Americans use TV, other media 10 hrs a day: Census

Alert Focus: Thy Word is a Lamp Daniel 12:4b ...many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. REUTERS - By David Alexander - December 19, 2006 -- WASHINGTON -- Americans will spend nearly 10 hours a day watching television, surfing the Internet, reading books, newspapers and magazines and listening to music this year, the U.S. Census Bureau said on Friday. In its "Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007" released on Friday, the agency also noted that Americans drink about a gallon of soda a week, along with a half gallon each of milk, bottled water, coffee and beer. All of which may help explain another figure in the pages of the 1,300-page book of tables and statistics: About two-thirds of Americans are overweight, including one-third of whom are obese.The information in the abstract is culled from Census Bureau surveys and from data collected by other government agencies, industry and trade groups and private organizations. Industry groups provided the information on media usage. They projected Americans will spend an average of nearly 4 1/2 hours daily in front of the television in 2006, or 1,555 hours in all. Americans will spend another 2 1/2 hours listening to radio and a half hour listening to recorded music. The rest of the nearly 10 hours is spent reading newspapers, looking at the Internet, playing video games and reading other media. Projections indicate per capita time spent with the Internet will exceed time spent reading newspapers for the first time this year. Americans spend about a half an hour per day on each activity. ...http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-12-15T055702Z_01_N13167886_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-CENSUS-STATISTICS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

The Faking Imams -- Pajamas Media Exclusive: Police Report, Passenger Reveals That Flying Imams Were Up to No Good

Alert Focus: Antichrist / Mystery Babylon / A Woman Rides the Beast

1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

The Now Notorious Flying Imams Claim Their Only Crime Was “Flying While Muslim,” But Our Exclusive Reporting Reveals They Are Trying to Sweep Their Real Motives Under Their Prayer Rugs

SEE ALSO: The first public publication of the official police report on the incident including handwritten statements from witnesses. Download file — (PDF 11.8 Mb)

PLUS: The letter from US Airways passenger “Pauline” to U.S. Airways: Download file PDF 68K

[Bloggers are invited to examine these documents and provide theories for what happened. Please notify Pajamas Media. — Editors]

PAJAMAS MEDIA - By Richard Miniter, PJM Washington Editor - December 1, 2006 -- PJM in Seattle -- The case of U.S. Airways flight 300 gets stranger by the minute. When six traveling Muslim clerics were asked to deplane last week, it looked like another civil rights controversy against post-9-11 airport security.

Now new information is emerging that suggests it was all a stunt designed to weaken security….

Yesterday I spoke with a passenger on that flight, who asked that she be only identified as “Pauline.” A copy of airport police report, which I also obtained, supports Pauline’s account - and includes shocking revelations of its own. In addition, U.S. Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader also confirmed much of what Pauline revealed…..

The passenger, who asked that she only be identified as “Pauline,” said she is afraid to give her full name or hometown. She is spending the night at “another location” because she does not feel safe at home. She credits reports that one imam is apparently linked to Hamas. “It is scary because these men could be dangerous.”

Pauline said she never wanted media attention. She wrote an email to U.S. Airways and cc:ed her daughter, who unexpectedly emailed it to her friends. As the letter took on an internet life of its own, it made its way to the inbox of a retired CNN executive producer. Then, to her dismay, the feeding frenzy began.

Pauline revealed to Pajamas Media that the six imams were doing things far more suspicious than praying - an Arabic-speaking passenger heard them repeatedly invoke “bin Laden,” and “terrorism,” a gate attendant told the captain that she did not want to fly with them, and that bomb-sniffing dogs were brought aboard. Other Muslim passengers were left undisturbed and later joined in a round of applause for the U.S. Airways crew. “It wasn’t that they were Muslim. It was all of the suspicious things they did,” Pauline said.

Here is her story, along with corroborating quotes from the U.S. Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader and the official report, another Pajamas Media exclusive.

Sitting in Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Airport Gate C9, she noticed one of the imams immediately. “He was pacing nervously, talking in Arabic,” she said.

She quickly noticed the others. “They didn’t look like holy men to me. They looked like guys heading out of town for a Vikings game.”

Pauline said she did not see or hear the imams pray at the gate (she was at dinner in a nearby airport eatery), but heard about the pre-flight prayers from other passengers hours later.

As the plane boarded, she said, no one refused to fly. The public prayers and Arabic phone call did not trigger any alarms - so much for the p.c. allegations that people were disturbed by Muslim prayers.

But a note from a passenger about suspicious movements of the imams got the crew’s attention. A copy of the passenger’s note appears in the police report.

To Pauline everything seemed normal. Then the captain - in classic laconic pilot-style - announced there had been a “mix up in our paperwork” and that the flight would be delayed.

In reality, the air crew was waiting for the FBI and local police to arrive.

Ninety minutes after the flight’s scheduled 5:15 p.m. departure, the captain announced yet another delay. Still, Pauline said, there was no sense of alarm.

Still, it seemed like just another annoying development, typical when flying the friendly skies.

The situation in cockpit was far more intense, according to a U.S. Airways spokeswoman and police reports.

Contrary to press accounts that a single note from a passenger triggered the imams’ removal, Captain John Howard Wood was weighing multiple factors - factors that have largely been ignored by the press.

Another passenger, not the note writer, was an Arabic speaker sitting near two of the imams in the plane’s tail. That passenger pulled a flight attendant aside, and in a whisper, translated what the men were saying. They were invoking “bin Laden” and condemning America for “killing Saddam,” according to police reports.

Meanwhile an imam seated in first class asked for a seat-belt extension, even though according to both an on-duty flight attendant and another deadheading flight attendant, he looked too thin to need one. Hours later, when the passengers were being evacuated, the seat-belt extension was found on the floor near the imam’s seat, police reports confirm. The U.S. Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader said she did not dispute the report, but said the airline’s internal investigation cannot yet account for the seat-belt extension request or its subsequent use.

A seat-belt extension can easily be used as a weapon, by wrapping the open-end of the belt around your fist and swinging the heavy metal buckle.

Still, it seemed like just another annoying development, typical when flying the friendly skies. Days after the incident, the imam would claim that the steward helped him attach the device. Pauline said he is lying. Hours later, when the police was being evacuated, the steward asked Pauline to hand him the seat-belt extension, which the imam did not attach, but placed on the floor. “I know he is lying,” Pauline said, “I had it [seat belt extension] in my hand.”

A passenger in the third row of first class, Pauline said, told a member of the crew: “I don’t have a good feeling about this guy,” about the imam who wanted the seat-belt extension.

