News Links of Interest for 2006
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Three Questions, Many Answers

1. “Tell us, when will these things be?

2. And what will be the sign of Your coming,

3. and of the end of the age?” -Matthew 24:3

Natural World

Natural Disasters

Storms turn fury to Midwest, southern Plains - Icy roads tied to woman's death in Kan.; Seattle breaks precipitation record - In Washington, the November precipitation total at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport stood at 15.45 inches at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Doug McDonnal said. That topped Seattle’s monthly record of 15.33 inches set in December 1933. -Posted 2006-11-30 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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Hurricanes/Typhoons
"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth..." -Luke 21:25,26

Red Cross: Asia typhoon toll likely to top 1,000 - Confirmed death toll stands at 406 after mud, boulders crashed into villages - PADANG, Philippines - The top Red Cross official in the Philippines said Sunday that he thinks 1,000 people or more have been killed by Typhoon Durian. ... President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national calamity Sunday, allowing the government to more rapidly release funds needed to bolster search and rescue efforts. ... Typhoon Durian was the fourth major storm to hit the Philippines in four months. It buffeted the Mayon volcano with so much wind and rain that ash and boulders cascaded down in walls of black mud that swamped entire villages on Thursday. ... The sound of boulders crashing down Mayon’s slopes “were like thunder, and the ground shook,” she said. “We thought it would be our end.” -Posted 2006-12-03 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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Tsunami
"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth..." -Luke 21:25,26

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Earthquakes

Hawaiian earthquake had surprising trigger - "A new fault formed off the northwest coast of Hawaii on Oct. 15 of this year, and now scientists are figuring out what caused the crack and the ensuing 6.7 magnitude earthquake." ... "The crack extends about 9 miles in length in the oceanic plate that supports the island. It formed about 35 miles below the sea-surface level, much deeper than quakes typically originate in that region. The temblor set off a chain of events, including a shallower earthquake of magnitude 6.0 and more than 80 aftershocks within a 24-hour period." - MSNBC.com -Posted 2006-12-15

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Famines
"... And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." -Matthew 24:7,8

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Pestilence
"... And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." -Matthew 24:7,8

Over 300 sickened after eating at Olive Garden - “We’re trying to isolate what the cause of the illness might be,” said Marion County Health Department spokesman John Althardt." - MSNBC.com -Posted 2006-12-17 (Front Page news)

Congress to look into food safety failures - WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers vowed on Monday to make food safety a top priority when the new Democratic-led Congress convenes in January following a recent series of high-profile illnesses caused by the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria. ... The food safety system "appears to have broken down when you have these outbreaks almost every single week," she added. -Posted 2006-12-11 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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Other Natural News

Global Warming
"The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, ... and should destroy those who destroy the earth.” -Revelation 11:18

Ancient ice shelf breaks free in Canadian Arctic - Breakaway may 'signal the onset of accelerated change,' researchers say - A giant ice shelf has snapped free from an island south of the North Pole, scientists said Thursday, citing climate change as a “major” reason for the event.  The Ayles Ice Shelf — all 41 square miles of it — broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 500 miles south of the North Pole in the Canadian Arctic. Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions, traveled to the newly formed ice island and couldn’t believe what he saw. “This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the Canadian North that have been in place for many thousands of years,” Vincent said. “We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead.” ... "the event registered on earthquake monitors 155 miles away" -Posted 2006-12-29 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Arctic summer could be ice-free by 2040 - If you're looking to photograph a polar bear hopping sea ice floes on your next summer cruise, you better hurry because in 30 years, the Arctic Sea could be free of ice. ... The rapid meltdown, result of a warming globe, will itself accelerate the heating of the oceans, according to the latest study. ... "We have already witnessed major losses in sea ice, but our research suggests that the decrease over the next few decades could be far more dramatic than anything that has happened so far," Holland said. "These changes are surprisingly rapid." -Posted 2006-12-11 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Gore: Climate crisis 'infinitely worse' than Iraq - Former VP says global warming must be top issue in 2008 presidential race - Al Gore says global warming is a problem with consequences “infinitely worse” than the war in Iraq. ... “Imagine on a global scale a nearly irretrievable situation. We still have time to avoid the mistakes that are creating this climate crisis,” he said. ... If the warnings on global warming are ignored, America and the world will find themselves in another catastrophe like Iraq -- "except infinitely worse," he said, calling climate change "the most serious issue we've ever confronted." ... Gore’s movie on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is being released on DVD this week..." -Posted 2006-12-06

