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BEIJING — China will give swine flu vaccinations to thousands of Muslims about to make the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, state media said, as authorities reported the mainland's third death from the illness. Concerns over the hajj, which attracts about 3 million Muslims every year to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have led several countries to impose travel bans over fears the mass gathering could speed the spread of swine flu. Arab health ministers in July banned children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses from attending this year. All of China's 12,700 Muslims making the pilgrimage...

Thousands of Catholic Pilgrims Queue For A Glimpse of St Therese of Lisieux Remains At The Start Of Month-Long UK Tour Sophie Freeman 17th September 2009 [Several Pics in URL] Thousands of people flocked to a cathedral yesterday to catch a glimpse of the relics of a Roman Catholic nun described as the 'greatest saint of modern times'. Pilgrims collapsed in tears as a casket containing the remains of St Therese of Lisieux arrived at St John's Catholic Cathedral in Portsmouth for the first part of a month-long UK tour. Many of the faithful touched the protective glass or pressed...

Even as the Left still flirts with socialism (and I'm being nice with the word, "flirts"), the first Pilgrims who arrived here in 1620 learned their lesson early: socialism, even on the scale of the Pilgrims colony at Plymouth Rock, doesn't work. William Bradford wrote about his "experiment" with socialism then in his journal, "Of Plymouth Plantation". Check it out sometime in a library or get it on Amazon. It is an early primary history of the Pilgrims' spirit of adventure, free enterprise, and devotion to religious freedom. We could use a little taste of their spirit today. I pulled...

The Health Ministry announced Egypt's first swine flu fatality on 19 July. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Samah El-Sayed Salima, recently returned from Saudi Arabia after the omra. Her death came after the Health Ministry had repeatedly advised pilgrims to cancel omra trips. El-Sayed began suffering flu-like symptoms in Mecca. She also had an underlying heart condition. Egypt's first cases of swine flu were confirmed in June among people travelling from the US. Soon cases were being reported among passengers coming from Western countries and from Saudi Arabia after performing omra rituals. The Ministry of Health began to call...

When the Pilgrims landed in 1620, they established a system of communal property. Within three years they had scrapped it, instituting private property instead. Hoover media fellow Tom Bethell tells the story. There are three configurations of property rights: state, communal, and private property. Within a family, many goods are in effect communally owned. But when the number of communal members exceeds normal family size, as happens in tribes and communes, serious and intractable problems arise. It becomes costly to police the activities of the members, all of whom are entitled to their share of the total product of the...

Where can I find another New World for religious freedom? I guess I will try and reclaim this one that my forefathers first claimed. Can I now be a neo-Pilgrim instead of a neoCon?

The several dozen Pilgrims who celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Massachusetts in 1621 would later fold their Plymouth Colony of religious Separatists into the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony of Puritans...

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE Pilgrims Regress By Mark Alexander In the aftermath of a momentous election, an election sure to change the course of our nation, it is tempting to despair. On this Thanksgiving, though, let us resist that powerful temptation and instead take stock of the blessings of liberty. President Ronald Reagan often cited the Pilgrims who celebrated the first Thanksgiving as our forebears who charted the path of American freedom. He made frequent reference to John Winthrop's "shining city upon a hill." As Reagan explained, "The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined....

Wampanoag Indians in a History Channel scene, filmed at Plimoth Plantation (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) – A nine-year-old girl was recently asked to remove her “Indian” costume before entering the Wampanoag Homesite of the Plimoth Plantation, a historical site that allows visitors to experience Plymouth, Mass., as it was in the 17th century. The outdoor museum features a 1627 English village beside a Wampanoag home site. The purpose of the museum is to educate visitors (school-children and adults) about what happened between the Native Americans and the colonists, especially during the first Thanksgiving. The nine-year-old was one of thousands who flock...

Great links for just about everything related to , or about Thanksgiving. Have at it, Freepers, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

[NOTE - This politically-correct article is posted here so you can see the garbage coming from Madison, Wisconsin this Thanksgiving. Pay attention to the dates referenced. Rush also referenced it today, so i thought I'd post it here for your perusal. Not to be read too soon after eating cookies, or you'll lose them.] ******************************************************* Everything you know about the "first" Thanksgiving is wrong. Plymouth Rock. Pilgrims. Perseverance. Big feast. Happy Indians sharing in the bounty. According to "award-winning" filmmaker Patty Loew, it's all bunk, except maybe the part about eating turkey. Early settlers were so hungry they ate about...

