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A former Holly High School music teacher accused of having sex with two students was sentenced to jail Wednesday and barred from most unsupervised contact with minors. Ranee Sue Proper hugged supporters before facing Oakland Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick, who sentenced her to five years probation, with the first nine months of that in Oakland County Jail. The judge also ordered her to participate in sex offender treatment and not to have any unsupervised contact with minors under 18 other than her own children and relatives’ children.

Satanists have struck at one of Turin's most famous churches, stealing a vial of holy water and a missal, or prayer book. The items were taken from behind the altar at the Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio, or Church of the Great Mother of God, at the end of last week.   An artist's impression of a Satanist A source at Turin police said a special team of carabinieri military police are investigating the break-in, and that the "most likely explanation" was that "the items were stolen to be used in a rite of black magic". The holy water,...

ROME, Italy (AP) -- It's a new Da Vinci code, but this time it could be for real. An Italian musician and computer technician claims to have uncovered musical notes encoded in Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper," raising the possibility that the Renaissance genius might have left behind a somber composition to accompany the scene depicted in the 15th-century wall painting. "It sounds like a requiem," Giovanni Maria Pala said. "It's like a soundtrack that emphasizes the passion of Jesus." Painted from 1494 to 1498 in Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the "Last Supper" vividly depicts a key...

For some time now, I’ve been reading Bill Bryson’s terrific 2003 book, A Short History of Nearly Everything. (You should interpret “some time” to mean “a pretty long time,” because not only is this a hefty-sized book, it’s also about science.) In his introduction Bryson, an entertaining travel writer, explains how he came to write a book about the origins of life, the universe, and nearly everything. He says that when he was in the fourth or fifth grade the cover of his science text showed the earth with a quarter cut away, revealing an interior neatly arranged in colorful...

Hitler's Search for the Holy Grail When Steven Spielberg made a movie about an intrepid archaeologist’s fight to keep a precious and powerful artifact — the Holy Grail — out of the hands of the Nazis, it was not widely known that the tale was based on truth. There really was a Nazi archaeological unit and it did send teams across the world to try to find the Grail. History meets Indiana Jones in HITLER’S SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL, a one-hour documentary airing on PBS Monday, November 27, 2000, 10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings). Host Michael Wood (IN ...

A mysterious golden pot discovered in a Bavarian lake in 2001 has been the focus of interest for archaeologists, art dealers -- and now the German and Swiss police. Its convoluted history involves Nazi cults, treasure hunters and modern-day profiteers. So there it was, the legendary "Holy Grail" -- in a safe not far from the Zurich airport. Investor Svetlana K. from Kazahkstan had been prepared for almost anything on that day last March. But when she saw what had been described as "probably the most important art-historical discovery in the Western Hemisphere" in front of her, all the other...

British scientists are on the verge of producing a revolutionary flu vaccine that works against all major types of the disease. Described as the 'holy grail' of flu vaccines, it would protect against all strains of influenza A - the virus behind both bird flu and the nastiest outbreaks of winter flu. Just a couple of injections could give long-lasting immunity - unlike the current vaccine which has to be given every year. The brainchild of scientists at Cambridge biotech firm Acambis, working with Belgian researchers, the vaccine will be tested on humans for the first time in the next...

STARING into the terrifying thunderous tumult of the Corryvreckan whirlpool, it's easy to see why its sheer primal energy has fascinated people for centuries. Now Edinburgh folklorist Stuart McHardy has suggested a startling new theory - that the awe-inspiring natural vortex between the islands of Scarba and Jura in Argyll and Bute was the true origin of the Holy Grail. At its wildest, some say the whirlpool forms a spectacular swirling cauldron 300 feet wide and 100 feet deep. The cause is hidden beneath the waves – a giant rock pinnacle rising from the depths to within 95 feet of...

