Everybody knows the story of Columbus, right? He was an Italian explorer from Genoa who set sail in 1492 to enrich the Spanish monarchs with gold and spices from the orient. Not quite.

For too long, scholars have ignored Columbus’s grand passion: the quest to liberate Jerusalem from the Muslims.

Christopher Columbus bids farewell to his son Diego at Palos, Spain, before embarking on his first voyage on August 3, 1492

During Columbus’s lifetime, Jews became the target of fanatical religious persecution. On March 31, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella proclaimed that all Jews were to be expelled from Spain. The edict especially targeted the 800,000 Jews who had never converted, and gave them four months to pack up and get out.

The Jews who were forced to renounce Judaism and embrace Catholicism were known as “Conversos,” or converts. There were also those who feigned conversion, practicing Catholicism outwardly while covertly practicing Judaism, the so-called “Marranos,” or swine.

Tens of thousands of Marranos were tortured by the Spanish Inquisition. They were pressured to offer names of friends and family members, who were ultimately paraded in front of crowds, tied to stakes and burned alive. Their land and personal possessions were then divvied up by the church and crown.

Recently, a number of Spanish scholars, such as Jose Erugo, Celso Garcia de la Riega, Otero Sanchez and Nicholas Dias Perez, have concluded that Columbus was a Marrano, whose survival depended upon the suppression of all evidence of his Jewish background in face of the brutal, systematic ethnic cleansing.

Columbus, who was known in Spain as Cristóbal Colón and didn’t speak Italian, signed his last will and testament on May 19, 1506, and made five curious — and revealing — provisions.

Two of his wishes — tithe one-tenth of his income to the poor and provide an anonymous dowry for poor girls — are part of Jewish customs. He also decreed to give money to a Jew who lived at the entrance of the Lisbon Jewish Quarter.

On those documents, Columbus used a triangular signature of dots and letters that resembled inscriptions found on gravestones of Jewish cemeteries in Spain. He ordered his heirs to use the signature in perpetuity.

According to British historian Cecil Roth’s “The History of the Marranos,” the anagram was a cryptic substitute for the Kaddish, a prayer recited in the synagogue by mourners after the death of a close relative. Thus, Columbus’s subterfuge allowed his sons to say Kaddish for their crypto-Jewish father when he died. Finally, Columbus left money to support the crusade he hoped his successors would take up to liberate the Holy Land.

Estelle Irizarry, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University, has analyzed the language and syntax of hundreds of handwritten letters, diaries and documents of Columbus and concluded that the explorer’s primary written and spoken language was Castilian Spanish. Irizarry explains that 15th-century Castilian Spanish was the “Yiddish” of Spanish Jewry, known as “Ladino.” At the top left-hand corner of all but one of the 13 letters written by Columbus to his son Diego contained the handwritten Hebrew letters bet-hei, meaning b’ezrat Hashem (with God’s help). Observant Jews have for centuries customarily added this blessing to their letters. No letters to outsiders bear this mark, and the one letter to Diego in which this was omitted was one meant for King Ferdinand.

In Simon Weisenthal’s book, “Sails of Hope,” he argues that Columbus’s voyage was motivated by a desire to find a safe haven for the Jews in light of their expulsion from Spain. Likewise, Carol Delaney, a cultural anthropologist at Stanford University, concludes that Columbus was a deeply religious man whose purpose was to sail to Asia to obtain gold in order to finance a crusade to take back Jerusalem and rebuild the Jews’ holy Temple.

In Columbus’s day, Jews widely believed that Jerusalem had to be liberated and the Temple rebuilt for the Messiah to return.

Scholars point to the date on which Columbus set sail as further evidence of his true motives. He was originally going to sail on August 2, 1492, a day that happened to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, marking the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples of Jerusalem. Columbus postponed this original sail date by one day to avoid embarking on the holiday, which would have been considered by Jews to be an unlucky day to set sail. (Coincidentally or significantly, the day he set forth was the very day that Jews were, by law, given the choice of converting, leaving Spain, or being killed.)

Columbus’s voyage was not, as is commonly believed, funded by the deep pockets of Queen Isabella, but rather by two Jewish Conversos and another prominent Jew. Louis de Santangel and Gabriel Sanchez advanced an interest free loan of 17,000 ducats from their own pockets to help pay for the voyage, as did Don Isaac Abrabanel, rabbi and Jewish statesman.

Indeed, the first two letters Columbus sent back from his journey were not to Ferdinand and Isabella, but to Santangel and Sanchez, thanking them for their support and telling them what he had found.

The evidence seem to bear out a far more complicated picture of the man for whom our nation now celebrates a national holiday and has named its capital.

As we witness bloodshed the world over in the name of religious freedom, it is valuable to take another look at the man who sailed the seas in search of such freedoms — landing in a place that would eventually come to hold such an ideal at its very core.

