the 341-meter Disney Treasure rescued four crew when their disabled 50-foot catamaran was taking on water about 265 miles southwest of Bermuda The Disney cruise ship performed the rescue in coordination with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) was making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic when it became the closest ship to the vessel in distress Captain Marco Nogara oversaw the launch of a life boat which successfully rescued the catamaran crew the rescued crew had the ship to themselves for the remaining miles of the transatlantic crossing which arrives November 12 in Port Canaveral Source: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/2024/11/disney-treasure-aids-u-s-coast-guard-in-rescue-of-4-passengers-from-disabled-catamaran/ Tags: Launched in 1997, Scuttlebutt provides sailing news with a North American focus. 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All Rights Reserved.made by VSSL Agency Tenor Russell Thomas performed a recital with pianist Lucas Nogara for Vocal Arts DC Wednesday night at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater Vocal Arts DC hosted the welcome return of Russell Thomas to the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater Wednesday night the tenor’s first appearance here since his 2019 turn in Verdi’s Otello with Washington National Opera The qualities that have made Thomas a special presence on the operatic stage were well represented here in his recital: the dark baritonal coloring—effectively deployed to add heft and drama— the beauty and warmth of his middle register While the heavier roles of Verdi and Puccini still occupy much of his calendar, the German, French, and American programming on Wednesday’s program echoed new paths: a focus on new American works in recent concerts, his role debut as Parsifal in Houston last month and a planned Énée in Les Troyens for 2025 who served as a sensitive collaborator throughout the program achieving a transparent texture in the piano parts that unobtrusively enveloped and supported Thomas’ vocal line The highlight of the evening was an unforgettable performance of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 at the close of the first half Thomas delivered this setting of James Agee’s memory poem with bracing immediacy revealing new shades of poignancy in this familiar work The subtle shifts in tempo he was able to realize with Nogara brought a revelatory sense of through-line to the work’s disparate sections beginning with Beethoven’s pioneering 1815 song cycle An die ferne Geliebte A smoldering rendition of the initial “Auf dem Hugel sitz ich spahend” hinted at the emphasis on beauty of sound and vocal line that Thomas would maintain throughout the cycle diese Lieder” that closes the cycle began with a sense of overflowing warmth though Thomas’ full operatic weight in the energetic closing bars felt a bit heavy for the piece That sound was fully at home in the four songs by Richard Strauss that opened the second half in selections which all shared some significance in Strauss’ collaborative activities with his wife Though the composer’s operas have not yet featured in Thomas’ staged roles he soared in Strauss’ overripe romanticism swaggering sound in “Heimliche Aufforderung” and endless plaintive phrases in “Morgen.” Three songs by Henri Duparc in the first half offered a rewarding foray into French chanson An intoxicating covered sound for the opening stanzas of “L’invitation au voyage,” contrasted with rugged abandon in the work’s climaxes For “Phidylé,” Thomas eased off the voice for the hypnotic descriptions of nature that open the piece He supplied disarming mezza voce effects in both the repeated incantation “Repose” and in the the final selection The program closed with a cycle of three pieces commissioned by Thomas from composer Jasmine Barnes and the poet-librettist Deborah D.E.E.P the work explores themes of identity and uncertainty in a searching vocal line against a sometimes thorny piano part The work came together most effectively in its final song “Ain’t I a Man,” where the poetry became more abstract and provided a canvas for a series of compelling and fine-grained interpretative choices from Thomas A muted approach to the single encore of the spiritual “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,” served as an intimate and engaging coda Vocal Arts DC’s season continues April 18 with a recital featuring mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack and pianist Keun-A Lee at the Kennedy Center. vocalartsdc.org XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong> Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value"  Subscribe via RSS LINDER nee Nogara - 21st October 2024 (Peacefully) at Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex and late of 435 Loughshore Road A service of Committal will take place in Inishmacsaint Parish Churchyard on Wednesday at 11.00 am Carmen is Lovingly remembered by her husband Peter and all her friends Share this sad news with friends and loved ones Ballycassidy House Funeral Home,Enniskillen,Co Visit Website [email protected] Link This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page New details of life inside the Vatican during the period of the Second World War are coming to light, thanks to the diaries of a former director of the Vatican Museums named Bartolomeo Nogara Born one hundred and fifty years ago on the banks of Lake Como Professor Nogara was named by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 to head the museums and oversee their modernization During the 34 years that he served in that position until his death in 1954 all of which were handed over by Nogara’s descendants to the current Vatican authorities on Wednesday May 2nd While it may take some time for experts to examine all 41 diaries written in Nogara’s neat and clearly legible hand L’Osservatore Romano has already published a few details including revelations about Jews and other political dissidents saved from Nazi deportation by Nogara and his dedicated museum staff who was fired from her job in 1933 because she was a Jew and was given refuge in the Vatican museums becoming the first female employee of the Holy See Other entries in the diaries reveal many more stories of members of the Italian Resistance hidden under false names in the houses of museum staff as well as some whom Nogara tried and failed to save from the Nazi death camps They also detail numerous invaluable art works which were saved from destruction or theft during the Second World War as the Vatican museums worked alongside a team of Allied experts to retrieve paintings books or other precious archive materials that were seized as Hitler’s troops withdrew from the Eternal City Alongside these fascinating historical revelations the diaries contain more apparently mundane details of conversations with top Vatican figures in particular Pope Pius XI who spent many rainy days in the museums when he was unable to walk outside in the Vatican gardens the Nogara notebooks give a scrupulous summary of the modernisation of the Vatican museums in the period between the two world wars drawing on the experiences and expertise of other European galleries in London This ambitious project included the photo-documentation of all exhibits and the introduction of up-to-date laboratories for the restoration of ancient paintings and artefacts in terracotta or precious metals Nogara laid firm foundations for the success of the Vatican Museums in the 21st century behind-the-scenes documentation in his diaries is another unexpected treasure that will keep historians and art experts busy for many years to come Thank you for reading our article. 