BAGHDAD -- Gunmen opened fire on Shi'ite pilgrims in southern Baghdad on July 27, killing seven of them as thousands of worshippers made their way to a revered shrine in the Iraqi capital, police said. Iraqi forces have tightened security around the Al-Kadhamiya district in northwestern Baghdad ahead of a major Shi'ite religious pilgrimage this week, an army spokesman said. Police said the pilgrims who were killed were on foot. It appears they had come from cities in southern Iraq, which is predominantly Shi'ite. Shi'ite pilgrims have often been the target of Sunni Islamist Al-Qaeda militants who consider Shi'ism --...

MOUNT PLEASANT — Friends and family of the 46 people taken to jail by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in April met Sunday with supporters offering legal and emotional support. The federal government moved on Pilgrim's Pride Corp. facilities in Mount Pleasant and in four other states on April 16, gathering some 400 employees on various identity theft charges. A year-long investigation produced the arrests. It also produced a vacuum of information among much of the Latin immigrant community that feeds Pilgrim's Mount Pleasant workforce of about 3,300 people. That lack of information drew an attorney from the Mexican...

LITTLE ROCK -- A group supporting a proposed ballot initiative on illegal immigration is questioning Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's ability to be impartial in reviewing it because he has received campaign donations from people affiliated with an organization that opposes the measure. Kenny Wallis, president of Keep Arkansas Legal, said Monday his organization has discovered individuals with the Arkansas Friendship Coalition donated thousands of dollars to McDaniel's 2006 campaign for attorney general. Arkansas Friendship Coalition, a group of civic, church and business leaders that opposes punitive state and local laws targeting immigrants, has expressed opposition to the proposed ballot initiative...

When the Pilgrims rejected communism, prosperity followed. As our modern gladiators chase a pigskin down the field in Dallas, Detroit and Atlanta, we settle into our living rooms, loosen our belts and remind the little ones this is the day we echo the thanks of the Pilgrims, who gathered in the autumn of 1621 to celebrate the first bountiful harvest in a new land. The Pilgrims' first winter in the New World had been a harsh one. The wheat the Pilgrims had brought with them to plant would not grow in the rocky New England soil. Nearly half the colonists...

The notion of a common good has traditionally been popular in this democratic Republic. In recent years and among certain public figures, however, the expression has taken on a more collectivist connotation. When Senator Clinton said, “We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good,” we knew she meant the government would do the taking as well as the determining of what is defined as the common good. Decision making by individuals would be replaced with state edict. Last year Mrs. Clinton’s husband gave a speech on the common good. Using the term no fewer...

The Drought and Fast of 1623 William Bradford A great drought continued from the first week in May till about the middle ofJulu without any rain and with great heat for the most part, insomuch as the corn began to wither away though it was set with fish, the moisture thereof helped it much. At length it began to languish more, and some of the drier grounds were parched like withered hay, part of whereof was never recovered. Upon which they set apart a solemn day of humiliation to seek the Lord by humble and fervent prayer in this great...

He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. - Romans 14:6 According to the Pilgrim Hall Museum: There are 2 (and only 2) primary sources for the events of autumn 1621 in Plymouth : Edward Winslow writing in Mourt's Relation and William Bradford writing in Of Plymouth Plantation Edward Winslow, Mourt's Relation :"our harvest being gotten in, our governour sent foure men on fowling, that so...

What The Pilgrims Ate FIRST THANKSGIVING In 1621 the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is now known as the first Thanksgiving. While cooking methods and table etiquette have changed as the holiday has evolved, the meal is still consumed today with the same spirit of celebration and overindulgence. WHAT WAS ACTUALLY ON THE MENU? What foods topped the table at the first harvest feast? Historians aren't completely certain about the full bounty, but it's safe to say the pilgrims weren't gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a...

Thanksgiving: Reflection, food, thanks ... and Dallas Cowboys http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2007/11/20/opinion/112007b.txt http://tinyurl.com/33tapv November 20, 2007 Ron Fink Thanksgiving is the time of year when we sit back, smell the turkey, stuff ourselves with too much good food and then reflect on the good things that have happened to our families in the last year. Basically, we “give thanks” for the small and large successes we have enjoyed during the year, just as the pilgrims did. Thanksgiving Day as national holiday wasn't celebrated at Plymouth Rock, as lore would have it, but over 200 years later when President Lincoln declared the “last Thursday...