Study says global warming will stifle oceans - Phytoplankton account for about half of the photosynthesis on Earth - LONDON - Global warming will stifle life-giving microscopic plants that live in the surface layer of the oceans, cutting marine food production and accelerating climate change, according to a study published on Wednesday. ... Phytoplankton are not only the foundation of the marine food chain, but every day they take more than 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, scientists from Oregon State University, NASA and four other institutions said. ... The study, published in the science journal Nature, comes from a decade-long analysis of the oceans by NASA's SeaWiFS satellite which measured the changing colours of the waters caused by changing levels of phytoplankton. ... "This clearly showed that overall ocean productivity decreases when the climate warms," Behrenfeld said. -Posted 2006-12-06 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Alps experiencing warmest time in 1,300 years - ‘It will undoubtedly get warmer in the future,’ official says - "We are currently experiencing the warmest period in the Alpine region in 1,300 years," Reinhard Boehm, a climatologist at Austria's Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics said. ... "It will undoubtedly get warmer in the future," Boehm said. -Posted 2006-12-05 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Climate study: Expect more extreme weather - And For the Rest of the Century’s Weather… A new study predicts some wet and wild climate changes in the decades ahead - Nov. 27, 2006 - Scary weather patterns appear to be on the rise. And if a new report is right, we could be in for a lot more. In a study called “Going to the Extremes,” coming out in the December issue of the journal Climatic Change, researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Texas Tech University found strong evidence that by the end of this century, there will be significant increases in what the authors call “extreme weather events”—deadly heat waves, heavy rainfall and prolonged droughts. ... Just how drastic will the extremes be? The report doesn’t give a single answer, but plots out three alternate pictures of the future. ... But consider this: under the worst of the three scenarios, by the year 2099, the length of heat waves will increase by a whopping 12 standard deviations—which is statistician-speak for “holy cow!” “The lengths are so much longer, it’s not even on the same scale as today,” says Tebaldi. -Posted 2006-11-28 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Iceberg off New Zealand becomes tourist mecca - Scientists sample to figure out where on Antarctica it, others came from - WELLINGTON, New Zealand - An iceberg has been spotted from the New Zealand shore for the first time in living memory, drawing tourists via helicopter and scientists who are trying to determine where it and several other giant chunks drifting in the country's waters originated from. Last year, icebergs were seen in New Zealand water for the first time in 56 years, but couldn't be seen from the shore. This year one was visible from Dunedin on South Island on Thursday. ... Williams said the last time an iceberg was visible from the New Zealand shore was June 1931. -Posted 2006-11-20

Arctic sea ice shrinking faster, NASA finds - "A pair of new studies shows that winter sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk dramatically in the past two years and that perennial ice in particular is disappearing." ... ""What's remarkable is that we've witnessed sea ice reduction at 6 percent per year over just the last two winters, most likely a result of warming due to greenhouse gases." ... "In addition to finding a loss of the ice cover extent, the team found a stark change in ice distribution. The perennial ice shrunk abruptly by 14 percent between 2004 and 2005, with an overall decrease of 280,000 square miles (725,200 square kilometers) — an area the size of Texas." -posted 2006-09-14

Greenland's glaciers losing ice at faster rate - "Satellite observations indicate that Greenland's glaciers have been dumping ice into the Atlantic Ocean at a rate that's doubled over the past five years, researchers reported here on Thursday." - Updated: 7:10 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2006 -posted 2006-02-16

