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News Links of Interest for 2007
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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

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Natural World

Natural Disasters
"They will point to calamities on land and sea--to the storms of wind, the floods, the earthquakes, the destruction by fire--as judgments indicating God's displeasure because Sunday is not sacredly observed. ...those who make void the law of God will point to the few who are keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the ones who are bringing wrath upon the world. " -Southern Watchman, June 28, 1904. {ChS 155.2}

Californians endure 7 days of wildfires - SAN DIEGO - "They know what the winds can do. They forecast them. Fight the fires the winds fan. Ready for evacuations that, in years past, never came. They thought they knew, until seven days of fury began a week ago." ... "From almost the beginning, this Santa Ana was different somehow." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-10-27

Floods swamp central Britain, thousands flee - 'Total chaos,' says one evacuee, 'cars floating past' and even goldfish - LONDON - Emergency workers battled rising waters Monday to rescue people trapped by floods that swallowed large swaths of central Britain. Roads were submerged, and tens of thousands of people were left without electricity and drinking water. -Posted 2007-07-23

Report: Record-breaking China storms kill 152 - Week of rain, floods and landslides plague nearly half of country’s regions - BEIJING - Record rainfall this week triggered floods, landslides and mud flows that killed 152 people in China and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands, state media reported Sunday. -Posted 2007-07-22

Fires and Floods, Coast to Coast - Biblical Weather, Coast to Coast - Rescue crews have their hands full coast to coast as floods and fires have hit several parts of the country. -Posted 2007-05-09

Firefighters make progress against L.A. blaze - The 800-acre blaze in sprawling Griffith Park was just one firefighters were battling across the nation. A wildfire in northern Minnesota had already destroyed 40 homes and buildings, and brush fires in Georgia and northern Florida have charred more than 200 square miles. -Posted 2007-05-09 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Weather Service reports more tornadoes - All the churches were destroyed. Every business on main street was demolished. The town's fire engines were crushed and other crumpled vehicles were thrown around. Tree trunks stood bare, stripped of most of their branches. ... "This is one of the most devastating tornadoes we have had in Kansas," said U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran. -Posted 2007-05-06 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Floods displace 200,000 in Jakarta - JAKARTA, Indonesia - At least 20 people have been killed and 200,000 forced from their homes by floods in Indonesia’s capital, an official said Sunday, as rivers overflowing from four days of rain inundated the city. ... Jakarta is regularly struck with floods, though not on the scale as in recent days. -Posted 2007-02-04 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Floods, storms topped '06 natural disasters - U.N. report tracked sharp increase in flooding; heat waves also a factor - Floods and storms were the most frequent natural global disasters in 2006, while extreme temperatures raised the death toll in Europe by five-percent compared to the average for the past five years, the United Nations said Monday. ... There were 226 floods last year — a sharp increase compared with the average of 162 floods over the previous five years. Floods accounted for most of the 26 disasters which occurred in the United States, just nine disasters less than China, the country that was most hit by natural disasters last year. -Posted 2007-01-30 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Deadly winter blasts felt across U.S. - 450,000 still without power as death toll reaches 50 in nine states - The water towers ran dry Sunday, and water service was restored only late Monday, after the National Guard hooked a generator up to a pumping station. ... “There are no services,” Buffalo Mayor Jerry Hardesty said. “I’ve talked to residents who have lived here 50 years, and nobody can remember it ever being this bad.” -Posted 2007-01-17

Colorado Hit With 3rd Storm in 3 Weeks - DENVER - Snow-weary Colorado was hammered with its third snowstorm in as many weeks, complicating recovery efforts from back-to-back blizzards and raising fears that livestock losses would keep mounting. ... In Kansas, an estimated 60,000 people were still without power after more than a week, and between 6,000 to 10,000 customers remained in the dark in Nebraska, according to Nebraska Public Power District. ... "The magnitude of the snow out here is astounding," said Ed Cordes, project manager for Pioneer Pork, which has about 7,500 sows and 4,000 young pigs on a ranch near Springfield, about 200 miles southeast of Denver. -Posted 2007-01-06 (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

1,100 reported killed in Bangladesh cyclone - DHAKA, Bangladesh - Aid workers struggled Friday to help hundreds of thousands of survivors of a cyclone that blasted Bangladesh with 150 mph winds, killing a reported 1,100 people, savaging coastal towns, and leaving millions without power in the deadliest such storm in more than a decade. -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-16

Forecasters: 'Very Active' 2007 Hurricane Season - The Atlantic basin will likely see a very active hurricane season this year, though not as active as in 2004 and 2005, according to a well-known Colorado State University forecasting team. -Posted 2007-05-10

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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
"... And there will be ... earthquakes in various places." -Matthew 24:7,8

Powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocks Chile - A powerful 7.7 quake hit northern Chile Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported." ... "Carmen Fernandez, head of the government’s Emergency Bureau, said the quake was felt across nearly 1,300 miles, from Chile’s northern border with Peru to the capital." -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-14

Swarm of earthquakes in Yellowstone last week - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - Sixteen small earthquakes with magnitudes up to 2.7 shook the park's Pitchstone Plateau last week. ... "I was up working and watching these, saying 'Whoa, what does this all mean?' " he said. "It kept my interest quite high." -Posted 2007-05-07

Thousands flee but tsunami fears ease in Japan - TOKYO - Thousands of people in residents along Japan’s eastern coast fled to higher ground after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake triggered tsunami warnings Saturday in parts of the Pacific region, including Hawaii and Alaska. ... The quake struck around 1:24 p.m. local time about 310 miles east of Etorofu, the largest of a disputed four-island chain known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Kuril islands in Russia. The Japanese agency initially estimated the magnitude as 8.3 but later reduced that to 8.2, the same strength recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake struck 19 miles below the seabed, the agency said. -Posted 2007-01-13 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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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
"The Lord has shown me that some of his children would fear when they see the price of food rising,..." {Broadside2, January 31, 1849 par. 9}

