more of its money back.

Franklin's financial expert used the city's own projections to show that it would soon be paying CalPERS nearly 19% of general tax revenue — up from 11% today. Franklin had argued that the increasing cost of pensions would put the city at risk of another bankruptcy.

But Klein said Thursday that Stockton's plan for paying creditors over the years was adequate and passed all legal tests.

City Manager Kurt Wilson said after the ruling that it "confirms that Stockton is fiscally stable and on the road to recovery."

"We are going to have stability that impacts our ability to attract and retain employees," he said.

It was a turnaround from Klein's oral ruling Oct. 1, when he said public workers' pensions were not sacrosanct and could be reduced in a bankruptcy.

"It looked like he was telling cities they had an easy offramp" to rising pension costs, said Harvey Leiderman, a lawyer at Reed Smith who advises CalPERS and other retirement funds. "Now he's shut down that offramp."

Klein explained in court what happens when employees and retirees are given equal standing in bankruptcy compared with all other creditors. The workers and retirees then far outnumber the other creditors and would have the power to veto any decision that is not favorable to them.

"You'll never come out of bankruptcy, and that's what he recognized," said Leiderman, describing Klein's decision.

In recent years, pensions have been a political hot potato in Stockton. Overly large pensions approved by city officials for employees are among the reasons that Stockton found it could no longer pay its bills, critics say.

Stockton's promised pensions for police and fire employees are some of the highest in the state, according to an analysis by Franklin's expert. The city is now paying the equivalent of 41% of police salaries to CalPERS for future pensions — an amount that will increase to 57% in five years.

As a result, the city will face continued challenges in the years ahead.

"They're betting on a rosy scenario for years to come, said Pellissier of California Pension Reform. "Only time can tell whether the city of Stockton can continue to provide services without relief from its unsustainable pension obligations."

Stockton and San Benardino, California ranked last in national survey of economic conditions in the nation's 150 largest cities

Sacramento Bee
October 8, 2014

The national economic recession ended five years ago, but recovery has varied widely and California doesn’t fare particularly well in a national survey of economic conditions in the nation’s 150 largest cities.

In fact, Stockton and San Bernardino, two California cities that have filed for municipal bankruptcy, were ranked 149th and 150th in the survey. The highest mark for any California city was San Francisco’s No. 20.

The city-by-city evaluation of economic conditions was conducted by Wallet Hub, a website that gathers and disperses personal economic data.

Its team of university economists assembled 18 key indices of economic health, including employment and unemployment data, personal income changes, real estate values, poverty rates, personal bankruptcies, personal debt and crime rates with scores for each.

“Whenever a city is left behind in a recovery, collateral effects are bound to afflict already struggling economies,” Wallet Hub said in its report. “From a public standpoint, this could lead to further complications: Crime rises, education suffers, local administrations collapse.

“In the private sector, property values decline and businesses shut down. If and when that happens, skilled workers are forced to seek better opportunities in more thriving communities. And a town that had little hope remaining is completely crippled.”

Two cities in Texas, Laredo and Irving, were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the survey and most other high-ranking cities were in the South and Southwest, although Denver was No. 4 and Minneapolis No. 7.

Among California cities, Bakersfield, which is experiencing an oil boom, came in at No. 23 and San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley, was No. 35. Los Angeles, the state’s largest city, was ranked No. 99, but it outranked the second largest city, San Diego, which was No. 103, followed by Sacramento at No. 104.