Did you know that our Pilgrim forefathers actually tried to practice communism when they first landed at Plymouth Rock? That their “noble experiment” was a colossal failure that contributed to the deaths of more than half of the colonists? But that when they abandoned a communal-style living in favor of free enterprise and self reliance, they enjoyed such abundance that they held a party to celebrate and invited all the neighbors? It’s quite a story – one I bet you never heard in your history books. Let me share the details with you today. It makes for one heck of...

"When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing – they believe in anything." That's what G.K. Chesterton told us, and it's true. Because so many of us no longer believe in the God of the Bible, we no longer have any standard for truth. Some even dispute whether there is such a thing as truth. That's how crazy it can get. The latest evidence of this assault on standards and truth comes in the form of confusion about what to teach about Thanksgiving in America's government schools. For instance, the Seattle school district sent out a letter...

Pilgrims flock to the Kadhimiya mosque to commemorate a Shiite saint Thursday in Baghdad. Photo by Spc. Jeffrey Hunnewell, Combined Press Information Center. BAGHDAD — Crowds of Shiite pilgrims gathered in Baghdad Thursday to commemorate the death of an eighth century saint. The Kadhimiya mosque is the site of an annual pilgrimage where Shiites not only honor the saint buried within, but seek healing and invoke the saint’s intercession for the forgiveness of sins and the fulfillment of needs.The seventh of 12 principal Shiite saints, Imam Moussa al-Kadhim was known for his patience and his ability to suppress his anger. ...

GRENOBLE, France - A bus carrying Polish Catholic pilgrims from a holy site in the French Alps plunged off a steep mountain road, crashed into a river bank and burst into flames Sunday, killing 26 people, authorities said.Fourteen others were seriously injured in the wreck on a dangerous stretch of road where past bus accidents have killed dozens of other people. Police said the bus did not have the special permit required to use the road.Local residents said the bus missed a 90-degree bend in the steep mountain road around 9:30 a.m. near the village of Vizille, not far from...

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2007 – Iraqi army and police forces worked together to provide security for the more than 6 million pilgrims traveling to Karbala to observe the Shiite ritual of Arbaeen, officials in Baghdad said today. Anti-Iraqi forces targeted the pilgrims, and they were successful in a number of cases, most notably with a car bomb that killed more than 100 pilgrims on March 6. Iraqi Brig. Gen. Kassim Atta al-Moussawi said during a news conference in Baghdad today that, all told, insurgents killed more than 150 pilgrims. Arbaeen marks the end of 40 days of mourning for...

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Insurgents slaughtered at least 118 Shiite pilgrims in a surge of attacks across Iraq on Tuesday that included a double suicide bombing on a street crowded with worshippers that claimed 90 lives. The attacks marked one of the bloodiest days since the start of a US-led security plan designed to quell sectarian violence, and triggered fears of reprisal attacks by Shiite militiamen on Sunni targets. Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen, meanwhile, stormed a troubled Iraqi jail near the northern city of Mosul and freed at least 140 prisoners, among them foreign Arab extremist fighters, a security official told AFP....

(snip) – True, the Pilgrims left Holland for America in part because the Dutch had too much fun, even on Sunday, when the Pilgrims' services would last four hours, the congregation standing throughout. And two Pilgrim brothers did quarrel because one said the other was ``blinded, bewitched and besotted'' by his wife, a ``bouncing girl who wore whalebones in her breast, an excessive deal of lace and a showish hat.'' But the Pilgrims went to America, writes Godfrey Hodgson, not to become American but to remain English and devout. Rather than tarry among the licentious Dutch, they would risk life...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FREEPERS!

November 21, 1620 • Original Mayflower Compact There are more than l60 independent nations in the world. Whether dictatorships or democracies, nearly all have written constitutions, but that of the United States is by far the oldest. This is something we can so easily take for granted. But it really marked a pivotal turning point in history and the way nations came to govern themselves. Signing the Mayflower Compact. How do you suppose the founding fathers ever thought of having a written Constitution? The idea of a written contract between the people and their government came from a tiny band...

When the Pilgrims landed in 1620, they established a system of communal property. Within three years they had scrapped it, instituting private property instead. Hoover media fellow Tom Bethell tells the story. There are three configurations of property rights: state, communal, and private property. Within a family, many goods are in effect communally owned. But when the number of communal members exceeds normal family size, as happens in tribes and communes, serious and intractable problems arise.[...]Thirty years old when he arrived in the New World, Bradford became the second governor of Plymouth ... and the most important figure in the...

