Making the New Year New!
Friday, December 31, 2021
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Monday, December 27, 2021
Sunday, December 26, 2021
O Irão faz exercÃcios militares no Golfo Pérsico
Irão diz que exercÃcio militar no Golfo é “aviso” a Israel
Negociações para acordo sobre o nuclear iraniano recomeçam na segunda-feira em Viena num clima de pessimismo.O Irão afirmou que os exercÃcios militares que levou a cabo esta semana no Golfo Pérsico tiveram como objectivo “fazer um aviso” a Israel, quando aumenta a preocupação que Israel possa planear atacar alvos nucleares no Irão – isto quando as negociações que decorrem em Viena para um acordo nuclear recomeçam já na segunda-feira e diplomatas dizem que a janela para um acordo começa a apertar-se.
As manobras dos Guardas da Revolução incluÃram o disparo de mÃsseis balÃsticos e de cruzeiro. “Estes exercÃcios tiveram uma mensagem clara: um aviso sério, real, à s ameaças do regime sionista [as autoridades iranianas nunca se referem a Israel pelo nome, por não o reconhecerem como um Estado], para ter atenção aos seus erros”, declarou o chefe dos Guardas da Revolução, Hossein Salami, à televisão estatal. “Vamos cortar-lhes as mãos se derem um passo em falso. A distância entre operações concretas e exercÃcios militares é apenas uma mudança no ângulo do lançamento dos mÃsseis”, acrescentou.
Israel tem ameaçado levar a cabo ataques militares para destruir o programa nuclear iraniano se isso for necessário mas responsáveis da defesa, citados quer pelo jornal norte-americano New York Times quer pelo israelita Haaretz, dizem que o paÃs não tem – pelo menos ainda não tem nem terá em breve – a capacidade para levar a cabo um ataque em larga escala. Dentro das possibilidades reais estaria apenas alguns ataques a alguns dos locais.
Até agora, Israel tem levado a cabo acções de pequena escala, desde actos de sabotagem a assassÃnios de pessoas ligadas ao programa nuclear – sem as admitir ou reivindicar.
A discussão de um ataque tem sido vista como fazendo parte da campanha de pressão de Israel sobre os poderes discutindo o acordo nuclear com o Irão em Viena. O Estado hebraico tem alertado para duas possibilidades: uma, de que o Irão esteja a tentar “ganhar tempo” e arrastar as negociações o mais possÃvel até conseguir obter urânio enriquecido suficiente para uma bomba, e outra, para que os poderes assinem um “mau acordo”, que não impeça o Irão de desenvolver armas nucleares.
O chefe dos negociadores europeus, Enrique Mora, falou de uma “pausa decepcionante”, e que nesta próxima ronda, a oitava, seria “discutido como avançar”.
Esta semana, o conselheiro de segurança nacional dos EUA Jake Sullivan esteve em Israel, onde foi questionado sobre que margem temporal existe para que se chegue a um acordo – que é patrocinado pelos EUA (que não participa, no entanto, nas conversações de forma directa). “Não estamos a marcar uma data no calendário em público, mas posso dizer que atrás de portas fechadas estamos a falar de horizontes temporais, e não são longos” – avançando que são na ordem das “semanas”.
Uma declaração do ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros de Israel Yair Lapid, de que Israel não teria problemas com um acordo que “limitasse de modo permanente a sua capacidade para obter uma arma nuclear” pode, especulava o New York Times, reflectir, em parte, a conclusão de que um acordo é muito improvável – ou Lapid não concordaria com um acordo com um paÃs que provoca tanta desconfiança em Israel. Ainda há cerca de um mês o primeiro-ministro, Naftali Bennett, afirmou que Israel não ficaria vinculado pelo acordo e não abdicaria da sua “liberdade de acção”.
O Irão prometeu entretanto que mesmo sem acordo não vai enriquecer urânio a mais de 60%, disse o chefe da Organização de Energia Atómica Mohammad Eslami a uma televisão estatal russa. O acordo de 2015 apenas permitia um enriquecimento a 3,67%, suficiente para a maioria das utilizações civis e limitava a sua quantidade, para não poder continuar a ser enriquecido e chegar aos 90% necessários para uma bomba.
Depois de o então Presidente norte-americano Donald Trump retirar os EUA do acordo, em 2018, o Irão começou a enriquecer a 20% em alguns locais e, este ano (na sequência de uma explosão numa central atómica atribuÃda a Israel), a 60%. Um enriquecimento a mais de 20% aumenta o potencial para ser usado para fins militares, porque, explica a BBC, o esforço necessário para os 20% é a maior parte (90%) do esforço total para o fazer chegar aos 90% necessários para poder ser usado em armas. Chegando, por exemplo, a 170 quilos de urânio enriquecido a 20%, é possÃvel produzir 25 quilos de urânio enriquecido a 90% em menos de dois meses.
Vários paÃses estimam que a quantidade que o regime iraniano dispõe será suficiente para dentro de algumas semanas ter o suficiente para o enriquecer rapidamente a 90% e conseguir fazer uma bomba, diz o diário israelita Haaretz.
maria.joao.guimaraes@publico.pt
Dennis Edwards: Fique de olho no Irã, na Turquia e na Rússia. Eles parecem ser as três potências militares que invadirão Israel nos últimos dias. Tal diz a profecia de Ezequiel nos capÃtulos 38 e 39 do Antigo Testamento. O retorno de Cristo para interromper a guerra e impor a paz na terra por 1.000 anos ocorre nessa época. Mas primeiro teremos o governo mundial, o lÃder mundial do anticristo e a diabólica Marca da Besta. Não deixe o governo marcar você com sua marca, seja um implante de microchip ou vacina, ou uma tatuagem invisÃvel. Pode estar mais perto do que você pensa.