Crisis feared as U.S. water supplies dry up - Government projects at least 36 states will face shortages within five years - Across America, the picture is critically clear — the nation’s freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst. ... The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess. ... The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages. -MSNBC -Posted 2007-10-27

More Americans scramble to stretch paychecks - Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. It’s starting to affect middle-income working families as well as the poor, and has reached the point of affecting day-to-day calculations of merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc.  Food pantries, which distribute foodstuffs to the needy, are reporting severe shortages and reduced government funding at the very time that they are seeing a surge of new people seeking their help. -MSNBC -Posted 2007-10-20

Virus becomes new suspect in bee die-off - Genetic tests find link between colony collapse and little-known microbe - Scientists have found a new prime suspect in the deaths of about a quarter of America's honeybees, a mystery that could take a multibillion-dollar toll on the nation's agricultural industry. -Posted 2007-09-08 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Declining honeybees a ‘threat’ to food supply - BELTSVILLE, Md. - Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet. -Posted 2007-05-02 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? - Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees - It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well. -Posted 2007-04-15

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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

New deadly strain of Ebola emerges - "A new strain of Ebola virus has infected 51 people and killed 16 in an area near Uganda’s border with Democratic Republic of Congo, U.S. health experts said on Thursday." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-29

Bird flu confirmed on farm in east England - LONDON (Reuters) - "An outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed at a turkey farm in eastern England although the exact strain is not yet known, Britain's farm ministry said on Monday." ... "The ministry said preliminary results from the farm on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk were positive for the H5 strain but it is not known if it is the deadly H5N1 variety which has swept across Asia, Europe and Africa." -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-12

1 million pounds of beef recalled on e-coli fears - WASHINGTON - The giant agribusiness company Cargill Inc. said Saturday it is recalling more than 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-03

Frozen pizzas recalled due to E. coli - Totino's and Jeno's brands may have contaminated pepperoni - MINNEAPOLIS - General Mills on Thursday recalled about 5 million frozen pizzas sold nationwide under the Totino's and Jeno's labels because of possible E. coli contamination. -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-01

Georgia processor expands meat recall - More than 90 brands of canned meat included after botulism scare - WASHINGTON - A Georgia meat processor on Saturday expanded its recall of canned meat products that may be connected to a botulism outbreak. ... Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease caused by a toxin made by a bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. Such bacteria are commonly found in soil. -Posted 2007-07-22

Kalamazoo company recalls 129,000 pounds of beef - Davis Creek Meats and Seafood in Kalamazoo is voluntarily recalling approximately 129,000 pounds of beef products due to the possible contamination of E. coli. -Posted 2007-05-14

Hogs quarantined after eating tainted pet food - Salvaged pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical was fed to hogs in as many as six states, federal health officials said Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if any of the hogs entered the food supply for humans. -Posted 2007-04-25 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Millions face flood disease threat - (CNN) -- The United Nations is warning of a massive "health crisis" in southern Asia, where 30 million people have been overwhelmed by the monsoonal rains and flash flooding sweeping across India, Nepal and Bangladesh. "Entire villages are days away from a health crisis if people are not reached in the coming days," said Dr. Marzio Babille, the U.N. Children's Fund health chief in India. -Posted 2007-08-07

Virus killing tens of thousands of Michigan fish - A virus spreading quickly through the Great Lakes is killing tens of thousands of fish, a disease scientists say causes fish to bleed to death. -Posted 2007-05-20

Bird flu spreading again in Asia - A recent spurt of infections of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which re-emerged in Asia in late 2003, has alarmed health officials. Four Indonesians have already died this year after a six-week lull in cases, taking the number of human deaths from bird flu in the country to 61, the highest in the world. -Posted 2007-01-15

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Other Natural News

Climate Change
“Already the restraining Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the world. And hurricanes, tempests, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause." {SW, December 25, 1906 par. 8}

Statement from the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Climate Change

More evangelicals concluding God is green - "Environmentalism a moral issue" - More evangelicals concluding God is green - "The evangelical awakening to climate change is still a work in progress, but as the politically powerful movement becomes more active in environmentalism, political leaders will have to take notice or risk losing their jobs, a prominent evangelical leader said Tuesday." ... "This is going to be an issue which evangelicals are going to look at when they cast their ballots,” Cizik said." ... "why shouldn’t the churches be leading this?” Cizik asked." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-06

Study: Warming is stronger, happening sooner - Carbon dioxide emissions were 35 percent higher in 2006 than in 1990, a much faster growth rate than anticipated, researchers reported in Tuesday’s edition of the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. -MSNBC -Posted 2007-10-22

Bangkok Sinking Under Rising Seas - Major Cities Around the World at Risk of Being Swamped - KHUN SAMUT CHIN, Thailand (Oct. 20) - At Bangkok's watery gates, Buddhist monks cling to a shrinking spit of land around their temple as they wage war against the relentlessly rising sea. Jutting above the water line just ahead in the Gulf of Thailand are remnants of a village that has already slipped beneath the sea." ... "Everyone - the government, scientists and environmental groups - agrees Bangkok is headed for trouble, but there is some debate about when. Anond, who heads the Southeast Asia START Regional Center, believes total submersion may not be imminent, but Smith disagrees. "You notice that every highway, road and building which has no foundation pilings is sinking," says Smith. "We feel that with the ground sinking and the sea water rising, Bangkok will be under sea water in the next 15 to 20 years - permanently." -AOL News -Posted 20070-10-21

U.N.: Record extreme weather in '07 - Global land temperatures in January, April likely warmest on record - GENEVA - The world experienced a series of record-breaking weather events in early 2007, from flooding in Asia to heat waves in Europe and snowfall in South Africa, the United Nations weather agency said Tuesday. -Posted 2007-08-07