A married couple one row behind first-class, tried to strike up a conversation with the imam seated near them. He refused to talk or even look at the woman in the eye, according to Pauline. Instead, he stood up and moved to join the other imams in the back of the plane. Why would he leave the luxury end of the aircraft? Pauline wondered. The account of the married couple does not appear in the police report.

Finally, a gate attendant told the captain she thought the imams were acting suspiciously, according to police reports.

So the captain apparently made his decision to delay the flight based on many complaints, not one. And he consulted a federal air marshal, a U.S. Airways ground security coordinator and the airline’s security office in Phoenix. All thought the imams were acting suspiciously, Rader told me.

Other factors were also considered: All six imams had boarded together, with the first-class passengers - even though only one of them had a first-class ticket. Three had one-way tickets. Between the six men, only one had checked a bag.

And, Pauline said, they spread out just like the 9-11 hijackers. Two sat in first, two in the middle, and two back in the economy section. Pauline’s account is confirmed by the police report. The airline spokeswoman added that some seemed to be sitting in seats not assigned to them.

One thing that no one seemed to consider at the time, perhaps due to lack of familiarity with Islamic practice, is that the men prayed both at the gate and on the plane. Observant Muslims pray only once at sundown, not twice.

“It was almost as if they were intentionally trying to get kicked off the flight,” Pauline said.

A lone plain clothes FBI agent boarded the plane and briefly spoke to the imams. Later, uniformed police escorted them off.

Some press reports said the men were led off in handcuffs, which Pauline disputes. “I saw them. They were not handcuffed.”

Later, each imam was individually brought back on the aircraft to reclaim his belongings. They were still not handcuffed. They may have been handcuffed later.

At this point, the passengers became alarmed. “How do we know they got all their stuff off?” Pauline heard one man ask.

While the imams were soon released, Pauline is fuming: “We are the victims of these people. They need to be more sensitive to us. They were totally insensitive to us and then accused us of being insensitive to them. I mean, we were a lot more inconvenienced than them.”

The plane was delayed for some three and one-half hours.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were used to sweep the plane and every passenger was re-screened, the airline spokeswoman confirmed. Another detail omitted from press reports.

The reaction of the remaining passengers has also gone unreported. “We applauded and cheered for the crew,” she said.

“I think it was either a foiled attempt to take over the plane or it was a publicity stunt to accuse us of being insensitive,” Pauline said. “It had to be to intimidate U.S. Airways to ease up on security.”

So far, U.S. Airways refuses to be intimidated, even though the feds have launched an investigation. “We are absolutely backing this crew,” Rader said.

Tucked away in the police report is this little gem: one of the imams had complained to a passenger that some nations did not follow shariah law and his job in Bakersfield, Calif. was a cover for “representing Muslims here in the U.S.”

So what are the imams really up to? Something more than praying it seems.

http://pajamasmedia.com/2006/12/the_faking_imams_pajamas_media.php

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Desmond Tutu: A Hypocrite Among Hypocrites? A Liar Among Liars? Or Is He Both?