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Ivermectin Trial Supply Issues?
Screenshot of countries where ivermectin is used for COVID-19. (ivmstatus.com/screenshot via The Epoch Times)
No Supply Issues With Ivermectin: Pharmaceutical Supplying PRINCIPLE Oxford Trial
The New Jersey pharmaceutical company supplying ivermectin to a UK trial that was paused for a short period of time, says there are no supply issues with its pills.
Ivermectin is being investigated as part of the government-backed Platform Randomised Trial of Treatments in the Community for Epidemic and Pandemic Illnesses (PRINCIPLE) in the United Kingdom as a possible home treatment for COVID-19.... The trial was put on hold due to “temporary supply issues” as reported by Medpage Today on Dec. 14.
Details were not provided on the cause of the supply issues. The trial’s joint chief investigator, professor Chris Butler, and the trial’s press team declined to comment and respond to a query asking when the supply issue is expected to be resolved.
The Epoch Times also reached out to Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in England—one of two organizations responsible for QP (quality person) release, importing, and, labeling of ivermectin in the trial—but did not receive a reply.
Daniel Worley Jr., Vice President of Business Development and Associate General Counsel of Edinbridge Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer supplying the medicine, told The Epoch Times in an email that the company “is not experiencing any supply issues related to its ivermectin tablets (3mg) product.”
The company’s ivermectin tablets were added to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Prequalified Medicines List last year in September, which ensures that a medicine meets “acceptable standards of quality, safety, and efficacy” for international procurement agencies to purchase and distribute in “resource-limited countries.” The list is part of the United Nation’s Prequalification of Medicines Programme and is run by the WHO.
The halt on the trial has since been lifted as of Friday. However, PRINCIPLE says it is now pausing “for registrations over the Festive Break” and will “reopen for registrations on January 4th,” according to the trial’s website.
Doctors Question Lack of Ivermectin Supply
When PRINCIPLE announced its ivermectin trial in June 2021, Butler, the co-chief investigator, said the drug was safe and readily available, suggesting that there was an appropriate supply of the drug.
“Ivermectin is readily available globally, has been in wide use for many other infectious conditions, so it’s a well-known medicine with a good safety profile, and because of the early promising results in some studies it is already being widely used to treat COVID-19 in several countries,” Butler said in a news release.
Several doctors questioned the sudden pause on the PRINCIPLE trial as a result of the ivermectin supply.
Dr. Tess Lawrie, director of the Evidence-based Medicine Consultancy, said the supply issue cited was “plainly ridiculous.” The WHO is one of Lawrie’s company’s clientele.
“To cite supply issues is plainly ridiculous,” Lawrie told The Epoch Times via email. “We are talking about a most abundant off-patent medicine that is produced in many countries around the world. There are many European manufacturers too, including Huvepharma in Bulgaria.”
Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Eastern Virginia Medical School Dr. Paul Marik said the reason given by PRINCIPLE was “nonsense.”
“It’s clear this is an ominous plot. A supply issue with IVERMECTIN; you must be kidding,” Marik told The Epoch Times in an email. “After 3.7 BILLION doses have been dispensed in the last 2 decades; we have a supply issue; what nonsense.”
Marik is also the co-founder of a medical organization called the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care (FLCCC) Alliance that has developed several COVID-19 treatment protocols using ivermectin as “a core medication in the prevention and treatment” along with other medicines that are federally approved, “inexpensive, readily available, and have been used for decades with well-established safety profiles.”
Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of the messenger RNA vaccine technology, says that it is unlikely there is a shortage of ivermectin, alleging the Oxford University team was either lying or incompetent.
“The first thing you do before you launch the study is you lock down your trial supply so that one completely fails the sniff test,” Malone said on Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle” show. [Watch this]
“Either they’re grossly incompetent at the University of Oxford or lying. It’s one or the other because [the] worldwide supply of ivermectin is enormous, and there’s no way that a competent clinical research team would not have locked down their trial supply.”
The Oxford University trial team did not reply to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the WHO, and the European Medicines Agency advises against the use of the anti-parasitic drug for COVID-19, claiming that more data are needed on its effectiveness and safety. Still, some countries like Mexico and Uttar Pradesh, India, widely made ivermectin available as part of their treatment protocol to treat COVID-19.
Proponents of the drug say that the oral FDA-approved ivermectin formulation for humans, which comes in tablet forms, has a high safety profile. About 4.4 billion doses of the medicine (renamed Mectizan) have been administered in 49 countries to treat river blindness and lymphatic filariasis since 1987. In 2020 alone, “a total of 417 million Mectizan treatments were approved,” according to the Mectizan Donation Program (pdf).
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ivermectin is “generally well tolerated” with minimal side effects that include dizziness, nausea, or diarrhea. The NIH neither recommends for nor against the use of ivermectin for COVID-19.
In addition, world-known French toxicologist, Prof. Jacques Descotes, in his comprehensive assessment of the safety profile of ivermectin based on an analysis of more than 350 articles, concluded that “the safety profile of ivermectin has so far been excellent in the majority of treated human patients so that ivermectin human toxicity cannot be claimed to be a serious cause for concern.”