Recent floods fit into warming scenarios - LONDON - As communities around the world battle severe floods in living memory, experts warn such events may become more frequent due to climate change and that lessons still need to be learned to limit losses. -Posted 2007-07-23

Warmer Seas Creating Stronger Hurricanes, Study Confirms - A rise in the world's sea surface temperatures was the primary contributor to the formation of stronger hurricanes since 1970, a new study reports. -Posted 2007-05-10

Report: Global warming may be security factor - WASHINGTON - Global warming poses a “serious threat to America’s national security” with terrorism worsening and the U.S. will likely be dragged into fights over water and other shortages, top retired military leaders warn in a new report. ... The report warned that in the next 30 to 40 years there will be wars over water, increased hunger instability from worsening disease and rising sea levels and global warming-induced refugees. “The chaos that results can be an incubator of civil strife, genocide and the growth of terrorism,” the 35-page report predicted. -Posted 2007-04-15 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Data indicate warming far worse than thought - Summer ice could disappear as soon as 2020, leading scientist reports - New measurements indicate that the effects of global warming are much worse than previously suspected and could lead to a complete melting of Arctic summer ice in as little as 13 years, a leading climate scientist says. The finding follows a U.N. report that accelerated warming would have catastrophic implications for humans and wildlife, leading to food and water shortages across the planet. -Posted 2007-04-10 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Bush administration in hot seat over warming - Lawmakers received survey results of federal scientists that showed 46 percent felt pressure to eliminate the words “climate change,” “global warming” or similar terms from communications about their work. ...

The survey found that:

• 43 percent of respondents reported edits during review of their work that changed the meaning of their findings.
• 46 percent felt administrative requirements that impaired climate-related work.
• 67 percent said the environment for federal government climate research is worse now than five years ago. -Posted 2007-01-30 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)
   

‘Smoking gun’ for human-caused warming - 1,600-page climate report, out in February, says evidence is compelling - WASHINGTON - Human-caused global warming is here — visible in the air, water and melting ice — and is destined to get much worse in the future, an authoritative global scientific report will warn when it's released next month. ... “The evidence ... is compelling.” ... That report will feature an “explosion of new data” on observations of current global warming, Solomon said. ... the 12-page summary for policymakers will be edited in secret word-by-word by government officials for several days next week and released to the public on Feb. 2... Global warming is “happening now, it’s very obvious,” said Mahlman, a former director of NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab who lives in Boulder, Colo. “When you look at the temperature of the Earth, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.” ... The world’s global average temperature has risen about 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit from 1901 to 2005. The two warmest years on record for the world were 2005 and 1998. Last year was the hottest year on record for the United States. -Posted 2007-01-23 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com) Wonder why they are editing this in secret?

Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island - Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India's part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true. ... The disappearance of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 people, is unprecedented. -Posted 2007-01-18

Europe wonders, where's winter? - VIENNA, Austria - Europe's unseasonably mild winter is nothing to sneeze at. Or maybe it is. Experts warned Austrian allergy-sufferers on Wednesday that some species of trees are already flowering and about to release pollen — an annual phenomenon that's usually not a problem until well into spring. ... In the Swiss and Austrian Alps, World Cup ski race organizers canceled training runs to avoid chewing up grassy pistes lean on snow and already damaged by rain and warm conditions. ... Waiters in Vienna, where the mercury rose to 60 degrees — just edging out Rome's 59 degrees — put tables and chairs back out on the sidewalks. Bulgarians basked in the sun on balmy 62-degree Black Sea beaches. ... Roses bloomed in eastern France. In the Netherlands, crocuses started sprouting and birds began nesting. And in Sweden, bears were finally hibernating — two months late — after the weather played havoc with their biological clocks. ... With so much spring in the air, many Europeans wonder: Where's winter? -Posted 2007-01-11

U.S. in 2006 saw warmest year on record - Last year was the warmest on record in the continental United States, the federal government reported Tuesday, attributing the temperatures to the natural El Nino cycle as well as to long-term warming linked to human emissions of greenhouse gases. ... In a statement, the center said the last nine years have all been "among the 25 warmest years on record for the contiguous U.S., a streak which is unprecedented in the historical record." ... Worldwide, the agency said, 2006 was the sixth warmest year on record. -Posted 2007-01-09 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

March in January! Or is it Mayday? - It’s nice out there, but global warming dampens the fun - WASHINGTON - Never has good weather felt so bad. Never have flowers inspired so much fear. Never has the warm caress of a sunbeam seemed so ominous. The weather is sublime, it's glorious, it's the end of the world. ... January is the new March. ... The normal high for this time of year is 43 degrees; yesterday's high at Reagan National was a record-breaking 73. ... Meteorology, meet eschatology. We've read the articles, we've seen the Gore movie, we've calculated our carbon footprint, and we're just not intellectually capable anymore of fully enjoying warm winter weather. Just ain't right. Ain't natural. ..."Amazing, but it makes me think we might not be here too much longer, because of global warming," said Laura Ingoldsby ...

• Bulletin: A Washington Post editor nearly drove into a black bear Friday night in Prince William County. Official word from the authorities: "Oh yeah, it's so warm, they can't hibernate."

• Bulletin: British scientists say there is a 60 percent chance that 2007 will be the warmest year on record.

• Bulletin: Ski resorts are struggling to open in the Alps. (See article: Alps experiencing warmest time in 1,300 years below.)

Everyone's suddenly shifting from models to observations. Look: Big ice shelf breaking off an Arctic island. Look: Greenland melting faster than the Wicked Witch of the West.

• Listen: Scary quotes from experts.