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Just click here Lunedì 17 febbraio alle 15 ci sarà un incontro presso la sede di Confindustria a Verona fra il direttore dello stabilimento di Nogara funzionario della Fiom di Verona che segue la Brevi Agri «Lunedì noi chiederemo all’azienda di ritirare la procedura di licenziamento collettivo che è stata fatta partire il 7 febbraio scorso – dichiara Paolo Olivati – Solo a questa condizione sarà possibile far partire una seria trattativa sul futuro del sito produttivo e dei lavoratori stiamo sollecitando le istituzioni affinché si facciano carico delle condizioni dell’azienda e chiediamo loro di sostenerci nella difesa della tenuta occupazionale del territorio e di questi posti di lavoro» questo licenziamento collettivo metterebbe a serio rischio il futuro dello stabilimento e delle produzioni perché i lavoratori in produzione a seguito del licenziamento dei 22 colleghi sarebbero troppo pochi per poter seguire tutte le lavorazioni e ai passaggi produttivi Le condizioni per chiedere l’avvio di una cassa integrazione straordinaria sono presenti a causa di una crisi del fatturato dell’ultimo anno dopo anni di crescita che si chiede «come mai quegli utili non siano stati reinvestiti per le dovute manutenzioni e per macchinari o tenuti da parte per eventuali problemi futuri invece di essere divisi fra gli azionisti e i dirigenti» Al presidio ha preso parte anche il sindaco di Nogara che è anche presidente della provincia di Verona che ha voluto portare la propria solidarietà alle lavoratrici e lavoratori della storica fabbrica nogarese ha dichiarato che il Comune farò tutto il possibile per salvaguardare la tenuta del sito e dell’occupazione anche per questo motivo è stato fissato un consiglio comunale straordinario che si terrà presso il municipio di Nogara giovedì 20 febbraio alle 17.30 La Breviagri è un’impresa storica del territorio veronese Nasce infatti nel 1949 con il nome di Breviglieri per produrre attrezzature di nuova concezione nel segmento della “lavorazione del terreno a presa di potenza” VeZ è un giornale indipendente, puoi sostenerlo effettuando una donazione. VeZ – Veneto ecologia Z Generation è una testata giornalistica: registrazione al Tribunale di Padova n Editore: Laboratorio dell’inchiesta economica e sociale Aps ContattiRedazione: redazione@vez.newsPubblicità e partnership: adv@vez.newsAssociazione Lies: laboratorio.inchiesta@gmail.com Rilasciato sotto licenza Creative Commons BY SA salvo ove diversamente specificato – Webdesign: Fabiodalez Aiuta l’informazione giovane e indipendente a crescere oppure effettua la donazione tramite Bonifico Bancario A Disney Cruise Line ship rescued four people from a sinking catamaran in Bermuda on Sunday.A Disney Cruise Line ship rescued four people from a sinking catamaran in Bermuda on Sunday was about 230 miles off the coast of Bermuda when a gasket failure in the escape hatch caused the vessel to begin taking on water launched one of their small boats and rescued all four passengers The four individuals were recovered safely "We are pleased that the Disney Treasure was able to provide aid to the boat passengers in peril Our crew members worked together on the rescue skillfully demonstrating their training and commitment to safety," Disney Treasure Captain Marco Nogara said in a statement to ABC News According to a spokesperson for the cruise line the Disney Treasure had been on its way from Eemshaven Disbelief and helplessness in the face of a tragic fate that explodes unexpectedly: these are the feelings shared by two figures distant in time but whose stories were incredibly intertwined and never parted Their meeting occurred thanks to a seemingly anonymous sculptural fragment The first is the internationally renowned Jewish scholar known for the significant discovery in Rome of a marble copy of Myron's Athena now at the Liebighaus in Frankfurt—a friend of Sigmund Freud who was active in the circle of great collectors such as J.P and Bode—who died in the Auschwitz Birkenau extermination camp in 1943 while walking through the streets of the Oppian Hill during one of his usual inspections among excavations in the workshop of a stonecutter on Via delle Sette Sale he noticed and purchased a marble arm from the excavations on the nearby Via Labicana His infallible intuition immediately led him to identify the artifact as belonging to Laocoön the iconic sculpture of the Vatican Museums The second character is precisely the Trojan priest a foundational sacrificial victim of the birth of Rome unheeded in his appeal to his fellow citizens not to trust the wooden horse Laocoön was punished by the goddess Athena who had him crushed along with his two sons by two enormous serpents emerging from the sea as reptiles do in nature—that monster which terrifyingly it had the brutal face of Nazism; in the other it tragically also swallowed even the slightest hope of staying alive Deputy Artistic and Scientific Director of the Vatican Museums formerly in charge of the Archaeology Department people should simply get up in the morning “I don't think anyone likes war; it's a great tragedy abuses and murders were committed for something that has nothing to do with religion or everyday freedom or anything that can justify the death of unarmed people." Striking is the apparent nonchalance with which Ludwig Pollak reports the shocking discovery of the arm to his friend founder the following year of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum "Pollak," says Federica De Giambattista a PhD in Art History at the Sapienza University of Rome and expert on the Prague-born archaeologist "due to his role as an expert art dealer was in contact with some of the main private collectors and directors of international museums he reports having purchased the right arm of the Laocoön He calls it 'a great eureka,' a beautiful discovery and writes: 'Now it is my property!' When Pollak uses exclamation points it's because he is aware of communicating something very important." The close connection with the Laocoön is also attested by two terracotta sketches "were part of the rich collection of sketches from the 16th and 17th centuries of Ludwig Pollak and that today are preserved in the collections of the Princeton University Art Museum.” demonstrated on several occasions in recognizing works of art earned him numerous commissions from wealthy private collectors Chief among them was his fruitful relationship with Count Grigorij Stroganoff for whose famous collection he personally curated the catalogue In a female statue deemed fake and therefore placed in a service area adjacent to the kitchen of the Palace on Via Gregoriana belonging to the noble and diplomat Russian Pollak identified a famous Athena: the Roman replica of the bronze group of Athena and Marsyas by Myron which was completed with the Marsyas of the Vatican Museums "That work," recalls De Giambattista "was chosen as a collection brand by Pollak; in fact that the archaeologist printed on all the Old Masters drawings he preserved." preserved the soul of taste and passion for the ancient Pollak showed high professional ethics when he realized that the purpose of reassembling the famous group of Laocoön merited a foregone profit He made a first visit to the Vatican Museums in 1904 hosted by the future director and friend Bartolomeo Nogara: the arm seemed at first glance too small and was thought to come from a reduced-format copy of the same Laocoön It is estimated that at least seven arms were made over the centuries to complete the sculpture executed in Rhodes between 40 and 20 B.C When it was unearthed in 1506 at the vineyard of Felice de Fredis an officer of the Apostolic Chamber at the time of Pope Julius II and identified by Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo in the marble described by Pliny the statue of Laocoön was substantially intact There followed a lengthy debate about whether it was originally bent behind the shoulder or extended in a heroic Faithful to the latter idea was the first integration in terracotta the work of Fra Giovanni Agnolo Montorsoli according to the popular version by the artist of the Last Judgment and closer in pose to the original Another famous version is the eighteenth-century one by Agostino Cornacchini to which the unfinished arm currently placed on the back of the pedestal of the Laocoön in the Octagonal Courtyard can also be traced It was soon understood that the apparent disproportion relative to the body of the statue was due to the