Beyond Stockton and San Bernardino, other California cities low in the rankings included Fresno at No. 125, Long Beach at No. 129, Riverside at No. 140 and Modesto at No. 146.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article2605288.html#storylink=cpy

Education Companies Claiming "Non-Profit" Status are Making Huge Profits on State Tests for Common Core Standards

With Common Core, federal forces cleverly circumvented the law that prevents federal direction of states’ educational systems, making it impossible for the Congressional Budget Office to look at costs of implementation. Common Core advocates slid this "state-led" initiative under the radar of the taxpaying public. Researchers estimate that Common Core implementation will cost consortium states $16 billion collectively over the next seven years, a sum that goes on top of the costs states already struggle to come up with for schools. States adopting Common Core will need to spend approximately $2.47 billion in one-time costs to obtain aligned English language arts and mathematics instructional materials. [Source]

The misnamed “Common Core State Standards” are not state standards. They're national standards, created by Gates-funded consultants for the National Governors Association (NGA). They were designed, in part, to circumvent federal restrictions on the adoption of a national curriculum, hence the insertion of the word “state” in the brand name. States were coerced into adopting the Common Core by requirements attached to the federal Race to the Top grants and, later, the No Child Left Behind waivers. (This is one reason many conservative groups opposed to any federal role in education policy oppose the Common Core.)

No law states that the federal government can withhold educational funding from states if they refuse to adopt Common Core. Yet the U.S. Dept. of Education tries. The federal government is attempting to bribe states to stay in Common Core by holding out the No Child Left Behind waivers as a trade. We are protected by the U.S. Constitution and cannot be force to submit by our Executive Branch, which holds no legal authority over education in any state in our country.  Three federal laws in addition to the U.S. Constitution state that the federal government has zero authority to direct states’ education. [Source]

[The entire country just finished a decade-long experiment in standards-based, test-driven school reform called No Child Left Behind. NCLB required states to adopt “rigorous” curriculum standards and test students annually to gauge progress towards reaching them. Under threat of losing federal funds, all 50 states adopted or revised their standards and began testing every student, every year in every grade from 3–8 and again in high school. (Before NCLB, only 19 states tested all kids every year, after NCLB all 50 did.)] [Source]

Written mostly by academics and assessment experts—many with ties to testing companies—the Common Core standards have never been fully implemented and tested in real schools anywhere. Of the 135 members on the official Common Core review panels convened by Achieve Inc., the consulting firm that has directed the Common Core project for the NGA, few were classroom teachers or current administrators. K–12 educators were mostly brought in after the fact to tweak and endorse the standards—and lend legitimacy to the results. [Source] Parents were tricked into advocating for Common Core. In Utah, The PTA accepted a $2 million donation to advocate for Common Core without ever analyzing whether Common Core was for the best of our nation’s children and teachers.  This might be one reason why nobody, not even educators, seem to know more than catch phrases and rhetoric concerning Common Core. [Source]

Achieve, Inc.,  is a Washington, D.C. group formed in 1996 by a group of corporate leaders and some governors who wanted “standards-based education” across states. Michael Cohen has been president of Achieve, Inc. since 2003. Before that, he was a career-long federal education officer: Michael Cohen has been Director of Education Policy at the National Governors Association (1985-90) and Director of Planning and Policy Development at the National Association of State Boards of Education (1983-1985). During the Clinton Administration he served as Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Special Assistant to President Clinton for Education Policy, and Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. Thus, Michael Cohen went from a career in the U.S. Department of Education to leading Achieve, the national-standards group that wrote the CCSS, to then working for the national standards’ testing arm, PARCC, as its project manager, thus writing the tests for those standards which his group had written, that now will be federally directed and overseen by the Department he long worked for.

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia decided to follow the new guidelines. Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia opted out, while Minnesota decided to only adopt the English standards (with others perhaps joining them soon). These states began implementing the standards last year. State governments and governors teamed up with a few nonprofit organizations to create a rubric that all participating states could follow.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker asked the state legislature to abandon Common Core. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is asking the state to examine the standards. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, one of the Common Core standards' big supporters in the beginning, called on his state to develop its own standards. A group of teachers and parents are now suing him, saying that school is starting in a few weeks and they have no idea what to teach the incoming children now. Sens. Rand Paul (Ken.), Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) were all against the standards last year. [Source]

In March 2014, the state Department of Education announced that it would give a $220 million, 6-year contract to American Institutes for Research to develop and administer new accountability tests to replace Florida’s old testing system, the FCAT. The Washington-based "nonprofit" will develop tests aligned to the Florida Standards, the new education benchmarks based on the controversial Common Core State Standards. The new tests are expected to be ready for the 2014-15 school year. AIR has contracts to develop tests for about 10 states including Florida.

