In 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego, a poor Indian from Tepeyac, a hill northwest of Mexico City.  She identified herself as the Mother of the True God and left an image of herself imprinted miraculously on his tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth.  Although the tilma should have deteriorated within 20 years, it still shows no sign of decay over 470 years later.

Featured lecturers will include Dr. José Aste Tonsmann from Peru, who is known for doing extensive research on the reflections visible in the image's eyes.  Also speaking will be Rev. Msgr. Eduardo Chávez, who oversaw the cause for canonization of St. Juan Diego and Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus.

In addition to addressing the scientific aspects of the image, the congress will also discuss the spiritual meaning of Our Lady of Guadalupe's message of love and compassion and its relevance today.

"The centrality of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Americas as 'the Christian Hemisphere' is clearly evident throughout North and South America," said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson in a press release. "Her message is one that has as much importance and meaning today as it did nearly 500 years ago.".

The solemn ceremony, which took place yesterday, saw the presence of thousands of faithful, representatives of the diocese's various parishes as well as members of other Christian Churches, and Hindu and Buddhist communities. The country's bishops and Apostolic Nuncio Joseph Spiteri were also present. The ceremonial Mass was held in Sinhalese, Tamil and English.

He also explained that the Church wants to work with the president, with political and religious leaders as well as all citizens to build a just, free and democratic society where differences in religion, race or language do not become a cause of division but rather one of unity.   

A number of Buddhist monks came to the ceremony even though it fell on a day that is important to the Buddhist religion, namely the day of Poya, the full moon.

Speaking to them Mgr Ranjit said: "I want to express my total solidarity with the members of the Maha Sangha (Buddhist monks). As the majority religious groups they want to work for true peace and reconciliation in the nation."

"Oregon has successfully tested a Vehicle Miles Traveled fee, and it is time to expand and test the VMT program across the country," he said in a statement on his website. "A VMT system can better assess fees based on use of our roads and bridges, as well as during times of peak congestion, than a fee based on fuel consumption. "It is time to get creative and find smart ways to rebuild and renew America's deteriorating infrastructure," he said. His plan calls for the Department of the Treasury to study the plan with projects in every state.

Blumenauer said the Oregon test "charged drivers for the number of miles they traveled rather the fuel they consumed. The test was convenient for drivers, protected personal privacy, and proved to be easily administrable."

In a WND column, however, Henry Lamb raised several concerns unaddressed by the congressman. For example, what other applications would there be for a GPS unit attached to each car in the nation? What about "shutting down the vehicle when its allotted emissions cap had been reached."

"Every American ought to be outraged that such a system is even contemplated," he continued. "This system is the tool that makes slaves of every person who depends upon a vehicle. Every person should consider just how his life would be changed if he were required to get approval from the federal government to start his car."

Lamb said shutting down a vehicle would be among the less intrusive possibilities. "The proposed GPS road tax system could easily be programmed to listen to and record conversations inside any vehicle. It could stop a vehicle, lock the occupants inside and notify the 'jack boots' that the occupants were en route to a tea party," Lamb wrote. "We would hope that the federal government would never sink to the level of paranoia that gripped Nazi Germany. But then, we also hoped that the federal government would never sink to the level of labeling legal, peaceful assemblies, such as the recent tea parties, as gatherings of potential terrorists."

No you aren't reading a passage from George Orwell's 1984 or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, this is Britain in 2009, a country which already has more surveillance cameras watching its population than the whole of Europe put together.

Now the government is embarking on a scheme called "Family Intervention Projects" which will literally create a nanny state on steroids, with social services goons and private security guards given the authority to make regular "home checks" to ensure parents are raising their children correctly.

Telescreens will also be installed so government spies can keep an eye on whether parents are mistreating kids and whether the kids are fulfilling their obligations under a pre-signed contract.

Another key aspect of the program will see parents deemed "responsible" by the government handed the power to denounce and report bad parents who allow their children to engage in bad behavior. Such families will then be targeted for "interventions".

Both parents and children will also be forced to sign a "behavior contract" with the government known as Home School Agreements before the start of every year, in which the state will dictate obligations that it expects to be met.