He also wrote in his analysis (pdf) that, “The present extensive review of adverse events reportedly associated with ivermectin treatment for [the] therapeutic or prophylactic purpose did not reveal any significant cause for concern. … In fact, adverse events were mainly mild to moderate and infrequent.”
Meiling Lee is a health reporter for The Epoch Times.
USA Swimming Offical Quits Over Transgender Male Swimmer
USA Swimming Official Quits In Protest Of Lia Thomas: ‘Everything Fair About Swimming Is Being Destroyed’
By Ashe Schow• Dec 24, 2021 DailyWire.com•
Penn Athletics
An official with USA Swimming has resigned in protest over University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who competed as a male for three years before identifying and competing as a woman. So far, Thomas has shatter women’s swimming records by massive amounts while many continue to claim transgender women have no biological advantage over women.
The Washington Times reported that Cynthia Millen “has officiated at USA Swimming events for 30 years, but she hung up her whistle last week in protest over Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, and she hopes others will follow her lead.”
Millen told the outlet she notified USA Swimming of her resignation on December 17 in a letter, saying she made the decision while packing for the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I can’t do this, I can’t support this,” she said.
“I told my fellow officials that I can no longer participate in a sport which allows biological men to compete against women. Everything fair about swimming is being destroyed,” she wrote in the letter, which she provided to the Times.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Thomas’ times while swimming for the men’s team “would break seven-time gold medal Olympic champion Katie Ledecky’s college times.”
Millen told the Times that if she had to officiate a swim meet where Thomas competed, she would have to rule the senior ineligible to compete as a woman.
“If Lia came on my deck as a referee, I would pull the coach aside and say, ‘Lia can swim, but Lia can swim exhibition or a time trial. Lia cannot compete against those women because that’s not fair,’” Millen told the outlet.
Millen also called on other volunteer officials to protest any meets that include transgender women competing against women.
“This is not right because by doing this, we’re supporting this,” Millen told the Times. “There are no swim meets if there are no officials.”
Multiple Penn students have spoken out anonymously about the inherent unfairness in allowing Thomas to compete against women. Students told The Daily Wire of their frustrations surrounding Thomas’ spot on the women’s team.
“Their idea of ‘acceptance’ is to not give you a platform — by shaming or forcing you out if you have views that are too far from their own,” one student said. “For a university where we are all supposed to bring ideas and differing viewpoints to grow, the pressure to be silent rings loud and has catastrophic implications.”
“You don’t need a life science degree to know that testosterone gives a massive advantage for physical strength. Not to mention increased red blood cell counts that provide greater oxygenation during long distance exercises, lower natural body fat percentages, and so on,” another student said. “Biological men are physically advantaged over women by nature.”
Neither the NCAA nor USA Swimming have commented publicly on the Thomas situation.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.
By Ashe Schow• Dec 24, 2021 DailyWire.com•
Penn AthleticsAn official with USA Swimming has resigned in protest over University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who competed as a male for three years before identifying and competing as a woman. So far, Thomas has shatter women’s swimming records by massive amounts while many continue to claim transgender women have no biological advantage over women.
The Washington Times reported that Cynthia Millen “has officiated at USA Swimming events for 30 years, but she hung up her whistle last week in protest over Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, and she hopes others will follow her lead.”
Millen told the outlet she notified USA Swimming of her resignation on December 17 in a letter, saying she made the decision while packing for the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I can’t do this, I can’t support this,” she said.
“I told my fellow officials that I can no longer participate in a sport which allows biological men to compete against women. Everything fair about swimming is being destroyed,” she wrote in the letter, which she provided to the Times.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Thomas’ times while swimming for the men’s team “would break seven-time gold medal Olympic champion Katie Ledecky’s college times.”
Millen told the Times that if she had to officiate a swim meet where Thomas competed, she would have to rule the senior ineligible to compete as a woman.
“If Lia came on my deck as a referee, I would pull the coach aside and say, ‘Lia can swim, but Lia can swim exhibition or a time trial. Lia cannot compete against those women because that’s not fair,’” Millen told the outlet.
Millen also called on other volunteer officials to protest any meets that include transgender women competing against women.
“This is not right because by doing this, we’re supporting this,” Millen told the Times. “There are no swim meets if there are no officials.”
Multiple Penn students have spoken out anonymously about the inherent unfairness in allowing Thomas to compete against women. Students told The Daily Wire of their frustrations surrounding Thomas’ spot on the women’s team.
“Their idea of ‘acceptance’ is to not give you a platform — by shaming or forcing you out if you have views that are too far from their own,” one student said. “For a university where we are all supposed to bring ideas and differing viewpoints to grow, the pressure to be silent rings loud and has catastrophic implications.”
“You don’t need a life science degree to know that testosterone gives a massive advantage for physical strength. Not to mention increased red blood cell counts that provide greater oxygenation during long distance exercises, lower natural body fat percentages, and so on,” another student said. “Biological men are physically advantaged over women by nature.”
Neither the NCAA nor USA Swimming have commented publicly on the Thomas situation.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.
January 6th Woman Protester Beaen by Police
Lawyer Calls for Special Prosecutor in ‘Evil’ Beating of Jan. 6 Protester Caught on Video
An attorney representing a Minnesota woman allegedly beaten by a Metropolitan Police Department supervisor outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 is calling for a special prosecutor to be appointed after the release of dramatic video footage of the incident on Thursday.