The global eduction company Pearson landed a major contact in  2014 to administer tests for common-core standards. While a number of companies inquired in response to Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)'s request for proposals for the project, ultimately Pearson was the only bidder. Despite that, PARCC state officials (a 20-state consortium) are convinced the process was sound and resulted in the best vendor getting hired. The contract with Pearson is one of "unprecedented scale in terms of states coming together." One aspect of the deal with Pearson that is sure to get attention is the PARCC states' prediction that it will result in an assessment price of about $24 per student. The list of experienced subcontractors secured by Pearson, who include ETS, WestEd, Caveon, and Measured Progress, also gave PARCC state officials confidence, a Mississippi official said. "PARCC states wanted to ensure we got the best assessment at the best price possible," said Christopher A. Koch, superintendent of education in Illinois, another PARCC state, in a statement. Pearson has a worldwide footprint in education. The company says it operates in 70 countries, though 60 percent of its sales are in North America. The $24-per-student price was reached after "very aggressive negotiating" between PARCC state officials and Pearson, a back-and-forth that lasted weeks, he said. He attributed the lower-than-previously-estimated per-student cost partly to economies of scale that can be achieved through having large numbers of states and students participating at once. The PARCC states to date have had three contracts with Pearson, according to the consortium. One of those contracts calls for the London- and New York-based company, along with ETS, to do test-item development during year one of the common core, which includes the process of extensive field-testing underway in the states this year. [Pearson Wins Major Contract From Common-Core Testing Consortium, May 2, 2014, Education Week - Education Week is funded by Bill Gates]

Cuomo, Common Core and Pearson-for-Profit

By Alan Singer, Huffington Post
February 28, 2012

It will probably take more than a billion dollars in the bank to run for President of the United States in 2016. It looks like New York State Governor is already lining up corporate support. My concern is that he will sell out the education of New York State's children to for-profit companies, particularly Pearson, to position himself for the run. 

Pearson is one of the most aggressive companies seeking to profit from what they and others euphemistically call educational reform, but which teachers from groups like Rethinking Schools and FairTest see as an effort to sell, sell, sell substandard remedial education programs seamlessly aligned with the high stakes standardized tests for students and teacher assessments they are also selling.

Pearson reported revenues of approximately $9 billion in 2010 and generated approximately $3 billion on just digital revenues in 2011.

If it has its way, Pearson will soon be determining what gets taught in schools across the United States with little or no parental or educational oversight. Pearson standardized exams will assess how well teachers implement Pearson instruction modules and Pearson's common core standards, but not what students really learn or whether students are actually learning things that are important to know.

Pearson is already creating teacher certification exams for eighteen states including New York, organizing staff development workshops to promote Pearson products, and providing school district Pearson assessment tools. In New York, Pearson Education currently has a five-year, $32 million contract to administer state test and provides other "testing services" to the State Education Department.

It also recently received a share of a federal Race to the Top grant to create what the company calls the "next-generation" of online assessments.

Pearson, which claims to be the "world's leading learning company," is in the process of designing mind-numbing "multimedia textbooks... designed for pre-schoolers, school students and learners of all ages" for use on Apple's iPad so school systems will have more products to purchase instead of investing in quality teaching and instruction. In case you are not already worried about children seating dazed in front of computer screens for hours on end, Pearson promises its "respected learning content" will be "brought to life with video, audio, assessment, interactive images and 3D animations."

According to the New York Times, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is "investigating whether the Pearson Foundation, the nonprofit arm of one of the nation's largest educational publishers, acted improperly to influence state education officials by paying for overseas trips and other perks." Since 2008, state education officials have been treated to trips to London, Helsinki, Finland, Singapore, and Rio de Janeiro.