Author: Charles Garcia | Source: CNN [May 20, 2012]

A team from this centre has now analysed the ages of the famous olive trees and the oldest found is 627 years of age. Claramunt states that “this is one of the oldest specimens recorded in the Mediterranean ecosystem and on the European Continent.”

Lead by Jordi Martínez-Vilalta, the CREAF researchers employed classic dendrochronology methods based on the analysis of growth rings in the tree trunks. The study has been published in the Dendrochronologia journal.

Researchers take samples of the trunk of an olive tree (Olea europea) - Credit: CREAF

The scientists analysed 14 olive trees (Olea europea) from the coastal region of Montsià in Catalonia. As Claramunt explains, “we use a technique that allows for the extraction of a small cylindrical piece of the trunk which goes from the bark to the core of the tree. This sample contains the life history of the tree.” They also studied entire sections of the trunk that had been previously carved out.

Obtaining results from trunks is not easy. Claramunt warns that “there are times when the rings are hardly visible or they do not follow a known time pattern. The olive tree could also be too twisted.”

The data from this study can also be useful when reconstructing the climatic conditions of the last few centuries. “As well as dating these olive trees, we have shown that this type of tree can be used for dendrochronological analysis,” outlines the expert.

The legend of the millennium-old olive tree
The olive trees that captivated the famous Spanish poet Antonio Machado come from a variety that was cultivated in Palestine 6,000 years ago. This species spread West throughout the Mediterranean thanks to the Phoenicians, the Etruscans, the Greeks and the Romans. It is believed that they started to be cultivated in the Iberian Peninsula some 4,000 years ago.

There are at least 17 tree species in the world that can live longer than one thousand years and nearly all of them are conifers. The oldest known are the pine trees (Pinus longaeva) in the Rocky Mountains of North America that are nearly 5,000 years old.

“In Europe there are many trees that are considered to be one thousand years old but nobody has calculated their age,” explains Claramunt. The Regional Government of Catalonia has recently changed the name of the ‘millennium-old’ olive trees to ‘monumental trees’.

Source: FECYT – Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology [May 16, 2012]

But, this YouTube report, uploaded on Monday with 22K views, and already covered by Godlike Productions and http://strangesoundsinthesky.com/ – features a TV account of a sound supposedly heard over more than a 100 mile range. Not only heard, heard up to 100 times. It’s a BOOMING sound not unlike others heard in the last year and as part of the SNP – Sky Noise Phenomena.
The report is in Spanish, but – you will hear the sounds and `get the drift’ of the report.

There has been, up until now, a slight bit of comfort that the strange Sky Noise Phenomena that UDCC has been reporting on since last spring, was `localized’. Localized at least in the sense that the vast vast majority of the odd sounds have been only heard over limited areas – even the famous Florida Sky Sound last year was somewhat limited in area.

But, this YouTube report, uploaded on Monday with 22K views, and already covered by Godlike Productions and http://strangesoundsinthesky.com/ – features a TV account of a sound supposedly heard over more than a 100 mile range. Not only heard, heard up to 100 times. It’s a BOOMING sound not unlike others heard in the last year and as part of the SNP – Sky Noise Phenomena.
The report is in Spanish, but – you will hear the sounds and `get the drift’ of the report.

While the comments are nearly totally in Spanish – one sees reference to the conspiracy idea of underground nukes and such. As Clockers know, UDCC finds the various forms of the SNP to be beyond reasoning out at this point – but – IMO, could indeed, wearisomely, be nefarious in some manner.

At least this is a `current’ type of coverage by the MSM – but – then again, with something THIS widespread and so MANY times – it was beyond IGNORING. Will it take some sort of similar happenning in the USA for the coverage to actually begin on the phenomena? Time will tell.

Author: mkluis77 | Source: ufodisclosurecountdownclock [January 07, 2012]

Despite the importance of the site, it is very poorly conserved and lacks basic safety measures.

There are guards during the day, but at night, the National and Local Police are in charge of its safety, although the Junta de Andalucia Culture Council is responsible for the site.

It is unclear what the intruders may have taken, but sources close to the investigation claim there are several holes in the area.

The plunderers normally hope to find any metal objects, such as coins, jewellery and arrowheads, which can all be found with detectors and sold on the black market.

Author: Costa del Sol | Source: EuroWeekly [January 10, 2012]

Bruselas. (Agencias).- Los países de la UE accedieron hoy a flexibilizar las restricciones del espacio aéreo por la nube de cenizas procedente de un volcán islandés, tras las críticas de la compañías por las pérdidas económicas, que cuantifican por encima de las que se produjeron tras el 11-S, según confirmó el ministro de Fomento, José Blanco.