Alert Focus: False Teachers / The Falling Away / Mystery Babylon / Antichrist / Deception See Related Post: http://morielbealertblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/building-bridges-across-civilizations.html Matthew 24:10-13 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.` MORIEL MINISTRIES - By James Jacob Prasch - December 6, 2006 -- Most Black African Anglican Christians are conservative Evangelicals looking to the Arch Bishop of Lagos, Nigeria as their spiritual shepherd, not Desmond Tutu. The true leader of African Anglicans among other issues is concerned with the plight of the more than one million Nigerian Christians that have been killed by the Moslems in Nigeria in the last generation (which Tutu characteristically ignores), and he decidedly opposes the ordination of homosexuals and lesbians into the Anglican clergy (which Tutu supports). In Africa among his own people, Tutu is in fact a politician who uses the robes of the clergy as a mere publicity tool, and who pretends a concern for human rights, protesting on behalf of the cause of Palestinian Moslems when in fact he is silent in the face of the genocidal extermination of his fellow Black African Christians by the Moslems from Sudan to Somalia, to Northern Nigeria. Tutu also refuses to hardly utter a word as the Mugabe regime in neighboring Zimbabwe perpetrates a Stalinisesque tyranny right in Tutu’s own backyard in an abuse of human rights and dignity that leaves even the ugly injustices of apartheid wax shallow in comparison. At the same time the ANC government brought to power by Mandela with Tutu’s blessings have seen Black infant mortality skyrocket, Black longevity plummet, and Black unemployment mushroom, and corruption run rife. Not a word from Tutu either when the ANC government declared as a political decision (not a medical or scientific one) that AIDS was a social disease but not a retro viral infection better treated with African potato than anti retro viral drugs – a policy sentencing countless Blacks and their children to deaths. Tutu is such a strong moral voice in Africa that when the ANC vice president (ironically in charge of the nation’s AIDS program) said he did not contact HIV from an infected woman he was on trial for allegedly raping because ‘after sex with her he took a shower”, Tutu as usual kept silent. Having conspicuously failed Africa as a moral and as a political leader, Tutu now turns to pontificate on political morality to the West and to Israel. The Western media has a mythologized view of this demonstrable hypocrite and gives him a platform ignoring the realities of his true track record on his own African turf, where the shameful legacy of the ANC government Tutu was instrumental in bringing to power replaced one evil with a worse one. Again, while Tutu still takes public bows to the press, after well over a decade of ANC power in South Africa, Blacks die younger, have fewer jobs, far worse violent crime, and bury more of their babies and children than they did under the racist government they replaced. Teaming up with the former foreign minister of Indonesia (under the tenure of whose government persecution of Indonesian Christians reached astronomical proportions) and a court bureaucrat to the non democratic royal court of Moroccan government (where the indigenous Berber population remain second rate citizens after their Christian ancestors were exterminated by the Arab Moslem invaders who rule the country) Tutu drafted the statement below that The Washington Post was irresponsible enough to print without a due counterpoint argument being presented. Concerning the contents we can only reject it as an utterly ludicrous distortions of factual reality. We respond to the three bogus points presented by Tutu and his colleagues. 1 - Any reading of the sermon texts of imams or curricular materials from Islamic schools proves we are in a collision of cultures. Much of the Islamic fundamentalism, (funded by the Wahabist Saudi Arabians and others) proves categorically that the conflict of civilizations in the words of Islam’s own clerics is defined as such even by them and is undeniable. In the UK alone, with 40% of British Moslems admitting to being anti democracy and wanting an Islamic Caliphate, with 36% calling Western culture a threat to their Islam, and with very high percentages stating they would never report a planned terrorist attack to the police, with over 1,000 British girls forced into under age marriages annually by some good estimates, denials of two civilizations in conflict is implausible. There are three times as many conflicts in today’s world involving Islam than all other religio-people groups combined. Anyone like Tutu rejecting a collision of civilizations is either an ignoramus or a liar, if not both. 2 - Tutu’s abject assertion that the history of Islamic-Western relations is not primarily one of conflict and that Christians and Jews have been free to practice their faith in Islamic countries is preposterous. If Tutu is going to lie I would personally not expect him to do otherwise, but he should at least have the common sense to manufacture believable lies. From the Siege of Constantinople, to the Crusades, to the Saracen Wars, to Charles Martel, to the Khazar Empire, to King John Sobolesky of Poland and the twice failed Jihadist invasions reaching Vienna, to the Barbary pirates, to Ferdinhand & Isabella driving the Moorish invaders out of Spain, to Napoleon’s defeat of the Marmalukes in Egypt, to the Anglo-Afghan War , to General Gordon at The Battle of Kartoum, to the Arab Islamic jihadist conquest of Berber North Africa, to Biafra, to the Greco - Ottoman War, to the incursion and division of modern Cyprus, to September 11 th – most of this history has been marked by wars and conflict. If Tutu is going to teach history, he should first try reading it himself. But Tutu proclaims not history but a revisionism of Orwellian proportions. Tutu plainly knows little if anything about history, or for that matter about Islam. If he did he would know that fundamentalist Islam is on the ascent subsidized from Saudi Arabia in its Sunni version and Iran in its Shia version, and the very pronouncements of the Islamic theocracy itself proves that Islam views their history with the West as an ongoing conflict. There is scarcely a single Islamic country in the world that gives Christians and Jews the same rights that Moslems receive in Western countries. Predictably, Tutu has lied. 3 - Tutu’s final claim that the present conflicts are not in essence religious or cultural but rather political, in light of the aforementioned jihadist polemics by Islamic clerics seeking the propagation of their religion, go beyond the absurd. Tutu’s citation of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as causatives in the current environment of conflict ignores that Afghanistan is a direct self defensive result of a Taliban supported terrorist attack facilitated from that country whose Taliban regime was responsible for the most unspeakable suppression of human rights imaginable and the largest source of opium for the heroine trade (that kills more than twice as many Blacks in America and Europe as it does Whites). Tutu likewise ignores the fact that the violence and killing in Iraq preceded Western intervention with weapons of mass destruction having been used by Sadam Hussein’s Baathists against thousands of Kurdish women and children in Halbja. He also fails to recognize the obvious fact that the current hatred and killing is a civil and religious conflict within Islam by Sunnis and Shias, the West is only there in support of an elected government trying to stop the Moslem on Moslem violence. Tutu points to the Israeli-Islamic conflict as a source of problems causing conflict, conveniently forgetting that if Israel (probably the only democratic nation in region fully protecting the rights of Arab Christians) did not exist , we would still be confronted with the 3.3 million dead Black African Sudanese Christians killed in the last 12 years whose blood Tutu so strategically ignores. Tutu’s capacity to refrain from mentioning the far worse atrocities of East Timor (300,000 Christians murdered by Islam), The Southern Philippines (80, 000 Christians likewise murdered), The Molukkan Island (perhaps or more 30,000 so murdered) and the far worse human rights records of Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iran, while turning his guns against Israel, is staggering and completely ridiculous. Israel had no sooner withdrawn from Gaza in a quest for peace when Islamic forces simply used evacuated Gaza as a base to continue their jihad against Israel firing rockets, exactly as likewise transpired in Lebanon. Tutu’s faulting of the West for supporting non democratic regimes is another point of factual distortion. When the West pressed for democratic electoral reform Moslems in Gaza & West Bank, and Iraq only used their vote to elect promoters of terror, as did the Iranians and the Shia supporters of Hizbollah in Lebanon. It is probable that as polls show most Moslems are anti democracy. None of Tutu’s biased ramblings take note of the fact that the archaeological record confirms the Jews are the indigenous people of that land, and that a so called Palestinian state has never existed except that in 1970 King Hussein of Jordan , and in 1968 Yassir Arafat both stated that “Jordan is Palestine”. Nor does Tutu note that King Faisel of Iraq (displaced by the Baathists) and King Sharrif of Arabia (displaced by the Wahabist House of Saud that has decapitated people for becoming Christians) both proclaimed that Israel is the rightful homeland of The Jews. Tutu demands not an international effort to end the suffering of Christians at the hands of Moslems, but a resolution to the problems of Israel and The Palestinians who rejected a very generous peace when offered it by Ehud Barach and chose renewed terror instead. Tutu will not admit the only ‘Road Map’ the Islamists want is a map without Israel on it. Tutu’s so called commentary cites one alleged point of blame after another on The West yet utters not a syllable of the anti Westernism, anti Semitism, and persecution of Christians or the abysmal human rights situation prolific in the Islamic world. Also omitted in his perverted reasoning is that while over 90% of the Tsunami victims were moslems, over 90% of the international rescue aid and assistance came from the Christian nations, yet despite a doubling of oil revenues over the year previous, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States hardly donated pocket change in comparison.. The only reason fundamentalist Moslems want a bridge across civilizations is so they can pursue the jihadist dictates of their religion and invade, They desire no peace (‘salim’ in Arabic), but rather Hudna - a temporary ceasefire until they can get the advantage to Massacre the non Moslem. Worse still, Tutu makes no mention of the fact that it is irrefutable that the institution of slavery exists in four Counties - Chad, Sudan, Mauritania and Niger. All four are in Africa, all the slaves are Black, and all of their owners are Afro-Arab Moslems. Well done Desmond! If there was an “Uncle Tom” award for traitor to the cause of Black freedom, Desmond Tutu would have little competition. It is not the West or the Israelis who own Black slaves and sell Black African children into slavery, it is Tutu’s “Islamic brothers”. While Tutu mentions the ‘cartoon crises’ he ignores that the most vile and uncensored material fomenting hatred of Christians, The West, and Jews appears on a daily basis in the press throughout much of the Islamic world with virtual impunity. What can be said of a Black African political theocrat who resided in an ecclesiastical palace in the Bishop’s Court enclave of Cape Town – (the Beverley Hills - Bel Air of Africa ,actually taking its name from the salubrious abode), turning a deaf ear to the frantic suffering of his own kind? This indeed is the real Desmond Tutu. Now he imagines this somehow qualifies him to preach virtue to the rest of the planet, when he shows so little evidence of any virtue himself. Given the indescribable cruelty and death Robert Mugabe is carrying out against his own people right next door to Tutu, (to Moshanna, Matabeili, and Whites alike) and given the despotic corruption and dictatorship in one post colonial Black African country after another while Tutu says and does absolutely nothing, why should the rest of the world, or indeed anyone in their right mind, pay any attention whatsoever to the pathetic likes of such a devious hypocritical serpent like Desmond Tutu? It doesn’t appear to matter to Tutu if he maligns the truth theologically or politically. Just as long as the facts are twisted and misrepresented and the truth is maligned, Desmond Tutu is always happy to smile for the camera. James Jacob Prasch -------------------------- James Jacob Prasch is Director of Moriel Ministries. Jacob is a Hebrew speaking evangelist to The Jews and a bible teacher elaborating on the original Judeo-Christian background and hermeneutics of The New Testament, and his emphasis is on church planting and missions. He and Moriel have also been a conservative voice for biblically based discernment among moderate Pentecostals and Charismatics opposed to the seductions of the ecumenism, money oriented preaching and hype artistry, ‘charismania’ and psycho-babble prevalent in today’s church. Jacob & Moriel are committed to the conviction that we are in The Last Days approaching the return of Christ and that contemporary events in The Middle East, the moral deterioration of society, the destruction of the environment, the globalization of the world economy, the rise of a pseudo democratic federal Europe and above all the apostasy in the contemporary church, are all events of prophetic significance eschatologically. Jacob’s tapes, CDs, books, and videos are available through the Moriel branches in various countries. http://www.moriel.org/articles/notice_board/desmond_tutu.htm