progressive erosion of the shoulder caused by the various attempts at reconstruction carried out over the centuries The fragment found at the stonecutter’s shop on the Oppian Hill was therefore recognized as pertinent 400 years after the discovery of the Laocoön the Bohemian antiquarian decided to donate the "jewel" to the pontifical collections That gesture corroborated the partnership with Nogara and earned the art dealer the Grand Cross of Culture awarded by Pope Pius X It was the only case of an unconverted Jew receiving such an honor and it was also one of the few official tributes granted in Pollak's lifetime for the incredible discovery he also enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing his discovery recognized by the famous archaeologist Ernesto Vergara Caffarelli as attested by two articles in L'Osservatore Romano and Corriere della Sera the Prague native never saw "his" arm reunited with the Laocoön The reconnection would indeed occur fifteen years later thanks to the intervention conducted by Filippo Magi who removed all the non-original integrations according to the principles of modern restoration They are a vivid testimony to the historic shots preserved in the Phototeca of the Vatican Museums a true treasure chest that preserves a heritage of hundreds of thousands of images and glass plates: 9,000 of which are accessible online by everyone The photographic heritage entrusted to the Phototeca Office consists of approximately 350,000 original black and white negatives (with respective print positives) 70,000 color images on film (partly also acquired in digital format) and 49,000 glass plates that make up the collection of historical funds and keeping a memory of everything to not forget was an imperative in Ludwig Pollak's professional activity Countless are the photographs he took and offered for sale of art objects and antiques Twenty-five handwritten diaries are preserved together with the Library and the archive of the Prague merchant of which he was honorary director starting from the death of the collector and friend Giovanni Barracco in 1914 Barracco expressly asked Ludwig Pollak to take care of his museum and his collection when he would no longer be around," recalls Lucia Spagnuolo curator in charge of the Museum of Ancient Art Sculpture Giovanni Barracco provided his service would be absolutely free of charge precisely because of this very close relationship that existed between the two the materials coming from the Pollak estate and handwritten papers that are part of today's Pollak archive transcribed and partially published by Margarete Merkel Guldan in 1988 and 1994 and which "soon," assures Lucia Spagnuolo emerges an awareness: memory has the power to prevent everything from being in vain he was expelled from the Hertziana Library—a place he had frequently visited—Pollak decided to photograph the letters he wrote with fiery tones to the new director Bruhns had replaced the first director of the Hertziana and dear friend "The letters to Leo Bruhns testify to one of the darkest pages in the history of our Library," says Tatjana Bartsch deputy head of the phototeca of the Hertziana where the originals of the missives are preserved headquarters of the German institute specializing in historical artistic studies a meeting took place on the occasion of Hitler's birthday: "Hitler in the Hertziana (!!!) The foundation of the Jewish Henrietta Hertz!!!!" "He could not believe indeed," continues Bartsch "that such a celebration took place in a place so dear to him in Rome," founded only twenty years earlier by his collector and philanthropist friend Pollak would experience episodes of contempt and offense everywhere in official German circles in Rome He took ever-greater refuge in his love for art and literature He was abandoned by many colleagues: only a few with whom he shared a passion for Baroque art The Eternal City had lost that welcoming warmth that had induced him in 1893 to choose it as his adopted homeland Pollak refused to believe that the Gestapo would come to pick him up at his home in Palazzo Odescalchi in Piazza Santi Apostoli The warnings he seems to have received from Jewish friends like Hermine Speier who was brought to the Vatican by Pope Pius XI and Nogara to oversee the Vatican Museums' photographic archive starting in 1934 and who was baptized in 1939 or the art historian Wolfgang Fritz Volbach who also worked in the Vatican during those years Thanks to the mediation of Bartolomeo Nogara a shelter had also been prepared for Pollak and his family in the Vatican marked by study and the search for ancient works would never be disrupted by the fury of the Reich the seventy-five-year-old Ludwig fell victim with his two children and a thousand other Roman Jews to the Nazi roundup "The Arolsen Archives," says Federica De Giambattista "preserve thirteen documents confirming the deportation of the four members of the Pollak family to Germany with a 'sonderzug' Julia Süssmann was assigned to the Birkenau camp and Wolfgang perished at the main extermination camp of Auschwitz The lack of names in the surviving documents of the people being sought after is often due to the fact that they are incomplete sources because many of them were destroyed by the SS before the liberation or evacuation of the concentration camps in the face of the advance of Allied troops and the Russian army This is most likely the fate of the papers that must have recorded the entry and death of the Pollaks in the concentration camp." "Nogara worked very hard until the end to save his life," specifies Giandomenico Spinola highlighting the commitment of the Church under Pius XII in such a dramatic historical moment when Pollak was notified of the possibility of being picked up from his home He activated the Secretariat of State for his release and that of his family." The Nogara Archive papers preserved by the Vatican Museums testify to this the future director of the pontifical galleries wrote: "Since the arrangement taken can be revoked the undersigned makes a request to the higher German authorities that an exception be made in favor of Comm He and the three family members be returned to their home." many people found shelter in churches and convents He was never asked to convert to Christianity in exchange for protection." Among other things probably to provide shelter to some refugees and to store food supplies "several exhibition areas here at the Museums were dismantled: the Chiaramonti Museum and the Lapidary Gallery became a place of shelter the Vatican was very active at the diplomatic and practical level." "The Gestapo," adds the Deputy Artistic and Scientific Director of the Vatican Museums "also seized some of Pollak's diaries Those subsequent to 1933 have disappeared and this suggests that perhaps they contained writings deemed uncomfortable by the Nazis." the Pollak story was swept under the rug here at the Hertziana Library," admits Tatjana Bartsch "Now our institute is changing policy We are not guilty of what happened to so many Jews I thought that if we can't remember him by praying at his grave we can at least give him a place in our memory." precisely on the initiative of the deputy head of the phototeca of the Hertziana who promoted a fundraiser within the institute four stumbling stones ("Stolpersteine") small brass plaques with the names and birth and death dates of Ludwig his wife Julia and children Wolfgang and Susanna Pollak were installed in front of Palazzo Odescalchi Among the important documents of the Hertziana Library is a "Stolperschachtel / Stumbling Folder," with a black label bearing the white inscription: "Ludwig Pollak Deported and murdered at Auschwitz in 1943." The story and memory of Pollak also live on in the Laocoön the famous statue is today restored in its authentic message "He is not a hero who opposes death in a victorious form with an outstretched arm defends himself from the attack of a monster James Sparvero A Disney Cruise ship heading to its new home in Port Canaveral rescued four stranded boaters on Sunday morning According to a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson while on its transatlantic sailing from the Netherlands to its new home at Port Canaveral the Disney Treasure responded to a call of a vessel in distress around 11:40 a.m Officials said the ship arrived around 1 p.m and helped rescue all four passengers of the “vessel in distress.” [EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos] “We are pleased that the Disney Treasure was able to provide aid to the boat passengers in peril skillfully demonstrating their training and commitment to safety,” said Captain Marco Nogara The Disney Treasure is the second of three Triton class vessels and the sixth overall to the Disney Cruise Line fleet is scheduled to embark on its maiden voyage a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral on Dec The Treasure will be the newest Disney ship at the port since the Wish arrived in 2022. Another new sailing being offered by the port in the coming weeks will be Princess Cruises. The Caribbean Princess will make its debut sailing at Port Canaveral on November 27 The Treasure will be the newest ship from any cruise line at the port since Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas which News 6 reporter James Sparvero got to tour over the summer Utopia remains the largest cruise ship at Port Canaveral until the even more massive Star of the Seas from Royal Caribbean arrives next August the port’s CEO Captain John Murray says cruise passenger records are likely to be broken again next year More than 7.5 million people took a cruise at Port Canaveral in the last year The port is expecting that number to break 8 million in the next year “We’re going to be very busy over the next few years,” Murray said at the port’s most recent commission meeting in October A passenger on an upcoming sailing said the new ships make the port more attractive to cruisers Debbie Huey of Merritt Island said she got tickets on the Norwegian Epic to celebrate her retirement “It’s just more options for everybody,” she said “I know a lot of local people that cruise a lot.” Stick with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com to see the Disney Treasure make its expected arrival at Port Canaveral on Tuesday at 6 a.m Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021 James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us / Follow on Social Media Careers at WKMG Closed Captioning / Audio Description Public File Current EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications EEO Report Disability Assistance Copyright © 2025 ClickOrlando.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Volume 11 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.00425 Mercury is a hazardous substance that has unique neurodevelopmental toxic effects in humans the precise sequence of molecular events that culminate in Hg-induced neuropathology is still unknown Though the omics studies have been generating an enormous amount of new data about Hg toxicity our ability to interpret such a large quantity of information is still limited we will reinforce the necessity of new high throughput and accurate analytical proteomic methodologies we posit that improvements in thiol- and selenol-proteomic analyses will be pivotal in identifying the primary cellular targets of Hg a better understanding of the complex cascades and molecular pathways involved in its toxicity will require extensive complementary studies in more complex systems to better characterize the toxic effects of Hg it is essential to understand its primary toxic target(s) will trigger a cascade of events culminating in cellular demise and pathophysiological changes the advent of the omics approaches can be instrumental in unveiling primary toxic target(s) of Hg and to identify the pathways activated in response to the interaction of Hg with these targets the availability of the raw data in public databases is not mandatory for transcriptomic studies and several researchers have not deposited their data publicly making this another limiting factor in the study of Hg toxicity the detection of differential expression of specific sets of RNAs after exposure to very low to low levels of Hg (10–21 to 10–13 M) is highly needed to identify possible “expression signatures” that might be used as early markers of Hg exposure much earlier than physiological or biochemical changes can be detected particularly for the very low levels of exposure we will face additional analytical constraints the necessity of new ultrasensitive methodologies capable of detecting trace quantities of R-Hg-proteins adducts These limitations conceivably will require complementary omics- and non-omics approaches to be achieved mRNA and protein expression levels cannot be expected to correlate perfectly due to post-transcriptional regulation. Consequently, proteomic analyses can provide a more realistic view of the protein content in a determined developmental stage or pathophysiological condition (Fu et al., 2009) the development of new proteomic techniques able to detect the primary toxic target(s) of cationic Hg species is pivotal The human selenoproteome and cysteine proteome were already determined (Jones and Go, 2011; Labunskyy et al., 2014; Go et al., 2015) the development of reliable high throughput thiol-omics and selenol-omics analytical methodologies are highly needed to determine which of the proteins containing reactive and biologically relevant –SH and –SeH will interact with cationic Hg species This will be instrumental in distinguishing proteins that are effectively involved in the genesis of Hg pathology from those that bind Hg but did not change the cell using as an example methylmercury (MeHg+) the Hg organic chemical form ubiquitously present in fish Figure 1. Hypothetical toxicogenomic studies using simple in vitro models. Here relevant human cell types have to be exposed from very low (10–21 M) to high (10–6 M) concentrations of MeHg+. For instance, non-differentiated or differentiated neurons or glial cells have to be incubated with MeHg+ and physiologically relevant MeHg-S conjugates (cysteine, GSH, albumin or hemoglobin, as an example see Tan et al., 2019) for different periods MeHg+ toxicity will have to be determined by proteomics specifically by the –SH– and –SeH-omics the number of systematic analyses to be performed is arduous They will allow the construction of a causal relationship between gene regulation/expression with protein and metabolites levels Using these data (nucleotide and amino acid sequences) and AI algorithms could be possible to identify the tertiary protein structure (e.g. thiol- and selenoproteins) and predict the motifs that will be more likely disrupted by MeHg+ facilitating the understanding of potential proteins involved in MeHg+ toxicity and consequently the first toxic target(s) To better understand the enormous amount of data that will be generated from the time course and dose/concentration variation studies These types of analyses have been sparsely explored in Hg studies The analyses have to include interaction modeling and pattern searching using AI algorithms particularly machine learning and deep learning machine learning should be used to identify/predict the tertiary protein structure from transcriptome (nucleotide sequence) and proteome (amino acid sequence) studies Considering the scarcity of detailed tertiary/quaternary protein structures availability will be crucial to identifying the preferential Hg binding sites to construct models that can reveal the electrostatic environment of solvent exposed –SH and –SeH moieties The identification of accessible and preferential Hg binding sites in tertiary predicted structures will allow identify electronic and chemical motifs that will be more likely disrupted by Hg and which amino acids are more likely around these regions The knowledge of such sequences will facilitate the identification of potential proteins involved in Hg toxicity Upon identifying potential Hg target proteins using specific proteomic techniques (e.g. selenoproteins and thiol-containing proteins that have CC the use of knockout models in a systematic way will be useful for