Victoria C. White, 39, of Rochester, Minnesota, had been arrested in April and charged with numerous felonies for her alleged role in violence at the Capitol. New York attorney Joseph McBride, who represents White in her criminal case, said the video shows a very different picture than what federal prosecutors portrayed in White’s charging documents.
The video shows a woman McBride identified as White being repeatedly struck with a collapsible baton by the same police officer in the west terrace tunnel of the Capitol on Jan. 6. McBride identified the policeman as a Metropolitan Police Department supervisor, a lieutenant, because of his white uniform and riot helmet with “MPDC” painted on the back. His name is not yet known.
The video shows White slumping to the ground numerous times over more than five minutes. Mace was sprayed in her face several times. She got up and was struck repeatedly with the baton. White suffered nearly three dozen blows before she was handcuffed and led away, McBride said. The supervisor at times put away the baton and punched White in the face with his bare fist, and grabbed her hair and jerked her head back and forth, McBride said.
“The highest-ranking officer in the tunnel targets her and just absolutely tees off on her and begins to brutally beat her,” McBride told The Epoch Times after releasing the footage.
Until this week the video had been under court seal, but a judge ordered three hours of footage released, based on a motion from McBride in another Jan. 6 case.
“There are multiple times when you can see in the video she’s got her hands up and she’s basically begging for mercy and she’s shown no mercy. The beating intensifies and is a horrific attack on a woman by a man in a leadership position.”
Police Brutality?
The video revelations come just two weeks before the one-year anniversary of the massive rally of President Donald Trump supporters that morphed into what police described as a riot that forced the evacuation of lawmakers in session to count electoral votes from the November 2020 election.
Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter from California, was shot and killed by police as she attempted to climb through a door window into the Speaker’s Lobby.
The new video could reignite debate about what took place that day, and also spark new discussions about police brutality.
McBride said he wants a special prosecutor appointed to investigate what took place in the tunnel. A Trump supporter, Rosanne Boyland, 34, died in the west terrace tunnel. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death was toxicity from a prescription medication. McBride said the tunnel video shows Boyland was repeatedly struck by police.
The Epoch Times asked the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington for comment, but have not yet received a reply.
“That is somebody who’s not only acting with authority but is acting with license,” McBride said. “That is somebody who is acting because he has no fear that he’s going to be reprimanded for his actions. Do I think that’s criminal? There is no doubt in my mind that what that man did was criminal.”
“There must be accountability,” McBride said. “There must be an investigation.”
McBride said he plans a civil lawsuit against the police. “We fully intend on suing them for what they did, because it’s wrong and she should be made whole again,” he said.
The video shows the west terrace tunnel entrance was initially clear of protesters. Then a man carrying an American flag appears to wave people to follow him (Dennis: A pro-Biden "protester" was filmed pretending to be a Trump supporter and encouraging the breaking of windows and forced entry into the Capital building.) and a group starts filling the tunnel to the spot where police in riot gear guarded entry to the Capitol. Eventually, police with riot shields pushed the crowd back. A melee erupted. The video shows rioters spraying mace at police, throwing objects including a bullhorn, and wielding pieces of lumber, which police eventually seized.
McBride said White was near the tunnel entrance but was not part of the riotous behavior. As the crowd surged toward the tunnel, White was forced inside and got trapped against one wall. That’s when the trouble started and White felt the first strike of the baton.
“I don’t know what he’s got going on in his life or whatever darkness he has in his heart, but it was certainly on full display there,” McBride said of the police officer.
“At certain times when he’s not able to club her, he takes the weapon and he spears her. You see him jabbing her with it right in the face. When that doesn’t work, he takes out his left hand and just begins to tee off on her like a man in a bar fight.”
‘Evil’ and ‘Dark’
“The only way I can possibly describe it is that that’s evil,” McBride said., “That’s certainly evidence that evil exists, because what that man did was dark and it was evil and it was very, very wrong.”
Reached late Friday, the public information officer at the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia told The Epoch Times she had not heard of the video or McBride’s allegations.
McBride said the violence deeply affected White, because she was the victim of domestic violence from her ex-husband. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and when being struck by the baton, she had flashbacks.
“When she was thrust into that hallway, when she was beaten by that officer, all that stuff came back in that moment to her. She’s been living with all that trauma ever since,” McBride said. “She has not yet returned and I don’t know if she will ever return to the person she was when she showed up on the 6th. You have a man twice her size and this time the guy, he’s got a gun and a badge, beating the ever-living crap out of her. There is no accountability for it. It’s wrong.”
In an in-depth interview with Julie Kelly of American Greatness, White said the repeated blows to her head made it difficult to regain her footing.
This incident is shown in the video. She is seen speaking to some of the officers, then she is pulled down and sent tumbling to the ground. “I was absolutely horrified to see myself get hit and start to fall,” she told American Greatness. “There were multiple officers hitting people. One officer in a white shirt focused solely on me. He kept bashing and hitting me over and over.”
McBride said the collapsible baton used against White is not intended for use above chest level unless an officer intends to use deadly force.
“An officer’s only supposed to use that in instances where he believes his life is in danger or he has to defend somebody else whose life is in danger,” McBride said. “As per their instructions, they are only supposed to use that on other parts of the body if they’re not trying to use deadly force. The inference is the guy was trying to kill her. If he wasn’t trying to kill her, I’d really like to know what his explanation is, because I don’t have another explanation for it.”