It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I only have room for about 700 here so let me be more concise. Just the other day, an editorial cartoon, set in the 1600s, depicted a rowboat full of Pilgrims coming ashore in the New World and encountering a group of Indians constructing a log wall to keep them out. Standing next to a boulder marked "Plymouth Rock" (in case you didn't get it) on the shoreline, one of the Indians, with his arms folded in an unwelcoming position and a disapproving frown on his face, blocked their way....

When the Pilgrims came to America aboard the Mayflower to establish the Plymouth Colony, they did so under the requirement that "all profits and benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means" were to be placed into the "common stock" of the colony and that "all such persons as are of this colony are to have their provisions out of the common stock." Sort of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need"— Socialism. But something happened at Plymouth in 1623 because "instead of famine now God gave them plenty," Bradford wrote...

Pope defies death threats to greet pilgrims By Malcolm Moore in Rome (Filed: 21/09/2006) Pope Benedict greeted 150,000 pilgrims in St Peter's Square yesterday in an open-top vehicle, as he defied death threats from al Qa'eda over his controversial speech in Germany last week. The Pope did not alter his usual routine of driving around to greet the crowd, and did not use the bullet-proof "Popemobile" that has been increasingly deployed since the attack on John Paul II in 1981. Guards escort the Pope as he is driven past 150,000 pilgrims in St Peter’s Square. People were security checked before...

By Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO Iraqi police provide security in a section of Kadhimiyah, Iraq, on March 29, 2005. Department of Defense photo by Air Force Senior Airman Lapedra P. Tolson. BAGHDAD — Under the watchful eye of the Iraqi Police and Army, over a million Shiite pilgrims gathered in peace over the weekend in Baghdad’s Kadhimiyah neighborhood to commemorate the death of the 7th Imam.The event, in which the faithful visit the al-Kadhimiyah Shrine of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, was sheltered from much of the violence that has plagued other religious celebrations in recent years. Security for the...

April 16, 2006 · Inscriptions and images found on tombstones, frescoes and mosaics throughout the Mediterranean show that women held respected roles in the early Christian church that were identical to those held by men. They were apostles, priests, deacons and bishops. But the Vatican's official view of church history presents women in a different light. Recently, a group of 31 American Catholic women, organized by the group FutureChurch, visited Rome to inspect the archeological evidence of female leadership. Many who made the trip say they were inspired to become more active in their local church communities."We would just like...

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2006 – Millions of Shiite Muslims from around the Middle East recently were able to make a pilgrimage to the Iraqi holy cities of Karbala and Najaf with few security problems. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today that this shows a lot about the capabilities of Iraqi security forces. At a Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace also spoke about an operation in Baghdad that freed a hostage, confiscated arms and shut down an improvised-explosive-device factory. Arbaeen, which marks the death of Imam Hussein -- a...

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Hilliard, commander, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and Iraqi Col. Meryeed M. Hanoun, commander, 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division, conduct reconnaissance from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over a main artery that leads into Najaf, March 15, 2006. Shi'a pilgrims are making the trek to Karbala in celebration of Arba'een. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Michael Molinaro U.S., Iraqi Forces Provide Security for Pilgrims Iraqi, Coalition Force leaders meet to discuss security proceduresfor the anticipated five to six million Arba'een pilgrims. By U.S. Army...

A cruise ship carrying 1300 passengers in the Red Sea has been reported disappeared from radar by Egyptian authorities. No other details....

Saudis turn back Nigeria pilgrims Huge numbers of pilgrims have already arrived for the Hajj A plane load of Muslims from northern Nigeria trying to reach this year's Hajj has been turned back in Saudi Arabian air space and sent home. The 492 pilgrims from Kaduna had missed an extension to Wednesday's deadline secured by Nigeria's president. Thousands of other Nigerian pilgrims have been stranded as a shortage of aircraft is blamed for the chaos. Kano's state governor told angry pilgrims to go home and accept "the will of Allah". Many airlines have refused to take part in this year's...