directly analyzing the role of specific thiol- and selenoproteins in the toxicity of Hg it is possible to conclude that to understand better the Hg cascade of events that will generate symptoms of toxicity the researchers from different areas (Toxicology and Bioinformatics) will have to join efforts Punctual studies have been instrumental in understanding specific end-points of toxicity caused by Hg; however only multidisciplinary studies will be able to figure out the first toxic target(s) of cationic Hg species it will also be necessary to advance the knowledge of pathways and activation cascades in a physiological situation to understand the deregulation caused by xenobiotics and JR were responsible by the manuscript main idea and JR were responsible for the English grammar corrections All the authors actively participated in manuscript writing MA was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences The authors would like to thank the financial support of the Brazilians’ development agencies: CNPq CAPES/PROEX (23038.005848/2018-31; 0737/2018) The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest Organoselenium compounds as mimics of selenoproteins and thiol modifier agents Molecular interaction between mercury and selenium in neurotoxicity The thioredoxin system as a target for mercury compounds Transport of inorganic mercury and methylmercury in target tissues and organs Mechanisms involved in the transport of mercuric ions in target tissues Applying ’omics technologies in chemicals risk assessment: report of an ECETOC workshop Transcriptome analysis reveals distinct responses to physiologic versus toxic manganese exposure in human neuroblastoma cells Estimating accuracy of RNA-Seq and microarrays with proteomics García-Santamarina The oxidized thiol proteome in fission yeast—Optimization of an ICAT-based method to identify H2O2-oxidized proteins Google Scholar Selenium and selenocysteine: roles in cancer Methods for the determination and quantification of the reactive thiol proteome Mapping the cysteine proteome: analysis of redox-sensing thiols Alterations in the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) hepatic thiol-proteome after methylmercury exposure Revision of reciprocal action of mercury and selenium Selenoproteins: molecular pathways and physiological roles Quantifying changes in the thiol redox proteome upon oxidative stress in vivo Methylmercury’s chemistry: from the environment to the mammalian brain “Neurodevelopmental effects of mercury,” in Linking Environmental Exposure to Neurodevelopmental Disorders “Chemical speciation of selenium and mercury as determinant of their neurotoxicity,” in Neurotoxicity of Metals Selenocysteine oxidation in glutathione peroxidase catalysis: an MS-supported quantum mechanics study (2015) Free Rad Mercury’s neurotoxicity is characterized by its disruption of selenium biochemistry A systems-based approach to investigate dose- and time dependent methylmercury-induced gene expression response in C57BL/6 mouse embryos undergoing neurulation Biological and chemical interest in selenium: a brief historical account CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The toxicology of mercury and its compounds Google Scholar Hormesis of methylmercury-human serum albumin conjugate on N9 microglia via ERK/MAPKs and STAT3 signaling pathways Time-response evaluation by transcriptomics of methylmercury effects on neural differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells Convenient method to assess chemical modification of protein thiols by electrophilic metals Quantitative label-free redox proteomics of reversible cysteine oxidation in red blood cell membranes Aschner M and Rocha JBT (2020) Transcriptomic and Proteomic Tools in the Study of Hg Toxicity: What Is Missing Copyright © 2020 Oliveira, Segatto, Nogara, Piccoli, Loreto, Aschner and Rocha. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: João B. T. Rocha, amJ0cm9jaGFAeWFob28uY29tLmJy Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Bennett Baumer Feb 2 God’s Bankers begins with a corpse dangling from a London bridge — suicide or murder On the dead man’s wrist hangs a $15,000 gold watch There are plenty of skeletons in the Vatican’s closet God’s Bankers digs up these skeletons but focuses on the Vatican bank The book reads like a thriller but teaches like a history book and an investigative magazine piece It comes at a time when Pope Francis has garnered headlines because of his turn away from previous popes’ stern conservatism lesbians and divorced congregants and of course his critique of wanton environmental destruction and climate change Less publicized are his efforts to clean up the scandal-tarred Vatican bank a $6.5 billion institution that has long served as a conduit for money laundering by mafioso corrupt Italian politicians and other less than saintly characters the Vatican had been reliant on tithing by the faithful called Peter’s Pence indulgences — a 16th-century pope even began an indulgences futures market — payment to the Church for sins committed (or yet to be committed!) After the fall of the Papal States and the unification of Italy in 1870 a series of popes refused to set foot outside the Vatican while continuing to warn of the evils of modernity and liberal democracy Modern bookkeeping also eluded the church; revenues and expenses were murky and in cash crunches the church turned to wealthy American dioceses and to the Jewish Rothschild banking family the church turned to a string of Italian businessmen God’s Bankers follows the money trail Jesus may have told his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God but it was Italian financier Bernardino Nogara who advised Pope Pius XII to create the Vatican bank The original seed money was $92 million provided by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1929 Lateran Pacts that codified the Vatican’s relationship to the modern Italian state David Kertzer’s The Pope and Mussolini is a deep dive into the political maneuverings between the Vatican and fascist Italy while God’s Bankers explores the Vatican bank’s role in laundering Nazi money and the historic influence of anti-Semitism on church practices The arrangement reached with Mussolini — which continues in force to this day — compensated the Vatican for lost lands during Italian unification and established Vatican City as a sovereign entity The church in turn agreed to curtail Catholic political parties that were critical of Il Duce’s fascist state A common theme in both books is the church’s silence towards the Nazis’ destruction of European Jewry and its tacit alliance with fascism Nogara did business with both the Axis powers and the Allies the Vatican bank wheeled and dealed like “any Wall Street investment bank” and counted a “postwar concentration in Italian industry” as well as international holdings the Vatican bank’s financial chicanery grew more complex and shady Michele Sindona and Lithuanian-American Archbishop Paul Marcinkus pursued speculative schemes that proved disastrous a bodyguard and close confidant of Pope Paul VI with no formal training in banking or finance was appointed the Vatican bank’s president in 1971 The questions about his business practices soon followed Posner’s investigative and journalistic prowess are on display as he interviews Justice Department prosecutors decades later about their unsuccessful pursuit of Marcinkus’ involvement in a ’60s fake bonds scheme linked to the mafia (Posner also reveals Marcinkus as being a U.S Bad bets on currency speculation spurred the failure in 1974 of Long Island-based Franklin Bank — then the United States’s 19th-largest bank — which was controlled by Sindona Franklin’s collapse became an international scandal and the Vatican bank lost an estimated $56 million Sindona’s business empire in Italy subsequently unraveled as well He paid the Mob to murder an Italian prosecutor who was hot on his case and blackmailed Calvi for his compromised financial dealings The Vatican bank suffered further losses and embarrassment in 1982 with the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano of which the church was the main shareholder No church officials ever faced criminal charges but the Vatican did acknowledge its “moral involvement” in the fiasco and paid out $244 million to its creditors Sindona would die in prison from drinking cyanide-laced coffee He was the banker found hanging from a London bridge Investigators initially ruled his death a suicide but later declared it a murder No one has ever been convicted of the crime he was never indicted or arrested and quietly retired to Sun City Arizona where he died an assistant parish priest in 2006 the Vatican bank’s culture of secrecy and corruption has remained largely intact Under pressure from European Union regulators Francis’ predecessor Benedict XVI enacted some minor reforms including the Vatican’s first anti-money-laundering statute Since ascending to the papacy Francis has moved aggressively appointing an independent financial auditor and a 15-member advisory group to make the Vatican bank more transparent and comply with international banking standards after reading Posner and Kertzner’s deeply researched and well-written books one can’t help but be skeptical about whether church officials can resist the worldly temptations provided by overseeing a multibillion-dollar bank The Indypendent is a monthly New York City-based newspaper and website. 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You can make a donation or become a monthly sustainer here The US should reflect deeply on its historical and current policies in Latin America and make necessary changes 2012 at 12:48 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Incumbent Borough Council members Joan Orseck and Carmine Nogara cruised to a convincing victory over Democrat Howard Fox Tuesday night who also unsuccessfully ran for council in 2011 "I am happy to be given the opportunity to serve the Borough for another three years," Nogara told Patch following the election night victory "It was a pleasure running with Joan Orseck who is a dedicated public servant and has worked hard for the Borough over the last six years I look forward to tackling tough issues and trying to keep the tax burden at a minimum." a recently-retired nursing recruiter at Hackensack Univeristy Medical Center "Glen Rock is a wonderful town," Orseck said "We can always do better and I will continue to be a part of a good working council that will strive toward excellence.. ran on a platform of rejiggering the borough's communication methods with residents Using his experience in the public and private sectors Fox said he'd be the man to reduce the number of corrective actions found in state budget audits Fox's election efforts fell flat against the unified ticket of Nogara and Orseck Both Republicans have supported construction of a new senior housing facility exploration of shared services agreements and improved communication with residents Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Nor indeed the nearby headquarters of the wealthy investment bank Altium Capital on the corner of St James's Square and Pall Mall But these office blocks in one of London's most expensive districts are part of a surprising secret commercial property empire owned by the Vatican Behind a disguised offshore company structure the church's international portfolio has been built up over the years using cash originally handed over by Mussolini in return for papal recognition of the Italian fascist regime in 1929 Since then the international value of Mussolini's nest-egg has mounted until it now exceeds £500m at the height of the recent property bubble the Vatican spent £15m of those funds to buy 30 St James's Square Other UK properties are at 168 New Bond Street and in the city of Coventry It also owns blocks of flats in Paris and Switzerland The surprising aspect for some will be the lengths to which the Vatican has gone to preserve secrecy about the Mussolini millions The St James's Square office block was bought by a company called British Grolux Investments Ltd Published registers at Companies House do not disclose the company's true ownership both prominent Catholic bankers: John Varley formerly of the Leopold Joseph merchant bank Letters were sent from the Guardian to each of them asking whom they act for British company law allows the true beneficial ownership of companies to be concealed behind nominees in this way He told us the firm was owned by a trust but refused to identify it on grounds of confidentiality He told us after taking instructions: "I confirm that I am not authorised by my client to provide any information." Companies House files disclose that British Grolux Investments inherited its entire property portfolio after a reorganisation in 1999 from two predecessor companies called British Grolux Ltd and Cheylesmore Estates The shares of those firms were in turn held by a company based at the address of the JP Morgan bank in New York Ultimate control is recorded as being exercised by a Swiss company British wartime records from the National Archives in Kew complete the picture They confirm Profima SA as the Vatican's own holding company accused at the time of "engaging in activities contrary to Allied interests" Files from officials at Britain's Ministry of Economic Warfare at the end of the war criticised the pope's financier who controlled the investment of more than £50m cash from the Mussolini windfall Nogara's "shady activities" were detailed in intercepted 1945 cable traffic from the Vatican to a contact in Geneva who discussed whether to blacklist Profima as a result is the Vatican financial agent and Profima SA in Lausanne is the Swiss holding company for certain Vatican interests." They believed Nogara was trying to transfer shares of two Vatican-owned French property firms to the Swiss company to prevent the French government blacklisting them as enemy assets the British accused Nogara of similar "dirty work" by shifting Italian bank shares into Profima's hands in order to "whitewash" them and present the bank as being controlled by Swiss neutrals This was described as "manipulation" of Vatican finances to serve "extraneous political ends" The Mussolini money was dramatically important to the Vatican's finances says in Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: "The papacy was now financially secure Nogara was innovative in investing the cash In 1931 records show he founded an offshore company in Luxembourg to hold the continental European property assets he was buying It was called Groupement Financier Luxembourgeois Luxembourg was one of the first countries to set up tax-haven company structures in 1929 the Luxembourg operation and ostensible control of the British Grolux operation were moved to the US and to neutral Switzerland The Mussolini investments in Britain are currently controlled along with its other European holdings and a currency trading arm who is in effect the pope's merchant banker Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which handles the so-called "patrimony of the Holy See" According to a report last year from the Council of Europe which surveyed the Vatican's financial controls the assets of Mennini's special unit now exceed €680m (£570m) While secrecy about the Fascist origins of the papacy's wealth might have been understandable in wartime what is less clear is why the Vatican subsequently continued to maintain secrecy about its holdings in Britain even after its financial structure was reorganised in 1999 The Guardian asked the Vatican's representative in London why the papacy continued with such secrecy over the identity of its property investments in London We also asked what the pope spent the income on True to its tradition of silence on the subject the Roman Catholic church's spokesman said that the nuncio had no comment A party to honor the contributions of Glen Rock's retired Mayor John van Keuren and former council members Joan Orseck and Carmine Nogara was held on March 9 at Macaluso's in Hawthorne Above: Ginny van Keuren and John van Keuren sit with their daughter a standout athlete at Glen Rock High School GLEN ROCK - Those with