In a criminal complaint issued April 7, federal prosecutors charged White with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, impeding or attempting to impede law enforcement officers performing official duties, and obstruction of Congress. Hers is among the 625 cases listed on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Jan. 6 web page, although the FBI says more than 700 people have been arrested.
McBride said he has a video that shows White attempting to keep a vandal from smashing a window at the Capitol earlier in the day. She grabbed the man’s backpack and pulled him down.
“She was there at the Capitol to peacefully participate in protests,” he said. “When things start to get out of hand, she’s actually on video, she’s at a window that people are attempting to break, and she’s up there saying, ‘Stop it.’ To quote her she said, ‘We don’t do that [expletive],’ but she’s telling them to stop it, we don’t do that, we don’t break windows. We’re here to be peaceful.”
McBride said White did nothing to provoke police after she got forced into the tunnel. She was, however, wearing a bright red “Make America Great Again” cap popular among Trump supporters.
“She has done nothing wrong. She has done nothing illegal, and she’s clearly being beaten because she’s a Trump supporter,” he said. “It’s vicious. It’s disgusting. It’s un-American. It’s wrong. This is the United States of America. We don’t pulverize people for political dissidence. That is what happened that day.”
White was eventually cuffed with zip ties. She had lost her coat, her phone, and her wallet. She was soaked with pepper spray. And she had no shoes. Those were lost in the tunnel, too. McBride said police told White if she needed medical assistance, they would then arrest and book her. Otherwise, they would spring her loose with no charges.
“She was told, ‘If you make any noise about this, we’ll just arrest you,’ ” McBride said.
“She was discharged with no shoes. She was put into the street in 30-degree weather with bags on her feet,” he said. “It’s disgusting. We don’t do that to women, we don’t do that to Americans. And then she was subsequently indicted anyway.”
Joseph Hanneman is a reporter for The Epoch Times who covers the State of Wisconsin. His work over a nearly 40-year career has appeared in Catholic World Report, the Racine Journal Times, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Chicago Tribune. Reach him at: joseph.hanneman@epochtimes.us
Friday, December 24, 2021
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Encontrando o EspÃrito do Natal
Sandi Schureman
O tempo estava se esgotando. Era véspera de Natal, já dia 24, e eu ainda não sentia aquela sensação mágica—o espÃrito do Natal. Fizera tudo que achava que produziriam isso, assisti à apresentação de canções de Natal dos meus filhos na escola, enfeitamos nossa árvore, assei diferentes refeições, fiz compras, embrulhei presentes. No entanto, nada parecia despertar o espÃrito natalino dentro de mim. Eu tinha me conformado com o fato de que este Natal talvez não seria grande coisa.
Meu marido, Steve que é bombeiro, estava em seu turno rotineiro de 24 horas no Corpo de Bombeiros, ou seja, ele não estaria em casa na véspera nem na manhã de Natal. Nossos quatro filhos e eu não vÃamos a hora de passar um tempinho com ele quando possÃvel, então fomos ao seu local de trabalho.
Quando chegamos, os bombeiros haviam acabado de retornar de um atendimento de socorro em um motel próximo, onde atenderam um menino com febre e outros sintomas. Meu marido nos comunicou sua preocupação e desejo de fazer algo mais pelo menino, seu irmão e sua mãe. Eles haviam fugido de uma situação de abuso de álcool e estavam a centenas de quilômetros de casa, com uma muda de roupa cada, pouco dinheiro e agora uma criança doente em plena véspera de Natal.
Steve olhou para mim e para cada um dos nossos filhos e perguntou: “O que mais podemos fazer para ajudá-los? Na volta para o Corpo de Bombeiros, nós compramos um pinheirinho que queremos enfeitar para dar para eles. Mas o que mais podemos fazer a esta hora?” Eram 21h25. Nossos filhos começaram a dar um monte de ideias. Minha filha tinha certeza de que devia haver alguma loja de brinquedos aberta.
Meu filho mais velho, então com quinze anos, fez uma oração e pediu ao Pai Celestial que nos guiasse a um lugar onde encontrarÃamos os presentes que precisávamos. Isso encheu as crianças de esperança de que talvez ainda encontrássemos uma loja de brinquedos aberta. Eu não compartilhava da esperança deles, principalmente porque, mesmo se isso acontecesse, eu não sabia como pagarÃamos pelos presentes. Eu queria compartilhar tanto quanto meus filhos, mas este já estava sendo o Natal mais magro de todos.
Nossos próprios filhos estavam recebendo apenas dois presentes cada. Ainda assim, saÃmos animados à procura de uma loja aberta e com planos de encontrar Steve e os outros bombeiros no quarto do motel antes que a pequena famÃlia voltasse do hospital, onde tinham ido buscar medicamentos.
Todas as lojas que vimos estavam fechadas. Então um dos meus filhos disse: “Ei, eu conheço um lugar que está aberto”.
“Verdade! E os presentes lá já estão embrulhados!” declarou o outro filho.
Sem saber do que eles estavam falando, parei o carro no meio-fio e, frustrada, perguntei à s crianças: “Tá bom, e onde fica esse ótimo lugar?”
Eles deram uma resposta tão entusiasmada e genuÃna que imediatamente acendeu em mim a chama do espÃrito natalino. “Podemos ir para a nossa casa”, disseram juntos. “Os presentes já estão embrulhados e debaixo da árvore.”