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Space

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Political World
Sunday Worship Laws
(or issues leading to such)
"Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." -Matthew 24:15
"It is time for You to act, O LORD, for they have regarded Your law as void." -Psalm 119:126
 

"Ordinariato Castrense" or Panama's New Military Legislation- The country of Panama has signed documents with the Vatican that have not only created a military police state, but have handed over control to the Catholic Church! -posted 2006-07-11

Ten Commandments Day - 1st Annual - Ten Commandments Day - May 7, 2006 "Finally, a day in which we can come together and celebrate God's eternal moral law." -Posted 2006-02-17

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Lawlessness
"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." -Matthew 24:12

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Wars & Rumors of Wars
(also see Rapture below)
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars ..." -Matthew 24:6
 

Israel sends 8,000 troops in attack on Lebanon - BOURJ AL-MULOUK, Lebanon - Israel pressed the first full day of a massive new ground attack, sending 8,000 troops into southern Lebanon on Wednesday and seizing five people it said were Hezbollah fighters in a dramatic airborne raid on a northeastern town. Hezbollah retaliated with its deepest strikes yet into Israel, firing a record number of more than 210 rockets. -Posted 2006-08-02

Man who loses family asks, ‘Who is to blame?’ - A picture amid the rubble leads to a life altered forever by war - He had left just 15 minutes before the airstrike. He got a call from a friend who needed a set of keys he had in his pocket, so he went off to run that errand. When he was out running the errand, he heard the airstrike and then started to get calls from friends saying, “Hey, there was just an airstrike near your house.” -Posted 2006-07-26

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No One May Buy or Sell
"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ... He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ...and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." -Revelation 13:17

"Behold the bridegroom cometh!" -Matthew 25:6

     Revelation tells us that the United States (the lamblike beast) will take the forefront in speaking (legislation) and causing (enforcement) all with a system that will be able to cut off those who will not worship the way the government tells them to.  This system that could control whether you can even get a bank account will be enforced on May 11th, 2008.  This does not mean no one may buy or sell except those with the mark, YET.  But the stage for the ability to enforce Sunday worship is now set up.  God's people should take note of this dangerous piece of fulfillment of prophecy.  We cannot stress how serious this is.  Please stay close to God.  "Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones." -Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 11

CNN.com - Why the 'Real ID' Act is a real mess - In May 2005, Congress passed the "Real ID" Act, which requires states - starting in May 2008 -- to issue federally approved driver's licenses or identification (ID) cards to those who live and work in the United States. - Unlike the USA Patriot Act and other politically sensitive pieces of legislation, Real ID has not made many headlines. Last fall, it was voted down. But then it was reintroduced, and tacked onto the 2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Tsunami Relief. (Real ID hence superseded conflicting portions of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.) ...
     "It would have been a serious political liability for a congressperson to vote against funding for the war on terror and tsunami relief. So it is not surprising that there were no debates, hearings or public vettings of the act."
     "More than 600 organizations have expressed concern over the Real ID Act. Organizations such as the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the American Library Association, the Association for Computing Machinery, the National Council of State Legislatures, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Governors Association are among them."
     "The Real ID Act's identity cards will be required if one wants to drive, visit a federal government building, collect Social Security, access a federal government serviceor use the services of a private entity (such as a bank or an airline) that is required under federal law to verify customer identity."
     "It will be nearly impossible to live without such an ID." -Posted 2006-12-11

The Library of Congress - H.R.418 - H.R.418 - Title: To establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal, and to ensure expeditious construction of the San Diego border fence.
Sponsor: Rep Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [WI-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) -Posted 2006-12-11