"Is it really a broadly based area that's seeing particular change? The answer is yes," says Ted Scambos, a glaciologist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. "From Europe, the East Coast, north to the Arctic and across to Siberia, there's a very large swath of the Northern Hemisphere for the months of September, October and November that [were] exceedingly warm . . . "

• Bulletin: Cooler weather is imminent. The weather will be almost normal, briefly, before all hell breaks loose again. -Posted 2007-01-07 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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Urban Sprawl

Half of humanity to be in cities soon, U.N. says - LONDON - Some 3.3 billion people — more than half of humanity — will be living in cities by next year, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday. By 2030, cities will be home to close to 5 billion. -Posted 2007-06-30 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Peering into the Dawn of an Urban Millennium - In 2008, the world reaches an invisible but momentous milestone: For the first time in history, more than half its human population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost 5 billion. Many of the new urbanites will be poor. Their future, the future of cities in developing countries, the future of humanity itself, all depend very much on decisions made now in preparation for this growth. - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -Posted 2007-06-30

Space

Scientists spot the furnace in a star factory - "Astrophysicists focused on the Orion Nebula, a cloud of dense and turbulent gas visible to the naked eye in the night sky, right below the belt of the constellation Orion. Four extremely bright and massive stars, called the Trapezium, light up the nebula.  One stretch of the nebula, about 10 light-years wide, glows with X-rays. This glow apparently results from super-heated gas — 3 million to 3.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 million to 2.1 million degree Celsius) hot — that pervades the cloud." ... "It is now widely believed that the sun was born in an Orionlike environment," Gudel added. "Hence, every new piece of information we collect on Orion has implications on the early history of the solar system, and therefore on our understanding of our own origins. The researchers now hope to understand how these X-ray glows might alter the environments in which planetary systems form, possibly even influencing the very chemistry of worlds, Gudel said." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-29

Hubble reveals ghostly ring of dark matter - Astronomers have discovered an enormous, ghostly ring of dark matter 5 billion light years away — the most blatant evidence to date for the existence of a mysterious substance hidden throughout the universe. -Posted 2007-05-16

Bizarre hexagon spotted in Saturn’s clouds - One of the most bizarre weather patterns in the solar system has been photographed at Saturn, where astronomers have spotted a huge, six-sided feature circling the north pole. -Posted 2007-03-27

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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

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

Tragedy on Virginia Tech Campus - A Virginia Tech senior from South Korea was behind the massacre of at least 30 people locked inside a campus building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university said Tuesday. -Posted 2007-04-17 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Somali parliament declares state of emergency - BAIDOA, Somalia - Somalia’s parliament declared on Saturday a three-month state of emergency amid fears of a return to clan violence after weeks of war ousted Islamists. ... “A three-month state of emergency has been passed. If the need arises for the government to extend the period then the president will have to ask parliament for approval,” second deputy speaker Osman Elmi Boqore told parliament. ... “The president has powers to announce a decree on how the state of emergency can be implemented,” a parliamentary statement said. -Posted 2007-01-13 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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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

Scientists to move ‘Doomsday Clock’ hands - WASHINGTON - The keepers of the “Doomsday Clock” plan to move its hands forward Wednesday to reflect what they call worsening nuclear and climate threats to the world. -Posted 2007-01-13 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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Peace and Safety
"For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape." -1 Thessalonians 5:3

United Nations - Peace and Security page - What can we say about this one?

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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

Real ID Act in real trouble - "A nationalized system for driver's licenses that was to take effect next year already had been postponed because of a backlash from Congress and several states. The Senate began hearings Tuesday to consider repealing it altogether." -The News Observer -Posted 2007-05-09

Real ID program postponed - "Under siege from states and angry lawmakers, the White House moved back a deadline Thursday to implement national driver's license standards known as Real ID. ... The announcement that states have an extra 20 months, until the end of 2009, to meet the requirements of the Real ID Act did little to ease criticism of the law from privacy advocates, motor vehicle departments and lawmakers. Almost two dozen states, including New Hampshire, are weighing legislation to oppose Real ID." -Concord Monitor -Posted 2007-03-03

Montana moves to reject Real ID Act - "The Montana House of Representatives expects to vote today on a bill that would make Montana the first state to ignore the Real ID law, which requires states to demand a minimum standard of proof of residency from people seeking driver's licenses. ... Residents of states that don't comply will be barred fromusing their licenses or state IDs to board airplanes, open bank accountsor enter federal buildings." -USA Today -Posted 2007-01-30

For more details click here.

Also see 2005 archives for more on this issue...

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Religious World

Roman Catholic Church News

Tony Blair converts to Catholicism - ""It can be confirmed that Tony Blair has been received into full communion with the Catholic church by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor," the head of the church in England and Wales, the church said in a statement." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-12-22

Pope Benedict to Make First Trip to U.S. - BALTIMORE (Nov. 12) - Pope Benedict XVI will travel to the United States for the first time as pontiff next year to meet with President Bush, address the United Nations and visit ground zero, a Vatican official told American bishops Monday. -AOL News -Posted 2007-11-12

Vatican Prints Secrets of Knights Templar - VATICAN CITY (Oct. 12) - "The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years. ... "This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project," said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican's Secret Archives." - AOL News - Posted 2007-10-13

Pope: Other denominations not true churches - Benedict issues statement asserting that Jesus established ‘only one church’ - LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. ... It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church. ... It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, “Dominus Iesus,” which set off a firestorm of criticism among Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communitiesand therefore did not have the “means of salvation.” -Posted 2007-07-10

Pope OKs Latin mass, sparks Jewish concern - Old text says Jews are blind to Christian ‘truth,’ includes call for conversion - VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI, in a decree issued on Saturday, authorized wider use of the old Latin mass and told the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics that his nod to Church traditionalists was nothing to be afraid of. ... Catholics around the world will have the pope’s blessing to ask local priests to celebrate Mass in Latin or get baptized or married according to the old rite. ... The decree made no change in the 1962 missal—the main prayer book for the old rite—which includes prayers on Good Friday for the conversion of the Jews and calls them blind to the Christian truth. -Posted 2007-07-07