Perguntei a cada um se realmente queriam fazer isso, e a resposta foi enfática: “Sim! Sim! Vamos logo!” Assim que chegamos à casa, observei maravilhada enquanto cada um retirava as etiquetas com os nomes de seus presentes e pegava diferentes enfeites da nossa árvore. A princÃpio, fiquei surpresa ao ver que escolheram os enfeites que eles próprios haviam feito ao longo dos anos. Então percebi que estavam se doando, e isso tinha um valor muito especial.
Dois dos meus meninos vieram do quarto com suas estimadas luvas de beisebol das quais tanto se orgulhavam. Colocamos os presentes no carro, algumas luzes da árvore e doces e guloseimas que eram para as botinhas de todos na famÃlia, e fomos para o motel. O gerente nos levou ao quarto, um lugar simples, sem nada, e começamos a trabalhar com os bombeiros, que também tinham trazido diferentes coisas. Colocamos a árvore em cima da mesa e a decoramos com luzes e enfeites. Alguns dos bombeiros penduraram barras de chocolate e notas de vinte dólares com clipes de papel. Havia presentes debaixo da árvore, alimentos enlatados empilhados em um canto e roupas para a mãe e os filhos dobradinhas na mesa de cabeceira. — Nem parecia o mesmo quarto.
Em cada um dos travesseiros da cama estava uma luva de beisebol um tanto usada dos nossos meninos. Vi meu filho de quinze anos colocar entre elas um de seus bens mais valiosos—a bola usada no jogo quando ele fez um home run. Eu duvidava que os menininhos que iam ganhar esses presentes poderiam entender o sacrifÃcio daquele ato ou que aquela bola teve um lugar de honra no quarto do meu filho nos últimos seis meses. Mas naquele momento vi que o espÃrito de Natal brilhava intensamente no coração do meu filho, iluminando aquele pequeno cômodo mesmo depois de desligarmos todas as luzes, exceto as que reluziam como diamantes na árvore.
Eu tinha quase desistido de encontrar aquele precioso espÃrito do Natal. Mas ele me foi dado por meu querido marido que reconheceu uma necessidade quando a viu; por meus filhos que prontamente responderam e pelo meu Salvador, cujo amor por toda a humanidade serve de lembrete de que nunca terei que ficar sem o espÃrito de Natal novamente. Percebi, mais do que nunca, que o espÃrito de Natal vem até nós quando nos doamos.[1]
[1] Fonte: http://myfavoritechristmasstories.blogspot.com/2020/12/finding-christmas-spirit-by-sandi.html
Copyright © 2021 TFI
O tempo estava se esgotando. Era véspera de Natal, já dia 24, e eu ainda não sentia aquela sensação mágica—o espÃrito do Natal. Fizera tudo que achava que produziriam isso, assisti à apresentação de canções de Natal dos meus filhos na escola, enfeitamos nossa árvore, assei diferentes refeições, fiz compras, embrulhei presentes. No entanto, nada parecia despertar o espÃrito natalino dentro de mim. Eu tinha me conformado com o fato de que este Natal talvez não seria grande coisa.
Meu marido, Steve que é bombeiro, estava em seu turno rotineiro de 24 horas no Corpo de Bombeiros, ou seja, ele não estaria em casa na véspera nem na manhã de Natal. Nossos quatro filhos e eu não vÃamos a hora de passar um tempinho com ele quando possÃvel, então fomos ao seu local de trabalho.
Quando chegamos, os bombeiros haviam acabado de retornar de um atendimento de socorro em um motel próximo, onde atenderam um menino com febre e outros sintomas. Meu marido nos comunicou sua preocupação e desejo de fazer algo mais pelo menino, seu irmão e sua mãe. Eles haviam fugido de uma situação de abuso de álcool e estavam a centenas de quilômetros de casa, com uma muda de roupa cada, pouco dinheiro e agora uma criança doente em plena véspera de Natal.
Steve olhou para mim e para cada um dos nossos filhos e perguntou: “O que mais podemos fazer para ajudá-los? Na volta para o Corpo de Bombeiros, nós compramos um pinheirinho que queremos enfeitar para dar para eles. Mas o que mais podemos fazer a esta hora?” Eram 21h25. Nossos filhos começaram a dar um monte de ideias. Minha filha tinha certeza de que devia haver alguma loja de brinquedos aberta.
Meu filho mais velho, então com quinze anos, fez uma oração e pediu ao Pai Celestial que nos guiasse a um lugar onde encontrarÃamos os presentes que precisávamos. Isso encheu as crianças de esperança de que talvez ainda encontrássemos uma loja de brinquedos aberta. Eu não compartilhava da esperança deles, principalmente porque, mesmo se isso acontecesse, eu não sabia como pagarÃamos pelos presentes. Eu queria compartilhar tanto quanto meus filhos, mas este já estava sendo o Natal mais magro de todos.
Nossos próprios filhos estavam recebendo apenas dois presentes cada. Ainda assim, saÃmos animados à procura de uma loja aberta e com planos de encontrar Steve e os outros bombeiros no quarto do motel antes que a pequena famÃlia voltasse do hospital, onde tinham ido buscar medicamentos.
Todas as lojas que vimos estavam fechadas. Então um dos meus filhos disse: “Ei, eu conheço um lugar que está aberto”.
