The Ratline & Mormon Origins

Hosted byIan Punnett

The Ratline & Mormon Origins

About the show

During the middle two hours, Ian Punnett (Twitter) was joined by author Peter Levenda, who provided an update on his book Ratline, which contends that Adolf Hitler escaped from Germany during the end of WWII, and discussed his new book The Angel and the Sorcerer, which examines the "occult origins of Mormonism."

He revealed that, since the publication of Ratline, "a number of people have come out of woodwork with little bits of information" regarding the underground network used to facilitate the escape of high ranking Nazis and their resources from Germany at the end of the war. According to Levenda, Portugal was responsible for hiding an astounding 44 tons of gold that had been plundered by the Nazi's. He cited Allied documents which contended that a mere 4 tons of that looted treasure were repatriated to victimized nations, while the remaining treasure was spirited away to Macau, a Portuguese colony located within China. Ultimately, Levenda claimed, the massive trove of ill-gotten gold was absorbed by the Chinese government in the 1950's.

Levenda also detailed his new research into the "occult origins" of Mormonism, which he called "the quintessential American religion." To that end, he noted that Freemasonic ideas influenced the formation of America, and, as such, Levenda mused that "it's almost inevitable that there would be a religious movement based on some of those same ideas and that's what you have with Mormonism." Additionally, he pointed to the use of alchemical practices by Joseph Smith in the early creation of the religion and suggested that the founder of Mormonism codified a number of "New Age" concepts into the doctrine of the religion. Ultimately, Levenda stressed that his work is not meant to be an attack on the religion and aims to "expose Mormonism to those who have heard a lot of rumors and who don't understand it very well."

Building Better Businesses

In the first half hour, marketing and lifestyle expert, Marie Forleo, talked about business methods which are resonating with consumers during the financial downturn. She observed that the economic meltdown has resulted in people becoming very distrustful of large companies. Therefore, Forleo said, business leaders who exhibit transparency and "reveal a little bit about who you are and what you believe in" will experience greater success. Additionally, she foresees companies and CEOs who "believe in a bigger purpose beyond their own wallets" as more economically sustainable going into the future.

Honoring our Veterans

In the latter half of the first hour, author and hospice volunteer Dannion Brinkley addressed how we can help veterans to heal and reintegrate back into normal life. Making his 14th annual Coast appearance on Veteran's Day, Brinkley lamented that many veterans are dying alone and declared that "we have a requirement, spiritually and morally, as a country to be there for them now that they need us." Stressing the paramount importance of caring for our veterans as they grow older, he noted that, over the next 10 years, the combined veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam will pass away at a staggering 100,000 every 30 days.

Later, Brinkley was joined by US veteran and artist, Bill Kleinedler, who talked about the supernatural experience he had while serving in Iraq. He recalled how, after setting up a temporary clinic and providing medical assistance to Iraqis, his convoy was en route back to the base when his Humvee was struck by an IED. The resulting explosion caused a massive fire inside the vehicle. During the resulting chaos, Kleinedler saw a sphere of "brilliant light" which floated around him. From within the sphere, a clear, calm, and peaceful voice told him "you need to get out of the truck." As he struggled to escape the wreck, the voice became more urgent until he became free.

The final hour of the program featured Open Lines.

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Archaeologists in Italy have unearthed the skeleton of a man from ancient Rome who suffered from gigantism. The massive Roman would have stood six feet, eight inches tall, an astounding two feet more than the average height of his fellow countrymen. While this disparity suggests a difficult life for the rare Roman giant, his burial plot was revealed to be an average grave, leading researchers to believe he was accepted as part of society. More on the story at National Geographic.

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