British Lord Stings Senators Rockefeller and Snowe: 'Uphold Free Speech or Resign'

Alert Focus: The Mystery of Lawlessness / The Iron and the Clay / Creation Groans

2 Thessalonians 2:7a For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;... Daniel 2:41-43 "In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. "As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. Daniel 7:3 "And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. Revelation 11:18 "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came...to destroy those who destroy the earth." 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

PR NEWSWIRE - December 18, 2006 -- WASHINGTON -- Lord Monckton, Viscount of Brenchley, has sent an open letter to Senators Rockefeller (D-WV) and Snowe (R-Maine) in response to their recent open letter telling the CEO of ExxonMobil to cease funding climate-skeptic scientists. (http://ff.org/centers/csspp/pdf/20061212_monckton.pdf). Lord Monckton, former policy adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, writes: "You defy every tenet of democracy when you invite ExxonMobil to deny itself the right to provide information to 'senior elected and appointed government officials' who disagree with your opinion." In what The Charleston (WV) Daily Mail has called "an intemperate attempt to squelch debate with a hint of political consequences," Senators Rockefeller and Snowe released an open letter dated October 30 to ExxonMobil CEO, Rex Tillerson, insisting he end Exxon's funding of a "climate change denial campaign." The Senators labeled scientists with whom they disagree as "deniers," a term usually directed at "Holocaust deniers." Some voices on the political left have called for the arrest and prosecution of skeptical scientists. The British Foreign Secretary has said skeptics should be treated like advocates of Islamic terror and must be denied access to the media. Responds Lord Monckton, "Sceptics and those who have the courage to support them are actually helpful in getting the science right. They do not, as you improperly suggest, 'obfuscate' the issue: they assist in clarifying it by challenging weaknesses in the 'consensus' argument and they compel necessary corrections ... " Lord Monckton's Churchillian reproof continues, "You acknowledge the effectiveness of the climate sceptics. In so doing, you pay a compliment to the courage of those free-thinking scientists who continue to research climate change independently despite the likelihood of refusal of publication in journals that have taken preconceived positions; the hate mail and vilification from ignorant environmentalists; and the threat of loss of tenure in institutions of learning which no longer make any pretence to uphold or cherish academic freedom.".... Concludes Lord Monckton, "I challenge you to withdraw or resign because your letter is the latest in what appears to be an internationally-coordinated series of maladroit and malevolent attempts to silence the voices of scientists and others who have sound grounds, rooted firmly in the peer- reviewed scientific literature, to question what you would have us believe is the unanimous agreement of scientists worldwide that global warming will lead to what you excitedly but unjustifiably call 'disastrous' and 'calamitous' consequences." SOURCE Center for Science and Public Policy http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/18/prnw.20061218.DCM029.html FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

What is transhumanism?

Alert Focus: As in the days of Noah

Man is messing with his own genetic makeup and on the verge of replaying the same error that involved fallen angels inter-mingling their DNA with human, animal and possibly even plant. The stage is now being set that Christ must intervene. Stop living in the anglo-amero white picket fence, Disneyland, baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet dream and wake up to the fact that there is very little time left!

When the church should be at DEFCON 1 (Maximum force readiness), they're asleep at the wheel.

BE/\LERT!

Matthew 24:37 "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

WORLD TRANSHUMANIST ASSOCIATION - By Nick Bostrom, Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University - 2003 -- Transhumanism is a way of thinking about the future that is based on the premise that the human species in its current form does not represent the end of our development but rather a comparatively early phase. We formally define it as follows: (1) The intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. (2) The study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies. Transhumanism can be viewed as an extension of humanism, from which it is partially derived. Humanists believe that humans matter, that individuals matter. We might not be perfect, but we can make things better by promoting rational thinking, freedom, tolerance, democracy, and concern for our fellow human beings. Transhumanists agree with this but also emphasize what we have the potential to become. Just as we use rational means to improve the human condition and the external world, we can also use such means to improve ourselves, the human organism. In doing so, we are not limited to traditional humanistic methods, such as education and cultural development. We can also use technological means that will eventually enable us to move beyond what some would think of as “human”. It is not our human shape or the details of our current human biology that define what is valuable about us, but rather our aspirations and ideals, our experiences, and the kinds of lives we lead. To a transhumanist, progress occurs when more people become more able to shape themselves, their lives, and the ways they relate to others, in accordance with their own deepest values. Transhumanists place a high value on autonomy: the ability and right of individuals to plan and choose their own lives. Some people may of course, for any number of reasons, choose to forgo the opportunity to use technology to improve themselves. Transhumanists seek to create a world in which autonomous individuals may choose to remain unenhanced or choose to be enhanced and in which these choices will be respected. Through the accelerating pace of technological development and scientific understanding, we are entering a whole new stage in the history of the human species. In the relatively near future, we may face the prospect of real artificial intelligence. New kinds of cognitive tools will be built that combine artificial intelligence with interface technology. Molecular nanotechnology has the potential to manufacture abundant resources for everybody and to give us control over the biochemical processes in our bodies, enabling us to eliminate disease and unwanted aging. Technologies such as brain-computer interfaces and neuropharmacology could amplify human intelligence, increase emotional well-being, improve our capacity for steady commitment to life projects or a loved one, and even multiply the range and richness of possible emotions. On the dark side of the spectrum, transhumanists recognize that some of these coming technologies could potentially cause great harm to human life; even the survival of our species could be at risk. Seeking to understand the dangers and working to prevent disasters is an essential part of the transhumanist agenda. Transhumanism is entering the mainstream culture today, as increasing numbers of scientists, scientifically literate philosophers, and social thinkers are beginning to take seriously the range of possibilities that transhumanism encompasses. A rapidly expanding family of transhumanist groups, differing somewhat in flavor and focus, and a plethora of discussion groups in many countries around the world, are gathered under the umbrella of the World Transhumanist Association, a non-profit democratic membership organization. References: World Transhumanist Association. http://www.transhumanism.org