business at Glen Rock's Borough Hall will soon be pulling onto the "John van Keuren Circle" – as designated by a forthcoming plaque noting the honor by Borough Council President and longtime colleague Mary Jane Surrago was among the highlights of a March 9 dinner at Macaluso's in Hawthorne – honoring the 12-year mayor's three-plus decades of combined community and government service – and also saluting his former council colleagues Carmine Nogara and Joan Orseck planned and co-hosted by Surrago and Councilman Michael O'Hagan They included present and past council members government and community organization leaders and also friends and constituents of the popular mayor and his associates In addition to a plethora of tributes delivered by colleagues and fans forming a comprehensive cross-section of borough life the principal guest of honor was feted by the congratulations of area political leaders – and also heard Surrago convey warm greetings from the mayor of Onomachi Japan – Glen Rock's international sister community which annually sends a delegation of summer visitors to the borough "Those of us who were lucky to serve with John van Keuren had the honor of doing so with someone who led with dignity and five years before that as a Zoning Board member he coached and held leadership positions in youth sports," she said John's father was chairman of the Zoning Board for 10 years was a member of the Glen Courts design and construction committee and a member of the Board of Education that oversaw the planning design and construction of our high school." Citing his family's "indelible impact on Glen Rock," Surrago called the borough "one of the best suburbs to raise a family in the state and the nation the municipal complex has the strongest connection to our former mayor "So on behalf of Mayor Packer and all the members of the Borough Council it is my plea-sure to announce our intention to pass an ordinance this month to name the area in front of the municipal building as 'John van Keuren Circle' in honor of decades of service to Glen Rock by the van Keuren family Terrence O'Brien and a champagne toast by co-host O'Hagan were followed by numerous presentations some devoted specifically to the former mayor speakers included: Georgene Betterbed and Sue Johnsen representing the Glen Rock Pops; Betterbed and Donna Dykstra from the Friends of the Glen Rock Library; former Borough Administrator Bob Freudenrich; VFW representative Bob Steinberg; Carol Knapp from the Glen Rock Assistance Council and Endowment; Mark Sabow of the Glen Rock Recreation Advisory Board; Elizabeth Carr vice president of the Board of Education; Lt Officer in Charge of the Glen Rock Police Department Borough Administrator Lenora Benjamin and Surrago John Collins representing Freeholder Maura DeNicola and Bergen County Republican Organization officials Karen O'Shea and Bob Yudin van Keuren preceded his decades of government service as a local sports volunteer and later District Commissioner of the New Jersey Youth Soccer Association and leadership positions in county and local youth soccer he has been a meal-deliverer for Community Meals on Wheels Former Councilwoman Orseck was chairperson of the Division of Parks Public Grounds and Recreation and served as council liaison to the Recreation Advisory Board she served as council president in 2009 and 2015 A Glen Rock resident for more than 40 years Orseck was also a member of the Board of Health DARE and various school and library organizations She additionally coached soccer and was a scout leader Former Councilman Nogara chaired the Division of Revenue and Finance and was council liaison to the Shade Tree Advisory Committee An 18-year borough resident and a past president and now lieutenant of the Glen Rock Volunteer Fire Department Photographed and recorded by Glen Rock Television's Rick van Rumpt and former program director Ted Burke – the latter returning to participate in the event – the program is available on GRTV or on demand at its Vimeo site the Vatican financed its operations with donations and indulgences free passes for sins in exchange for money the Vatican made little effort to keep track of finances which meant the institution was rife with extravagant spending and embezzlement After teetering on the edge of bankruptcy several times the Vatican appointed Bernardino Nogara as its new financial advisor in 1929 who straightened out the church's finances and grew a $92 million investment from Benito Mussolini into almost $1 billion World War II also played a huge role in the creation of the Vatican Bank As the Allies imposed restrictions on bank accounts it became harder to move money around. Nogara created the bank in 1942 to avoid having financial transactions tracked through Western Banks it was exempt from all wartime restrictions and became "the world's best offshore bank." The quest to hold onto the money and power that followed resulted in shady deals here are some of the craziest schemes revealed in Posner's book A German officer admitted to having many war-time spies in the Vatican the acclaimed and able financial advisor. During the war Nogara began investing in Italian insurance companies which "developed into stakes that profited from the ongoing murder of Europe's Jews," Posner wrote These companies made money by keeping all financial assets from life insurance policies of deceased Jewish policyholders and refusing to pay for those still living But because the Vatican was not a direct insurer it was never required to pay restitution after the war Many financial records were destroyed during the war and the Vatican refused access to its own records the full scope of the scheme remains unclear the pope at the time refused to publicly denounce anything the Third Reich was doing even though the Vatican was one of the most informed institutions on the mass killings long before the Allies discovered anything The Vatican Bank was the perfect place to hide billions in stolen wartime loot The church also aided and saved many Nazi war criminals after the war the U.S Justice Department began looking into a potential role the Vatican Bank played in a counterfeit and stolen securities operation According to an 18-month FBI investigation New York mobsters were planning to sell counterfeit corporate bonds and stock certificates to the Vatican a $900 million payment in five installments over several months A Vatican cardinal planned to use the faked securities as collateral in order to obtain financing The counterfeit bonds would be undetectable unless the Vatican Bank lost money on its investments and was unable to pay back the loans at which point the Vatican could claim ignorance of an outside scam When confronted with the accusation in a secret meeting in New York representatives of the Vatican refused to answer any questions. The then-president of the Vatican Bank The investigation could not come up with enough information to charge Marcinkus or anyone in the Vatican After hearing reports that a group of Pauline monks in Philadelphia were involved in a financial scandal church officials discovered that the monks in question had spent almost $20 million in charitable donations on a life of luxury.  The monks would raise funds for religious projects yet would spend the money on cars and personal expenses they also defaulted on $4.3 million worth of church bonds The vicar-general kept a mistress with church money and took half the salary of friends appointed to monastery jobs Half the monks left the order when the Vatican ordered them to turn over their televisions the Vatican Bank sent more than $5 million to cover the cost of the monks' defaults and pay back creditors The hush money also helped to avoid being sued or facing criminal charges In an effort to fight communism in the 1980s the Pope authorized the sending of millions in funds to help the Polish resistance a ten million member organization in Poland called Solidarity.  