Pope revises 'limbo' for babies - VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has revised traditional Roman Catholic teaching on so-called "limbo," approving a church report released Friday that said there was reason to hope that babies who die without baptism can go to heaven. -Posted 2007-04-20 (Front Page news at Yahoo.com)

Pope's answer to 'The Da Vinci Code' a runaway success - "Jesus of Nazareth" was launched on the pontiff's 80th birthday on Monday and is billed as his answer to popular publications such as Dan Brown's best-selling "The Da Vinci Code".  It aims to reconcile the historical figure of Christ with that of the Gospels.  The second edition of 70,000 would take the total print run to 420,000, said a statement from Rizzoli. -Posted 2007-04-17 (Front Page news at Yahoo.com)

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Protestants, Islam & Rome
(Misc Church News & Unification)

Presbyterians join groups with widening rifts - About 30 of the nearly 11,000 Presbyterian congregations have voted to leave the national church since the denomination’s national assembly session in 2006, according to The Layman, a conservative Presbyterian publication that has been tracking the breakaways. Denominational leaders say they could lose an additional 20 congregations as a result of this latest rupture. -MSNBC -Posted 2007-10-20

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False Christs/Cults
"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

Russian doomsday cult holed up in cave - MOSCOW - Officials were talking Friday with more than two dozen doomsday cult members holed up in a snowy forest near the Volga River to await the end of the world, which their leader says will come in spring. -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-16 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

He Calls Himself God - At first glance, the congregation gathered in a warehouse in Doral, Fla., seems like a typical Hispanic evangelical group. ... But look a little more closely. There's not a cross in sight. The lectern is emblazoned with a near replica of the U.S. presidential seal, except that it reads in Spanish, government of god on earth. ... "It's Jesus Christ himself!" a preacher onstage announces. "Let's welcome Jesus Christ Man!" ... And just last week, he called himself the Antichrist and revealed a "666" tattooed on his forearm. His explanation: that, as the second coming of Christ, he rejects the continued worship of Jesus of Nazareth.  -Posted 2007-01-30 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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Spiritualism
"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." -2 Thessalonians 2:9,10

UFO researchers try to go mainstream - With so much planet-hunting and planet-spotting going on, we are in a showdown to see whether the universe is perhaps chock-full of extraterrestrial life. -Posted 2007-08-25

Harry Potter casts spell on book buyers - Deathly Hallows’ breaking sales records in United States, U.K. - NEW YORK - The numbers are new, the story old: No book has sold like “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” ... Bloomsbury PLC, the British publisher of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series, announced Monday that the seventh and final volume sold a record 2.65 million copies in the United Kingdom in the first 24 hours. The previous high was for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which sold 2 million in its first day of release, in 2005. -Posted 2007-07-23

Our Lady the Immaculate Virgin - "Things have obviously been moving at a faster and faster pace this past year in regards to phenomena surrounding Our Lady of America and the Rome City property where it all began (and is apparently continuing to this day)." ... "I was standing right where She had been and I could hardly contain the emotion. We all began tearing up and prayed Hail Marys and asked for Her intercession in our lives to help us all. It was almost too emotional to describe." ... "The Virgin Mary appeared to me looking like Our Lady of America and she said "Thank you for bringing me my children". I was completely in a state of grace and could not say a word to anyone. I know now that I was crying, but at the time I was the most alive I have felt in all my life." -Posted 2007-07-10

Photos Taken During Open House Rosary on April 20, 2007 - "These photos were taken from Holy Family Hill on April 20, 2007. While the 15 decade rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet were being prayed, the sun began spinning and all those gathered took in the spectacle that was happening right before their eyes. This event lasted nearly 1 hour." -Posted 2007-07-10

Feeling lucky? 7/7/7 vacation & wedding deals - "According to theknot.com, more than 38,000 people are registered on their site to get married on July 7. That's more than triple the normal number of 12,000." ... "on 7/7/7 they'll upgrade your room, give you a free psychic reading and, last but not least, they'll give you "happy" voodoo dolls. I've never heard of happy voodoo dolls, and at this writing I could not confirm whether or not the dolls were left over from the hotel's little-known "6/6/6" promotion last year!" -Posted 2007-07-05

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(Spiritual) Excitement in the Religious Bodies

http://www.iamuniversity.ch/Huna-Prayer- to-Stop-Global-Warming - New-agers praying -- an all day event. "We have been guided by Spirit and the Masters to add a Spiritual and psychological element to this global event, and so we would like to inspire the global Spiritual community to join in prayer on 7/7/07.

http://www.santacruzrevival.com/open_heavens_7_7_07 - Santa Cruz Evangelical Church putting on an OPEN HEAVEN festival from 11 a.m. to 7.00 -- a "revival" complete with big bands, raffles, booths, healings, miracles... etc.

www.thecall.com - http://www.thecall.com/vision.php - "The Call Nashville" is a huge gathering 7/7/07 Nothing less than God's intervention can alter the course of our nation. America could be on the brink of true revival. History can be changed again, the only way it has always been changed: through united fasting and prayer. We cannot ignore the urgency of the hour. Gather your friends, family and churches to join hundreds of thousands across the nation in a historic solemn assembly!"