The Post-Gazette -The 'Real ID Act' is all wrong - "This measure is a horrible piece of legislation. ... the Real ID Act is another thinly shrouded attempt to institute a national ID system." ... HR 418 passed the House of Representatives without any debate. ... None of the provisions in this bill has been subject to hearings or meaningful debate. And none of these measures would have prevented or impeded the 9/11 attacks. Tragically, these provisions also would do nothing to make us safer. In fact, they would undermine our security by diverting resources from effective initiatives and alienate immigrant populations here and our allies abroad. -Posted 2006-12-11

GovTrack.com H.R. 418: REAL ID Act of 2005 - 109th U.S. Congress (2005-2006) - "To establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal, and to ensure expeditious construction of the San Diego border fence." -Posted 2006-12-11

C/Net News.com - FAQ: How Real ID will affect you - What's all the fuss with the Real ID Act about?  President Bush is expected to sign an $82 billion military spending bill soon (already signed now) that will, in part, create electronically readable, federally approved ID cards for Americans. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the package--which includes the Real ID Act--on Thursday.
     What does that mean for me?  Starting three years from now (May 10, 2008), if you live or work in the United States, you'll need a federally approved ID cardto travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service. Practically speaking, your driver's license likely will have to be reissued to meet federal standards.
     The Real ID Act hands the Department of Homeland Security the power to set these standards and determine whether state drivers' licenses and other ID cards pass muster. Only ID cards approved by Homeland Security can be accepted "for any official purpose" by the feds.
     What's going to be stored on this ID card?  At a minimum: name, birth date, sex, ID number, a digital photograph, address, and a "common machine-readable technology"  that Homeland Security will decide on. The card must also sport "physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes."
     Homeland Security is permitted to add additional requirements--such as a fingerprint or retinal scan--on top of those. We won't know for a while what these additional requirements will be.
     Why did these ID requirements get attached to an "emergency" military spending bill?
Because it's difficult for politicians to vote against money that will go to the troops in Iraq and tsunami relief. ... Now that it's part of an Iraq spending bill, senators won't want to vote against it.
     You said the ID card will be electronically readable. What does that mean?  The Real ID Act says federally accepted ID cards must be "machine readable," and lets Homeland Security determine the details. That could end up being a magnetic strip, enhanced bar code, or radio frequency identification (RFID) chips.
    In the past, Homeland Security has indicated it likes the concept of RFID chips. The State Department is already going to be embedding RFID devices in passports, and Homeland Security wants to issue RFID-outfitted IDs to foreign visitors who enter the country at the Mexican and Canadian borders. The agency plans to start a yearlong test of the technology in July at checkpoints in Arizona, New York and Washington state.
     Will state DMVs share this information?  Yes. In exchange for federal cash, states must agree to link up their databases. Specifically, the Real ID Act says it hopes to "provide electronic access by a state to information contained in the motor vehicle databases of all other states."
     Is this legislation a done deal?  Pretty much. The House of Representatives approved the package on Thursday by a vote of 368-58. Only three of the "nay" votes were Republicans; the rest were Democrats. The Senate is scheduled to vote on it next week and is expected to approve it as well.
     Who were the three Republicans who voted against it?  Reps. Howard Coble of North Carolina, John Duncan of Tennessee, and Ron Paul of Texas.
     Paul has warned that the Real ID Act "establishes a national ID card" and "gives authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to unilaterally add requirements as he sees fit." -Posted 2006-12-12

Wikipedia - Real ID Act - It was signed into public law (109-13) on May 11, 2005. ... After May 11, 2008, "a Federal agency may not accept, for any official purpose, a driver's license or identification card issued by a State to any person unless the State is meeting the requirements" specified in the Real ID Act. -Posted 2006-12-12

See Also: What Ever Happened to the Civil Liberties Board?