From February 9-11, Pearson organized a National Summit in Orlando, Florida to promote its concept of "Best Practices in School Improvement" and to sell its programs for integrating Common Core State Standards into curriculum, instruction and assessment. These include providing "struggling and successful schools alike with professional development and consultative services that have helped their leaders transform instruction in the classroom and raise students' achievement levels."

The company brags that senior America's Choice fellows Sally Hampton and Phil Daro, employees of a Pearson sub-division, "not only led the development of the Common Core Standards, but also helped design Pearson's CCSS services, helping us tailor our professional development, district level consultative services, job-embedded coaching, learning teams for building capacity, and even whole school CCSS implementation services in order to meet your specific needs and interests as you align curriculum content and practices to the standards."

In September, Pearson cemented its ties with the New York State governor and the State Education Department when David Wakelyn was appointed Deputy Secretary for Education. Governor Cuomo claimed:

"With his extensive experience in improving the performance of schools all across the nation, David Wakelyn is the right person to help turn around our schools. He is an expert in state policy for education, and together we will deliver results for students and families in New York." 

However, Wakelyn's resume shows that after briefly working as a teacher as part of the Teach for America program, he moved into educational policy and decision making, primarily as a Senior Associate for America's Choice School Design, which is now a leading Pearson sub-division.

Of course, Wakelyn is not the only corporate representative to move into a government position where they can sell products produced by their former (and future?) employer. Karen Cator, the Director of the federal Department of Education 's educational technology section previously was an executive at Apple Computers for eight years.

Education Giant Pearson Wins 'Unprecedented' Common Core Test Contract (Excerpt)

Breitbart
May 5, 2014

...Regarding the announcement [of Pearson winning the contract for Common Core testing], Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post observed that two years ago, the nonprofit group FairTest predicted that while education policy makers promised Common Core reforms would increase competition and innovation, the same education firms that scored the big contracts in the past would still do so in the age of Common Core.

Pearson has had its share of interesting associations and controversy as well.

In 2010, the year most state boards of education were adopting the Common Core standards, Pearson purchased America’s Choice, the for-profit subsidiary of progressive Marc Tucker’s National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), which had assisted Bill and Hillary Clinton in achieving their education goals during President Clinton’s two terms. Later, Tucker served on the feedback team for the Common Core English/Language Arts standards, and two senior fellows from America’s Choice, Phil Daro and Sally Hampton, served, respectively, on the math and ELA work groups that drafted the Common Core standards.

Pearson acquired America’s Choice for $80 million, and proceeds from the sale created a $3.6 million per year endowment for NCEE. In addition, Daro and Hampton then became senior fellows at Pearson.

In December, the Pearson Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the education giant, agreed to a settlement of $7.7 million after accusations by the attorney general of New York that it helped develop Common Core-aligned courses for Pearson, Inc., its corporate parent.

As Breitbart News reported, New York State’s attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman argued that Pearson, Inc. worked to develop a series of courses, instructional materials, and software aligned with the Common Core standards.

“Pearson, Inc. decided to develop its Common Core aligned course offerings within the Foundation, with substantial funding by Pearson, Inc., in order to attract foundation support and credibility for its commercial products,” Schneiderman said in a statement.

“Pearson, Inc. and the Pearson Charitable Foundation planned that the courses developed within the Foundation would be sold commercially by Pearson, Inc.,” he continued. “Internal business analyses prepared by Pearson, Inc. projected that potential profits from sales of the courses and related offerings could be in the tens of millions of dollars.”

According to a report in the New York Times, Schneiderman also asserted that Pearson, Inc. had planned to use its charitable foundation “to win endorsements and donations from a ‘prominent foundation.’ That group appears to be the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” which has been the primary source of private funding for the Common Core standards.

WHO IS BEHIND COMMON CORE?

By Arizonians Against Common Core 

A nonprofit organization called Achieve, Inc., in Washington, D.C. is the main driving force behind creating the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). The Common Core (CC) standards were initiated by private interests in Washington, D.C., without any representation from the states. See Common Core: Myths vs. Facts here written by American Principles Project.