• http://www.nemcf-atlanta.org/id9.html
   

http://www.israelprayer.com/articles/07%20ShavuotFast.html - Israel -- 40 day fasts -- 7/7/07 connections - "May there be a great release of the "birthing anointing" upon us to "transition" into a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the youth of Israel, the Middle East, and the nations."

http://nickbadger.wordpress.com/2007/05/14/7707-the-call-joel-2-new-zealand/ - "Across the globe and nations of the earth a divine shift and culmination in prayer, repentance and adoration of Jesus Christ is being established. A 40 day fast beginning on may 29th culminating on the 7/7/07 is being Trumpeted across America to labour for the unprecedented breaking in of the power and glory of the King that would deliver this generation, "youth and adults" from its carnality and wickedness."

http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=4153 - A call for all Christians to gather at Lambeau field 7/7/07 in Wisconsin. From 8:30 am till 9 at night to pray, worship and hear the Word.

www.prayon777.com - "Please pray on 777 (Saturday July 7 2007) with millions for what will become the World's Greatest Christian Prayer Day! Let's help everyone focus on the Light of the world and his return. Expect the Spirit of God to be powerful on 777 because of faith and unity never before witnessed. ......Sing, Dance, clap, or shout to the Lord. Set off your best fireworks on July 7. But just let the air be full of Praises, Gatherings in every place we want or just alone. Pray on "the Washington Mall" or places that were or are special to your Christian church. Don't you think Angels will love this and may visit some people? Church leaders Shepherds, you know if your congregation prays with all their might and in harmony, and spirit; that Father will not give a rock in response.

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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.)

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Adventists in the News

Pentagon and Senate Report from Steve Wohlberg - Seventh-day Adventist, Pastor Steve Wohlberg recently had an exciting opportunity to present the topic of "America in Bible Prophecy" to high ranking officials at the Pentagon during their Wednesday Morning Prayer Breakfast, and was able to share his testimony at the Senate Staff Bible Study!  This is truly an amazing report! -Posted 2007-11-17

Monument dedicated to Adventists killed during Stalin regime - "Seventh-day Adventists and community members in St. Petersburg, Russia, dedicated a monument on October 7 to Adventists killed during the Great Purge political repressions under Soviet Leader Josef Stalin in the 1930s.

About 100 people, including a representative of the city's governor, gathered for the memorial at the Levashovsky Cemetery, according to Viktor Vitko, the Adventist Church's Public Affairs and Religious Liberty director for the church's Euro-Asia Division based in Moscow. ...

"I think this is of utmost importance to have that type of symbol now in Russia," said Michael M. Kulakov Jr., an associate professor of political science and philosophy at Columbia Union College near Washington D.C., in a telephone interview. "It's crucial to remember the price that millions of our countrymen paid for freedom of thought and expression."

Kulakov said such a monument was long overdue. "But before 1992 there was no possibility for Adventists or any religious group to build a monument in public, let alone get permission," Kulakov said." - Adventist News Network - Posted 2007-10-13

3ABN & Amazing Facts Merger - MEDIA RELEASE - SACRAMENTO, CA, April 19, 2007 – Amazing Facts and Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) today announced plans to unite the two international Christian media ministries. The boards of directors of both ministries have unanimously approved the venture that will join the ministries under a new board and constituency, creating a new global platform for evangelism. (This merger announcement has since been superseded, and these two ministries have decided not to go ahead with the merger for various reasons.)

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Signs and Wonders

Our Lady the Immaculate Virgin - Photos Taken During Open House Rosary on April 20, 2007 - "These photos were taken from Holy Family Hill on April 20, 2007. While the 15 decade rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet were being prayed, the sun began spinning and all those gathered took in the spectacle that was happening right before their eyes. This event lasted nearly 1 hour." -Posted 2007-05-10

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

Beliefwatch: Blasphemy - 'Hi my name is Lindy and I deny the existence of the Holy Spirit and you should too.' - Jan. 8, 2006 issue - With that five-second submission to YouTube, a 24-year-old who uses the name "menotsimple" has either condemned herself to an eternity of punishment in the afterlife or struck a courageous blow against superstition. She's one of more than 400 mostly young people who have joined a campaign by the Web site BlasphemyChallenge.com to stake their souls against the existence of God. That, of course, is the ultimate no-win wager, as the 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal calculated—it can't be settled until you're dead, and if you lose, you go to hell. ... The particular form of the challenge was chosen because, by one interpretation, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, a part of the Christian Trinity, is the only sin that can never be forgiven. ... most theologians are reluctant to pronounce anyone beyond repentance and salvation. Richard Land, a leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, says the passage, read in context, refers to a very narrow and specific definition of blasphemy: maliciously attributing God's miracles to a demon. Merely "denying" the Holy Spirit, by this reading, doesn't qualify. "My response," Land says, "would be to pray for these people: 'forgive them, [for] they know not what they do'."

To which another self-described blasphemer, whose real name is Michael Lawson, replies that he knows exactly what he's doing: he's daring God to send him to hell. "We want to show that we really mean it when we say we don't believe a word in this book," he says. He means the Bible.

God could not be reached for comment. -Posted 2007-01-08 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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

‘Golden Compass’ raises religious debate - "Based on the first volume in the award-winning trilogy “His Dark Materials” by religious skeptic Philip Pullman, the movie already has been condemned by conservative Roman Catholics and evangelicals. They say it will hook children into Pullman’s books and a dark, individualistic world where all religion is evil." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-30

The Golden Compass - "The 2007 film The Golden Compass is based on a series of books with anti-religious themes" ... "There will be a new Children's movie out in December called THE GOLDEN COMPASS. It is written by Phillip Pullman, a proud athiest who belongs to secular humanist societies. He hates C. S. Lewis's Chronical's of Narnia and has written a trilogy to show the other side. The movie has been dumbed down to fool kids and their parents in the hope that they will buy his trilogy where in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as they please. Nicole Kidman stars in the movie so it will probably be advertised a lot. This is just a friendly warning that you sure won't hear on the regular TV." -Snopes.com -Posted 2007-11-13

With God in His Sights - After a lifetime of iconoclasm, Hitchens finally takes on, in his new book, "God Is Not Great," the Father of all icons. Now the world can judge what's in his heart. -Posted 2007-05-07

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Religious Liberty
"...Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s." -Matthew 22:21

Target shifts Muslims who won’t ring up pork - The Star Tribune reported this past week that some Muslim cashiers at local Targets had declined to scan pork products such as bacon because doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. They would ask other cashiers to ring up such purchases, or sometimes customers would scan those items themselves, the newspaper reported. -Posted 2007-03-18 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