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Religious World

Protestants/Islam & Rome
(Church Unification)

Pope says Turkey is a ‘bridge’ between religions - ANKARA, Turkey - Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that Turkey is a "bridge" between religions and he appealed for solidarity between cultures in his first remarks after arriving for a delicate four-day trip to the predominantly Muslim nation. ... "I really wanted to come to Turkey because Turkey has become a bridge ... between the religions," Benedict told Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who greeted him at the airport. ... "I want to reiterate the solidarity between the cultures," Benedict said. "This is our duty." -Posted 2006-11-28 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

"Ordinariato Castrense" or Panama's New Military Legislation - The country of Panama has signed documents with the Vatican that have not only created a military police state, but have handed over control to the Catholic Church! -posted 2006-07-11

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False Christs
"Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many." -Matthew 24:4,5
"...if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it." -Matthew 24:23-26

The Man Who Claims To Be Jesus - (CBS4 News)DORAL His name is Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda; his followers call him everything from apostle to Dad, or simply Jesus Christ Man. De Jesus Miranda himself believes he’s the living incarnation of “Jesus Christ Man,” “the second coming of Christ.” ... From a warehouse in Doral, near Miami, he presides over the "Creciendo en Gracia" or Growing in Grace Ministry which he also calls “God's Government On Earth. ... De Jesus says, “It doesn’t exist. The devil was destroyed two thousand years ago."  It is music to the ears of his followers, mostly Hispanic men and women who believe they are God's chosen people, predestined for salvation no matter what they do on earth. They also believe all other faiths are false and must be destroyed, from Catholics to Baptists and Jehovah’s witnesses. ... “What disturbs me is that he fits into the typical mold of a cult leader, total complete submission to his authority," FIU Religion professor, Daniel Alvarez said. -Posted 2006-11-26 (See also: "The Man Who Claims To Be Jesus")

Dr. Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, the Next False Christ? - This week Steve Wohlberg and Arthur Branner discuss the claims of divinity and unique teachings of Dr. Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, the man some claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. -Posted 2006-11-26 (Download the podcast/mp3 of this interview here.)

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(Spiritual) Excitement in the Religious Bodies

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"The Rapture" & "Left Behind"
"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess. 2:9-12
(Fiction is a lie.)

Left Behind is classified "Fiction"
Webster's Online Dictionary definition for "fiction"

1. something invented by the imagination or feigned; specifically:an invented story

2. an assumption of a possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth

"Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters,and whoever loves and practices a lie." -Rev. 22:14,15 (There's only two groups at the end.  Please choose to be inside, join those who love and practice the truth.)
 

Are These the End Times - The coauthor of the popular ‘Left Behind’ series explains why he believes Christ will return in our lifetimes. - "Tim LaHaye: Biblically speaking, the very nations that are mentioned in prophecy—and have been mentioned for 2,500 years as occupying the focus of the tension of the last days—are the very nations that are involved in the conflict right now. That may be one of the reasons there’s a sudden interest in bible prophecy because all of a sudden they realize end-time events could possibly take place and break forth right now." -Posted 2006-08-02 (Most viewed story on MSNBC this day.) (see also video: Are We Facing the End of Days?)

Religion - The Pop Prophets - Faith and Fiction: Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins are an unlikely team with a shared evangelical fervor—and America's best-selling writers - "71 percent of the readers are from the South and Midwest, and just 6 percent from the Northeast." ... "As the world gets increasingly scary, with much of the trouble centered in the Mideast—just where you'd expect from reading the Book of Revelation—even secular Americans sometimes wonder (or at least wonder if they ought to start wondering) whether there might not be something to this End Times stuff. After September 11, 2001, there was such a run on the latest "Left Behind" volume, "Desecration," that it became the best-selling novel of the year. And it's no coincidence that the books are a favorite with American soldiers in Iraq." -Posted 2006-08-02

2006-07-23 Highlites Shoppers Guide - Fremont, MI - Rapture Warning - A scan we made of an interesting local newspaper "warning" about "the rapture." -Posted 2006-07-26

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Adventists in the News

Amazing Facts to be Featured on National Geographic - "On Saturday, February 11, producers from National Geographic and a film company from San Francisco, Calif., sat down with Doug Batchelor, president/speaker of Amazing Facts Ministries and pastor of the Sacramento Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, to tape a segment of a documentary on the significance of the book of Revelation..." -Posted 2006-02-18  (This did not turn out so great in our opinion.  It seemed like they tried to use Doug Batchelor's words to support the popular protestant views.)