“Verdade! E os presentes lá já estão embrulhados!” declarou o outro filho.
Sem saber do que eles estavam falando, parei o carro no meio-fio e, frustrada, perguntei à s crianças: “Tá bom, e onde fica esse ótimo lugar?”
Eles deram uma resposta tão entusiasmada e genuÃna que imediatamente acendeu em mim a chama do espÃrito natalino. “Podemos ir para a nossa casa”, disseram juntos. “Os presentes já estão embrulhados e debaixo da árvore.”
Perguntei a cada um se realmente queriam fazer isso, e a resposta foi enfática: “Sim! Sim! Vamos logo!” Assim que chegamos à casa, observei maravilhada enquanto cada um retirava as etiquetas com os nomes de seus presentes e pegava diferentes enfeites da nossa árvore. A princÃpio, fiquei surpresa ao ver que escolheram os enfeites que eles próprios haviam feito ao longo dos anos. Então percebi que estavam se doando, e isso tinha um valor muito especial.
Dois dos meus meninos vieram do quarto com suas estimadas luvas de beisebol das quais tanto se orgulhavam. Colocamos os presentes no carro, algumas luzes da árvore e doces e guloseimas que eram para as botinhas de todos na famÃlia, e fomos para o motel. O gerente nos levou ao quarto, um lugar simples, sem nada, e começamos a trabalhar com os bombeiros, que também tinham trazido diferentes coisas. Colocamos a árvore em cima da mesa e a decoramos com luzes e enfeites. Alguns dos bombeiros penduraram barras de chocolate e notas de vinte dólares com clipes de papel. Havia presentes debaixo da árvore, alimentos enlatados empilhados em um canto e roupas para a mãe e os filhos dobradinhas na mesa de cabeceira. — Nem parecia o mesmo quarto.
Em cada um dos travesseiros da cama estava uma luva de beisebol um tanto usada dos nossos meninos. Vi meu filho de quinze anos colocar entre elas um de seus bens mais valiosos—a bola usada no jogo quando ele fez um home run. Eu duvidava que os menininhos que iam ganhar esses presentes poderiam entender o sacrifÃcio daquele ato ou que aquela bola teve um lugar de honra no quarto do meu filho nos últimos seis meses. Mas naquele momento vi que o espÃrito de Natal brilhava intensamente no coração do meu filho, iluminando aquele pequeno cômodo mesmo depois de desligarmos todas as luzes, exceto as que reluziam como diamantes na árvore.
Eu tinha quase desistido de encontrar aquele precioso espÃrito do Natal. Mas ele me foi dado por meu querido marido que reconheceu uma necessidade quando a viu; por meus filhos que prontamente responderam e pelo meu Salvador, cujo amor por toda a humanidade serve de lembrete de que nunca terei que ficar sem o espÃrito de Natal novamente. Percebi, mais do que nunca, que o espÃrito de Natal vem até nós quando nos doamos.[1]
[1] Fonte: http://myfavoritechristmasstories.blogspot.com/2020/12/finding-christmas-spirit-by-sandi.html
Copyright © 2021 TFI
Finding the Christmas Spirit
By Sandi Schureman
Time was running out. It was December 24, Christmas Eve, and I still hadn’t found that magical feeling, the spirit of Christmas. I had done the things that I thought would bring it—attended my children’s school performance of Christmas carols, decorated our tree, baked, shopped, wrapped. Yet nothing seemed to spark the Christmas spirit within me. I had resigned myself to the fact that this just might not be a very good Christmas.
My husband, Steve, a firefighter, was on his routine 24-hour shift at the firehouse, which meant he would not be home for either Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Our four children and I were eager to spend what time we could with him, so we all drove down to the station.
As we arrived, the firefighters had just returned from a first-aid call to a nearby motel, where they had rendered care to a young boy with a fever and other symptoms. My husband expressed to us his feelings of concern and his desire to do something more for the boy and his brother and their mother. They had fled an abusive, alcoholic situation and were now hundreds of miles from home, with one change of clothes each, very little money, and now an ill child on Christmas Eve.
Steve looked at me and at each of our children and asked, “What else can we do to help them? We picked up a small tree on the way back to the station that we want to decorate for them, but what more can we do this late?” It was 9:25 p.m. Our children began a clamor of ideas. My daughter was sure a toy store somewhere was still open.
My oldest son, then fifteen years old, offered a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to guide us to a place where we would find the gifts we needed. This filled the children with hope that we could find a toy store still open. I didn’t share their hope, largely because even if we did find a store open, I didn’t know how we would pay for anything we found. I wanted to share, as much as my children did, but this Christmas was already our leanest ever.
Our own children were receiving only two gifts each. Still, we drove eagerly around looking for anything open, planning to meet Steve and the other firefighters back at the motel room before the little family returned from the hospital, where they’d gone for medicine.
Every store we saw was closed. Then one of my sons said, “Hey, I know somewhere that’s open.”
“Yeah, and they’ve got presents already wrapped!” declared the other son.
Wondering what they were talking about, I pulled the car to the side of the street, and in frustration I turned to the kids and asked, “Oh, yeah, just where is this great place?”
Their answer was so enthusiastic and genuine that it instantly ignited within me the flame of the Christmas spirit. “We can go to our house,” they chimed together. “The presents are already wrapped and under the tree.”
