test please delete

[n5gooner]

There was a threefold division of the ranks of the Templars: the aristocratic knights, the lower-born sergeants, and the clergy. Knights were required to be of knightly descent, to wear white mantles, and were equipped as heavy cavalry, with three or four horses, and one or two squires. Squires were generally not members of the Order, but were instead outsiders who were hired for a set period of time.[32] Beneath the knights in the Order and drawn from lower social strata were the sergeants.[33] They were either equipped as light cavalry with a single horse,[34] or served in other ways such as administering the property of the Order or performing menial tasks and trades. Chaplains, constituting a third Templar class, were ordained priests who saw to the Templars' spiritual needs.[35]

[n5gooner]

The knights wore white robes with a red cross, and a white mantle; the sergeants wore a black tunic with a red cross on front and back, and a black or brown mantle.[36][37] The white mantle was assigned to the Templars at the Council of Troyes in 1129, and the cross was most likely added to their robes at the launch of the Second Crusade in 1147, when Pope Eugenius III, King Louis VII of France, and many other notables attended a meeting of the French Templars at their headquarters near Paris.[38][39][40] According to their Rule, the knights were to wear the white mantle at all times, even being forbidden to eat or drink unless they were wearing it.[

[n5gooner]

Initiation into the Order was a profound commitment, and involved a secret ceremony. Few details of the rituals were known at the time, fueling the suspicions of medieval inquisitors, but initiates had to be willing to sign over all of their wealth and goods to the Order, which required vows of poverty, chastity, piety, and obedience.[42] Most brothers joined for life, though some were allowed to join for a set period. Sometimes a married man was allowed to join if he had his wife's permission,[43] but he was not allowed to wear the white mantle.[44]

[n5gooner]

For the warriors of the Order, there was a cardinal rule of never surrendering unless the Templar flag had fallen, and even in that case they were first to try and regroup with another of the Christian orders, such as that of the Hospitallers. Only after all flags had fallen were they allowed to leave the battlefield.[45] The red cross that the Templars wore on their robes was a symbol of martyrdom, and to die in combat was considered a great honor assuring a place in heaven. This uncompromising principle, along with a reputation for courage, excellent training, and heavy armament, made the Templars one of the most feared combat forces in medieval times.[46]

[Clownio]

Gordon Brown Courts Dummy Chancellor

Hot on the heals of steeling the hearts of "Britain's Got Talent" audience, ventriloquist Damon Scott's monkey has emerged as the recipient of Gordon Brown's latest Cabinet job offer.

After 10 years as Chancellor, Brown is reluctant to hand his old job over to anyone as sneaky and autocratic as he was, or daring enough to try and think for themselves, so the stuffed animal seems a well considered choice.

If the prop does take up residence at number 11 Brown will have to hone his skills in ventriloquism. When he and the monkey were interviewed by TheSpoof.com he almost choked on a glass of water before making several repetitions of "Gottle of geer".

[n5gooner]

Starting with founder Hugues de Payens in 1118–19, the Order's highest office was that of Grand Master, a position which was held for life; considering the warrior nature of the Order, this could mean a very short tenure. All but two of the Grand Masters died in office, and several died in military campaigns: During the Siege of Ascalon in 1153, Grand Master Bernard de Tremelay led a group of 40 Templars through a breach in the city walls. When the rest of the Crusader army did not follow, the Templars, including their Grand Master, were surrounded and beheaded.[47] Grand Master Gérard de Ridefort was beheaded by Saladin in 1189 at the Siege of Acre.

[n5gooner]

The Grand Master oversaw all of the operations of the Order, including both the military operations in the Holy Land and Eastern Europe, and the Templars' financial and business dealings in Western Europe. Some Grand Masters also served as battlefield commanders, though this was not always a wise choice: several blunders in Gerard de Ridefort's leadership were the cause of the devastating loss at the Battle of Hattin. The last Grand Master was Jacques de Molay, who by order of King Philip IV was burned at the stake in Paris in 1314.

[n5gooner]

With their military mission and extensive financial resources, the Knights Templar funded a large number of building projects around Europe and the Holy Land. Many of these structures remain standing today. Many sites also maintain the name "Temple" due to centuries-old association with the Templars.[48] For example, some of the Templars' lands in London were later rented to lawyers, which led to the names of the Temple Bar gateway, the Temple tube station, and many others.

Distinctive architectural elements of Templar buildings included images of the "two knights on a single horse," representing the Knights' poverty, and round buildings which were built to resemble the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

[Clownio]

Tax Exceeds Wage

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing immediate calls for his resignation following a research bulletin released by The Taxpayers Federation of Great Britain.

Their latest research into the direct, indirect and stealth tax conundrum has revealed how much of our income actually goes in tax.

TFGB Chairman Winifred Prentice says that previous analysis has failed to take full account of motoring fines, green taxes, congestion charges, income tax, National Insurance, alcohol duty, insurance premium tax, tobacco duty, airport tax, carbon tax, VAT, council tax, commercial rates, road tax, stamp duty, import tax, road tolls, and inheritance tax.

Their findings reveal that for every £1 earned the average worker is now paying national and local government £1.75.

In a press conference yesterday Ms Prentice told a reporter "I think this explains why UK personal debt has reached over £1 trillion and debt judgements have hit an all time high".

[n5gooner]

The story of the secretive yet powerful medieval Templars, especially their persecution and sudden dissolution, has been exploited by various organizations to enhance their supposed dignity, history, and mystery. Many groups claim traditions from the original Order. The Freemasons began incorporating Templar symbols and rituals in the 1700s,[3] and have a modern title called "Order of the Knights Templar" to which members can aspire. The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, founded in 1804, has achieved United Nations NGO status as a charitable organization.[49]

Though there is no verifiable historical link between the Templars, which were dismantled in the early 1300s, and any of these organizations, the oldest of which emerged in the 1700s, there is public confusion and many overlook the 400-year gap.