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Blasphemy
"... scoffers will come in the last days ..." 2 Peter 3:3
"Judgments are prepared for scoffers ..." Proverbs 19:29

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Scoffers
"... scoffers will come in the last days ..." 2 Peter 3:3
"Judgments are prepared for scoffers ..." Proverbs 19:29

Did Jesus Walk on Water or Ice? - Scientist says Sea of Galilee could have had frozen patches in Jesus' day - Scientist says Sea of Galilee could have had frozen patches in Jesus' day -Posted 2006-04-04

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Church-State Issues
Religious Liberty

Watchdog: What Ever Happened to the Civil Liberties Board? - "For more than a year, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has been the most invisible office in the White House. Created by Congress in December 2004 as a result of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, the board has never hired a staff or even held a meeting."..."Renewed concerns about the White House's commitment came just a few weeks ago when President Bush's new budget was released—with no listing for money for the civil liberties board. Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, denied to NEWSWEEK the White House was trying to kill the panel by starving it of funds."

Alito Sent Thank-You Note to Evangelical Leader - Dobson Talks of Letter in Radio Broadcast to Followers - "Alito wrote that "the prayers of so many people from around the country were a palpable and powerful force. As long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me," Dobson said on his radio broadcast."..."Americans United for Separation of Church and State called the letter "grossly inappropriate.""..."This note strongly suggests that Alito is carrying out a right-wing agenda instead of being a justice for all," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the group."..."Focus on the Family declined to release a copy of Alito's letter but confirmed the wording read by Dobson."..."Dobson had urged his listeners to support the nominations of Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. On Wednesday, he said that support had "affected history" by helping put both men on the court in time to hear a pending case on an abortion procedure that opponents call "partial-birth abortion." -Posted 2006-03-02

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Other General News

Health
"Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand." -Daniel 12:10

Eating nuts may keep the doctor away - There are at least four studies in the U.S. showing the impact of nuts on cardiovascular disease (the Adventist Health Study, the Iowa Women's Health Study, the Nurses' Health Study, and the Physicians' Health Study). Together these studies looked at hundreds of thousands of individuals and found that nuts can indeed decrease the risk of heart disease. -Posted 2006-11-21

FDA says cloned animals are OK to eat - After more than five years of study, the Food and Drug Administration concluded that cloned livestock is “virtually indistinguishable” from conventional livestock. FDA believes “that meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat as the food we eat every day,” said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Officials said they don’t think special labels are needed, although a decision on labeling is pending. -Posted 2006-12-29 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Scientists get OK for engineered peanuts - A leading industry group has given scientists the go-ahead to build genetically engineered peanuts that could be safer, more nutritious and easier to grow than their conventional version.  The work could lead to peanuts that yield more oil for biofuel production, need less rainfall and grow more efficiently, with built-in herbicide and pest resistance — traits that have already been engineered into major crops such as cotton, corn, soybeans and canola. -Posted 2006-12-27

FDA to probe safety of popular heart stents - Drug-coated devices may raise the risk of possibly fatal blood clots - Millions of chest pain and heart attack sufferers thought they were getting a phenomenal medical advance when tiny coils that ooze medicine were placed in their arteries to keep them from squeezing shut again. ... Now their long-term safety is in question. ... Doctors think these stents may raise the risk of life-threatening blood clots months and even years later unless people stay on Plavix, an anti-clotting drug whose long-term safety in stent patients has not been established. ... Thousands of people are being urged to take the $4-a-day drug until more is known. ... A Food and Drug Administration panel will meet on the issue Thursday and Friday. Medical journals are rushing studies into print, and powerful doctor groups are reconsidering treatment guidelines. -Posted 2006-12-04 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Millions face risk from drug-coated stents - Potentially lethal heart devices a frightening problem for patients, doctors - Millions of Americans could be walking around with tiny time bombs in their hearts. ... The concern centers on devices called drug-eluting stents. Doctors implant them in the hearts of about a million Americans a year to treatcoronary artery disease. They generate some $5 billion a year in sales for the two companies that make them. But they may be doing more harm than good. ... By one estimate the devices already kill 2,000 Americans a year — and no one knows what the long-term danger will be. ... Already, many cardiologists are cutting back from using the devices. Sales are dropping dramatically. The FDA panel may well recommend they not be used at all. ... The origin of this terrifying problem is that medical devices, like drugs, get tested for a few months in a few hundred or at most a few thousand of people before the FDA approves them. -Posted 2006-