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Virginia Parishes Split From Episcopal Church

Alert Focus: The Falling Away / Apostasy

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,...Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first,...

ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Matthew Barakat - December 17, 2006 -- FAIRFAX, Va. -- Two of the most prominent Episcopal parishes in Virginia voted overwhelmingly Sunday to leave The Episcopal Church and join fellow Anglican conservatives forming a rival denomination in the U.S. Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church plan to place themselves under the leadership of Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who has called the growing acceptance of gay relationships a "satanic attack" on the church. Truro rector Martyn Minns was consecrated a bishop by the Church of Nigeria earlier this year to lead Akinola's Convocation of Anglicans in North America. "This has been our spiritual home, so separating is very hard," Minns said at a news conference announcing the parishes' decision. "There's also the promise of a new day. A burden is being lifted. There are new possibilities breaking through." Virginia Bishop Peter Lee, a centrist, had won praise even from his critics for his extensive outreach to all sides in the conflict. He said Sunday that the votes "had compromised these discussions and have created Nigerian congregations occupying Episcopal churches." Four other Virginia parishes have left, and eight more are voting or will vote soon whether to follow suit, according to the Virginia diocese. None is as eminent as Truro and Falls Church, however. A lengthy and expensive legal fight is expected over those historic church properties, which are worth millions of dollars. "We fully intend to assert the church's canonical and legal rights over these properties," Lee said in a news release, calling it a "sad day for the church." The Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of the global Anglican Communion, has been under pressure from traditionalists at home and abroad since the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Under Anglican tradition, Akinola's move into Episcopal territory amounts to an invasion, since archbishops agree not to start churches outside the borders of their own region. Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will consult with her advisers on how the denomination should respond, said Bob Williams, the national Episcopal spokesman. While theological conservatives are a minority within the 2.2 million- member U.S. denomination, their protests have had an impact. Ninety percent of Falls Church parishioners and 92 percent of Truro members who cast ballots in the last week supported cutting ties with The Episcopal Church, parish leaders said. The loss is spiritual as well as financial; the parishes are among the largest and most vibrant in the diocese, together claiming more than 4,000 members. "It was a very, very emotional time," said Jim Oakes, Truro's top lay leader, who supported the split. "In some ways it's like a death in the family." Nationally, Episcopal researchers estimate that at least one-third of the nearly 115,000 people who left the denomination from 2003 to 2005 did so because of parish conflicts over Robinson. Seven of the 100 U.S. Episcopal dioceses have threatened to break from the denomination, but have so far stayed put. The closest any have come to leaving was a vote earlier this month in the Diocese of San Joaquin, in Fresno, Calif., endorsing a first step toward seceding. But that diocese must take a second vote next year before they can formalize a split. The feud has been far more damaging to the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. Most overseas Anglicans believe gay relationships violate Scripture and contend liberal interpretations of the Bible are far outside the bounds of mainstream Christian belief. Struggling to hold the communion together, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, has said that the communion may have to create a two-tier system of membership, with branches that ordain partnered gays given a lesser status. Akinola is among the conservatives who aren't waiting for a negotiated solution. In a statement Friday, Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, said that the archbishop of Canterbury has not "indicated any support" for the mission. ____ On the Net: The Falls Church: http://www.thefallschurch.org Truro Church: http://www.trurochurch.org Diocese of Virginia: http://www.thediocese.net http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/17/D8M2QTQG1.html FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Real U.S. shortfall: $4.6 trillion in red

Alert Focus: Mammon / The Third Seal

James 5:1-9 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

'Taxing 100% of all wages, salaries, corporate profits would not eliminate a deficit of this magnitude' WORLDNETDAILY - By Jerome Corsi - December 17, 2006 -- The real 2006 federal budget deficit was $4.6 trillion, not a previously reported $248.2 billion, according to the 2006 Financial Report of the United States Government as released by the Treasury Department Friday. "The 2006 federal budget deficit of $4.6 trillion is $1.1 trillion more than the 2005 federal budget deficit," econometrician John Williams, who publishes the website Shadow Government Statistics, told WND. "The Bush administration is in an untenable situation with a budget deficit this dramatic. Taxing 100 percent of all wages, salaries, and corporate profits would not eliminate a deficit of this magnitude, and cutting Social Security and Medicare spending is politically impossible." In his subscription newsletter, Williams comments that the GAAP accounting numbers reported in the 2006 Treasury report show that, "the actual deficit number was nearly 19-times the size of the gimmicked 'official' deficit for 2006 of $248 billion. Total obligations were 4.2-times annual U.S. gross domestic product (GDP)." The difference between the $248 billion "official" budget deficit numbers and the $4.6 trillion budget deficit reported in the 2006 Financial Report of the United States Government is that the official budget deficit is calculated on a cash basis, where all tax receipts, including Social Security tax receipts, are used to pay government liabilities as they occur. The calculations in the 2006 Financial Report of the United States Government are calculated on a GAAP basis ("Generally Accepted Accounting Practices") that includes year-for-year changes in the net present value of unfunded liabilities in social insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Under cash accounting, the government makes no provision for future Social Security and Medicare benefits in the year in which those benefits accrue. "Truthfully," Williams points out, "there is no Social Security 'lock-box.' There are no funds held in reserve today for Social Security and Medicare obligations that are earned each year. It's only a matter of time until the public realizes that the government is truly bankrupt and no taxes are being held in reserve to pay in the future the Social Security and Medicare benefits taxpayers are earning today." Calculations from the 2006 Financial Report of the United States Government also show that the GAAP negative net worth of the federal government has increased to $53.1 trillion, while the total federal obligations under GAAP accounting now total $54.6 trillion. "The Treasury is right in that Social Security and Medicare must be shown as liabilities on the federal balance sheet in the year they accrue," Williams argues. "To do otherwise is irresponsible, nothing more than an attempt to hide the painful truth from the American public. The public has a right to know just how bad off the federal government budget deficit situation really is, especially since the situation is rapidly spinning out of control." "The federal government is bankrupt," Williams explained to WND. "In a post-Enron world, if the federal government were a corporation such as General Motors, the president and senior Treasury officers would be in federal penitentiary." In a letter included in the 2006 Financial Report of the United States Government, David M. Walker, the comptroller general of the United States, commented on the $53 trillion federal government GAAP accounted negative net worth by noting, "This translates to a current burden of about $170,000 per American or approximately $440,000 per American household." Remarkably, the U.S. Government Accountability Office refused to certify or render an opinion on the consolidated financial statements contained in the 2006 Financial Report of the United States Government, noting serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense, the federal government's inability to adequately account for and reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal agencies, and the federal government's ineffective process for preparing the consolidated financial statements. In his letter, David Walker commented that until these financial reporting problems were resolved within the federal government, the problems outlined in the audit report "will continue to have adverse implications for the federal government and American taxpayers." "That's an understatement," Williams told WND. "What the comptroller of the United States is telling us is that as bad as a $4.6 trillion federal budget deficit and a $53.1 trillion GAAP negative net worth are today, the situation with the Bush administration federal budget deficit might even be worse yet if the government’s overall bad accounting procedures could be fixed. With truly accurate GAAP reporting by the various administrative agencies, the 2006 financial report of the federal government would have shown even larger deficits and a larger negative net worth, hard as that may be to imagine." http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53413 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Building bridges across civilizations