I asked them each if they really wanted to do this, and their eager response was, “Yes! Yes! Now hurry!” Once we were home, I watched with wonder as each pulled name tags off of their presents and each picked certain ornaments from our tree. At first, I was surprised to see that the ornaments they picked were the ones they themselves had made over the years. Then I realized that they were giving of themselves, and these had special value.
Two of my boys came out of their bedroom with their baseball gloves, their “pride and joy” mitts. We loaded the presents, some tree lights, and candy and goodies that were our family’s stocking stuffers, and we were off to the motel. The manager let us into the austere little room, and we set right to work with the firefighters, who had also brought things. We set the tree on the tabletop and adorned it with lights and the ornaments. Some of the firefighters hung candy bars and twenty-dollar bills on it with paper clips. Presents were in place under the tree, canned goods stacked in the corner, and clothes for the mother and children folded neatly on the night stand. The room had been transformed.
On each of the bed pillows lay a somewhat used baseball glove from our boys, and I saw my fifteen-year-old place between the mitts one of his most prized possessions. It was his home run baseball. I doubted that the little boys receiving this prize could possibly know what a sacrifice this was or what a revered spot it had held in my son’s room for the past six months. But that moment I knew that in my son’s heart, the spirit of Christmas flamed brightly, lighting that little room even after we turned off all the lights except the diamond-like ones on the tree.
I had almost given up on finding that precious spirit of Christmas. But it was given to me by my dear husband who recognized a need when he saw it, my children who so eagerly responded, and my Savior, whose love for all mankind serves to remind me that I’ll never need to be without the Christmas spirit again. I realized as never before that the Christmas spirit comes to us as we give of ourselves.
Time was running out. It was December 24, Christmas Eve, and I still hadn’t found that magical feeling, the spirit of Christmas. I had done the things that I thought would bring it—attended my children’s school performance of Christmas carols, decorated our tree, baked, shopped, wrapped. Yet nothing seemed to spark the Christmas spirit within me. I had resigned myself to the fact that this just might not be a very good Christmas.
My husband, Steve, a firefighter, was on his routine 24-hour shift at the firehouse, which meant he would not be home for either Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Our four children and I were eager to spend what time we could with him, so we all drove down to the station.
As we arrived, the firefighters had just returned from a first-aid call to a nearby motel, where they had rendered care to a young boy with a fever and other symptoms. My husband expressed to us his feelings of concern and his desire to do something more for the boy and his brother and their mother. They had fled an abusive, alcoholic situation and were now hundreds of miles from home, with one change of clothes each, very little money, and now an ill child on Christmas Eve.
Steve looked at me and at each of our children and asked, “What else can we do to help them? We picked up a small tree on the way back to the station that we want to decorate for them, but what more can we do this late?” It was 9:25 p.m. Our children began a clamor of ideas. My daughter was sure a toy store somewhere was still open.
My oldest son, then fifteen years old, offered a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to guide us to a place where we would find the gifts we needed. This filled the children with hope that we could find a toy store still open. I didn’t share their hope, largely because even if we did find a store open, I didn’t know how we would pay for anything we found. I wanted to share, as much as my children did, but this Christmas was already our leanest ever.
Our own children were receiving only two gifts each. Still, we drove eagerly around looking for anything open, planning to meet Steve and the other firefighters back at the motel room before the little family returned from the hospital, where they’d gone for medicine.
Every store we saw was closed. Then one of my sons said, “Hey, I know somewhere that’s open.”
“Yeah, and they’ve got presents already wrapped!” declared the other son.
Wondering what they were talking about, I pulled the car to the side of the street, and in frustration I turned to the kids and asked, “Oh, yeah, just where is this great place?”
Their answer was so enthusiastic and genuine that it instantly ignited within me the flame of the Christmas spirit. “We can go to our house,” they chimed together. “The presents are already wrapped and under the tree.”
I asked them each if they really wanted to do this, and their eager response was, “Yes! Yes! Now hurry!” Once we were home, I watched with wonder as each pulled name tags off of their presents and each picked certain ornaments from our tree. At first, I was surprised to see that the ornaments they picked were the ones they themselves had made over the years. Then I realized that they were giving of themselves, and these had special value.
Two of my boys came out of their bedroom with their baseball gloves, their “pride and joy” mitts. We loaded the presents, some tree lights, and candy and goodies that were our family’s stocking stuffers, and we were off to the motel. The manager let us into the austere little room, and we set right to work with the firefighters, who had also brought things. We set the tree on the tabletop and adorned it with lights and the ornaments. Some of the firefighters hung candy bars and twenty-dollar bills on it with paper clips. Presents were in place under the tree, canned goods stacked in the corner, and clothes for the mother and children folded neatly on the night stand. The room had been transformed.
On each of the bed pillows lay a somewhat used baseball glove from our boys, and I saw my fifteen-year-old place between the mitts one of his most prized possessions. It was his home run baseball. I doubted that the little boys receiving this prize could possibly know what a sacrifice this was or what a revered spot it had held in my son’s room for the past six months. But that moment I knew that in my son’s heart, the spirit of Christmas flamed brightly, lighting that little room even after we turned off all the lights except the diamond-like ones on the tree.
I had almost given up on finding that precious spirit of Christmas. But it was given to me by my dear husband who recognized a need when he saw it, my children who so eagerly responded, and my Savior, whose love for all mankind serves to remind me that I’ll never need to be without the Christmas spirit again. I realized as never before that the Christmas spirit comes to us as we give of ourselves.
Copyright © 2021 The Family International.