Churchgoers Live Longer - There are many things you can do to increase your life expectancy: exercise, eat well, take your medication and ... go to church. ... A new study finds people who attend religious services weekly live longer. Specifically, the research looked at how many years are added to life expectancy based on: ... The study, which is actually a review of existing research from the three categories, does not reveal what the link between faith and health might be. ... The findings are detailed in the March-April issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. -Posted 2006-12-05

Churchgoers Breathe Easier - Some people live and breathe their religion. Turns out going to church might actually help them breathe easier. ... Researchers measured the breathing of 1,189 people aged 70 to 79. Those who attend church regularly scored better on a test that measures pulmonary flow rate. ... The findings could not be explained by differences in smoking or physical activity, the scientists said. -Posted 2006-12-05

New York City passes trans fat ban - Restaurants must eliminate artery-clogging ingredient by July 2008 - NEW YORK - The Board of Health voted Tuesday to make New York the nation’s first city to ban artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants — from the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries. ... Trans fats are formed when liquid oils are made into solid fats by adding hydrogen in a process called hydrogenation. A common example of this is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is used for frying and baking and turns up in processed foods like cookies, pizza dough and crackers. Trans fats, which are favored because of their long shelf life, are also found in pre-made blends like pancake and hot chocolate mix. ... The FDA estimates the average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year. ... The FDA estimates the average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year. -Posted 2006-12-05 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Smokers, it's not enough to just cut back - Study: No difference between regular use and only a few cigarettes a day - LONDON - Smokers eager to cut the risk of dying early from tobacco-related illnesses must quit completely, researchers said on Tuesday, because cutting down — even by half — is not enough. “Smokers should quit — you can’t give your health a better present than to quit smoking,” said Dr Kjell Bjartveit, former director of the National Health Screening Service, in Oslo. ... Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death. In addition to being a risk factor for heart attack and stroke and certain types of cancer, it is also the leading cause of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. ... “The study proves quite clearly the only safe way out of the risk caused by smoking: people who quit smoking have achieved a risk level that is remarkably lower than those who continued to smoke,” Bjartveit said in the journal. -Posted 2006-11-28 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Wheat gets genetic boost from the past - WASHINGTON - Scientists have found a way to boost the protein, zinc and iron content in wheat, an achievement that could help bring more nutritious food to many millions of people worldwide. ... The wheat varieties bred by the scientists are not genetically modified, which could help them become accepted commercially, they said.  "We didn't do it by genetic modification. The normal wheat crosses perfectly well with the wild wheat. So we just crossed it after normal breeding," Dubcovsky said. -Posted 2006-11-26 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

U.S. children showing hardening of arteries - CHICAGO - Children with risk factors for heart disease, including high cholesterol and diabetes, are showing signs of narrowing and hardening of the arteries, conditions normally associated with adults, a study said. ... The percentage of overweight young people in the United States has roughly tripled since 1980 to about 18 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -Posted 2006-11-13 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Fruits, veggies key to eating more, weighing less - Using dietary information from 7,500 U.S. adults, researchers found that those who reported eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, fiber-rich grains and other lower-calorie foods typically ate a larger amount of food than their peers who favored richer fare. ... People can lessen their diet's calorie density, the researchers note, by slipping more fruits and vegetables into the mix — starting a meal with a large salad, for instance, or filling their dinner plates with a larger portion of vegetables and a little less meat. Or, they can have that large slice of pizza, but go light on the cheese and heavy on the vegetables. ... Low-fat dairy foods, fiber-rich whole grains and lean meat or meat substitutes are also good choices, according to Ledikwe and her colleagues. -Posted 2006-08-02 (Front page news at MSNBC.com)