Alert Focus: False Teachers / The Falling Away / Mystery Babylon / Antichrist / Deception Desmond Tutu is a false teacher whose thoughts are not God's but the perverted thinking of Satan. That is why the Alliance of Civilizations High Level Group created by Kofi Annan for the UN is nothing but lies and distortions and why they are calling for the UN to appoint a "High Representative" which would be perfect "fit" for one of the coming beasts better know as the anti-christ and false prophet. BE/\LERT!

Jeremiah 7:8 "Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,... Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Ephesians 5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them

THE WASHINGTON TIMES - Commentary by Desmond Mpilo Tutu/Ali Alatas/Andre Azoulay - November 16, 2006 -- When asked about current relations between Muslim and Western societies, most people are likely to think about the "cartoon crisis," the controversial remarks of Pope Benedict XVI regarding the Prophet Muhammad, or the debates raging in many European countries over the wearing of veils by some Muslim women. In addition, most would recognize that terrorist attacks on the one hand and military interventions in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan on the other have increased the climate of suspicion that seems to be spreading across the world. Staggering economic inequalities and the ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots also create new fault lines, dividing peoples and nations. These tensions help fuel the damaging yet powerful myth of a "clash of civilizations" -- an ideological boon for all those who share an interest in shoring up hostility between Muslims and the West. A year ago, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan created the Alliance of Civilizations High Level Group to help challenge this myth and recommend concrete measures to build bridges among communities worldwide. Our Group's report, which we presented to Mr. Annan on Nov. 13, debunks a number of misconceptions and confronts some uncomfortable realities. • First, there is no basis, in our opinion, for the claim "civilizations" are set on an inevitable collision course. Civilizations are not solid, monolithic blocs; rather, they are the result of complex mutual exchanges and constant cross-fertilization among cultural groups. Growing polarization between the West and the Muslim world is undeniable but not unavoidable. Fatalism denies individual freedom and mistakenly portrays human beings, communities and nations as mere pawns of history. • Second, the history of relations between Muslim and Western societies is not primarily one of conflict. Despite periods of war, Islam, Christianity and Judaism all benefited from each other through trade and intellectual exchanges. Historically, under Muslim rule, Jews and Christians have largely been free to practice their faiths and many rose to high political positions in Islamic empires. Similarly, in recent centuries, political, scientific, cultural, and technological developments in the West helped influence the Muslim world in many positive ways. • Third, we firmly reject the claim that the roots of the widening rift between Muslim and Western societies lie in religion or culture. Rather, they are to be found in politics. In our view, there are two key factors feeding the current climate of suspicion and fear that mars relations across communities. In the first instance, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has become a key symbol of the rift between Western and Muslim societies and remains one of the biggest threats to international stability. We passionately believe the international community should turn its attention to this festering conflict with a renewed sense of urgency. In addition, military operations in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan contribute to a growing climate of fear and animosity. The spiraling death toll and violence in both those countries help swell the ranks of terrorist groups. The other factor is the oppression of nonviolent political actors in the Muslim world, which strengthens the hand of extremists. Denying peaceful opposition movements the freedom to express their views and jailing their supporters generate anger and resentment, encouraging some, especially among the young, to join violent groups. And when Western governments lend their support -- tacitly or overtly -- to authoritarian regimes, they become part of the problem, stoking the fire of extremism. These issues are compounded by resistance to reform and limitations placed on intellectual enquiry which deprive many Muslim countries of the impetus and energy needed to achieve social progress. To help address the Middle East conflict, we propose development of a White Paper analyzing the Israeli-Palestinian landscape dispassionately and objectively, giving voice to the competing narratives on both sides, and establishing clearly the conditions that must be met to find a way out of this crisis. Among the issues feeding tensions between Muslim and Western societies is the potentially destructive impact of inflammatory language sometimes used by political and religious leaders and the effect such language can have when disseminated by the media. We urge leaders and shapers of public opinion to behave responsibly and do everything in their power to promote mutual respect of religious beliefs and traditions. We also request the U.N. secretary-general to appoint a high representative to assist in defusing cross cultural tensions, build bridges of understanding and create pathways toward reconciliation, especially in times of crisis. In addition to these critical steps aimed at addressing political conflicts, we believe initiatives in the areas of education, media, youth and migration are necessary to build bridges and promote a culture of respect and understanding among Western and Muslim communities. In today's interconnected world, nobody is immune from the growing danger of polarization between societies and cultures. As global neighbors, we all share a responsibility in building a common culture of respect and promoting a rational debate about issues that threaten to divide us. We will achieve progress not by attempting to ignore or deny our differences, but by acknowledging them openly and by celebrating our diversity. We must also recognize that these differences are not primarily religious or cultural, but political. In other words, they are not insurmountable and can be overcome through determined leadership and sustained negotiations. Only by engaging in this path will we be able to work out a common way forward, one that builds on the goals we share and rejects the doomsday scenarios of clashing civilizations. ---------- Desmond Mpilo Tutu is the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. Ali Alatas is former foreign minister of Indonesia. Andre Azoulay is adviser to Morocco's King Mohammed VI. http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20061115-093409-4839r.htm FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

The Whole Creation Groans

*This Blog Is updated daily as a running weekly tally.