          > ALL TIME BOX OFFICE         WORLDWIDE GROSSES #1-100 - #101-200 - #201-300 - #301-302(in millions) Rank Title Studio Worldwide Domestic / % Overseas / % Year 21 The Da Vinci Code Sony $750.0 $217.3 29.0% $532.7 71.0% 2006 22 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe BV $744.8 $291.7 39.2% $453.1 60.8% 2005

Pope Benedict XVI talks with an unidentified prelate before the Santo Caliz, Holy Chalice, foreground, in Valencia's Our Lady of the Forsaken Basilica, Spain, Saturday, July 8, 2006. VALENCIA, Spain (CNS) -- King Arthur and his knights and Indiana Jones looked for it, and most recently Dan Brown's sleuth, Robert Langdon, hunted it down in "The Da Vinci Code." But these legendary and fictional characters might have saved a lot of trouble in their hunt for the Holy Grail by just going to Valencia. The host city of Pope Benedict XVI's third pastoral journey abroad July 8-9 is home...

By the Christian History Institute “Blinding Ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!” Leonardo Da Vinci, quoted in THE DA VINCI CODE, p. 231 In every age, there have been attacks on Jesus and the teaching of Scripture. Jesus has been an offense to the world from the very beginning. One recent attack is particularly beguiling because it is so entertaining. It’s author, Dan Brown, brashly assures us his account is based on the actual historical facts, but THE DA VINCI CODE paints either an uninformed or intentionally false picture of the early church. Herein, we want...

War on Christianity has been declared. On which side of the battle line will you stand? The movie version of Dan Brown's book, THE DA VINCI CODE, is now in theaters. Although the movie significantly waters down the unrelenting, anti-Christian attacks and virulent paganism and goddess worship of the novel, it promotes the book and contains enough falsehoods and scurrilous conjecture to distort the truth about Jesus Christ, the Bible, Christianity, and God. That, coupled with the book’s popularity and some Christians’ ignorance about their faith, leads us to believe that the movie, and the attention it draws, will increase...

Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code is one of the most popular best sellers in recent history and the Sony motion picture to be released this Friday (May 19) is expected to be the first major blockbuster of the summer (given how relatively poorly MI3 performed). All this despite -- or, perhaps, because of -- being pervasively condemned by Christian leaders.

The Da Vinci Code is only a novel. It is not a source of serious information, but it does raise some serious questions. 1. Was Jesus Christ really married? Yes. Jesus was married to the Church. In the New Testament, Jesus is frequently referred to as the Bridegroom, and St. Paul tells us: “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This is a tremendous mystery. I’m applying it to Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32) In fact, the Christian vocation is nothing less than an invitation...

In this war freedom should come first not after! In New Hampshire the Motto is Live free or Die! I don't need Bush spying on law abiding americans and taking our freedoms. Anyone who surrenders a square inch of freedom to the government in the name of saftey is a traitor and should be treated like one! Let the Bush Fashists all drop dead! Filthy Commys! LET FREEDOM RING!

And now for something completely familiar. More than 35 years on from their first appearance, prepare for a fresh outbreak of Monty Python mania. Who would have thought the old boys had so much blood in them? The biggest buzz on Broadway this spring is flying around Eric Idle’s new musical based, loosely, on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Early indications are that Spamalot will indeed be the biggest hit of the year. Variety reported that the show, which officially opens on March 17 at the Shubert Theater, grossed more than $700,000 in its first seven New York previews...

Recent News! They discover proof that Atlantis did not submerge complete but only one part...By Salvador Morales. Atlantis News Agency. Madrid, Spain. 01-06-2005. The Spanish investigator and scriptologist, Georgeos Diaz-Montexano, has discovered paleographical proofs that in fact the island or peninsula (Nêsos) denominated like Atlantis or Atlantic, it was divided in two parts below the sea. To date all atlantologists and students of the Timaeus and the Critias de Plato had thought that in texts of the Greek philosophist narrated the collapse of the all island or Atlantis peninsula, nevertheless, Georgeos Diaz-Montexano has reviewed the oldest texts known writings in...