Vegan diet may reverse diabetes symptoms - Updated: 4:34 p.m. ET July 27, 2006 - WASHINGTON - People who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet, researchers said on Thursday. ... The vegan diet "is at least as good, if not better than traditional approaches," Cohen said. -Posted 2006-07-27 (Front page news at MSNBC.com)

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Creation vs. Evolution
"... scoffers will come in the last days ..." 2 Peter 3:3
"Judgments are prepared for scoffers ..." Proverbs 19:29

High-tech museum brings creationism to life - PETERSBURG, Ky. - Like most natural history museums, this one has exhibits showing dinosaurs roaming the earth. Except here, the giant reptiles share the forest with Adam and Eve." ... "Its inspiration is the Bible — the literal interpretation that contends God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them just a few thousand years ago." ... "Visitors to the museum, a few miles from Cincinnati, will be able to watch the story of creation unfold in a 180-seat special-effects theater, see a 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) re-creation of a section of Noah’s Ark and stare into the jaws of robotic dinosaurs." -Posted 2006-08-02

The Drive is On to Prove Creation Science - The stirring on the mount - St. Helens used in drive to prove biblical creation with science - "Anderson and his wife, Doris, are the founders of the Mount St. Helens Creation Information Center and curators of the 7 Wonders Creation Museum. They represent a third wave of modern biblical creationist thinking, one that says hard-core science proves the Genesis account of creation." ... "Doris Anderson, a retired registered nurse who pursued a second career as a journalist, translates her husband’s perorations for the everyday reader in brochures and booklets that explain, in no-nonsense but engaging prose, how he believes the geologic changes at and around Mount St. Helens — the “7 Wonders” — prove that processes that mainstream scientists insist took millions of years can actually occur in days, or even hours." -Posted 2006-08-02

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Miscellaneous

Scientists find first known human ritual - Archaeologists discover stone snake carved in cave in Botswana - A startling discovery of 70,000-year-old artifacts and a python's head carved of stone appears to represent the first known human rituals. ... Scientists had thought human intelligence had not evolved the capacity to perform group rituals until perhaps 40,000 years ago. -Posted 2006-12-05

Movie about birth of Jesus premieres at Vatican - VATICAN CITY - A movie about the birth of Jesus Christ made its world premiere Sunday at the Vatican, the first time a feature film debuted here. ... Before the screening, Archbishop John Foley, a U.S. prelate who heads the Vatican’s social communications office, praised what he called a dialogue between faith and culture. “Cinema, a powerful means of communication, once again carries a universal message,” he told the audience. ... “The Nativity Story” is by New Line Cinema, the company that produced “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.-Posted 2006-11-26 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Ancient book of psalms found in Irish bog - Updated: 5:56 p.m. ET July 25, 2006 - DUBLIN, Ireland - Irish archaeologists Tuesday heralded the discovery of an ancient book of psalms by a construction worker who spotted something while driving the shovel of his backhoe into a bog. -Posted 2006-07-26

World population to hit 6.5 billion on Saturday - On Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:16 p.m. ET, the population here on this good Earth is projected to hit 6.5 billion people. ... Along with this forecast, an analysis by the International Programs Center at the U.S. Census Bureau points to another factoid, Robert Bernstein of the Bureau's Public Information Center advised LiveScience. Mark this on your calendar: Some six years from now, on Oct. 18, 2012 at 4:36 p.m. ET, the Earth will be home to 7 billion folks. -Posted 2006-02-24

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