Alert Focus: Creation Groans / Pestilence / Birth Pangs

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Luke 21:25-26 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:7b ...and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. Luke 21:11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. Jeremiah 23:19-20 "Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked."The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it. Revelation 6:8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. Revelation 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Isaiah 29:6 From the LORD of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire. Psalms 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. Psalms 65:7 Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.

Spain set for warmest year on record

REUTERS - December 19, 2006 -- MADRID -- This year is on track to be the warmest on record in Spain, a country which was already hot before global warming set in, the government said on Tuesday.So far this year, temperatures have been 1.46 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average as a searing summer gave way to mild autumn and winter, the Environment Ministry said.Experts warn global warming will be especially painful for Spain, and some have even forecast its southern beaches could become too hot for tourists later this century.Last year the country logged its driest year since records began and this December started with a few hardy daisies still to be found growing in Madrid parks where many trees have still to lose their leaves....Last week the Netherlands said it was on track for its warmest temperatures since records began 300 years ago, and a British study said 2006 would be the sixth-warmest worldwide since records began.http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-12-19T163016Z_01_L19271747_RTRUKOC_0_US-SPAIN-HEAT.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Warmth seen lingering into early January

REUTERS - December 19, 2006 -- NEW YORK -- Mild weather was expected to linger in most of the United States until at least early January, continuing a prolonged spell of balmy conditions that has cut deeply into heating demand, government and private forecasters said on Tuesday."We see no end at this point to the moderate weather pattern that virtually all of North America is experiencing," said Mike Palmerino of DTN Meteorlogix. "It is very unlikely anyone in the Northeast is going to get a white Christmas."The National Weather Service said Tuesday that almost all of the United States, with the exception of parts of southern Texas, would have normal or above normal temperatures for the next two weeks...."This is classic El Nino," DTN's Palmerino said, referring to the warming of Pacific Ocean waters that can affect weather around the world. ...http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-12-19T152734Z_01_N19265915_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-WEATHER-WARMTH.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Las Vegas: "Unusual" Snow in the valley

KVBC/DT NBC NEWS 3 LAS VEGAS/CLARK, NEVADA - December 19, 2006 -- LAS VEGAS -- The early morning storm had some kids dusting off their sleds for a little fun in the snow. News 3's Angela Martin shows us how Fox Ridge Park in Henderson was bustling with activity....It's an unusual sight in the valley; a steady stream of snow coating cars and palm trees. The wet roads caused some accidents and made for a slippery and in some cases slow drive into work. ...