From the Achieve, Inc. website: "To this day, Achieve remains the only education reform organization led by a Board of Directors of governors and business leaders. This unique perspective has enabled Achieve to set a bold and visionary agenda over the past 15 years, leading Education Week in 2006 to rank Achieve as one of the most influential education policy organizations in the nation." Achieve is a Washington, D.C. "think tank" which does not include membership from all of the states.

In Achieve's "Common Core Implementation Workbook" they state, "After 30 years of fits and starts, true transformational reform in education is not only possible but also entirely within our grasp." So Achieve has been working on "national education standards" for 30 years! They continue on, "The implementation challenge looms large. In response, Achieve and the U.S. Education Delivery Institute have developed a practical Common Core Implementation Workbook for all states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). The workbook uses a proven performance management methodology known as 'delivery' to lay out clear action steps for states and districts. It provides relevant information, case stories of good practice, key questions and hands-on exercises for leadership teams to complete together. Regardless of your timeline, the workbook offers state and district leaders the means to plan for the CCSS and then drive successful implementation. The discipline of delivery was first developed in 2001 under U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. "So the system of delivery was not first developed by the states but from from the United Kingdom's Tony Blair and in 2001! So much for the Common Core standards being a "state-led" effort! This is long before what is stated on the CCSSI website of this process starting in 2009!

"Eventually the creators of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) realized the need to present a facade of state involvement, and therefore, enlisted the National Governors Association (NGA) {a trade association that doesn't include all governors}, and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), another DC-based trade association. Neither of these groups have grant authority from any particular state or states to write the standards. The bulk of the creative work was done by Achieve, Inc., a DC-based nonprofit that includes many progressive education reformers who have been advocating national standards and curriculum for decades. Massive funding for all this came from private interests such as The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. which has donated $150 million in grants to implement the Common Core Standards (See Common Core: Myths vs. Facts as well for further information).



For a quick visual overview on how the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) {actually Federal Standards} view this flowchart: How is it implemented in our "States"? below:

WHAT COMPANIES HAVE TO GAIN FROM COMMON CORE?

By Arizonians Against Common Core

You can see from the "How is it Implemented in our 'States'?" flowchart, there are companies that will directly benefit by implementing Common Core. Some of these companies are:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, pledged $150 million dollars in Grants in 2007. Bill and Melinda Gates are directly tied to the United Nations, and they will directly benefit from the software packages that are sold to train teachers in the classroom through Microsoft.

Publishing Companies- Pearson, Scholastic News, MacGraw Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (AZ textbooks used in Public Schools are primarily from the publisher Harcourt) etc., will benefit from Common Core because they will provide the textbooks, for training teachers and teaching students, and curriculum changes that will need to be made to implement Common Core. Pearson, the largest on-line book company in the world, announced in their 2012 Earnings Report that "The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)...awarded Pearson and Educational Testing Service (ETS) the contract to develop test items that will be part of the new English and Mathematics assessments to be administered from the 2014-2015 school year. We continued to produce strong growth in secure online testing, an important market for the future. We increased online testing volumes by more than 10%, delivering 6.5 million state accountability tests, 4.5 million constructed response items and 21 million spoken tests. We now assess oral proficiency in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Arabic and Chinese. We also launched the Online Assessment Readiness Tool for the PARCC and the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Common Core consortia to help 45 states prepare for the transition to online assessments." Can you say more $$$ for Pearson???

Achieve, Inc. connections- who will benefit from Common Core? Craig Barrett is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Achieve, Inc., he is the current Chairman for the AZ Ready Education Council; and he is a Thunderbird Faculty member promoting United Nation Principles. (He is also the Former CEO/Chairman of the Board of Intel). Computer companies will directly benefit from computer sales to the states and local school districts. All of the Common Core student assessment testing will now be computer based. See (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers {PARCC} website for more details on the new student testing that will replace AIMS).