En rueda de prensa posterior a la reunión de ministros de Transporte, Blanco ha afirmado que la decisión de abrir de forma progresiva y coordinada los espacios aéreos europeos se ha tomado por “unanimidad” y haciendo primar el criterio de seguridad “las decisiones se irán tomando junto con Eurocontrol y siempre anteponiendo la seguridad”, ha subrayado Blanco .

Según ha explicado el ministro de Fomento español, en la reunión se ha propuesto definir tres zonas en función de la densidad de las cenizas expulsadas por el volcán islandés. La tercera zona, ha explicado Blanco, corresponderá a un núcleo central en el que la restricción de las operaciones será “absoluta”. La segunda zona, en la que aun existan restos de cenizas, las operaciones no estarán restringidas y la decisión sobre cada operación “será tomada de manera coordinada por los Estados miembros”. Por último, Blanco ha dado cuenta de una primera zona en la que no existirá ningún tipo de restricción aérea.

Asimismo, los ministros han acordado, mientras no sea efectiva la apertura total del tráfico aéreo en Europa, solicitar a la Comisión que contribuya a favorecer una ágil coordinación que permita la movilidad de los ciudadanos europeos a través de otros medios de transporte. Con todo ello, se pretende garantizar la vuelta a la normalidad en el menor plazo posible y en este caso el papel de España sería el de ofrecer sus aeropuertos como plataformas para vuelos intercontinentales.

Mientras, miles de pasajeros se han quedado sin poder volar por quinto día consecutivo (unos 8 millones según el Centro de Aviación de Asia Pacífico) y las compañías aéreas acumulan pérdidas millonarias tan sólo equiparables a la crisis en la aviación que tuvo lugar tras los atentados del 11-S. El caos aéreo ha afectado a la cotización en bolsa de las aerolíneas europeas, que registraron en la sesión de hoy unas caídas en bolsa por encima del 1,40 por ciento.

En la última actualización del día, Eurocontrol confirmó que aproximadamente 8.700 vuelos pudieron despegar hoy en Europa, alrededor de un 30%, la cantidad que había previsto por la mañana.

Con más de 150 millones de euros en pérdidas diarias, compañías y asociaciones sectoriales expresan su protesta, calificando de “desmesurado” el cierre del espacio aéreo. Ya hay tres compañías -Lufthansa, British Airways y KLM-que han realizado vuelos de prueba en las zonas afectadas con resultados satisfactorios, coincidiendo todas ellas en que las cenizas no causan daños de consideración en los motores de los aviones.

La última aerolínea en pronunciarse ha sido British Airways, quien consideró hoy que las actuales restricciones impuestas en el espacio aéreo son “innecesarias” en base a los vuelos de prueba realizados.

Los aeropuertos españoles
Unos 2.000 vuelos han sido suspendidos en España hasta las 20.00 horas de hoy, pese a la mejoría de la situación causada por las cenizas del volcán islandés Eyjafjälla, y cuando se prevé que durante las próximas 48 horas los diferentes países europeos afectados puedan abrir sus cielos.

Esta situación ha motivado que otros medios de transporte hayan aumentado su oferta, como es el caso de Renfe, que ha lanzado al mercado para hoy unas 2.500 plazas adicionales, de las que más de la mitad tienen como destino Barcelona para permitir la salida hacia el resto de Europa a aquellos viajeros que han quedado atrapados en los aeropuertos españoles.

En el caso concreto de El Prat de Barcelona los vuelos cancelados durante el día de hoy se elevan a 280, la mitad de salida y la otra de llegada. El aeropuerto El Prat ha acumulado numerosas incidencias a lo largo de la jornada.Además, en la ciudad de Barcelona se han llenado los transportes alternativos como consecuencia del caos aéreo. Según ha informado AENA, las cancelaciones hechas hasta las 14.00 horas de hoy tienen como origen y destino principalmente ciudades del norte y del centro de Europa. El aeropuerto de Reus (Tarragona) ha cancelado hoy 14 vuelos de los 16 programados y el de Girona sólo tenía programados vuelos al sur de Italia, Portugal, Marruecos y a otros aeropuertos españoles, que han podido realizarse con normalidad.

El volcán reduce su actividad
Según informó el Instituto Meteorológico, el volcán islandés causante de la crisis aérea redujo sustancialmente la emisión de cenizas a la atmósfera y comenzó a producir lava, lo que puede indicar el paso a una nueva fase en su actividad. La columna de ceniza procedente del volcán, que el sábado pasado alcanzó una altura de 11 kilómetros, se situó este lunes por debajo de los tres kilómetros, una tendencia que de mantenerse podría acabar con los problemas del tráfico aéreo generados desde hace cinco días en Europa. El Centro Vulcanológico Nórdico de Reikiavik advirtió, no obstante, de que hasta que se hayan realizado nuevas mediciones en el Eyjafjallajökull no se puede determinar con seguridad el paso a la nueva fase, si bien todos los indicios apuntan en esa dirección.
(LaVanguardia.es)