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5835118

Northwest Storm Leaves 1.5M in the Dark

ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Gene Johnson - December 17, 2006 -- SEATTLE -- Residents of the Pacific Northwest struggled to stay warm Saturday after the worst windstorm in more than a decade knocked out power to more than 1.5 million homes and businesses and killed at least six people. About 950,000 customers in Washington and Oregon remained without power Friday night. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency, and with temperatures expected to drop over the weekend, officials warned people not to use outdoor grills, propane heaters or other carbon monoxide-producing equipment indoors.... Winds gusted to a record 69 mph early Friday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking the old mark of 65 mph set in 1993. Winds were clocked at 113 mph near Mount Rainier. ... http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061216/D8M208000.html Thousands in region bracing for fifth night without power SEATTLE TIMES - By Lornet Turnbull Seattle Times staff reporter - December 18, 2006 --Thousands of Puget Sound-area residents are preparing to spend what for many will be their fifth night without power tonight, unable to heat their homes or cook as temperatures drop near the freezing level.... Retailers in the region reported running out of fire logs and batteries, and wood for burning was in short supply. Long lines continued at gas stations. While some churches were closed, others held limited services Sunday, minus heat and power. ... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003482605_webstormmainbar17.html Earthquake kills 7 on Indonesia's Sumatra island ASSOCIATED PRESS - December 18, 2006 -- JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An earthquake killed seven people and injured more than 100 others Monday, spreading panic across a large swath of the Indonesian island worst hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami, witnesses and officials said. The 5.5-magnitude tremor struck just before dawn, triggering landslides that hampered emergency efforts, destroying or damaging more than 680 homes and sending frightened residents of Sumatra fleeing into the streets. It was followed by several aftershocks that kept people on edge in the worst-hit region. ... http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-12-18-indonesia-quake_x.htm?csp=34 Quake causes panic in western Algeria AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - December 17, 2006 -- An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale rattled Chlef in western Algeria, causing widespread panic, the Algerian geophysics centre CRAAG said.... The Chlef region was hit by a deadly earthquake on October 10 1980, registering 7.1 on the Richter scale, which killed at least 5,000 people. http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/061217212115.rgx8cpyb.html Manila says needs $1 bln to rebuild typhoon areas REUTERS - December 18, 2006 -- MANILA -- The Philippines needs about 50 billion pesos ($1.01 billion) to rebuild villages and farms destroyed after four typhoons crashed into the country in the past three months, a Cabinet official said on Monday. At least 1,850 people were dead or missing, and tens of thousands homeless. "We're appealing for help through the United Nations," said Esperanza Cabral, secretary of Department of Social Welfare and Development, adding that it could take several years to revive communities destroyed by landslides, flash floods and high winds. ... http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAN65884.htm Red Cross: Asia storm toll may hit 1,000 ASSOCIATED PRESS - December 3, 2006 -- PADANG, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national calamity Sunday after a massive typhoon ravaged the eastern Philippines and the Red Cross said it feared more than 1,000 people were killed, officials said. Arroyo's declaration would allow her government to more rapidly release funds needed to bolster search and rescue efforts and help several eastern provinces recover three days after Typhoon Durian struck, killing at least 309 people, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said. Nearly 300 people remained missing, officials said. Sen. Richard Gordon, who heads the local Red Cross, said his group has recorded a death toll of at least 406, with 398 others missing, based on figures provided by mayors of devastated towns, specially in worst-hit Albay province. "We're estimating the casualties could reach 1,000, perhaps more," he said. No survivors are known to have been pulled from the swampy land since the first hours after Durian blasted ashore Thursday with winds gusting up to 165 mph. The storm affected 800,000 people, officials said. ... http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2006-12-02-philippine-typhoon_x.htm Air pollution killer in Asian cities AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - December 17, 2006 -- Air pollution is killing more than half a million people in Asian cities each year and shows no sign of improving as urban centers expand, studies by the Asian Development Bank show.... Experts cited the increase in an air pollutant known as fine particulate matter or PM10 that "enters the lungs and stays there." PM10 is a result of burning fossil fuels and much of the PM10 in Asian cities is emitted by motor vehicles, the experts said. "The concentration of the fine particulate matter is serious in Beijing, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Shanghai," the ADB warned in a report. ... http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/061217233337.uk38hc9k.html London struck by a tornado THE SUN - By ALI MARTIN - December 7, 2006 -- A TORNADO has ripped through a north London street causing millions of pounds worth of damage and injuring six people. The sweeping winds, described by one resident as "some sort of cyclone", hit Chamberlayne Road in Kensal Rise.... Dave Bonner, of the London Fire Brigade, said one house had had its roof completely removed while another had seen an exterior wall demolished. He said: "There were reports of a mini tornado, and freak weather conditions have severely damaged houses in an area of around a quarter of a square mile. "The damage ranges from roofs with a few tiles missing, trees uprooted by the wind, but we’ve also had one building I’ve seen that’s had an exterior wall collapse." He said about 10 streets were affected, and fire officers had searched around 100 properties to make sure everybody was safe.... "We do occasionally suffer from freak weather conditions in the UK, and from wind and rain in December, but it’s very unusual for this type of damage to be done." ... http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006560657,00.html Alps warmest in 1,300 years as "winter" sets in REUTERS - December 5, 2006 -- VIENNA -- It is warmer in Europe's Alpine region now than at any time in the past 1,300 years, the head of a wide-ranging climatic survey said on Wednesday. From Ottawa to Moscow, temperatures generally have been way above average at the start of winter in the northern hemisphere, with flowers blooming on snow-starved slopes of Alpine ski resorts and bears struggling to hibernate. "We are now experiencing the warmest period (for this season) in the past 1,300 years," said Reinhard Boehm, chief climatologist at Austria's Central Institute for Meteorology and Geo-Dynamics in Vienna. ... http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-12-05T192934Z_01_L03188806_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-WEATHER-WINTER-DC.XML&WTmodLoc=SciHealth-C3-Science-9 El Nino drought here for months THE AUSTRALIAN - By Natasha Bita - December 7, 2006 -- AUSTRALIA'S drought will continue at least until March, the World Meteorological Organisation predicted yesterday as it revealed unusually high sea temperatures in the Pacific. The tropical Pacific basin is in the grip of a drought-inducing El Nino climate event, the Geneva-based WMO said, with ocean temperatures already 1C to 1.5C higher than usual - and set to rise over summer. A modest further intensification of El Nino was expected over the next three months, the organisation said in its latest El Nino update.... Unusual and sometimes severe climate patterns are known to have occurred during El Nino events of the current magnitude. The WMO said the duration of this El Nino would depend on climatic developments in the Pacific between March and May next year. The worst-case scenario of El Nino conditions stretching 12-18 months, as happened in 1986-87, is unusual but cannot be ruled out. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology warned yesterday that the drought had taken a distinct turn for the worst since August, with a near-total failure of the late-winter and spring rains. South Australia, southwest Queensland, southern Western Australia, and the tablelands and western slopes between the ACT and Dubbo, in central NSW, were in the grip of the worst spring drought on record, the bureau said. ... http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20872566-30417,00.html?from=public_rss Midwest, Northeast Recover From Storm ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Don Babwin - December 3, 2006 -- CHICAGO -- Thousands of homes and businesses had no electricity for heat and lights Saturday after the Midwest's first big snowstorm of the season. The storm was blamed for at least 11 deaths as it cut a swath from Texas to Michigan and then blew through the Northeast late Friday and early Saturday. Schools and businesses were shuttered and hundreds of airline passengers had been stranded by canceled flights.... Many areas of Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri got more than a foot of snow, including 14.5 inches at Racine, Wis., and Chicago measured 6.2 inches. As far south as Oklahoma, Tulsa measured more than 10 inches.... Wind hit more than 50 mph in parts of Pennsylvania, and peaked at 67 mph in western New York state, according to the National Weather Service. "There's tons and tons of trees down everywhere" in New York's Ulster County, south of Albany, said state police Trooper Steven Missale. The wind blew the windows out and ripped down ceiling tiles at Mr. Z's Food Mart in Mountain Top, Pa., and about a half-dozen people suffered minor injuries, fire officials said. ... http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061202/D8LOQQ000.html Stomach virus likely caused Olive Garden illnesses

REUTERS - December 18, 2006 -- LOS ANGELES -- A contagious stomach virus is likely to blame for sickening about 370 people who ate at an an Indianapolis Olive Garden restaurant last week, a county health official said on Monday.Stool tests of three Olive Garden employees and one customer tested positive for norovirus, according to Marion County Health Department spokesman John Althardt.Norovirus is a gastrointestinal illness that causes symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus is prevalent in hospitals, nursing homes, cruise ships and other semi-enclosed environments. ...

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-12-18T182141Z_01_N18175744_RTRUKOC_0_US-OLIVEGARDEN-NOROVIRUS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Drug resistant TB cases higher than once estimated REUTERS - By Patricia Reaney - December 18, 2006 -- LONDON -- Cases of drug resistant tuberculosis are higher than previously estimated and three nations -- China, India and Russia -- account for more than half of all cases worldwide, according to new research. Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are strains of the airborne disease that are resistant to at least two of the most important first-line drugs.es higher than once estimated.... "There is increasing drug resistance in some parts of the world, namely the former Soviet Union and China," Dr Mario Raviglione, of the WHO, said in an interview.... The high prevalence of MDR-TB coincides with fast growing HIV infection rates in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. TB is one of the main opportunistic infections that kills AIDS sufferers. ... http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-12-18T101821Z_01_L18473159_RTRUKOC_0_US-TUBERCULOSIS-STRAIN.xml&src=rss&rpc=22 Study: Ebola Killed Gorillas Too ASSOCIATED PRESS - December 7, 2006 -- Recent outbreaks of ebola among people in Africa also killed thousands of gorillas, animals already threatened by hunting, a new study reports. Outbreaks in Congo and Gabon in 2002 and 2003 killed as many as 5,500 gorillas and an uncounted number of chimpanzees, a research team led by Magdalena Bermejo of the University of Barcelona in Spain reports in Friday's issue of the journal Science. ... http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/07/D8LS6BS80.html FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. ---------- Note: This post is continuously updated during each month to keep a 'running tally' of earth related signs of the coming of Christ and the end of the age. (Yes it is real!)