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Terrorism
“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." -Blaise Pascal

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Marriage & Relationships
And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." -Genesis 2:18
"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." -Hebrews 13:4

Watch out, men! More women opt to live alone - Majority of U.S. women live without a spouse, Census says - For the first time, according to Census results, more women, 51 percent, are living without a spouse than with one. ... Most Americans — including women — do eventually marry. But the institution has some competition. Married couples no longer make up the majority of households in this country. -Posted 2007-01-16

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Immorality
"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." -Revelation 22:14, 15

Man in India marries dog as atonement - NEW DELHI - A man in southern India married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death — an act he believes cursed him — a newspaper reported Tuesday. -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-13

Almost Everyone Lies, Often Seeing It as a Kindness - Experiments have found that ordinary people tell about two lies every 10 minutes, with some people getting in as many as a dozen falsehoods in that period. More interestingly -- and Libby might see this as the silver lining if he is found guilty -- Feldman also found that liars tend to be more popular than honest people. -Posted 2007-06-30

Texas is the unlikely home of biggest gay church - DALLAS (Reuters) - They say everything is bigger in Texas.  But the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas makes one Texas-sized claim that few would expect in the conservative Bible Belt state -- it says it is the world's biggest gay church.  "I think this shows that God has a tremendously great sense of humor," said senior pastor and rector Jo Hudson. -Posted 2007-03-27

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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

N.J. is first state to require preschool flu shots - "New Jersey on Friday became the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers, saying their developing immune systems and likelihood of spreading germs make them as vulnerable to complications as the elderly. ...  State Health Commissioner Dr. Fred M. Jacobs approved the requirement and three other vaccines for school children starting Sept. 1, 2008, over the objections of some parent groups." ... "New Jersey does grant an automatic exemption on religious grounds and allows exemptions for medical reasons." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-12-14

Vaccine recall sparks fears over kids’ safety - "Pediatricians rushed to stock up on a crucial baby shot Thursday, a day after one of the nation’s top vaccine manufacturers announced it was recalling 1.2 million doses and suspending production indefinitely. ... Meanwhile, worried parents were calling doctors’ offices to ask whether their children are safe if they recently got the Hib vaccine, which protects against meningitis, pneumonia and other life-threatening and disabling bacterial diseases." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-12-13

Reporter gets circumcised to fight AIDS - "A study published in the Lancet medical journal in February concluded that the findings of three major trials — in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda — show that circumcision can significantly reduce men's chances of contracting the virus that causes AIDS. U.N. health agencies followed up with an endorsement, but stressed that the procedure offers only partial protection and that abstinence, condom use, having few partners and delaying the first sexual experience are all among the steps that need to be encouraged." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-30

Tainted food killed 224 pets in latest tally - "U.S. health officials received thousands of complaints earlier this year about pets killed by contaminated pet food, but veterinarians said on Thursday they had been able to confirm just 224 deaths." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-29

Firm recalls beef possibly tainted with E.coli - "GREEN BAY, Wis. - A company voluntarily recalled nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after two people were sickened, possibly by the E. coli bacteria, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Saturday." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-25

Parents face jail for not vaccinating their kids - Parents in Prince George’s County have been ordered to appear at a special court hearing Saturday where they will be given a choice: Get their children vaccinated on the spot or risk up to 10 days in jail and fines. -MSNBC.com -Posted 2007-11-16

Report: Excess body fat linked to cancer - Staying slim, avoiding processed meats and alcohol lowers risk, study finds - The report, which selected 7,000 studies from a worldwide pool of 500,000 written since records began in the 1960s, includes five key findings. ...

"...processed meats, such as ham and bacon, increase the risk of colorectal cancer, and should be eaten sparingly."

"...the link between red meat and colorectal cancer, for which the evidence is stronger than ever."

"... the strongest evidence yet that alcohol is a cause of cancer."

The report makes 10 recommendations including 30 minutes of moderate activity a day, rising to 60 minutes; drinking water rather than sugary drinks; eating fruit, vegetables and fiber and limiting salt consumption.

The WCRF report can be found at: Dietandcanerreport.org. -MSNBC -Posted 2007-10-31

CDC: Suicide rate jumps for kids, young adults - Biggest rise in 15 years; 'black box' antidepressant label blamed by some - ATLANTA - Suicides among children and young adults rose by an alarming 8 percent in 2004, the largest rise in 15 years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday. -Posted 2007-09-08

A Multivitamin Mystery - A new study from the National Cancer Institute suggests a link between heavy use of multivitamins and increased risk for prostate cancer. - Millions of Americans take multivitamins as part of their daily regimen and assume that they are getting some health benefits. But a recent study by the National Cancer Institute found that men who consume too many multivitamins might be upping their risk of a particularly aggressive form of prostate cancer, especially men with a family history of the disease. -Posted 2007-05-20 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Toxic medicine in Panama traced to China - NEW YORK - A Chinese factory was the source of a counterfeit chemical that killed dozens of people in Panama after it was used in human medications, a newspaper reported. -Posted 2007-05-06 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Caffeine Exposed - Already suffering the side effects of caffeine? If so, it is best to work with a health care professional to manage withdrawal effects such as headaches, nausea, sweating, attention problems and drowsiness. ... But the best solution is to commit yourself to a lifestyle that focuses on exercise and proper nutritional intake to perform -- and look -- your best. -Posted 2007-04-12

Alcohol, tobacco make top 10 list of risky drugs - LONDON - New "landmark" research finds that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than some illegal drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy and should be classified as such in legal systems, according to a new British study. -Posted 2007-03-24

Which drug do you think poses the most risk to society? -MSNBC LIVE Survey -Posted 2007-03-24

Burn off your cigarette addiction with exercise - As little as five minutes of exercise seems to help smokers curb their craving for a cigarette, a review of a dozen studies found. -Posted 2007-03-24