LITTLETON, Colorado, NOV. 28, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The story of the Holy Grail has spawned numerous works of fiction and fantasy, including popular films. The truth about the actual whereabouts of the cup is less clear. One scholar, Janice Bennett, author of "St. Laurence and the Holy Grail" (Ignatius), believes that the cup's history can be traced from St. Peter's journey to Rome, to St. Laurence in the third century, and then to its final resting place in Spain. Bennett holds a master's in Spanish literature from the University of Colorado, and a certificate in Advanced Bible Studies from the Catholic...

A team of Second World War codebreakers was today poised to reveal the solution to a cryptic 18th century riddle which is rumoured to reveal the location of the Holy Grail. Oliver Lawn and his wife Sheila, the leaders of the team, are now in their 80s but were posted at the codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, during the Second World War. The couple, who worked on cracking the Enigma code, have spent the last seven months deciphering the significance of a sequence of letters on the Shepherd’s Monument in the Shugborough Estate in Staffordshire. The marble slab, located...

Jesus conspiracy novel has earned £140 million, but now two academic writers say that their historical work preceded it by 20 years, reports Elizabeth DayIt is the biggest-selling adult fiction book of all time and has earned its author a reputed £140 million with its plot about a global conspiracy to suppress Christ's marriage. The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 12 million copies and has been translated into 42 languages. But now two writers are suing its publishers, claiming that it was copied from their bestseller that first appeared more than 20 years ago. Michael Baigent and Richard...

Britain's WWII code-breakers tackle inscription mystery By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) -- The experts who cracked Nazi Germany's secret codes are tackling a 10-letter enigma that has stumped fine minds for more than 250 years -- D.O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V.M. Former code-breakers from Britain's World War II intelligence center at Bletchley Park set out this week to decipher a cryptic inscription on an 18th-century monument at an English country estate. Legend says it reveals the location of the Holy Grail. Some believe it is a private message to a deceased beloved. No one knows for sure. "The inscription is obviously...

Hi! My name is John Martineu. Im 18 and a student of Dover high School in Dover Delaware. I have been assigned a final term project. We are to do a 20 page turn paper on different subjects. I am doing one on the collapse of communism. Since you coservatives know alot about this, I was wondering if you could help me out. First Id like to know what communism is and how it is different from socialism? Second I would also like to know about why Russia collapsed. Third could you tell me why you refer to certain people...

The best thrillers are unputdownable--a word that many readers surely attach to Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code." It's difficult to ride a subway or walk through an airport these days and not see somebody engrossed in its page-turning tale of murder and conspiracy. In 13 months since publication, the book has sold more than seven million copies.

And now for something completely different on Broadway, that is. Mike Nichols, legendary director of both stage and screen, has signed on to helm Spamelot, a musical adaptation of Monty Python's wacky 1975 cult film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The project is the brainchild of Python alum Eric Idle, who wrote the book for the musical based on the script he did with fellow Flying Circus members John Cleese (news), Michael Palin (news), Terry Gilliam (news), Terry Jones (news) and the late Graham Chapman (news). And according to Idle, the musical's moniker is about as permanent as the...

The recent bestseller, "The Da Vinci Code" purports to unveil timeless Christian mysteries, such as the myth of the "Holy Grail". For most, the Holy Grail means the chalice which Christ drank from at the Last Supper - "After He had given thanks, He bid them, "drink" "this is My blood of the New Covenant.." For author Dan Brown, the Grail is actually the personage of Mary Magdelene, in Scripture a redeemed prostitute, in DVC the wife of Jesus Christ and the mother of his children. In Mr. Brown's world, the early church found it necessary to suppress the "goddess"...

<p>Wherever Administration Moderator went, he was greeted by huge, enthusiastic crowds of cheering people – people as far as the eye could see - reaching out to Administration Moderator and he reaching back at every opportunity. Administration Moderator has got the right stuff, he loved being with the FReepers and the FReepers loved being with Administration Moderator. There is a genuine connection between the Moderator and his message and the FReepers. Administration Moderator could capture the presidency in 2004!</p>

...Freerepublic.com will collapse under the sheer weight of the stupidity generated there daily. It will be reborn as Fascists-R-Us.com....