CALLS for peace resonated in Bethlehem overnight as a lull in violence spurred the biggest influx of Christmas pilgrims for years to the town where Christians believe Jesus was born. Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in messages they were committed to peacemaking in 2006. In Rome, Pope Benedict offered a special prayer for peace in the Holy Land. In Bethlehem, an intermittent battleground in the five-year-old Palestinian uprising, Vatican envoy Michel Sabbah said there was a real opportunity to grasp, with both Israelis and Palestinians due to hold elections early next year. "A...

Winter must come awfully early to that little spit of sand called Provincetown. The town isn't exactly Mayberry to begin with, if you know what I mean. But as the cold winds blow relentlessly down Commercial Street and the gray waves slap constantly against the shore, the isolation must lead to a total divorce from reality. Think Jack Nicholson in ''The Shining." How else to explain the bizarre behavior of a majority of the town's selectmen at a meeting earlier this month? To wit, Selectwoman Sarah Peake spun her chair around near the end of the Nov. 14 meeting, gazed...

ALCATRAZ ISLAND, United States (AFP) - A tribal chant rose from a thousands-strong prayer circle on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay as Native Americans held a sunrise "Unthanksgiving Day" ceremony. "What we call it is Unthanksgiving," Bear Lincoln of the Wailikie Tribe told AFP as he waved burning sage to purify the area and ward off evil spirits. "It was the saddest day for us. It was a big mistake for us to help the Pilgrims survive that first winter. They betrayed us once they got their strength." Traditional Thanksgiving feasting in the United States is a tribute to...

What Thanksgiving should be How wonderful it is, how pleasant when brothers live together in harmony! Psalm 133:1 NLT Fighting historical vandalism In an article in Focus on the Family's Citizen magazine, Douglas Phillips describes how he took his family to Plymouth, Massachusetts, a few years ago and was shocked at what he found. Atop Cole's Hill, the burial ground for Pilgrims who died that first hard winter, Phillips was startled to see a city truck pull up and men pile out carrying shovels. They told Phillips the city was placing a new monument. "Most revolutions are staged at night,"...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

John Robinson’s Farewell Letter to the Pilgrims Loving Christian friends, I do heartily and in the Lord salute you all, as being they with whom I am present in my best affection, and most earnest longings after you, though I be constrained for a while to be bodily absent from you. I say constrained, God knowing how willingly, and much rather than otherwise, I would have born my part with you in this first brunt, were I not by strong necessity held back for the present. Make account of me in the mean while, as of a man divided...

The 11 Commandments of a THANKSGIVING DINNER           To-Do's, to make your Holiday brighter..1) Make a list and check it twice.. Plan your menu in advance, and for heaven sakes write it down.. Pull out the recipes and jot down the ingredients and check to see if you have everything on hand to complete the meal without having to run to the store at the last minute.. Be sure to check the expiration date on spices and milks and dated stuff.. There isn't a good time on the day of a big dinner to run to any store, and the...

A 14th century guildhall in Lincolnshire that has been used as a courtroom, museum and jail is being restored with a lottery award... The building was used during the trial and imprisonment of the Pilgrim Fathers in September 1607.

Shiites Gather in Defiance of Insurgents By GASSID JABBAR, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 19, 2005 Hundreds of thousands of Shiites descended Monday on the holy city of Karbala, paying tribute to one of their most revered religious figures in what Iraqi officials called a defiant pilgrimage despite threats by militants. In Baghdad, officials also announced that one of Saddam Hussein's nephews was sentenced to life in prison for funding the violent insurgency, and would stand trial on other charges. Authorities said they had already uncovered a cache of explosives and arrested four insurgents for allegedly planning on the pilgrims...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Grinning and cracking jokes, Pope Benedict on Monday shed the stress of his election and inauguration for a jubilant audience with several thousand fellow Germans at the Vatican. The 78-year-old Bavarian seemed almost overcome by joy and stagefright as he strode down the aisle of the Paul VI audience hall waving to the crowds amid flashing cameras and pilgrims straining to shake his hand or kiss his ring. A shy man thrust into the limelight by his election last Tuesday, he drew laughter and applause when he apologised for arriving late from an inter-religious meeting. "Germans...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 12, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Three million people came to Rome to attend John Paul II's funeral rites, an event covered by 6,000 media personnel, the Holy See announced. Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls reported the data on the presence of the media and numbers of pilgrims to Rome, from the moment of the Pope's death until the day of his funeral, April 2-8. ZENIT already reported some of the preliminary figures last Sunday. According to the Holy See's statement, the Vatican press office and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications accredited 6,000 journalists, photographers and radio and television...