It’s not just your face — smoking ages skin - CHICAGO - Smoking not only can wrinkle the face and turn it yellow — it can do the same to the whole body, researchers reported on Monday. -Posted 2007-03-24

Dude! Pepsi’s new cola has even more caffeine - Diet Pepsi Max will have one-third more than Diet Mountain Dew - SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - PepsiCo Inc. plans to introduce a new, energized version of Diet Pepsi that includes more caffeine, as well as ginseng, a PepsiCo spokesman confirmed Wednesday. ... Diet Pepsi Max will have about one-third more caffeine than Diet Mountain Dew, the spokesman said, confirming a story on the Web site of Beverage Digest, a magazine that follows the beverage industry. -Posted 2007-02-21

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

Chimps More Evolved Than Humans - Since the human-chimp split about 6 million years ago, chimpanzee genes can be said to have evolved more than human genes, a new study suggests. -Posted 2007-04-17

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Privacy Lost

Homeland Security opening private mail - WASHINGTON - In the 50 years that Grant Goodman has known and corresponded with a colleague in the Philippines he never had any reason to suspect that their friendship was anything but spectacularly ordinary. ... Last month Goodman, an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, received a letter from his friend in the Philippines that had been opened and resealed with a strip of dark green tape bearing the words “by Border Protection” and carrying the official Homeland Security seal. -Posted 2007-01-06

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Miscellaneous

Elusive Biblical Wall Found, Scholar Says - "JERUSALEM (Nov. 29) - A biblical wall that has eluded archaeologists for years has finally been found, according to an Israeli scholar. A team of archaeologists in Jerusalem has uncovered what they believe to be part of a wall mentioned in the Bible's Book of Nehemiah." -AOL News -Posted 2007-11-30

So Long, Gideons - "What might be surprising to many Americans is that the Bible-free room isn't a development just in hip New York City hotels. Across the country upscale accommodations are doing away with the Bible as a standard room amenity. And in its stead have arrived a slew of "lifestyle" products that cater to a younger, hipper (and presumably less religious) clientele. Since 2001 the number of luxury hotels with religious materials in the rooms has dropped by 18 percent, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association." ... "Now, there's a marketing slogan no one's tried yet: "Sleep with us. Leave the values at home." -Newsweek -Posted 2007-11-08

Institute to Get Ancient Bible Parchment - JERUSALEM (AP) - "The family of man who held a fragment of a more than 1,000-year-old manuscript of the Hebrew Bible for six decades as a good luck charm will present it to a Jerusalem institute next week, officials said Thursday." ... "The parchment, about "the size of a credit card," is believed to be part of the most authoritative manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, the Aleppo Codex, said Michael Glatzer, academic secretary of the Yad Ben Zvi institute. It contains verses from the Book of Exodus describing the plagues in Egypt, including the words of Moses to Pharaoh, "Let my people go, that they may serve me." -AOL News -Posted 2007-11-09

Biblical bad girl was a powerful ancient figure - Ancient seal suggests Jezebel conducted business separate of her husband - Jezebel, the queen whose name became synonymous with all things lewd and wicked, probably wielded a fair bit of power in ancient Israel, suggests a stone document seal newly traced to the Biblical "bad girl." -MSNBC -Posted 2007-11-08

Remains of pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut ID’d - CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian authorities said Wednesday that a mummy found a century ago has been identified as the remains of pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled over Egypt during the 15^th century B.C. -Posted 2007-06-27

Biblically Correct - A former teacher is opening a Creation Museum in Kentucky. Will its appeal extend beyond the believers? - In the theater, the seats shake and audiences are sprayed with water at every mention of the flood. Nearby, a Garden of Eden is an animated vision depicting humans happily coexisting alongside dinosaurs and a little girl who laughs every time one of the giant reptiles bares its teeth. And nope, this isn’t your average theme park. ... Welcome, instead, to the Creation Museum. Here, dozens of exhibits attempt to show the Bible as the literal truth and the theory of evolution as unsupportable by science. Creationists believe that the Garden of Eden did exist, that the world is 6,000 years old, that God created man and animals simultaneously, and that the flood wiped out every living creature that wasn’t inside Noah’s Ark. ... -Posted 2007-04-11 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Scholar: 'Jesus Tomb' makers mistaken - JERUSALEM - A scholar looking into the factual basis of a popular but widely criticized documentary that claims to have located the tomb of Jesus said Tuesday that a crucial piece of evidence filmmakers used to support their claim is a mistake. -Posted 2007-03-14

Gas tops $3 mark in Calif. Is rest of U.S. next? - In Chicago, cab driver Nathan Michaels pays $25 each day to gas up his cab. That cost plus the $325 per week he pays to lease his cab makes it difficult to earn a living, even though he works six days a week. ... The rising gas prices also raise his anxiety in a more general way, he said. “It contributes to an overall feeling of uncertainty about what’s going on worldwide.” -Posted 2007-03-07 (Front Page news at MSNBC.com)

Dutchman builds modern Noah's Ark - Dutchman Johan Huibers is building a working replica of Noah's Ark as a testament to his Christian faith. - The 47-year-old from Schagen, 45km (30 miles) north of Amsterdam, plans to set sail in September through the interior waters of the Netherlands. Johan's Ark is a fifth of the size of Noah's and will carry farmyard animals. Mr Huibers, who plans to open the vessel as a religious monument and zoo, hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands. Although Mr Huibers has tried to remain true to the ark described in the Bible, Johan's Ark is constructed with American cedar and Norwegian pine, rather than "gopher wood". -Posted 2007-01-29 (from an article in 2006)  see also:

• http://www.arkvannoach.com/language/en/abouttheark.htm (Official Website)

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6604879.stm

• http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/netherland-ark

• http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070429/27150_New_Noah's_Ark_Ready_to_Sail.htm

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