Marcinkus had an Italian intelligence agent convert $3.5 million in cash into pure gold ingots then smuggle them into Poland hidden in an SUV The gold was placed in custom-built double bottoms and on the inside of the SUV doors an Italian banker close to the Vatican Bank said if the church's role ever came to light it could lead to another world war and the collapse of the Vatican "If it comes out that you're giving money to Solidarity the Vatican Bank has the ability to withhold account information from regulators and authorities. This secrecy has provided an excellent cover throughout history as the Vatican moved money here and there to gain illegal profits and power "It was not much of a secret that for decades Italy's elite had used the IOR to hide their money," Posner wrote "One internal review estimated there were approximately 9,300 accounts belonging to 'privileged citizens of Italy,' compared to only 2,500 that met the bank's strict rules Some accounts were rumored to be proxies for the Spatola and Inzerillo crime families." the bank bought a stake in the Italian bank Ambrosiano the Vatican Bank moved money around Ambrosiano's accounts to allow banks and companies to pass financial inspection Then they'd withdraw the money right after inspection Ambrosiano later crashed in a massive scandal and the Vatican paid a $244 million settlement without admitting to any wrongdoing then died in a murder made to look like a suicide Rumors swirled around who was responsible for Calvi's death – whispered possibilities including the Mafia and the Vatican an Italian journalist published a book based on hundreds of internal documents smuggled out of the Vatican Bank that proved fake charity accounts were created and instead used for political donations Even donations to real charity accounts fell into the mix and ended up disappearing four priests came under investigation for operating bank accounts for the Mafia to launder money.  “GOD’S BANKERS: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican,” by Gerald Posner “Money is useful to carry out many things,” Pope Francis has said attachment to money has wreaked much destruction in his own Catholic Church This is related in a stunning exposé by investigative reporter Gerald Posner “God’s Bankers” starts with an unsolved murder in London and races from one financial scandal to another explaining how monetary considerations led several popes to disgraceful moral transgressions but the history is so long and intricate that a reader will agree that none of it could be left out The church’s zeal in raising money goes back centuries whether to finance the lavish lifestyles of some popes or to finance the Crusades One of the schemes was selling indulgences which riled Martin Luther and led to the Protestant Reformation the unification of Italy caused the church to lose the Papal States and the income they had raised Pius XI concluded the Lateran Pacts with the Fascist government under Benito Mussolini The cynical agreement defined the 108.7 acres in Rome as a sovereign state and gave the Vatican a big chunk of cash as compensation for Papal States and while Jews were being persecuted in the ’30s Vatican Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli a Teutophile who had spent 12 years in Germany concluded an agreement with the Nazis that required German Catholic bishops to swear allegiance to the Third Reich there was money involved: Hitler assessed 8 percent from German Catholics and sent it to the Vatican and refused to believe what his priests were telling him about the murder of the Jews some of them living 250 yards from his windows But when a stray British bomb happened to hit a Catholic church during the war a devout layman with a long background in finance and as a competent money manager he spread his risks around — to America and Nogara was a slick operator but he was not a crook The same can’t be said for his successors: Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi It’s complex but all spelled out by Posner who has been doing research for nine years about which much of this book’s narrative is centered the bank didn’t have to answer to anyone — and it didn’t High-ranking clerics at the bank were seen carrying out suitcases of cash the Vatican Bank was used by Italian magnates politicians and mobsters to launder cash — millions at a crack The last major moral failing in the Vatican occurred with the scandals involving pedophile priests Pope Benedict XVI’s failure to apologize to victims was attributed to fears that it might encourage lawsuits directly against the Vatican not just the dioceses where the offenses occurred great strides have been made to clean up the bank Francis has fired one set of regulators after another the bank has just about achieved a clean bill of health from international authorities Sworn in to a third term with fellow incumbent Carmine Nogara Wednesday night at the borough's reorganization meeting Orseck highlighted one key to good governance don't agree but we compromise and get things done I only wish the people in Washington could compromise and do their jobs," she said before raucous applauds drowned out her voice Messages of effective leadership and a willingness to work through issues rang out consistently at the annual reorganization meeting Longtime councilman Art Pazan was unanimously appointed to serve as Glen Rock Borough Council President in 2013 will swap responsibilities as chairman of finance to oversee building development and public property Nogara remarked he was confident the "hard working" Pazan would effectively work with the all-Republican council in the new year Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Joanne Perry received much applauds and kudos from the dais for her handling of Hurricane Sandy "Joanne's performance was outstanding and remarkable," van Keuren said pointing to what he called solid communication between departments The meeting also featured an appearance by Assemblyman Timothy Eustace (D-38) Eustace was impressed by the borough's ability to offer up Borough Hall as a warming center and charging station to residents during the storm Many neighboring towns failed to be as accommodating commending van Keuren and Borough Administrator Lenora Benjamin for their efforts van Keuren said it was important to remember one thing Disney Cruise Line has launched the ‘Treasure Tomorrow’ Programme in Jamaica in a bid to make a significant commitment to community engagement locally developed in collaboration with Junior Achievement Jamaica focuses on providing career exploration opportunities for Jamaican students particularly those living in and around the town of Falmouth in Trelawny It is intended to strengthen the connection between tourism and community development by exposing young people to various career paths in the tourism and cruise industries participating students will be introduced to a range of professions and even opportunities to work as mariners or in leadership positions on cruise ships The initiative was launched during the inaugural call at the Falmouth Pier by the cruise ship said the programme forms part of Disney’s broader commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility by giving back to youth in the destinations their cruise vessels visit “This initiative will further strengthen the connection between tourism and the community’s growth,” he indicated Treasure Tomorrow is seen as a unique opportunity for youngsters to gain valuable insights into the cruise industry an area that may not be immediately apparent as a career choice for many Jamaicans selected students got the opportunity to explore the Disney Treasure offering them a first-hand experience of the new vessel Professor Shirley said the PAJ is playing a key role in the programme’s implementation by working closely with Disney to expand the initiative’s scope and create meaningful connections between the cruise industry and Jamaica’s youth because they always bring a unique perspective,” he stated Professor Shirley added that the programme’s launch not only strengthens the ties between Disney and Jamaica but also serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of investing in the next generation Send An Email Get the latest news & updates from the JIS sent to your inbox.